The Love Factor by Quinn Ivins
- Publisher: Ylva Publishing, 2020
- Genre: Romance, LGBTQ+
- Format: eARC
- Page Count: 215 pages
- My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5)
Due to recession and her activist past, Molly Cook decides to pursue a PhD degree in political science. In advanced statistics by Dr. Carmen Vaughn, an aloof professor with incredibly high standards, Molly shows promising performance. When she stumbles upon a scandal of a homophobic faculty member, Molly seeks guidance from Carmen. The two begin to spend more time working together, and their professional boundaries blurs. But Carmen is closeted and would never get involved with a student. Little does she know, Molly is not entirely sure if she would finish her program, either.
Set in 1997 and 1998, The Love Factor is an academic intrigue romance with great historical context. As a Millennial-Gen Z hybrid, it was not a time I remembered but definitely lived through. And that heightened the reading enjoyment as I experienced those years with Molly and Carmen.
I confess I have a weak spot for stories set in academia. Being a grad student and teaching assistant, I immediately connected with Molly, and to some degree, Carmen as well. It goes without saying that teaching a university class is incredibly challenging. I deeply admire both Molly and Carmen for their confidence and strong technical knowledge.
Molly is very hands on. She truly internalizes what she has learned and flawlessly integrates her statistics expertise into things other than coursework. Meanwhile, Carmen is suffocating from the conservative political science department, struggling between being content with current situations and standing up for what she believes in. Both are strong women in their own ways, and though I tend to have trouble believing in ice queen romances, Ivins’s The Love Factor is very solid. Never once did I question their mutual attraction. Since Molly and Carmen build their relationship from mutual respect and passion for statistics, they make mathematics super sexy. I had an urge to crack open my textbooks and study to be as good as they are.
Though the sex scene escalated a little fast for me and the scandal was outrageous, I believe everything Ivins delivered. She did a wonderful job at storytelling. I love how both Molly and Carmen significantly grow as characters, going from being unsure of themselves to flourishing. Also, it was a cute decision to make the scene break notations Molly’s scrunchies.
If I were to sum up this book in one sentence, it would be “lesbians taking down a sexist homophobe using advanced statistics.” And if that does not sound appealing, I don’t know what does. The Love Factor is a perfect romance for nerdy people like me. [27 Jun 2020]
I received an e-ARC from Ylva Publishing in exchange for an honest review.
