as someone who did not have a good relationship with high school and thought they outgrew YA romances, this blew me out of all my biases and was such a cute, intelligent, and surprising read!

My Mechanical Romance is a young adult contemporary romance with a dual pov following bel, an eccentric and intelligent girl who joins her new school's robotics club much to her own aversion, and teo, captain of the robotics club. while also being a fluffy rivals to lovers romance, this book delves deeper into commentary on sexism and racism within the STEM world, familial issues, and intersectional feminism. this is also the first time i've read a book with a filipino mc (bel), which i appreciated and adored! each character felt very fleshed out and unique, even the side characters. bel and teo felt reminiscent of blue and gansey from the raven cycle and i was absolutely here for all of that.

i will say that the beginning of this book read very cheesy and cliche, in which i thought i wasn't gonna be able to continue, but after it set up the initial premise everything fell into place and the writing style grew on me. if you struggle with the beginning, please push forward because this is a cute read that's definitely worth your time!

(i absolutely need more from this author so now i'm finally gonna pick up the atlas six)

thank you so much to netgalley, holiday house, and alexene farol follmuth for this eARC!

This. Book. Was. So. Endearing.

I loved pretty much everything about "My Mechanical Romance." Bel and Teo were well-rounded, intelligent, and just smart alec-y enough for me. Seriously though, their back-and-forth banter is sincerely perfect.

As much as they compliment each other, they are also very much the "opposites attract" trope, at least initially. Bel is awkward at first glance, more of a wallflower than an extrovert, with outfits much more loud than she is. Teo appears to be effortless cool, meeting every expectation of his rich family and smart family and rising to his future as an MIT shoe-in. When Bel is pushed into joining the Robotics Team, she butts heads with Team Lead Teo immediately. She's new to school and unafraid of his golden boy status there, pretty much the only one willing to challenge his leadership.

And Teo? Teo kind of ... loves it. They form an unlikely partnership after Teo spontaneously offers to help Bel learn the software she needs to learn as part of the robotics team. He isn't even sure why he offered as first, except ... when she talks, he can't take his eyes off her.

What starts with frustration and banter involves into much more, with B and T taking turns unloading their biggest fears and insecurities to each other. Teo has the world on his shoulders, his path in life planned out by his teachers and coaches and parents, and he may or may not feel like Atlas himself. Bel has aptitude and intelligence out the wazoo, but lacks the drive and resources Teo has. Learning how to find balance in their lives is one of the many things that draws them together like magnets.

Normally slow-burns bore me, but in the case of a YA romance, I prefer it. The characters are almost always getting to know themselves, so I like getting to take time to know them too. The writer gives us lots of STEM-y goodness in the meantime. If you've ever enjoyed Battle Bots, you'll enjoy the smashy robot goodness of the Robotics Team competition. In the end, the sweet, nerdy romance you from a book called "My Mechanical Romance" is there. Just not without a few bumps in the road.

Bel kicks as much robot butt as you want her to, and she wears glitter Doc Martins while doing it. She's an inspiring YA character, written to inspire. I hope she succeeds.

I would recommend "My Mechanical Romance" to anyone who wants a cute, easy read with good back-and-forth, solid character development and some laugh-out-loud moments. Easily a 4-star read.

Okay, this book is genuinely so cute and relatable!! Like, I could write an essay on how I can find myself in almost all the characters.
This is a fun, cute, quick romance to read whenever you don’t know what to read next.
First of all, the tropes: (kind of) enemies to friends to lovers and slow burn is awesome!
Both main characters are genuine and loving. Bel’s fashion style is so perfect, and it makes her stand out but not in an “I’m not like other girls” way. I want to give Teo a hug because he makes everyone feel better before himself and he puts so much pressure on himself.
I also loved this book because of the scientific background. It was so interesting to learn about robotics and made me wish my high school had stuff like that.
During the entire book I could relate to so many characters: Bel for being a girl in a man’s world, not knowing what you want to do after school. Dash because you’ve been doing something your entire life, but you realize you don’t want to make it your job. And so many more…
Anyway, you should read this book, I totally recommend it :)

I might be addicted to books about women in STEM, so please write more!

Typically, I don't read YA contemporary/romance, but this book called to me and thank god it did because it is so cute! I adored the romance, and the characters' development was great. Both had a good build-up and neither felt forced or rushed. There are some predictable plot elements, but I guess that's to be expected in a YA romance.

Overall, a great read. Highly recommended.

Words cannot describe how much I loved this book, AHHHHH. Like I don’t even know where to start or with what to start. This was just sooooo Fkn adorable and kept me so hooked the whole time, I did not want to put it down. I loved the characters, the growth, the relationship development, the tropes, the setting, and the plot.

This book just made me fall in love with the opposites attract and new girl x popular book tropes even more. Their relationship is so pure, their dynamic, support towards each other and development was so wholesome. It called me single in every language possible. And their first kiss was at a holi festival??? LIKE GOALS! It was the whole she falls first but he falls harder thing and I LOVED all of it. The epilogue has my whole heart too it was so well done.

I loved seeing Bel & Neelam’s relationship growth, and the topics of classism/elitism regarding college and sexism in STEM.

I would 100% recommend this book, so pleaseeee pick it up!!!!

Let me start saying this was such a cute book in everyway that counts. I ask for it because the cover and title were so cute and I was curious when I saw a review if it.

So about the story I can't only it was one of the cutest book I've ever read this year. It was so fun, real and nerdy. I love every single page of it because it really shows you the way teenagers act about they future. Take as example the way Teo was already accepted to his chosed school and then you have Bel who is so confused and doesn't even know what she wants be let alone chosed a school.
Another real thing about this book that maked me conect with it was the way woman are perceived in sccience. It's so Hard to be a woman in a World thats its mostly controled by guys, in the science field most of the time women are the behind the scene or the harder work trying to gain their Place as part of the project and barely got recognition for it. I really like the way the author showed you the strugles of Teo to mantain this perfect person and behind the scene he was struggling to much.

Seriously robatic and physics lenguage it's my New love language. I'm going to finish this saying that "Nerds are hot" except Teo (joking he's hotter than sin) 🤭🤭.

Thanks NetGalley for this cute and amazing ARC, I can't wait for people to read this boook.

“If I want the world to recognize what I am truly capable of, I have to show them.”

Thank you NetGalley for the e-arc !!!

A heartwarming novel with lots of robotics and inspiring moments.

With the characters struggling to find the “right” path as they were seniors and about to go to college in not so long; as I am going through the same thing, I thought the whole experience throughout the book was really relatable, which I liked.

WOMEN IN STEM WE WOOON.

The “enemies to lovers” trope is really popular right now, and as someone who LOVES this trope, I didn’t really like how it was portrayed in the story, yes there was angst and yes there were cute moments, but there wasn’t really a lot of yk, the enemies part.

With dual POV we got to see the story through Bel and Teo, the main characters, whose love story description is what lured me into reading this book. Being almost polar opposites, Bel and Teo are perfect for each other. And the conversations the characters felt so real and not forced, with genuinely funny moments and REAL conversations.

Character development was *chefs kiss*, secondary characters I turned out to like better than Teo though. 🤭

And that’s it, this pretty much sums up my whole experience with the book.

What I loved:
* Academic rivals to lovers - watching Bel stand up to Teo, especially at the start of the book was so satisfying. I loved seeing how she was able to use her own experience to help the team and how much it infuriated Teo.

* Representation for women in STEM - I loved how the author addressed the very real problems faced by women in male dominated areas, like areas related to STEM. It is an unfortunate truth that too many girls are not encouraged to pursue interests or careers that are mainly male dominated and the author did not shy away from this at all.

* Bel was a super likeable character! I liked her right away, right down to her bird jeans. She felt really realistic and relatable, I mean, who else felt like they didn't have their entire life figured out at 17?

What I didn't love:
* I feel like the ending left a few loose ends. I don't want to get into details, but I feel like there were some things that need cleared up, one example being with Teo's father.

* I feel that the ending was a bit rushed and I would have liked to see more about how Teo and Bel dealt with things more. There were a few issues in their relationship that hadn't been sorted out and I would have liked to have seen some sort of conclusion before the book ended.

* I wish the rivals part had developed more, but that's purely personal preference.

Overall, this was a really great read and I highly recommend it. It was a quick, light read!

Thank you so much to the publisher Holiday House for sending an arc of this my way in exchange for an honest review.

This just wasn't up my alley. Although i am a diehard fan of the authors other works. i just couldn't fall in love with My Mechanical Romance. I just couldn't care enough about the story or the characters considering I'm not into robotics and stem. it seemed interesting at first and then kind of just dragged for me.

ARC provided by NETGALLEY

reading slump make it way while i was reading this book and it took me 10 days to finish it BUT i absolutely adored this novel!
first, the trope academic rivals to lovers yup obviously im in!
second, a two pov narrative, love it!
i felt really connected to some stuffs on this book, and it felt so good to be seen!
being a scientist myself, i wish more (romance) novel were settled in science world with nerdy characters!

Thank you to NetGalley, Alexene Farol Follmuth & Holiday House for allowing me to read this ARC. 4 stars: My Mechanical Romance by Alexene Farol Follmuth is such a cute novel featuring women in stem, academic rivals to lovers, and coming of age. I loved Bel and Teo and the duo POV as they become closer. There were great range of characters but the plot moved a bit slow for me. Overall, a good YA contemporary read.

My Mechanical Romance
5/5
I absolutely LOVED this book! It was a cute, quick read and I really enjoyed the pacing of the story! I am all for academic rivals to lovers, so this story had me hooked immediately. I found the main character, Bel, to be so relatable, especially with her struggles to find her path in life. The focus on women in STEM was also amazing! I enjoyed the dual POV between Bel and her robotics team rival Mateo Luna, and I really liked that all of the interactions between the characters in the book felt very natural! It really felt like conversations high schoolers would have. Bel and Mateo’s transition from rivals to friends to lovers was EVERYTHING! I always enjoy all the cute, wholesome moments when they are beginning the shift from friends to lovers and this book had plenty! I also loved all of the secondary characters in the book! Overall, this was one of my favorite YA books I’ve read this year and I would recommend it to literally anyone and everyone who loves YA romance!
Thank you to NetGalley and Holiday House for gifting me this eARC in exchange for my honest review!

When Bel fails an assignment, she is forced to join the schools robotics team and quickly finds out that she is pretty good at it. This is also where she meets Theo, the team captain. Rivals at first, the two soon realize that they might have more in common than they originally thought.
This was a great read. The story was very well written and the plot is easy to follow. The characters were great as well. Especially the main character Bel was amazing, in my opinion. She was very well developed and her character growth was notable and appreciated. The relationship between the main characters was also very well executed in my opinion. The change from rivalry to love was great and not too rushed. i would definitely recommend this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC

First I would like to thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC copy in exchange for a review !!

I personnaly loved this book so much it was such a fun read !! At first I was a little skeptical because read even if I love a good rivals to lovers I'm not a big fan of science (litereray to the core lol). BUT I was so wrong and I'm glad i was.

The story follows Bel who just arrived in a new High School and who will against all odds join the school robotics club by capturing the attention of the team leader who i no one else than our male protagonist Mateo Luna !! I find it interesting to see the struggles that girls in STEM have to face and how they have to fight to prove their value in this world where some men dont think they belong.

Concerning Bel and Teo I just loved the fact that even if they're from two completly different worlds they find in eachother a person who understand them better than everyone else.

Their relationship and its development was awesome just to see them going from academic rivals to friends to lovers was so cute and fun !! It was beautiful to see this fragile young love blooming.
And I really loved them separetly too they're so smart and kind !

I also really could relate to Bel character and her struggles. Some people have their all life figured it out (or at least have a idea of what their future will look like) but some of them just dont really know what to expect of their future (I'm one of them lol) I just recently figured it out that each person have her own path, her own rythm and that its not a competition. Everything will come to place and at some point all of this will make sense (enventually lol). And thats why Bel character hit very close to home and I just loved to see her grow throughout the book and to see her become a independent and skillful character who just keep evolving despite all the difficulties she has to face as a girl in STEM.

So yeah I was such a good read and I'm so happy I was given this opportunity to discover it !!

𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐈 𝐀𝐑𝐂 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖
𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: My Mechanical Romance
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: Alexene Farol Follmuth
𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: YA contemporary romance
𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Written in dual first-person POV, we follow Bel as she is lost in what she wants to do with herself and her life. Enter Teo—the robotics captain, the soccer captain, and the all-round smart, athletic guy. He notices Bel’s talent in engineering, and they start working together.

I liked how this book explores challenges girls of colour face in STEM as well as the sweetness and vulnerability of falling for someone.

𝐆𝐔𝐒𝐇:
• cute, quick, and fast read. I read this in one sitting!
• funny moments where I actually laughed out loud at the banter
• love Bel and how the book explores her coming of age

𝐆𝐑𝐈𝐏𝐄:
• I don’t know how to articulate it, but I feel like the writing was too chaotic for me—like there was never a moment to ruminate on what was happening, if that makes sense.
• I feel that issues between Bel and Teo were not resolved towards the end despite the book leading up to it… (even if it was a realistic ending, I still wasn’t satisfied)
• I feel like a few issues were not addressed enough (regarding Teo’s family, Bel’s parents)

𝐈𝐧 𝐚 𝐧𝐮𝐭𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞:
✔ academic rivals to lovers
✔ women in STEM (making robots!)
✔ diverse cast of characters
✔ engineering

𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫: fans of YA contemporary romance, people wanting to read young women in STEM, WOC in STEM

TW: sexism, divorce, anxiety, racism

Thank you to @NetGalley and the publisher (@Holiday House) for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 𝐌𝐲 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐠: 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐣𝐨𝐲.𝐜𝐨𝐦

3.5 stars, rounded up. My Mechanical Romance is a really fun, cute YA romance with a heavy emphasis on STEM and robotics. I loved every single conversation Bel had with Ms. Voss and the lessons Bel learned from her. Teo is super, super arrogant - soccer team captain, robotics captain, teacher favorite, with a wealthy family and absurd popularity. But I love how he changes and humbles a bit after he meets Bel. I also love how he pushes her to be better, to learn more.
I didn't like that they both sort of feel pressured by themselves to have sex simply because they're dating. That whole part of this book felt... unnecessary.

*Steam: kisses, mention of make outs
*Content: divorce, sexism

Thanks to NetGalley for my e-arc of this book. Opinions here are my own.

This was adorable. It was so easy and fun to read. The characters felt like real people and the relationship between Bel and Teo progressed in such a wholesome and understandable manner. I enjoyed every bit of it.

As much as this book was centered around the romance and robotics, there's so much more. The characters and their relationships are all handled with equal care. The themes of figuring where you belong and what you're good at resonated alot, especially for confused girls in stem spaces. ( Shoutout to Bel for being painfully relatable)

I also really really REALLY liked the Holi scene and appreciate the author for being very respectful of other cultures and ethnicities.


T R O P E S
Academic rivals to lovers
Girls in STEM
POC in STEM
Strong female friendships
Coming of Age

4.4*

thank you so much to netgalley and the publishers for an advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

my mechanical romance (prettiest cover btw) follows bel, who after finding out she has a natural gift for engineering, is forced to join the robotics team at her high school. bel isn’t big into academics so she’s reluctant - especially after meeting a team of people who doubt her skills. enter the other half of our dual pov: mateo luna - rich, genius, and good at everything - who is the controlling captain of the team. he notices something in bel, however, and as they work late nights together on robots they start to find themselves growing closer, and making each other better. bel and teo now have to navigate new friendships, family problems, and their budding romance, all while finding the future that’s right for them.

i really really enjoyed this one!!! bel is a fun and likeable protagonist who is a badass engineer and wears glitter eyeshadow to competitions. teo is definitely the kind of guy i would’ve been obsessed with in high school (he is so nerdy charming - to some this probably means arrogant) and their relationship is well-paced and communicative. however, for a book pitched as “rivals” to lovers they were only rivals for about 3 seconds. i wish they had a little bit more of that tension for longer, but that’s personally what i prefer in this particular trope.

i love found family/ big friend groups (especially in ya) so i also enjoyed that aspect of the team as well. pretty much everyone is likable and the dialogue is snappy and quick!! however, while a lot of the characters dealt with recognizing biases in the stem world, i do think within the big arc of the story some character development felt a little unfinished. (i’m not a woman in stem, so i can’t speak to this 100% but some parts, especially with the mail robotics teacher, had me feeling like the sexism aspect could’ve been handled more clearly)

also, this book has a lot of cliches. like a lot. if you, however, are reading a young adult romance and looking for absolutely zero cliches… let me know if you find one! i however, absolutely love cliches, so big down to the wire tournament moments and everyone-sees-it-but-them romances are righttttt up my alley.

overall, this was a super charming read that maybe could have used a bit more nuance in some areas but was still completely satisfying and fun. 4 stars!!!

3.5 ✨

“Maybe life hasn’t always pointed things out to me the way I was expecting, but if I was lucky enough to let the universe catapult me here, then all the hard stuff along the way was worth it.”

This is for all the girls that always try to be their best, for the ones that get up every single time after they fall, and that work hard to be the main character in their own lives. For the ones that know they don’t have to do it alone. That it doesn’t matter how old you are to figure what you want to be. That it’s okay to be nervous but you should always trust yourself enough not to be afraid. And most of all for all the girls that are trying their hardest to be all of the above.

The characters were absolutely fantastic. Main and second characters alike. I loved Bel she was hilarious, sweet, and utterly unique. Teo was a cinnamon roll hiding under all that pressure. They were nerdy and cute together. I was rooting for them since the beginning. The friendships were also top notch everyone should have friends like them.

“God, your nerd energy is so suffocating right now.”

Read if you like 💫
•Women in Stem
•Robotics
•Enemies to friends to lovers
•Teammates romance
•Taylor swift
•Classic trope : “Secret robotics tutoring”
•Diversity rep

“It’s my life, isn’t it? Robotics helped me realize I could find a place here—or better yet, make one.”

This was such a sweet YA romance. The storyline and characters feel very realistic, and I love the representation of Women in STEM (and in this book--engineering and robotics). I also enjoyed the discussions throughout the story of family dynamics and following what your passions are (especially when deciding your future beyond high school).

Thank you Holiday House and NetGalley for this arc in exchange for my honest review!