A man who steals your underwear the first time he meets you is a red flag, Taylor.

This was one of my most anticipated books of 2022 and I'm so disappointed that it didn't work out.

This book was like a disappointing sandwich: two okay ends (start and finish), but with too many ingredients.

I have really mixed feelings and obviously this is a loved book - 23 out of the 25 friends of Goodreads that have read this gave it 5 stars. I spent so much time wondering if I picked up the same book as everyone else.

I loved how rational Elizabeth was and that the author included the very realistic idea that many scientists are not religious and can be atheist. I loved the last chapter, that last conversation was perfect. I think the author accurately described the sexism and misogny that women experienced in STEM then (and many of us still experience now no matter the work environment).

Let's start out with something mentioned in the blurb, "laugh out loud funny", I do not think that having a descriptive rape occur in chapter three, shortly followed by saying the MC's brother committed suicide due to homophobia can be the building blocks of any laugh out loud funny book.

I was so excited to follow a badass, female, feminist chemist who truly knocked down barriers, but was so disappointed that her opinion of wanting children was thrown out the window. I am so tired of that trope as I'm not sure I want kids. The surprise kid trope is overused and for once I want to see a successful woman follow her childless dream.

More thoughts:
-This was exhaustingly descriptive
-The POV changes mid page and chapter did not work (a pet peeve)
-Too long (chapters could've been cut)
-The cooking show glimpses left a lot to be desired
-The anthropomorphic dog did not work here and his POV was weird
-I know young children can be geniuses, but there are limits to what a 4 year old can do.

I just did not see how this was five star worthy because in the end, that badass scientist I was promised didn't show up until near the end.

I did find some quotes that resonated with me and seemed timely to the moment here in the United States (July 2022, a week after SCOTUS gutted women's rights).

In a world full of Dr. Donattis, be an Elizabeth Zott.

'"You have a lot of nerve,"..."You know very well that women do not continue to work when pregnant. But you - you're not only with child, you're unwed. It's disgraceful"' (113)

'"How dare you,"..."A woman telling me what pregnancy is. Who do you think you are?"' (113)

'"What I know"..."is that Calvin and I did not want to have children. I also know that we took eery precaution to ensure that outcome. This pregnancy is a failure of contraception, not morality. It's also none of your business'" (114)

So many quotes I wanted to share from this page (293), but this one will do:
'"I'm glad she feels she an express her belief in God and I welcome her right to do so. But I should be extended the same courtesy. Plenty of people don't believe in God."'

'"But you realize"..."that faith isn't based on religion. Right?"' (308)

I have not read a book with so much extra filler in a long time.

While I thank the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC, I cannot finish this. 

The sentence structure is so choppy and does more telling than showing with minimal dialogue to move the plot forward. Beyond that, is the character's name Todd or Gregg because changing the name of an accused killer within a few chapters was a horrible idea?

Thank you to Flatiron Books and NetGalley for this ARC. 

A coming of age story following Sam, a woman newly returned to New York to spend time there before attending law school at Harvard. Sam finds a job as a bartender and we follow her as she learns more about herself and makes new friends. 

As Sam tries to come into her own after leaving recovery in Arizona, we get a captivating glimpse into someone joining in on the bartending scene. I throughout enjoyed this one as someone with zero experience in the restaurant industry. The recipe for a cocktail at the beginning of each chapter was a nice twist for a fiction story and even Sam working with her coworkers to create new cocktails to try to save the bar held my attention. 

If you're looking for a coming of age story that doesn't have high stakes - this is it. 

I highly recommend this one to anyone who enjoyed Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler and would like to pair this with Taste by Stanley Tucci. 

Wow this was boring. I tried to get through it to review for NetGalley, but nothing was holding my attention.

What was this???

I don’t know if the duo is trying to creep more into women’s fiction or even general fiction instead of just romance, but this was not good. It felt disjointed and where was the history of seeing HOW the chemistry formed between these two? 

This was a treasure hunt with a smidge of romance. 

TLDR: Y’all need to stop giving books five stars just because it’s by some of your favorite authors