I must say unfortunately there are more nays for me, than yays. Although I was intrigued right from the start, it just didn't work for me. 
Let's start with the positive notes:
+ enemies to lovers trope
+ slowburn with years of pining
+ forced proximity (might be a little too much of it, actually)
+ great banter and constant tension created by it, it was often playfully teasing and fun
+ good to read about how the progress of their relationship affected everyone around them, this is rare in romance books
+ the physical sensation between the main characters was really well written. Honestly, I'd rather have read this as an erotica genre, so the author wouldn't have needed to wrap it in some timid rom-com experiment.

And now the negative thoughts:
- the dual POV was somehow not working, at least for me. As in there is absolutely no difference in their mentality or way of thinking, so it didn't feel like two different people would lead you through their story. They absolutely had the very same thought process, the same manifestation of their internalization
- it felt more like "all tell, no show", meaning the author didn't leave much to figure out on our own, which is such a shame.
- the story was often very cringeworthy. 
- both the MMC and FMC are way too childish in their behaviours. Tom likes to sabotage Liz's life (not in a cute and romantic way, but in being-a-dick way) and spy on her. He is 38 years old yet acts like he was 16. Besides, he seems to be a major creep. All this together is absolutely off-putting. Please don't get stuck on a teenager's emotional level at 38. Liz is also childish. She teases Tom on purpose to an unnecessary extent, just to hang him out to dry with some very shitty reason and then calls him to account for his behaviour.
- I disliked Tom's mum very much. She bullies her own son for wearing glasses (?) and she is self-contradictory. In one moment she tries to sell out Tom to Liz for being a handsome bachelor and a real catch, then in another moment she's genuinely happy for Tom and Liz "fighting already like good siblings". So what now, does she want them to date each other or to behave like sister and brother?
- there wasn't really character development by the end of the book. They just learned to tolerate each other, is how I feel. This also helped to lose my interest early on.

I liked seeing how these two first met and whilst I didn’t love their characters completely I enjoyed the story and seeing how their relationship evolved. The standard drama “reason to break up” and subsequent get back together elements of the plot weren’t really to my liking but it was written well and made for some quick and easy reading

trope: enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity, age gap, sexual tension over the roof.

I give this book 3.8 because I enjoyed it so much for the first 50%, after that, it went downhill. Tom, the MMC is mean. I can't find his good quality at all except that he is rich. However, Liz, FMC is a great character. I like it when she is in her element. She has a lot more personality going on compared to Tom. I know that Tom is being horrible only to Liz, and overall nice to everyone. Bur bro... he is a complicated one. I think his action did not match up to his age and yes I am age-shaming.

It has a lot of potential to be great but some of the scenes make me uncomfortable and question my morals y'know. STEM workplace as the setting is soooo great, this is why I keep reading it until the end. These two characters are so passionate about their work and it was incredible to read about.

What I like;
-the STEM aspect of it (and yes, this is the only similarity between this book and The Love Hypothesis)
-their banter and the way they loathed each other (or I might say, the way Liz loathed Tom)
-Liz's great sense of humour. (you go bestie!!!)
What I dislike;
-Tom, Tom's personality, everything about Tom. I don't know either this is the author's intention to make Tom so hateable????
-How Tom and Liz's misunderstanding affected Imogen (Tom's mom) and Jim (Liz's dad) relationship. It didn't make sense to me actually. 100 is not a great way to rekindle the main character in my opinion.
-The ending(?) when Tom explains his behaviour. Erm sir, please leave? It is understandable but childish and annoying at the same place. Why can't you separate your professional work and personal matter? WHY ARE YOU SUCH AN ASSHOLE AND A CONTROLLING, MANIPULATIVE ONE????
-Liz also has her fair share of wtf moments too but Im women supporting women today so no comment.

A quick and easy read that I found myself picking up after a long day to unwind. The characters are beautifully written and I came to love them within the first few pages and was rooting for them all the way to the end. At times I wanted to stop reading because I just wanted the experience to go on for longer.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I can honestly admit that I picked up The Un-Balanced Equation based solely on the cover. This book did not disappoint, I immediately loved the enemies to lovers vibe, and surprisingly enjoyed the fact that it was super technical when it came to the science.

I loved watching Tom and Liz’s relationship grow as they got to know each other better and not just the facade they portrayed to the other person.

Featured tropes:
Enemies to lovers
Forced proximity
Insta-love

If you liked Love Hypothesis, you'll LOVE this (it's better!). It's an incredibly steamy fast moving romance. The characters were fantastic with great building. The chemistry was palpable and the sex scenes were both realistic and fantastically written. Loved it!

I thought this book was so cute!! I loved all the tropes! Enemies to lovers, STEM. I loved the chemistry and banter between Liz & Tom and enjoyed watching their relationship grow. I really liked this book and finished it in one sitting!

Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for this arc!

Nivel de inglés: B2

Escritura: 4/5
Personajes: 2/5
Descripciones: 4/5
Trama: 2/5

Una historia rom-com de científicos a lo Big Bang Theory.

Antes de nada quiero agradecer por haber tenido la oportunidad de leer el ARC de este libro a cambio de una reseña sincera.

Con la escritura de la autora no tengo ningún problema a parte del hecho de que en algunas partes de la historia se me hacía muy densa.

Los personajes tienen sus personalidades marcadas pero se me han hecho aburridos en gran parte de la novela. Todo gira alrededor de Liz y Tom, y los demás personajes no están ahí para completar el libro están para completarlos a ellos: solo existen cuando se trata de hablar de alguno de los dos y hacer un comentario sobre el otro. Los únicos personajes que tienen una "personalidad" son los protagonistas, y casi ni eso porque se basa en que les gusta el anime pero solo te lo desarrollan en uno o dos momentos dados.
Son muy planos, no hay ninguna evolución desde el inicio al final del libro.

El mundo la autora lo describe muy bien, sabes dónde estás en cada momento y puedes visualizar lo que ocurre sin problemas.

La trama... de nuevo solo se basa en la relación de Liz y Tom, y todo lo que ocurre fuera de ello, queda forzado e ínsipido, solo rellena el hueco.
Hay conflictos que no entiendo por qué ocurren, salen de la nada. Los momentos íntimos entre los protagonistas (nivel de spicy: 3/5) son surrealistas. Es el único momento en las descripciones en las que te pierdes, y esto es debido a que se ponen a hablar. HABLAR. A charlar sobre cosas que hablas tomando un café con una amiga, no en medio de una relación íntima.

The Unbalanced Equation was light hearted and enjoyable. The enemies to lovers theme had me enticed from the start, however I was not a huge fan of the instalove component of it, and both narrators were very similar making it feel as though I was only reading one perspective. Overall I did enjoy this book.

FOUR STARS!!!

“because I never knew how much I was waiting for you until I met you. How pathetic is it that I didn’t realize how lonely I was?”

SUMMARY: Thomas Henderson and Elizabeth (Liz) Maclean meet one night at a mixer for Liz’s undergrad class. Thomas is a professor who seems to catch Liz’s eye. After a few mimosas they start talking and really getting along. Orange juice is spilled on them and they to to Thomas’s office to clean up, once there Thomas gives Liz a new pair of clothes and then she leaves. Thomas since that moment had a crush on Liz. He wanted to find her and tell her the next day, since he kept and washed her clothes he had a reason to see her, but he finds out he will be her assessor. After that Thomas treats Liz terrible to avoid a bond. Four years later Liz and Thomas are brought back together because their parents are getting married. While Liz hates Tom she has no other place to live besides Tom, and Tom is now sharing a bench with her in the lab because his lab burned. Through all of this Tom still has feelings for Liz. Tom and Liz work through their relationship with many good and some bad events.

CHARACTERS-

Elizabeth Maclean: I really liked Liz she felt very real. She was a total nerd and it was really cute for the storyline. Since Liz was dealing with the grief and a dead parent she never really knew a healthy way to cope with problems, she lashes out. Her overcoming this and being able to love and trust was really heartwarming and I LOVED how she developed. Although towards the end I got a little angry with how she dealt with the Tom situation (wont go in depth bc this is mainly spoiler free) I completely understand why she acted the way she did. She was so finny though and her speech at her parents wedding really made me smile. ALSO!! Liz is a woman in STEM and that was so amazing yo read about. Liz was also so sweet and oblivious she made me kick and squeal, she never knew when people liked her.

Thomas Henderson: Tom was such a character. He was the biggest flirt and so charming while also having an amazing sense of humor. He’s also a complete nerd and neat freak which fitted this chaotic mind. Tom is the definition of boy obsessed he was utterly obsessed since day one. Also, he is super rich and has no problem making jokes about his LOADS of money, it becomes funny how rich he is. Tom was also dealing with the grief of a dead parent but he learned how to cope much faster since he had his best friend Daichi along with him. Every-time Tom spoke I smiled or was just in awe by him. While he did have his negatives I truly believe he proved himself worthy. The main negative about him was his manipulation of Liz’s situation so he could be around her longer to prove he was worth her love but overall he just didn’t know how to handle the situation.

Both of Liz and Thomas’s alive parents were so lovely but Liz’s dad took some warming up to because of how badly he treated Tom! BUT it was completely understandable why he treated him like he did at first.

THOUGHTS: Overall I really liked this book and thought it was for the most part a super cute cheesy romcom. The chemistry the characters had was undeniable- everyone in the lab felt it except them. The side characters were all so different and lovely that the story simply wouldn’t be the same without them. Thomas being such a romantic was so cute I couldn’t hold in my smile. The gestures he would do for Liz were SO cute and when Liz bought Tom a grow light and flower I nearly cried. The tropes in thus book absolutely SERVED I couldn’t be any happier with them. The boy obsessed, forced proximity, semi enemies to lovers and workplace romance were all so perfect. I absolutely loved everything. The only reason this book wasn’t a complete five stars was because sometimes the characters felt a little younger than their age and the miscommunication which isn’t a big thing for me.
CONCLUSION: In conclusion, The Unbalanced Equation was a super cute, light hearted, quick read that I would recommend to ANYONE. The chemistry between characters was unbeatable and the storyline/plot was simply perfect. The scenery of the fall and winter season in Glasgow was so pretty and I absolutely loved reading all about it.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for this ARC in exchange for a completely honest and full review!

Soooooo, this book was interesting. The plot was good and so was the character development. However, i am not the type of person who enjoys step sibling romances, it’s not my vibe. So that was already an issue with me. But one of my bigger issues was the groveling aspect. Yes, Tom fucked up a lot, we know that as the reader. However, it seems like we are supposed to forget that Liz also did fucked up shit towards him. Like he tried getting her back and such but she didn’t apologize for what she did. That was my biggest issue. Besides that, the story was good, the spice was there, and i love a good HEA. Thank you netgalley for giving me access to read this ARC. I finished the book in one day, august 10, 2022.

3.5 ⭐️

I have received an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you Macfarlane Lantern Publishing and Netgalley for the eARC.

First and foremost, this was not a bad book at all. I love a good STEM romance novel, and this definitely was that and a lot more. It had spice, fun meet-cutes, and likeable side characters.

I really enjoyed this book and I finished it in the span of two days. The writing was easy to read and enjoyable, and the author definitely knew how to right an enemies to lovers romance.

However, there were a couple things that I could not get over. Right off the bat, the main character, Tom, hit me with some red flags. I mean, he found out he couldn’t pursue this woman anymore and his first thought is to be incredibly mean to her for the next couple years? Like come on.

Second, I know I was supposed to like them as a couple, I really did. But I just could not get over the whole step-siblings thing. Every time they would talk about their lust for each other, I got low-key grossed out.

Also, both of these characters were walking red flags! Tom went behind Liz’s back on multiple occasions when they could have just talked things out. He straight up almost sexually harassed her and went against consent when he walked in on her pleasuring herself even when she told him to leave. I can’t just look over that. And Liz was not much better either. She was purposefully leading this man on just to spite him? I try to girlboss til the sun don’t shine, but that’s just not okay.

If I avoid the obvious red flags in this book, I really really enjoyed it! Five stars all the way. But some of these things I just can’t look past, so it drops it down a notch. The author is used to writing fantasy, and I think that’s the biggest thing here. Many of these red flags ARE possible in a smutty fantasy, but not in a smutty contemporary rom-com.

Overall, if you can look over those couple of things, this was a really cute and funny book and I would definitely recommend. If not? Then it’s probably a pass.

I'll admit, my dislike of this one is partly on me. If I had binged this in one sitting, i would've been much more tolerant of its problems. But because I dragged this out over several days, those problems grew more and more irritating.

First off - the MMC. Oh god, I hated him. Sure, he was supposed to be the FMC's enemy. I love enemies to lovers, its my favorite trope. What I don't love is a man removing a woman's choice to keep her close. I think this was supposed to be romantic, but it just came off as a dick move. It wasn't his only issue, but its what finally made me quit. I didn't want to watch them get back together, I wanted her to kick him out and laugh while doing it.

As for the plot, it was also lackluster. It wasn't spicy enough to be entertaining in that regard, but it wasn't rom-commy enough to be a good romcom. It was just meh. It spent the entire book in the middle ground, and never did anything memorable.

Another thing I have to admit - I didn't finish the last half hour of this. I was done with the characters, and I knew it wasn't going to get any better. I quit before I wasted any more time.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review

I really enjoyed The Unbalanced Equation. I thought it was a really cute romcom book. It definitely kept me interested and was and easy read. 'I liked that the main characters, Dr. Liz and Professor Tom, work in STEM and that the setting was in Scotland. I also found their love of the same nerdy things to be very relatable. The fact that they are forced together just adds to the tension between the two as well.

I think it could kinda be considered enemies to lovers although the enemies thing tends to be more one sided. I do love the banter between the two characters. I also liked that she was kinda on the grumpy side. I found that very relatable. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes romcoms and banter. I would put this one on my shelf between the Love Hypothesis and The Hating Game.

Enemies-to-lovers. Co-workers. And (kind of) a second chance romance.

I liked the main storyline, however, there were a couple of elements in the book that didn’t click for me. One being the secrets Tom was keeping that were discovered later in the book. It was a bit too much for how quickly things were smoothed over. There was also a situation where a “no” was said and the actions weren’t immediately stopped. I think that may have been glossed over too much.

However, the writing was great, and I loved the science talk and all the women in the story involved in STEM. Also, their parents were fun and super cute together.

This is the steamy love/hate story of two scientists who learn through a dinner that their parents are getting married. They are thrust back into each others lives with no escape; living together and working together.

The book is written from Liz and Tom’s perspective, which is something I really love. Knowing what’s going on, in both characters minds really helps to understand the story. I also really enjoyed the sarcasm/banter in the book with the main characters as well as the best friends of the main characters.

There was LOTS of spiciness and sometimes it was a little much but it was clear there was a ton of tension between the characters. There was lots of anime talk which if you are into, will love…but I am not.

Overall I really enjoyed it.



https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4910416729

General Thoughts: The Unbalanced Equation is an enemies-to-lovers romance that's like a mix of The Love Hypothesis with the Hating Game, but set in the UK. You'll especially enjoy this read if you love the following: -Forced Proximity -Women in STEM -Age Gap -Forbidden Romance -Academia -Anime -Can appreciate the authenticity of an ugly laugh -Enemies-to-lovers is your all time favorite trope What I loved: Liz and Tom had fantastic chemistry. The angst and spice were very real! I absolutely love that they portray an HEA that doesn't include marriage and children because it's just not what they want and that's okay. I was very satisfied with the ending. What I didn't love: Tom crossed some serious lines. and Liz's revenge plot was kind of horrid. I thought they were both being pretty immature, but I did appreciate the way this was actually acknowledged in the book. There were a few parts where I started to skim because the science lingo got heavy, but readers who work in STEM will probably love this.

I will share this review on Bookstagram and Amazon closer to release day.

Thank you to Netgalley, H.L. Macfarlane and BooksGoSocial for allowing me to read and review this book before publishing.

This book follows Liz and Tom who originally met at a social event for the university that Liz was attending for her PhD and when Tom worked. Liz and Tom hit it off at the event and happened to get a little drunk together when they both got spilled on by someone carrying a tray of mimosas. Liz and Tom go to get cleaned up and Tom considers asking Liz for her number until she disappears.
Flash forward 4 years and Liz hates Tom, he has made her life a living hell after he ended up being the assessor for her PhD. Little did Liz know that Tom was being terrible to her because he felt he needed to in order to avoid his feelings for her. What's happening 4 years later is Tom and Liz find out that both of their widowed parents are getting married, Tom's lab got burned down and he has to work next to Liz, and Liz got kicked out of her apartment and has to move in with Tom, his mom and Liz's dad. To say it's a mess is an understatement. Will Tom and Liz be able to tolerate living and working together? Going to have to read to find out.
This book was so fun it was a great STEM based romcom. Liz and Tom are certainly enemies to lovers and the process of them figuring out that they are not enemies was SO funny. I would describe this book to people as mix between The Love Hypothesis and Book Lovers. This book lived up to all of my expectations and if you like romcoms I would recommend picking it up!

As a former science teacher, anything dealing with science is something that I can get on board with. This has some of my favorite tropes such as enemies to lovers and forced proximity. It was a read that I was able to get through in one sitting! The only thing I am not a huge fan of is the age gap trope, but that is just me. I would recommend this book!

Ok so this is my first arc ever!!! Which is pretty exciting, anyways I have a few things to say about this book. First I did like it quite a lot it wasn’t my favorite book of all time but I really love the Academia setting. Tom was a bit creepy at times but I kinda saw myself in his shoes I feel like I might do similar stuff. He made some grave mistakes which I don’t think were cool but I kinda see where he was at. Liz was a good character overall I liked her humor and her personality. I liked how fierce she was with Tom as well. The thing that I didn’t like much was them being weebs but it kind made sense them STEM people are weird. Also them being step siblings was weird but at leas they didn’t grow up like siblings so I wasn’t super grossed out. I think is was a decent book again not my favorite but it wasn’t god awful. I might read more of the author though.