Thank you to Netgalley, Holiday House and Alexene Farol Follmouth for the opportunity to read this arc!
(Also, I did not know Alexene Farol Follmuth was Olivie Blake until I'd finished reading the book. Mind = blown!)

I read this book in one sitting. It was the kind of book that got me, a 23 year old with a bachelors degree, wishing I could go back to school and somehow join a robotics club (which did not exist at my school).
But anyway, My Mechanical Romance was a charming and nerdy book that was just such a fun read. It's so surreal learning that Olivie Blake, who wrote such a phenomenal book like the Atlas Six, also wrote this masterpiece. It also makes absolute, perfect sence! She has done a fantastic job at writing a YA romance.

Bel Maier really doesn't know what she wants to do with life. She hasn't thought about college or what she's interested in until her new physics teacher strongly urges her to join te robotics team after seeing how great she is at engineering and designing. But when Bel reluctantly joins the team, she's faced with a whole group of boys and only one girl who really doesn't like her.

On the other hand, we have Teo Luna, the robotics and soccer team captain and the cute guy everyone basically has a crush on at one point during their school lives. He sees how talented Bel is and the two begin to work together on a project for Nationals, not after butting heads for a bit first though. And from there ensues what I would call a very sweet romance between Bel and Teo.

As a girl who was also one of the few girls in her own physics and IT classes, I know just how annoying it is when your opinions, thoughts and hardwork is disregarded in favour of what the boys did. So this book definitely resonated with me on that end. i didn't end up pursuing a career in STEM but my degree (writing/journalism) also had its fair share of gaps between the importance of male opinions and thoughts vs female opinions and thoughts. Unfortunately, my friends and I didn't have the thoughts or conversations Neelam and Bel do in the book. And I absolutely loved that the two girls did and that they shared their thoughts with Teo as well. Neelam was a badass character and while she was frosty in the beginning, I loved her development and everything she stood up for.

Bel and Teo were just adorable. I liked that the story didn't just focus on the romance, there was so much depth given to all the characters and the side-plots as well. It all felt like I was watching a very well written tv show in my head. The writing was flawless and didn't make me feel like I was 18 almost six years ago! Everything about this book was great and while I do think the chemistry between Teo and Bel could have been worked on just a bit, they were absolutely adorable.

Basically, this book was definitely worth it and my respect for Alexene Farol Follmuth (OLIVIE BLAKE!!) and physics has grown so much!

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
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I honestly tried so hard not to rate this book five stars. I was genuinely concerned that my love of this authors adult novels under her pen name would inhibit my ability to give an accurate review so I tried my hardest to look for flaws. Spoiler: there weren’t any. This book was so adorable I’m almost sick. I found myself laughing at the jokes and rooting for these characters. As an adult I tend to steer clear of YA romance because it usually gives me second hand embarrassment to be honest but Follmuth did a great job of balancing that teenage optimism and reality to form characters that felt like kids I know and love in real life. The characters are diverse and loveable, The message is delivered well, and the plot is well paced. I could not have asked for a better story.
Fiction and reality go hand in hand so I’m excited for young girls and women to see a well written book about succeeding in a male dominated field even if it’s not the way you originally planned.

I hope she makes shirts with the phrase “I mean come on boys can do it. So how hard can it be?”

This was such a sweet read! I love a good YA romance and this delivered! I would absolutely recommend it!

i loved this book!! i'm keeping this review short, but the story honestly had everything it needed to be a little spark in the dark for so many people. the flow of the events was so smooth and nice, the characters were funny and lovable and i loved how they were all good friends :') the romantic part wasn't so dominant in my opinion, it was very cute and just how i like it. i appreciated how bel and teo's struggles and lives were realistic, because there were many elements i related to. finally, read this if you wanna read about girl power!!, robots and young people finding themselves :')

I really liked this book, it was so sweet and inspiring without it being pretentious. I loved the friend group, the couple, the banter was so on point, it was hilarious and actually informative. I didn't really understand much of the science stuff, but I loved the way it was written.
It was honestly such a good book and exactly what I needed right now!

Bel is a high school senior who just transferred into an ultra-competitive private school where the students all seem to have their 5 year plans all set… and Bel… just can’t. But when she gets talked into trying out for the robotics team, she starts to learn more about herself, and the King-of-the-School, Teo.

I don’t typically read a lot of YA, but I have actively been seeking out stories about women in STEM, and a story about a girl in robotics seemed too fun to pass up. I loved how the character of Bel was smart, sharp-witted, and a little bit goofy. She did not have her entire life mapped out, but it gave her plenty of room for growth and development throughout the story. The story also touched on some of the stickier points about being a woman in a heavily male-dominated field, and I think they were handled well- although appropriately dramatized for the plot.

I loved the friendships between the female characters in the book and especially loved the mention of the Bechdel test! Overall, I really loved this book and would recommend it to anyone looking for a light, fun read.

Thank you to Holiday House and NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

If you love STEM especially robotics, then go grab this book. If you are into slow-burn-books, then this is for you.

I am giving this book a 3.5/5. It was good, but maybe this ain’t for me. I didn’t feel a lot of connections between the two main characters. I didn’t feel a lot of spark or butterflies in my tummy. I thought that there will be a big rival or something between Teo and Bel, but there were not a lot of interactions between the two until it reached 50 or 60% of the book. I wish there were more interactions or moments outside robotics. .

Bel has Filipino blood and it was mentioned couple of times, but I’m sad to say that the research about being one wasn’t enough for me. Otherwise, I don’t see why it should be mentioned quite a few times.

The ending was just okay.

This is such a cute book! I loved the dual POV because I feel that they added more depth to the lead characters and it allows for us to know more about their background stories in a way. There were some parts of Bel and Teo that I relate to such as putting too much burden on oneself (Teo) and not knowing what you want or how to make your own space (Bel).
As someone who is currently finishing her engineering degree, I completely relate to both Bel and Neelam's circumstances. It is really hard to navigate your way, especially in a male-dominated field. The only drawback, I guess, is that I wished we spent more time on the lead characters' romance but overall it was an enjoyable read and I had a lot of fun. Thank you, NetGalley and Holiday House for the ARC!

Bel would rather do anything but think about the future. When she accidentally shows her talent for making things, she’s forced to join the robotics club. The boys ignore her and the only other girl on the team hates her.

Mateo Luna has a plan after high school, to go to MIT. He’s used to being the smartest in the room, the one everyone depends on—after all, he’s Mateo Luna, he’s those things that are expected of him. When Mateo recognizes Bel’s talent for building things he sees her as an asset to the team—until they realize they don’t like each other.

Bel could care less about nationals all while Teo cares way too much about it.

I want to begin with the fact that I absolutely loved this book! There were points in the beginning were I thought that things were moving a bit slow but that did not stop me from getting sucked in!

I am not a STEM type of person so, I did have my doubts but the way robotics is added into this story makes it interesting! Whenever they talked about their robots I was able to follow along despite having no prior knowledge on the topic.

The characters were enjoyable! All of their personalities went deeper than being into robots and science. The dynamic between Teo and Bel was what made me love this book even more (the fact that he calls her bel canto made me smile!!). It was so adorable when they started to realize they had feelings for each other but denied it for the sake of the team and nationals.

We get to see some much growth from both of the characters. Though, I would say that we see more from Bel than we do from Teo. Bel learns that she actually loves designing robots and begins to formulate her future around it, despite being a little bit late to the game in terms of college applications. We even see her and Neelam form a strong relationship through being overlooked because they’re girls in a science world.

Teo’s growth happened very gradually. While working with Bel he realizes that Neelam has every right to be the way she is because it isn’t easy being a girl that loves science. He realizes that he’s privileged when it comes to this. Teo also begins to see that he has built an environment that seems to run on him and despite what he says—he’s tired of it. He’s tired of caring entirely way too much and of essentially not being able to just be a teenager while he can. We do not really see this issue resolved (not even a little bit). I wish we could have gotten Teo having a conversation with his father, where his father realizes just how much pressure he’s been putting on his son (and that he’s barely been handling all of it). I think that was the only thing lacking in this story.

Overall, I think this is such an important YA book. Especially for the young girls who doubt their place in person dominated fields.

*4.5 rounded to 5

Thank you to NetGalley, Holiday House, and Alexene Farol Follmuth for an arc in exchange for an honest review!

Though I was initially unsure about this book and its central theme (of robots), I ended up loving this story way more than I thought I would. I enjoyed the author’s writing style, particularly the dialogue she crafted between the characters because it felt more realistic than other contemporary stories where the characters talked in weird metaphors.

For the most part, I enjoyed the pacing of the novel in regards to the character development and the development of their relationship with one another. However, I did find that the book was a little slow and confusing at the start though it did end up picking up. Though this is academic rivals to lovers, I do wish the author spent a little more time on the rival aspect of the main character's relationship but also this novel is quite short so I don’t fault her for that. That being said, I wish the novel was a bit longer so we could get to know the characters a little more and I found there was a tone shift between the first half of the book and the second half.

Concerning the novel’s themes, I really enjoyed the exploration of the main character's complexities in relation to teamwork and how it felt to be a woman in STEM. Particularly I enjoyed Bela’s characterization and the complexity and development of her character. I think it was a very realistic depiction of how subtle misogyny can be in STEM and I appreciated it.

Regarding the ending and epilogue, I thought it was quite fitting and realistic to a degree and in short, I was happy with the way it ended.

4.5 ✨
This is exactly why I love ya contemporary romance books so much. The serotonin this book gave me is all I need in life, like literally.
My mechanical romance was everything to me. I could relate to Bel and Teo a lot and I wasn't expecting that as I'm not a part of the robotics club nor i like physics... (I'm never gonna take that class) but man I cannot lie, I almost cried of how much i felt seen with these characters. I might be exaggerating rn but now i wanna join the robotics club at my school (I'm not gonna do it but i like to have the idea of that even if it's not true).

The romance part of this book... SO GOOD! Bel and Teo were so cute and their dynamic was fun but wholesome and i was just giggling everytime they touched hands or looked at each other lmao. Their banter was also really good.
I adored all the characters and their friendships, they were so supportive and not toxic at all. Like baby I'm jelous. I want a Jamie and Dash in my life.

I also really enjoyed how realistic this was regarding Bel and her college decisions. While I'm a sophomore going into junior year in September, i can say that i could really see myself in her decisions and struggles with college... Like I'm not prepared for that part of life 🧘🏻‍♀️

I didn't give this book 5 stars cuz i did not like one of the plot twists which i will not say as its a spoiler... But in general i just don't like when couples do that in books for the purpose of a twist, iykyk 💀

Overall you should really read this book. It was great at incorporating science and robotics while also being easy to understand if your not into that kind of stuff (like me). The talk of feminism in stem was also really realistic but empowering at the same time. #GoGirls #IDon'tVibeWithPhysicsButGoYou! #IWantATeoAndABelInMyLife

Anywayyyy thank you netgalley for giving me this ARC!! This wassss perfectly written!! One of the best YA Romance i read this year and would probably recc to friends because academic rivals to lovers?? *chef kiss* All the love <3

The beginning was confusing. Nothing screams info dump better than the first chapter.
The language was fluctuating so much to the point where you wouldn't know if the MCs where gonna talk about pizza or Neo-Marxism. What's the target audience again?
What teenagers talk like that?
This book is also so good at spelling everything out for you. This is a FEMINIST book. I understand the sentiment but the audience is not that dumb to get some subtext.
It was not a shocker. I appreciate the My Chemical Romance reference.

I also found some editing mistakes... at least in the Kindle version.
There are phrases said by the same character that have multiple quotation marks. You really get lost in the dialogue.
At the end, a Cal t-shirt is mentioned. As in Caltech, while talking about Berkley. I know Berkey is in California but still seems like someone forgot which college they applied to.

Thank you, Net galley, for the ARC!

Hilarious, teenage rom-com that touched on some heavier subjects like divorce while still staying light-hearted! I loved My Mechanical Romance. The banter between Bel and Teo was great, the romance was top notch. I especially enjoyed the texts, I thought it made for a more realistic teenage story. It was a really superb book. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys rivals to lovers and/or romantic comedies.

Gracias Netgally , Holiday House y Alexene Farol Follmuth aka Olivie Blake por el E-ARC, a cambio de una reseña honesta.

Devore este libro , sin contar las horas en las que estuve en clase.
No voy a dar spoilers ya que este libro sale el 31 de mayo ( se encuentra en preventa en bookdepository).

No voy a mentirles , me encanto y nose como expresar lo que este libro me hizo sentir. Llevo dias intentando escribir esta reseña y no encuentro las palabras.

My Mechanical Romance es mega tierna,divertida y con una buena dosis de nerds.

Brevemente, MMR nos cuenta la historia de Bel Meier , que como algunos a los 17 no tiene ni idea que hacer , que carrera estudiar y a cual universidad aplicar (Algo que a mi me paso a los 15-16 años ya que estaba entre dos carreras completamente distitas, en universidades y paises distintos ; Puedo decirles que no me arrepiento de mi decision), hasta que un dia una profesora ve talento en ella por lo cual la envia al equipo de robotica. Bel es completamente ignorada por todos los chicos y Neelam la unica chica del equipo parece que tampoco le agrada Bel.

Teo Luna , el capitan del equipo parece ver potencial en Bel, por lo cual la ayuda a explotarlo. Al ayudarla y pasar tiempo juntos va a generar que sus sentimientos vayan cambiando.

La idea de lo que es ser mujer en un campo dominado por hombres fue lo que mas me gusto de este libro, ya que muestra una realidad ; Tambien muestra como hasta los propios docentes privilegian a los hombres solo porque es un campo de hombres, afortunadamente se ve un crecimiento y entendimiento de estos personajes en como las mujeres pueden hacer lo mismo que ellos.

Afortunadamente , gracias a que mi papa me llevara de niña a reuniones de computacion y robotica, llegue a entender algunos terminos. El penso que estudiaria una ingenieria, pero no ... me fui a medicina ; LO SIENTO PAPA.

- “I mean come on, boys can do it,” I call out to her. “So how hard can it be?”
- “We all know the male ego is notoriously fragile. Even the cute ones are a lost cause”
- ¨I just feel like everybody here already has everything figured out.¨
- “The world is not very helpful to a smart girl, more often it will try to force you inside a box. But I urge you not to listen.”
- ¨the best revenge is living your best life¨

🤖“He smiles, and I know that win or lose, Teo Luna and I are made of a strong foundation. What he and I have together is the best thing we’ve ever built.”🤖

This is the one of the most pleasantly surprising books I’ve read! From the premise alone (enemies to lovers on a robotics team), I was super excited to see what Teo and Bel had to offer - and I was not disappointed!

First and foremost, the topics discussed in this book were not only very real, but handled in such a realistic way that I truly felt for all the characters, Bel especially. She struggles with the familiar concept of almost beginning a new chapter in her life, but still being unsure of what she wants. Being in her head while she worked out her internal conflicts felt so relatable, but I loved how the book resolves them. I also enjoyed the themes of feminism and women in STEM, especially with Neelam’s character. She might have been ruthless and harsh towards Bel in the beginning, but her reasoning that came from pure experience made me really side with her.

Teo was a great character as well, with the perspective he gave as a kid who wants so much more than what he’s being given credit for. He and Bel worked really well together, and the whole lightheartedness of it all made me so happy :,))

Thank you to NetGalley, Alexene Farol Follmuth, and Holiday House for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I struggled with this book. Every time I sat down to read it I felt like I had read much more than I did because the pace was just a bit slow. I made it over halfway through before putting it down and not picking it up again. I wanted to like it because of the premise but it just didn't work.

I absolutely loved this book! This STEM young adult book kept me hooked the whole time and the characters are so sweet! The book started a little slow at first but then it picks up and you can’t put it down.
Bei and Teo have really different personalities but they both love building robots. Their love story was so cute, I can really recommend this one!

My Mechanical Romance was not what I expected it to be. I had doubts at first — the last book I read from the author was a miss with me, and it took me a few chapters before I got into the groove. And then I got sucked in.

Look, I am a humanities and social sciences type of person. STEM is not my area of interest at all and I don't know a single thing about robotics. Still, the way it was woven into the book was interesting and not a bore at all. I acrually had a lot of fun in the scenes revolving around it and I was on the edge of my seat during the robot contests.

The characters were also enjoyable, they weren't two dimensional at all. They were funny — I absolutely loved the text messages and I found myself grinning at them. Teo and Bel were just as great together as they were as individual characters. Although admittedly, it took me some time to warm up to Teo because of the way he was acting at first. I really loved their banter and just...they're so adorable and wholesome I'm going to explode. The side characters were a treat too. I liked Jamie, and I really appreciate how Neelam wasn't just a "mean girl" character. Her feelings were valid and understandable. I ended up really liking the whole friend group even if the rest of the boys in the team annoyed me a bit with the way they treated the girls.

I also really liked how this tackled sexism in STEM and how we shouldn't be afraid of taking up space. I could also really relate to Bel and how she was struggling with finding the path she wants.

My critiques would be that the plot felt kind of abstract in a way? Like there was a vague semblance of it and there was a direction to it, but it took some time to get moving. I didn't really mind that much though, because I was having fun with the characters. The ending also felt a little rushed and I wish it was longer, but I did enjoy the epilogue.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I'm excited to see if the author will be writing more in this genre.

I’m not going to lie, it took me a little bit to get into this one. I also wasn’t the biggest fan of either Teo or Bel to begin with, but boy did that change! I just finished this book and I have the biggest shit eating grin on my face. By the 50% mark I was hooked, by the 80% mark I couldn’t put it down!

Teo and Bel were so gosh darn adorable! Their little flirting stage was the cutest thing ever. The banter they had was top tier. I loved how well they complimented each other. They were so fundamentally different, but still had so much in common. My heart broke when they broke up because you could see how much they really cared for each other (honestly I was worried they weren’t meant to be together for a hot second). I love that by the end they realized how strong their feeling were for each other and decided that they were going to put in the hard work to be together despite the distance.

The growth Bel went through over the course of this book makes me so proud. She went from being a lost kid to finding something she’s passionate about and taking it a step further to figure out what she was going to do with her passion. I also approved the strong female relationships she had (Lara and Jamie, Ms. Voss, her mom, and even Neelam). Man do I loved it when Neelam and Bel teamed up at nationals and proved just how much they belong in a man’s world.

This was such a honest well crafted young adult book with important themes that will resonate with a lot of high schoolers figuring out what they want in life. It was also so entertaining with such a cute romance!