I was going to rate this at maybe a 2 or 3. The writing needed some technical help but it was readable even though Lucy wasn't actually as nerdy as she was supposed to be. I mean, the reader is told that she is terrible at socializing and making friends, but she makes, like, 4 friends right off the bat.

HOWEVER. I am giving this one star because when Lucy and Jensen bone for the first time, she tells him that because she is on the pill and they are both clean, they don't need a condom and "besides, neither condoms nor birth control protect you from sexually transmitted diseases". This is a direct quote and THIS IS NOT FUCKING TRUE. It is true that hormonal BC does not protect against STI's. BUT BESIDES BEING A FORM OF BIRTH CONTROL, PROTECTING AGAINST STI'S IS THE OTHER FUCKING REASON WE USE CONDOMS. And a person who is a giant, fact-loving nerd would know this. Are condoms perfect? No. But that doesn't mean they don't work at all.

For real, if you want to protect yourself from most STI's, use a condom.
( )

Apologies for the LOOONG review.

Lucy London is a genius and she has been a university student since she was a young teenager. She is now 20 and currently doing her PhD thesis. Her research thesis requires her to study emotions and determine if emotions are biological or pathological - are they caused by bacteria and viruses or by hormones.

Her professors had originally set her up as a therapy counsellor to speak to students about their relationships, but almost all of them complain back to the professors about her clinical responses and lack of empathy. Lucy is in danger of losing her grant.

By the 4th chapter, I had to put this book down, because reading about Lucy and how she acts was just too painful!! She reminds me of me, of how incredibly socially awkward I was as a teenager and my early 20s. A female version of Sheldon Cooper. Definitely!!!

Two days later I picked the book up and continued reading.

In order to keep her grant, Lucy decides to proposition the cute guy who lives next door. Which she does and he immediately does a runner!!

Several days later he asks her to visit a new art exhibition in town. Lucy is quite blunt with her interpretations of the artwork.

The gallery owner asks to speak to Jensen.

That is when I guessed that Jensen (Walker) was probably the artist...
It also explains why he never invited anyone (Lucy) into his apt.
The mystery blonde was probably a nude model - Jensen claims she is "just a friend".

Slowly Jensen and Lucy get to know each other. Jensen is an only child and comes from a wealthy family. He does not know how to say No to his parents and live his own life. Lucy has 4 much older brothers and literally grew up as an only child. She spent most of her childhood doing experiments and taking the house applicances to pieces to learn how they worked. And she was enrolled in university by the time she was 13 years old.

Lucy's tendency to use the word "Explain" when she is asking for clarification, makes her sound a lot like Data (from STTNG) who is an android.

Lucy really needs to be asking, or using, normal speech phrases such as "can you expand on that" or "what do you mean"

The day before thanksgiving the power goes out and Lucy is in danger of freezing in her duplex. She has no fireplace - but jensen does. When she knocks on Jensens door, he invites her in and quickly put her under some blankets on the floor in front of the fireplace. He then lays down behind her - the fastest way to warm up another human is through body heat.

The next day the two of them don snowshoes and slowly make their way to the local corner store. Upon their return they discover a plow outside, manned by 2 of Lucy's brothers. Jensen is introduced and then invited to join the London family for Thanksgiving - after a little persuasion from Mrs London on the phone.

The day after Thanksgiving, the brothers deliver them back to their duplex and they end up having dinner together. Jensen tells Lucy about his first girlfriend and also discloses the surprising news that he is still a virgin. Lucy has only had sex once - but it was more of just an experiment. Jensen says he feels emasculated now...

Then he decides to open up and tell lucy his big secret. His spare room is filled with canvases. I was right. he is the artist from the exhibition. he first love is painting. but he father refused to pay for him to go to art school. He had to do law or he had to pay his own way. While Jensen is studying law at school, he says he wants to go into civil rights - once again as an act of rebellion against his corporate lawyer father.

A week later Lucy's friend Freya sees Jensen hugging a blonde girl and she tells Lucy. Lucy is sure that this was the nude model girl, but she cannot tell freya about Jensen doing his art. Freya persists and claims she will send someone around to beat Jensen up to teach him not to stray. Lucy does not want this to happen, so she swears freya to not tell anyone about this and tells freya about his art, his parents and that the girl was probably his model. Freya promises not tell.

The next day Jensen tells Lucy that someone told his parents and that his father is cutting him off so that he can no longer go to school. Who did you tell? He cries. Lucy explains that she told freya. Jensen then disappears. The next week is nothing but silence. And then there are movers are moving everything from jensens duplex into a moving van.

Freya decides to do some digging to find out who might have told Jensens parents about his art. It turns out that the new boyfriend of Jensens former girlfriend sent Jensens grandparents a post card that mentioned Jensens art exhibition.

Several weeks later Jensen finally shows up again. He apologises to Lucy and they finally get their HEA (Happy Ever After).

I LOVED This book. I cannot wait to read more in this series. So far there are 6 books.

Edited to add - there may be a trigger for Rape - the act itself is not described. But the fact that she said NO and he did not stop - that is mentioned. ( )

Lucy and Jensen are next door neighbors who, at the beginning of the story, have never interacted with one another. Lucy has been in college since she was 13 and already has a PhD degree at age 20. She is working on a special project pertaining to human emotional pathogens. She doesn't see herself as particularly emotional and sets out to learn more about herself by trying to experience friendship and attraction. She ends up asking Jensen to help her with her project, interviewing and asking questions about his past serious relationship which recently ended. Because Lucy is a scientist and so extremely smart, she is an interesting character. I was slightly annoyed with her at first, but she did grow on me. Jensen was not the player he was assumed to be and I was glad for that. Overall, this was cute with some unique aspects to the romantic storyline that we don't see often. I enjoyed it and plan to look into more books from this series and author. ( )

Very cute romance. This was one of the cutest romances I have read in awhile. The story vaguely reminds me of Pygmalion, though Jensen is far from Professor Higgins. Actually, I wouldn't even call him Prince Charming, but it works. ( )

I entered a contest and got a signed copy of this book as a prize. I loved the book and read it in one day.
The main character Lucy is different. Some may not like her at first because, she’s so intellectually smart, that she’s socially clueless. On top of that she has a bluntly honest demeanor that most people would find off-putting. In truth, she’s naive and really very charming.
She’s a resident genius of a college trying to keep her study grant. The study is all about emotions. Lucy is very clinical and approaches everything logically which makes it impossible for her to come up with a basis for her study. If she can’t, she will lose the grant and the only life she’s known since she was thirteen.
Her mentor puts everything on hold and tells her that experiencing emotions herself might give her the perspective she needs.
She makes a few friends and hatches a plan to experience a relationship with Jensen, her hot next door neighbor. Before you know it, she begins to feel real emotions like concern, shame, embarrassment, arousal, jealousy, and love.
The book combines a mix of Lucy’s carefully constructed solitary life and the chaotic uncertainty of the real life of college students. We also get to see many hilarious, laugh out loud moments of awkwardness. The part about her drunken grandmother calling everyone Scooby was the best!
If you’re on the fence on this one, it’s a quick read, enjoyable and clever. Imperfect Chemistry creates the formula for a perfect emotional bond. ( )