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3.55 AVERAGE
3.55 AVERAGE
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I absolutely LOVED THIS BOOK!!! I am so grateful I got to read the ARC and when I say this book GAVE! It gave. I truly loved learning more about Brianna Rogers (Vincent sister from The KISS Countdown). I related to her so much. So much so she frustrated me at times. This book was a book that I was able to visualize every word and I love when an author does that to me. Etta Easton is such an incredible writer. Her words come to life. I loved Brianna (FMC) and Roman (MMC) and all of the other characters truly added their own value. I felt every character mentioned needed to be there. Thanks again for another amazing read Etta Easton.
I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
I really enjoyed Etta Easton’s first book, and while The Love Simulation wasn’t as strong for me, I still enjoyed it. The light science-y vibes are once again fun, and I particularly enjoyed the academic environment with the teachers and their competition, as well as the space simulation itself. There’s also some light references to the first book, although this is not a formal series.
Brianna is a sympathetic protagonist, and I love her devotion to her job and drive and passion in general. I did find her complex feelings toward Roman to be a bit all over the place, because on the one hand, she’s pretty gaga for him, but on the other, he’s also her professional rival, and there didn’t seem to be a consistent through-line for that. And the result was that the stakes and tension felt rather low.
Roman is a solid love interest, and he’s definitely swoon-worthy. But I feel there was definitely more to explore and flesh out with him, particularly if he’d been given his own POV. He’s not flat by any means, but I can’t help but feel like there was a lot of missed potential given his position as the principal’s son to be probed further.
The romance overall was pretty cute, even if it was fairly low-stakes in the grand scheme of things. The simulation provided some fun challenges and a unique environment for them to explore their chemistry, and they were fairly easy to root for.
This was a pretty cute read, and I’d recommend it to readers who are in search of Black romance with a focus on the education and STEM fields.
funny
Thank you to PRH Audio & Berkley Romance for an advance copy of this book, in exchange for my honest opinion.
This was my first book by Etta Easton, and I really enjoyed her style of writing. It was the perfect amounts of sweet with a little bit of spice, and lots of lol moments.
This was such a sweet romance story between Roman & Brianna, who work together at a school. She’s the outgoing VP, and he’s the more reserved & quiet science teacher. Sure she’s been secretly crushing on Roman, but she could never act on it because of her job. But this summer might be the perfect time for her and Roman, as they’re stuck together in a Mars simulation to win money for their school to fund a new library. After some time in the simulation, sparks begin to fly between these two. I loved getting to see their life and HEA the simulation, and what normal every day life would look for them. And their epilogue was adorable!!!
This was just such a unique take on the forced proximity trope, that was so fun and refreshing to read!
I listened to the audiobook and although it was only one POV in first person, (which isn’t typically my fave). But I really loved the narrator and she made it so enjoyable to listen too!
Read if you enjoy:
🤍Forbidden Love
🤍Teacher x Assistant Principal
🤍Forced Proximity
🤍RomCom
🤍Slow burn
This was my first book by Etta Easton, and I really enjoyed her style of writing. It was the perfect amounts of sweet with a little bit of spice, and lots of lol moments.
This was such a sweet romance story between Roman & Brianna, who work together at a school. She’s the outgoing VP, and he’s the more reserved & quiet science teacher. Sure she’s been secretly crushing on Roman, but she could never act on it because of her job. But this summer might be the perfect time for her and Roman, as they’re stuck together in a Mars simulation to win money for their school to fund a new library. After some time in the simulation, sparks begin to fly between these two. I loved getting to see their life and HEA the simulation, and what normal every day life would look for them. And their epilogue was adorable!!!
This was just such a unique take on the forced proximity trope, that was so fun and refreshing to read!
I listened to the audiobook and although it was only one POV in first person, (which isn’t typically my fave). But I really loved the narrator and she made it so enjoyable to listen too!
Read if you enjoy:
🤍Forbidden Love
🤍Teacher x Assistant Principal
🤍Forced Proximity
🤍RomCom
🤍Slow burn
Read This Book If…you love Abbott Elementary!
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5
The Love Simulation by Etta Easton
Genre: romance
Spice Level: 3/5🌶, 1-2 open door scenes
Setting: Houston, TX
POV: single, 1st person, present tense
Tropes: rivals to lovers, workplace romance, forced proximity, longtime crush
My Thoughts:
Ohhh the days of having a crush on someone just because you could see them every day! This story had a bit of a slow start to get to the main plot, but overall it was very cute.
Brianna got in her own way a lot of the time, both with personal and professional matters. If Roman had spoken up at any point, a lot of their issues would have been solved.
I thought the romance was sweet but felt a little rushed/surface-level, considering how close these two were forced to be.
Memorable Quote: “I’m not a nice man. My dad made sure of it. But you know what I am? A man who goes after what he wants.”
Thank you to the publisher for my advance copy!
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thanks to @berkleypub and @berkleyromance for the gifted e-ARC and to @prhaudio for the ALC!
Bri is a middle school vice principal who does not get along with her principal. Especially because he doesn’t want to make upgrading the school library a priority. Roman is one of her teachers, and the principal’s son. So when she joins a summer program to earn money for the library and shows up, she’s suspicious he’s there to sabotage. The program involves simulating life on Mars for six weeks by having to complete tasks in an isolated, harsh environment. As team members drop off one by one, Bri and Roman are the only ones left. But she still does trust him.
I liked Bri, although she came off a bit flighty. She struggled to find her purpose in life and jumped from idea to idea. And the chemistry she had with Roman was palpable. I definitely would have liked his POV! He was a great character and his relationship with his dad would have been interesting from his POV.
I found the plot fascinating. As a child I used to dream of space travel, and this book had all those vibes. They had to wear space suits when they left their pod, and combat dust storms, and search for rock samples. It was a great location for a forced proximity romance. And the romance was good. Lots of pining. A great forbidden aspect, and a pretty good, fade to black spicy scene. There’s a pretty dramatic third act breakup, and I thought the resolution of that was pretty easy.
The narrator did an excellent job. Her inflection and voices really carried the story.
Overall it was a solid romance with a really unique setting.
Bri is a middle school vice principal who does not get along with her principal. Especially because he doesn’t want to make upgrading the school library a priority. Roman is one of her teachers, and the principal’s son. So when she joins a summer program to earn money for the library and shows up, she’s suspicious he’s there to sabotage. The program involves simulating life on Mars for six weeks by having to complete tasks in an isolated, harsh environment. As team members drop off one by one, Bri and Roman are the only ones left. But she still does trust him.
I liked Bri, although she came off a bit flighty. She struggled to find her purpose in life and jumped from idea to idea. And the chemistry she had with Roman was palpable. I definitely would have liked his POV! He was a great character and his relationship with his dad would have been interesting from his POV.
I found the plot fascinating. As a child I used to dream of space travel, and this book had all those vibes. They had to wear space suits when they left their pod, and combat dust storms, and search for rock samples. It was a great location for a forced proximity romance. And the romance was good. Lots of pining. A great forbidden aspect, and a pretty good, fade to black spicy scene. There’s a pretty dramatic third act breakup, and I thought the resolution of that was pretty easy.
The narrator did an excellent job. Her inflection and voices really carried the story.
Overall it was a solid romance with a really unique setting.
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I loved this book even more than the first one!
This book is basically the definition of forced proximity but she is his boss, but also his dad is her boss. The vibes were immaculate! I am obsessed with this plot, the side characters, the themes, the tension, the banter, and the chemistry between Bri and Roman.
10/10 romance book and I can't wait from more from this author. SHe has quickly become an insta buy author for me!
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Berkley pub for providing me with an advanced copy of this book.
This book is basically the definition of forced proximity but she is his boss, but also his dad is her boss. The vibes were immaculate! I am obsessed with this plot, the side characters, the themes, the tension, the banter, and the chemistry between Bri and Roman.
10/10 romance book and I can't wait from more from this author. SHe has quickly become an insta buy author for me!
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Berkley pub for providing me with an advanced copy of this book.
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thank you Berkley Romance and NetGalley for an eARC of The Love Simulation in exchange for a review!
The Love Simulation follows Vice Principal Brianna Rogers as she competes with other teachers in a Mars simulation for a grand prize - enough money to renovate the crumbling library at her school.
I loved the concept - mean ol principal making her life harder than it needs to be, Brianna showing him how far she could go to get the kids what they need, but her attraction to the principal's son/teacher at the school could throw a wrench in everything she's worked for!
We had a lot of Brianna isolating herself in the book - it's a fine line of being professional and friendly, but Brianna wouldn't allow herself an inch of grace until weeks into the simulation. I wanted a little more from her internal dialogue other than keeping herself from her colleagues and thinking how good looking Roman was.
Roman's betrayal/not-betrayal was enough conflict to keep the storyline pushing, but I didn't feel their romantic connection as much as I had hoped for.
Overall, a low stake/high reward cutesy romance read to add to your list this year!
This is the perfect work place, sort of rivals to lovers but also we very much are pining after each other the whole time and then are doing this Mars simulation together to get money for the school library! I loved The Kiss Countdown! And being back in this universe was so much fun! I LOVE that even though no one was an astronaut this time around we got to stay in the NASA theme. It’s really such a fun back drop!!
I loved Briana and Roman. Their chemistry was so good! Even when she was SURE he didn’t like her, especially then really. Because she desperately didn’t want to like him…but did anyway…and he clearly was picking that up!! And when the tension finally breaks and she realized he DOES like her!! And he WANTS her!! And then they’re ALONE!! Delicious really.
I also loved how Briana’s job and how much she WANTED to like it was written. She loved it, right! She was doing what she wanted! But it wasn’t going the way she necessarily wanted?? She wanted to do being doing MORE. Which is true for so many people. And her boss was annoying…and prioritizing the wrong things, and pushing her to go to another school…And being the vice principal she isolated herself, since she had the authority, and that was making things hard for her too. I just thought it was written so well!
I’m already excited for whatever Etta writes next!
Thanks to Berkley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!