Rating: 2.5/5

⚠️ WARNING: Spoilers are in this review so proceed with caution! ⚠️

Things I expected going into this book: rivals to lovers-esque type of book, STEM, Marmalade Boy type beat with the parents getting married and all (if you know you know).

What I didn’t expect: absolutely disliking the mmc.

I can say it does take a while to get into this book and there were so many times I wanted to dnf it because of the writing and of Tom.

I found Tom to be annoying for majority of the story and could not get into how he was acting. At his big age of 30 he decides the only logical explanation is to ruin a woman’s life for 4 years all cause he “likes” her. As if being a woman in STEM isn’t hard enough. And it doesn’t stop there. He sabotages her when she’s trying to move out and invaded her privacy on her phone as well all because he couldn’t help himself. There was one line where he said she “has good house manners” which for some reason set off the catalyst of me disliking him cause it sounded so condescending. In more ways than one I wanted to stop reading just cause he was way too immature for my liking.

Liz on the other hand was a little bit more likeable but still very much on par of childish. Really both of them were and I found the writing to be very weak in some of the conversations.

I must say the author did do the build-up to the smutty scenes well. Once the sex happened it kind of fell off but the build ups that occurred throughout was well done.

Overall I wish I liked the story a lot more (and there should’ve been more grovelling) but I was counting down when I would finish the story so I don’t think it’s a good sign that I liked it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of the ARC of this book.

Wow - I knew going in that I was going to enjoy this book, based on what I had seen from the blurb and some earlier reviews, but I was absolutely blown away! It was absolutely incredible! It's said to be a little bit The Love Hypothesis and a little bit The Hating Game (two of my very top favourite books!), so if you take everything you love about those books, mix them up and add some even better elements, you get The Unbalanced Equation - it's everything those two are, and even more!! Spectacular enemies to lovers, workplace romance that just really and truly has everything to give and so many twists. Truly a special book!

I really loved how they two met at a University mixer, with the orange juice incident and the very next day things changed when he became her PhD advisor (sorry- different term in Scotland I guess - Accessor?), and any sort of relationship, including a friendship, he figured was off the table, so he wasn't even friendly, acknowledging the friendship they'd struck up at the mixer and was just a complete jerk to her for 3 years. She figures now that she's done the program and has moved on to a post-doc program in a different lab, she's free and clear of the guy... until a fire in his lab causes him to move into his best friend's lab to complete critical research for his Grant funding, which just happens to be where she is now working. Can they get along for the few months it takes for the lab repairs? Not to mention the huge bombshell that both her Dad and his Mom have dropped on them, that not only do they know each other, but that they were secretly dating and are now planning a wedding - so they're going to be step-siblings? And living together??

The writing in this book is some of the best I've come across in quite some time, along with the storyline being a mash-up of two of my favourite books (while still being very unique), with so many additions to make it probably my top favourite in so long, and a contender for my top of the year (maybe not just this year!). I absolutely, completely and totally recommend this book to absolutely everybody, especially if you enjoyed either or both of the two that it's been compared to, and I know that so many people enjoyed those ones!

I received an advance review copy from NetGalley and Macfarlane Lantern Publishing and this is my honest feedback. Go pick up a copy now!

Tom and Liz have an adorable meet cute and then things go awry. He's her supervisor for her doctoral studies and is so attracted and interested in her that he decides he must be extremely professional around her. Unwittingly, he comes across as kind of a jerk and Liz hates him. They truly must be meant to be, however, as fate keeps pushing them together. The Unbalanced Equation ties in so many romantic classics in one story. It's a fun read and Tom and Liz are relatable and totally adorable modern characters.

I’ll be honest. I didn’t make it beyond the first chapter. The main character gives off creepy vibes. It’s not just the age difference. It’s the “she needs me to rescue her” vibes combined with the “I shouldn’t date her but I’m going to try anyway” vibes to the staring at her while she’s changing out of ruined clothes scene. No part of me is rooting for this relationship. She’s too young for him, and he is too immature for her. Plus, the anime references might appeal to some readers but wasn’t of interest to me.

I don’t feel it’s fair to give it a star rating without finishing it first. I appreciate the NetGalley ARC, but I can already tell I’m not the right demographic for this particular story.

I love the STEM romance genre but I felt this was a little too forced. The enemy part at the beginning was just too much that I didn't feel they could realistically call in love. Become friendly, maybe, but not fall in love.

I did still enjoy it because that's the point of fiction, it's not always going to be realistic.

It was a meet-cute gone wrong. Four years ago, Liz had an interesting night with a fellow in the university mixer. After a drink spilling incident and unplanned “exchange of clothes”, they never saw each other again. To make things worse, she met her PhD assessor.. a rude, pain in the 🍑 human being… Dr. Thomas Henderson. No worries, she is finally free of him after enduring 4 years of pain under his watch. Until his lab burned down and he needs to stay at the lab where she’s working her post-doc and as if universe had not enough, her dad is marrying his mother. This is a circus! 😅

The story is teased as an offspring of Love Hypothesis and The Hating Game. I can see the reference as the pair is in STEM and an age-gap romance as well. Both geneticists, Thomas a professor while Liz is working on her post-doc. As to the enemies-to-lovers trope, the semblance with The Hating Game is that the MMC (Male Main Character) likes the FMC (Female Main Character) but rude to her.

Following that thought, what I like better is that this is dual POV (over first person with Love Hypo). I enjoyed it more that I get to “hear” the thoughts of Thomas and Liz and how messy the situation is in their heads. I get to symphatize with Tom on why he did what he did and sometimes I get annoyed with Liz on how oblivious or child-like she is. I also like the twist on their parents getting married. I feel that spin gave the story a one-up with the enemies-to-lovers in STEM trope hype. While the banter is good, even funny at times, I did not feel much tension between them steaming from hate-love. It just feels like Liz “hate “ Tom and he just gets back to her. So when they got together, I did not feel much intensity on their longing to be together. Though the ending is heart-warming, some parts are a bit cheesy. It is just a hit-or-miss for me.

This is an enjoyable book, totally took me out of my reading slump. If you’re a fan of characters nerding out each other, a touching parent-kid relationship, meddling friends - you will definitely enjoy this one.

TW: death of parents( touch on - cancer)

There seems to be more and more books based in STEM with incredibly smart, educated women at its center and I am here for it. As I said in one of my other reviews, give me all the sexy science talk 🤓

This is the story of Liz and Tom - a slow burn, enemies to lovers with a lot of miscommunication thrown in. The miscommunication to me went a bit far at times but ultimately set it up for a satisfactory and very cute reunion between the two.

I love a strong woman at the center who has her own ambitions beyond marriage and babies but is a fully fleshed out character in her own right.

I’ve read some other recent authors in this same genre who I’ve enjoyed more than this book but it’s a solid effort and enjoyable read.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

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The Unbalanced Equation follows Liz and Tom, who meet at a bio mixer, and, although the two hit it off, it comes to a halt when Tom finds out he is Liz's Ph.D. assessor the next day. Trying to bury his feelings for Liz, he decides to pull a Darcy and be a massive jerk and make her life a nightmare during her postdoc. Flash forward a few years and the two are stuck on the same bench, house, and planning their parents' wedding. Now Tom decides to let his feelings out and Liz is not ready to forgive everything he did to her in the past but the two need to move forward to watch their parents get married.

So much worked for this novel, including, but not limited to:
Enemies to lovers, age gap, forced proximity, revenge antics, top tier pining, banter/tension and so much more

I loved the banter and tension between Tom and Liz, it felt natural and realistic. I ate it up! I love a woman who gives as good as he gets and a man who is unapologetically charming/flirtatious. Easily the high point is the banter between these two. The added element of forced proximity is my weakness, but I can't lie, it was super weird that this happened because her dad and his mom decided to get married. I feel like the story would have been just as good if the parents' relationship didn't exist and instead the forced proximity was altered a little. But I understand it because it made sense and the characters acknowledged the weirdness. Additionally, the conflict in the novel was a little underdeveloped especially when it came to the resolution. I loved the fact that the boiling point happens with a good amount of pages left because the pacing is so important but I really wish we got more insight into the motives of these characters especially since it is told in alternating pov's.

This falls right below The Kiss Quotient and way above The Love Hypothesis when it comes to women in STEM romances. I can definitely see the author exploring this world more and I would absolutely adore it because I had so much fun reading this.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

This is a very bubbly read and it was enjoyable! BUT it is quite a junky read so not really one that you can pick up and finish in one sitting.
At first i did struggle getting into the book. I liked the characters and the initial plot but the more i read the more predictable it became! Don't get me wrong if you are looking for an easy predictable read this is definitely it!

Liz and Tom really were meant for each other but the miscommunication throughout the book is REAL! But it did make for some amazing sexual tension so i can't complain!
There is so many tropes in this that i'm sure many will love:
Forced Proximity
Enemies to lovers

I just wish this book was a little shorter, it felt some parts dragged when it just wasn't necessary.

The Unbalanced Equation is a standalone book being billed for fans of The Hating Game and The Love Hypothesis. I wanted to love this book and I had extremely high hopes for it especially since I’m a huge fan of stories of women in STEM. Sometimes I’ve found you just don’t like characters which taints the entire book for you. For me, both Tom and Liz were ridiculously flawed and while they probably deserve each other I didn’t enjoy reading about them as much as I like most stories in this genre. I should have loved so many of the tropes in this. It has enemies to lovers (sort of), age differences, women in science and forced proximity are the main focuses of the story and I like a lot of those things but couldn’t seem to really grow attached to the characters.

Tom and Liz met at a mixer for the students and faculty when Liz was coning in to start her Doctorate. Their intro meet is cute enough, even if it did have a lot of anime references that I didn’t get. But immediately after that, Tom learns due to some events he will be her advisor, so he had to keep his hands off. His very grown up solution to this is to decide to treat Liz poorly and be mean to her for the next four years so he won’t forget he can’t cross that advisor/student line. Maybe if I’d seen how he treated her badly I could get on the enemy to lovers trope but it is four years later and we never see one interaction between them in those years we just know he is a jerk.

Tom and Liz are thrown together in the same lab to work when Tom’s lab burns down, they are thrown together even more when they find out their parents are getting married. In preparation for the wedding and having a blended family all of them end up living in the same very large house to amplify the amount of time Liz and Tom will be spending together. It was a bit coincidental that Tom and Liz would be both working and living together but *shrugs* I was willing to go with that part of the story at least.

The science part of the story was pretty strong. As someone who has worked in labs for 17 years of my career I found most of that stuff well researched. There are moments in this book that are really cute and made me think well these characters are growing on me. But then one of the characters would do something so childish and silly that I’d be mad at them again. Tom specifically crossed some pretty big lines in the book for me when he broke into Liz’s phone and started declining her Tinder dates. But both characters have some red-flag issues for me. If you can get past the red-flag issues though there is a pretty cute ending pay off.

Really this wasn’t for me. The characters were far too childish and this isn’t YA so I thought their emotions and reasoning should be more complex. Tom is 34 and 38 in the story with Liz ten years younger than him. We would expect him to be a bit more mature but I found he and Liz both struggled with maturity in emotional decisions. So they were perfect for each other but not my favorite couple to follow through a romantic journey.

3.75/5 stars
I thought this book was a wonderful read. The chemistry between the characters was clearly there. It is a funny, cute, and entertaining quick read to pick up whenever you are in the mood for something light. A bunch of my favorite tropes were in this book: grumpy/sunshine, age-gape, and forced proximity. It also has some good spice sprinkled here and there.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for a copy of this book.

This was so good. If you love the grumpy sunshine trope this book is for you. This book did make me mad a few times because the male main character is such an a hole!!! But, overall I really liked the plot and the romance was cute. I really liked the characters and the friendships that were made.
If you love academic romance and second chance romance read this book!!!!

thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this ARC! I absolutely loved this book! I couldn’t put it down! One of my favourites this year for sure! I had originally thought it was going to be very similar to the love hypothesis but it was different, and might I say even better! The characters were all developed and had great chemistry!

Classic enemies to lovers, with a good amount of humour!
Liz is an amazing female lead that one is drawn to in the story. Unfortunately Tom is showing the reader a quite unexpected response for his age because of the story line.

This book was very slow starting, the book is based in Glasgow and it had a interesting start and was very detail oriented when working up to the hype of the book. It was dual POV which always lets me feel like I get to understand both of the characters in a more in depth way.

There was a lot that I loved about this book! I loved the initial meeting of these two characters and how they both continued to have feelings for such a long period of time. I loved the characters personalities and loved the witty banter between them! The spicy scenes were detailed so well and the sexual tension between the characters was great! The fact that their parents were suddenly getting married without them even having a clue about it was a little too convenient for my liking. But overall I thought this was a great read!!

A fun read over the summer!
Enjoyed the alternating viewpoints in each chapter. And just like some of the other books I'd read recently, I kept thinking I'll read one more chapter before bed, but I would end up staying up much much later than expected as I just couldn't put it down!
Thank you.

The Unbalanced Equation follows Liz and Tom who are scientists who are forced to share a lab after Tom's lab burns down. There is just one problem: Liz and Tom hate each other. To make matters worse Liz's dad and Tom's mom are getting married. Liz just got kicked out of her apartment and is now living with Tom. So they have to manage that but, also might have feelings for each other. 

This book made me uncomfortable. Liz and Tom's parents get together which makes them step siblings, and then they get together. I was not a fan of that all, it just felt so gross to me. This book had similar vibes to The Love Hypothesis but was so much worse ( I loved that book so much). These characters had zero chemistry, which is kind of ironic since they are both scientists. I found the overall plot very dry and not that entertaining. I am not a fan of this one. But thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

Even though the first thought I had in mind when seeing this book was "The Love Hypothesis" (similar, scientific setting), I soon saw that it is very different. It is an enemies to lovers story with a forced proximity of a workplace trope and some spicy/tense scenes. Although I liked Tom and Liz's banter I really couldn't connect with characters (I'm not a fan of strong alpha female characters in contemporary romance books).

Overall, I would say it was a pleasant ready but I won't remember it long.

This was a spicy enemies to lovers, forced proximity, workplace romance with a little comedy thrown in. It was entertaining to watch Tom and Liz growing closer through the course of the book, building up the tension between the pair as they spent more time together. My favourite character was perhaps Tom’s best friend, Daichi, who finds so much glee in meddling with these two but also has a good head on his shoulders - yes, Tom, you should tell Liz the truth. I’m on Daichi’s side, 100%. He brought a lot of humour to the book to balance out all the tortured longing (Tom) and denial (Liz). I do find Tom’s character and his behaviour to be incredibly problematic, which definitely lowered my enjoyment of the book a bit. He acts like a bully and he controls Liz by secretly meddling in her life, all in the name of love. That being said, Liz’s behaviour wasn’t always above board - she was manipulating him because she knew how he felt and perhaps the pair were as bad as each other. If you can overlook that, then this was a good read and has plenty of steamy scenes for those autumnal nights.