I’m a bit of a fair weather YA reader. As in, I can enjoy them, but I usually only pick them up once I know they’re popular and well received. The cover of My Mechanical Romance was just so appealing though, and the summary had so many of my favorite things, so I read it and look at me - I’m a trendsetter! I’m telling you so early that this book just consumed me. If Rachel Lynn Soloman and Ali Hazelwood had a book baby than this would be it’s the baby we all want. The characters were so engaging. The writing was captivating and relatable. I just genuinely cared so much about Bel and Teo.

Bel is bit of an underachiever and starting her senior year at a new private high school. She’s not a joiner, and doesn’t know where to apply for college or what she would even study once she’s there. After some soft, well-meaning, blackmail from a science teacher that sees her potential, Bel tries out and makes it on the robotics team. This puts her right in the path of Teo, who is robotics captain and all around golden-boy. They clash, are a bit enemies-to-lovers, but they find their way to one another and Bel finds her direction in a place she never expected.

I wish I was a better writer myself, so I could accurately convey how deeply this book put me in my feelings. I mean, high school was 20+ years ago for me at this point, but I just *felt* every setback of Bel’s deep down in my soul. Reading this book was like listening to the Olivia Rodrigo album last year. As an almost 40yo woman with 3 kids, I don’t exactly relate to the high school drama, but the feelings of betrayal, ambition, love, anguish, heartache, and hope just rattle around in my brain and give me all the serotonin. I wouldn’t change a single thing about this book, and it’s going on my re-read pile.

I received a free copy of this e-book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

4.5 ⭐️ I throughly enjoyed reading this, finished it in a day! It’s a great and lighthearted YA romance, featuring women in STEM, Asian representation, and my favorite trope, academic rivals to lovers. AND ITS DUAL POV!!! sign me tf up !
This felt authentic to the teenage experience, from the way the characters acted, their thoughts and struggles felt like I was back to my teenage self. I found myself relating a lot to Bel at that age. Also she’s a swiftie so I love that for her <3
I loved how Bel and Teo’s relationship progressed naturally through the story (it didn’t feel forced) the slow burn was fantastic. The humor, banter, the tension!!!
I appreciated the themes and issues presented in this story. (Sexism, privilege, family, imposter syndrome) I love how it challenged how society views women of color in STEM: the expectations of how woman have to carry themselves a certain way to be taken seriously by men.
Also the science and physics stuff was described that made sense even to me (who knows absolutely nothing)
Thank you to NetGalley for providing this book in exchange for an honest review

'"The world is not very helpful to a smart girl," says Ms. Voss. "More often it will try to force you inside a box. But I urge you not to listen."'

I seriously have not enjoyed a YA book this much in a long time! This YA contemporary romance delivered an incredible story with a fantastic cast of characters that led me to read this book in one sitting!

Any book that has women in STEM representation is an automatic must-read for me. It's even better when the representation is done right. This book perfectly encapsulated what it's like being a woman in STEM in an easy-to-understand and digest format for YA audiences. My own high school experience parallels Bel so much that it was easy to empathize with her and root for her to succeed. This book perfectly captures the drive you have to have to survive in STEM and how women have to work twice as hard for the same opportunities men automatically get. As for Teo, it took me a while to warm up to him as he was always quick to write others off and take care of things himself, but I warmed up to him by the end as I felt like he and Bel and fantastic character arcs. Having flawed characters complete such a great arc is no easy feat, but it was done well here! I also can't forget to mention that all the side characters were excellent and it made every character interaction enjoyable and entertaining.

What I loved about the plot was that it wasn't overshadowed by the romance and was perfectly balanced. While it IS technically a YA contemporary romance, there are fantastic lessons about finding yourself, understanding your potential, and ultimately believing in yourself enough to make big decisions and put yourself out there. It made the book more empowering and the perfect coming-of-age story.

Overall, I can say with certainty that I will be recommending this book to everyone I know that loves a great YA book as this is easily a new favorite of mine!

The basics:
- Young Adult romance
- STEM romance
- Filipino (heroine) and Mexican (hero) representation
- Academic rivals to lovers
- Slow burn

To be frank, I am not one to gravitate towards YA romance anymore. But I do make my occasional exceptions. When I read the blurb for this book, I had a strong inkling that this would be worth picking up.
I am beyond glad to say that this book is one of those books that make me want to dip my toes in YA romance again, and more often.

If I were to describe this book in one word, it would be ‘refreshing’. For most of my time reading this, I kept thinking “wow this thing doesn’t have the typical immature-kids-making-bad-decisions plotline.” Don’t get me wrong, the characters in this book are not perfect, but they surprisingly read more mature than I expected.

Speaking of the characters, is it too bold to say that I love them all? Like I said, they were far from perfect BUT their decisions, ways of thinking, their personalities in general were well fleshed-out that I eventually understood where they were coming from. And I’m not just talking about the hero and heroine. I’m talking all the characters, especially their friend group (which I honestly want to be a part of myself even though I know nothing about robots).

As for Bel and Teo’s romance, it felt real and believable to me. Their relationship naturally progressed throughout the story that it didn’t feel forced when they first declared their love for each other. I loved how their romance had a strong friendship as its foundation. The slow burn was fantastic; there were a lot of sweet moments during the platonic stage of their relationship that made me want to continue reading to get to that part when they finally get together. I rooted for them from start to finish, and I want more! (I mean there was an epilogue, but I guess a novella wouldn’t hurt?)

Going much deeper, I really appreciated the themes and issues this story delved into. I love how it challenged how society views women of color in STEM: the expectations that tend to be burdensome and how that affects how they view themselves. As a woman of color myself (Filipino, too and that rep was a win!), although not in STEM, I resonated with how Bel felt. I also appreciated how it focused on how young people get indecisive about what they want to do in life. The struggles the characters faced when it comes to deciding on their next steps with their careers were so relatable even to a woman like me who is currently in her mid 20’s, in the workforce, with a supposed career path. The hero Teo’s struggles with trying to constantly fix problems, even though they’re not his, hit too close to home. Burnout is real and I’m grateful this book chose to show that.

This is an important and powerful book that I think all people, young adult or not, should read. Not only does it deliver on the romance, but it also presents real life experiences that anyone can relate to.

This was such a cute read!
It's a dual POV YA romance following Bel, a new student in a super competitive high school, and Teo, the captain of the robotics club in that high school. Pushed by her (female) physics teacher, Bel joins the robotics club and they bond over building battle robots.

I really liked the "women in STEM" rep in this book - even though I'm not one myself (I chose the easy route and went to business school), I think that's so important. There was a scene where Bel meets a little girl who tells her she "didn't think girls could build robots too" and admires her so much for it, and that warmed my heart.
I also thought the way sexism was depicted in the book was very subtle. Most of the injustice wasn't in-your-face interactions (except for the dumb boys from opposite teams looking down at the girls in the robotics team). It was the (male) physics teacher favouring the boys in his class, it was the only two girls in the team besides Bel being 1) the social media and business manager of the team, a traditionally more female position, and 2) depicted as a huge bitch. It was the way Teo, even though he was the main character and we were meant to like him, still expected everyone to follow his lead without questions.
I also LOVED the female friendships in this book. Jamie and Lora were both sweet, loyal, and even though they came from very different places and had different personalities and ambitions, their group of 3 (with Bel) and their complicity and female solidarity was a highlight of the story for me.
The last thing I really appreciated was the commentary on social injustice. The reason why Bel wasn't as prepared for her future as Teo wasn't only because she was a girl and was never pushed into engineering, it was also because she didn't come from such a privileged background. And like her teacher tells Bel, MONEY has a huge impact on colleges' decisions to accept a student on not (which, as a European, sounds absolutely insane to me). I really liked the way everything turned out in the end: things did not go as planned (aka easily), which Bel made her peace with, and she made another plan and kept moving. I thought that was a great message, but it doesn't make it any less true that if she had had money and privilege, she wouldn't even have had to take these detours.

Finally, I wanna talk about the characters a little.

First of all, the main two. I thought Bel was a great character - she was funny, strong, faced many problems at home and in school. Her character actually faced real conflict: her parents' divorce, feeling lost, not knowing what she wanted to do with her life. And she had great character development too. Admittedly, she had a little "not like other girls" vibe, but I'll forgive it because she never brought down other girls. But the problem was that she was such a complex character that in comparison, Teo felt kinda bland? What did he have going on for him? Rich, successful, big house, loving parents. Sure, his dad was a little absent, and I sympathised with that, but again compared to Bel's struggles it was a bit small. Early in the book, there's a scene where Bel describes his character, and that was my opinion of him the entire time:
"On the one hand, he's essentially the cult leader for a squad of worshiping dorks, and watching him in AP Physics today gave me the impression that maybe he knows it. He's clearly Mac [the teacher]'s favorite student, and he's definitely not dumb, but he's pretty entitled - which I guess he would be, wouldn't he? With a house like this and parents like that".
And he ACKNOWLEDGES that he is entitled and not used to being questioned. But I just didn't really see his evolution.
Now don't get me wrong, I thought their relationship was super cute. But as much as I understood why he fell for her, I'm not sure I get what she saw in him haha? At some point she says he's "the best person she knows" and I was like, why? But then I'm also into hot, rich cocky dudes, so I guess I get it.

All the supportive characters were amazing tho! Like I already said, I loved Jamie and Lora from the robotics club. Dash was also an absolute sweetheart. I also really liked Ms Voss, the physics teacher who initially encourages (well, kinda forces) Bel to join the robotics club, and Luke (Bel's brother) was great too.
And there's Neelam of course, who honestly deserves a book of her own. I understood where she was coming from, being a girl in robotics and never being taken seriously and having to fight extra hard to get what the boys get easily. But I guess I would've liked to see women supporting each other too? Band together, fight the patriarchy, you know. Although that's exactly what happens at the end so I can appreciate the way it built up to it. Character development!

Overall, this was a super enjoyable read, right up my alley. If you like cute YA romance and light banter and strong female characters, I definitely recommend it!
TWs for sexism.

I read this book as a voluntary ARC before it’s official release.
I very much enjoyed this book. I think it’s a great YA novel that tackles women in STEM, stereotypes, and happiness in your teen years. I greatly appreciate that the author was able to show truly how hard it can be and that there are stereotypes about girls in STEM that people don’t even realize they are making. I would definitely recommend this book to any high schooler but also anyone in the STEM field.

That was extremely cute!!!
If I was a few years younger I would have loved the romance and basically everything about this book. But I’ve been reading New Adult/Adult for the past few months, so this wasn’t really IT for me, but I still liked it. I did love the emphasis on science (or robotics) because, well, I love science. And the fact that it was (kind of?) enemies to lovers? Amazing.
So, if you want YA, enemies to lovers, banter and women in STEM, you should definitely read it.
And I think the writing style got better throughout the book so I enjoyed it more and more.

You know those books that just leave you feeling strong after you read them? Like, you're motivated to get your life together, to make something of yourself, to BE yourself? That's this book for you. But it's so much more.

It's a PURE, innocent, adorable first-love romance story, and yet... there are tears in my eyes. Like, actual tears. Not of sadness (although there were moments of that as well), but of an abundance of emotion.

I ADORED the protagonist. She was quirky and weird, but in a good way, I swear. She reminded me of myself (and not just in the name). It unlocked memories of my junior/senior years of of high school, where I embraced the engineering side of me. I was never the strictly academic type, like her. I was concerned about the here and now, having fun. I didn't want to think about college apps or the future.

Teo. Teo frickin' Luna. I... (I have nothing more to say. I am in love.) He was so well developed as a character. The juxtaposition between Teo's ambition and certainty of what he wants and Bel's desire to hide in the background and do what she wants was done very well. Bel is constantly surrounded by people who all seem to have it figured out while she has no clue what she wants to do. I felt that. Hard.

Did I mention it's dual pov?

There was a huge cast of characters, all super diverse and well-rounded. They all served a purpose in the story & had their own personal goals and arcs. The book focused on stressing the theme of girls in STEM. Girls in science and math career paths. We have it hard sometimes, and this book did an amazing job showing that without making it annoying or cliché.

The story itself centered around Isabel Maier--Bel. "Bel as in bel canto, not Belle the princess". And if you're thinking Teo Luna won't make a habit of calling her Bel Canto, you would be wrong. Bel is a high-level procrastinator. It's her senior year, and she hasn't touched her college apps. But don't mention it. She'll shut you down.

Luckily, the brilliant and compassionate science teacher Ms. Voss sees something special in Bel. She sees a talent for building and designing in the catapult she built for class. She switches Bel to the AP Physics class and urges her to try out for the robotics team. It's through the robotics team that Teo also sees her potential. (It's too bad the physics teacher doesn't see Bel's value in quite the same way.)

Bel, of course, needs to learn how to work as a team, because that's what robotics is about. That's what engineering is about. And Bel doesn't quite get it. That, and their conflicting "plans" for the future, cause Teo and Bel to butt heads quite a bit.

But through their long study sessions and late afternoons building their robot together, they begin to see each other in a new light. Watching these characters, through both POVs, slowly fall in love with each other was addicting. Seriously. By the time I was barely half way through the book, I was so invested in these fictional people that I could not put the book down.

If you are a girl and you even KINDA like science and math, if you've ever felt wrong because of that interest, read this book. If you like fictional boys who make note of your weirdness and then slowly begin to realize he can't live without it, read this book. If you like academic rivals-to-lovers, the found family trope, witty humor and pop-culture references, and characters you can laugh with and cry over, READ. THIS. BOOK!!

Seriously.

I'm wary to give any book 5 stars because, well--5 stars?? that's quite the statement, but honestly, I don't think I can give this book any less. For what it was, a cutesy YA romance novel, it won me over. It destroyed me, emotionally. It is a 5 star book.

I loved how the author discussed the discrimination that women face in a male-dominated engineering field.
As a teenage girl myself, I found the main character Bel very relatable, because I am also interested in STEM but hate to think about my future or anything college related (and love Taylor Swift!).
Teo was a very well-written character because under all the confidence he had his own insecurities and doubts. The relationship of these two characters was super adorable, yet realistic.
You will enjoy this book if you love the academic rivals to lovers trope, women of color in STEM!
Trigger warnings: sexism/misogyny, classism, infidelity, vomit.

This was cute! I did like the main relationship and I did appreciate the STEM field. Seeing the way women were treated definitely hit home for me.

My frustration with this came from the later portion. I also felt like some storylines were never fully resolved. I’m not sure I liked the dialogue choices in some parts.

This was a cute read. I appreciated the ending. I liked a lot of this… but this comes in at a 3.5 due to other reasons.

"Bel Canto"

Teo Luna could make just about any girl swoon, which is one of the reasons he is my favorite character in the story. While this book was not exactly a five star read, it did have characteristics that I throughly enjoyed. Overall the concept of the story was sweet and cute but also aware of today's societal trends. Firstly, the diversity throughout this story was pleasurable, something that is not too rare within today's books but also not as common. I enjoyed the raw and transparency problems these characters are go though, it makes them relatable and real. What prevented this book from receiving a five-star rating from me was the writing style in which the novel was written in. While the writing style may be a personal preference, there were things that I found frustrating when reading. For example, Bel would explain to the reader certain robotic terms that were being used while she was building the robots as though she new we were in her head, thus taking away from the realism this story was to provide. Instead I was left feeling as though I was reading a science paper, and the student was trying to explain to the reader what everything was. It left me feeling as though I was reading a science paper instead of a novel. While I get this was mainly used to explain to the reader what was happening so they would not be left behind, I feel it took away from the story and was somewhat focused on too much.

Overall I liked the book and I'm interested to see what else this author writes next. Thank you Peachtree Teen for providing and allowing me to read this ARC.

Slow burn, enemies to lovers in STEM. Exciting plot with Bel who is forced to join the robotics team and Teo having to work with her to win nationals.

Cute romance novel. Thoroughly enjoyed.

Thank you to NetGalley and Holiday House for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

Reading this book wasn’t enough. I need it to be injected into my bloodstream. I was definitely judging this book by it’s cover and it lived up to my expectations.

Bel. Isabel. Bella. If I had to describe her character in short then she’s like unexplored mine. She has quickly became one of my favourites, mostly because I found her character to be so freaking relatable. Hates thinking about the future? Check. Hates anything related to college? Check. Loves Taylor Swift? Check. Is unapologetically awkward? Double check. She’s just like me. And I adore her. I loved how she’s figuring out herself. It shows the journey. This is book depicts the ‘coming of age’ factor so accurately.

Teo. Mateo. Mateo the second. He’s the super focused guy. I mean that guy is the captain of the soccer squad AND the robotics team he knows what he’s doing (on the outside that is). But Teo is also like every other teen. He’s indecisive, has doubts and is uncertain. So, I loved how this character is balanced in the book. And he’s definitely one of the most realistic fictional guy I’ve ever read.

I loved Bel and Teo’s meet cute. It was adorable to the T. I loved how their dynamics developed through the book. It’s Rivals to Lovers and as a plus, both of them are grumpy. I adored the sub characters as well. Each member of the Robotics team. Neelam, Lora, Jamie and Dash have a special place in my heart.

I loved how this book is basically breaking the stereotypes. It was exhilarating to see Bel fight for what’s right. Diversity in STEM with a side of Feminism is what makes this book unique.

I loved how the book put forward the message that it’s okay to be uncertain about the future, to not have everything planned out. Things would work out the way that they have to, just never stop trying and that’s such a powerful subject matter for a YA book.

Thank you Netgalley and the Publisher for the arc!

Wow, just, wow! A high school romance story with characters that actually act like real high school students? I’m kidding, kind of. This one is for the nerds who constantly worry about the letter “A”.

As a person who struggles with academic validation all my life, I can relate with the characters so much. Although the romance story is very cute (trust me it’s very very heartwarming), I can’t help to compare my own experience searching for the right direction on what to do next in my academic life. Bel, a transfer student from a mediocre school, finds herself struggling to find her passion in her new-full-of-high-achieving-kids high school. It is kind of unfair to be an 18 year old and people expect us to pick a major that going to define our life. It is such a huge responsibility to shoulder on a barely-even-an-adult.

It is a story about failure, learning, passion, and this one also tackles on how to deal with privileges as a student. Teo has been a rich and smart kid all his life and not to mention a bunch of his achievements. Basically he’s your dream kid if you are a parent. But as all humans, he has his flaws. For Teo, this story is about making peace with his flaws and accept your life is not entirely yours to control.

All in all, this book is worth the time and I really really looking forward to seeing it in the bookstores! 🥳

Thank you holiday house pub & netgalley for providing me with the eARC in exchange for an honest review. The synopsis is from Goodreads.

The academic rivals to lovers trope fun to read but what I love the most about this book is how it discussed the sexism/gender discrimination in certain fields like STEM jobs that are predominantly male. I love how the author tackled such heavy topic while keeping the story simple, engaging, and light.
I also liked that the characters have personalities and not just one-dimensional. I truly enjoyed reading the character development of the 2 main characters. Even the side characters are well written, especially Neelam!
The high school romance is cute, and the STEM/robotics element is engaging, the the issues discussed can also be still be relatable even to older readers.
A totally fun light read! Highly recommend to those into academia romance and books with awesome female lead!

This was adorable. A genuine joy to read. The author, one of my favourites, truly has a stunning way with words.

“I’ve always believed that there’s a possibility for everything in the world to collide for a single perfect moment, and that sometimes, if you’re lucky, you get to have one for yourself. This one is ours.”

I finished this book in less than a day, consumed in one sitting. It is well written and funny, and the characters are likeable and relatable. I spent a good portion with a grin on my face.

“We’re not friends, we’re academic colleagues.” “Enemies to academic colleagues to lovers.”
“Stop saying that!”


All in all, this book was throughly enjoyable. The character development is terrific. It handles difficult concepts (females in a male dominated STEM world) without making light of them. The teenagers, while obviously being very bright and knowledgeable, still clearly act like teenagers. Highly recommend.


eARC provided by Netgalley for an honest review.

This book was undeniable cute. It gave me so much serotonin, I am in love.

Everything is perfect, the relationship between the characters are just *chef’s kiss*. A romance between academical rivals is AMAZING, I loved it so much. As someone who is going through university now, and dealing with academic life, it is really amazing and fun to read a book that is about characters that are going through similar things.

Also, I was shocked to discover that the author is actually Olivie Blake.

Yup yup yup!!!! I really liked this book!! Very wholesome academic rivals to lovers, plus representation and STEM! It is a YA contemporary romance. Also, same author as Olivia Blake (pen name) so if you like her writing style, you'll probably also like this!

I IMMEDIATELY downloaded this book when I saw it pop up. Atlas Six (same author under different names) was an instant favorite, and I was so excited to read more from this author. While I can definitely see similarities in the writing style, this work did not carry the same weight in it's prose or plot that Atlas did, nor did it wreak the same emotional damage as Alone with You in the Ether. I think a lot of that had to do with subject matter and target audience, both of which are a good deal younger than me. This high school romance was sweet and smart, and I loved the messages for Women in STEM, but that's just about the max depth of the book. I'd frankly still read this author's grocery lists, she's that good, but I look forward to reading more of her adult works soon.

4/5 stars

EVERYTHING I NEEDED AND MORE OUT OF A STEM YA RIVALS-TO-LOVERS ROMANCE....

Bel very much has no clue what she's doing in life (same girl). But when she transfers to a new school at the beginning of her senior year, her advisor makes it very clear things are going to have to change if she wants to be on her teacher's good side (and you know, graduate). Enter Teo, Mr. Hot and-he-knows-it who happens to be the son of a huge tech mogul and is super smart too. When the two of them have to work together on the robotics club, it's a recipe for disaster. Bel is certain she and Teo will never be friends. But turns out sparks fly both on and off the circuit board, let's just hope the

I. Loved. This. I really did. I knew just from the title and the cover (DID YOU SEE HOW BEAUTIFUL THAT COVER ART IS???) that I was going to be obsessed with this book. The characters are so lovable, Bel is honestly my spirit animal and I desperately want those bird jeans. Teo is the cute, smart, techy boy my performing arts high school was missing. There's none of that miscommunication trope thank goodness and the conflict was handled super well. I was literally giggling and kicking my legs like a maniac while reading this it was so gosh darn cute.

WE LOVE WOMEN IN STEM. WE LOVE WOMEN CALLING EACH OTHER OUT WHILE STILL SUPPORTING ONE ANOTHER. WE LOVE MEN BECOMING AWARE OF THEIR OWN PREJUDICES.

Thank you Alexene Farol Follmuth for writing what I think is going to become my 2022 YA comfort book. I will most definitely be reading this again very, very soon. Everyone please stop what you're doing and go read this. I beg you.



Thank you Netgalley and Junior Library Guild for this arc in exchange for an honest review!