Since Susannah Nix's RITA nomination, I've binge-read her Chemistry Lessons series. I've enjoyed all the books, especially the STEM heroines. This one was a particular favorite because it got more into Olivia's work environment and also because of the realistic Texas setting. (I'm a native Texan and generally hate portrayals of the state, but this one really captures the setting. Shout-out for Buc-ee's!)

The only issue I've had with this series is that the heroes have some pretty serious likability issues, from being cheaters to general dickish behavior. Maybe this is just me? But I've found some of their behavior so off-putting that I wasn't sure I was really rooting for an HEA. I kept thinking that the poor heroines could have done so much better! Adam is no exception. However, I could really see where his behavior came from and eventually found myself rooting for Olivia and Adam to get together.

Olivia, on the other hand, is a fantastic heroine, and I really saw in her my own struggles as a woman in the tech industry. I'll definitely be reading more Susannah Nix.

I liked this romance for the plot bears and the heroine, but I was a bit less forgiving of the hero’s man pain than the heroine. Toxic masculinity isn’t a guy’s fault, but his entire deal was worsened by an inability to be emotionally vulnerable with anyone other than his partner... something that is only marginally addressed in the HEA. Even Olivia with her diagnosed issues with criticism and reasons for distrust has a group of friends that she is emotionally intimate with.