The sizzle paradox

Menon's unconvincing sophomore adult novel (after Make Up Break Up) breaks love down to a science. Lyric Bishop is an experimental psychology PhD candidate studying the physical and emotional chemistry between romantic partners. Her research, combined with her disappointing love life, has led her to create the Sizzle Paradox Scale, which shows that the more sexually attracted she is to someone, the less likely they are to be romantically compatible. Five years into her research, however, she's feeling uninspired and unable to relate to the material. Her roommate and best friend, serial monogamist Kian Montgomery, is on the last leg of his own environmental chemistry PhD and is burnt out on casual dating. The pair decide to help each other, with Lyric setting Kian up with women outside of his typical type and Kian teaching Lyric better dating etiquette. Inevitably, this "tutoring" sends their friendship teetering toward something more. The strong bond between Lyric and Kian is palpable, but the stilted writing and improbable depiction of academia make it difficult to get into this one. Only Menon's die-hard fans need check this out. Agent: Thao Le, Sandra Dijkstra Literary. (June)

Two best friends fake date to try to discover the perfect formula for love. Not only is Lyric Bishop unlucky in love, but she's beginning to feel like a fraud. She's in her penultimate year at Columbia as an experimental psychology doctoral student, and her focus on sexual chemistry should make her a pro at dating. But other than the fact that she's a self-proclaimed "picky bitch," she can't seem to solve her biggest problem yet: the Sizzle Paradox. Lyric rates her romantic and sexual partners by the Sizzle Paradox Scale--scoring elements like "pre-sex sexual chemistry" or "initiation to kiss"--but the more she's into a guy, the less chance they have at a healthy, committed relationship, hence the paradox. Everyone thinks that she should date her hot best friend and roommate, Kian Montgomery, but hooking up with him would be a "disaster of civilization-ending proportions." Lyric and Kian "live and thrive" in the friend zone, and neither of them would ever do anything to ruin their bond. Besides, Kian is a total lady's man and goes through women like "sheets of paper," though he's starting to become bored with the no-strings-attached lifestyle. So when Lyric's thesis reaches a roadblock, Kian volunteers to tutor her with a few fake dates to help them both crack the Sizzle Paradox once and for all. Menon's latest novel follows the unbeatable rom-com blueprint of laugh-out-loud moments ("I scowl at him; he doesn't need to make it sound like I'm some repulsive species of sea cucumber") and sweltering sex scenes ("Everything about him is an aphrodisiac: his voice that's barely a rumbling growl in the dark like thunder on a steamy night"). While at times Lyric can prove frustratingly clueless and immature when faced with her romantic prospects, readers will no doubt find her and Kian's friendship endearing and their blistering chemistry unmistakable. A 5 out of 5 on the romance scale. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.