2 STEM romances with chemistry to spare

Etta Easton’s got her head back in the clouds in her new rom-com, The Love Simulation, her fun follow-up to 2024’s acclaimed astronaut romance, The Kiss Countdown. 

A headstrong vice principal at Juanita Craft Middle School, Brianna Rogers rarely looks before she leaps. Like her astronaut brother, Vincent (hero of The Kiss Countdown), Brianna likes a challenge. Most recently, she’s been putting all her energy into the school’s effort to upgrade the library. It seemed like a done deal . . . until her infuriating principal earmarks the funds for a new football field. Desperation and indignation spur Brianna to do something drastic, but adventurous, which is how she winds up being part of a six-week Mars simulation competition, which will award $500,000 to any team of teachers that makes it through the full term. That money could fund the library upgrade and Brianna’s a shoo-in to win—with a brother for an astronaut, what could go wrong, right?

Roman Major. That’s what could go wrong. The dreamy science teacher is Brianna’s nightmare: He may be handsome and good with his students, but he’s also their mutual principal’s son. Roman is determined to prove himself a strong member of Brianna’s team, and while he doesn’t have the benefit of an astronaut for a brother, he’s got the STEM chops to help the simulation’s experiments succeed.

Easton has written a tight romance with great pacing, a fun premise and relatable characters who are easy to cheer on. Roman’s father’s animosity towards Brianna provides some built-in tension, but the heart wants what the heart wants, and our nerdy science teacher dips into his hero reserves when it counts. Brianna is a hero in her own right, setting a strong example for the students and faculty, and standing true to her beliefs. As in most rom-coms, there’s a lot of introspection, miscommunication and external forces working to ruin a good thing, but there’s also Roman and Brianna, proving their chemistry is a force to be reckoned with—on Earth or on Mars.