In The Sizzle Paradox by Lily Menon, Columbia University grad student Lyric Bishop is making absolutely no 
advances on her thesis. None. She came up with a great concept: the Sizzle Paradox, where she basically concludes that the couples who find lasting love score high in both sexual *and* emotional chemistry. Something that Lyric has never experienced in real life. Which ultimately makes her feel like the wrong person to use the huge amount of data collected to finish her thesis. When her best friend of seven years, her roommate Kian Montgomery, offers to tutor her in dating so Lyric’s personal and professional lives might begin to coincide, she jumps at the chance. Little did she know what changes it would set into motion.
‘There’s sexual tension that simmers in the air, bubbling and hissing and popping, begging us to pay attention, to do something. It’s not one-sided; that’s pretty clear.’
Kian’s offer to fake date Lyric and give her pointers was altruistic on his part. Or so he thinks. It turns out that even when Lyric offers to help him change his casual dating ways to find someone for a more stable, lasting relationship, Kian can’t deny he likes their “fake” dates way too much. But Lyric is the most important person in his life. And with all the changes they have coming up soon–him graduating with his doctorate, her (hopefully) finishing her thesis–Kian would hate to ruin what they already have together.
‘She thinks I was putting on an act, to tutor her. Good. Because otherwise she’d be completely appalled. The truth is, I was checking my best friend out.’
A quirky, fun rom-com with two brainy best friends who were destined to be a couple–even if they didn’t realize it–The Sizzle Paradox by Lily Menon had just the right amount of steam and thoughtful emotions to be a great summertime read.
‘Have we ruined our friendship completely with that sizzling-but-totally-inappropriate kiss?’
Overall, I had a blast reading The Sizzle Paradox. Besties Lyric and Kian had me giggling with their playfulness and with the way they complemented each other in so many ways. It was obvious to everyone around them–and will be to readers, as well–that their connection went deeper than friendship. Kian and Lyric tried denying their chemistry. And it worked for quite a while. But once they began “fake dating” to supposedly help Lyric both in her personal life and with her thesis, that’s when it all started to crumble.
I really liked Lyric and Kian. They were grad students so it goes without saying that they were highly intelligent, but more than that, they were simply *good* people. They cared about their friends and family. They looked out for each other all the time. Lyric was a bit outspoken in some ways but she connected easily with people. Kian could charm any woman he met but yet wasn’t a smarmy playboy even if he’d dated a lot. (He had his reasons for not wanting to get into a serious relationship.)
It was the lack of true communication between Kian and Lyric that was the only drawback for me. Miscommunication can be a big factor in rom-coms. In this case, they basically said what they thought the other wanted to hear, but never actually talked about their real feelings or had a discussion until the very end. The swoon-worthy finale (and grand gesture!) made up for their angsty discord for me. And I loved that Menon even included updates on how Kian and Lyric’s family and friends–who had their own subplots–were doing in the epilogue.
QOTD: Do you think it’s worth the risk to see where a romance can lead between close friends?
Book Info:
Publication: June 14th 2022 | Pub: St. Martin’s Griffin |
The Kiss Quotient meets Love Potion No. 9 in the next sparkling romantic comedy by Lily Menon, The Sizzle Paradox…
Lyric Bishop feels like a fraud – she’s studying sexual chemistry in romantic partners and what makes for a successful long-term relationship, only she can’t seem to figure it out in her own dating life. The science is sound, but how can she give her expert opinion with no real-world experience? In order to complete her doctoral thesis, she must crack the Sizzle Paradox – it seems the more sexually attractive she finds a guy, the less likely it is to come with an emotional connection; but why? – and to do that she must get the help she desperately needs.
Kian Montgomery, her best friend, roommate, and fellow grad student, has no trouble bringing both romance and sizzle to his own relationships. When he offers to tutor Lyric on dating tactics to find a good match, she’s certain it will solve her problems, and in exchange she agrees to set long-term-commitment-averse Kian up with someone different to give his romantic life a much-needed shakeup.
But once the two progress with their “tutoring sessions,” they start to feel less like the academic exercise they were supposed to be as real feelings develop. Which is a problem, because Lyric and Kian are best friends and absolutely, irrefutably nothing else… Right?
