I really enjoyed this book. I think that the author did a great job in writing well developed characters as well as an engaging plot. I really enjoyed the romance in this book, as well as the STEM aspect. As someone who reads a lot of romance it is nice to see it take place in a different context. I will definitely be reading more books this author publishes.

My Mechanical Romance was a quick and fun YA contemporary with some important themes. I think a lot of teenagers will be able to relate to Bel and will enjoy the banter and romance that develop in this story.

Our main character Bel is encouraged to join the robotics club. She isn't sure about this, but isn't welcomed with open arms. The members ignore her and the only other girl on the team isn't exactly friendly either. Bel really had to fight for her place on this team, but they slowly start seeing she really can help them. I loved seeing her find her place in this team and the other members seeing that she really belonged.

Bel was a character I think a lot of teenagers will be able to relate to. She's dealing with her parents' divorce and how she should feel about both of her parents all the while she's also trying to figure out her life. It isn't easy for girls in STEM and I think Bel's story shows us this. Add it being senior year and deciding what to do about her future and she's under a lot of pressure. If you really think about teenagers have to make quite a few important decisions at a pretty young age.

I wasn't a big fan of Mateo at first, but the more we got to know about him the more I really understood where he was coming from. His home life wasn't always easy either and he spends his time split between using his brain and participating in sports. For me he ended up being a really likable character.

As for the romance I love how it slowly develops. This definitely isn't a case of instalove. Mateo and Bel slowly start bonding over robotics as they get to know each other. They realize even though they're pretty different they have a lot of things in common. I love their banter and road to a romantic relationship.

On top of that there were a lot of fun side characters that I would love to see get their own stories. My Mechanical Romance is a perfect summer read filled with quite a few different subjects that I definitely think readers will enjoy.

¡Muchas gracias Netgalley, por darme una copia de este libro a cambio de una reseña honesta!

Me costó mucho engancharme con el primer capítulo pero una vez que llegue al segundo no pude parar, fue muy entretenido y rápido de leer.

Me encanta Bel, cómo fue creciendo desde el principio hasta el final, cómo encuentra su lugar y se abre espacio por si misma. Teo me gustó mucho, entendí como se sentía y me encantó su relación con Bel.

Me hubiera gustado que Teo tenga algún tipo de reconocimiento hacia los demás personajes y que se desarrolle más su relación con su padre. También, que se desarrolle un poco más la historia de la familia de Bel. Que todo eso tenga un cierre pero como la historia va sobre el romance y crecimiento de Bel, entiendo que no pase pero me hubiera gustado más con esto

I tried and tried to read this book. I DNF at 25%. The formatting was weird. The characters unlikeable. And I had no idea where the story was going. :/ I hate not finishing the book but, it is what it is.

Okay, I absolutely adored this book!

Story time: I was a STEM student in high school - I was in the tech stream, I learned CAD (hated it, like Bel), and I did robotics (we didn't get far as a school team lol). So when I say this was my jam, it 100% was.

First of all, I loved the diversity - there was a fantastic mix of female and male characters, diversity in cultural backgrounds, and in future goals. I loved seeing that because it felt so realistic - maybe it's cause my team and friends were a diverse crew, but it worked well and I adored them all!

Bel is a bit lost in life. She has people telling her what she needs to do, who she needs to be, but she's directionless when it comes to her future. This was so real on so many levels and I loved seeing her find a mentor in her teacher, Ms. Voss, and growing into herself and her interests. Bel eventually finds her own, non-traditional way to pave her future and I loved seeing that represented. I also loved seeing her have a large group of friends, and close girlfriends who have different interests, but they support one another's goals. How sad is it that that is so rare to see?? There was no jealousy with her friends, just love and support and fun.

That being said, I loved the Neelam dynamic - the fact that WOC, especially in tech, are generally forced to band together just because of those two facts is kind of BS. I appreciated the dynamic they had - respectful (over time) of each other's skills, but never close, and that's FINE. I know people will hate Neelam, but I loved her and what she was fighting for. In the end, her and Bel's fight against the patriarchy and set gender normative roles and interests was amazing and I loved seeing their two different paths to figuring out how to take up their own space in the discipline.

Teo was a lot. A high school kid with the world on his shoulder trying to be all things to all people. His growth was also fantastic through the story and I loved how him and Bel helped each other better themselves throughout the story and build each other up (again, over time) to become better versions of themselves. It was really satisfying to see and I adored the epilogue. This is very much an opposites-attract love story, and like an I-misunderstood-you-and-made-a-bad-impression-to-lovers-type story. This is also a PG book (lots of kissing and cuteness; no sex, etc.) for those who are not into that, but there's some underage drinking.

As a whole, this is a book focused on building robots and finding yourself with your friends. The robotics aspect was so much fun and I do truly hope that more women, especially WOC, get into design technology, mechanical, and mechatronics, they're fun disciplines, but too many women are turned away from them before they even get a chance to explore it.

I wish there was more depth to the secondary characters, but also respect that this was Teo and and Bel's story. Their friend group was a lot of fun, but because Teo and Bel are busy all the time (and so were their friends) they felt a little shallow on the character dev side. Not a bad thing, but it would've been a nice-to-have. I also wish there had been a bit more depth with Teo's family. In contrast, Bel's family came to life on page!

All in all, this was a fun book. Admittedly, it felt longer than its 272 pages, but I was never bored!

TWs: underage drinking, bullying through alienation (short, but you still feel it), sexism, divorced parents due to infidelity

Rep: Jewish Mexican MC, Filipino MC, women of colour in STEM

Plot: 4.5/5
Characters: 3.5/5
World Building: 5/5
Writing: 4.5/5
Pacing: 4/5
Overall: 4/5

eARC gifted via NetGalley by Holiday House in exchange for an honest review.

The author has written it so well. The plot is very investing, honestly it took me by surprise. So much better than what I expected. This was a very wholesome read. I enjoyed it so much. this was a super fun read and I would totally recommend it if you're a looking for a cute romance set in academia. Nerds are so hot! Also, women in STEM- more power to you.

Very excited to see this published! Love the author and so happy this is out! Very cute and fun read for fans of The Love Hypothesis, and like their romance with a STEM aspect.

✨i started this book over two months ago, but this is the book to bring me out of my almost two month long reading slump.

✨strangers to enemies to academic rivals to lovers?!? taylor swift girlfriend turns boy into taylor swift boyfriend?!??? he literally learned tswift’s discography for our main character!!!

✨this book is just FUN. you have a female main character who is navigating her world as a new member of a robotics club and also as just a woman in stem. she has stereotype after stereotype thrown at her and is also confronted by her own privileges as a girl in stem by other girls in stem.

✨there was a perfect amount of teen angst and the unknown, girlbossery, and first love to satiate every need and want that i could have for a YA contemporary.

✨I think the reason why this book didn’t get a five stars from me is because of how long it did take me to finish it, which might not be the book’s fault, but there was also plots in this book that moved sooo quickly! i love character building so when reading a short book like this one it does take me out of my reading zone to be rushed through plot lines that realistically would have had just *more* to them.

This is a cute, diverse, STEM academic rivals ya romance that I think high school readers would enjoy more, especially those who are interested or are into this topic.

Although it was cute and the robotics topics are pretty interesting to get into, as well as the characters, I honestly enjoyed their strong personalities, but I think the execution can be out of sync at times? There are times when scenes just jump into the next one without properly wrapping the current one.

Aside from the interesting topics, I enjoyed the characters' overall bond and development, even if there were times when I rolled my eyes. The leads are especially endearing, and I enjoyed their overall dialogue and scenes together.

Overall, I think this was pretty good; it's just that I didn't feel the hype? But it's still cute, and I'll read it again. 3.5 ⭐

5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I freaking loved this book! It was so good!!! GO READ IT WHEN IT COMES OUT
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Bel is a strong woman and she is navigating the world of stem in a new school. It is hard being in a male dominated field where people look down on you because of your femininity. I am not in stem myself but I think this story is so important for girls who are interested in that kind of thing to know it’s okay and you can do anything you set your mind to.

Teo, I just love him, he is a strong male character and love interest! I think him and bels relationship is so cute ☺️ and they definitely will never break up after the epilogue. Teo deals with a lot of pressures from his dad and teachers because of who he is. We see him navigate through dealing with those emotions and learning it’s okay to lose some control and trust those around you.
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Teammates/friends to lovers ❤️
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Set in high school so YA but please go read it so so so good easily one of the best YA books I’ve read in a while

I loved this book so much I pretty much read it all in one sitting. Bel was such an amazing MC, she was not for conforming to any stereotypes and in her own, sweet way she was a total badass. Teo was a great love interest too. His development throughout the book was perfect. Their relationship was like a warm hug to read. I loved the way sexism in STEM was acknowledged and discussed in this book, 100% recommend.

Not only does this book have an enjoyable romance, but it also touches on many important topics such as: complex family relationships, life after high school, friendships, and the misogyny women in STEM face on a daily basis (especially women of colour).

For some reason I struggled to connect with Mateo, which significantly impacted my enjoyment of this book. We didn't really see him have any development, we were just told that he did. All of the other side characters in the book were enjoyable to read about though.

Overall this was an enjoyable read and I'm glad young girls in STEM can see themselves in this story.

THIS BOOK IS EVERYTHING TO ME, ONE OF THE BEST BOOK IS 2022. THIS IS WHAT I WANT IN STEM ROMANCE. AND FOLLMUTH DID IT. THE CHCRACTERS THE PLOT THE WRITING ARE JUST BEAUTIFULLY WELL WRITTEN. okay so the plot is and writing hit me so hard bcs its about a bunch of senior student in STEM wants to make something so they could ended their high school with some memories. Bel and Teo is rivals to lovers. their romance is just top tier. IM OBSESSED. i will never move on from this book bcs its just that good. the build of their relationship and the development is just great. and the side charachters inthis book also did great. UGH i need to reread it again and again.

This book was a wholesome read. I enjoyed the depiction of women in STEM fields. I have minimal experience in that arena as I was not in STEM myself but I feel as though ti gave a solid depiction of what it is like. This book didn't always hold my attention; however, I am not the intended demographic for it as I am in my twenties. Going forward I will most likely drift towards the author's books under the pen name Olivie Blake. I think this is a cute read.

I really loved this book and all of the characters. While I may not understand all of the family dynamic presented in this book, it felt so real. The romance was definitely a slow burn and I appreciated that. I also appreciated the different personalities present in the novel.

IT'S BEEN SOMETIMES SINCE I GOT SO EXCITED ABT A ROMANCE BOOK!!!!
An academic rivals to friends to lovers. I love how it brought the topic about women power in STEM. I love the friendship. THE CHARACTERS DEVELOPMENT.
One of the best high school romance I've ever read. Ambitions, family, and self reflecting. A very ebjoyable ride.

I read this in a day and couldn’t put it down! My Mechanical Romance follows Bel, a new student who joins the Robotics team, and Teo, the captain of said Robotics Team. This is a rivals-to-lovers romance, and I was addicted to their journey. Bel originally thinks Teo is arrogant, but as she got to know him, she found she liked him a lot more. Teo is the perfect love interest! I adored him and was rooting for these two the whole time!

‘Because wherever I am, I want her close by.’

I loved the representation in this, especially shedding a light on the difficulties for women in STEM and how they have to work twice as hard. I never thought I’d care about reading about bot fights, but I was hooked! The characters are incredibly diverse, and I wish we had seen more of the secondary characters. Overall, I would definitely recommend this if you love YA academic rivals-to-lovers!

This book was excellent! If I had kids/teens I would give this to them for sure. The author made sure that readers understood what girls/women and female presenting people go through in many situations because of stereotypes and the assumptions people make about us. This book focused on those assumptions and stereotypes in STEM programs. Though the world has come a long way in terms of progress many people still believe girls can’t be good at science, math or engineering as these are fields dominate by boys and men. The author also pointed out that this mentally can be even worse if the female in question is kind of a girly girl. Bel experienced that because she wears dresses, sparkly shoes, and make up. I really enjoyed the way Fullmuth wrote about these issues and the ways she had the characters fight them. She also made sure to include some of the racial stereotypes people face especially when it comes to stem programs. I love romance books that tackle tough subjects 🥰.

Thank you to the publisher, author and NetGalley for this free ARC in exchange for an honest review! This book was cute from start to finish! I enjoyed so many parts in this, and if you like the traditional rom-com type of story, this is definitely for you!

Many thanks to Netgalley, Holiday House and the author for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The book follows the story of Bel and Teo Luna, 2 brilliantly gifted teenage engineers. The story is narrated in dual POV. Bel, much like any other talented teenager don't really know what next to do with her academic career (been there, done that) while going through her parents' divorce and the need to meet their expectations. She joins this prep school that boasts of excellent students only. Then we meet Teo Luna, a self-possessed, 'the world runs because of me' egoistic teenager who is also both a brilliant football player and a young engineer. These 2 obviously being opposing characters, in every sense don't quite see eye-to-eye. The story that follows is of Bel finding herself while making friends and decisions that will change her life forever. And even though none of her short-spanned plans came to fruition, Bel's character acquires enough confidence towards the end of the book to believe in herself and work towards what she wants.

Now when it comes to tropes, I don’t feel like academic rivals to lovers is really apparent, because the rivalry was really short-lived and underwhelming. The story had a wonderful cast of diverse supporting characters. My favorite was NEELAM, why? Because I saw myself in her, a girl of color in STEM among 'brilliant' boys, yeah, I know how it feels!!

This book started off really slow and annoying for me. But as the story progressed I started seeing myself in Bel and the others. As a female engineer, myself, and having faced so much of the subtle (and non-subtle) sexism throughout my small career, I felt seen in this story. The favoritism, exclusion, microaggressions, invisibility and neglect are all real.

Towards the end of the story Bel meets the little sister of one of her competitors who is inspired by her and "didn't think girls could build robots too", this made brought tears to my eyes!! That was the high point of the story for me. Overall, it took me a bit of time but I did enjoy the book thoroughly!!