“Just friends” is all Brooke and Dylan have ever been. (Except for that one night in high school, but they don’t talk about that.) Growing up, he was her protector. Her confidante. The one guy she could always trust.Now she’s a marine biologist working toward her PhD in California, and he’s an underwear model in New York. Dylan’s only in town for a few days, crashing on Brooke’s couch and … and repaying the favor by acting as her date to a friend’s wedding.
It was totally an accident she saw him naked.
After that, “just friends” goes out the window in favor of friends with benefits.
It’s all going great…until it isn’t.
Dylan’s got a ticket back to New York at the end of the week, and Brooke may have accidentally broken his heart. Can they navigate these uncharted relationship waters? Or has she tanked her oldest friendship?
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Experimental Marine Biology is the latest installment of Susannah Nix’s Chemistry Lessons series. I HIGHLY recommend this entire series.
Experimental Marine Biology is Brooke and Dylan’s story. The ladies from the earlier books make appearances, however, this book can be read as a stand-alone.
Brooke and Dylan’s story is a friends to lovers romantic comedy. Friends since elementary school, they grow up and out of their hometown. Brooke is currently submerged (yeah. That.) in her doctoral studies and trying to take down her arch nemesis Monica Speight with an explosive research paper regarding whale hormones.
Dylan is a much sought after male underwear model living in New York. Dylan contacts Brooke randomly asking if he can crash at her apartment while he’s in Los Angeles for a week.
Between some incredibly awesome science puns and a whole collection of whale items I now want to search for, Dylan and Brooke become more than just besties. Brooke is convinced she isn’t made for relationships, but she thinks she can handle a friends with benefits situation with Dylan.
One of the things I have loved regarding this series in general are the strong female leads in STEM field occupations. As atypical as these occupations are, Ms. Nix gives her male leads some interesting career paths as well.
While Dylan could have been written as a pretty boy part, Ms. Nix provides us with a outwardly confident male working in an image focused career while he works to hide his low self esteem.
In Brooke’s case, we have a woman who is bit anti social and shy. She’s reserved and doesn’t let many people past her walls. For all of that, she’s emotionally tuned into her friend. She sees brilliance, strengths and good in him. She is his rock. Dylan is Brooke’s heart.
The plot is enhanced with family issues and ties on both of the characters parts. Some issues are in the past, but shape the character’s in the present. Others are long standing issues that make it difficult for the characters to connect.
This book made me laugh out loud and cry. It is one of my favorite reads this summer.
I loved Brooke and Dylan’s story and the whale puns were hilarious. This book has is all and is the perfect get-away in this crazy world we live in.
I am a huge fan of friends-to-lovers romance and an even bigger fan of Susannah Nix and the entire Chemistry Lessons series – it is one of my favorite series!
4.5 Stars
Review by Meaghan
Late Night Reviewer
Up All Night w/ Books Blog
Experimental Marine Biology is the latest installment of the “Chemistry Lessons” series and my first of Susannah Nix’s books and it definitely will not be my last! I have a whole series of kick-ass female scientists to catch up on! This was a beautifully written friends-to-lovers story that proves distance is no match for true love.
As a scientist myself, albeit in a completely different field of science, I resonated so strongly with our leading lady Brooke. Studying to obtain her PhD in Marine Biology, Brooke’s life consists of experiments, report writing, and doing everything in her power to be the best in her field. Her relationship with her parents is strained after a mistake from her past, and when her dad gets some troubling news Brooke is devastated when she realizes she is the last to find out.
Dylan and Brooke have been best friends since their first meeting back when they were kids. Despite spending months (or sometimes years) at a time apart and with minimal contact, when they do catch up it’s like no time has past and their friendship is as strong as ever. Dylan’s latest visit is a much needed time out from his busy career as a model. He is ready to find companionship and a real relationship, he’s ready for the world to see the real him. Dylan is the sweet boy next door (or in this case from the house across the road) who you can’t help but fall for. When Brooke’s family life takes an unexpected twist he drops everything to be there for her.
This book was the sweet love story I needed in my life right now, I loved watching their relationship bloom from friends to lovers. Don’t get me wrong there was just the right amount of drama to draw you in, and let’s not forget the hot and steamy scenes to keep things interesting. One thing to note this story does briefly touch on some heavy themes (including abortion, parental illness, and disordered eating). Although they are certainly not the main focus, they may be triggering for some readers.
This book has it all – its a fun, smart, romantic comedy with a lot of emotional depth covering school and career anxiety, romance, family dynamics, and mental health.
I was super excited when Nix announced a new book in the Chemistry Lessons series and I was not disappointed! It was fun to see the gang from the series get together in Brooke’s story. She’s smart, funny, and so over the dating world. It doesn’t help that her best friend since childhood is utterly perfect and simply irresistible. The two have always been there for each other no matter how long or how far apart they are and Dylan is every girl’s dream. Honest and loyal, charming and oh so very sweet. Their story is complicated but emotional. Susannah Nix has some of the best characters and this book is worth the read. I’m looking forward to more in this series.
I’m a huge Susannah Nix fan, and I was so excited to see that there was another Chemistry Lessons book! Brooke & Dylan were so adorable. I loved getting to see how their relationship evolved from friends to more. These two just made me smile as they interacted. They saw the best in each other and I loved how they built each other up.
The whole book had me hooked from the start and I loved every moment of the book!
Friends to lovers is not my favorite trope but it’s slowly becoming one of my top five things to read. This author makes it so elegant, effortless and unique.
I love the connection they have. The friendship goes way back and it’s no secret that the heroine has had a crush on him for years. Well, it might be a secret to the hero. I’m enjoying the slow burn tension. The hero is adorable and the way he is a genuinely nice guy despite the underwear model hotness and all the attention he gets, is the sweetest thing ever.
I can easily relate to the characters and I genuinely love their flawed family history. It makes them real to me and makes it easier to understand them.
I can’t wait for the next book in this series.
Brooke is a a marine biologist working on her PhD (that includes whale ear wax). She’s got some insecurities.
Dylan was her next door neighbor and prom date. They kissed one time at prom but they were always just friends . Now he’s a model in NY, crashing on her couch in LA for a week.
Things heat up, but she’s bad at relationships.
Recommend.
Why?
Love marine biology, nerds and hottie models.
And friends to more.
I loved “Experimental Marine Biology” by Susannah Nix, a funny and sweet friends-to-lovers romance featuring likeable, relatable, well-developed characters and an engaging plot. The connection between main characters Brooke and Dylan was obvious from the start, and I found it very easy to root for them to figure out a way to be together.
Even though Brooke and Dylan were opposites in a lot of ways, their respective strengths complemented the other’s weaknesses, and they made a wonderful couple. They also had a lot more in common than they realized at first, such as their mutual love of romance novels and martial arts movies. In addition, I loved the way they supported and encouraged each other, which seemed particularly important for Dylan as he struggled to accept that others could value him for something besides his good looks.
This book reads as a complete standalone, but as someone who has read (and loved!) all of the previous books in Nix’s Chemistry Lessons series, I have to admit that one of my favorite parts of the story was the opportunity to catch up with Penny, Olivia, and the rest of the gang. I hope that we will get to see more of them in the future! Surely they have another single friend or two who needs to find love. 🙂
*ARC provided by the author via Wildfire Marketing Solutions. All opinions expressed are my own.
Super cute story that had a good about amusement mixed in. Dylan and Brookes friendship to more was suppose to be a no biggie while he was paying his best friend a visit but that no biggie turns into much more when they catch major feelings.
I was drawn to this book because I like smart, nerdy characters. This is the first book I’ve read in the series. I love a good friends to lovers romance. Though Dylan and Brooke haven’t really seen each other in awhile you can easily see how they are best friends. Dylan coming to visit, they pick up as no time went by. They are adorable together. I’m not gonna lie towards the end this book had some tears forming in my eyes. Brooke has some things to work through and it made my heart happy to see that she could achieve that. I’m one that normally likes dual points of view, but I can honestly say I did enjoy this one just from Brooke’s side. Though there were a few times I wished I could have gotten in Dylan’s head.
Whale, whale, whale… Experimental Marine Biology, the latest installment in Susannah Nix’s Chemistry Lessons series of standalone novels, was exactly what I need in my life. It’s no secret my reading hasn’t been super great as of late. The books I would normally enjoy can’t seem to hold my interest. It often takes me days to finish the books I am enjoying because my focus is totally shot. There’s just too much going on in the world for me to unplug and read the way I used to pre-COVID and everything else.
Thankfully none of that was a problem once I picked up Experimental Marine Biology. I swear, I literally could not/would not put this book down. It was a nearly one-sitting kind of read and, well, that hasn’t happened for me in quite a while. There was just something about Brooke and Dylan that I couldn’t get enough of. I’m a sucker for a good best friends to lovers book and when mixed with the expiration dating/friends with benefits piece, I was all the more hooked. The couple times I did sit the book down to do other things, I was chomping at the bit to get back to it.
There were a million little things to love about this book, not the least of which was the wonderful chemistry between Brooke and Dylan and the humor. Boy, do I love a good whale pun. There’s at least one joke in here that I ended up texting to several friends while reading. While the overall vibe of this book was light, there were mentions of tougher issues. (CW for past abortion and parental illness) While the latter hit me in the feels, it wasn’t totally overwhelming.
Brooke and Dylan were just so good together. They charmed me — especially as he was the one who was “all in” and she took some convincing — and made me swoon. Don’t go in expecting a lot of heat from this book — it’s closed-door — but I found I didn’t miss the sexy scenes at all. They weren’t really needed to illustrate the feelings and passion between these two characters.
Favorite Quotes:
“What’s a mansplainer’s favorite animal?”
“A whale, actually.”
Blood didn’t make you family; it was just an accident of nature. Family were the people who stood by you no matter what, not the ones who were nowhere to be found when you needed them.
“You’re the only one in my life who’s a hundred percent real. When you look at me, I know you’re seeing the real me, not the person I pretend to be.”
“I nurture my grudges as if they were my children. I keep them healthy and well-fed, and make sure they take their vitamins every day. My grudges will outlive me.”
I LOVE this series. Just as I did with Applied Electromagnetism I laughed so hard to had to explain myself – or rather hand over my tablet because I couldn’t read it out loud with my daughter listening. Susannah has this amazing way with words that makes the world jump off the page, and her characters are so fleshed out you’d think they were real. I highly recommend reading this entire series – I haven’t been able to put one down yet without grumbling and racing back to it!
Considering how much I loved the other books, I was super excited when the email showed up in my inbox that book 5 was coming out, and couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. I love (love, love, love!) that all the women in these books are so smart. We really need more books with smart, crafty, intelligent women.
I liked Brooke right off the bat and could relate to her crushing on her best guy friend oh-so-well (because how many of us haven’t crushed on the awesomest guy in our life in high school?). I count myself lucky to not say I can also relate to her relationship with her parents, but I know a lot of people who can. And I can also relate to her feelings of super disappointment in her dating life and feeling like it was just easier to be single (I can relate – I didn’t say I was good at it when I was single!).
Enter Dylan. From the get-go he just seemed like one of the best people to walk the face of the Earth, and that’s outside of his being a legit underwear model in NYC. I couldn’t wait to see how everything would unfold when he called asking if he could crash on Brooke’s couch for a week.
Here’s where I got a little frustrated, even though I could still somewhat relate. Dylan made it pretty clear he was interested, but Brooke is so caught up in her fears and stubbornly clinging to staying single that she almost loses Dylan before anything ever even happens. And I do get it – truly – after everything her parents put her through, but she had utterly no reason to ever think he wouldn’t be there for her.
Now, before you go judging her too harshly – Brooke is super sweet, fun, and very focused on completing her Ph.D., all things I like and admire about her. I would honestly be excited to hang out with her if she was a real person because she’s pretty awesome. It’s simply her refusing to give Dylan enough of a chance that got on my nerves. Probably because of how awesome I thought he was.
But, come on, you can’t turn your back on a guy like that, right? And while I won’t give away any major details or (evil people who do) the end! Dylan is smart, and he knows how to make Brooke face things she doesn’t want to, all while being there for her even when she doesn’t realize it, and, really, I think she appreciates him all the more for it in the end. And the end totally melted my heart.
3.5 Whaley Stars
This was my first ever read by Susannah Nix. I was immediately intrigued by the blurb and couldn’t wait to read it. Overall the book wasn’t what I was expecting but will for sure check out some other books by Susannah Nix in the future.
Experimental Marine Biology was a cute read but took me a while to get into. It wasn’t until about the 25/30% mark that the book picked up for me. I didn’t feel much of a connection to Brooke up until that point and throughout the book I was a little annoyed with both her and Dylan’s character.
There were several cute and funny moments throughout the book which made me laugh and kept me reading.
Brooke and Dylan’s story is an amazing read. These two are a great fit and are just the curest together. I loved how author Susannah Nix had portrayed the protagonists, and gave them time to show both their feelings and insecurities.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advanced Readers Copy of this book.
The Chemistry Lessons Series by Susannah Nix is a series of standalone rom-coms featuring geeky heroines who work in STEM fields. I read Remedial Rockey Science, the first book in the series, last summer, and loved it so I was excited to Experimental Marine Biology. The series as a whole has mixed reviews so let’s grab our afternoon cocktail and chat about Experimental Marine Biology by Susanna Nix.
Brooke is a twenty-six-year-old marine biologist. She is in the fourth year of a Ph.D. program in LA with a life that consists of time in the lab or in the classroom and very few romantic relationships. After the drama from her senior year of high school, serious relationships have not been very high on her priority list and the thought actually repelled her.
Dylan was Brooke’s best friend and confidant since she moved to Baton Rouge in second grade. They could go months without talking and year without actually seeing each other but when they did reach out and connect, they would fall right back into talking like no time had passed at all. The dorky Dylan is now a successful model living in New York who just so happens to have a photoshoot in LA and wants to stay with Brooke.
Susannah Nix has created a very deep and complex character in Brooke who is her own nemesis. You can’t help but fall in love with Dylan’s protective nature. Watching the two of them dance around their feelings is fun to watch and will also break your heart. Susannah carefully and thoughtfully addressed the topics of teen pregnancy, abortion, parental illness, and disordered eating. If those are triggers for you then you may not want to read this book.
My rating of Experimental Marine Biology by Susannah Nix….4 out of 5 propellers.
I love seeing best friends transition to be something more. It’s almost the same kind of catnip for me as a second chance. And when it’s a pair that have been friends for as long as Brooke and Dylan have, it’s kind of extra special. I loved watching Brooke defend her introverted lifestyle. In a world where extroverts get the glory, it was nice to see someone quiet take center stage for a change. Dylan is everything that makes up the best book boyfriends: he’s sweet and caring and very perceptive. There is a lot of angst and dramatic tension in this book. Maybe it’s because of that that this story didn’t feel quite as ‘light’ as some of the others in this series did. But I guess when you’re trying to decide if you should gamble with two decades worth of best friendship, it’s a pretty heavy decision to make. It was so much fun to get cameo appearances from some of the previous couples and to see what’s been happening while we’ve been gone. I adore everything about this series, and I can’t wait to see what the author has in store for us next.
I received a complimentary advanced copy of this book from the author.
Wow, do I love a good friends to lovers story, and this is such a good one. I’m a particular sucker for childhood friends and this pair is so fun. Brooke is lonely without realizing it, and Dylan is swoon worthy both on a physical and an emotional level. The story of their love is fun and heart breaking and everything you want in a good romance.
This was such a fun read! I really enjoyed Brooke and Dylan’s story and was hooked from the moment I started reading. This is a great friends to lovers story!
By Alisa
Experimental Marine Biology by Susannah Nix is the perfect slow burn romance, complete with huge helpings of passion and cleverly written characters!
Dylan is the hot, boy next door turned model. He’s the perfect mix of sweetness and roguish masculinity I love in a male character. Unfulfilled and at a crossroads, Dylan has some difficult decisions to make.
Brooke is solely focussed on a career that she’s worked hard for. She’s intelligent, firstly but flighty because her past relationships have shaped her idea of what a commitment would feel like. Dylan is about to change everything she thought she knew she wanted!
The journey that Dylan and Brooke go on is full of fun, discovery and huge helpings of intensity!
I absolutely loved this story and I may have swooned at least several times!