I loved this book!! Seeing a girl in STEM who may not give off those vibes at first glance is something that I think many young girls will relate too. I loved the robots and the competition and I honestly found this book such a fun and fresh take a on a ya contemporary!! Will definitely be recommending this one!!

A fun YA romance focused on STEM. Seeing girls in STEM in reading is SO good, but sadly this did not work out for me. I found the writing lacking, the main characters just okay, and the romance bland. This book says it is enemies to lovers, but there is barely any "enemy" parts. The issues the main characters dealt with felt real, but this book felt pretty simple and like any other YA contemporary romance on the shelves at the moment. I had some issues with the writing and it felt like the author was using specific terms incorrectly.

Good for anyone who enjoyed Ali Hazelwood's work and wanted a fluffier or more high school romance. Would definitely put this in the hands of a teen who is interested n STEM and wants a sweet romance!

This is actually the first book by Alexene Farouk Follmuth / Olivie Blake that I’ve ever read, which is honestly kind of strange because I’m very much on BookTok and aware of her SFF books. But what can I say? I’m a YA contemporary reader and writer at heart, so it’s fitting that this was my introduction to her work.

I cannot emphasize enough how obsessed I am with this book. Alexene’s writing style just perfectly encapsulates the neurotic, nerdy, too-smart-for-their-own-good teen, and reading this was like having a window into what my own life would have been like had I decided to be a STEM kid instead of a humanities kid. It didn’t matter that I had no idea how any of the engineering stuff worked in this book—I could feel Bel and Teo’s passion for their work (and for each together). This is absolutely going to be my new go-to YA romcom rec for the foreseeable future. I only wish that I could’ve had, like, 20 more pages of Bel and Teo being happy and in love.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley. Review based on final copy. All opinions are my own.
I requested My Mechanical Romance based on the cover and premise alone, not realizing that Alexene Farol Follmuth was also Olivie Blake at the time. I really didn’t get the hype for The Atlas Six, and had DNFed it, but hoped this was a case where I simply preferred her writing in one genre over the other. Unfortunately, while I appreciate what she was trying to do here, I didn’t gel with it.
I do like the general intent. While I don’t feel drawn to any STEM fields myself, I am aware of the sexism within those industries…and how it can be worse when you’re a woman of color due to being doubly marginalized. Bel personally faces accusations of being the “token woman of color” and being added to the robotics team solely for “diversity points,” something that is very common to hear in this day and age, instead of pausing to consider the merit people like her add, due to their talent and diverse background.
Bel is also generally relatable in her own right, because of how she expresses what it’s like to be a child of divorce. I appreciate how she attempts to handle it in the most mature way possible, with the acknowledgment that this change in family dynamics has had a major impact on her.
Teo is ok, but definitely suffered from the book being a bit too short to delve into his story equally. The romance is cute, but this is yet another book that dramatically oversells the rivalry aspect, when it’s incredibly tame.
And I don’t know if it’s the way that the author writes about academics and technical things that just puts me off or what, but that seems to be the common denominator here and with TAS. The latter book went hard in terms of the “magical academics” to the point where I didn’t care about the many characters introduced. And here, while the smaller main cast made it easier to connect with them, the depiction of robotics dragged the book down for me.
So, while this book didn’t entirely work for me, it’s probably a reflection of my issues with the author’s style and choices more than anything else. This is a great book unpacking the issues of young women of color in STEM fields, and I can see why it resonates for that reason.

This is a great example of a STEM romance! The characters were great, the romance was super sweet. I think its also great to portray women in STEM in a YA book because young girls definitely need more examples of that.

I liked how the author were able to discuss that mechanics were not only built and discovered for men only, a lot of women are also inclined with it and are really interested in it. I liked how how the author wee able to bring the discrimination and lack of trust that men trust in women in handling things like mechanics.

This was an extremely adorable and lovely young adult romance that has absolutely lived up to the hype it has been receiving. I loved each and every one of the characters, especially our leading cuties, Teo and Bel - their romance was every type of sweet and wholesome, I was rooting for them all the way.

looooved this! this book was cheesy at times but it called itself out so it's fine! i love teo and bel with my whole heart and want them to thrive eternally. alexene, as always, has a way with words and romance and i enjoyed reading another stellar of her work. just love!

- thanks to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with the ARC in exchange for an early review.

This was amazing! I really enjoyed everything about it. I don't read YA that often anymore, but this book had me hooked. I will always enjoy enemies to lovers and I adore that STEM is getting more attention in novels. This book was so easy to devour. The characters were easy to relate to. The entire story was cute, funny, wholesome, just overall EXCELLENT.

I loved this young adult romance! This book conveyed every teenager's feeling right towards the ending of high school. It's so difficult to figure out what you want to do for the rest of your life, and the fact that society pressures you to think that it will be the most important, life defining last decision you make, makes it all the more scary. Add family expectations in the mix and then mental health issues are bound to arise. And to have a massive acknowledgement of this in the book felt like a breath of fresh air.

Here are the boxes it ticked for me:
enemies to high school academic colleagues to lovers? check
boy meets girls family by accident trope (and is absolutely adorable)? check
girl gets boy into Taylor Swift? check
women in stem? check
the feminism? check
AN AMAZING EPILOGUE? check

Seriously, that ending was everything!!

My Mechanical Romance is such a wholesome, fun YA coming of age romance with an enemies to lovers vibe. It's super nerdy with characters who don't fall into the stereotypes or archetypes that you would expect. It features a wonderfully diverse cast of characters. Bel is super smart, independent, with an adorably quirky sense of style, and so much to learn. Teo is also super smart, but spreads himself too thin in an effort to prove himself. We flip back and forth between perspectives and watch as our two love interests come into their own and find both each other, and themselves.

Thank you to Net Galley and Holiday House for advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was available as a Read Now on NetGalley and I enjoyed all the steamy STEM hot-nerd-ness about it! This YA romance was definitely a 5 star read for me.

Although the romance was fun (as well as fraught with teen angst, as required) the overall theme of the story was equality for women in the world of math and science. Bel is a dreamy senior in a new school when a teacher recognizes her knack for mechanical engineering in a failed project. The teacher sends Bel down a path of new experiences which help to focus and ground her in a hobby that becomes so much more than “just for fun.” During her journey, Bel finds love but must fight for acceptance in a male-dominated arena. Her experience also helps to open the eyes of those around her who might not realize exactly how sexist they are despite their own best intentions.

I recommend this book not only to science geeks but to anyone who may have had to fight to overcome prejudice, as well as those looking for a good romance with just enough steam without the spice.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read My Chemical Romance by Alexene Carol Follmuth in exchange for my honest feedback.
This book was a lot better than I expected. Bel has no idea what her future holds however, she finds herself stuck in better classes and in Robotics?

I love a STEM focused novel, and this was a great example. I flew through this, and really enjoyed the inside look at a high school robotics team (especially since my school was too small to have anything like it!). Seeing the innate talents vs hard earned skills was also really interesting, and led to some conflict and power dynamics within the team.

I'm left with a slightly icky feeling because Naleem was done so dirty throughout this whole book - it almost felt like this book strives to fight the patriarchy for Bel, but leaves Naleem in the dust. After years of fighting her way through a male-dominated field, she's shoved aside for Bel, inexperienced in robotics and love interest of the team captain. I'd be salty too.

The writing was pretty good, and everything flowed really well.

I enjoyed this book, but honestly wish it was about Naleem instead! I don't need romance, I just need women in STEM.

Bel is practically forced to switch to the robotics course, in contrast to the others she knows practically how it is supposed to work but has no idea about the theory.
Teo is the leader of the group and makes life a little harder not only for her but also for the other girls.

A book about prejudices (girls can neither build nor control robots), a young love, aimlessness and that usually shows a way if you just look closely.

Teo and Bel are both very empathetic characters. Teo absorbs everyone's problems and wants to solve them. Bel prefers to be invisible so she doesn't upset anyone.

I really liked the book and I think it clears up some prejudices.
Unfortunately, because of the title, fewer guys will reach for it.

Have fun reading!

3.5-4/5

This is perfect for a quick read. The writing style is really good, the book is not boring and even though it is a high school romance it doesn’t include high school drama which I really appreciated. What I loved about this book was how perfectly it portrayed the struggles that girls in stem have to face and it had many feminist moments that made me proud as a woman.

4.5 stars!

This was fun and wonderful and everything I love in a YA book.

Bel doesn't like thinking about the future and doesn't like talking about herself. She keeps to her limited friend circle at her new school and tries to fly under everyone's radar. Until she accidentally reveals to an over eager teacher that she has a talent for engineering.

From there she is basically forced to join the robotics club, headed by Teo Luna - seemingly perfect captain of the robotics club and the football team. Teo sees talent in Bel and helps her work on their robotics projects after school.

This is a wonderful story with characters that are full of life. It showcases the issues of being a young woman in STEM but also just the overall anxiety that comes with being a teenager and not knowing what to do next.

If you're a fan of fun, wholesome, and super cute YA stories, this one is definitely for you.

THIS IS SO CUTE! I LOVED IT SO MUCH!
My Mechanical Romance is a cute and light teen romcom centered around STEM: robotics. I recently watch a cute Chinese romcom tv show called Go Go Squid and this totally reminds me of that show! And combat robots? Yes please!

I loved everything about this book and it was just what I needed after a heavy read. Everything was light and easy. There was a good mix of characters. The plot was at a relaxing pace. There was a good amount of comedy. The tension was just right. Yup.. I couldn’t really find anything I hate.

And in any good romcom, the blooming love between the main characters (especially enemies to lovers) was just so AWWWWW. It was not forced and the author took it slow to make it so much sweeter!

I’m so glad I requested this book and was approved on Netgalley. Thank you Holiday House for the free copy on Netgalley. All opinions expressed are my own.

Really enjoyed the engagement and descriptions in this book. Romance was so cute and I wish it was longer

ARC copy provided in exchange for an honest review. This in no way changes my rating or review.

4 FUN STARS

Three Minute Thoughts:
This was SO DAMN ADORABLE. It was fun, swoon-worthy, hilarious and relatable – plus WOMEN IN STEM and BIRACIAL REP, two of my biggest weaknesses. Bel and Mateo were hilarious and so cute; their rivals-to-lovers, opposites-attract relationship was all the best tropes in one, and I loved every second of watching them and their relationship grow. While this book also hit some deep topics, it was masterfully written to keep the novel light and fun overall, and I literally read this in 4 hours – I could barely put it down. Highly recommended!

The Extended, Long, and Very-Probably-Messy Review:
I loved this so much. The characters were beautifully depicted and I became instantly invested in their storylines, both individual and connected. Bel was such a wonderful MC – not only was she flawed and so funny, she was also incredibly relatable. Bel wasn’t sure what she wanted to do in life – uni applications were her worst nightmare, and she wasn’t particularly motivated in school – and I loved this about her! It was such a nice change from the usual MCs, who are often incredibly set in their ways and know exactly what they want from life, and I really enjoyed reading from her perspective. She was also half-Asian half-white, and while there wasn’t too much about Bel’s identity as a biracial Asian overall, I still loved that inclusion to the story (as half-Asian myself), and I’m so glad we’re getting more of that rep.

“Everyone at this school has plans, and then they want me to have plans, and I’m just so overwhelmed by their good intentions that I constantly feel the need to lie down for a solid five minutes before trying again.”
(This quote may not be in the published version of this novel, it was copied from the advanced reader’s copy.)

And there was Mateo. Precious little Mateo – struggling with the perfection that he was consistently expected to produce in school, soccer and life overall. We got less of Mateo’s POV but I still really enjoyed his little snippets, and his character was so splendidly written – I loved watching him and Bel grow with each other. Mateo was also wonderfully relatable, and – though privileged in many ways – he faced his own difficulties.

Plus the romance was just the sweetest! They were both so adorable, and as they each learnt more about each other and their relationship developed further, they both helped one another develop as people.
But honestly, the thing I loved most about this was the subtle themes outside the romance. It is widely known that women are the minority in the STEM field, and I really enjoyed this novels depiction of the struggles that many women face within STEM fields, especially women of colour.

“‘The world is not very helpful to a smart girl… more often it will try to force you inside a box. But I urge you not to listen.'”
(This quote may not be in the published version of this novel, it was copied from the advanced reader’s copy.)

I thought Neelam was such a vital character to the story just for this representation of WOC in STEM, and I also appreciated the addition of a character who was – undeliberately – mildly sexist. It shows how the patriarchal society we grow up in influences everyone, no matter how forward thinking they may believe themselves to be.

Overall, this was just such a fun book, with brilliant inclusions of amazing rep, women in STEM (woo!) and adorable romance. I’m so glad I read it! Thank you so much to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC copy provided in exchange for an honest review :)).