thank you so much to netgalley and holiday house for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.

some of reasons why you should read this:
- academic rivals
- funny jokes & banters
- poc characters!! and relatable ones, no less!
- family issues
- NERDS
- subtle feminism

my mechanical romance is a STEM #OwnVoices rom-com about two biracial teens who are basically the exact opposite of each other. teo is like, the school’s heartthrob, the captain of varsity soccer team and robotics who always seems to have so much on his plate. he likes being in order, to be able to control everything. and met isabel ‘bel’ maier, she’s this eccentric-dressed new girl who apparently doesn’t really care about college apps or anything related to future plans. this book explores so much about self-discovery, the true meaning of being a team, and the vulnerability of having so much to bear as the consequences of personal responsibility as a leader.

though it’s pitched as ‘rivals-to-lovers’ kind of trope i think their strongest point is about how they can mutually accept and help through each other’s weaknesses and turn it into their own strengths as a team. and that goes without saying, i really, really love all the characters (sure they can be a little dick sometimes but aren’t we all?) with every fiber of my being. and the build is also very realistic, they just don’t suddenly have the all-lovey-friendly friendship bond, it takes some shitty days, then bearable ones, and another shitty days and a little bit of frustrated cries until finally they have an ‘okay’ relationships. and i really enjoyed every second of the process!

the romance aspect is cute. like, so damn freaking cute. they have lots of banter. a weird one. the heated one (my favorite, go on give me all those dramas!), and of course the silly teasings i’m afraid i’ll break my jaw because i can’t stop grinning from ear to ear.

bonus point i really love the feminist points of this book. especially the bond that built between neelam and bel oh my god i truly thought this book would have lacks of female friendship since they were the only girls on the team but glad i was proven wrong. neelam my meow meow. this book is not the kind that’s both humorless and lecturing. in fact it had some depths and layered construct on how circumstances and luck could also play role in creating social inequality in a male-dominated field. so, yeah, if i haven’t said it enough i love this book!

looking forward to other follmuth’s YA books in the future!

Thank you to NetGalley for supplying me with an ARC of this book!

I absolutely ADORED this. Like, from the first page. Bel is genuinely one of my favourite characters ever and I love everything about her. She was just so well fleshed out and so likeable and her dilemmas over college literally made me think about my own future (that's still a work in progress, definitely relating to her about that lol). I didn't like Teo quite as much, but I thought his character growth was great and he was a really likeable character as well.
some of the side characters (definitely not Neelam - she was a really really great character) felt kind of one dimensional and didn't really exist except to be there for bel, but I did like them.
this is marketed as a romance and yes, romance is definitely a key part of the story, but I feel like this is more of a coming of age story. This is absolutely not a bad thing - bel's character arc was so good and all of her dilemmas were really relatable and done so well. She was a really well fleshed out character and everything that happened in the story was really realistic.
Overall just a really really good book. Definitely one of my new favourites and I encourage everyone to read it when it comes out. So so good.

A swoon-worthy and cute romance.

If you want a book about women in STEM, then this is perfect for you. A Southeast Asian representation? You got it. Tackling issues regarding degrading women wanting to take up engineering? You got it.

This book made me giggle, laugh, cry (in a good way). It's a fast-paced book. There are a lot of mechanical terms that I don't understand, but I still enjoyed the book. If you're wondering if this have the same writing style as The Atlas Six, no it isn't. It's easy to read and understand.

The book has the perfect amount of a senior high school romance. It isn't cheesy or cringe-y. And the way they described each other? I was smiling like an idiot.

As a Filipino, I felt seen by reading this book. I was actually surprised that the main character was a half-Filipino, because representing Filipino race isn't that usual for YA romance. Alexene did a good job of writing some of the cultural practices of Filipinos, and I'm proud of it.

Overall, this book won't disappoint you.

Thank you Netgalley and Holiday House for providing me this arc! :)

This was so engaging YA contemporary novel. It was so nice to see the women in STEM focus that is lacking in this genre. Both of our main characters are equally interesting and so well written,

I loved this book! I won't lie, it took me a little time to get into it, but once I did it really captivated me and I didn't want to put it down. I thought that the characterization and character growth were done so well, and Bel and Teo were so adorable together. They had great banter and dynamic that was so much fun to read. I also loved that both Bel and Teo were really great about owning up to their shortcomings and actively working to do better.

4.25 — saur cute !!!
you know i love me some good academic rivals to lovers 😩😩 loved the complexity of the characters and how both of them ( and the side characters! neelam my girl fr ) had various layers and all of that 🙏🙏 plus they also rlly felt like teenagers which ig isn't always accomplished in YAs + the rep ?!?? so good fr

gotta be honest tho i lit barely understood when they started using US high school lingo and mechanics lingo 😭😭 ( european and dk abt mechanics sooo 😰 )

the ending felt a bit rushed.. i mean i feel like it just kinda looked over some issues and yh.. ig i also wish it'd been a lil longer 🙏

looking forward to her next projects 😁😁😁
(received the digital arc through netgalley)

I devoured this book in a day, and wow, it was perfect. Bel and Teo's relationship was adorable and their experience in high school and applying to colleges feels so real. I related to both of the main characters in many ways. Like Bel, I am in STEM and it felt so good to read her experience navigating the complexities of this male dominated field, but ultimately finding her place. The writing style was so personal to each of the characters that it truly felt as though I was reading their minds. Both characters are also dealing with other people's expectations and family issues, but all of this was tackled very well. I expected this to be a copy of every other cheesy romance book, but it was so enjoyable and well done.

This book is so stinking wonderful!
It follows a quirky girl with her own style as she begins a new school for her senior year. She tries to fly under the radar but is easily detected by one of her teachers as being super intelligent with a gift for engineering.
This teacher pushes her to join the Robotics club where she meets a boy that has it all…mansion, car, important family, yada yada. He sees her skills and pushes her to succeed. In return she pushes him to do better as well. They make the perfect match.
I loved that this story focused on girls in STEM! Really, I loved everything about it! Perfect for a YA romcom!!! I would totally recommend!
Thank you to the author and NetGalley for this ARC. I enjoyed every second of it! Five stars!

yall drop everything (except maybe what you’re reading this on right now so that you can acc finish reading this review first) AND READ THIS BOOK. this is quite possibly my favorite read of 2022 so far- an instant 5 star. with charming and likable main characters, women in stem, SUCH A CUTE LOVE STORY OMG RIVALS TO LOVERS ARE YOU KIDDING ME, and intersectional feminism (in so many ways and from a variety of diverse perspectives) this book is truly a dream come true. i have nothing negative i can say about it, which is a rarity among books. you know how theres a book you read and like but it doesn’t make you want to spend every waking hour reading it? well this book isn’t like that. i wanted to spend every waking hour reading this, immersed in the story (so much so that i should be asleep right now bc i have to get up in 5 hours and finish studying for two exams that im taking later in the day but instead im writing this review bc HOLY SHIT THIS BOOK IS SO GOOD). if i could show yall the screenshots of me screaming about this book to my best friend i would, because im forcing her and all my other reader friends (also all of you) to read this AS SOON AS IT COMES OUT!! i also loved how the author didn’t completely antagonize the female “bitchy” side character; she was absolutely not a bad person and, after seeing things from her POV, I 1000% agree. also i love the positive message this book relays- that you don’t have to start something or realize you’re passionate about something super early on in life to be successful in it. we have so much wonderful time, and the ending of bel and teo’s story utilized it in the most perfect way ever. i can rant for ages about how much i love this book, but i need to sleep so goodnight but before i go ill leave you with one more reminder TO READ THIS BOOK. im 10000% buying a physical copy to put in the favorites section of my (alarmingly large and growing at an even more alarming rate thanks to books like these) bookshelf.

Cosa c’è di peggio di non poter realizzare il proprio sogno? Non provare neanche a realizzarlo perché ti hanno sempre detto che non è cosa per te, tanto che questo sogno neanche sai di averlo.

In “My mechanical romance” seguiamo Bel e Teo nell’ultimo anno di liceo tra lezioni di fisica, club di robotica e applications per l’università.
Inizialmente non si stanno proprio tanto simpatici ma poi una cosa tira l’altra e scoppia la scintilla.

Ma non voglio parlare di questo…
Questo libro, nonostante il titolo secondo me non gli renda giustizia, parla molto di più che di una semplice storia d’amore. O meglio, sì, il romance c’è ma è rivoluzionario per tanti motivi. Vediamoli insieme!

1. Il tema delle donne in ambito STEM è trattato con un taglio molto sottile: alle ragazze viene detto sin da piccole di non essere portate per le materie scientifiche, non investono in quell’ambito e difficilmente si specializzano in materie STEM. I ragazzi invece vengono spinti verso le materie scientifiche sin da subito (pare che avere un cromosoma Y e un fallo dia capacità cognitive incredibili) e quindi si specializzano più facilmente nell’ambito STEM.
Bel arriva in una nuova scuola e non ha idea di cosa voglia fare nella vita. Le piace costruire oggetti e capire come funzionano ma quando le vengono nominate cose come “ingegneria meccanica”, “robotica”, “fisica” inorridisce e pensa “proprio non fa per me”. Perché? Perché questo è quello che le hanno sempre insegnato e non riesce né lei né la maggior parte delle persone attorno a lei, compresi alcuni professori, a immaginare di potersi appassionare all’ambito scientifico.

“If you really want to be an engineer, then get ready,” she says with a glare at me. “Get ready to hear no. Get ready to hear you can’t. Get ready for ‘I just don’t like her’ or ‘she’s not likable’ […]”

2. FINALMENTE non abbiamo l’accoppiata da romanzo trash finta tonta-bad boy. Ma a parte il fatto che i protagonisti escono dagli schemi convenzionali del romance sono anche personaggi realistici, tridimensionali, con luci e ombre. Devo ammettere che tra i due ho preferito di gran lunga Teo: il disagio interiore del leader che si sente in dovere di farsi carico di tutte le responsabilità e le preoccupazioni del team oltre alle proprie mi è molto piaciuto.
3. Il doppio pov. Ogni capitolo presenta sia il punto di vista di Bel che di Teo. In questo modo riusciamo ad accompagnare entrambi durante la narrazione ed “entrare nelle loro teste”. In particolare, non credo che mi sarei affezionata tanto a Teo se non fosse stata data voce anche a lui.
4. la storia è realistica. Zero drammi surreali da romanzo Harmony. I problemi che i ragazzi affrontano sono più che fattibili nel mondo reale e per questo c’è anche più possibilità di immedesimarsi nei personaggi.

Nel complesso la storia è molto caruccia e scorrevole. Certo non è il libro dell’anno ma è una lettura leggera e divertente senza messaggi toxic che purtroppo ci sono in tanti altri romanzi.
ERGO super consigliata.
Esce il 31 maggio 2022, segnatevi la data⭐️

P.S. Non fatevi spaventare dal fatto che è in inglese! È molto basic ma se proprio non vi sentite sicuri vi consiglio di comprarlo in digitale in modo da poter subito selezionare la parola che non conoscete e consultare direttamente il dizionario!

Ringrazio Netgalley, l’autrice e la casa editrice per l’anteprima!

I totally loved this witty, charming, empowering, rivals-to-lovers, banter-making-sparks-fly YA romance about a robot-building High School team! It really took me by surprise how fun and engaging this story was and how much I rooted for the characters! I read it in one sitting, completely hooked.

The story is told in dual POVs from Bel, the smart but quirky girl who has no clue what she wants to do with her life, and Teo, the overachieving captain of both the robotics club and the soccer team who has it all figured out and planned in every detail.

When Bel accidentally reveals a talent for engineering at school, she’s basically forced into joining the robotics club, and has to learn how to navigate in the competitive STEM world without giving up too much of herself in the process. And it doesn’t exactly help that Teo turns out to be so much more than the arrogant, stereotype rich jock she thought he was…

My heart immediately rooted for Teo with his absent yet extremely demanding dad, and all the pressure he himself and everyone around, put on him to be the best in everything. His character growth was amazing to follow and I just wanted for him to be happy. As for Bel, I loved how unique and complex she was as a character and how she was allowed to be both smart and nerdy, creative and quirky, but at the same time indecisive and with low self-esteem. She was such a fleshed out character and it was so relatable how she reacted to the challenges she faced as a girl in the harsh STEM environment and how girls are subject to hidden prejudice even by team mates and teachers who only mean well. I have to admit though, that at times I couldn’t help feeling a bit annoyed by her lack of direction and for not even trying to find out what she wanted from life, but it never stopped me from taking her to my heart. I really loved the hilarious banter between Bel and Teo, and how their teasing and arguing made sparks fly, yet allowing for their feelings to evolve at a slow pace.

There were also so many other amazing characters and complicated family dynamics that added so much to this story! And huge kudos to the author Alexene Farol Follmuth for managing the ending to be so satisfactory yet avoiding all pitfalls of cheesiness and predictability!

All in all, this adorable slow burn romance was such a pleasant surprise! Addictive, with funny dialogues and amazing chemistry, and with characters that completely stole my heart! And with an empowering message that hopefully will get more girls into engineering. Highly recommended!

4.5 adorable stars rounding up to 5.

All opinions of this book are solely my own. Thank you to the publisher and the writer for giving me an advanced reader copy of this book to review. I loved the book in that it reminded me a lot of Flipped, and The Love Hypothesis. The ending wasn't nearly as satisfying as the rest of the book but it portrayed what it is like to be a girl in stem very accurately. It isn't as easy as showing up you do have to work 10x as hard or more to be in the boys club. I see this with siblings and girls I know in STEM careers. I really liked that some of the characters grew and learned and I think Dash was probably my favorite character ever. Mac made me laugh but I was like go Ms. Voss you are awesome and we need more teachers like you. 4-4.5 stars a good read and one that will keep you up rooting for the characters but some of it was not paced or as realistic as the rest of the book.

Disclaimer: I received this book from Netgalley + in exchange for an honest opinion. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!


I realized in 10% into this book that this book's going to be a bright 5 stars.

The first ARC that I read in 2022. Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

I got this book as an ARC from Netgalley in February 2022. I have been planning on reading it but still haven't got the 'right' time. After reading Heartstopper, crying the shit out of myself, and angsting myself, I picked this book. The blurbs are interestingly good.

I really like the chemistry and banter of both main characters, Bel and Teo. They have their own problems and things start to escalate slowly. The way they started from strangers to academic rivals to 'I want to kiss you but can I?' stage to lovers. I have been having a hate-and-love relationship with Young Adult books in general so when I started this book, I have my own doubt. BUT IT'S SO SO SO SO GOOD.


How I wish I got myself a boyfriend like Teo.

I like all the characters here, even the side characters.

The ending maybe not as good as I thought it would be but I'm still a huge fan. My favorite moment is the holi ARC. I really swoon over them.

It's a fun, fluffy, cute, and romantic book of nerds in STEM who fall in love. I need a bonus chapter tho after the epilogue.

This book is safe with only some kiss scenes but no SMUT whatsoever. There is a mention of something 'more' but the author didn't elaborate.

What a marvelous debut book! I will definitely read more books by the author! I also hope that I can find more books about nerds in STEM who fall in love with each other.

Thank you to the publish and NetGalley for this arc.

I really loved how fleshed out both Bel and Teo felt. Their own personal insecurities felt very real life - I have quite a few quotes of their inner monologues highlighted. They were both self aware and self reliant, and it was very refreshing to see from both protagonists in a contemporary novel. The author showed how in depth she can explore her characters, and It was because of this that I felt that their “breaking point” towards the end of the book was too quickly brushed over. We never actually got a conversation where they resolved the situation that they were in. Letting this go, I did like seeing their journey come full circle from rivals who respected each other’s intelligence, to being on the same team, back to a friendly rivalry again.

One final thing that I wanted to appreciate was Neelam. I didn’t expect how much I would come to like her character. She’s intelligent, stands up for herself and is unforgiving of it. She wasn’t mean for the sake of being the designated stereotypical character who has the mean girl arc - and I liked how her relationship with both Bel and Teo isn’t instantly fixed in one small unearned moment that forgets their whole past.

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

This was a cute YA book about high schoolers who find love on the robotics team.

It’s sweet, but the focus on the heroine navigating participation in a STEM program just rubbed me wrong. I’ve been in her shoes, but I did not connect with her experience. It really took me out of the story. It was a good attempt, and I’m all about girl power and I think it’s great to see as many stories as we can about girls excelling at science and engineering, but this wasn’t it for me. Towards the end of the book, another girl on the robotics team lays into the heroine, and I found myself on team: the other girl.

All this being said, I appreciate the spirit of the story, and I recognize that we all walk different paths, so maybe other readers will identify with it. It was well written and the characters were interesting enough that I formed strong opinions about them. I also love all the nerd positivity. I would definitely check out another book by tags author.

I received this arc and honestly it’s nothing like anything I have read before. I honestly truly enjoyed it. It took me back to high school, it was sweet and fluffy. I like bels quirkiness, it was refreshing, I would give this a 4 out 5! The story brought in a lot of mechanics and robotics elements that at first were hard to understand but I got to understand a lot of it and it was interesting to read. It also helped that as bel learned we learned what things were too. This was a really good idea on the authors part. I’m happy I read this to start off my month.

I WILL NEVER STOP SCREAMING ABOUT THIS BOOK. At first there was something about the characters that I just couldn't place a finger on. Somehow I didn't really like the characters. But then, halfway in I realised why. They were almost too realistic. And that's exactly what I ended up loving about this book. I found myself in it.

My Mechanical Romance follows the main characters Isabel (Bel) and Mateo (Teo) as they navigate their senior year of high school and the looming responsibilities waiting for them. After Bel is forced to join the robotics team after showing immense potential within the mechanical engineering field, she meets Teo, a genius who seems to have planned exactly what to do with his future. Starting off as academical rivals, they somehow find to have more things in common, and love blooms.

I will praise the author for crafting such a realistic story. Even though it's young adult, Follmuth doesn't shy away from writing about the blatant sexism found in the engineering field in such a masterful way. Cause it's how the real world works, I should know. In my physics class of 20 students, I am one among three girls attending. The rest of the class are boys. Fortunately, I haven't experienced sexism while in class, but these comments about girls and technology is something I'm familiar with. So I really do appreciate how the author sheds a light on this topic.

And wow the characters. I will be honest when I say that I disliked some characters. And like I said earlier, it may be because they were too realistic. They could be someone I knew, or I could find myself in some of the characters. Most of all they made some really stupid decisions sometimes and made mistakes. However, they're teenagers, or soon young adults. They're meant to make mistakes. And all of the decisions they took were quite realistic. I didn't really like how they treated Neelam, and how she acted sometimes. Mr Macintosh (Mac) really pissed me off sometimes too, as he reminded me of a typical low-key sexist teacher. But as the book progressed they changed and learned from their mistakes. They all grew up. I'm really glad I came to understand them more.

Most importantly, we have Bel and Teo. The author avoided some typical tropes which I usually hate, and I'm glad for that. Moreover, their individual journeys are such a sight. I loved their growth throughout the book, and how they learned to find themselves and heal from everything they've been through. Ahahah I'm trying really hard here not to spoil anything from the book. But I promise you, the budding romance between the two is also super great.

Moreover, the theme and message of the book is wonderful and inspiring. All of the characters go through their own individual journeys, where they are not too dependant on each other. They all learn from their mistakes, and learn to grow. The world is not ending at high school, there's so much more left to do. And what's important is the lessons we learn from each other, which makes us better people. What I really treasure about this book, is really the characters and their own journeys. No characters were left behind, even side-characters didn't fall into the typical "only exists for the main characters", as they all had their own desires and plots outside the main characters. The writing style was something I had to get used to, but as I became familiar with it I began to love this book.

Overall I will say that this is one of my favourite books so far in 2022. I really loved it. And since I kind of am a STEM person, this book felt tailor-made for me. I will be screaming about this book forever. I loved it so much. And the ending was so good. Ah I'm so happy! Will definitely be checking out more books from this author!

Over and out. -Nora<3

did i think i’d enjoy a book based around robotics club so much? no, and yet— five stars without a doubt !! first off, tropes, in the words of jamie: enemies to academic colleagues ( to friends ) to lovers aka one of the best and most satisfying tropes ( POC REP BTW, BOTH MC’S, LOVE LOVE !! ) you just gotta love when enemies can get over themselves for a second to admit their rival is a true genius, the development between them was so extremely smooth and didn’t feel at all forced, bel and teo felt like actual high school kids w tons of pressures that were easy to relate to ( burnout gifted kids unite <3 ) also their friends weren’t just side characters, they felt real and connecting to them too was just as easy ( the dynamic gave me very miraculous ladybug friend group vibe ngl, i loved it ) the banter between bel and teo was one of my fav things ( see also: you’re dangerous, bel canto,, SWOON ) and i love that they didn’t lose it even after they started dating ( enter epilogue ) birds of a feather, right? :’) their first kiss was everything and more, and omg teo having taylor swift’s entire discography on loop in order to memorize all the lyrics bc he wants to make her smile even ( and especially !! ) when she doesn’t want to ( insert that as a cold hearted bitch with no feelings audio bc as a swiftie i died ) ALSO love love LOVED the sort of partnership to lowkey friendship neelam and bel ended up developing, a cat fight is fun and all, but girls standing up for girls is WAY BETTER, i’m also extremely glad bel’s personal development didn’t revolve around her boyfriend, she figured out her own path ( very much enjoyed that she didn’t get into mit and ended up at a different school even two years later ) and overall this is definitely a win for girls, especially those in stem, GIRLBOSSES RISE !!!!! ( also i read this in one sitting, it’s currently 4:44 am, take from that what you will, also i heard about this book ONCE and started it thinking i’d read a chapter or two before doing something else, ty netgalley for the arc <3 ) ( 5:31 am, OMG OLIVIE BLAKE WROTE THIS ?!?!? also just realized this officially releases on my birthday, LOVE )

While tackling challenging topics, such as sexism and classicism, this book remained a lighthearted and sweet read. This is a book that I wished existed when I was in high school!

This book follows Bel, who falls in love with robotics and engineering “too late,” causing significant academic pressure about college applications and her future. She is forced into robotics club, which Teo is the captain of. Unlike Bel, Teo has always had a plan for his future, which he is constantly, and rather intensely, working toward. She isn’t afraid to call Teo out for mistakes in his design, which eventually leads to them working on a new robot design together.

All of the characters are so well developed. I loved watching Bel gain confidence and allow herself to take up space in a room. I also loved all of the side characters. Neelam’s anger about how she is treated hit home for me. The banter between Bel and Teo, as well as with Dash, felt true to how high schoolers interact with each other. I appreciated Bel and Dash’s platonic friendship as well.

While I did not understand the STEM conversations at all, Follmuth’s rich descriptions about the robot and competition made up for it. I certainly appreciated all the Taylor Swift references!

Overall, this was a super quick and fun read. I especially loved the epilogue. I think this book will be very impactful for readers!

Thank you to NetGalley and Holiday House for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

thank you to netgalley for an arc of this book!

once i found out this was written by the same person who wrote atlas six i had to read it. i never been the robot type of person but this book made me have a newfound respect for them. the plot was very interesting and i thought it was cool to have engineering/robot stuff included bc not many book really talk about it. also, the characters were really good especially bel. i liked the fact that her character was so relatable to teenagers now. not everyone knows what they want to do at 18 and i loved that in the book it shows that some things may not always work out the way you planned. some parts of this book i found a little corny and sometimes it moved a little too fast paced but other than that i thought it was really good. again thank you to netgalley! 4/5