This book sounded very intriguing and after a lot of hype and other reviews which made me curious, I decided to also request this book. Unfortunately, it was not for me. Though the book is not at all bad, I just could not connect with the writing of this book at all. To me, it was a strange feeling how high level the writing was because I expected it to be a simple romance book, but the dialogue and the big wording threw me off. The dialogue seemed unrealistic to real life and there was a lot of internal talking and explaining without much happening.

I believe that for people who specifically are more interesting in for example STEM and might be in this stage of their lives this would be a great book. The storyline was interesting and its rivals to lovers with a very diverse cast. I feel like this would be a hit or miss and sadly it was a miss for me. I will definitely try one of this author's next books again. The sequel to TA6 sounds promising and I feel like the writing style was better fitted to a book like that, so I am excited to see how that book unfolds.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for a review.

Adrenaline is peculiar when it comes to competitions, and when it's about high school robot competitions, it isn't the exception.

Bel has never had the urge to be in a club, specially one in the tech side of the school but Teo, the robotics team leader as well as a teacher of hers, sees potential in her, despite not knowing about what or how the computer programs used in the club work or even to work in a team.

It hit just right in the enemies to lovers department, but I think that the best part about this book is the whole STEM topic. Specially when you're a woman in that department. We see it in the way the team wholly depends on Teo since the beginning of the book and how they consider Bel less of a teammate because she doesn't know how to use the computer programs or another teammate who is always dismissed because she complains a lot. With these attitudes, not a whole lot of wanting to learn. And even worse, we see favoritism based on gender from the teachers. Disgusting, but truthful.

It's a fast paced novel, with a lot of focus on doing what you like even if it involves unconventional methods, team work, accepting your weaknesses and strengths, and maybe even accepting that you can't do everything, and receiving help is not the end of the world. The romance was cute, a nice touch, and something I wholly enjoyed but compared to the rest, it somewhat falls short.

The dual pov was pretty great, seeing both sides on the situations presented and how the story moves forward from Bel and Teo's perspective gave a us a bigger overview on how some of these situations are very focused on only one gender, while the other doesn't even notice something happened.

such a cute little story about two stem kids :) teo can be so annoying but also so cute, i love both of them so much. bel's style is described in such a cool way as well, i really enjoyed the emphasis on it & how teo points it out / obsessed over it 24/7 (LISTEN... funky pants are on his mind all the tiiiiimeeeee). also this shows the reality of women and girls in stem really well!! i'll definitely recommend this book to my girl friends who are majoring in stem fields <3

overall, a really sweet romcomish young adult story!

This YA was absolutely ADORABLE!!!

First off, I absolutely LOVE the title of this book, it’s so clever.

I thought it was such a fun read, and could relate to the pressure’s that the MCs struggled with, especially with college and making your parents proud. I know it is something that a lot of teens face growing up, and this story did a great job highlighting it.

*thank you NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review!*

Thank you again @netgalley, @holidayhousebks, & @afarolfollmuth for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

God, I love this book. It is so well written, I flew right through it, and I feel like I have so many thoughts & yet I somehow can’t seem to find the right words? That’s how much I enjoyed it, tbh. It’s been awhile since I read YA so I was a bit hesitant at first, but MMR really does have the entire package. Well-developed & layered characters + dual POVs? Check. Diverse leads (a half-Filipino queen, Bel Canto!!), each w/ complex family dynamics? Check. Academic rivals-to friends-to lovers? Double check. Banter that is equal parts fun, smart, and hilarious? Check. Kickass women in STEM? Check. Exploring all the many biases & microaggressions women in STEM face every day due to working in a predominantly male field? Triple check. I mean it when I say: THIS CUTE AF ROMANCE HAS👏🏼 IT👏🏼ALL.

I highlighted/tabbed so many great parts & quotes (which I cannot share until pub day, I know, I’m sad 🥹)— Teo & Bel are such wonderful characters. I love how this book is as much of a love story as it is about two people discovering what it means to make space for themselves to be who they really are & go after what they really want. I saw a lot of my younger self in both of them and, as the byproduct of both crippling self-expectations AND also being caught in the middle of a messy divorce while in HS, their storylines made me feel so….. seen. It was bittersweet almost, bc I wish I had been able to read this gem of a book back then. I know I would have felt a lot less lonely if I had.

Anyway, anyway. I could say so much more but then I’d never shut up haha. My only “gripe” doesn’t even have to do w the book itself, only that the formatting for my Kindle eARC was totally wonky…. But that just means I’ll definitely be buying more than one copy come pub day! 🤗 SAVE THIS POST. PRE-ORDER THIS BOOK. READ IT ASAP. YOU’RE WELCOME. 🤖🤍

Yall, this book is so good and so exhilarating! When they said nerds are hot, damn both Bel and Teo are so finee! I am totally in love with their robotic talks (even though I don't understand that much about tech, engineering and stuff). The fun part of the story will always be the robotic match. It was so thrilling and instead of reading a typical romance book, it feels like you are reading a sport-romance theme. And the way they put the ending is just chef kiss, love it so muchhh! I originally wanted to give this one 4 stars but because of the robotic thingy I'm giving it 5 (maybe 4.5).
What I love to see in the books I read is the character development and this story delivered it nicely. I kinda like to see Bel and Neelam's relationship improvement and the author surely put it very nicely for both of the characters.
ps. Sheesh people would hate Neelam, but somehow I think she is really cool.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with the e-ARC.

I've been reading Alexene (AKA Olivie Blake) work since she self-published Masters of Death. Her fairy tale collection is amazing and once more she didn't disappoint with this really cute YA.
This story happens during the senior year in high school of our main characters and all the things that come with being a senior and having to apply for college with no idea of what it is that one wants to do in adulthood. I wouldn't say it falls into the enemies-to-lovers trope, because they did not seem like enemies in the first place, but it is a nice way to show how young adults can fall in love.
I find the story well paced and the characters are definitely relatable and having two points of view made it even more relatable. I really liked the strong female characters, that are both Bel and Neelam specially for having such different personalities.

Also, "nerds are hot" and the ones who can build robots, even more xD

I really enjoyed this book, its an amazing YA Romance debut novel. It was well written, witty and just fun to read. It made me want to go witness a robot fight match🤣 Bel is this eccentric happy go lucky person that has amazing talent but no real motivation to pursue them. When she by accident reveals that she has an knack for engineering and she is kinda forced to join the robotics team. Its a male dominated club and the boys ignore Bel, there is another female on the team Neelam but she hates Bel. The captain of the Robotics club, Teo recognizes Bel's talent but they soon start budding heads.

This book is an Academic rivals to lovers and it explores the difficulties of being a woman and a woman of colour in STEM

I highly recommend this book♥️

Thank you Net Gallery for the eARC)

oh my god.
A CUTE LITTLE NERDY HIGH SCHOOL LOVE STORY IS EXACTLY WHAT I NEED.
I feel like maths and science enthusiasts are rarely every represented as the main characters in a story and when they are it's done.... not that well. BUT
this book is so so so adorable.
I loved Bel as a character and seeing her fall in love with robotics literally from the beginning. It's so refreshing to see that she didn't actually like at first and tried it out only because her physics teacher (she's so cool) urged her to but then ended up loving it.
As for Teo I was a bit iffy about him to begin with because he was a bit bossy but I think you understand a lot more about why he's like that. Plus they're only high school kids so this isn't even a massive flaw or anything. I did LOVE the fact that he was so open to helping Bel and how kind he is. It just shows how considerate he is. AHHH I LOVE THESE TWO.
the story itself is just chill and cute and nothing felt unecessary it was just.... nice. It made me smile a lot

One aspect I really liked was Neelam and her place in the club. Now I love Bel and while I don't think Neelam being mean to her was justified but Neelam being angry at Bel is completely normal and justifiable because it's very very clear how Neelam's not taken seriously when (I'm sorry to the other guys) she's the smartest or at least the second smartest and most talented in the club. It's funny how she's kind of villanised at the beginning because it just shows how women feeling rightfully wronged about injustice and prejudice towards them is seen as then being annoying, unecessary and rude. The way Bel and Neelam have a talk afterwards and Neelam explains how Bel got it easy is just so so so important!! I just love this little addition to the story. I find that olivie always adds subtle (well not so subtle) digs at problems in society and even as alexene farol follmuth she does not fail to.

Highly highly recommend this book. It made me feel so understood and it just a story that I rlly liked

Loved this book. When I first started reading it, I thought it would be a typical, cringy, romance story, but this book exceeded my expectations. I loved loved loved Bel, she had so much depth to her character. All in all greatly enjoyed this book. I got an Arc from netgalley for my honest review.

This book was wonderful and wholesome! It's written beautifully and teaches young women that it's okay to take up their own space in the world and to go after your dreams, despite all those that might disagree.

TBel was easy to fall in love with, as was Teo. The chemistry between them was amazing. Enemies to lovers in a STEM setting couldn't have been done any better.

Great book! Rare to find a YA rom-com that is geared toward the nerdy side of HS. Who said robotics was a bad thing? Follmuth definitely takes it for a positive spin in this trope.

Thank you to Holiday House and NetGalley for the eArc!

I absolutely adored this YA romance! This is the kind of YA book I wish I had when I was a youth myself. The romance aspect was pure and wholesome. The STEM rep was top notch. It felt very empowering! I love Bel and her quirky bird pants. I love Teo and wish he wouldn’t take on so much pressure. I love how they balanced each other out. I appreciate that this book also normalized getting a college rejection letter. I also loved that it made robotics so cool, and I felt heavily invested when they were at Nationals! It was just v good. I would recommend to anybody, not just the youths!!! 5 stars!

When I read the sinopse of this book I got very interested in it and had a lot of expectations from it and I’m very happy that it exceeded them. I started reading it and couldn’t stop and definitely slept late than I should have a couple of nights because I was reading it.

I love seeing books with women in STEM fields and I think it’s a great theme to have in a YA book because I know that if I had read this when I was in school it would have encouraged me to have a different relationship with my STEM classes.

The romance was really sweet but i felt like some parts of their relationship was a little bit rushed which didn’t affect my rating of the book but I see how it could for someone else.

This book isn’t what I read the most currently but it is what I read a lot some time ago and, again, would have loved to read when I was in high school but I’m glad that people that are in that position get to read this book, it’s a new favorite of mine.

This book had a bit of a slow start for me, (I read it as an ebook which is not my usual) but when I got into I couldn’t put it down! It had me giggling like an idiot, which I find my self doing less and less the more books I read. I tend to find books with pop culture references a bit cringy and while this one does toe the line at some instances, the author does a good job of spacing them far and few enough between that they were not totally unwanted. But the title is literally a pop culture reference so I can’t hold it against it.

I had a great time reading this one and found myself flying through it. They're high school seniors and there's some closed door romance so be aware of that if you're an adult reading it. Mostly the book is just absolutely adorkable and brought me joy. I also loved the themes of women supporting women, even when they're not your best friend. Would definitely recommend if you like YA romance!

Such a great read!

I definitely think I enjoy Olivie Blake's ya books more than her adult! After having a little bit of a miss with TA6 I was so pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this one 💖

I'd definitely recommend it you're on the fence about picking this up!! 😍 It was the absolute perfect read to have post reading slump 😂

"My Mechanical Romance" was such a fun and amazing story to read! The story and the characters were all so interesting and I was hooked from the start.

The book follows Bel and Teo. After one of Bel's teachers convinces her to try out for the robotics team at the school, she finds herself being forced to be around Teo Luna, the rich and spoiled kid. Teo, who's the captain of the team, sees that there is a lot of potential in Bel, but he can't seem to stand her attitude. But after having to spend more and more time with eachother, they slowly become closer and find themselves falling for one another.

This book was such a nice read. I absolutely loved the main story. The story idea was so interesting and it really got me hooked! I loved Bel right of the bat, and I slowly started liking Teo more and more thoughout the book. They had really good chemestry and it was really nice to see them develop and slowly open up to eachother. I also loved all of the side characters as well, especially Jamie, who has been there the whole time watching this unfold.

It was so easy to get invested in the story and the romance was so good as well. I would definitely recommend this book!

5/5 ⭐️
thank you to holiday house publishing for this arc! this novel will be released on may 31, 2022.

this was so freaking good. an academic enemies to loved story, but make it STEM??? count me in. my mechanical romance is a cute YA romance that is both funny and nerdy at the same time. bel maier is filipino (i loved the filipino references here) and isn’t totally sure what she wants to do with her life, until one of her teachers suggests engineering. the team is made up mostly of boys, enter mateo luna, who sees the talent in bel and asks her to join the team. this seems to be great, except that mateo doesn’t actually want bel’s opinion and neelam (the only other girl on the team) doesn’t like bel either. this story follows bel and teo as they navigate finding themselves, their passions, and their love for each other. i loved that this book wasn’t just about robotics and love. it was about finding out what you enjoy and what you’re good at and then loving what you do. the romance in this was cute and soft. i really enjoyed bel and teo together, especially how nerdy their romance was. i loved the supporting characters, especially jamie, lora, and dash. and i love the complexities of teo and bel’s families. even with the ‘perfect’ like that teo supposedly has, he still has flaws and i love how that was a part of the story. most of all, i love that alexene follmuth portrayed the reality of how women are perceived in a workspace dominated by men. i feel like this is such a prominent issue and i love that alexene discussed in such a smart and relatable way.
overall, this was an amazing YA read and i cannot recommend it enough for everyone to read as soon as it is out :)

“i need to take up my own space. i need to be my own push.”

This book hit so many high points for me, and I’m going to try and capture them (spoiler-free).

Things I Loved:
- Women in STEM focus
- Enemies to Friends to Lovers trope
- Combat Robotics Competition
- Great Cast of Characters

This is a book that I would have loved to have when I was younger. The messages captured inside are so important, and I think many girls will relate to Bel and her journey to figure out where she fits in her school and what she wants to do with her future. None of the characters are perfect, and this story reflects the messiness and joys of high school life. The romance between Bel and Mateo was sweet, and I loved watching their relationship change from enemies to friends to lovers, all with the background of their school robotics team. As I mentioned in my list of things that I loved, the female STEM rep and females supporting and encouraging each other gave me fuzzy feelings.

I was sitting in between a 4 and 5 star for this one, and I ended up deciding on 4 stars, mostly for pacing that I wished had been more consistent throughout the book. Some of the time when I was reading, I couldn’t put it down. Other times, I didn’t feel that way.

All in all, I’d definitely recommend this one to YA readers and adults alike, especially for girls who want to see themselves represented in STEM.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the digital copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.