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A review by kierragodfrey
The Chemistry of Love by Sariah Wilson
3.0
The Chemistry of Love by Sariah Wilson
An annoying, delusional mess.
I must say this book threw me for a loophole for sure. For the first time, I read a book in which I was not too fond of the main character. Many times I considered DNFing (did not finish) this book. But, my attachment to the plot and a few characters kept me going.
Small spoilers ahead.
Anna is annoying. I just can’t with her.
Ladies in STEM! I love authors who write books with females in STEM. I started my higher education career in the Engineering department at my local university, so STEM has a big place in my heart! I had to do minor research now and again to understand some of the chemicals, terms, and machinery in question, but that didn’t bother me at all.
I thought I was going to enjoy the book immediately once I started seeing the Lord of the Rings references. I was the girl who was in love with LOTR in high school. So, all the LOTR mentions had me giddy! The cute nerdy jokes Anna and Marco shared, I appreciated those.
Anna
Ugh—Anna was obnoxious, irrational, naïve, and delusional throughout the book. You would’ve thought by her behavior in the story that she was a middle school girl instead of almost 30 years old! I know some women read into things and think one thing is happening when in reality, it’s not. But homegirl was deranged! Her not wanting to shake Marco’s hand, hang out with him or go on a date for fear of betraying Craig, who has no idea she even existed, was comical—and not in a haha way. Toward the very end, her thoughts finally started to sound like those of a mature adult. Oh—and are we going to talk about her being a lazy slob? The description of her room was horrendous. How is that attractive?
Marco
I loved Marco’s character and would’ve enjoyed this book as a dual POV. Marco’s reputation and his demeanor with Anna were portrayed differently, and we never got an example of the contrast—in my opinion. The gentleness of Marco with Anna was touching, and I enjoyed the fact that he made her feel seen when it came to her nerdy insecurities or things that other men would consider weird. I thought Marco’s resignation was a bit much but to each his own.
Catalina
Everyone needs a Catalina in their life. Honest and blunt, but considerate of your feelings. She was a fantastic friend to Anna and let her know what she needed to hear and when she needed to hear it. I also love the fact that they weren’t competing against each other and they each had their own things going for them.
Overall
The book had entertaining moments, but for the most part, it fell flat for me. The main character was an annoying, delusional mess, and her character development took the majority of the story. I can’t understand how someone so intelligent spent most of the book appearing stupid and gullible. The primary premise of the fake relationship was unrealistic, to begin with, and it just looked like he wanted to find a way to date her secretly. The outcome didn’t even turn out like they thought it would. I’ve often said that I’m too nosey to DNF a book. I have to know what happens! I could’ve skipped this book, and I will absolutely be DNFing books this year!
Read this if you like:
Fake dating
Workplace romance, Boss/employee relationship—sorta, you’ll see
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math), Chemistry
Cosmetics
A realistic and comical meet-cute
Star Wars, Lord of the Rings
Dungeon and Dragons
Nerd jokes—think Sheldon from Big Bang Theory
Happily ever after
Steer clear if you hate:
Death of a parent
Eating disorder—briefly
Car accident
Excessive denial/self-doubt from the main character
An annoying, delusional mess.
I must say this book threw me for a loophole for sure. For the first time, I read a book in which I was not too fond of the main character. Many times I considered DNFing (did not finish) this book. But, my attachment to the plot and a few characters kept me going.
Small spoilers ahead.
Spoiler
First ThoughtsAnna is annoying. I just can’t with her.
Ladies in STEM! I love authors who write books with females in STEM. I started my higher education career in the Engineering department at my local university, so STEM has a big place in my heart! I had to do minor research now and again to understand some of the chemicals, terms, and machinery in question, but that didn’t bother me at all.
I thought I was going to enjoy the book immediately once I started seeing the Lord of the Rings references. I was the girl who was in love with LOTR in high school. So, all the LOTR mentions had me giddy! The cute nerdy jokes Anna and Marco shared, I appreciated those.
Anna
Ugh—Anna was obnoxious, irrational, naïve, and delusional throughout the book. You would’ve thought by her behavior in the story that she was a middle school girl instead of almost 30 years old! I know some women read into things and think one thing is happening when in reality, it’s not. But homegirl was deranged! Her not wanting to shake Marco’s hand, hang out with him or go on a date for fear of betraying Craig, who has no idea she even existed, was comical—and not in a haha way. Toward the very end, her thoughts finally started to sound like those of a mature adult. Oh—and are we going to talk about her being a lazy slob? The description of her room was horrendous. How is that attractive?
Marco
I loved Marco’s character and would’ve enjoyed this book as a dual POV. Marco’s reputation and his demeanor with Anna were portrayed differently, and we never got an example of the contrast—in my opinion. The gentleness of Marco with Anna was touching, and I enjoyed the fact that he made her feel seen when it came to her nerdy insecurities or things that other men would consider weird. I thought Marco’s resignation was a bit much but to each his own.
Catalina
Everyone needs a Catalina in their life. Honest and blunt, but considerate of your feelings. She was a fantastic friend to Anna and let her know what she needed to hear and when she needed to hear it. I also love the fact that they weren’t competing against each other and they each had their own things going for them.
Overall
The book had entertaining moments, but for the most part, it fell flat for me. The main character was an annoying, delusional mess, and her character development took the majority of the story. I can’t understand how someone so intelligent spent most of the book appearing stupid and gullible. The primary premise of the fake relationship was unrealistic, to begin with, and it just looked like he wanted to find a way to date her secretly. The outcome didn’t even turn out like they thought it would. I’ve often said that I’m too nosey to DNF a book. I have to know what happens! I could’ve skipped this book, and I will absolutely be DNFing books this year!
Read this if you like:
Fake dating
Workplace romance, Boss/employee relationship—sorta, you’ll see
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math), Chemistry
Cosmetics
A realistic and comical meet-cute
Star Wars, Lord of the Rings
Dungeon and Dragons
Nerd jokes—think Sheldon from Big Bang Theory
Happily ever after
Steer clear if you hate:
Death of a parent
Eating disorder—briefly
Car accident
Excessive denial/self-doubt from the main character