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inmyhumbleopinion's review against another edition
4.0
The Theory of Attraction - by Delphine Dryden
I loved this story and could relate to it for so many reasons. Mostly because like the hero of the story, Ivan, is not unlike my husband brilliant but socially inept. And I like the heroine, Camillia, hung out with the geeks despite not being quite so brilliant.
Camilla lives next door to astrophysicist Ivan. Recently she has discovered that he is something of a hunk underneath all that OCD and social awkwardness. They have been friendly since she moved in and she knows his routine down pat (think Sheldon Cooper from Big Bang Theory). But he knows he is out of his depth when it comes to social conventions and asks Cami to help him prepare for an important fundraiser where he is expected to mingle. (Think Penny). Now STOP. This is where it deviates from any BBT analogy you might have. Because of her attraction to Ivan Cami has often wondered about Ivan’s sex life. She has never seen him with a date of either sex. Ivan is a detail oriented man and at some point he was introduced to BDSM and it appealed to him because there are rules and it requires upfront communication. After one of their socialization lessons where Cami has been more flirtatious than normal she finds out exactly what being with Ivan entails. The chemistry is nuclear.
This story is funny, quirky, sexy and an outright blast.
* I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*
I loved this story and could relate to it for so many reasons. Mostly because like the hero of the story, Ivan, is not unlike my husband brilliant but socially inept. And I like the heroine, Camillia, hung out with the geeks despite not being quite so brilliant.
Camilla lives next door to astrophysicist Ivan. Recently she has discovered that he is something of a hunk underneath all that OCD and social awkwardness. They have been friendly since she moved in and she knows his routine down pat (think Sheldon Cooper from Big Bang Theory). But he knows he is out of his depth when it comes to social conventions and asks Cami to help him prepare for an important fundraiser where he is expected to mingle. (Think Penny). Now STOP. This is where it deviates from any BBT analogy you might have. Because of her attraction to Ivan Cami has often wondered about Ivan’s sex life. She has never seen him with a date of either sex. Ivan is a detail oriented man and at some point he was introduced to BDSM and it appealed to him because there are rules and it requires upfront communication. After one of their socialization lessons where Cami has been more flirtatious than normal she finds out exactly what being with Ivan entails. The chemistry is nuclear.
This story is funny, quirky, sexy and an outright blast.
* I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*
diaryofthebookdragon's review against another edition
2.0
My main problem with The Theory of Attraction was that it wasn’t what I was expecting and what first 35% of the book lead me on to expect – cute chick lit novel about girl falling for the geeky scientist and getting him to notice her.
As I said, the first half of the book was exactly that. It was light, funny and romantic. Camilla comments about Ivan and geeks in general had me giggling and highlighting all of the time:
“Two arguing geeks were stoppable. Three arguing geeks created an infinite argument vortex of doom that sucked time down like a black hole.”
Additional reason for me to fall in love with The Theory of Attraction was Camilla’s best friend Athena. She reminded me a lot of Samantha from Sex and the City. I always love to read about strong female friendships, especially when a friend is blunt and sexually more opened than the main character. You gotta love the reactions to those outstandish advices!
But then at about 40% into the book The Theory of Attraction turns into erotica novel. The romance and funny moments disappear and instead we get a lot of sex. It was not repetitive since they explore Camilla’s submissive side with spanking, tying up, etc, but still it was boring. I found myself skimming through explicit descriptions and wishing for the magic of the first half of the book to come back.
I hope that Delphine Dryden will write pure chick lit/contemporary romance novel in the future. I will be definitely very interested to read it!
In The End…
So to whom to recommend this book? Fans of bdsm erotica will be bored with a slow start and chick lit romance novels lovers will be shocked with the explicit sexual marathon aka. second half of the book. But if you like both these genres and are aware what are you getting into, you might enjoy The Theory of Attraction.
My rating: 2 stars
Disclaimer: This text is also posted on my blog Bookworm Dreams in a little bit more styled edition.
As I said, the first half of the book was exactly that. It was light, funny and romantic. Camilla comments about Ivan and geeks in general had me giggling and highlighting all of the time:
“Two arguing geeks were stoppable. Three arguing geeks created an infinite argument vortex of doom that sucked time down like a black hole.”
Additional reason for me to fall in love with The Theory of Attraction was Camilla’s best friend Athena. She reminded me a lot of Samantha from Sex and the City. I always love to read about strong female friendships, especially when a friend is blunt and sexually more opened than the main character. You gotta love the reactions to those outstandish advices!
But then at about 40% into the book The Theory of Attraction turns into erotica novel. The romance and funny moments disappear and instead we get a lot of sex. It was not repetitive since they explore Camilla’s submissive side with spanking, tying up, etc, but still it was boring. I found myself skimming through explicit descriptions and wishing for the magic of the first half of the book to come back.
I hope that Delphine Dryden will write pure chick lit/contemporary romance novel in the future. I will be definitely very interested to read it!
In The End…
So to whom to recommend this book? Fans of bdsm erotica will be bored with a slow start and chick lit romance novels lovers will be shocked with the explicit sexual marathon aka. second half of the book. But if you like both these genres and are aware what are you getting into, you might enjoy The Theory of Attraction.
My rating: 2 stars
Disclaimer: This text is also posted on my blog Bookworm Dreams in a little bit more styled edition.
menniemenace's review
2.0
Characters were ASD that aren't weird are hard to come by. I hated Ivan so much. He reminded me of Ian Mckenzie, who happens to be a bad ASD dude as well.
I know no two people are the same, and the authors can't know exactly how the atypical mind works and it's mostly guesswork. I still hate Ivan.
Also, why is he slut-shaming the female lead? It's so out of character for him. It's also a major turn-off.
I know no two people are the same, and the authors can't know exactly how the atypical mind works and it's mostly guesswork. I still hate Ivan.
Also, why is he slut-shaming the female lead? It's so out of character for him. It's also a major turn-off.
emreadswhatshewants's review against another edition
5.0
Equal parts sweet and sexy bdsm short story
rchll's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
taranaimc's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
theverysleepygirl's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
This was an ok read, but I skimmed the end. Also, for some reason, felt like the main character loved the love interest like, wayy more than he loved her? If he even wanted her at all? Was still romantic but I don't know.
isitcake's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Genius astrophysicist is socially awkward and asks girl to tutor him in social situations. His career is on the line as he needs to be able to schmooze for grant money. Meanwhile she gets schooled by him in the bedroom. The BDSM is definitely the point of this book. The plot itself is pretty meh. The conflict revolves around him being soooo socially inept that he can't form normal relationships, he "doesn't know what love is," so she gets hurt when she lets herself "fall in love with him" and then blames it all on herself when he refers to her only as his friend and submissive instead of anything more. This is basically a 50 Shades of Grey ripoff.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
isabelisalright's review against another edition
4.0
Really fun and different from other books! Highly recommend for a sexy read with BDSM elements. It was great seeing two geeks find love and get through a really interesting situation.
Read this in one night because it was short, but enjoyable.
Read this in one night because it was short, but enjoyable.