Miranda in Retrograde by Lauren Layne

Miranda in Retrograde by Lauren Layne | 288 pages | 2024

As the youngest physics professor at her university, practical-minded Miranda Reed plans her life with minute precision. But that’s before she’s denied tenure and the promotion she thought was guaranteed. Suddenly, her tidy life is anything but constant.

Overdue for a sabbatical, Miranda takes some time to look towards the stars—only this time, she’s not looking for black holes. With her faith in science shaken, Miranda turns to a practice she’s long dismissed: astrology.

Determined to figure out why her life has suddenly gone sideways, Miranda commits to a year of letting her horoscope guide her. Put a down payment on a home? Not while Mercury’s in retrograde. Spontaneous dinner party invitation? Sorry, horoscope says Gemini Rising best stay in tonight. And as far as the intriguingly aloof artist living next door? Never. His Aries energy is all wrong. On the other hand, the charming father of her new tutoring pupil is Sagittarian perfection. Made for her...right?

As Miranda navigates life with new a perspective, she slowly discovers neither science nor the stars have all the answers. And that, when it comes to love, you sometimes just have to trust your heart.

(Synopsis taken from Goodreads)

Zero complaints. Just a delightful "enemies to lovers" (but were they ever really enemies?) romance featuring a brainy protagonist trying to find herself. Quick and satisfying. A great recommendation for readers looking for low/no spice in their romance.

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood, 368 p.

"Bee Königswasser lives by a simple code: What would Marie Curie do? If NASA offered her the lead on a neuroengineering project - a literal dream come true - Marie would accept without hesitation. Duh. But the mother of modern physics never had to co-lead with Levi Ward. Sure, Levi is attractive in a tall, dark, and piercing-eyes kind of way. But Levi made his feelings toward Bee very clear in grad school - archenemies work best employed in their own galaxies far, far away.

But when her equipment starts to go missing and the staff ignore her, Bee could swear she sees Levi softening into an ally, backing her plays, seconding her ideas... devouring her with those eyes. The possibilities have all her neurons firing. But when it comes time to actually make a move and put her heart on the line, there's only one question that matters: What will Bee Königswasser do?" --Goodreads blurb 

This was a re-read for me. I wanted a fun and easy comfort read and this one popped into my head. My first review held up! "This was a fun, funny, and interesting story. Olive is a great character, and we all get to know Adam alongside her. Of course, he's not as he seems. This has a pretty basic trope, even down to the best friends sidekick, Anh, whom I loved. It having all the markers of a contemporary romance didn't make this any less enjoyable. One of my favorite things throughout the story was at the beginning of each chapter, Olive gives us a hypothesis about life and they play out during the chapters."

 

Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood

Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood, 368 p.

"Bee Königswasser lives by a simple code: What would Marie Curie do? If NASA offered her the lead on a neuroengineering project - a literal dream come true - Marie would accept without hesitation. Duh. But the mother of modern physics never had to co-lead with Levi Ward.

Sure, Levi is attractive in a tall, dark, and piercing-eyes kind of way. But Levi made his feelings toward Bee very clear in grad school - archenemies work best employed in their own galaxies far, far away. But when her equipment starts to go missing and the staff ignore her, Bee could swear she sees Levi softening into an ally, backing her plays, seconding her ideas... devouring her with those eyes. The possibilities have all her neurons firing. But when it comes time to actually make a move and put her heart on the line, there's only one question that matters: What will Bee Königswasser do?"--Goodreads blurb

Fun and easy contemporary romance. This is the second Hazelwood I've read and they are a fun escape. I liked the STEM in this book and the strong female lead. 

 

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood, 352 p.

"As a third-year Ph.D. candidate, Olive Smith doesn't believe in lasting romantic relationships--but her best friend does, and that's what got her into this situation. Convincing Anh that Olive is dating and well on her way to a happily ever after was always going to take more than hand-wavy Jedi mind tricks: Scientists require proof. So, like any self-respecting biologist, Olive panics and kisses the first man she sees.

That man is none other than Adam Carlsen, a young hotshot professor--and well-known ass. Which is why Olive is positively floored when Stanford's reigning lab tyrant agrees to keep her charade a secret and be her fake boyfriend. But when a big science conference goes haywire, putting Olive's career on the Bunsen burner, Adam surprises her again with his unyielding support and even more unyielding... six-pack abs. Suddenly their little experiment feels dangerously close to combustion. And Olive discovers that the only thing more complicated than a hypothesis on love is putting her own heart under the microscope.--Goodreads blurb

Me reading another contemporary romance! It must be time for summer fun reads! This was a fun, funny, and interesting story. Olive is a great character, and we all get to know Adam alongside her. Of course, he's not as he seems. This has a pretty basic trope, even down to the best friends sidekick, Anh, whom I loved. It having all the markers of a contemporary romance didn't make this any less enjoyable. One of my favorite things throughout the story was at the beginning of each chapter, Olive gives us a hypothesis about life and they play out during the chapters. 
 

The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee

The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee, 450 p.

"A year after an accidentally whirlwind grand tour with her brother Monty, Felicity Montague has returned to England with two goals in mind—avoid the marriage proposal of a lovestruck suitor from Edinburgh and enroll in medical school. However, her intellect and passion will never be enough in the eyes of the administrators, who see men as the sole guardians of science.
But then a window of opportunity opens—a doctor she idolizes is marrying an old friend of hers in Germany. Felicity believes if she could meet this man he could change her future, but she has no money of her own to make the trip. Luckily, a mysterious young woman is willing to pay Felicity’s way, so long as she’s allowed to travel with Felicity disguised as her maid.
In spite of her suspicions, Felicity agrees, but once the girl’s true motives are revealed, Felicity becomes part of a perilous quest that leads them from the German countryside to the promenades of Zurich to secrets lurking beneath the Atlantic."

Great second book for this series. Felicity is a smart, strong willed young lady and will not take no for an answer, even in the face of devastation. Monty and Percy make wonderful appearances in this book, and new characters to love as well. I hope this series continues. Listened to this on audiobook and would recommend. 

Eureka! The Most Amazing Scientific Discoveries of All Time by Dr. Mike Goldsmith

Eureka! The Most Amazing Scientific Discoveries of All Time by Dr. Mike Goldsmith - 96 pages

I read this book for a homeschool program I did at the library.  I don't usually care for nonfiction -- science in particular -- but this was pretty interesting.  It highlighted about 20 scientific discoveries giving information about the scientist and the science.  It was written in a very conversational style without a lot of scientific jargon so it was easy to understand.  A great science book for kids.