The Sizzle Paradox

Menon’s unconvincing sophomore adult novel (after Make Up Break Up) breaks love down to a science. Lyric Bishop is an experimental psychology PhD candidate studying the physical and emotional chemistry between romantic partners. Her research, combined with her disappointing love life, has led her to create the Sizzle Paradox Scale, which shows that the more sexually attracted she is to someone, the less likely they are to be romantically compatible. Five years into her research, however, she’s feeling uninspired and unable to relate to the material. Her roommate and best friend, serial monogamist Kian Montgomery, is on the last leg of his own environmental chemistry PhD and is burnt out on casual dating. The pair decide to help each other, with Lyric setting Kian up with women outside of his typical type and Kian teaching Lyric better dating etiquette. Inevitably, this “tutoring” sends their friendship teetering toward something more. The strong bond between Lyric and Kian is palpable, but the stilted writing and improbable depiction of academia make it difficult to get into this one. Only Menon’s die-hard fans need check this out. Agent: Thao Le, Sandra Dijkstra Literary. (June)