Have you ever wondered what the Big Bang Theory would have been like if Penny had been a smart engineer who chose Sheldon over Leonard? Next Level Love is a frothy, light-hearted contemporary romance that answers that question.

Online, their names are @pancakesareelite and @theanswerisno. While Pancakes has introduced herself as Lily and offered to meet in real life, @theanswerisno unsurprisingly answers no to both the request for his name and to the idea of meeting in person. Lily takes this with good grace. She nicknames him Link based on his avatar and continues to reach out to him. They make good gaming partners, and both value the friendship they’ve developed in the virtual world.

Lincoln Carden isn’t good with people. He has always felt like a social outcast and can only really unwind and be himself when he’s lost in a project – or a game. He doesn’t want to meet with Lily and have his nerd vibes chase away one of the few people he genuinely connects with. The anonymity of their relationship allows him to be more intimate in his communication with her, and he wants to keep it that way.

An abusive stepfather has Elizabeth (Lily) Gordon-Bettencourt seeking to put some distance between herself and her family. That doesn’t mean she’s above using that man’s name to snag a coveted internship, which will give her a shot at a civil engineering job at Simucon. With the money she’ll earn there, she can finally be fully independent from the toxic drama her wealthy and famous parent has put her through.

Nepotism, however, means Elizabeth has many reasons not to feel confident about this new position. She was the seventh intern chosen, even though Simucon typically takes only six. Her results regarding testing and grades are lower than those of her fellow interns, and she had taken a gap during her college years to follow modeling at her family’s request, a time also spent on drugs and parties. She doesn’t plan to let that stop her from acing this, but that would be a lot easier if her boss were the kind of guy who could be smitten by her charm and dazzled by her beauty.

Lincoln loves his engineering job at Simucon, but his mother’s dream has always been for him to be in management. That’s why he’s found himself the reluctant acting manager of the roads department and babysitter to the new, underqualified intern, Elizabeth. He rejects cowering before whatever connections landed her in this position and refuses to let her turn in sloppy work, which means both of them find themselves in a rather stressful situation. Elizabeth turns to her online bestie for emotional support. So does Lincoln. Which, as you, dear reader, have probably figured out, is each other.

A great story’s influence can reverberate, even unintentionally, in the minds of readers/viewers when they read or watch other works. As I mentioned at the start, this novel gave me vibes (in the best way) from one of my favorite TV shows, The Big Bang Theory. These come mostly from Lincoln, who is an easier-to-love Sheldon (not that that character isn’t plenty lovable), and his friendship group. Like Sheldon, Lincoln’s father died young, and his primary parental relationship is with his mom. She’s warm and loving, worries about her son, and just wants what is best for him. She was instrumental in finding him a best friend, Claire, and Claire introduced him to her friendship group, who get together for weekly game nights. Those friends, especially Rose, had me thinking a lot about the Big Bang Theory group who loved Comic Con and spent a lot of time gaming, either online or off. Which is exactly what Lincoln’s friends do.

Like Penny, Elizabeth is your typical hot mess with daddy issues. She’s entered the recovery arc of her character development, but oddly, kinda still depends on Daddy for things like the internship. She is used to being admired primarily for her charm and beauty, and as a result, comes across as a bit ditzy. The author assures us, however, that she really does have the brains to make it in civil engineering. While we are told rather than shown that, we are shown that she is extremely kind and understanding of Lincoln’s differences and does her best to accommodate and support his needs. For example, when she learns he finds it too distracting to work with her in his office, she puts up a divider so that it looks like they are in separate spaces.

This is important because Lincoln is an extreme introvert who has “ADHD and probably some other undiagnosed things.” From how he’s described, I think he is meant to be neurodivergent (ND) because of his quirky way of processing noise and the coping mechanisms he uses to get through the day or uncomfortable situations. Given that, I would have found it difficult to accept he had close friends in real life if they hadn’t given off those very strong Big Bang Theory vibes. Having the background on that show helped me better understand how Link navigates his world and how those around him interact with him. He is a kinder, gentler, more emotionally astute version of Sheldon, though.

Because both characters are basically nice people, their romance is sweet and easy to read about. I appreciated that when the big reveal about their online personas came, they work through it within a few pages, and both characters acknowledge their wrong and give each other the space needed to process their hurt. The other major issues in the book center on the fact that they shouldn’t have an office romance because Lincoln is Elizabeth’s boss, and on how Lincoln actually feels about managing versus how his mom feels about it. These are neatly handled as well.

I did have some issues with the story. However desirous Elizabeth is for the job, the fact that Lincoln has to tutor her to bring her up to snuff, an advantage the other interns don’t have, disturbed me. The fact that the position was created for her at all also disturbed me. The book tackles difficult, often debilitating issues, such as emotional abuse and neurodivergence with a light hand, fixing everything far too easily. As a result, any emotional punch those issues might have brought to the story is diluted. And the pacing is very slow.

The stress of today’s world has people longing for tales that are simple, sweet, and cheerful. Next Level Love meets that criteria and is ideal for that audience. However, for the more demanding reader, it might be a bit too saccharine.