“Settling Up” was a very fun, sweet (as opposed to saucy) romance with a difference. Our heroine is a recently tenured statistics professor who has developed stress-induced alopecia (as an early-career academic, oh, how I empathize!). She also doesn’t have a man, or a family, and is starting to think that maybe she needs that. She goes to a friend for advice, but ends up talking with Mr. Wrong, except that…is he Mr. Right? And will they both realize it before Lauren allows her love of lists to steer her in the wrong direction?

Although I would definitely categorize this as a romance, it’s a bit different than your standard romance novel, with more emphasis on Lauren’s inner development rather than the sexual tension between her and Mack. It’s sort of a chick-lit/romance hybrid, which I personally found charming and refreshing, although die-hard romance fans might be a bit taken aback by it. And as an academic myself I definitely enjoyed the descriptions of Lauren’s work life! As I mentioned above, it is funny and sweet rather than saucy, with no graphic sex: it’s up to the reader whether that’s a plus or a minus. I for one thoroughly enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it to other romance or chick lit fans.