I actually really enjoyed the prose of this book, I thought it was very well written although perhaps a slight tendency to run a little long at times. The dialogue can also get slightly over embellished but I didn’t mind this. I liked the banter especially between the main leads.

Overall it’s a cute read.

The Hot Henry Effect is cute, lighthearted, and filled with banter anyone with an ounce of a science or a superhero background will enjoy. If you are a fan of Ali Hazelwood but are looking for a little less focus on science (it is still here) this will be for you.

While I adored Henry and Clara's relationship, some of the heavier topics and dramatic events that were thrown into the story felt disconnected and made the story feel choppy and rushed at times. Also, the spice that was thrown in at the end felt unnecessary as the tension between the two of them was never more than flirtatious. Had there been more physical contact between them throughout the book I would have understood it more for the storyline instead of spice just for the sake of spice.

Overall, this book was a cute and a fun read that I believe a lot of people will enjoy!

The Hot Henry Effect is a new STEM romance from Lucy Chalice out in May that follows Clara and Henry. The main characters met at Oxford, where Clara was in charge of “showing” Henry microbiology while he was there during his postdoctoral. While the premise of this novel intrigued me because of my biology background, I found the main characters to lack any chemistry. Henry supposedly had always been in love with Clara, but that didn’t translate onto the page.

I also found it a little irritating that Clara all the sudden caught feelings. She resisted for so long that it all felt forced. I did enjoy the banter between them as friends, though.


Thank you Lucy Chalice and HarperCollinsUK for the advanced reader copy of this novel out later this spring.

I wanted to love this book.

I actually did until 80% of the way through.
I loved the banter between Clara and Henry.

But Clara’s trauma and fears of being left was actually annoying to read. Like haven’t we heard of communicating instead of making assumptions?

This is a fun, spicy rom-com. Quirky characters, a great storyline, and all around fun!
Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher, for access to this e-ARC.

Dr Henry Fraser and Dr Clara Clancy met seven years ago, when Clara had to help him in the lab. Henry was very clumsy, but also charming. Everyone swooned over Henry, apart from Clara.

Seven years on, and Clara meets Henry again, they have to work together on a project. Clara has missed her friend and is glad to see him again.

Due to her childhood and trauma, Clara keeps everyone at a distant so they can’t hurt her. Can Henry break through her defences? Will Clara ever see him as anything other than a friend?

I enjoyed this book, it was a light and easy read.

There was plenty of humour, and I did find myself laughing out loud at times.

I loved Henry’s character, but Clara’s character was quite hard to like, although I liked her more towards the end of the story. Jo and Simmy were very funny and believable characters.

Overall, a light-hearted and entertaining story.

My thanks to Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

"The Hot Henry Effect" presents itself as a contemporary romance novel that follows Clara, a scientist busy with her phD, and Henry, a PhD engineer student, who are brought together by circumstance during Henry's doctoral assignment where Clara must supervise/teach him. Their initial friendship fades as Henry returns to the US, leading to a seven-year separation until fate reunites them in Clara's life.

Lucy Chalice writes the book from Clara's perspective as the sole narrator, guiding readers through her emotional journey. While the narrative offers insight into Clara's evolving feelings towards Henry, I must say I found myself wishing to hear Henry's perspective too, particularly during pivotal moments such as their initial collaboration and his reappearance after a failed marriage during his time in the US. This addition could have provided a deeper understanding of his motivations and emotions, enriching the story further.

The portrayal of Clara's emotional turmoil, stemming from her father's abandonment, adds depth to her character. However, I felt this aspect was somewhat underexplored given its impact on Clara's past relationships. The rapid progression from Clara's revelation to her realization of love for Henry felt somewhat rushed and unrealistic, detracting from the authenticity of her emotional journey.

Lucy Chalice's pen, while eloquent and descriptive, included overly complex vocabulary, which may pose a challenge for non-native English speakers like me. Nevertheless, the story's charm was lovely and enjoyable, particularly the slow-burn romance from friends to lovers between Clara and Henry, punctuated by moments of humor and tenderness.

I extend my gratitude to NetGalley, Lucy Chalice, and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter, for providing me with the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

📚 I had a blast with this book! It was such a breezy read, keeping me giggling throughout without feeling forced or relying too heavily on trendy jokes. If you're all about STEM romance and adore Ali Hazelwood's style, dive into this gem!

💕 "The Hot Henry Effect" dishes out a delightful dose of second chances and friends-turned-lovers magic. Clara, engrossed in her PhD experiments, unwittingly tosses Henry into the friend zone despite his obvious crush. As fate would have it, their paths cross once more, but will this reunion pen a new chapter for them?

👩‍🔬 Clara's character is incredibly relatable, with her blend of self-deprecation and humor as shields against life's curveballs. Yet, her journey reveals how these defenses can both protect and hinder. However, I found Henry's character a tad shallow. Even by the end, he felt more like a hot engineer stereotype than a fully fleshed-out individual.

🔥 Expect one steamy scene, though it's not groundbreaking. My only cringe moment? The overuse of "squelching" — yikes!

🔖 **Tropes:**
➡️ Slow burn
➡️ He falls first
➡️ Second chance

“Holy hell balls and shit sticks, I'd lost my previous immunity to the Hot Henry Effect, and this was not good, not good at all.”

"You're right, it can't possibly have just been sex that you two had. There is no other explanation, it must be love,"

This friends to lovers romance was uplifting and heartwarming and I was exactly what I needed. A fun, bantery story with two people who fell in love while they were students in a Phd program but never told one another and then met again seven years later only to see that that spark is still there. With forced proximity, thick tension and a man that I would absolutely die for (Hot Henry effect indeed), I think this book had many things I was looking for in a romance. Plus the playlist the author added for the book is ACCURATE !!! So more points for that!!! But aside from this, I had fun getting through the life of these people and their relationships, and while there were some questionable but too much realistic characters (I’m afraid life is also made of them), the main ones absolutely stole my heart and I’m glad I got to meet them !!

"You are enough, you've always been enough, and I want you, I love you, just like you are. You're crazy and funny and kind and beautiful, and so bright and intelligent that it makes my brain hurt just trying to keep up with you. Please don't ever feel that you need to be anything other than yourself,"

"When you look at me, and especially when you touch me, Clara, I feel like I'm an actual fucking superhero."

The Hot Henry Effect is a nice read if you're in the mood for a light-hearted romance.

Clara and Henry use to know each other while they were both PhD students at Oxford. They lost touch when Henry went back to America and now he's back to Oxford and working together again after 7 years.

The story was easy to read but there definitely were some gaps in the plot. For example, the part where Clara kept telling she was unlovable and would end up hurting the person she would fall for, but we were not given any context with regard to that, until she just shared - briefly - her past to Henry. Her insicurities were a bit off putting, since she just spiralled down the rabbit hole, never trusting her thoughts to anyone.

I would have also loved to see more flashbacks of Henry's at Oxford while they were working together the first time. And definitely Henry's POVs would have been great.

Aside from these things, tt was enjoyable enough to read and it was interesting to see how the author would have unravelled everything in the end.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book for an honest review.

I wanted this book to be good SOOO bad. This book could have been so much better, but it was such a let down.

This book follows Henry and Clara who were grad students together and find themselves working with each other later on in life. Henry is the hot guy that none of the girls can keep their eyes off of. Henry makes all the girls swoon, but he only has eyes for one girl.

Clara is the someone who is closed off and focuses a lot on her studies/work. Clara has a hard time letting others in due to something her dad did in her past.

This story is a second chance romance as well as a slow burn. I would also consider this a reverse Grumpy X Sunshine, He falls first and workplace romance.

While I enjoyed some of the romantic aspects of this book, it definitely fell short. The pacing of the story and plot were just so hard to read through. I feel like the last 5 chapters were not needed and it should have ended when they got together. I wish there was more background into Clara to understand why she is the way she is. The lack of information made it hard to like her and made it hard to connect with her. The spice in this book doesn't even come until the end, like it was an afterthought. I feel like if the plot of this book was more developed and the pacing was fixed, this book could have been so good.

I do recommend this book if you do like STEM romances, but don't read it for the spice. I would also recommend if you are a fan of the troupes included in this story. Overall thank you to Netgalley, HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter and Lucy Chalice for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. 3/5 stars.

Well here’s me 100% affected by The Hot Henry Effect!!

Swoony indeed 😉… a fun filled friends to lovers romance with some great set pieces and of course a dastardly villain. Some great nods to superhero movies (I mean who doesn’t prefer Clark Kent with his glasses on) and the classic Austen P&P always goes down well with me. I will never look at a sticky note in the same way again though! 🥹🥰

Thank you so much for the ARC of this book.

This was such an easy book to read, I finished it in 2 sittings. It really reminded me of an Ali Hazelwood book with the vibes.

I really liked the way certain themes were handled towards the end of the book, but I felt my connection with the characters lacking a little bit. Neither Clare nor Henry felt like fully fleshed out characters, Clare's background as well as Henry's felt missing. I liked them as a couple but again it felt very surface level and a lot of things weren't explained.

Overall, really easy book to get into the book, very minimal spice and just a very quick read.

Such a lovely, lovely book!

This has been on the slow burn side, but so delicious and so full of banter! These two characters are simply adorable, their interactions are so easy and fun and their chemistry is wonderfully written, it's the thing that shines the brightest in the whole book.

This is a story of how one feels so uncertain about their worth to be loved and fear of abandonment that they are clueless to the effect they have on others, and just to be safe, they friendzone the very one their heart desires. Thankfully, some love stories are meant to be. And how beautiful this one got its solution.

I liked everything about this book (except, obviously the villain), the hero and the heroine, her adorable friends. And more than anything, the chemistry, the heat, the charming moments between Clara and Henry and how they just felt so right, so at home with one another. A lovely, lovely read!

I received a copy of this in order to share my view on it.

I have mixed feelings about this book. The first half of the book was pretty good, but the second half was… less good.

On the one hand, I enjoyed Clara’s sense of humor, the way she described things (“I toyed with a paper clip, wondering on the most efficient way to gouge my brain out with it.”) and her banter with the other characters. On the flip side, sometimes it was too much, too over the top (“bloody bastard in chocolate nipple of doom”… who edited this and thought that phrase should stay intact?) and I just wanted Clara to stop. Talking. Immediately. I also felt like the realizations into her “fatal flaw” happened way too quickly (we’re talking chapter TWO), whereas she was supremely, unbelievably dense about Henry. There were some really great scenes that drew out the tension in a satisfying way, and then there were scenes where I was inwardly cringing (or outwardly, in the case of the “squelchy” sex scene interrupted by a toe cramp. This. Is. Not. Sexy.).

There were a few grammatical errors, but not enough to bother me. What really bothered me was how unbelievably long winded the inner monologues were. There were sentences that went on for (what felt like) 400 words, which really slowed down the story. The prose needs to be tightened up and made punchier, because when Clara got going, this shit DRAAAAAGGED. What made it even worse was the fact that the story should have ended around the 80% mark, but after the couple finally gets together, the author then drags us along to meet Henry’s entire family. And then, on top of that, there’s an epilogue that takes place about 5 minutes later. An epilogue that adds absolutely nothing to the story.

So, yeah. Mixed feelings.

But even with all that, I still read the book in about 24 hours. It was quick and easy, but nothing spectacular. Probably part of the problem was that I went into this hoping for Ali Hazelwood. Having high expectations is perhaps *my* fatal character flaw.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for approving my ARC request.

The Hot Henry Effect (arc) review

Rating: 2/5

The storyline flowed okay, but felt very all over the place, and slightly messy at times, also I felt like the author was ‘trying too hard’ at times with specific words/jargon added in to go with the theme, which just made me CRINGE.
For example: “A sense of dread and crushing anxiety was filling my thoracic cavity” (like just say chest), and “The trademark Henry Fraser smile that could set a heart into atrial fibrillation at twenty paces,” (this one actually made me cringe SO HARD, because never have I seen the words atrial fibrillation being used when I’m 1. not at work or 2. not in a book related to work. Does anyone who doesn’t work in healthcare or have some idea or healthcare actually know what atrial fib is?!?)

It felt like there was almost too much going on, like the thing with Clara’s dad being the reason she doesn’t date, trust people etc. I felt was written poorly and just so random and didn’t connect well, alongside the thing with Dominic, which was never even resolved properly?!?? and felt very rushed and again not written well!

The main character Clara was insufferable at times, I did not like her at all! She felt very very immature for her age (32)
Henry made the story more likeable, but even he wasn’t the greatest character ever, I kind of felt bad for him constantly chasing after Clara ngl.

The friendship in the beginning between the two felt okay, the playful/teasing side of it was okay, but as soon as it was revealed he’d ’been in love with her the whole time’ everything just went downhill from there, their chemistry disappeared and it just felt AWKWARD and slightly toxic!! Like the miscommunication, it was SO back and forth between them it was giving me whiplash!!

*I received an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review*

5 stars!

I absolutely loved this book, it was the most perfect rom-com that I read.

I adored the STEM setting, as well as the realistic pace at which this friends-to-lovers romance progressed.
Henry Fraser is a swoony character, as our Clara likes to say, and Clara is a very strong, as well as relatable, character.
I also appreciated that there is no OM/OW drama, nor a third break-up act.

I will definitely keep an eye out for the next book by Lucy Chalice.
Thank you to NetGalley and One More Chapter for this ARC.

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is a great beach read following some well loved tropes. Enough substance for the plot without bring gloomy.

I love a STEM story and this one did not disappoint. It was a charming tale and I loved the relationship between the characters. I found this an easy to story to read and rooting for the couple involved.

First time reading a book by this author. I enjoyed the story. The book was well written and funny in places. The characters were well thought out and interesting. Worth a read.