*arc for honest review* i loved this book it was such an easy read for me. teobel were so cute!! i totally recommend if you want a short easy read!! they’re were parts like their little break up that wasn’t necessary in my opinion because they quickly got back together but overall i really liked it!

I have to admit I got this book because My Chemical Romance is my favorite band. And you know what? How do they have this as the title and not even mention the band lol
So the book is about robots maybe that's why.

Thank you NetGalley for sending a copy of this book in exchange of my honest opinion.
This was a good YA Romance, with overall a nice plot. There of both point of views, from the girl Bel, and the boy Teo, which is really great. I loved Bel, she was truly awesome, and the fact that she had those doubts made her more real, and it felt good. Teo was also a great character, he was genuinely so so sweet, and how he treated his pears made me a little jealous. Yes, I admit it, I want a Teo in my life.
This is a very feminist book, and I always love to real women in STEM!
Overall, it was pretty good, if you’re looking a fast-paced YA who will take your mind of some of your problems, this is a good one!!

I had very high expectations but they unfortunately weren’t met. I really didn’t like the writing style and thought the author was trying too hard to be funny and relatable but ended up writing unauthentic teens. The ending was cute and it had some good moments, but I’m still very disappointed.

Thank you so much to Netgalley for providing this E-Arc!
I'm a huge fan of Alexene Farol Follmuth's writing style and was super excited to dive into this different genre from her! It's such a wholesome read that will definitely put a smile on your face, which is personally something I look forward to when reading romance. The main characters are well-rounded and likeable, but not in a "they're perfect and never make mistakes" way. I LOVE the academic rivals to lovers trope so this book managed to speak to me even though I knew nothing about robotics! Would definitely recommend to someone approaching young adult romances!

4 - 4.5 stars.

Sweet, funny, charming, and hilarious - this was a quick and delightful read!

I honestly had no idea what to expect. I haven’t read anything from this author before, and I was a bit nervous this book might be overhyped, but it is definitely worth the hype!

I found Bel to be charming and funny, and strange, and likeable… Just on the right side of “manic pixie dream girl”. Teo was thoughtful and smart, and I would have absolutely had a crush on him if he went to my school. The themes of belonging and sexism, and young love, and the complicated dynamics faced by families, and women in stem were all represented thoughtfully and with care. The secondary characters felt well rounded, and were so likeable (begging!! praying!! for a Dash spinoff!!) — and honestly, this book was a ROMP.

I adored it, and am glad for the chance to have read it!

Knowing this was a YA, academic rivals to lovers, with woc in STEM by Olivie Blake, I was STOKED to read this! I loved that there were conversations about women (specifically women of color) in STEM and how that can steer women away from the field as a whole or how they experience imposter syndrome. Seeing these topics in a YA romance was really refreshing to see, it felt a bit more realistic and something that teens can actually relate to! But as I was reading, I kept feeling like there was something missing. The relationship between the two MCs seemed very rushed and could've been fleshed out a bit more along with the "academic rivals" aspect, which was very much missing in my eyes. Maybe it was the short length of the book or that I'm so used to Olivie's adult writing style, that's MUCH more detailed and easier to pull off in short page counts.

All in all though, if you go into this solely for a fun, short and sweet YA romance you'll definitely have a good time reading about these characters! Especially if you're in the STEM + robotics world yourself, this is 100% for you!

i won’t lie i requested this cause i love my chemical romance and i loved the title and luckily for me i loved the book too!

I really didn't care about the MCs at the end to be honest. I just didn't feel more than friendship between them. However, I did contents in between till the breakup I guess which let's face it was inevitable.

Anyway, it was an okay read I guess

I adored this book. Will for sure be a bookstagram and booktok favorite. I found the characters incredibly loveable.

This was a super cute YA romance with tons of girls in STEM representation. I really enjoyed this book and loved how the writer used something like robot building to showcase a different way a girl can participate in STEM. Showing more girls and women in STEM is so important to the next generation. Robots are not just for boys and I think this book can be really impactful for youth readers. The book was well written and I loved seeing all the different friendships develop. In the beginning Bel was a loner so it was great seeing her build strong relationships in doing something she loved so much.

Academic rivals to lover excellence? HELL YEAH.

This book was so cute, the charcters had the perfect chemistry and relationship and surprisingly it didn't get cringy at all. I love more than anything the academic parts of it and also the way they show the struggles of women in a male dominant field. An amazing book!!!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Holiday House for providing me an E-ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

My Mechanical Romance was an amazing book. Truth be told, it only took me two (2) days to finish this realistic YA novel.. It was so sweet, entertaining, and full of charming characters that I literally had to persuade myself to stop reading and get back to reality. That is saying much as I am technically not the biggest fan of YA realistic romance right now considering that my current genre is YA fantasy.

On a more serious note, the release date is on 31 May 2022. Don't forget folks! It was truly refreshing and I can't wait for you to read it.

I really enjoyed this book and ended up reading it all in one day. I really enjoyed Bels journey through robotics and STEM and learning to do what she enjoys. The imposter syndrome and frustration the girls are feeling about being overlooked in stem or constantly asked if the need help really hit home for me as someone who was in STEM. I also really liked the aspect of the amount of pressure Teo is under and how it was represented in the book. Maintaining top grades and other extra curricular such as sports teams while trying to take care of everyone else can be super challenging and draining so it was nice to see that represented in the book since it’s often not talked about. Personally I would have preferred different pacing for the romance in the book but other than that I enjoyed reading it. Overall I thought the book was good and would read it again.

This book was a really fun read!! The beginning was a little slow, and sometimes the book felt a little fast-paced, but once I got about 15% in I couldn’t put the book down 🤩 also I know NOTHING about robotics so I was like …uh huh I know what that is🤣 but nevertheless, it wasn’t overbearing and I could mostly understand what was going on!

Bel was such a funny and unique character, and I really saw myself (my high school self) in her. She was quirky, funny, and never apologized for being who she was. She switches schools her senior year, but she has been avoiding applying for college because she has no idea what she wants to do. Her one teacher sees a potential in her for physics/engineering, so she tells her to try out for the robotics club.

This is where all the fun starts lol!! Enter Teo, the popular, rich, nerdy guy who every one seems to have a crush on. He seems stuck up and self-centered at first, but as him and Bel get to know each other, you can tell there’s so much of him that he doesn’t show others 🥺The way that they fall in love is so cute, and their relationship made me so happy☺️

What I really loved about this book is that it calls attention to women in STEM. The one teacher Bel has favors the guys, and you can tell in how he interacts with her that he sees her as beneath him and the other guys on the robotics team. This book says to hell with the patriarchy, and really tells you to NOT let others (especially men) let you think less of yourself or that you’re not good enough. Bel was, in my opinion, the smartest and most capable out of all of the men there 😤❤️

5 🍭🍭🍭🍭🍭

I could read this book over and over! Enemies-to-lovers in a sweet romance context was never as original, different, funny and real as in this story.

The main characters, Teo and Bel, are perfectly constructed. They are real and genuine, multidimensional and with struggles and feelings that are easy to relate to.

The group of friends is nice, funny and aspirational. The STEM aspect was amazing and the challenges that come with the field, for women, are real. So many amazing messages this book conveys, like not judging other people just because of what you see at first instance, to be driven but to try to keep a balance that allows you to let go.

Love being healthy, constructive and making the couple involved into their best version. I laughed, smiled and felt my eyes get wet a couple of times.
A MUST read!

Bel Maier is the new girl in school who doesn’t have a plan in place for her future. Teo Luna is Captain of the Soccer team, Captain of the Robotics Club, he’s taking all AP classes, and he helps his friend sand his community whoever he can. He has had a plan in place all his life. When a chance arrives for Bel to join the robotics team she and Teo have to learn to be a part of a team. She has to learn to take up space and Teo has to learn that the weight of the world isn’t meant to rest on one person’s shoulders.

I loved the representation in this book. We love seeing women in stem (women of color specifically, Filipino) and watching women succeed in a male-dominated space. It takes Bel time to figure out who she is, what she wants, and whether she is willing to take up space and show the world what she’s capable of. Watching her grow throughout her senior year was beautiful and inspiring. I think we can all relate with Bel at certain moments in life in not having a definitive plan for what we want to do and being okay with not following “traditional” routes. Watching Teo learn to acknowledge his privilege and how that plays in his success was also important. He comes form a wealthy family, his dad is a CEO in STEM too, and because of his Mexican heritage he has had to work twice as hard for his success. Teo understands this and feels the need to prove himself as well while also learning to balance things out in his life. I loved the way the romance was handled between Bel and Teo. They learned to work as a team in all things. Having each other’s back. Watching them go from “rivals” to teammates to friends to lovers was so sweet. I loved the ending. This book was great from start to finish and I learned a lot about engineering throughout the story and can honestly say I now have a bigger appreciation for all the people working in STEM. I look forward to reading more by author Alexene Farol Follmuth.

Review posted on Instagram (@readingwith_kelsey) & Goodreads

Read this is you enjoy:
👩🏻‍🔬women in STEM
💥smashing the patriarchy
🤖innocent teen love
🏡complicated family dynamics

REVIEW: I LOVED this YA novel. It has been a while since I’ve read any YA books and the ones I had read were all 10+ years old, so I was excited to dive into this one. The main character Bel, is so likable. She is move to a private school for her senior year of high school after her parents split. Bel now has to navigate a new school, new friends, college applications when she has no idea what she wants in life, and she has to figure out her role in her changed family.

Enter: the catapult project. Bel forgets about the project until 30 minutes before it’s due, but what she comes up with launches herself into a world of engineering and robotics. While finding her footing, Bel quickly learns that some people don’t want to make room for women in STEM.

This book gave off such “smash the patriarchy” vibes and I loved that. I immediately texted my old Assistant Principal and told her she needs to preorder this for her teen girls who love anything STEM related. All high schools should have this book in their library!

There is a lot of diversity in this book which I truly enjoyed because it didn’t feel forced, it just felt like it was a book about the actual melting pot of a world we live in.

And I can’t forget about Teo Luna, the adorable and attractive popular nerd. I just wanted to hug this kid and tell him he didn’t need to have his entire figure mapped out, and that he didn’t need to give everyone a part of him which left nothing for himself. Luckily, Bel does just that for us.

5 stars for this wonderful YA coming of age, finding your place in the world, romance!
I was so excited to read this book because of the author and the themes, and let me tell you it did not disappoint! Alexene Farol Follmuth has a writing style that fits the genre perfectly, feels personal and emotional and manages to convey this store in an amazing way. I think both Bel and Teo had very distinctive voices (YES THIS IS DUAL POV) which made it easy for me to understand both of them.

This tells the story of Bel and Teo: Bel switched schools for her senior year after her parents divorce and has a very encouraging teacher that urges her to try out for the robotics team; Teo is the son of a successful tech company owner, and his life is full of responsibility- from leading the robotics team to the soccer team.

Even though I am someone that professionally and academically has nothing to do with STEM, I still identified with A LOT of themes in this book. Teo's urge to be there for everyone, to shoulder every burden so he is accepted and loved, Bel feeling lost because future plans are hard (and how the hell are you supposed to know everything at 17/18) and her family issues, as well as the challenges of your intelligence and skill being questioned because of your gender. I also loved to see a female main character who learns to love and embrace her own self and weirdness (and having a male character that is totally in love with that, too). This book gets you invested in the world of robotics, explaining the tech and the matches and making everything exciting. I loved the side characters (Dash is a golden retriever) and the setting. This book felt perfectly rounded up (the EPILOGUE!!) and I adored everything about this. I would add that the romance is not the sole focus of the book as the title might lead you to believe (but I would never give it up because it's perfect).

I could say much more about how and why I love these characters and this book but for now all I'll add is: Do yourself a favor and pick up My Mechanical Romance this summer!

Even though I thoroughly enjoyed this book, I felt bad for not liking STEM. They're such cute nerds.

4/5

#GirlPower
#WomenInSTEM

This book was a light, fun and easy read. I really enjoyed the characters and how I watched them grow into themselves. Yes, they made mistakes but it's
Even though I'm not in STEM major, I still love when women step out in STEM and show men that whatever they an do we can do better.

Which brings me to this point:
Bel; I hated her lackadaisical attitude. I hated that she needed to be pushed into everything. I get not knowing or having any idea what you want for the future and being unsure. But damn, she didn't try to find a path for herself AT ALL. The people around her had to be the ones to say 'hey try this' or 'hey i think you'd be good at this' and even then she'd still grumble and complain. IT'S NOT LIKE YOU HAD ANYTHING ELSE LINED UP, JUST TAKE THE SUGGESTION.'
rant over
Bel is smart, capable and she knows this. She can do the bare minimum and get away with a good enough grade. I liked that she started learning throughout the book that it takes had work to get what you want (Thanks Teo, Neelam for calling her out). I liked that Neelam forced her to realize that wanting to major in STEM was no walk in a park, not only because of the requirement but because it's a male dominated area and she's a woman. I like that she started putting in the work and found passion in what she did.

Teo:
This boy has the weight of the world on his shoulders and his piece about Atlas was fitting. Because everyone around him holds him in high regards he starts holding himself to the high expectation where he can't give himself a break or just remember that he's just an 18 year old student. I love the relationship he developed with Bel were she grounded him and forced him to be 'normal' and not take himself so seriously because let's be honest. He's a serious person and sometimes it's intimidating but that's his strength.

Honestly all the characters were amazing in their own way. They all brought this story to life and it was amazing.

In the beginning I didn't understand why Neelam was such a b*tch, but when she called Bel out on how she just 'goes with the flow' I understood, but at the same time I still didn't condone how she could be a hardass ALL the time.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher to read and review this eARC.