To be honest I wasn't sure what to expect with the "spicy" warning. Instead I found a sweet story with two loveable characters who won't, or can't, admit their feelings to each other. With the addition of the scientific background to add interest to the story I ended up enjoying this book. Note - there are a couple of spicy scenes towards the end just so that you don't miss out.
I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley, however this did not influence my review of the book.

very fun read! i alway adore a STEM romance so when both mc are in STEM field is very entertaining! henry is o freaking swoony AAAHH i want one of him too please, and clara, im so proud of her character development <33

i have such a great time reading this book!

the sticky notes part>>>>>>>

3 -⭐⭐⭐

"I will always show up for you, Clara, you're my Lois Lane."

The Hot Henry Effect is an adult standalone romantic comedy follow Dr. Clara Clancy when she finds her important pitch presentation saved by Dr. Henry Fraser, a hot and incredibly sweet engineer she worked with in her university days. When she discovers she will be working with said old colleague she quickly realizes that the phenomena, the Hot Henry Effect, that struck most of her department when she first worked with him is started to take effect on her. The chemistry is there, the friendship so easy, but will Clara and Henry be able to navigate their secrets to find a way forward or will their connection crash and burn?

This book starts off strong but the second half kind of fizzled out for me.

Clara is a brilliant character but she has A LOT of insecurities. Her friends help build her up and I felt they really complimented her. She has reasons for her struggles but I felt they were just told to me rather than unpacked and explored.

Henry is adorable and sweet. I love seeing him tease and play with Clara. I also appreciated the head on his shoulder and his ability to challenge her. He is a bit cheesy but all around good guy.

There is spice in this book. I would say 1 spicy pepper out of 5 spicy pepper. It is a slow burn romance with spice not until the 80% mark and it makes sense given what these two character need to unpack. I felt the spice was light with not a lot of detail.

"You don't know it, but every look that you ever gave me is burnt on to my memory, every touch like a small electrocution, even when it was just accidental."

The story itself is easy going. I think I was just left wanting in the delivery of the story. The first half is fun as we explore their pasts and see them navigate workplace situations together. I really enjoyed them. At the same time I struggled with unloading of Clara's insecurities that repeated tore at the relationship. I also found the whole Henry and his exes' dynamic to be a little too convenient. In this frame of mind this is very much a Hallmark style romance with all the cheese. The ending is sweet and quick.

Overall, it was fun and I enjoyed the banter! I just wish there was a bit more to it.

Thank you One More Chapter for this arc!

I really loved this book, it was just the most beautiful heartwarming story 😍

Tropes;
🔬Second chance
🔬Miscommunication
🔬He falls first (and hard)
🔬Women in STEM
🔬Friends to lovers
🔬Workplace romance

Warning ‼️ there IS a 3rd act breakup and it will probably make you mad…

There are parts of this that almost made it a 5⭐️ read, then there are a couple of things which made me irrationally angry. The miscommunication for starters made me so damn mad. These are grown professionals with PhDs. Talk to each other!!

It was cute and the characters are likeable. Lovers of Ali Hazelwoods STEM will feel right at home with this quick and easy read. It was enjoyable enough that I’ll check out more from the author in future.

Favourite quote:

📝 “Just know that you are enough, exactly as you are, and that I will always love you for being you, and not for any other reason”

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

I just wasn’t into this book. I basically felt like DNFing almost the entire time I was reading it after the first 1/4 or so but kept pushing myself and I have no idea why.

The characters (especially the side characters) felt so cartoonish and exaggerated. I also wasn’t a fan of Clara. She felt immature and annoying to me. I got that she was supposed to be oblivious to Henry’s feelings but this was just an unbelievable level of obliviousness. Also she needed a therapist so bad. Henry was fine overol but also kind of immature sometimes.

I thought this would be a slow burn but that was absolutely not what happened. I love an “it’s always been you” moment but not under 2/3 of the way through the book and followed by SO MUCH unnecessary drama and miscommunication. After that I really started skimming because I just wanted to get things over with. Clara’s attempt to win back Henry had me cringing so hard.

I also wasn’t a huge fan of the writing style. Lots of info dumps as exposition, cliches, and pop culture references. The light hearted tone for the heavy topics (like the on page attempted sexual assault that barely has an impact on the story for some reason) did not work well. The beginning was so slow and the last 1/3 had way too much happening.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book.

The Hot Henry Effect by Lucy Chalice

I received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley for review. My opinions are my own.

5/5 stars

I’m a bit obsessed with the fact that this book is written by a self-proclaimed “mad scientist.” I love that more and more books are focusing on women in STEM - and written by women in STEM!

This book features Clara, a scientist who works for a pharmaceutical company with a focus on cardiovascular health.

Enter Henry Fraser, an old friend from her Oxford days. Clara had been a mentor for Henry during her Oxford days. The “Hot Henry Effect” was a noted phenomenon where women would throw themselves at Henry and he would not notice….

Now Henry has resurfaced. His company has partnered with her company for several products. Over the course of several weeks, their friendship has been rekindled. Clara had been resistant to the Hot Henry Effect but can she still resist??

Ok, I confess. It took me a little bit to get into this book. The characters didn’t immediately snag my support, so I wasn’t really cheerleading for either of them. Just kind of a casual observer. They were both super witty and awkward and relatable, so no clue what my issue was. I didn’t love the interactions with the icky coworkers and the fact they both just tried to “hide” rather than confronting them. Yes, they setup some great scenes between the two leads, but definitely contributed to my disconnect with the first 50% of this book. But it found its stride and was quite enjoyable. Overall, middle of the road for me (special props to Clara’s inner monologue - she got all my laughs).

"The Hot Henry Effect" is obvious to all but the man himself; His enduring love for her obvious to all but the woman herself.

I connected with this book massively, with a similar temperament and background to the main character. Her obliviousness to Henry's feelings after reconnecting after 7 years made me groan and chuckle, and his attempts at showing his feelings were sweet and swoony.

I kept thinking to myself... this has to be made into a Netflix film!

A botched presentation and an awkward reunion with one of the most memorable people from her time at Oxford university. WORST DAY EVER. Clara and Henry start working together again and quickly slip back into their easy friendship. The “Hot Henry Effect” is still very much a real phenomenon. Everyone instantly falls in love with Henry, a fact he seems entirely oblivious to. Clara has been immune for a long time but for how long will she be able to resist the Hot Henry Effect?

I liked this one although there’re some flaws that lowered my rating a bit. It was evident to me as the reader that Henry liked Clara from the beginning. That she missed all the signs and didn’t even believe he was sincere when he told her was annoying. The title is fun but using The Hot Henry Effect in casual conversation is a bit cringey. I didn’t love that either.

The woman in STEM representation and strong depiction of the female character is so empowering. I’ll never tire of strong fmcs. The workplace setting is great, all the important characters are gathered in one place which is convenient and I love a good workplace romance. The characters are so lovable with a few exceptions but every book needs a villain or two.

I requested this one because of the blurb but also the Ali Hazelwood comparisons. There are a lot of similarities especially to TLH. If you liked that one chances are you’ll like this one too.

It’s a sweet and lighthearted romcom for the most part but I want to put a trigger warning out there. There is a scene dealing with SA that could be very triggered for some.

This spicy romcom is a great second chance romance with a swoon worthy hero. The ending really did it for me, no spoilers but there were tears.

I really enjoyed this book. It's a fun, cute read with a dash of spice. It was everything and more that I expect from this kind of book. Loved it from cover to cover

You ever read a book where you’re screaming at the FMC to get some damn therapy. Hi, that’s me… through this entire book. Girl, you are a doctor. You of all people should know how badly you need therapy.

Anyway, this was a strange read. It was written in a way that seemed like the only relationships this person knew anything about were the ones seen in romcom movies. Then again, I can’t stand the miscommunications trope and I reallllly hated those parts of this book.

The beginning was a bit rough for me, middle pulled me back in though, and then the end made no sense.

Not quite sure why Netgalley marked this as erotica especially when Tessa Bailey books are FAR more spicy. There was maybe one spicy scene and it was more of a lukewarm than a spicy.

The authors obsession with making Henry “growl” everything also had me wondering if he was some kind of bear or wolf through out the book.

I didn’t love this book but I didn’t hate it. It just was…

Also, HUGE trigger warning for some non consensual stuff that happened in the book.

What an amusing, cute, sexy book! The main characters Clara and Henry are relatable and realistic and the story itself is a page turner and easy to read. It made me smile, giggle, blush and cheer them on through the story. A definite summer read (or any other time of the year!):

Surprisingly fun and cute. I had so much fun reading this. If you enjoy Ali Hazelwood's books, this is for you.

Henry is in love with Clara, who has no clue. Years later, the reconnect when collaborating on a project, and feelings start to form on Clara's end.

I love when a character (specifically the guy) is obsessed with their love interest, which is obvious to everyone but the main character. Henry is so obvious and Clara does not see it. It can be frustrating for some, but I was loving it. If you like slow burn, this was so cute. There's one spicy scene, which to me was not a lot, but I felt it was enough.

Overall, I had a great time.

Hoo boy hold on to your hats folks

This 300 page book had a lot in it.

So in the Hot Henry Effect we have smart and studious Clara and equally smart and studious Henry who meet in Uni then go their separate ways for 7 years only to find themselves thrown back together to collaborate on a prophecy where old feelings arise from the both of them.

Firstly
I received an E-ARC of this from NetGalley and the Publishers..

Secondly
Clara was insufferable. She was both posh and pretensious from how she spoke. Then she was 14 year old girl with her first crush with how she acted. Her childhood trauma of her father abandoning her at the age of 8 lead to her having a ice cold heart (she referred to it as being broken many times) yet refused therapy as she already knows her issues.
Also she is beautiful but doesn't know it. (fed up of that trope for women)

Thirdly
The way mysogiony in the work place was handled in this was POOR. Firstly her boss intentionally messes up her presentation in front of a huge potential client in hopes of ruining her reputation. But when it backfires on him he tries to play it off as a test to see how she would cope under pressure. Even if that was okay that was not the time or place to get that done.
Then there is the whole sexual predator issue where Clara is accosted numerous times by a certain male character then she blames herself for it. He blames her for it and basically all that happens is a slap on the wrist and that's not even on page. It would have been better to see some actual justice happen for people who have had to deal with this..

Fourthly
The only redeeming factor in this book was the banter Clara and Henry had. It was funny at times. Other times it was eye rolling cheesy.
Calling this book similar to Ali Hazelwoods is an insult to Ali Hazelwoods books in my opinion.

Fifthly
If slow burn second chance work place romances are your jam. With lots of serious issues brought up but non of them dealt with in a sensitive manor is your jam have at it and enjoy. However if you want more from your romances I'd give this a miss.

Clara, a brilliant scientist, meets Henry, an engineer during their PhD programs. He’s visiting her lab and she’s mentoring him. They become the best of friends… or at least that’s how she sees it. When he leaves to return to his program, they lose touch. Seven years later he’s back in the UK and it turns out they are working on a huge project together that is very important to both their careers.

I really enjoyed this book. It’s funny and really freaking sweet. Henry is just a swoony masterpiece and Clara is so unaware in a way that I enjoyed entirely and was never frustrated about. The tension was palpable and the chemistry was perfect. The post it notes were a definite highlight for me.

Read if you enjoy:
❤️ Friends to Lovers
👩‍🔬 Women in STEM
👓 Men in Glasses
🙋‍♂️He falls first
🥼Co- Workers
🔥 Slow Burn
📝 Post it note flirting and love confessions
🧥 Large Men’s Coats

I’m a scientist and I love reading STEM romances. STEM romances written by people in STEM are top tier. Because there is nothing worse than a scientist reading an incorrect science passage. Thank you Dr. Lucy Chalice for all the correct info in this book. I devoured it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review
This read is a slower pace than what I usually read. Weirdly enough I was really excited initially about them being former colleagues and then I’d forget that same concept as I read. The banter was nice to read but overall it just didn’t move fast enough for me. Definitely a nice read for those who enjoy a true slow burn STEM romance.

This book has too much telling and not enough showing. It didn’t engage my interest. DNF.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

I enjoyed a lot of this book. It was an easy and enjoyable book with enjoyable characters, but I felt like it didn’t go in depth with the characters.

Clara and Henry, friends and work colleagues years ago. Henry doe not seem to realise the effect his stunningly good looks have on women. Is Clara, with her lack of self confidence and trust in men, immune to these? Loved it.

A perfect book to get you out of a slump!
The characters and plot were really well built, the lightheartedness was very well needed and helped me out of a rather large reading slump so thank you!
Definitely one to read 🤍