This a cute, sweet book about women in STEM awesome. I was intrigued by the oremise from the start and it was executed well. Teo and Bel are great and enjoyable protagonists to read from. I liked the small insights into the side character but my favorite to hear from was definitely Dash. So sweet!

*Thank you Netgalley for a copy for an honest review*

This was such a fun book, I really enjoyed the academic rivals to lovers, the bots, the characters, the story, just about everything.

This is a YA book and although I did misread the synopsis, I thought these were college kids, I still really enjoyed this book so much.

Bel has transferred to a very academically driven prestigious school. She ends up being in AP Physics and joins the robotics club, enter Mateo Luna. Mateo is driven, he has his goals and he knows what he wants and has his life all planned out - Definitely opposites attract.

The characters were all very well written and just somehow made this story even more amazing. They were witty, and the challenges each of them faced, especially some as women in STEM, really made it easy to connect to them. The writing had a great pace and I never felt bored or wanted to switch out books (I'm a chronic multi-book reader)
And something that makes it a win in my books, I read until late at night.

I can't wait for more people to discover this gem.

4 ⭐

My Mechanical Romance by Alexene Farol Follmuth is a YA contemporary romance novel following the protagonist Bel who moves to a new high school in her senior year and is forced to join the robotics club by captain of the club, Mateo Luna, who recognises Bel's engineering talent as a potential asset for his team.

Bel is an extremely relatable teenager, at least for me, when it comes to her lack of motivation and confusion in life and for her future. Mateo was also an interesting and likeable character and I really liked the realism of him being a flawed overachiever with pressure and expectations from his parents as well as having the difficulty of managing his academic, athletic and personal life. I thought the other characters such as Dash, Luke, Neelam, Kai, the parents, etc were thought out as well.

The romance was super adorable. It really had me blushing over them because I haven't read a good romance in a while. They had great banter and cute nicknames too. I thought they connected really well and I loved how they had an interest in something they both loved and enjoyed.

I loved the diversity and it featuring a woman of colour in STEM, an academic rivals to lovers romance and dual pov. It touched on things such as the sexism women face in STEM fields. And I appreciate how this book highlights that its not all sunshine and roses because of how difficult engineering can be to get into, especially to Bel as a new comer and lover.

I'm only giving it 4 stars because I didn't like the subplot of Neelam being a rude character towards everyone in their team, especially to Bel. It feels unnecessary and makes it seem that women are out to get each other and aren't capable of being team mates. I personally would have liked it better if Neelam got along with the girls because she could have connected and related with the other girls and their experiences being a girl in a challenging field.

Overall, this book is cute ya romance and I can't wait to read more of their work in the future :)

This was so damn cute. It was a quick read with a sweet romance & a good plot. Bel's journey through the world of engineering was great to read. Overall it was very wholesome and I really enjoyed it!!

The world of competitive high school robotics is explored in My Mechanical Romance. Filipino transfer student Isabel (Bel) Maier enters Essex Academy for Art and Science Technology, having no plans for her future. When she unwittingly captures the attention of Mateo Luna, captain of the robotics and soccer teams, by creating an ingenious egg drop design, she reluctantly switches to AP Physics and joins the robotics team. Even though she has Mateo's support, her male teammates dismiss her ideas, and even Neelam Dasari, the only other girl on the team, shuns her. Her engineering prowess and her knack for building things keep her engaged, even as she clashes with Mateo and her teammates over her unorthodox ideas. As her relationship with Mateo becomes romantic, they struggle to navigate new love amidst the cutthroat world of the robotics competition. Even as Bel shows there is a place for women in the STEM world, she realizes that she needs to be more of a team player. This is an upbeat romantic comedy with great chemistry between Bel and Mateo and a sympathetic supporting cast.

4.5 ⭐️

This was such a cute YA coming-of-age story with some romance sprinkled in! I found myself relating HARDCORE with Bel because I still don’t know what I want to do with my life (and I’m 21 lol). Her internal struggles were easily what I’ve been going through for the past 5 years, as I've tried to figure out what I’m good at, what makes me happy, and how I can make that my career.

My high school did not have a robotics club nor did it have any push for STEM classes, but man I wish it did! This is the side of science that I find interesting, so getting to see a little behind the scenes through the plot of this book was so fun for me.

Also, WOMEN IN STEM>>>> I love seeing women do what they do best: be awesome & seeing it in male-dominated areas is even more rewarding. The microaggressions that women face in STEM fields and specifically in the robotics & engineering side focused on in the book are frustrating but a reality. I loved how Neelam still held her ground in the field, and eventually, assisted Bel with understanding how it all worked and how she, herself, had stayed strong.

Thank you NetGalley & the publisher for sending me an eARC!

Thank you @netgalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review! 😌
Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟
this was SO wholesome. Bel, one of the main characters, is unsure about her future and hasn't applied to any colleges yet despite the peer pressure and everyone having everything figured out already weighing on her but when she displays an extraordinary talent that makes Teo Luna add her to his robotics team, her ambitions soon start to grow. I absolutely loved how smart Bel was. We need more books about girls and women in STEM. So, basically, Bel joins the team and soon finds herself enjoying her teammates' company but also facing some hurdles like her male teacher's and some dude teammates' sexist remarks doubting her ability to be an engineer. I liked how the author dealt with that and it's accurate isn't it? There were some things I found a little weird, like the cultural appropriation of Holi. The characters didn't bother to learn about it and treated the only unlikeable Indian character as a joke when she tries to explain what it is. I didn't like her either but that's no excuse to appropriate someone's culture and then not consider their explanation. That's the only reason I dropped one star.
This book deals with the stress high schoolers have about college applications and SAT scores and how ambitions change and evolve. I liked how it deals with the consequences of divorce on children and how they struggle to accept their feelings about one parent or both.
Overall, a really cool read. Would definitely recommend. It's been a while since I read a YA contemporary and this was pretty awesome.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

*Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review*


This is a super wholesome love story about two nerds, with the personalities of a breadstick,falling in love while building Robots.

Pros
•women in STEM
•Diversity
•Neelam dragging everyone(she swears shes me)

It was very cutesy but i feel like this was marketed as academic rivals to lovers and i didn’t get that vibe at all. Its genuinely just young love blossoming . Little angst. Nothing really gripping maybe my expectations were too high? Definitely pick it up if you just need something heartfelt & pure.

Potentially closer to a 3.5 but I hesitated so much we’re rounding up.

Getting this ARC made my weeeeek. The YA readers have some incredible books coming at them. I really wish 16 year old could have gotten her hands on this. I would have passed out a few times from Teo and Bel’s everything.

An absolutely funny, quirky and well written story. I loved the side characters and the plot and the way the MC’s were described while they managed their senior year stress.

A few things felt untied and rushed to me - the third act nonsense as per usual, the first half of the book was drawn out well and I loved it , but the second half - especially the last quarter absolutely sped by.

Some of the family drama and other issues presented never really felt resolved - a big one for me was Mac.

Overall this was warm and lovely , and funny. Definitely a great quick read. And my weekly reminder that I’m not cut out to be an engineer but fighting robots for a living sounds like a great time.

Thank you to Netgalley and Holiday House for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

My Mechanical Romance is one of the best young adult books I’ve read this year. It’s so wholesome and honestly just made my heart happy. It’s filled with amazing representation that is extremely important. The main form of representation is Bel representing women in STEM. Follmuth does a fantastic job of discussing and depicting the tribulations women in the STEM field have to go through. They’re not taken seriously, people don’t give them a chance to participate, there are fewer of them to begin with, and so much more that I’m missing. It’s so important to give these women a voice and for young girls to see that it’s possible to succeed in the STEM field.

The romance between Teo and Bel was adorable. It’s academic rivals to lovers which is a trope I haven’t read too much of but absolutely love. Seeing them butt heads at the beginning but learning to help each other and care for each other was so sweet and endearing. I loved their witty banter and how they were able to comfort one another. They were just so cute and I had a great time reading their story.

Overall, I would definitely recommend My Mechanical Romance to anyone looking for a cute YA romance. It was slower paced than I was expecting but I never lost interest and still had a great reading experience. The romance was adorable and more importantly we have essential representation. I’m excited to read more from this author!

Thank you Netgalley and Holiday House for letting me read this story. Such a cute read! Bel has to start a new school her senior year & with no real direction or plan for her future, she couldn't think of anything worse. When she accidentally shows a hidden talent, she lands on the robotics team. Teo is the captain of everything. He's sporty and smart. He's the one everyone leans on and expects to lead them to every victory. Bel just isn't as sold on his perfection as everyone else.
I love the characters! Bel is quirky and wonderful. Teo is the unusual combo of brains and brawn. Dash is one of my favorites & you have to love to hate Neelan. I love that there is some feminist vibes and that Bel finally figures out how to step in and take up her own space. Highly recommended for rom-com lovers!

Reader’s Notes:

– this is told from Bel and Teo’s points of view

– there are about 30 curse/not nice words

– there is a scene with the guy’s shirt being removed while they are kissing; kissing also sometimes involved roaming hands

Review:

I enjoyed reading Bel and Teo’s story. Though some of the robotics/mechanical terminology flew over my head, it didn’t take away from understanding what was going on. I could relate to Bel and how she didn’t really know what she wanted to study after high school. And I liked how the author wrote about the different dynamics for girls and guys and the expectations they put on each other when it comes to robotics knowledge. It was interesting to see that Bel and Neelam had two very different experiences when joining the robotics club and why. And how that changed different characters’ perspectives when they realized how the two girls felt/were treated while participating in the club’s activities. I also really enjoyed seeing Bel and Teo’s love bloom in their experiences together. I especially liked the Holi festival scenes with the colorful powders being thrown everywhere and the group making it into a game of who could get more of their team’s color on others.

Bel doesn’t enjoy the pressure that comes with trying to figure out her future. It certainly doesn’t help when well-meaning people constantly ask her about college applications. She just wants to go through school and take her time putting it off until the last second. But the pressure goes up when a teacher discovers Bel’s hidden talent for engineering and she is forced to try out for the robotics club. And she accidentally gets in. But the worst part is that though the team saw her potential in tryouts, they barely trust her to do anything now that she’s part of the team and she can’t commiserate with the only other girl on the team as Neelam seems to hate her. The only person she might be able to get through to is the team’s captain, Teo. If they could only stop butting heads over the little things…

Teo is determined to win Nationals and add another point to his college applications to make him look like a better candidate for his dream school. And when he sees Bel’s application for the robotics team, he thinks she’d be a great addition to put them over the top and guarantee their success. But when she starts giving him advice on his own designs, he goes in on himself and ignores her. He knows that her advice is good, but it is hard for him to reconcile his abilities and ego and her advice so he largely ignores what she has to say until he can process it all and accept it. But he doesn’t realize that it is hurting their chances in Nationals until they work together on their skills afterschool. They begin to open up to each other during this time, become friends, and wonder if maybe they could be more…

OMG this was so cute! I loved this so much. I would have loved this when I was a teenager. The writing was great and easy to read. I loved the message of girls belong in these male dominated fields like STEM. Bel and Teo are so cute and I could definitely see this story being adapted into a cute ya netflix movie. Definitely recommend this!

thank you to netgalley and Alexene Farol Follmuth for the arc in exchange for a review!

so I requested this while I was (still am) struggling through the atlas six and I was worried that this would be a dnf but I finished it within a couple of days. it would've been one if I didn't have to work. this was a lovely story and I liked both the main characters. at first I didn't like teo much but he grew on me. bel, however, she had me by the neck from moment one. she's shy and unsure of herself but will also tell you her opinion and not shy away from discussion, which I loved. she grew so much throughout the book and I was genuinely happy to see where she ended up at the end.

overall this book was so lovely and cute and nerdy and just exactly what I needed when I picked it up. if I see it in store, I will be sure to purchase it.

My Mechanical Romance by Alexene Farol Follmuth made me feel all the good feelings. If you’re looking for some light reading that touches on important topics: this is it. It’s got the enemies to lovers, it’s got the feminism and it’s got the coming-of-age. The cherry on top? Diversity (that comes across as natural and is not tiptoed around).

Bel’s a bit lost. She's recently transferred schools. It's her senior year, and everyone is thinking about their college application. She would too if only she knew what she wanted to do. When her physics teacher pushes her to join the (mostly boys) robotics club, she's reluctant. Especially after it seems their leader, Teo, doesn't seem to like her very much.

I liked Bel’s inner monologue and I could really connect with her. She doesn’t know what she wants in life, she has difficulties with making choices, and she just lets things happen to her. She’s a bit eccentric, a bit snarky, but ultimately kind. The way she talked was realistic and relatable to me as well. She often struggled with trying to explain things with words and that was weirdly refreshing. I like my main characters to have a personality and depth, flaws and talents, and Bel definitely fits in that box.

This book has a dual point of view: Bel's and Teo's. There’s a (mild) enemies to friends to lovers romance. I wasn’t sure about Teo at first, but he grew on me. At the start, he was very much the representative of the “boys club”. Although I would have liked for him to have been a bit more fuck the patriarchy at the end, he did change his ways. Teo and Bel had great chemistry. They were cute, relatable and down-to-earth. I like that it wasn’t all mushy and fluffy, but, still, I would have liked for them to have more “moments”. In a way, this story went against some gender stereotypes by making Teo a perfectionist and an overachiever. In a lot of books I’ve read, it's usually the girl. This was refreshing and made Teo more relatable to me.

Usually, the romance aspect is really important to me. While I really enjoyed the romance, I mostly liked being in Bel's head and watching her grow. I like the women in STEM aspect as well and women claiming their space in a classroom. I wasn’t bad at STEM courses in high school, to be honest, but it’s been a couple of years, and my education was in Dutch, so the mechanics went over my head. Still, it was fun to read about people passionately discussing robots, and I’m all for the representation of girls/women of colour in STEM.

The high school setting wasn’t some idealistic all-American portrayal as often happens. While this book depicts teenagers, they are more in the category of starting college than the high-school-drama category. I loved this (as a college freshman) because it meant the protagonists aren't immature, and the conflict, while teenagey, was handled relatively maturely. Related to this is that the ending worked in a that’s how life actually works way.

I could give you a lot more of my thoughts on the side characters and Bel's and Teo's home life (all positive feelings), but I think I'll leave it at this.

I would definitely recommend this if you’re looking for a young adult book that’s relatively mature. To me, it was mostly about finding who you are, what you like, and what you want to do in life. It’s about claiming your own space. Plus, not to forget, a pretty great enemies-to-lovers romance.

PS. If you thought this had anything to do with My Chemical Romance, I have to disappoint you.
PSS. Look at that incredibly cover!!

eARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

Thank you to Netgalley and Holiday House for providing me with an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

4.5/5
So first of all, WOW. I never was a big fan of YA romcoms but this one definitely stole my heart. I loved both main characters, their competitiveness and the way they went from being academic rivals to friends to lovers. This book was definitely one of the most relaxing and quick reads ever but it wasn't just a dumb romance and it also talked about women's struggles in jobs that are typically done by men. Olivie/Alexene really didn't disappoint with this one and Teobel are now one of my favorite ships. Ill be recommending this book to everyone when it actually comes out.

my mechanical romance follows two high school seniors, bel and teo. bel is a transfer student who doesn’t know what she wants just yet, and quite frankly finds it ridiculous that she should know at her age. teo is the son of a ceo and has grown up being told who he should be. he’s done high school robotics all three years so far, and going into his fourth, doesn’t expect the quirky new girl to be just what his team needs.

i’m a sucker for dual pov romance, so the fact that this book had that made it even more enjoyable. i loved getting to see their relationship dynamic and banter from both bel’s and teo’s viewpoints. additionally, the discussions of women in STEM and the prejudice they face were well-done, in my opinion. these discussions were definitely necessary for a book about a girl in robotics to have, but they also didn’t make the book depressing. seeing bel find her place in robotics was so beautiful!

i recommend for any YA romance fan, especially girls/women in STEM!

My Mechanical Romance is the perfect match for you if you love cute YA romances. And the STEM representation is just the cherry on top.

I LOVED the women in STEM representation. I loved how the author delivered great examples of what we women have to go through just to get the equal amount of treatment that a man gets. Like it seriously infuriated me at moments, which just proved that the author did a great job.

It goes without saying that I absolutely loved Bel. Watching Bel’s engineering journey was truly a wonderful feeling. On the other hand I really did NOT like Teo in the beginning. But as I went on reading I started understanding him a lot more. His character development is definitely one of the best things about this book. And I just loved the side characters (mainly Dash ofc and I had a complicated relationship with Neelam but I really started loving her).

I liked learning about science and stuff, however I think there wasn’t anything ??? going on whenever there wasn’t a robot wrestling match so I think that’s why I’m gonna rate it a 3.5 instead of a solid four.

I had lots of fun reading this book and I’m way to attached to Bel and Teo. Also props to Ms. Voss actually. We all need a Ms. Voss in our life. Even if there may be plenty of Richardsons and Macs out there never let them win EVER !

The perfect YA contemporary romance. I swear.

This book was absolutely amazing, and it’s taken me so long to form any coherent thoughts about this book because I’m so giddy, hehe.

My Mechanical Romance was super interesting because it really centers around Bel who essentially does not know what she want’s to do with her life, she has a natural talent for engineering, but in a lot of ways, she’s just unsure. It’s her senior year, she’s at a new school, and she’s roped into joining the robotics team after revealing a talent for engineering. Now she has to navigate the challenges of being a woman of color in STEM and the vulnerability of a first love.

I feel like Bel was the perfect character to serve as a YA protagonist. Often in YA books, the main character is this extremely gallant, self-assured person with everything planned out, which I feel like no teenager actually is. Sure we all have our aspirations, but it’s so easy to relate to Bel who just feels lost.

Bel and Teo were such great characters, their banter with one another, they were giving modern-day Anne and Gilbert academic rivals to lover vibes. I was absolutely giddy reading this book. Also as an added bonus, it’s dual POV. A dual POV academic rivals to lovers contemporary YA romance that centers around a woman of color in STEM. I mean how am I not supposed to love it?

This book made me want to join the robotics team, even though I am a Jamie, the Mock Trial Model UN liberal-arts kid. This book was so accurate to the high school experience, or at least the one I’m experiencing (minus the academic rivals to lovers), from the texting to the multitude of Taylor Swift references. I feel like the most inaccurate part was Teo wearing boat shoes, but it did make me chuckle, so I’ll excuse it. Also, the characters were so diverse which made me so happy. Overall a great read!

If you’re a fan of Alexene/Olivie’s other works you will love this book. While it’s not a new adult book nor is it fantasy, she really wrote another love story that left me wishing I could have a love story written by her.

-

Thank you to Holiday House for the eARC. I screamed when I got the email, and I was not wrong for having that reaction.

My Mechanical Romance is a classic YA romance novel. Boy meets girl. Boy and girl fall in love. Boy and girl get together. This novel is not any different but predictability is often what I look for in a romance novel. I already know the boy and girl will get together what I always enjoy is reading through what it takes for them to get there.

It starts with Bel, the female main character? moving schools senior year and her teacher Ms. Voss realizing she needs to be in more challenging classes after a catapult project gone wrong (right?). This leads to Bel jointing the robotics team despite not wanting to and spending time with our male main character, Teo, who is in charge of running the robotics team.

Overall it was a pretty good book. As a person in STEM myself I can relate to how difficult it is to balance a science career and many other activities. Especially as a WOC in STEM there is still much misogyny and discrimination in those fields. The misogyny exhibited from other characters is very realistic. Specifically from the boys on the robotics team. Even though they actively don’t say anything against women they are still showing signs of sexism in the way they ignore the female members of the group. Neelam was a great example of the treatment of women in STEM. Her always working to prove herself is realistic and relatable and even when she seemed cold towards Bel I couldn’t help but support Neelam and understand her view of things.

Both main characters, Bel and Teo, were well written I wish I could have gotten more backstory of both of them but what I did get provided enough for me to understand them. Showing the juxtaposition between Bel just coasting through school and Teo putting enormous amounts of pressures on himself show the realities and duality of high school students. I can understand being a poc putting the weight of the world on their shoulders to please their parents. Which is another thing the representation of pocs is amazing. It’s natural and doesn’t feel like they were just put in to fill some kind of quota. The only problem I see with them is how Bel is perceived to be quirky and often their dialogue is seen as awkward or not exactly how a high schooler would talk.

Overall it was a wonderful romance book. It is relatable in so many ways. It’s funny at times and overall adorable. It’s not breaking sexist stereotypes in STEM or providing philosophical inquiry but it is providing an enjoyable time and a cute romance with realism and that should be enough.