Thank you to Holiday House and NetGalley for the ARC of this book. A lot more books I have read recently have been fighting against the patriarchy and I am here for it. The book hit some of the tropes I expected but it was still a well-told story. The epilogue was not what I expected but hey that means I can still be surprised. The world does put a lot of pressure on high school seniors to know what they want to do with their lives and determine their course when they may just need more time. Bel exemplifies this as someone who is still finding themselves and somewhat coasting through life while Teo has a very specific role he has filled for almost too long. They find a way to help the other grow and open their eyes to the possibilities of their world. I would definitely go check this out at the library if you can.

My Mechanical Romance is a YA novel that follows Bel and Teo’s budding relationship. They first meet in robotics club. Bel is laid back and more easy going while Teo is her opposite being super serious and studious. They clash right from the beginning becoming rivals. However, as things continue and they get to know each other they realize that they do indeed have feelings for each other.

Y’all I really wanted to love this one. I mean women in STEM and the enemies to lovers trope. Who wouldn’t want to love this one? Don’t get me wrong or take my 3 star rating as bad because this really was a cute story. It just didn’t live up to my expectations and maybe part of it was it read for me as too juvenile. The first chunk of this one was a bit slow but then it finally picked up. That being said I did read it in just a few days.

this book was a great, lighthearted high school romance. i loved the representation of women in stem, particularly the extra work they must do to prove themselves. teo and bel as a couple was adorable. the book was well-paced and is perfect for young adult readers.

E-ARC provided by from Holiday House / Peachtree / Pixel + Ink through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you very much!

4 stars. My Mechanical Romance is simultaneously a sweet teenage love story and an ode to women in STEM.

A special thank you to Holiday House and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this digital ARC of My Mechanical Romance.

MC Bel is forced to join the robotics team after failing to deliver an assignment (girls worst nightmare?)...turns out. She's actually pretty good at it. She is frustrated with team activities and there's also a lot of drama going on with her parents divorce - cue Teo, the team captain. Obviously they don't see eye to eye in the beginning but then they start spending more time together and they change their minds about each other.

This story was so cute! I really liked the characters, their interactions and how their relationship developed.
It was also really interesting to discuss the sexism in the engineering area, not only when Bel joins the team, but with Neelam, the only other girl in the team.

Overall, really cute and fun book

High school senior Bel is a natural engineer who doesn't understand how talented she is. She's afraid of success and afraid of failure, so she feels most comfortable acting as if she doesn't care about academics. After a teacher convinces her to join the robotics club, she gets to know Teo. He's the perfectionist son of a tech billionaire, and way too serious about school. Bel and Teo start out as rivals, but over time, she helps him relax, while he helps her believe in herself.

I loved the diversity in this book and the girls-in-STEM representation. Bel and Teo were well-developed, plus the writing and story were good. It seemed a little light on emotion, but the romantic attraction was well done.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

This book was amazing. I loved the book's focus on encouraging women to stand up and work together towards their success. The book's perspective shifts between Teo and Bel. Bel is a senior, who recently transferred to a new school after her parents split up. She has no plans for the future and actively avoids making plans. Teo was born with a future planned out for him. His father is famous in the tech field and, because of his father's reputation and pressure, Teo constantly strives toward perfection. After accepting a deal to try out for her school's robotics team, Bel accidentally catches Teo's attention. Bel has experience with welding and, although she does not have the technical knowledge, is talented when it comes to engineering. Although originally at odds, Teo and Bel work together and realize that they are better with each other. This book is so beautiful, highlighting the daily struggles women face, specifically in engineering. Teo must overcome the constant need to fix things while Bel has to accept her future and work for it. My favorite character ended up being Neelam. She had so much depth that a reader won't be able to see at first, but her motivation is so clear at the end of the book. The only reason I gave it four stars is that I believe the audience targeted was a little unclear. The book originally seems to be for a younger audience, yet there were a lot of scenes that were too mature. Young adult is a very vague category because it is a wide range when it comes to the level of maturity. I would just say that it would be for a mature, younger reader. Otherwise, it was so well written. Bel has to be one of the best main characters I've read and her growth was spectacular. I can't lie, I cried during the epilogue.

Ah young love ❤️

This is an enemies to lovers STEM young adult romance.

Bel, a senior high school transfer student, joins the robotic team and quickly becomes an enemy of Teo, senior captain of the soccer team and robotics team. They struggle to get along as a team as they build robots for regionals. Also, Bel is struggling to figure out what her future holds. She doesn’t know what she wants to do.

I am always a sucker for a strong female lead and that is exactly what Bel is. She isn’t afraid to be a smart and nerdy girl. As a fellow woman in STEM, I understand how hard it is to be taken seriously by others. Bel never backs down and proves she can do anything.

This was so wholesome and definitely would recommend to anyone who just wants to smile like an idiot the whole time.

Thank you to Netgalley and Holiday House for the ARC copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

4.25 Stars

"Nerds are so hot these days."
Off course they are and the nerds in this book are no exception.

Teo is the captain of the robotics and soccer teams and is enrolled in about half a dozen other science programs, and basically everyone is in love with him.
Bel is a new student at an elite high school. Unlike most of her colleagues, who seem to know what they want to do with their lives, Bel has absolutely no idea. As she spend more time as a member of the robotics team, Bel and Teo start to develop feelings for each other.

"Not for the first time, I get the feeling that if I leaned in closer, it would be like magnets. Like being drawn into some sort of gravitational field where things would just magically fit."

It's basically the new girl and the popular guy falling for each other, a classic one, right?! But no. this one is better. It's two nerdy teens falling for each other in a robotics lab.

"The world is not very helpful to a smart girl."
A very important part of the book explores what it's like to be a woman/ girl in STEM. The stereotypes and discrimination girls face each day and the need to work harder just to prove that you deserve to be here as much as everyone else.

Science, physics, and robotics are the beating heart of the novel. But don't worry, you don't have to be good at science to love this book. The author weaves in all of these subjects into the narrative in a very interesting way. The characters.just seem to get high on physics! (JUST KIDDING!!)

OMG! This book is so nerdy I just love it. It definitely exceeded my expectations and surprised me in a very good way.

It is definitely more YA than romance. So, it's great for anyone who likes a little bit of romance in their novels or for those of you who want to dip their toes into romance.

By now I think you can already tell that I'm in love with this book. If you're into STEM, you need to read this. I know I've probably said that this book is nerdy for like a hundred times, but yeah, it's nerdy in a very good way. In a way that will make you fall in love with science.

Thanks to Netgalley and Holiday House for providing me with an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

It's Bel's senior year of high school and the last thing she wants to think about is her future. But after accidentally showing talent for engineering at her new school, she is put on the robotics team. Naturally, the robotics team consists of guys who ignore her and one girl who doesn't seem to like her. But when Mateo, the captain, notices her potential to help the team, all they can do is seem to butt heads. After many late nights of designing robots together, they come to realize that not only did they make an awesome robot for Nationals, they have made each other and the team better.

This is a book about believing in yourself and fighting for what you want. I really liked how the author addressed difficulties for females in science, especially STEM. I love a good enemies to lovers and the author did not disappoint. This is a YA so even though there wasn't any spice, it was still really cute. I thought this book addressed a lot of the troubles of teens now and would be a good read for early high schoolers. I found it hard to believe that Bel had no direction, either from family or counselors, when applying to colleges though. I also would have enjoyed learning more about her family dynamic and seeing some healing between her and her dad. Definitely a quick and cute read!

Thank you Netgalley and Penguin Random House for this ARC! This book will be out May 31st ❤️

Thank you so much Holiday house for this delightful arc! This book might be my new favorite comfort romcom, it felt like a cozy warm hug and I ate this up so fast and couldn't put it down even when I had a history test I need(and still need to) study for. I loved the feminism and women in STEM and how the book explored the sexist in STEM and engineering. The characters were amazing and complex and each had thier own flaws that they worked through, even the side characters were lovely to read about. The Stem parts were slightly confusing cause I've never been good at physics lol but I still loved reading about it and honestly it made me want to learn more about physics so I can build awesome robots and do robot battles. When this book comes out I'm definetly buying a physical copy because I want to look at this on my shelf all day long and I love the name pun which initially made me want to pick it up so badly and it didn't dissapoint! And the romance was so sweet and cute and amazing and I love how Theo and Bel balance each other out and are able to support each others struggles. I also love how Alexene didn't go to the straight route of getting into your dream school (such as like Havard ect which alot of movies and books tend to do) which was a really unique path which I absolutely love and I could go on about this book forever!

It was time! I have always found that we did not talk enough about women in scientific circles, and this book reinforced me in the idea that we should really, but then REALLY be much more represented in this kind of environment.

Beyond the much too cute love story in the rivals-to-lovers style, I find that the fact that the main character is a woman of color gives power and depth to the story. I also identified a lot with Bel who has difficulty projecting herself and who develops a sickly fear of the future. Without going into details, this book raises current issues such as sexism, impostor syndrome, lack of self-esteem and male supremacy.

To be honest, this is not the kind of book I usually like to read. I am currently in my first year of graduate studies, and I already feel that my career choice is far behind me. Nevertheless, I recommend this book for anyone who, even today, looks at the sky and is looking for answers. Because it is in these pages that you will find them! ✨

Thanks NetGalley for providing me this eARC.
If u are looking for a cute teen rivals to lovers romance book. It’s well written and I really liked the characters. Like other readers I find the first part a little bit slow but it was a really enjoyable reading.

I COULDN'T PUT THIS DOWN! I MEAN A RIVALS TO LOVERS SET IN AN ENGINEERING MAJOR, COME ON HOW COULD I NOT LOVE IT!!
I absolutely loved Bel, she was smart and down to earth. I adored her quirkiness. also, she reminds me of myself when I was younger. Mateo is just a cutie. I wanted to protect him from the world, the slow progress of them growing close together was really so heartwarming.
It was a fluffy read that I wouldn't mind reading again.

On occasion I do like to read a bit of contemporary romances so when I got the chance to read My Mechanical Romance I took it. It was a cute and suprisingly deep read.

When Bel, accidentally, gets herself into the robotics club, she's not exactly embraced right away. The only other girl doesn't seem to like her very much and the club president doesn't like it that she doesn't always agree with him. But as she and the club president Mateo continue working together it is clear that sparks are starting to fly.

One of the things that drew me right into his book was Bel. I took quite a liking to her. Its not easy when your parents are divorcing and are expecting you to take sides. Its not easy when you have to pick what to do with your future when you don't even know what to do in the present. And then when you do, you don't get taken. I think that the book shows well how hard it can be for kids these ages to know what they want to do in the future. Sometimes you just haven't found that thing.

Its clear that her and Mateo have chemistry. But things don't evolve until they actually get to know each other. They learn about each others lives before they really jump into any kind of relationship which is another thing I appreciated about this book.

All in all I think that My Mechanical Romance is a cute read for anyone but especially great to read for those young adults struggling to figure out what to do after high school.

*Thank you so much to NetGalley for an early copy of this book*

“Nerds are hot now, sweetie”

hear me out. the love hypothesis but way. WAY. better. like if you took tlh and made it actually good. (sorry i’m a hater in my heart)
this is a young adult romance centered around Bel and Teo, who are teammates in their school’s robotics team😭
I loved how Bel is a #womaninSTEM but kinda by accident? and i love how she’s not neurotic or very passionate about it at first, and she’s never even thought about science (or even academia in general) as something she enjoys. and i love how, even when she finds out that engineering is what she wants to do, she still has other interests and is very into clothes and accessories and taylor swift.
and i LOVE the conversations about misogyny in science and how it’s perpetrated even by teachers and authority figures. i think it did a great job at them not being super surface level and actually discussing the issue at hand (the love hypothesis i’m looking at you).
overall, great. would recommend.

This was such a cute book! Omg it had that butterfly feeling that made me want to kick my feet around and squeal!
This follows Bel who just moved to a new school and has to sign up for the robotics team unexpectedly and Teo who has been the star of the team and the school overachiever since kindergarten. I have to say they make such a cute couple the banter was perfect and their humor complimented each others so well.
Bel was such a good female MC for a STEM novel. Young girls interested in science this ones for you. Bel is such a good character and I will forever love her.
Teo was such a cute LI. It truly is the little things like the bird knob and listening to Taylor Swift. (Side note the T Swift stuff was one of my favorite things about this book.) I hate it when the love interest has no character development and they just exist to drive a trope and this didn't do that at all he had his own struggles and triumphs. His father and playing soccer and his friends. I love Teo.
My only little critique of this book was that the ending felt a bit off pace. After Teo got sick every thing felt a little fast but I think this was due to skimming over the part where they were broken up. I think this would have been a flawless book if there was more yearning during the third act break up.
Overall I think this book was adorable and I'm so glad I got to read it early. I loved the pop culture references. (I know some people hate but I adore it.) I definitely will be adding this to a list of favorite YA romances.

This is by far one of the best academic rivals to lovers books that I've ever read, the main characters were so incredibly engaging and I think that this book really had a lot of nuanced discussions about sexism in the STEM world in a refreshing way that included the Woman of Color experience, something that is often left out of conversations regarding modern feminism, unfortunately. I loved this story, and I think a lot of different people would love it too!

Super cute little YA romance!

Enemies to lovers? Yes.
STEM? Yes.
Pretty awesome robots? Yes.

This was a super quick read with some super cute scenes. I liked both main characters. But, I really fell in love with the supporting characters. Dash was probably my favorite.

This is a perfect read for teens.

As a girl interested in a STEM career I loved this. You don’t have to like everything STEM to live this book Bel and Teo are amazing characters. Both have different energies, but they go so well together. I love me a good YA Romance because they are always fun and light and that is exactly what this book was. Bel is a great role model for young girls as well. So on May 31 run and get this. I promise you if you are into BookTok books you will be seeing this on there so you might as well get it when it comes out.

Thank you to NetGally and Holiday House for my digital ARC.