Women in STEM stories are usually an instant buy for me, so thank you so much Netgalley for the ARC. I always have about 3 books I’m reading at once, but I read the Unbalanced Equation in one sitting. I thought this story was so creative and addictive. It gave me Ali Hazelwood / Love on the brain vibes. And the banter UGH 10/10! I also loved that is was spicy but not too spicy.

Just when I thought things could not get worse… it does, in this book. I just cannot wrap my head around it and this might be spoiler-y, but why would someone pursue their soon-to-be stepsister?

I got it, Tom liked Liz, despite being an asshole to her while supervising her research back in PhD programme. Turns out he was being one to escape his grief toward the loss of a father, which turns out to be the same time she lost a mother. Big deal. But to pursue her further after his mom practically said she was engaged to the woman’s dad? And keep pursuing her? It just sounds wrong to me.

The characters are one-dimensional, and I must admit how brave the heroine is for pointing out how the hero is the epitome of white male privilege! I do not really get the enemies-to-lovers part, but I get the gist of it… maybe.

But what actually turned me off is the way Tom barged into his room whereas Liz was off… jacking herself and yelling Tom to get out but instead he pulled the duvet off her. What the actual hell. That’s just privacy violation.

3.5 stars, but rounded up to 4 on goodreads!

Elizabeth finally graduated with her doctorate in molecular biology and never has to see her PhD assessor ever again... until she ends up working side by side with him and ends up somehow even closer. This was such a well written enemies to lovers trope! There was the perfect amount of spice and the dual perspective was so fun to read. I love a book set in a STEM University setting- it gave total The Love Hypothesis vibes with an added age gap.

Thank you, Netgalley for the ARC!

The Unbalanced Equation is a second-chance, steamy romance between two nerdy researchers in Glasgow. Tom and Liz have a meet cute early on and are incredibly attracted to one another but fate isn't on their side. Turns out the Tom is going to be Liz's PhD assessor and that puts a full stop to their romance. Fast forward a few years Tom is a professor and Liz is a post-doc and she absolutely hates his guts. For valid reason too since he made her life a living hell during her PhD to keep his feelings at bay and keep things professional between them. With their parents now getting hitched and Tom's lab being restructured, the two have no choice but to be in each other's lives again. This is tough for both of them since they're still very much attracted to each other. This story is a second chance romance that is enemies to lovers (one-sided), has women in STEM, forced proximity, and an age gap couple.

I was feeling ill and this book was just so amusing that I finished it in a night. The anime references at the beginning were a huge cringe/turn off for me and that's saying something since I watch anime. It just felt a little heavy handed but I got the point the author was making. I thought the dynamic between the two leads was the best part of the story. They're both just doing the most constantly and somehow it works for them. I disliked the male lead for 98% of the story. Apart from being this hot older guy, I"m not sure why the female lead, Liz, even likes him? He does some INCREDIBLY questionable things in this story that I would have banished him to the shadow realm. Liz reconciles his immature and frankly red-flag behaviour too soon with very little discussion between the two of them.

I just wish we got to see them talk more because the author established there was chemistry. However, since we didn't get to see what went down during the PhD years where Tom was an absolute menace to Liz, I think we just needed to see more of what made them really like each other as people besides the fact they both like anime and they're both outrageously hot. I also could have done without the adult step siblings factor but I can see that as a medium for forced proximity. I think it added to their overall dramatic messiness and buffoonery as two adults trying to make a relationship of sorts work though.

This wasn't a typical read for me and perhaps on a better day I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much. But when you're ill and regretting your choices, it's kind of hilarious to see character that are older than you be messy, ridiculous clowns in love.

Thank you to BooksGoSocial and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced reader copy of this book.

Although this book had some fun and sexy moments, the familial context made the romance pretty cringe. I think without the frame or if you don’t think too hard about it, there is some charm and chemistry, but it was hard to want to root for either of these characters in their push and pull sexual power struggle and the deceit within their relationship.

Thank you to BooksGoSocial for the ARC, in exchange for an honest review.
Dnf@46%.
I was really excited about the premise of this book, but it fell flat for me. I think the author did a good job of building up the backgrounds for the two MCs to be a good pair, but I felt like the two did not have many meaningful interactions even when I was almost halfway through the story. Further, there was a lot of telling instead of showing when Liz referenced how Tom had been rude to her. There was what I felt like to be an excess of “will they / won’t they”, and both of the main characters tended to act in a way that lacked self-awareness, was otherwise pretty toxic, and just overall cringy (especially Tom —> even when self-aware he still managed to be manipulative and immature).
Just overall not for me, but might be worth the try if you enjoyed the Love Hypothesis.

I would like to thank netgalley and BooksGoSocial for a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I found the main male character really problematic.

This was better than i anticipated. I definitely think fans of The Love hypothesis might enjoy this one quite a bit. As a STEM major who hopes to work in a lab, the new romance stories featuring female lab workers make me really excited so as soon as I saw the cover and read the synopsis i knew I had to request this one.
I find enemies to lovers to be an overdone trope (mostly because its not really a favorite for me) but i think it was done really really well in this instance. The banter was on point and the chemistry was also definitely there, and it didn't hurt that I also loved Liz as a character as well. Tom was great, but also could be quite annoying at times which did get on my nerves at one point. But overall this was solid with a lot of focus on the science which I LOVED.

So this definitely has all the makings for a book I would love: enemies-to-lovers, age-gap, forced proximity, guy falls first- like everything I would love. And it's not to say that I don't, it's just not what I was hoping for. The premise is like a love child to The Hating Game (purposefully have not read, but do know the premise) and The Love Hypothesis (actually obsessed with this book,) but it doesn't measure up for me unfortunately. Tom and Liz (the main characters) are not super likeable, and as the reader, I'm just not feeling sympathetic. I do enjoy the banter and side characters, however. There is plenty of spice in this book, and it's pretty decent.

Overall, not my favorite, but not a waste of my time either.

The Unbalanced Equation follows Dr Elizabeth McLean and Dr Thomas Henderson, two enemies who are thrown together in a myriad of circumstances. Liz and Tom weren't alwasy enemies, but after Tom found out he'd be her PhD assessor he opted for a route of rudeness to keep his distance from Liz to remain professional. This backfires though when Liz ends up HATING Tom, which would be fine except they end up working in the same lab, being around each other constantly, and oh are becoming stepsiblings?!

I had fun with this one! I enjoyed the banter between Liz and Tom and absolutely love seeing such an incredibly smart heroine. She gives it as good as Tom does and it's fun to read. I also felt the tension between the two protagonists throughout the novel and enjoyed all the little wrenches the author threw into the plot to keep these two in as close proximity as possible.

I will say, I really didn't like Tom as a character on his own. He's incredibly manipulative - at first I wrote it off as being necessary for the plot but even at the end he just felt downright toxic. Sometimes I wanted to scream at Liz to run! Their relationship was founded on lies at the start and seems to continue that way. It made it hard to love their happily ever after.

I also felt at over 400 pages this was a little long. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't say I was ever completely bored but I did feel it start to drag once I hit the 300 page mark. The author does their best to continue the plot (see note above about all the little wrenches thrown in) but it did get to a point where I just wanted them to fight it out and get together.

Overall, this was a fun read and I loved the cast of characters around the 2 protagonists. I would've loved a less toxic MMC but ultimately I did enjoy reading Tom and Liz's story.

Loved the banter between the main characters and the chemistry the two had. This was a fast-paced read for me and I really loved it.

. I liked the characters and their jokes, I liked the plot, and overall it was an enjoyable read. The writing style was easy to follow and for the first half it was an enjoyable read.

However, the story dragged on in the second half and I couldn't follow. It got a little boring which I’m bummed about. But that said, I really loved Tom and that he was crazy for Liz from the very first glance of her.

As I said, it was an good read and would have been better with a more well-structured second half.

This book was a tough one for me to rate. On one hand I almost didn’t finish it at 15%, I just couldn’t get into it. However, once I hit about 20% to 25% I couldn’t put the book down and sleep became something that I felt was optional until I tried waking up the next day. No regret!

Ultimately though, I’m giving this book 4 stars, when it was closer to 3.5 stars for me. The main reason behind that is because I was less interested in one of the troops covered in this book. However… not sure if it would be considered a spoiler?

The writing is stellar! I want to emphasize this… the writing was a pleasure to read. I also love the age gap and general nerdyness of the characters.

Recommended for anyone who liked Ali Hazelwood’s The Love Hypotheses.

Described as perfect for fans of The Love Hypothesis, which makes sense because it’s a STEM based romance with a grumpy professor that has been pining after the FMC for years... I just find it strange that the author gave The Love Hypothesis 3⭐️.. anyway

I actually didn’t think it was *that* similar to The Love Hypothesis in the grand scheme of things. There were similar tropes and themes (age gap, STEM / academic workplace, a mean professor who had been secretly pining over a student for years) BUT The Unbalanced Equation is a lot more British & a lot less cringeworthy. I do love American romcoms but as a Brit myself I tend to love romcoms set in the UK even more.

I really enjoyed this!! I liked the characters, even though Tom’s manipulative behaviour was a bit off putting. I’m also not one for massive public displays of affection but the romantic declarations at the end of the book hit me right in the heart!! I’m not ashamed to admit I was tearing up at one point!

The Unbalanced Equation is easy to read; I loved the tropes, the dual POV, and I definitely had a cheesy grin plastered on my face throughout.

I’d definitely recommend this to lovers of romcoms that aren’t too OTT cheesy!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5

now this one, i LOVED! it gave total slow-burn , love hypothesis vibes. she was beautiful, she was great, you just have to read it.

i read this one so fast, i just couldn’t get enough of it!

read if you love:
🧪ali hazelwood books
🧪 a woman mc in stem
🧪a good slow-burn

special thanks to Netgalley and Macfarlane Publishing for an advanced digital copy!

Thank you to the publishers for giving me an ARC of this book in return for an honest review.

I honestly could not put this book down. I devoured it!

If you're a fan of The Love Hypothesis and the whole women in STEM genre then I'd highly recommend this book! I'm not going to lie I was sold as soon as I saw the cute cartoon cover - who doesn't love them?

Tropes include:
Enemies to lovers
Age gap (11 years - both always legal ages!)
Forced Proximity
He falls fist (and hard!!)
*step-siblings (This was the one I wasn't too sure about and this has been my first book with this trope. However it was never a main theme in regards to their relationship and the story doesn't revolve around it. In fact one of their parents (and in the end both) were wishing for them to get together too!

Liz and Tom meet at a mixer at their work, she is just starting her career and Tom is a professor. He saves her from an awkward conversation and they end up really getting along, insta-crush style. Then Liz turns up to meet her new Professor and oops? It's Tom. He ends up being mean to her (but this helped her excel in her studies) and she HATES him. Flash forward a few years and they both end up at the same restaurant to have a meal with their parents - It just so happens Her dad and his mom are getting married. Will they be able to put their hatred (crushes) aside for their parents?

I truly loved this book and the characters, and Tom's main red flag (all guys have them come on) is wow he makes some dumb choices that could very easily be resolved if not for the miscommunication.

Overall I rated this book four stars and would recommend it to anyone who likes a good cheesy, hea romcom!

Meeting and attraction at work function but then you have to supervise your eyecandy. It's against ethics to pursue your attraction so you act obnoxiously at every meeting.
Then fate steps in and you are thrown together and can pursue the attraction. But the person you desire dislikes you based on your behaviour..
Can you turn it around and show your true personality whilst navigating new family ties?
Follow Tom and Liz story and enjoy the rollercoaster. I did

I really enjoyed this book- who would have thought love would blossom over a set of Gilsons and a Qiagen kit or two!
The plot line, although fairly standard in the romance arena, is well spun and the characters really came to life for me in the lab- true to the tedium of life in a genetics lab- repeating the same experiments over and over!
The chemistry between Tom and Liz is written so well that they leap off the page and the conflicts and resolutions peppered through the text add a little suspense.

I wasn't sure exactly what vibe I would be getting from this book. Liz and Tom were everything. I loved how messy they both were. The thoughts and actions they both had were so absolutely believable. Tom seemed to be cursed with doing something for the 'right' reason but going about it entirely the wrong way. Liz was so absolutely witty and had so much sass to her. They both could be so frustrating that I wanted to reach into the book and slap them both upside the head sometimes to get them to get their acts together. All of the anime references were everything! This was my first book by this author but I truly enjoyed their writing style and will absolutely pick up another book by them. 4.5/5 stars! I was provided an arc for an honest review.

Going into this book, I was intrigued by the premise since it was compared to The Love Hypothesis. However, I tried my best to go in without any preconceived notions or biases to see how I would enjoy this book as a stand-alone with no reference to other similar plots. I definitely enjoyed the Science aspect of this book and felt it was explored and represented a lot better than I initially anticipated. The setting in which the two characters worked definitely seemed realistic and was a constant accurate portrayal of their career lives.

In terms of the relationship, I initially found it hard to resonate with the characters, especially because it seemed their dialogue at first was a bit mechanical and almost didn’t flow too naturally. The banter just felt slightly off, and almost scripted, which didn’t allow me to read it as a smooth conversation. Additionally, throughout the book the pacing of the relationship was a bit inconsistent, with periods of yes and no scattered across (although this may have been intentional, but I felt it wasn’t delivered as well as it could have been).

What I would like to bring up is this is not a typical enemies-to-lovers book, since from the start, it’s already shown that the two main love interests have a desire for one another. I would say however, that it’s a fairly decent try at a slowburn romance in terms of how long it took for the two characters to move past denying their feelings to accepting their love for each other.

I was also quite happy that as the book progressed, the dialogue began to flow better and I could finally seem to root for their relationship’s development. There were also a few spicy scenes written that were actually quite good—I thought the portrayal of desire and tension there were quite well done, and there was a fairly good mix between plot and strict relationship building and the intense and passionate scenes in bed.

What I didn’t really like was actually some of the decisions of the main characters; they really did feel slightly immature, especially for people working in such professional and academic fields. Additionally, I was a bit turned off from the relationship at one point because it seemed like Thomas’ and Liz’s actions were getting quite toxic for one another. I am not much of a fan of miscommunication either, so the fact that there was quite a bit of that trope (and arguably with very minor situations that felt a bit over the top to miscommunicate about) made me feel a little out of balance with the story’s development.

Lastly, I thought the side characters were slightly shallow and flat; they were also occasionally popping in during the story, but in particular the other characters that engaged with Liz felt a bit rushed and their issues with her were never fully resolved, in my opinion. It also felt they were just a tool to progress the main characters’ relationship, so I wasn’t really connecting with the unique personalities of the two side characters.

I would say that overall though, it’s a fairly decent read. The strong points of this book would definitely be the portrayal of emotions, the variety of events and circumstances thrown at the characters, and the tension and angst felt between them. It could have perhaps been better had there been a better flow of dialogue at the start, and a little more depth to the side characters and sub-plots. A fairly solid debut for a first romance novel, though!