Principles of Emotion

November 6, 2023
Read’s beguiling sophomore outing (after Johanna Porter Is Not Sorry) once again finds a smart woman in an ethical gray area. Mathematics prodigy and near-recluse Dr. Meg Brightwood left academia 15 years ago to live with her grandmother in a decrepit Washington, D.C., mansion due to paralyzing social anxiety and general disdain for university politics. Since then, she’s devoted herself to solving the notorious Frieholdt’s Conjecture, aka the “Impossible Theorem.” After her grandmother’s death, Meg, now 30, must find the strength to hold onto her work before her greedy and ambitious father claims the proof as his own. She gets some unexpected support from Isaac Wells, the high school dropout her grandmother hired for odd jobs a decade ago and whom she never had the courage to connect with in her younger days despite a strong attraction. Isaac, for his part, is in trouble with the law and, when he turns to Meg for help, she offers to let him hide out in her garage. Read’s skillful character building makes Meg and Isaac’s connection feel plausible as both take risks to ensure the other’s safety and happiness. This well-matched couple is sure to charm. Agent: Laura Bradford, Bradford Literary.

Starred review from October 15, 2023
Dr. Margaret Brightwood has been working on Friedholdt's Conjecture for over 20 years (she's 38), but it isn't until her grandmother's death that she gets the clarity to solve the allegedly impossible equation. Her father, also a mathematician, offers to publish it with her, as coauthors, since Meg has been living a reclusive life due to debilitating anxiety. But Meg wants all of the credit for her work, so she quietly plans to present it at a small conference, only to have a panic attack during her talk. Later, she runs into her grandmother's carpenter, handsome Isaac Wells, who has secretly been working at the house across the street. Isaac is running from a dangerous past, and he is no good for Meg, but, as Meg reminds him, she's a head case, so maybe they can be messed up together. Meg is an intense narrator, prone to bouts of hyperfocus in addition to anxiety, but readers will fall in love with her likable voice. Read (Johanna Porter Is Not Sorry, 2023) tackles sexism, family dynamics, and the demands placed on child prodigies. Give this to readers who like seemingly light relationship fiction that packs a deceptive, satisfying emotional punch.

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November 15, 2023
A brilliant mathematician falls in love with a construction worker who's wanted for murder. Dr. Meg Brightwood, a mathematical prodigy, left academia 15 years ago and has been living as a recluse ever since. She hated teaching, hated being discounted because she was pretty, and hated living in the shadow of her father, the first Dr. Brightwood. She's been hiding out in her recently deceased grandmother's house, working on Frieholdt's conjecture, a mathematical problem widely regarded as unsolvable. Except, one day, Meg solves it. Overcome by her achievement, she hides the proof in a household safe. Shortly thereafter, she hears a commotion and sees a carpenter who's working on her neighbor's renovation being attacked by another man. Running outside, Meg scares off the assailant, only to discover that the man she's defended is Isaac Wells, her first great love. She takes Isaac in, and soon even math feels unimportant. Even when Isaac reveals that he's wanted for the murder of his sister's abusive boyfriend, Meg doesn't falter in her devotion. When she finds her Frieholdt notes missing, though, Meg finally mobilizes to assert her claim to credit for the work while simultaneously clearing Isaac's name. Told entirely in the first person from Meg's perspective, this plot-driven narrative moves at a steady clip. Despite readers' need to suspend their disbelief at several points, such as when the two make improbable escapes from law enforcement or mathematical facts don't quite add up, they'll find watching these characters discover common ground to be both poignant and compelling. As suspense mounts in Meg's fight for her intellectual integrity, author Read also offers a scathing critique of misogyny and corruption in academia. Tackling issues of mental health, self-doubt, and second chances, this romantic story about the connection between a grand theoretical thinker and a carpenter is entirely compelling. A delightfully mathematical take on the opposites-attract paradigm.

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