The Top Romances of 2016 You Should Not Miss

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Beginner’s Guide: Love and Other Chemical Reactions by Six de los Reyes

Okay, this book came out of nowhere and surprised me with a wallop of FEELS. It combines some of my favorite things ever: science, a prickly heroine, and the hero who sneaks past her defenses. Kaya Rubio is a molecular genetics grad student who doesn’t quite fit in outside the lab; although she has at least one friend and a large, loving family, she doesn’t quite grasp how interacting with others works. This trait could have easily fallen into cliché, but instead endears her to the reader. Tired of being asked about boyfriends, and the lack thereof, by her meddling family, she decides to approach dating as she does her experiments in the lab.

When hot café owner Nero shows sudden interest in her plan, and possibly in more than that, Kaya finds her tidy experiment just may be confounded, by love. *swoon* Part of my love for this book is that female heroines (in het romance) aren’t often allowed to be strictly analytical or to lack emotional vocabulary. They are the ones who, purposely or inadvertently, are usually tasked with doing the emotional guidance, but this story is about Kaya learning from Nero, as well as her friends and family.

It’s just so adorable and fulfilling, while also dropping hard science and realistic work/life/relationship drama.