My Mechanical Romance was one of my favourite books of this year! It exceeded my expectations. I was super excited to read this book when I received the arc!
This book follows two main characters Bel Maier and Mateo Luna. These two are very different in many ways but work together for the robotics club.
There are many things that I enjoyed while reading this book. I loved Bel and Mateo so much. Mateo always tries to be the best and puts a lot of pressure on himself, taking the lead. While Bel likes to stay in the background and does not care much about extracurriculars. I love how Bel expresses herself through her clothing and does not care what others think and Mateo cares too much what others think. Despite these differences, they make a great team even if they do not want to admit it at first and help each other out. These two made this book so enjoyable to read.
Another thing I loved was the representation of women in STEM. Bel is not experienced in the stem field but she is very skilled. However, the team often dismisses her ideas because she is a woman. There was another woman on the team Neelam who I loved. Though she can be blunt, she knew she was good at her job and never needed approval from anyone.
There were other side characters who I adored especially Ms. Voss who encourages Bel to follow her dreams and everyone needs a teacher like that!
The romance was also amazing! Bel and Mateo do not start great but eventually as they spend time together they learn about each other and understand their differences. It was a realistic depiction of a relationship.
This book comes out today so I 100% recommend this! If you like women in STEM, lovable main characters, academic rivals to lovers, or Taylor Swift then you should read this book!

I absolutely loved this one! Enemies to lovers STEM edition? It was a little slow to start but then I could not put it down. Overall highly recommend

This book was so refreshing! It was a great representation of women and STEM and how overlooked and undermined they are by their male counterparts. Although Bel was occasionally frustrating, it was nice to see her overcome her struggles of living up to everyone’s expectations of her. Teo’s internal struggle with balancing school and life was also something I deeply related to. The romance between Bel and Teo had a very sweet start however their third act conflict seemed a little over dramatic to me. I always love a good enemies to lovers trope. This book is the perfect light read to get you out of a reading slump!

I was immediately drawn to this book on NetGalley because of the witty wordplay in the title. Bel Maier does not have her life together. Having recently moved to an elite, private school where STEM is celebrated, she feels like a fish out of water. When her teacher spots potential, she encourages Bel to try out for the robotics team. Teo Luna is the captain of the robotics team and the football team. The son of a tech millionaire, he's the school superstar. Like Bel's teacher, he spots the same potential. But Teo isn't used to being questioned. So when Bel comes with new ideas, sparks fly.

I was an avid fan of Robot Wars in the 90s, so I could vividly picture every design and flaw of the robots. The battles were thrilling to read. I loved how both characters were dealing with family issues and the weight of expectations. I particularly enjoyed the focus on women in STEM. The challenges they have to overcome before they even get to start being taken seriously was written sensitively and realistically. There are so many layers to this story. Young adults from different backgrounds, but both with near suffocating pressure thrust upon them by their respective parents and the anxiety that comes from having to map out your life at such a young age. I loved the diversity in the characterisation, and the supporting characters were all fully fleshed out (I particularly loved Dash and Jamie. It also addresses imperfect parents and the struggles children face after a divorce.

While it took a little while to get to the romance (this is an Enemies-to-Friends-to-Lovers slow-burn romance), I was totally invested from the beginning. When we finally get to the romance, it felt earned. I loved the banter, awkwardness, and how adorable both Teo and Bel are together. And that first kiss? Swoon-worthy. The inevitable conflict feels considered and isn't shoehorned in just for the drama.

This was a brilliant YA romance with a thoroughly satisfying (and life-affirming) ending. Highly Recommended.


Overall Rating: ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Heat Rating:
Emotional Rating: 🥰😂🤬😢🥰😍

*Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to leave an honest review*

(I will add the same review to Amazon UK on publication day - here it says 23rd June)

This book was the CUTEST. After The Love Hypothesis I have been devouring all things enemies/friends to lovers in STEM and this book just satiated my thirst.

Enemies(ish) to lovers - CHECK
STEM - Check
Robots - Didn’t even know I needed this but CHECK!

This book brought back my love for YA Contemporary Romance. I loved quirky and nerdy Isabel who despite being the new transfer student quickly made a name for herself. And our MMC golden child workaholic won me over with his witty banter with our girl Bel. I’m usually drawn more to the smutty side of Romance but I adored this palate cleanser which is definitely middle grade friendly.

If you’re looking for a cute, clean, quirky and feminist friendly romance then this is the book for you!

This was an exceedingly charming book. I'm already a professed lover of Follmuth's (and her other pen name, Olivie Blake's) writing and it was so fun to see what she could do with the YA genre. I'm always worried when I start a contemporary YA book set in high school since I am pretty far removed from AP tests and college applications. However, both Teo and Bel are going through a lot of universal feelings that I immediately understood and related to.

Bel has just moved schools after her parents separated and starting a new high school her senior year is quite the adjustment. A well-meaning teacher sees potential in her and suggests she joins AP Physics as well as the school's robotics team where she meets Teo, the wealthy son of a fancy technology CEO who seemingly has everything, including an acceptance to MIT.

Bel and Teo immediately connect and their romance was my favorite part of the book. Bel discovering her love of engineering and robotics was so lovely and her journey to figuring out what she wants to do I think will relate to a lot of people, young and old. Teo's growth in this book was a little more subtle but his desire to fix everyone and his feelings of inadequacy were a gut punch. I also loved all of their friends and robotics teammates and Follmuth does some really interesting things with friendship and what exactly it means to be a girl on a robotics team. As Bel realizes she is not only good at this but she likes it, she encounters the gatekeeping and microaggressions that come from being a woman wanting to do anything in STEM.

Follmuth's writing is snappy and clever and felt like how kids speak. The acknowledgment section of her book made me cry and I hope that this book finds all the readers who need it.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

First of all I would like to say I liked the concept of the book. It’s very different to the usual young adult subjects. The story is about Bell and Teo. Bell joins the robotics team where Teo is a part of. I personal thinks it’s a kinda slowburn with the enemies to lovers trope.

It took quite a while till I enjoyed the story. It was really slow for me and I thought of DNF’ing it. Later on i start enjoying the story and the characters. I found them likeable and a cute couple but I missed the spark.

Because I wasn’t hooked with it from the beginning but I still enjoyed it at the end, I give this book 3 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Holiday House Books for the eARC!

If there’s one book you should read this year, this is it. I love this book. It’s definitely one of my favourites this year, possibly ever. My Mechanical Romance has everything I possibly could have wanted in a book; dual POV, girls in STEM, a diverse cast, and characters that fail sometimes, and quite badly. Once I picked this book up, I could barely put it down. Obviously, it was a five-star read without hesitation, and that’s a rating I don’t usually give to romance novels.

My Mechanical Romance is the story of Bel Maier as her talents for robotics and doing her homework the day it's due lands her in an advanced physics class and gets her a place on the school robotics team. She’s not particularly happy with either of those events, which is understandable considering the less than warm reception from some of the other robotics team members. However, over the course of the book, she finds her place and her natural talents begin to shine as the team prepares for the biggest robotics competition of the year.

I have so many good things to say about this book that I almost don’t know where to start, but that doesn’t help convince people that they should read the book (you really should, by the way). I loved this book so much I basically forgot to make notes because I was so focused on finding out what was on the next page and what was going to happen.

Bel and Teo are so cute. I love how they worked together as rivals and when they didn’t see eye to eye, and then still competed with each other after they were together. They talked to each other about the problems they were having, and they worked so well as a team! Also, how could I not ship them after reading the line ‘Because wherever I am, I want her close by’? It would be literally impossible. Spoiler time, even when they broke up, they still cared about each other and believed in each other.

Now, time for even more spoilers because I want to talk about everything that happened in this book to whoever will listen.

The problems the characters face in this book seem so real. Neelam talking about how women in STEM aren’t taken seriously and have to work so much harder to prove themselves made me tear up a little bit more than I want to admit, and Neelam and Bel crushing Richardson and his bot after the comments he made was phenomenal. I’m so glad Neelam and Bel became friends towards the end of the book after their rocky beginning.

Even the breakup felt realistic. The pressure on Bel to get into MIT was building, from Teo telling his father about Bel getting in, to Neelam telling her that she shouldn’t expect to get in just because she can build a good robot. There was even a conversation about how incredibly hard it is to get into a super prestigious college if you don’t have the right start in life, and how unfair it is to expect people to compete with someone with all the benefits in the world.

I love how Bel goes from having, like, zero goals beyond high school and avoids doing homework and assignments until the last possible minute, only to win a robotics competition and have a college seek her out specifically because she’s so good at what she does. I love that Bel didn’t get into MIT when she applied with Teo, and I love that her plans didn’t work out exactly as she wanted them to. Despite the fact that I was devastated for Bel, it was a nice reminder that happy endings don’t need to be exactly as you envision them.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, read this book. You won’t regret it at all. This book alone makes me want to auto-buy anything and everything Alexene Farol Follmuth writes. I gave it a five-star rating, and it’s the reason I made a 2022 Favourite Books list. Read My Mechanical Romance.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Holiday House, for providing me with an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Olivie Blake’s YA debut under Alexene Farol Follmuth is a wholesome read. I feel incredibly lucky that I got approved to read this book as I’m dying to get my hands on Olivie/Alexene’s other books!

Can we talk about how cute the pun in the title is?
My Mechanical Romance is, you guessed it, a contemporary YA romance novel that follows Bel, the new girl with no defined goals that has a knack for designing and building things and Teo, straight A student and son of a tech giant CEO who’s aiming for MIT. The book also heavily touched on topics like discrimination against girls and women pursuing STEM fields and how girls who are fed up with disparity are villainized.

With extremely lovable characters, the funniest interactions and the most adorable scenes Alexene Farol Follmuth crafted a heartfelt book that was hard to put down!

As a woman in STEM, particularly computer engineering, I found some of the struggles of the girls in this book relatable, especially since I dabbled in robotics in school and university myself. This is one of the YA books that I wish I could go back in time and give to my younger self.

I know I was not exactly the target audience, yet I couldn’t help but cringe just a *little* at some of the dialogue especially with Bel misusing the word “heteronormativity” a few times which could be unintentional, but it’s also so an accurate portrayal of kids nowadays who latch onto and misuse terms they don’t have a full understanding of which I honestly found funny. The pacing in a few parts of this book wasn’t up to par but that didn’t ruin my experience of reading the book either.

A cute YA romance that gave exactly what I was expecting it to. It wont be going on my top reads of the year by any means but I did enjoy it a reasonable amount. I thought the two main characters were cute and fun but all of the supporting characters were very one dimensional and boring. I felt as though each of them just had their one 'thing' that the author stuck with and didn't give them much more of a personality other than that. I'm also not sure that I would consider the book to be dealing with the issues that POC women deal with in STEM as it seemed to be such a minor scene of the entire novel where it was discussed at all.

3/5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and the author for this copy to review.

We have enemies-to-lovers. We have women (of colour) in STEM. We have robots. We have nerdy romance. What's not to love?

When I found out I had been approved for this ARC, I was ecstatic. I had seen this book been mentioned by a few people I follow on 'bookstagram' and I just knew I had to read it. It seemed quirky and nerdy and like it was going to be fun. It turned out to be all of those things and more.

Bel is a strange character, but I have always loved the strange ones. She doesn't have her life after high school planned out. She doesn't know what college she wants to apply to. She says the most random things most of the time, and she sort of just lets life happen to her.

Teo is the complete opposite. He has his life planned out. He is gong to MIT. He's captain of the soccer team and the robotics team (and pretty much everything else in life). Everyone looks to him because he's the dependable one. But, really, he's just doing his best to be what he thinks everyone needs him to be.

The only thing they really have in common is that they are both super smart and end up loving robotics.

One thing I was sceptical about was the YA factor of the book. I'm really not a YA fan in general, so I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed this (However, I will always prefer it if a book is more NA/Adult). Neelam and Ms. Voss were really important characters in the end as they both represented women's struggles in STEM and helped motivate Bel.

The toxic masculinity was infuriating but without it the book wouldn't have been a true representation of that field, and the world in general.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for this free ARC. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I've always thought that some books find you when they are meant to. I really thought this was going to be the book that would let me tell myself I HAVE NOT outgrown YA. I was... wrong.
I tried really really hard to get into this, especially in the beginning, but about 60% in, I just couldn't? I mean, I feel like I've read this exact same plot before? I don't know. I could definitely guess the ending (which is fine, by the way!)
You don't need to believe me, obviously- I think if I were younger or in a different mental space, I would have enjoyed the hell out of this as well!

Before I begin, I want to thank NetGalley, Holiday House Publishing, and Alexene Farol Follmuth for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Where do I even start with this book? I absolutely loved this book from start to finish. I have to admit, I was a little hesitant going into it, just because it wasn't my typical kind of read, but I was pleasantly surprised when I began reading.

This book follows Bel, a senior in high school, as she transfers schools in her final year of school and is prompted by one of her teachers to recognize her skill in robotics. I found myself relating so closely to Bel, being in my final years of high school and fearing what comes after. Bel was such a dynamic character that was the kind of relatable I absolutely adore. She isn't "normal" in any way which is one of the things that I love the most about her. She never fit into exactly one box. Bel had so much depth as a character and even taught me some things about myself I didn't know. I loved seeing female representation in STEM and the realistic portrayal of the challenges that are faced by women in STEM.
Now to start on Mateo. Mateo Luna was such a well written character that continued to surprise me throughout the book. Much like Bel, he brought more to the surface than what originally meets the eye and I appreciated the depth of his character. Both Mateo and Bel portrayed what I think so many high schoolers relate to as they get closer to graduation and begin looking towards the future. I especially loved the contrast of their two characters together because it showed that there's no right way to go about planning your future. Mateo had things all planned out and it worked out great for him, he put in the work and he made it into his dream school. But this book also showed that you don't always have to have everything figured out in advance for things to work out just fine. Bel had no idea what she was going to do after graduation and didn't get accepted to the only school that she applied to. However, Bel was no less successful or happy in her life and I loved seeing that.

I loved the plot line of this book and how well it flowed. It keeps the reader engaged and makes it impossible to put down. I also loved the depth that this novel reached. I will admit that I was skeptical when I realized that it was a high school romance but the level of depth that was present in this novel made it perfect. It was a well rounded novel with just the right amounts of feel good and depth. For a high school romance it wasn't predictable, it gave me a fresh new perspective, and absolutely made me fall in love with the characters.

Overall this book was absolutely adorable. The dynamic characters and representation gave it a depth that pulls on your heart strings and makes it relatable. The plot was well thought out and keeps the reader hooked from the beginning. The romance was to die for and perfect in every way. Bel and Teo have my whole heart and I wouldn't have it any other way. This novel is an amazing read and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a romcom with a solid plot and depth.

Bel Maier is a new transfer to a wealthy private school with exceptional students and high standards. At 17 and still reeling with issues relating to her family, Bel finds life pretty daunting. She then finds herself tossed into the world of competitive robotic combat when she joins her school's robotics club. This is where she meets the talented and popular Teo Luna.

The reader sees Bel going through difficult times, including struggling with knowing what to do in her future when the present is still so challenging. She faces pressure as the youngest child caught between newly divorced parents and polar opposite brothers. Pressure from jumping into a world of engineering where being a girl deems you at a disadvantage by others despite your proven talent. Pressure to know precisely what you want to do for the rest of your life despite only being 17 years old. We also see Teo's own struggles falling under the shadows of his tech giant but often absent father and feeling the need to shoulder the responsibilities for everyone else around him.

I enjoyed the diversity this book brought in several aspects (something a younger me would have adored at the time and happy others get). We get POC representation from not just BOTH main characters but from a majority of our ensemble. We also see the struggles of being a woman in a heavily male-dominated field, not just the struggles Bel faces but also her teammate Neelam. I liked that characters who contributed to the misogynistic problem weren't given a perfect redemption arc because that often feels too ideal or perfect, even in fiction. Instead, we see people come to terms and slowly progress toward changing their viewpoints; it's not an out-of-nowhere 180 to being this morally perfect individual. I loved that Bel had a strong female support system with her friends Jamie and Lora, and her teacher Ms. Voss. I loved that the solution to our final issue doesn't go the way it was instructed to go by Teo. Bel took things into her own hands and ultimately her solution was the right one because it allowed those who deserved to gain recognition to do so. To me, it showed greater character development than her simply going with the original plan.

In short, I wish I had My Mechanical Romance when I was in high school. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers/author for the opportunity to read an ARC!

Being in my 20s, I don't usually read YA anymore. BUT I loved the synopsis of this and the cover is too cute to pass up + it was written by one of my favorite authors ever!

What I loved about My Mechanical Romance are the characters. Every character in this book has a distinct personality, not just Bel and Teo. I especially love Dash and Jamie.

For me, this book really had the perfect blend of happiness (with Bel and Teo's cuteness) and sadness (of the hardships they went through).

If you're at a point of your life where you don't know where to go, this book is for you. I overall loved its core message and to be honest it made me remember being 15, feeling pressured to already know my life plans. I wish I read a book like this during that time in my life, and I'm hoping a ton of young readers would love the message as well!

I rated it a 4/5 because there were some parts that didn't really have the best build-up, and some issues could be tackled a bit better (Bel's parents' issues, Teo's parent issue, etc.). There's still this feeling that it could have been better planned out, because there are still issues that were left hanging.

But, aside from that, this book made me laugh and grin with it's adorable scenes, and made my cry with the scenes that just hit you right in the heart especially as a WOC who /almost/ went into STEM.

Thank you so much NetGalley and Holiday House for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I wanted to read My Mechanical Romance for two reasons, I loved Atlas Six and I’ve really been into STEM romances recently. The author Alexene Farol Follmuth wrote Atlas Six under the pen name Olivie Blake and these two books are as different as her two names! Both the genre and style are very different from each other. I was personally drawn to Atlas Six more but I would recommend My Mechanical Romance to all of my students. The messaging in this story is exactly what kids need to be reading. Be nerdy, be smart, and do what you love! Teenagers get so wrapped up in being cool, when what’s really cool is being yourself and going after what you find interesting. In addition to a really important message, this is a well done book. Rivals to lovers, competition, and representation wrapped up in moving and adorable plot!

Thank you #Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is such a cute academic rivals to lovers read!

Bel joins the robotics team after missing an assignment. She has a knack for it but doesn't like team activities. She meets Teo, the team captain. They share a somewhat enemies-to-lovers trope.

I really enjoyed the character and romance development in this book.

Overall a great read!

ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I don’t read a lot of YA anymore, but I’ll have to change that if this is what I’ve been missing out on. I loved this book so much - the writing style sucked me in, the premise was interesting and the main characters were beautifully developed. It was so emotional watching Bel struggle to find her place and something she cared about, and Teo realizing that he doesn’t have to be the one person everyone else relies on all the time. I would definitely recommend this book and will be watching for Alexene’s next release.

I knew this book was going to be good when I found out it was the same author as The Atlas Six, no one does academic rivals better than Olivie Blake! This was definitely the best YA book I have read this year, everyone add it to your cart ASAP.
This story follows the main characters, Bel and Teo. Bel is dreading her process of applying to college (didn't we all). I'll take a raincheck on all of the applications and the amount of planning that goes into it. Don't get me wrong Bel is not lazy she has a tremendous passion for engineering which is why she is transferred to a different course. Teo is the good-looking nerdy kid and happens to be captain of the robotics club at Bel's school. These two encounter each other when Bel is encouraged to join the robotics team. I really enjoyed the representation of women in STEM, not just a girl in STEM that's a total clutz when she sees a cute boy. I thought the author really showed the struggles of being in a men-dominated field. I also enjoyed the support system Bel had, her teacher, Ms. Voss really helped her throughout the year.
Overall this was an amazing read and will definitely be re-reading it in the near future. It was a great academic rivals to lovers.

Thank you, NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I liked it and enjoyed this book plus, I like the robotics aspect of the plot too. And also there was a nice romance in here as well.