Chemistry Lessons
by Jae
CW/TW: past parental death due to overdose
Best friends since childhood, Regan and Kylie are inseparable. They work at the same school (Ky in the lunchroom, Regan as a chemistry teacher), meet up weekly for a Netflix night, and have their own adorkable, two-person book club. Everyone who meets them is shocked they’re not in a romantic relationship and all of their friends and family think they should be together.
Ky and Regan know the truth: there’s zero chemistry between them. Regan, ever the science nerd, proposes an experiment to prove their lack of chemistry once and for all. They’ll go on three dates and then everyone will see that they’re only meant to be friends. Of course, they’re the ones who learn something once they pause to see what’s been in front of them all along.
I love friends to lovers romances, and Chemistry Lessons is a fun example of my favourite sub-trope: they’re already in love and everyone knows it but them. The romance itself is lovely, with zero angst and plenty of cute moments. The minimal tension that exists in the story is due to the reappearance of Ky’s estranged father and whether they’ll reconcile. There is never any question around Regan and Ky becoming a couple. Their HEA is completely believable because it’s clear from the first page that they’ve always been together. Now they’ll just be having 100% more sex.
At the risk of sounding like a killjoy, my only complaint is that there are a LOT of references to science. The first few were cute and had me thinking “oh, right, because Regan’s a chemistry teacher.” Then they kept piling up and I started getting annoyed. By the second half, there were so many references to chemistry and experiments that new examples pulled me out of the story because they felt overdone.
Ky’s father was a lawyer. When she was in high school, he went to prison for a little light embezzling. A few years later, Ky’s mom died from an overdose after mixing Xanax and alcohol. It’s not clear whether the overdose was accidental or not, and while Kylie believes it was likely tied to her father’s fuckup, she doesn’t know for sure.
My one gripe aside, I really enjoyed Chemistry Lessons. While it didn’t make me a full-fledged member of the Bad Decisions Book Club, it’s the only book this year that made me stay up way past my bedtime two nights in a row. If you like friends-to-lovers romances and are looking for a low-angst story, this would be a good choice.
A beautiful friends-to-lovers lesbian romance about taking risks and figuring out that sometimes the perfect person has been right in front of you all along.
Kylie and Regan have been best friends since kindergarten, supporting each other through thick and thin.
While everyone thinks they would be perfect for each other, they insist there’s no chemistry between them—and Regan should know since she’s a chemistry teacher.
To prove it, they agree to a little chemistry experiment: they’ll go on three dates with each other.
So what if their gazes start to linger and accidental touches no longer feel platonic? They chalk it up to the romantic atmosphere—until a friendly good night kiss turns passionate.
Can their friendship go back to the way it was before? Do they even want it to? Or will they risk losing what they have for a chance at love?
Contemporary Romance, LGBTQIA, Romance
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