So I didn't expected to be this good
I love it, it's was really great read, starting was very slow for me even I want to dnf but thank god I didn't, book is definitely slow for me, I'm not into robots so I thought I will not enjoy as other people who know all this stuff
What I loved most is All The Characters, their personality are realistic and great, two pov always work for me, i didn't understand their whole love part but it was enjoyable to yeah if you like Robotics and kinda enemies-friends-lover book trope then it's for you.
Women in STEM more power to you ❣️
Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for providing me E-ARC

Um… THAT WAS SO CUTE!!

So, all the praises to this debut author for her amazing work, loved by me, a reader who just can’t like romance books.

I think i loved this book mainly because not only is the romance very sweet, it has a lot of discussions sprinkled all over the plot. All the characters have troubles of different types about their identity, future and even societal roles. Over all this, the plot is engaging, keeps you awake and reading. I loved that the author didn’t leave STEM just as a vague concept (*cough* hazelwood) but took the sciences of physics and engineering to an interesting level of robotics contests.

All the characters were distinct and three-dimensional enough for me to fall in love with them all. However, my heart keeps Neelam in the best of its places. Look, I, like Bel, was never told to ‘smile more’ or ‘be more ladylike’, but the portrayal was so well done that i was screaming into my pillow. This is how writing is done, folks.

The writing was overall great, despite my dislike for first-person narration in present tense. I liked the texting aspect of it, which shows texting in people my age accurately. However, one problem I had with the writing was the “quirky” factors: exaggerated amount of question and exclamation marks made me feel like i was reading a diary entry, which in my eyes is a little too informal for a novel. In addition to that, I found punctuation to be a little garbage. There were too many missing commas to count. I love commas. One more slight issue was Bel’s train of thoughts and diction, with he only building blocks being “like”, “what” and “huh” if you want to spice things up a little. Yes, she is characterised that way but I personally thought it was kind of unnecessary, and her uncertainty and lack of confidence could be shown in other ways.

The best theme is the uncertainty of everyone. I related too much to Teo in this, and I know exactly what to do with my life in the next twenty years. But a lot of people aren’t this way, and that is absolutely fine. I used to be astonished at people knowing nothing about their future until I met people who are so, so clueless that I had to empathise with the idea. And Teo learns to do the same, which makes him even more adorable than he already is.

Independence of Bel and every other woman in this AMAZED me. I’m trying my best for a non-spoilers review, but Bel is so strong that she chooses something less ideal in exchange for her independence. Apparently, she got this from her mother, an ER nurse, who takes care of her children alone while being an amazing (or close to) mother.

Also, Ms Voss. Oh my god, we need a lot more teachers like her. I loved the contrast she showed against the annoying character of Mac, the amazing advice and endless support she gave. And lastly, the lack of support for women in STEM was explored so well in different aspects/dimensions.

Special thanks to the author for writing this gem, and Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

5 ⭐️
-
WOWOWOWOWOW I LOVED THIS!!! WOMEN IN STEM?! YES 🥰🤩
Their wasn't a moment where I didn't love this. I loved how the women made their own way in the world and didn't let no man help or use an influence they have. love that honestly.

4.25⭐️
Thank you to NetGalley and Holiday House for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!!

Oh My God.

I love books with women in stem and this did NOT disappoint. I absolutely adore Teo and Bel. Their growth was so amazingly paced, and their relationship was just so CUTE. The HOLI SCENES??? They had me SCREAMING!

The reason I gave this 4.25⭐️ instead of 5, is because while the book was wonderfully paced, in my opinion, the ending just felt so off from that. I understood that with Nationals and just senior year in general the stakes were high, but it felt like there was little to no time to digest the third act break and then the HEA. It felt rushed.

Other than that, I LOVED this book and definitely would recommend!!!

4/5 in this one. A fairly quick feel good read. The characters were relatable and easy to like. I loved that the story made nerds the cool kids in this one. I also liked the fact that girls were given the chance to shine and prove robotics aren’t just for boys. The character growth from start to finish was just what I needed. Definitely will recommend this one.

ya romance books hold such a special place in my heart, and this one was PERFECT!!!

i need more robotics teammates turned friends to lovers in my life. bel and teo were adorable, i loved their development from sort of enemies to friends. i really enjoyed how even in the lighthearted love story there was some deeper topics that were addressed in both their lives; it made the story feel more real. i feel like we all need a teacher like ms. voss to support us, she was so nice and i adore her. luke deserves his own book, i'm like obsessed with him now! we love supportive brothers!! neelam was everything, reading about women in stem makes me feel so happy and empowered, if only i didn't completely hate science. the epilogue was so satisfying, seeing everyone find their place in college was great! can't wait for more ya books by this author!!

*Thank you NetGalley for supplying the ARC*

My Mechanical Romance was a quick, tasty YA read. Focusing on Isabel “Bel” Maier and Mateo “Teo” Luna, this story is of two high school seniors who connect over engineering and robotics amidst increasing pressure about their college plans. The Love Hypothesis + Fearless era Taylor Swift + robotics = this book, as it is a sweeter, more innocent STEMinist tale that brings back all of the best memories of high school: strong friendships, the joys of extracurricular clubs, and that unbreakable first brush with love.

My Mechanical Romance takes over the course of a school year at Essex Academy, an elite private institution in LA, when New Girl Bel is forced/encouraged to take AP Physics and join the robotics team when it is discovered she possesses a natural talent for machine design. She struggles to find her footing and place on the male dominated team, often butting heads with team captain and school Golden Boy Teo when her natural instincts clash with his tried-and-true approach to building robots. To make matters worse, the only other female team member, Neelam, hates Bel within moments of meeting. Sparks fly as Bel and Teo grow to know one another and find in each other a solace from outside forces crushing them— Bel’s hesitance to make decisions regarding her future and dealing with the affect of her parent’s messy divorce on their family, Teo’s loving but distant support system at home and tendency to take on everyone else’s problems as his own, joint expectations to win another Nationals title for the team.

There were several areas where My Mechanical Romance certainly shined. To start, Alexene Farol Follmuth managed to accurately capture the essence of Gen Z teens in her characters without seeming cheesy and cliche. Their concerns, their dialogue, even the clothes they are described as wearing- each and every detail marks Follmuth as somebody who understands or at least spends time with teens today, mimicking them strongly. As well, Bel and Teo’s push and pull friends to lovers arc is satisfying to the strongest degree, moving at a natural pace that feels neither rushed nor delayed. I enjoyed watching them fall in love, filled with gooey warmth at their obvious happiness, as Bel and Teo just make each other better. Side characters such as their friends and teachers rounded out the story’s world smartly. By the time I finished the book, I felt as if I could step into Essex and causally visit the robotics team.

There were two main issues I had with My Mechanical Romance, however, which go back to the promised tackling of struggles women face in STEM spaces. The first, and smaller issue, is the relationship between Teo and Bel with their best friends, Dash and Jamie respectively. Instead of providing comfort and advice to their struggling friends, Dash and Jamie appear as mere comedic foils who bob in and out of their friends’ lives as is necessary to plot. While this is not uncommon in YA literature, I’d hoped that their best friends would be more fleshed out than they were. My larger issue with Follmuth’s book was the actual tackling of the female experience in STEM spaces, seen through the split perspectives. Bel lucks into her role in AP Physics, the robotics team, etc. She has a natural talent for the design, which opens doors for her. However, she faces opposition due to her lack of technical terminology and ability to express her ideas to the team. I’m cool with all of that so far, as it is both realistic and understandable. Even Neelam, who laters gets to have a frank heart to heart with Bel about their different but same experiences on the team, is understandable. My Mechanical Romance doesn’t struggle when it comes to its female perspectives; it struggles in its male perspective. I liked Teo and I liked reading his POVs. However, when Bel tries to talk to him about her experience and how much harder it is for her in robotics, he throws a temper tantrum and takes it personally. This reaction made no sense to me and did little more than made me wish Bel’d dump him and date anybody else. Then, Bel struggles with the male physics teacher and robotics team mentor, Mr. MacIntosh (commonly referred to as Mac). Throughout the entirety of My Mechanical Romance, Mac favors Teo and the boys, ignoring every (valid) critique made by a female character. Long after the reader gives up hope on him reforming, tragedy happens and he is forced to listen to Neelam and Bel. Abruptly and off page, Mac does something (I’m unsure what) to make up with them, resulting in a cliche nod acknowledgement at the end of the book that he has seen the error of his ways. But has he? I don’t really think he did and that this detail was added without much consideration what it stands for.

At the end of the day, I enjoyed My Mechanical Romance so long as I did not think too hard about what I was reading. Like a paper-mâché’d house, the pretty outside and face value story were beautiful and interesting and funny and a million other positive adjectives. However, if I started to think deeper about Bel and Teo’s stories and hold them up to the light, the interior reveals itself to be hollow.

**I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**

4.5/5. I really really enjoyed reading this book. I found the characters to be very relatable and interesting, and I became invested in the story very early on. There were some really wonderful quotes, which is one of the most important things for me personally in fiction. I will almost certainly be buying a copy when it comes out in May. I have already recommended it numerous times. So grateful I got the opportunity to read this.

This is a YA, romance that focuses on Bel, recent transfer to this school and Teo, the all-star guy of the school.

I usually don’t read books that are set in high school but this book was better than I truly expected it to be. At the beginning, since it was more of a slow-burn, it took me longer to get into it but it was a fun read overall.

I loved how it had a focus on women in STEM and all that women have to go through for simple recognition. I found myself learning a lot more about this field especially as someone who knows nothing of robotics.

Bel and Teo had such a sweet relationship and I just loved how their connection grew from not getting along to being friends to lovers. They had a great development as individuals that I feel like many can relate to.The side characters were great too. Dash basically stole my heart and I loved how Bel always had Jamie and Lora to go to.

The last half of the book was probably my favorite. However, I also would’ve loved to have gotten more development towards the end. It wrapped up fairly quickly especially with the issues Bel and Teo were dealing with.

Overall, this was a cute, easy read. I haven’t read a book about an innocent high school romance in a while so it was nice to read something different. Obviously, it is targeted towards a younger audience so its just more personal preference that I gave it 3 stars versus higher.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with this arc in exchange for an honest review.

When I first heard about this book I thought to myself: "hey, this is totally my kind of book I need it NOW!" And then I found out that it wasn't released yet and I wanted to scream, but I got an arc through Netgalley! and I was so excited because omg it was available to read now and it was definitely my lucky day. And let me tell you it did not disappoint.

I love reading about women in stem, because I am one of them and it feels good to read other girls living the same things I experienced. Like when the teacher treated differently the boys in his class, and how pissed was Neelam when they doubt her and not the boys, or when Bel was lectured by Mr Mac for things the guys did without being called out. I mean, it is pretty common, and I liked the way the author represent it.

I also loved the girls friendship. It's so common in this kind of books to just put the girls against each other looking for male validation. And yeah, Neelam and Bel didn't quite get along, but I understood why.

And I liked that Teo wasn't so perfect. He was kind of annoying at first, when Bel didn't agreed with him right away. He wanted to be always right and Bel was his Achilles heel. Honestly, I liked this because it showed that boys can learn how they have privileged and they can do something to make a change. Sometimes they are all so blind by this that don't realize that the way they're acting is wrong.

And I love the way one of the main topics was to make your voice be heard, take space, be loud and don't let anyone look down at you just for being a girl.

Thank you to Holiday House and NetGalley for an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Oh wow, where do I begin? I loved this book. I had no prior knowledge in to many STEM topics and this intrigued me from the start. I loved the academics of this book, and also of course the cute romance!!! I love how their friendship started and blossomed in to a relationship. I am definitely a BelTeo fan.

Bel is so driven and such a great role model for girls and women. I loved how she found a passion in a male-dominated area and was not going to let anyone tell her she couldn’t accomplish her goals.

Teo is a smart and charismatic character who had great character development. I think he was a very captivating and I loved seeing him overcoming battles he faced throughout the book.

This STEM romance was a great young adult romance filled with comedy, inclusivity and realistic characters. All the characters had such depth that I loved reading each part. There were many relatable moments diving in to family relationships, social norms and breaking down barriers.

I highly recommend this book!

This book was exactly the fluffy read I needed! There was so many things I loved about this story. The pacing is also fantastic, and I love the dual point of views. I always find that it’s. Fun way to read, and see both sides of a story.

I love seeing filipino representation in books. So i was absolutely delighted when I found out Bel was also half filipino. I absolutely adore Bel. She is feisty, creative, and clever. My teenage self would have definitely been friends with her. I may have also tried to borrow all of her outfits! I understood her struggles with trying to figure out what she wanted to do in her life. The pressure of trying to get your mom’s approval is very common in Filipino culture. Also having a Filipino mom trying to feed everyone? Totally my mom. (can I now have some lumpia please?)

Oh Teo, I adored him as well. His struggles to be perfect 24/7 were also relatable. I loved seeing his growth and his eye opening moments on how he handled things. Plus his encouragement to Bel and helping her figure out her future was a total green flag. The dynamic between him and Bel is adorable. They really see each other for who they are.

I loved seeing the girl power themes through this book. I am a sucker for women in stem stories. Overall I really loved this book. I loved seeing their relationship blossom, and I loved seeing Bel embracing herself and talents. I absolutely recommend this book to anyone wanting a cute love story with robots throw in the mix. 4 stars out of 5.


Thank you to Netgalley for giving me this ARC in exchange for a honest review!

This story was such a cute, short YA romance novel!

I don't usually enjoy dual POV novels and I've recently leaned away from YA, but I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. Bel and Theo's characters felt very genuine and addressed the many pressures of high school, family, college planning, and being a woman in STEM. I'm just about the opposite of a STEM genius, but this book still felt tangible and understandable to the reader. The cute, witty banter was great, and the plot points felt believable. It wasn't quite enemies-to-lovers like some have described it to be, but the arc of the relationship was enjoyable nonetheless. It felt age-appropriate without seeming too juvenile. I loved reading about Bel and Theo, and the other characters were just as fun to read about. The author found the perfect balance of being a YA Romance without the romance overtaking the plot. I read this book in one sitting (it was definitely on the shorter side), so I'm itching to see what the author will publish next in the genre. I really enjoy the author's writing style, and I hope to see her release more books like this in the future!

My only critique was that the beginning of the book felt a little dialogue-heavy and a bit harder to connect with, but this really shifted by the middle and end.

Thank you to NetGalley for the digital ARC of this story! Looking forward to sharing this book with friends when it's released in May.

Just exceeded all my expectations!

I don’t usually like YA romance but this was perfectly executed!! Love love love it!

I was drawn to this book as I enjoyed The Love Hypothesis, which the description reminded me of! It’s a cute YA story, women in stem and enemies to lovers! I enjoyed this read a lot!

Thank you Netgalley, Holiday House and Alexene Farol Follmuth for the ARC.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This was really cute, we love WOC in STEM. At times though I found the two main characters boring and a little annoying but who isn’t a little annoying as a teen

Nerds are so hot these days.

My Mechanical Romance is the senior year for Teo Luna’s robotics team when Bel Maier comes to the picture- cue your typical romance when AP Physics crashes with college applications.

But it gets better! Because robots! And engineering!

Follmuth once again leaves me turning the pages (when I know I also have analog circuits due) and at the same time, sates my desire to see women of color in STEM take the stage.

The storyline is all I could ever want in terms of a YA coming of age romance book. Or even a romance book in general. Where it also discusses finding your space, and Follmuth does such a great job at not hiding any of the struggles her characters face. In fact, I do relate to Bel being uncertain in the engineering field, and Neelam loving something when her team disregards her for it. And for a heartwarming story, it does not hide from heartbreaks and disappointments.

Five stars because Follmuth does not bother taking up space in my heart with this nerd loving book.

I was not expecting to love this book as much as I do! It was a pleasant surprise. This was on my tbr for this year and when Netgalley put it up as a “Read Now,” I quickly clicked that button.

I fell in love with The Love Hypothesis and the blurb kindof reminded me of it.. and it did not disappoint. It’s very YA, but that didn’t take away my enjoyment at all!

Our main protagonist, Bel, is a transfer senior student. She has no idea what she wants to do, what colleges to apply to.. really she’s directionless. She hands in a last minute project that is very creative and that’s where it all begins.

I love the relationship she develops with her Bio teacher, Ms. Voss. She was so encouraging and a great support system. She encourages Bel to try out for robotics club where she starts to work with Teo.

I loved the banter and chemistry between her and Teo. She supported him and he pushed her to her full potential. There were so many cute moments between them. I loved Teo! I felt so much sympathy throughout the story in regards to his relationship with his father. These kids are under so much pressure.

You also have Bel dealing with her parents getting divorced and family dynamics.

The secondhand characters were great too! The friendships were sweet and I loved that Bel and the one girl come to an understanding.

I loved how the author explored the misogyny when it comes to females that want to/do participate in STEM and how hard it is for women to prove they’re just as good or smart and have many cool ideas.

The writing was easy and flowed and I loved being in both Bel’s head and Teo’s head.

Overall, I absolutely loved this book! I devoured it. I am shouting from the rooftops to anyone who will hear it: read this story! If you’re looking for a cute and wholesome read, pick this up right away!

I don't normally read YA, but this story was so fun and cute. My Mechanical Romance is an academic enemies-to-lovers story set in high school. I really liked the protagonists, Bel and Teo, as they were relatable and entertaining.
Their banter had me grinning from ear to ear, and the comedy aspect of this rom-com did not disappoint. Bel reminded me of myself in high school, and I'm sure many others in her situation can relate. Bel and Teo are complex characters, and I appreciated the authenticity of the author's portrayal of the high school experience. Contemplating one's future on top of the self-imposed pressure to succeed is a struggle many face, even past high school. I wasn't a fan of Teo initially because of his behavior towards Bel, but I ended up loving him and his relationship with Bel. The romance was so pure and sweet.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story. The writing style and plot had me engaged from start to finish, and the protagonists were so well-developed and genuine. The pop culture references were also a nice touch. :-)

Thank you NetGalley and Holiday House for the eARC of this book!

Before you get any ideas about my rating, I really loved the potential as well as some elements of this book!
❤️ - The female-forward mindset of this book was off the charts awesome. Having two daughters, I want them to always know that they can do anything they want in life so this book spoke to me in that regard.
❤️ - The diversity was really cool too. There were a ton of characters with all sorts of backgrounds and the author took it a step further and even included different cultural references for the characters.

😕 - There were a lot of times I noticed my mind wandering and couldn’t really get into the vibe of the book. There were chapters that bored me to tears or seemed rather repetitive.

😕 - Okay, so my husband completely disagrees with me on this one as we had an in-depth discussion over this while drinking wine. 😂 For the record, I only attributed a 1/2 ⭐️ knockoff for this.
There was a lot of swearing (no F-bombs or anything), references to sex, and teen drinking in this book for it being a YA novel. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve read many a book that has had its fair share of swearing and sex but none of which are YA novels. (Maybe it’s the mom in me….) It all seemed so unnecessary as the sex didn’t drive the plot forward and the teen drinking was portrayed in a relatively positive light. While in this intense yet friendly debate, I looked up the age range for YA books and didn’t realize that’s it’s a pretty gray area topic and apparently rather controversial. (I literally had no idea, did you??) Some say 12-18 years old while others say 18-24 years old which is a drastic age difference between the two sets. I started reading YA novels as young as 12/13ish and being the rather innocent and book-loving kid I was, I wouldn’t have been interested in reading anything with swearing, drinking, or sex references, and 12 and 13 years old seems too young for such mature topics anyways.
However! My husband, who was a high school/AP Chemistry and Biology teacher for 8 years, brought up some good points himself: He said the age doesn’t matter as much as the maturity of a child. He also asked me ‘Haven’t you ever read Catcher in the Rye in school?’ (I actually haven’t).

Shoutout to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book!

3.25⭐️ .’ve seen some people who have just adored this book so check out other reviews or give it a shot yourself! 🤗