IT'S TECHNICALLY LOVE

A data engineer and her new employee/roommate deal with their mutual attraction in Vinson’s debut romance.

Theresa Alberts works at tech company InfoQuest in Portland, Oregon. She’s a single parent with a 7-year-old son, and she carries some emotional baggage from her last relationship that makes her wary of starting something new. When she interviews Hawaiian Conall O’Donnell for a software-development job at her company and, later, for tenancy at her residence, they find themselves intensely drawn to each other, and they each try to come to terms with insecurities that could hinder their romance. In addition, Conall and Theresa’s son, Liam, quickly form a bond, and the book also explores Theresa’s work friendships and complex relationship with her mother as well as Conall’s close relationships with his extended family in Hawaii. Vinson’s debut novel consciously explores the lives of women who work in STEM fields while also drawing on familiar chick-lit tropes—the latter of which begets the work’s fitting but rather trite title. Still, the work intriguingly explores gender roles in relevant ways, particularly when in delves into questions of what it means to be a good man and father. Theresa’s struggles as a working single mom—whose conservative mother disapproves of her choices—feels relatable without being oversimplified. Vinson effectively shows how the damage of past relationships can complicate present ones but also stresses the importance of having faith in love, despite its difficulties. However, the prose can feel a bit long-winded at times, and the plotting feels clunky toward the end; readers may wish that the author focused more on building the emotional intimacy between Conall and Theresa, which would have added more depth.

An often fun and steamy love story despite uneven execution.