As you can probably tell my my five star review, I loved this book; a lot more than I expected to, honestly.

As someone who does not enjoy math or science, and is terrible at both (while still having a very strong admiration for anyone that is good at/enjoys these subjects), I did not think this book was going to have me as invested as I was. Don’t get me wrong, I may dislike participating in STEM, but I have discovered that I very much enjoy reading about it.

This novel follows main characters Bel and Teo, who as you may have guessed, are both into STEM. Bel has recently transferred to the school they now attend, which is a very STEM based school. While being very STEM based, it is also very academic, offering many AP classes, something Bel was not used to. When Bel’s teacher encourages her to transfer into AP physics and join the Robotics team, Bel agrees hesitantly. When Bel joins the Robotics team, she meets Teo Luna, who seems to know exactly what he wants and is clearly the leader of the team. It’s safe to say Bel is not Teo’s biggest fan at the start, and he is certainly not hers, but as the novel progresses, feelings begin to shift…

So as I’ve already mentioned, I loved this book. Pretty much everything about it was perfect. The characters were so interesting and funny, while also being diverse. Bel’s character was so interesting to read about because it seemed as though all of her actions were done solely because it was what interested her. I really liked that Bel was not afraid to do what she wanted and to stand up for herself when she needed to. As for Teo, I found that his character was also really interesting but sort of for opposite reasons from Bel. Teo’s actions were pretty much always to impress someone or achieve more, and he rarely took time for his interests (besides robotics).

I also really enjoyed that this book touched on the sexism that exists, specifically in the STEM field, and how normalized it can be. I think this book did a really good job on taking a realistic stance on this and creating characters that could have development as the story went on.

It’s safe to say I could go on about many more things I enjoyed about this book, but I don’t want this review being too long.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book!

Thank you Netgalley, Holiday House and Alexene Farol Follmuth aka Olivie Blake for the e-arc in exchange of an honest review!

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STEM. Let's make that better. Girls in STEM. Taylor Swift references? I'm sold.
(BUT TBH I MISTAKENLY READ THE TITLE AS MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE lol now im emo)
(no but tbh the taylor swift reference was enough for me to rate this book 5 stars lmao! jk)
but I like Taylor Swift. I'm human, after all


It's a light, fluffy, funny nerdy, and a fast read, you could literally finish it in a day. This is a young adult romance book and the concept of enemies-to-lovers or school rivals to lovers isn't a very new concept for all of us. Despite that, I really enjoyed reading the book and though there are some incidents in which I thought the characters were being petty, I quite understood where they were coming from since they are just teenagers... teenagers who make mistakes and crazy decisions.. (even adults do lol)

There were a lot of things that I liked. Teo Luna obviously's one of them duh? apparently, geeks are hot lol intelligence is really sexy.

I liked the characters so much that I feel like I need to know them better. Aside from Teo and Bel, I feel like the other characters deserve to be heard especially Neelam! I grew to love her character towards the end because what she experiences and says resonates big time. I hope Alexene writes their stories PLEASE! The whole time I was reading, I kept imagining Bel as Rory and Neelam as Paris. (yes, this is a gilmore girls reference) They're perfect partners and again... who run the world?

what I LOVED most was the female representation. This is the reality. What the girls experience in the book isn't limited to their academics but this can also be applied to the workplace. Since the MC is an Asian, I feel like this is much more relevant now that I'm rooting for a presidential candidate who's a FEMALE, bc of patriarchy, sexism, and misogyny.. obv some other people suck !

Take up your own space. Don't let other people tread over it.


Overall, this book wasn't that hard to give 5 shining shimmering splendid stars! I recommend this book- especially to girls who are scared to take up their own space.

Not only does this book have an excellent title (IYKYK), but it was also written by the author of The Atlas Six (under the pen name Olivie Blake) and many other fantasy novels.

This is a good pick to give to any teenage girl who is thinking about going into STEM. I went to a high school with very high expectations and definitely felt that there was a lot of pressure on my young shoulders to have things figured out and to always do well in school. This book delves into what that pressure feels like from both Bel and Teo's perspectives, which I appreciated. I also liked that it addresses the added barriers that girls (and particularly girls of colour) face in STEM. There were a few times that the occasional physics descriptions went a bit over my head, but that's my only minor complaint about this book.

Thanks to Holiday House for sending me an ARC of this book on NetGalley! All opinions are my own.

It took me a while to get into this one. I didn't find either of the two main characters to be very likeable at first, and there were a few things about the writing that felt inconsistent and honestly rather unnecessary at times. Once we started to really learn more about the characters, though, and they began to grow, I found them to be rather enjoyable and believable, for the most part.

This book tackles so many important issues, but there are a few times throughout the book where it feels like it kind of fumbles them, which brings me back to some of the inconsistent and unnecessary bits. For such an otherwise progressive book, there are a few times where Bel has thoughts that seem kind of unsupportive, or unnecessarily gendered. (For instance, while getting ready with her friends for a school dance, she worries for a second that her friend who is doing her own makeup is going to do something "basic" like match her eyeshadow to her dress. At a competition, she thinks that a robot is so obviously built by a group of all boys because its name is a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reference. At another point in the book, she wonders about if guys care about sentimental things.)

There are also a couple of times where Bel attempts to call out heteronormativity, which while that is absolutely an issue and it should be addressed, I don't feel that either of the things that she called out as such were actually a product of heteronormativity, which unfortunately made it feel rather inauthentic to me.

Other than these things, though, I really did find it enjoyable. As I said, it does tackle some important issues, and it has such a diverse cast of characters, and I found the chemistry between our two main characters and their journeys to be rather believable.

This book sounds like everything I should love but it's just not hitting its mark. I know I'm only on page 28 but for fear of getting in a reading slump again, I have to stop here. I love books that follow nerds in high school having romances and living out their best nerdy lives but the writing in this one is preventing me from connecting with the characters. I can't go on, I'm sorry for wasting a perfectly good arc but for the sake of my reading journey, this is where I must stop.

4.5/5 stars

Really loved this book! I found it to be really wholesome, I loved all the conversations it had about women in STEM and even things like...the American education system and all that stuff. I also really appreciated how casually diverse the cast was, it was really refreshing to just see different people of a variety of racial and ethnic backgrounds represented so easily.

I fell for the romance and found the story itself compelling and interesting. Big fan!

I was so excited to get this ARC! As soon as I heard about this being Olivie Blake's first YA romance book under her real name I knew I had to try and get my hands on it. I had so much fun reading this book and could not put it down. Bel is such an amazing character who could have easily fallen into the "corky and not like other girls" trope but instead, she was unique without alienating the other girls in her life and fact celebrates the female friendships she'd grown. Her complicated relationship with her family captured that draining need to fulfill your family's idea of you and ideas for you. I do wish there was some sort of conversion with one or both of her parents about how they made her feel like she had to choose sides but couldn't so she was left in limbo. Like Bel, Teo's family is at the core of his problems. his dad's demand for him to be perfect and overachieving puts so much pressure on him. Because of this Teo is drowning in school, clubs, sports, and being there for everyone in his life. He developed this need to fix all the problems around for everyone no matter the cost to him. Teo believes that if he can't be all the things people want/need from him they won't love him. I loved how their struggles to be the version of themselves their parents want, connected them and helped them understand how they want wasn't their burden to carry. Now I was worried about the romance part of this book because at first, I didn't like Teo. He felt like the typical rich smart asshole who thinks he's the smartest person in the room. But the more Bel and Teo spent time together and they gained equal footing with each other, the more I loved them together. Their playfulness and banter were so fun to read and didn't stop when they got together which I find a lot of romances do. The build-up for their first kiss was so perfect and didn't get dragged out too long. We got to see them as a couple which was so cute. Having them have the third act break up worked for this book. Bel became too dependent on Teo like everyone else in his life. Teo in turn was trying to fix all her problems for her. They needed that time to be on their own and figure out who they are apart from each other. Other than the romance my favorite part was how this book handled what being a girl in STEM is like. From the teacher's favoritism, the lack of support, the judgment, and how everyone doesn't believe in you. It was all explored so well in such a short amount of pages. Now I gave the book five stars but of course, I still have critiques. While I loved how being a girl in STEM was explored it felt weird that it was never brought up but that Bel is not only a girl in STEM but also a woman of color. One of the mean boys from another team said she was there were diversity points but it was unclear if that was because she was a girl or because she was part Asian. Being a woman of color in STEM is even harder and I felt like this was just left out of the discussion of the STEM world. Second, while Teo's own bias against girls in STEM is talked about and even admitted by Teo I didn't see any improvement in his trying to change. He respected Bel and listened to her sure but how much of that was because he had an unconscious feeling for her? Neelam, while maybe not as creative as Bel, is more qualified and experienced than her yet the boys don't listen to or respect her even after they start to listen to Bel. Neelam brings up how Bel was respected in the club only because Teo did and while Bel realizes this Teo never does. Bel kind of takes on this burden of knowing she got respect because a boy liked her but Teo doesn't deal with any ramifications. He never apologized or started to listen to Neelam. I think this is a big flaw in his development that didn't sit right with me.

Ho trovato questo libro assolutamente carino e dolce, il tipico romanzo adolescenziale con la differenza che qui al posto di parlare di drammi vari si parla per lo più di robotica (di cui non capisci una cavoletto fritto) e questo elemento di per se mi fa apprezzare molto di più la storia. Ci siamo stancati delle solite dinamiche adolescenziali e inserire questi temi è una boccata d’aria fresca.
Personaggi femminili a cui piace fare qualcosa che viene considerato per lo più maschile, come appunto la robotica, è un grande passo avanti.
La storia è raccontata da due diversi punti di vista ed è una cosa che apprezzo moltissimo.
Mi è piaciuto veramente tanto fino al 70% perché poi ho trovato tutta la faccenda tirata troppo per le lunghe e ripetitiva, detto questo direi che una chance si può dare molto volentieri anche perché la storia d’amore è super cute.

My MECHANICAL ROMANCE
Author: Alexene Farol Follmuth
Publisher: Holiday House
Pub Date: 31 May 2022

Rating: 4/5 ⭐️

Read if you Like:
- The Love Hypothesis
- Witty banter with some mushy parts
- Pop culture references
- Societal expectation discussions

Review:
My Mechanical Romance is like if High School Musical had a baby with The Love Hypothesis but instead of musicals, it's robotics club. For my teen self back in the day, I'd have devoured this in one sitting. Bel is a go with the flow, creative soul and Teo is your typical rich kid, all star athlete, and genius. When Teo handpicks Bel to join the team, the wild ride of an enemies to lovers while working together to build the best robot begins.👀

This book had everything a YA romance needed and more. It dealt with societal expectations on gender, culture, and family issues. While mainly a romance, the coming of age element for both main characters was strong and it didn't focus on one over the other, which I really enjoyed. Bel and Teo are so good, nope PERFECT for each other ok. PERFECT. 👏👏 Teo's struggles trying to live up to expectations and continuously being the all-star everyone wanted are so relatable to so many💛

I felt SO connected to the way Alexene described falling in love for the first time while also trying to balance your whole life, figure out who you want to be, and apply to college at the same time. The romance was a good slow burn with just the right amount of cheese and hilarious banter. THE TAYLOR SWIFT and pop culture references had me WEAK. I did feel a bit lost and bored reading the robotics parts but I think that's mainly because I know nothing about robotics.

Thank you NetGalley and Holiday House for the free eARC in exchange for an honest review. This review may be edited and will be posted on @thelegalreads by April 15, 2022.

This book is truly one of the best books I have ever read. It has everything you could ever wish for. An amazing plot, WOMEN IN STEM, duel POV , robotics and physics. Like what is their to not love.

I am a very academically focused person but I doubt myself in science subjects even when my marks are amazing because I am in a class full of guys who are convinced they are better. So I love how this book incorporated and showed the struggles of being a women who wants to go into stem and when Bel would stand up to the misogynistic guys I would have the biggest smile on my face because yea that should be me I shouldn’t let them mansplain things to me when I obviously know it.

Aside for that this book is just amazing, the characters are so easy to fall INLOVE with and the friend group dynamic was one that I hope I can get. They were all nerds who wanted to do better in their life which was so refreshing from the stereotypical popular group that skip class and go to parties. Even tho they were nerds they also had fun and they had fun.

Also I absolutely love Bel and Teo they are perfect for each other. Like I have never seen two characters who are so alike as they are. They helped each other grow and omg were they cute. The banter never left they were constantly arguing. I love it.

DEFINITELY READ IT.

Despite being the exact opposite of a STEM person, I LOVED this book.! Not only was the romance adorable, but seeing Bel grow into herself and really discover her passions was really fun and interesting to read. I’m really excited to read more YA from Alexene Farol Follmuth!!!

Such a fun girl power book! Absolutely love books about women in STEM and I loved how Bel went from thinking engineering and robotics was not for someone like her to falling in love with it.

The rivalry and romance was a cute bonus.

Women and girls interested in traditionally male STEM disciplines will love this and will likely see some of their own experiences reflected in Bel's discovery of the joy of robotics.

GIRLS TAKE YOUR SPACE! I love a YA romance and add in a YA romance with a STEM and self discovery component? Yes please!

The pacing was a little abrupt at times and Bel is a little too clunky of a narrator in the beginning, but it finds it's stride a phew chapters in.

Great exploration of the complicated familiar relationships we can have and the true stress of high school.

One of the phew times I actually appreciated the entirety of the epilogue!

Thanks to NetGalley, Holiday House, and Alexene Farol Follmuth for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

What a ride! I didn't expect that I will love this book so much. It's a wholesome read. I enjoyed it very much. There wasn't a moment to feel bored even if it was not a fast-paced one. I loved how almost every character here had their own character development, especially Bel and Teo. The story didn't only tell you about their school life in robotics, but they also tell you about Bel's and Teo's families. I love how in the end their relationships with their parents were getting better too. The romance was just right, not too little and not too much. They were super sweet.

And those robotic competitions!! I felt like I was there watching!

This book makes me happy. I recommend it to everyone.

My Mechanical Romance tells the story of Bel and her introduction to the world of engineering and robotics. Bel starts her senior year at a new and elite school where she is promoted to join the robotics team. There she meets Teo, the popular all around smart guy. From there, they form a friendship that essentially leads to more.

This book was a fun read and I loved the teen romance! Although I was lost at some parts about making robots, it was fun to imagine what it would have looked like. The romance was not your typical popular boy falls for nerdy girl but nerdy boy falling for girl who is a little nerdy.

I really enjoyed this story! Super cute and fun!

I am so grateful to have early access to this book because I can honestly say that this was so comforting and inspirational for me.

I have a massive soft spot for romance books, especially with an enemies to lovers trope so it hooked me from the very beginning.

Bel and Mateo both struggle with different areas of school and academic life. Both areas that I have dealt with myself. The themes of academic validation and misogyny are so strongly reflect but done in a way that disrupts the storyline.

When reading the acknowledgements, a newfound sense of comfort was brought to me. Follmuth reflect how there were girls and women everywhere trying to get their voices heard, trying to progress in their lives and careers. I really hope this book lands in a of those girls hands because it gave me the strength and inspiration to keep going.

The fact that this was a romance book was a massive bonus!

this was a really cute YA romance. the author really has a way with writing "intelligent" stories, ngl at some parts i haden't a clue on what they were saying bahaha but it was still very fun i really liked it

Most of the robotics-speak sailed right over my head but this was such a cute YA romance that touched upon important themes of sexism in STEM. I loved watching the relationship between Bel and Teo change as they challenged and pushed one another to become balanced and happy versions of themselves.

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0

Holy shit this was soooo good 🤩
This book was hilarious right off the bat and quickly pulled me in. It usually takes a little longer for me to get into YA books but this was an exception.
We are introduced to 'Bel', a happy go lucky girl who unlike her peers, does not have a plan for the future. She does not take any advanced classes, despite being extremely smart and has not applied to any colleges, that is until her Bio teacher recognises her caliber and pushes her to join the robotics team (LOVE SEEING SUPPORTIVE TEACHERS BTW).
Her advice to her is not to hesitate to take up your own space and that is honestly the best advice that all women should adopt in life.
From there, the story picks up but we'll talk about it in a minute.
First let's talk about how the book expertly portrays the misogyny and sexism endured by women in STEM and how it prevents girls from joining STEM. Even after proving themselves again and again, these girls are not taken seriously while their male peers get so many more opportunities even with mediocre capabilities.
Anyways so Bel joins the robotics team and starts a reluctant companionship with Teo who is our male lead.
Teo at first was a very arrogant member of the robotics team who was in serious need of some character arc. He continuously steamrolled Neelam (my girl deserved better!) And was generally an asshole.
Slowly from reluctant teammates, Bel and Teo develop a friendship which stems into a really sweet and wholesome romance. While the book is pitched as academic rivals to lovers, it hardly felt that way because we don't see them both actively rivaling for anything to be honest.
But when they do get together it's so adorable (the holi scene….SWOOOON 😍). Both of them help each other not just in studies but also to identify their flaws and overcome them. Bel's being her self doubt and Teo's being his general cockyness. I think Teo's character development was good overall but I wish he gave more credit to Neelam than Bel.
Speaking of Neelam, I think she was wronged!! She deserved to be understood for who she was and did not deserve the way she was portrayed till the very end. True she was generally cynical of most things and tended to be rather harsh while showing her displeasure but still it wasn't a negative point on her personality in my opinion and deserved to be treated better.
I expected Bel of all people to see and accept her for who she was (and to an extent she did at the end) but I did not like her calling her an asshole and defending Teo when HE was more of an asshole than Neelam.
But all the bad things aside, it was a great, heartwarming read with a plot that was easy to follow and Lovable characters and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a lighthearted YA book with lots of humor.

i loved this book way too much. i have never related so much to a character such as bel. her anxiety about the future and college is quite literally me

bel and teo are so relatable and individually both characters are super well written

i loved how it was much more than a cute romance; bel’s worry about college, teo being a people-pleaser, and the issues women face in STEM

(thank you Netgalley for providing an eARC copy in exchange for a review!)