AN EXHAUSTIVE PROOF OF LOVE

Two beautiful math geeks get off on the wrong foot but are determined to find a solution in this romance.

Math tutor Edyth Vernier and engineer Lawson MacNair meet at a math convention in Richmond, Virginia. Despite an instant, overwhelming attraction between the two, Lawson’s arrogance and Edyth’s stubbornness foil an initial chance at intimacy. But after some unforeseen meddling by the engineer’s sleazebag associate Wayne Kendrick, Edyth ends up with a work contract in Lawson’s tiny hometown of Wylde, Oregon, where their chemistry and quarrels intensify. Edyth, the only child of a cancer researcher mother and Christian father, dyes her hair pink. A habitual bread eater, she describes herself as “basically half-human/half-bread,” with a tendency to ramble when nervous. Lawson, who makes her very nervous, is half White and half Indian with Hollywood good looks, an overly masculine father, and a tendency to sleep around. Focus switches between Lawson and Edyth as they try to resist what feels like gravitational attraction and the revelation that her job is linked to fraud. The dialogue between the protagonists can be clunky at times. At one point, Lawson tells Edyth: “You’re no Grand Canyon. This little beauty is more like a sports car—tight to squeeze into, and a wild, exhilarating ride.” But Juniper soon finds their voices as they banter through a love that is “messy and confusing” and whose “proof will be exhaustive, not elegant.” Both come off realistically flawed, although some of Lawson’s actions jeopardize Edyth’s dream of winning a Fields Medal in ways that she forgives too easily. The sensual sex scenes between the protagonists feel natural and further illustrate their bond, which makes them easy to root for. Quirky supporting characters wander in and out without impacting the plot too much, but they form a believable and humorous community. Highlights include Edyth’s promiscuous friend and fake wife, Gigi Becker; Lawson’s ex-girlfriend Taylor O’Dell, who has a tendency to mispronounce words (“alltristic,” “ephermal”); and Betty, an exotic dancer who helps the couple nail a bad guy.  

A love story that deftly balances the equation of character, prose, and plot.