A super cute enemies to lovers wholesome romance. It’s the second STEM book I’ve read recently (first one was The Love Hypothesis), and like that one, I found the technical aspects of My Mechancial Romance interesting and not boring or ‘over my head’ at all. I love Bel, she is determined and highly capable, and I appreciate that in a female character. Great banter. Highly recommend!

A huge thank you to the publisher for an ARC!
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Academic rivals in STEM? Say less. This book was honestly so adorable and relatable. Being in STEM and Asian, it was amazing to see the different forms of representation throughout the story. And not to mention the the cute relationship between Bel and Teo (the way Teo cares for her absolutely makes my heart melt).

I had no clue this was written by the same person who wrote the atlas six! The book was so fun. I was able to relate to the two mcs so well and their stem love was fun to watch. I don't read ya romance very often but it was great.

The Filipino rep was treated as something to be laughed at, and I found that revolting. Can't stay silent on this the way the author stayed silent on the Philippine elections.

my mechanical romance is genuinely one of the best ya romance books i've read in a while. though it didn't top my favorite olivie book (alone with you in the ether), it still stands on its own. i LOVED the characters. bel is amazing and i would break a neck for her if she wanted me to, teo reminds me (a little bit too much) of my high school crush, and i truly deeply love them both. their individual stories are not exactly new but it is still told with utmost care. the filipino rep made me so SO happy. i've never really thought of seeking it out and now that i've read it, im just now realizing how badly i wanted to see my own culture reflected back at me :( anyway, i love u olivie. my five stars will always be happily offered to you <3

This book understood the assignment.
This was such a well rounded and well done academic rivals to lovers. I’m in love. The characters are adorable

I loved this book the characters are amazingly written and feels so real and romantic that you can't put the book down even for a second. It's amazing must ready for everyone.

Young Love + Women in STEM + Senior Year of High School = One fantastic and enjoyable story! When Bel’s teacher pushes her to engage in a higher level of science and join one of the school’s competitive teams, Bel could not be less enthusiastic. She’s used to floating under the radar and doing just enough, quite the opposite of Mateo Luna, the captain of the team, who does it all. As Bel and Mateo begin to work together, they challenge and push each other to be the very best they can be, on and off the team. Hilarious and empowering, “My Mechanical Romance” by Alexene Farol Follmuth is definitely one to read!

I absolutely ADORED Bel, one of the main characters of this story. She feels entirely real and reminds me so much of the students in my classes. Her sense of humor is quirky, and her inner struggle with when to speak up and when to go with the flow leads to some awkward but necessary confrontations. I loved those moments because I feel like they give teen readers a model for addressing what’s bothering them and shows that a person’s wording doesn’t have to be perfect in order to be important. Bel’s friendship with the other girls in the story is so supportive, and the one relationship that appears to be a more “girls tear each other down” type of situation ends up revealing an impactful lesson, too.

I wasn’t as enamored with Mateo’s (Teo) character, but his parts were still enjoyable. Teo’s role (in addition to being the 2nd of the dual POV) seems to be that he is representative of ways in which men have privilege in STEM, ranging from the subtle to the overt. However, when Bel would point out that Teo had these advantages, there wasn’t really conversation or change from Teo beyond variations of “No, I don’t; I work hard” and “Yes, you’re right; moving on,” which felt frustrating at times. That being said, Teo is certainly a high-achiever and struggles with meeting the expectations he has for himself as well as the expectations of those around them, something that many high schoolers may find valuable to see in their stories.

Prior to reading this, I never understood the thrill of battle robots; now I do. I’m also absolutely going to be putting this book on my classroom shelves due to the realistic portrayal of teens, the focus on the journey of women in STEM, and the moments of wrestling to figure out who you are, what you want to do, and how to make it happen. Readers who enjoy contemporary young adult fiction, stories with a focus on STEM, and novels with a theme of coming-into-your-own will enjoy this book.

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

i loved this book. i feel like the characters were perfectly fleshed out and the plot was ACTUALLY intresting. i also relate so much to bel, i love her. thanks netgalley for the arc :)

The cover for this book was just, so pretty. I loved the rep in it and the storyline seemed to be really good. Sadly I could not get into it despite all these positives, so instead I have reccomended it to all my science-romance loving friends.

It took me a bit but I ended up liking this one more than I originally thought! I appreciated the high school vibes that were pretty accurate (from what I remember) and I think its a great STEM focused YA romance that should be in schools for fun reads!

This has such an adorable cover! I wish i prepared myself for this top be a YA. That was on me and not the author. Sadly, I had to DNF because its harder for me to relate to. Doesn't mean you shouldn't give it a try!

Thank you to NetGalley and Holiday House for an eARC of My Mechanical Romance by Alexene Farol Follmuth in exchange for an honest review.

CW: sexism, misogyny, racism, cultural appropriation, infidelity, sexual assault, divorce, cursing, vomit, violence

Bel is a high school senior with no desire to go to college. When a teacher notices her intelligence and invests in her by *strongly encouraging* her to join the school's robotics team, Bel discovers a passion for engineering that she didn't know she had. Along the way, she makes friends, navigates the competition and support experienced by women in the engineering field, and restores relationships with her family members. Oh ya, and she might be falling in love with the school's top soccer player / robotics badass.

This was cute, but meh. It took me quite a while to feel invested in the storyline, and I ended up finishing this book via audiobook after the publication date. I appreciated so much about this book, particularly that it shows how teachers investing in their students can drastically change the trajectory of their futures, and the theme of empowering women in STEM. However, I don't think this book needed the romance aspect at all. While the romance added some tension to the plot, especially near the end, I think the primary messages of the book would still have come across loud and clear without the romance. Bel's relationships with her family members and female friends were by far the more interesting dynamics throughout the book.

Overall, a cute read, but I think it is much better consumed as an audiobook. For someone like me who doesn't particularly enjoy descriptions of action-packed scenes, the audiobook helped me to move through the robotics competitions with a lot more ease.

I would definitely recommend this book to young women who enjoy reading about the dynamics of platonic relationships, and want to feel challenged and encouraged.

thank you to netgalley for providing me with an arc!

this was a cute and easy read. i like how alexene dealt the gender inequality in the STEM field. i like that every character is not two-dimensional. they all deal with something and we see that thru our main characters' perspective. i like the romance between them. it's kileg. im particularly interested in how alexene dealt w family dynamics. however i was hoping that it will be dealt more, but as soon as the conflict was fixed, the story was over.

im also a bit critical of the filipino representation.

anyway, i would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a short ya romance book with STEM girls as our main characters

'My Mechanical Romance' by Alexene Farol Follmuth .This book was amazing, I could not put it down,it was cute and sweet, but it still addressed problems real young adults would have in real life like pressure and sexism. Each character also had their own personality/story and you got to see how that develops them. Without lacking romance which kept it enjoyable and fresh, you got to see how the people around them mold/shape their love story. The book had some diversity(having different cultures) . Truly a five-story read. Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an Arc in exchange for an honest review.

really fun and female-driven romance! i loved her adult SFF debut and it was refreshing and fun to experience a different style and writing for a different age-group!

This was so much better than I expected!! The pace was slower but I never got that “dragging through the book” feeling. I love the personality shown through each character. Definitely a book I’m adding to my bookshelf just so I always have a copy!

i thought i would like it more than i did. maybe i'm just not the target audience anymore? it was cute and good, but not an all time fave for me. just a normal contemporary romance.

this book i loved it a girl finding steam/ stem and also finding what she wants in life as well as finding love. If you like reading and you like shows like battlebots and don't mind a little love in your stories this book is for you and it also for ppl who love romance and doesn't mind some robotics in their stories,

Loved this so much! Super cute YA contemporary. I loved the writing style and the character relationships. Thanks so much NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this title!