This book was ok. As a teacher, I liked the concept of the book, but it was a bit confusing and took me awhile to read it. I almost DNF. It had a lot of tech/Stem jargon that even I didn't get.

Talk Data to Me is such a fun, nerdy, heart-squeezing gem of a romance! If you love the enemies-to-lovers trope with a STEM twist, this one’s for you. Erin and Ethan are rival physicists—both brilliant, both stubborn, and both absolutely clueless about their chemistry (the emotional kind, not lab-related... well, maybe both). I loved how their anonymous online connection slowly tangled with their very real, competitive academic lives. The banter? Top tier. The tension? Chef’s kiss. And don’t even get me started on the golden retriever—adorable chaos. What makes this book extra special is how it tackles gender bias in science while still keeping things light, swoony, and delightfully geeky. Erin’s voice is sharp, funny, and relatable, and Ethan is the perfect mix of grumpy and golden-hearted. Honestly, this is the rom-com every science-loving reader deserves. Can’t wait to see what Rose McGee writes next—this debut is a total win!

If given the chance I'd probably give this book a 3.5/5 star rating.

I am going to feel like such a hypocrite writing this review.... but alas....

Let me start off with the idea that.... I love nerdy romances. I love the "it's always been you" romances and I love strong FMC's who not only rescue themselves but the MMC as well....

However, this romance might have been a little too nerdy. I felt like I would have needed a stronger foundational understanding of astrophysics, string theory and quantum mechanics to be able to really get into the book (and I do I have a fair understanding of all of these, especially as an artsy, science data makes my head hurt type of person). I did read this book while on the plane and without internet access and would have greatly benefitted from being able to look up ideas, references and terms on wikipedia etc while I was reading. But... should we have to read books like that to be able to enjoy them? I often do look things up because I'm curious but in this case I felt like I would have almost needed to to better understand/connect with the characters and the book.

However, I enjoyed how well the characters were juxtaposed, that the FMC was a strong scientist knowing of her worth and unwilling to compromise for the needs of men, while the MMC was actually the scientist being taken advantage of by his boss. And how her loving and supportive upbringing helped her to know how she deserved to be treated while his manipulative/performative parents laid the foundation of him feeling like he always needed to prove himself and that when something was wrong it was his fault (or hers).

I want to say the sciency friends of Ali Hazelwood who wanted more science in her books will enjoy this. Equally Romance Readers who are looking for a little existentialism with their romance will enjoy this book. It just didn't hit the mark for me.

Will return later to add goodread link.

This was exactly the nerdy rom-com serotonin boost I needed.

Talk Data to Me has all the cozy enemies-to-lovers chaos I crave, wrapped up in lab coats, academic snark, and a perfectly executed You’ve Got Mail-style twist. Erin and Ethan have legendary rivalry energy. They're sharp, competitive, and constantly bickering over lab space and coffee. But underneath the academic tension? Glorious, slow-burn chemistry and some deeply satisfying emotional payoff.

The online alter ego setup through the sci-fi magazine was such a fun twist. It’s clever, heartfelt, and full of moments that made me grin like an idiot. Watching these two go from virtual connection to real-life collaboration was a joy. I loved how the anonymity gave them space to be softer, more vulnerable, and a little bit weird in ways they couldn’t quite be face-to-face… until they could.

Erin is sharp and ambitious with just enough awkward to be endearing, and Ethan’s “grumpy with a hidden heart of gold” energy totally worked for me. Their banter was A+, their connection felt earned, and the whole story had a warm, affirming undercurrent that balanced the competitive tension beautifully.

Perfect for fans of Ali Hazelwood’s STEMinist romances who want something equally brainy, bantery, and full of heart.

Talk Data To Me by Rose McGee

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Atlantic Books for this ARC!

Talk Data To Me is a delightful STEMinist romcom that hits all the right notes for fans of the rivals-to-lovers trope.

Rose McGee crafts a witty and engaging story around Dr. Erin Monaghan and Dr. Ethan Meyer, two brilliant physicists whose legendary lab rivalry turns unexpectedly steamy when their online alter egos connect through a sci-fi magazine.

The chemistry between Erin and Ethan is electric—both in the lab and out—and McGee does a fantastic job blending nerdy banter, scientific intrigue, and emotional depth.

The workplace dynamics, especially the challenges Erin faces as a woman in STEM, are handled with nuance and authenticity.
Plus, the inclusion of pseudonyms, mistaken identities, and a lovable dog adds layers of charm.

While some of the scientific jargon required a second read, it was worth it for the immersive experience.

The pacing dragged slightly in the middle, but the payoff was satisfying.

If you love smart heroines, grumpy golden-retriever-type heroes, and a romance that’s equal parts flirty and heartfelt, this one’s for you.

📊 Sparks + spreadsheets = a romcom worth reading!

What to expect:

Enemies-to-lovers? ✔️
Nerdy banter? ✔️
Secret online identities? ✔️
A dog named Schrödinger? (Okay, not really—but close!) 🐶

If you love smart, flirty, feel-good reads with a side of science, this one’s for you.

Rating: 2/5
Dr. Erin Monaghan and Dr. Ethan Meyer have two completely different theories about physics -- Quantum vs Relativistic. Their feud started 3 years prior, when Erin accidentally signed some papers to have Ethan's in-progress publication get released to the journal before it was completed, making him look a fool. However, when Erin's story gets published in a sci-fi magazine under the pen name, Aaron Forester, and Ethan's (Bannister -- artist name) drawing of a black hole gets paired with it, the two start talking over text. They start to realize that they are more alike than they think.

I really liked the concept of this book, but the execution hit the mark for me. I love a good enemies to lovers, but this one just felt immature with the pranks. I also felt like the physics jargon was a little too much for the common reader. I am a STEM girlie, too, and it was still too much. Another thing that bothered me in this book was how the POV would change in the middle of the chapter -- it was super confusing. This story took me way too long to get through...

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC!

Interesting STEM story.
This was a different journey for me, as someone outside of the STEM/physics field. Erin is a newer scientist at a laboratory where Ethan is established under a bigwig award-winning scientist. They have a lot of reasons to dislike each other and are then thrown together on a big project despite their regular arguments. There are elements to enjoy in this, they have a nice adversarial tension. But the story structure is unusual in that the inciting event is far into the story and the characters' inner conflicts are addressed and resolved fairly late in the game. The science, which is very real and complicated, takes up a good portion of this romance to the point where it obstructs some of the emotional connection that I typically am looking for.

I really enjoyed the Steminist aspect of this story and am hopeful for upcoming books with more character development focus and adherence to the romance beats structure.

Special thanks to Atlantic Books and NetGalley for the ARC.

Sadly, I DNF this book at 20%.

I really struggled with the volume of science info dumping and talk - I just dont think it needed to be that full on for a romance book. It made me feel like I was skimming a lot.

I also felt like the MCs were so petty, I'm not sure I could believe they would act that way at work - I definitely couldnt see them ending up together.

The two of them were kind of cute but the book was so bogged down by technical terms. He was a butt to her at the beginning and maybe he could have been redeemed if so much of the book wasn't focused on the science.

I received an arc through netgalley.

✨ 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐓𝐨 𝐌𝐞 - 𝐚𝐫𝐜 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰✨

• Rose McGee
• Release Day: 7 August 2025

“𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺'𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘴. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘤...
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘋𝘳 𝘌𝘳𝘪𝘯 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘋𝘳 𝘌𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘔𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘱𝘩𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘣. 𝘌𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨: 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺, 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘨𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 – 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦.

𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘢 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘤 𝘭𝘢𝘸 𝘰𝘧 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘴 𝘧𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢 𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘨𝘰𝘴.

𝘉𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘣, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩-𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵, 𝘌𝘳𝘶𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘌𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯'𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘻𝘻𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘷𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵'𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴. 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦, 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘸 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘵?"

𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐓𝐨 𝐌𝐞 was a great stem romance book! I always love when there’s women in stem, and this book was no exception. There’s quite a lot of physics and science related vocabulary, and for me, it was a bit difficult to follow at times.

The setting between the main characters was so great, from academic rivals to lovers. Their conversations and text messages were so fun, and their banter between them made me giggle 🤭

🧬 forced proximity
🔬 only one lab
🧬 nerdy banter
🔬 rivals to lovers
🧬 stem romance
🔬 misuse of office furniture
🧬 smash the patriarchy
🔬 slow burn

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️. 75

Thank you @rosemcgeewrites, @atlanticbooks and @netgalley for this ARC 🫶🏼

#arcreview

I unfortunately had to DNF this one.

I really love STEM romances usually, so I was quite sad that this one just didn’t click for me. I found. The writing style jumped around a lot, making it difficult to gauge whose POV we were in and what exactly was happening.

I also found the science stuff went over my head a lot, and that took me out of the story.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Loved the title! It was a clever pun! OMG, what can I say about this book?!! As a data nerd, I really really wanted to love this book. The storyline is very exciting. Kudos to the author for embarking on this unique and ambitious project. However, it read more like academics voicing their gripes about how the system works. The romance between the protagonists felt kind of stiff and I struggled to see their connection. IMO, this book may not be for non-academics. This is because, outside of academia, it may be a uphill task for an audience to break down or overlook the technical jargons and still appreciate the story.

Hope the author will take a more lay person approach in her next!


#TalkDataToMe, #NetGalley

i love the variety that comes sparkling our way. some try and there have been some epic fails. but then books like this prove way we must keep trying because ten little gems like this comes through and show us how this genre can make new ground all the time.
this book gives us rivals in the same company. they both know what they want. they both want different things. and they both dont want anything to do with the other. right?
the science and tech stuff in this book is obviously well taken care of and researched(unless of course Rose is even smarter than we think she is and is not just an brill author but also a heroine herself in the science field.) but it never went overboard with so us lesser thans could easily follow :D.
our female main character was brilliant. im in awe of this woman. such a heroine. and the pet name. haha had me smiling every single time and even now im writing it again! we need more woman like this. i wish to be a woman like this. and again i also sadly wish we really didn't need woman to blooming fight like this. for what. to be equals. ugh.
this was book was fun. it was sun beams. it was everything i needed in this book right now. and it felt like an actual pleasure to sit down to it. you dont realise until you get great books how much you care about great books. and boy do i love books!

What a stunning debut from McGee! THIS is what I want out of every book I read! The amount of research and dedication McGee obviously did made the world and the characters highly accessible.  Did I have to re-read some of the scientific verbiage/experimental details a few times to understand? YES, BUT I LEARNED SOMETHING.  This workplace romance, rivals to lovers, there's a dog so that alone earns a star read was so much fun.  Pseudonyms, mistaken identities, women in STEM standing up against misogyny, and just enough "for science"/"to re-align our priorities" spice were both satisfying and thrilling.  

Thank you NetGalley and Corvus/Atlantis Books for the Advanced Reader's Copy in exchange for an honest review! Will need to purchase a book trophy on release day 🫶

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Atlantic Books for this ARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

As a woman in STEM, I'm always going to love academia themed rivals to lovers and this was no exception. Talk Data to Me features two rival physicists, battling it out for research grants and lab access. Their academic rivalry was entertaining and represented the cut-throat nature of academia quite well. It is worth noting that there is a lot of scientific jargon in this book, and while this is something I really enjoyed, the physics that it covers might seem a bit much for some readers. I do think however, that having a thorough understanding of the science is not necessary, and the story can be enjoyed whether you care about the physics or not.

If you're in the mood for a fun, academic rivals to lovers plot, I'd definitely recommend trying Talk Data to Me.

Geeky, sexy, and irresistibly fun 💻💘. Talk Data To Me promises flirty banter, steamy chemistry, and an adorable workplace romance for the tech-savvy at heart. Rose McGee blends clever humour and nerdy charm into a rom-com packed with sparks and spreadsheets. Perfect for fans of enemies-to-lovers with a data-driven twist.

The book is very science dense in a way that doesn't feel as approachable to the regular person. I felt my eyes glazing over when they got too scientific.

Additionally, the MMC was just mean. Like I understand it was probably him feeling the pressure from his asshole manager, but that doesn't mean he should take it on the FMC. I could not get behind the MMC's attitude towards others and his self imposed loneliness that he was milking so hard. I feel like every other time it was in his pov he was talking about how he's not the right kind of doctor for his family.

It was also hard to follow who's POV you were in and some of the text message threads

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I e joked the first round of stem romance books but they all became pretty formulaic (ali hazelwood always having misunderstood enemies to lovers vibe). This was partially that, partially textbook, not enough plot and character development. It wasn't for me unfortunately.

I did DNF this title at 22%. I did want it to work after seeing the other reviews and not agreeing about how technical it was, but it is very dry in that it still seems to be more about the job instead of plot or character development. I am a STEM girly and there was some nostalgia there, and the competition and bad feelings are 100% a thing, but otherwise I just wasn’t seeing the vision.

If you enjoyed The Love Hypothesis you might enjoy this. It's an academic rivals with tension very obvious from their first interaction battling it out... for now.

This book was a love letter to physics and sci-fi as much as it was a romance of it's own. If you love those things, that would be a huge bonus but as more of a jack of all trades nerd, I was lost at times in the level of detail and reference.

I also think the book would have been better to lose 100 pages. I enjoyed the start and loved the end but the middle was middling, and I was close to giving up at points.

In the end, I was very glad I didn't, and I think others could love this a lot more than me. But it is definitely for people who love some science facts alongside the kissing.