this was such a fun and fast read. I really loved getting the povs from our leads and how their banter was throughout the story. it did take me a second to get into the story but once I was I couldn't put it down.

I added this book to my NetGalley shelf when it was a "Read Now" title. In hindsight, and after having tried it out, I just don't think this book is for me. I'm not any fan of STEM and I'm also a bit over straight YA romances. I will however still give it a 3 stars on here, because I believe it is exactly what someone who like these subjects would love to see in a book that treats them.

-The writing was incredible, what I loved most about this book is how realistic it is. How each character showed us the struggles of high school. And the reality of high school relationships and dealing with their consequences.
And I think we all need someone to support us like how Mrs.Voss supported Bel.
I absolutely loved this quote

“You can stand up without standing alone”

What a great YA read, such a positive story. Having known young girls who wanted to go into engineering and the hurdles they had to overcome to be taken seriously I appreciated that the author has bought this to light in her book. It’s a story that celebrates friendships, diversity, inclusion , dreams, love ,family and so much more. I loved the characters and especially loved that it was a female teacher to push the main character into a male dominated club . A male teacher runs the club but learns that girls can be just as amazing as the boys if not even better but that they all work better as a team. The book was easy to read and it flowed really well between the point of view of the two main characters.
I think this would be a great story for schools to read in class or at least recommend it.

I received a pan advanced copy from NetGalley and all opinions are my own.

I really loved the word play in the title at the start. However, I would have appreciated seeing more of the technical terms used instead of robotics being the means for romance. I loved all the subplots but I wish we had seen more of them. I especially loved all the different character interactions aside from the main characters.

Thank you Netgally and the publisher for this e-ARC in exchange dor my honest review.

<b> "Take up your own space, Bel. Don't let other people tread over it."</b>

I really liked this book! It's a fun, easy read with a lot of great romance and friendships scenes. I adore how much it focused on Bel and how she didn't have eveything figured out yet. It felt really relatable to me, since I also don't know what to do with my future yet. And ofcourse I really like how this book proved that girls can also work with robots and how we can also be great at physics and maths! Girlpower YAY!!!

I enjoyed reading about all the characters. This book had dual POV, so we got to read both Bel's side of the story and Teo's. I really liked this, because I wasn't the biggest fan of Teo at the start if I'm honest. He felt quite egocentric to me, but the more chapters I read in his POV, the more I started liking him. He really won me over though when he accepted what Bel pointed out to him and started changing his behavior. Bel on the other hand is a character I liked from the start. From her doubt about the future, the struggle with her divorced parents, her 'special' clothing style,... I feel like she had everything I relate to and like in a character. She also wasn't scared to express herself and stand up for what she believes in.

We also had a lot of sidecharacters. I especially liked Jamie and Dash, and their dynamics and interactions with our main characters. Their text conversations made me laugh out loud so many times.

The teachers Ms. Voss and Mac also played a 'big' role, and I liked that a lot. It really showed us what a big influence a teacher can have on your life and school grades, bad and good both.

It was also great that the families of both characters were introduced in the books. I often feel like parents (and siblings) are very absent in YA novels, so I liked that we saw them involved in the characters lives and saw the influence they had on them too.

As for the writing, it was good. Definitely not as complicated as The Atlas Six, but perfect for a YA novel. The characters had enough depth and development, the plot was easy and interesting to follow, and the romance made me crave more interactions between Teo and Bel.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend picking it up when it comes out on May 31st.

ARC provided through NetGalley. Thank you!

After seeing the gorgeous cover and reading the blurb that suggested a girl being interested in STEM, I was very excited.
This author, who also wrote Atlas Six one of the biggest books being discussed on TikTok, I was really excited to get into My Mechanical Romance (love the word play in the title too) and it definitely did not disappoint.
Alexene wrote about some prominent issues for girls and women pursuing academic or career aspirations in STEM, a male-dominated sector.
Seeing Bel be really nervous about sharing her knowledge with a team she did not know was really great. It was clear sexism, although not blatantly obvious, was a key issue for female students in STEM subjects.
Alexene also portrayed Muslim characters - Neelam, who was a truly prickly character after working so hard to get the recognition she deserves among her male counterparts, and what the Holi Festival was and the significance of respecting its origins and what it means for Muslims to celebrate it properly.
Other cultures were represented aswell: Filipino and Mexican being discussed the most.
I loved that each character, whether main or side characters had their own story and issues they faced once they turned 18 and had to figure out their futures.
I think this book is suitable for a wide audience and would be a great read for young adults at a similar age as it's definitely a relatable story and I really enjoyed it.
Thanks so much!

I fell in love with this book cover and the title as soon as I saw them and knew I just had to read it.

Then, this book took me by complete surprise. I was expecting it to be cute and fun but it surpassed every expectation. I was not ready to fall in love with this book quite so hard.

Bel and Teo have my entire heart as both individual characters and as a couple. Their relationship was so sweet and so healthy. They bring out the best in each other and it was so much fun to read. There were so many adorable moments and I really enjoyed seeing their journey from friends to something more. There are some really beautiful moments between them and lines describing how they feel about each other that just melted my heart.

I thought it would be fun and silly but it was so much more than that. This book was powerful.

It highlighted the exclusion of women in STEM and one of my favourite moments was Mac realising that he had learnt a lot from Bel. Often, the problem is that people don’t realise they hold different expectations for boys and girls and that they place them with differing levels of responsibility. Mac realising that he had unconscious bias towards the boys was really important and gives me hope for a better future for the girls of tomorrow.

The side characters in this book were also just wonderful. Lora, Jamie and Dash all have my heart (especially Dash, who is just the best friend ever). Their friend group brought me just as much joy as the main couple and this is so important to me in a book.

And I found myself absolutely loving Neelam! I thought her character was so important and seeing the differences between her and Bel was really interesting. Some of the conversations between the two girls about the adversity they face being women in STEM were so impactful and I just wanted to give Neelam the biggest hug.

My favourite theme throughout the whole book was Bel learning to take up space. She also learnt to take control of her own future and establish her own dreams based on what makes her happy. It was amazing to see her development and I was rooting for her every step of the way.

The epilogue had me smiling so hard I thought I’d give myself a headache!!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Holiday House for the advanced reader copy. I could read about Bel and Teo and all of their friends forever. They have my heart.

I could start this as a formal review, but even in the slightest chance that you don’t read this till the end, I have to ask you in the beginning to READ THIS BOOK. I don’t think I have read a high school romance this cute and wholesome in a while now.

My Mechanical Romance by Alexene Farol Follmuth follows Bel and Teo, two high school kids who can’t be more poles apart. Bel would do anything but think about her college applications, and Teo is the kind of boy who would get early admission to a college solely based on his merits. When Bel accidentally finds one thing that makes her happy, and Teo sees her as a potential asset and recruits her to the robotics club, what follows is long hours of brainstorming sessions and building robots for the Nationals, which become their own super cute unofficial dates because of course nerds are hot. And the one “whose Spotify is currently paused on Taylor Swift’s entire discography so he can learn all the words that make her smile, even when she doesn’t want to. Especially then.” Need I say more?

I loved Teo and Bel. In the first half, Teo might come out as an arrogant, spoilt rich kid, but he is a lovely and hard-working boy worthy of every bit of success he gets. Bel doesn’t have her future figured out. And I love how the author dealt with this part of her story. It was perfect. I won’t go into more details on the same; you need to read it to find out.

Apart from the love story, I also loved the friendships. Dash was always there for Teo, and Bel had the best support from her friends. The Mechanical Romance feels what it was supposed to be, a story about High School kids. You can’t expect them to have everything figured out or say the right thing all the time. Their biggest worry might be getting into their dream college or not knowing if they want to be in one. And heartbreak would feel like when they don’t get it. And yes, high school love stories might not be it, but when Bel says, “Teo’s seen the most disgusting, secret, uncertain parts of me, and I still can’t believe he wants all of it, good and bad. But then again, I’ve seen all his fractures, and I won’t give up those either. I guess what being in love is- though what do we know about that? We’re still young enough to be as dumb about each other as possible.” You know this is as realistic as it gets.

The Mechanical Romance is the perfect summer read with adorable characters, accessible writing, and a cute plot for a love story. And yes, girls do belong in STEM.

Going into this book I had no expectations but I was very intrigued as soon as I picked up the book I could not put it down. I love books where the main character gets out of her comfort zones and enters the comfort zone of her rivaling counterpart. I love how we get to see how different Bel and Teo’s lives are but see them intertwine within eachother. Not necessarily enemies but more opposite attracts and I love it. Absolutely adorable relationships between Bel and Teo but even between the friend group how they all warm up to Bel at the beginning of the year. Watching Bel find herself within her circumstances was heartwarming. The pace of the story is slow but never boring but definitely a quick read for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, Alexene Farol Follmuth, and Holiday House for the advanced readers copy :)

I honestly don't know what to feel about this one - because I feel like people on Tiktok and Goodreads rave about it so much that I should've liked it better than I do, but unfortunately I do not. Don't get me wrong this was a cute book that had elements that I really liked but for me, it just fell flat. I still do recommend you read this if your curious about it especially with the hype it has been getting, it just was not my cup of tea.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an early copy to read and review prior to its 5/31 release date.

“I’ve always believed there’s a possibility for everything in the world to collide for a single perfect moment, and that sometimes, if you’re lucky, you get to have one for yourself.”

This one was cute! I am a SUCKER for romances with STEM in them. I don’t know why, because I am awful at math and science, but it always grabs my attention and fascinates me. Not only is the STEM representation in this book fantastic, but so is the diversity (cultural & religious).

The theme of this book to me is being able to discover who you are and what you want out of life, and not bowing down to what others perceive or expect you to be. There was a lot of character growth in this book for Teo and Bel, as well as another side character whose a little rough around the edges.

I loved the talk about the reality of girls in STEM and how it can be difficult to manage when everyone is looking down at you because you’re a female. But females run the world so…

The adults all sucked in this except for Ms. Voss. I did enjoy how Bel was managing her parents divorce because it felt very authentic to me as someone whose own parents are divorced.

This book was a little slow paced, and there was some repeatitiveness of material in chapters, but overall I enjoyed it. It is definitely towards the lower end of the YA spectrum (takes place in high school) but not too young for me yet.

Bel is awesome. She’s so blunt but in a nice and funny way.

“…until every girl who succeeds is like a beacon of light for all the others.”

Also - Community college is free in CA?! (According to this story). So why can’t it be free here in MA too? (Asking for a friend…)

TW: sexism, divorce

This book is sooo cute! I love the rivals to lovers trope and I ate this book up!!! I loved Bel’s character, her genius mind and her little weirdness which in total honesty is refreshing to read about. I also liked Mateo, he was so charming and amazing. The characters in this book are so well developed and so realistic that I couldn’t stop reading!

This was AMAZING! I thought the STEM romance was to die for! I also adored the character development!! The plot was also very inspiring to young girls everywhere!

This book was the perfect geeky romance! If you're looking for your next read after 'The Love Hypothesis', this one will give you the same thrill. The author of this novel already produced a brilliant piece of fiction and this easily follows. It's humorous, bright and such fun to read.

The characters were all so charming and the romance was to die for. I really liked this and will definitely pick up whatever comes next for this author!

I loved this one. Super cute and fun to read with a sweet romance! I loved that it was dual point of view and that each character, while also falling in love, had their own character arcs that were exciting and really interesting to read about. Personally, my favourite parts of the book were when Bel discovered her love for robotics and knew that was what she wanted to go to school for. It made me happy to read about someone discovering their passion.

I was excited when I saw this on NetGalley because this author also wrote The Atlas Six, which has been on my radar thanks to TikTok. I thought this book was great and I appreciated that it was short but still gave me just what I needed to stay invested in the story. I'm looking forward to reading more from this author.

‘𝙔𝙤𝙪’𝙧𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙨, 𝘽𝙚𝙡 𝘾𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙤.’

Bel would rather die than think about the future. But when she accidentally reveals a talent for engineering at school, she’s basically forced into joining the robotics club. Even worse? All the boys ignore Bel—and Neelam, the only other girl on the team, doesn't seem to like her either.

Enter Mateo Luna, captain of the club, who recognizes Bel as a potential asset—until they start butting heads. But as the nights of after-school work grow longer and longer, Bel and Teo realize they've made more than just a combat-ready robot for the championship: they’ve made each other and the team better. Because girls do belong in STEM.

‘𝘽𝙚𝙡, 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙣. 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙄’𝙢 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚.’

first of all, I think the cover is so cute. I love bel’s bird jeans. second of all, I loooove this story. it has an academic rivals to lovers trope and it’s just great how bel and teo grew closer.

at first bel didn’t really care about engineering and just school in general until one of her teachers recognized her talent. she was way happier when she joined the team and got so much more friends.

in the beginning teo was a bit arrogant and I didn’t really like him. he was mean to bel when he saw she was as good as him in engineering. luckily they started working together, because bel changed teo in a positive way.

‘𝙄 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙄’𝙢 𝙞𝙣 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙮𝙤𝙪.’

even though this story is about robots, science and engineering (which I normally don’t really like) I loved this book. the story is fun for everyone, because most of the book is about the lovestory of bel and teo. I’m so happy that this book was my first arc!!

𝙄’𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚’𝙨 𝙖 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖 𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙡𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩 𝙢𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙨, 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪’𝙧𝙚 𝙡𝙪𝙘𝙠𝙮, 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛.

"I like to think I have eccentric tastes in most things, but I like Taylor Swift too. I’m human, after all." SAME Bel, same 😆 #swiftie

This was a really cute YA novel! I found the pacing slower than I like, but this book was wonderfully written, witty and inspiring. I really loved the Women in STEM aspect of this book, and thought the robotics team was really fun to read about! I loved Bel's teacher who encouraged her to to challenge herself and to "Take up your own space, Bel. Don't let other people tread over it.".

However, I thought the characters were somewhat unlikable. Teo never grew on me, and although I liked Bel, she spent most of the book being so unsure of herself that it got really annoying after awhile. The amount of times I read "I mean" and "Uhm" started to get to me. I understand this was added to make it known that she was insecure, and me not liking that detail is just a personal preference.

If you're looking for a wholesome, well written, young adult, slow burn romance, centering around robotics, engineering and women in stem, I recommend it.

"Hormones are honestly the worst thing anyone’s ever invented."

✍🏼 𝘼𝙪𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙧: Alexene Farol Follmuth
🗓️ 𝙋𝙪𝙗 𝘿𝙖𝙮: May 31, 2022
📚 𝙂𝙚𝙣𝙧𝙚: Young Adult Romance

3.75⭐ Thank you Holiday House for this e-ARC!

This review will be posted to my blogs and Amazon in publication day!

This was a fun read that I went through fairly quickly! I still love YA, even as an almost 30 year old. The characters felt really fleshed out and we definitely need more books about women in STEM, especially YA books. I also really loved the cover of this book. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone in a reading slump. This pulled me out very quickly!

"Desculpe ter demorado tanto."

Bel é uma garota que corre toda vez que o assunto sobre o futuro chega à porta. No último ano do ensino médio em uma escola nova, ela só quer se esconder e não ter que pensar em tudo o que está acontecendo em sua vida, contudo, após uma trabalho surpreendente feito de última hora, ela é basicamente obrigada a entrar na equipe de robótica do colégio.

Lá Bel percebe que não será apenas abraçada por todos, ela precisa mostrar seu valor num grupo dominado pela sua maioria meninos e onde as mulheres não são valorizadas. Também não ajuda quando a outra menina do grupo parece que a odeia. Mas, no meio disso tudo, ela encontra Teo, o líder e o menino perfeito. E o seu oposto.

Teo tem tudo na vida planejado e se envolve em várias atividades com maestria. Líder da robótica, jogador de futebol, aluno nota 10, aquele que todos podem contar o tempo todo. Mas até onde isso é bom para um garoto que 18 anos que deveria ser apenas... um garoto?

Teo vê um potencial em Bel e ajuda a direcioná-la dentro das suas potencialidades que ela mesma nunca havia pensado, em contrapartida, ela traz a leveza que a vida de Teo precisava. E no meio dessa aproximação de amizade, companheirismo e amor, eles buscam construir um robô vencedor para o campeonato nacional.

Uma das coisas que eu mais gostei nesse livro é que, além do romance fofo e maravilhoso, temos diálogos e dificuldades condizentes com a faixa etária e contexto do livro. É real e necessário. Eu amo livros levinhos de young adult que me fazem suspirar, mas também adoro quando, além disso, eles nos trazem dilemas da vida e um pano de fundo sólido para os personagens.

A autora é maravilhosa em mostrar o machismo no contexto das áreas de engenharia e robótica e como a mulher precisa lutar 10x mais para alcançar o seu espaço. Da mesma forma, ela te mostra como um cara nunca vai entender na mesma proporção o que nós passamos, ainda que ele esteja do seu lado nessa briga.

Além disso, o livro também aborda os dilemas sobre escolher o futuro e a pressão feita sobre os adolescentes. Se de um lado eu conseguia compreender a Bel com suas indecisões, do outro eu queria acolher o Teo e toda a expectativa que as pessoas ao redor colocavam nele.

O final me deixou apreensiva e deu um toque a mais na história, trazendo um lado realístico e bem pé no chão, ao mesmo tempo que me deu o quentinho no coração que eu precisava.

É o primeiro livro da autora que eu leio e sem dúvida eu espero que ela escreva mais nesse estilo porque ela acertou em cheio por aqui. Aquele primeiro beijo com certeza ficou na minha memoria afetiva e eu levarei Bel e Teo pra sempre comigo.