Everything's coming up 'Rosie' in sequel

It's hard not to like a novel that starts with the sentence: "Orange juice was not scheduled for Fridays."

And that's exactly how the likable The Rosie Effect, by Graeme Simsion, starts out. It's a sequel to the slightly more likable The Rosie Project, which follows Don Tillman, a socially awkward scientist on par with Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory, as he tries to use scientific methods to find himself a wife. Of course, everything is thrown into chaos when he meets Rosie, a red-haired young woman with an irreverent attitude and her own issues.

After some rom-com antics in the first novel the two get married, and the sequel moves their relationship right along with Rosie's announcement that "we're pregnant." Don, as one might imagine given his history, doesn't take it super well. He literally sprints to a friend's apartment to get away. It's just the first of many poor reactions he has to impending fatherhood, and while Rosie is understanding of Don, she has her limits.

The sequel follows many of the same beats as the first, with marital troubles propelling the action more than romance. It's a less compelling story line that's further handicapped by Rosie being sidelined for much of the novel.

She is often replaced by a variety of quirky characters Don interacts with as he comes to terms with the baby, made quirkier by Don's descriptions (such as the team of psychologists researching same-sex marriage and parenthood whom Don dubs B1, B2 and B3).

Despite its problems Rosie Effect makes good use of its romantic roots (in true rom-com tradition, there is a very important airport scene). While Rosie stars in the title the story really belongs to Don, who gets close to crossing the line into being unlikable, but never truly gets there.

And it's not like he hasn't learned from his mistakes. As he says, he "had learned that, in marriage, reason frequently had to take second place to harmony."

The Rosie Effect

By Graeme Simsion

Simon & Schuster

3 stars out of 4