cakt1991 's review for:

The Love Simulation by Etta Easton

3.5

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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.