First of all, thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book in advance.

It has been a nice read, which takes us (partially) into the world of computer engineering and robots. I must say that the idea was not bad, but honestly I would have developed it much more. Unfortunately some points were confusing and perhaps a bit too fast to make the reader empathize more with the characters. However, I appreciated the relationship between the two protagonists that developed itself through clashes and confrontations between people with different characters. Thanks to those, they learn from each other to understand what they want to do with their lives and how they can really relate with others. It is just a pity that the majority of the elements has been seen in several and several books, and I think that the story lacks of depht. The author could do much better, I'm sure of that, and explore more about the main characters and the secondary ones. For example, there are so family issues that at the end of the book are still (or quite) the same as the beginning. That's a pity, because it would have been interesting.

Title: My Mechanical Romance
Author: Alexene Farol Follmuth
Genres: Young adult, feminism, YA romance
Pages: 272

My thoughts...

I LOVED this book! Bel, the female MC who is at a new high school, totally unsure of what she wants for her future and feeling behind compared to her peers, meets Teo, the tall, dark, and handsome popular kid who has every moment of his life planned and secure. When Bel begrudgingly joins the robotics club, she soon finds that it may not be such a bad thing.

Some things I loved about this book:

- the smart, strong female characters
- so many girls pursuing STEM and other great career paths
- Taylor Swift references

Watching Bel's confidence in her abilities grow throughout this entire book was so wonderful~ As a high school teacher, I know that so many seniors do not know what they want to do after graduation, and I always wish that they would realize this is actually sooo common. I loved that Bel was excited for her "unconventional" post-secondary plans, and that she gained so much confidence in the STEM field throughout her senior year. I hope that young girls will read this book and feel encouraged and inspired.

Read if...

- you love a feminist representation in an educational setting
- women in STEM is your jam
- you want a fast-paced, short YA read that reels you in

4/5 stars for me -- I will absolutely be adding this to my classroom library!

Just what I expected! Absolutely love the author’s writing, so I knew I would love this. My Mechanical Romance is a lighthearted high school romance done so perfectly by Alexene. I couldn’t have asked for a better book to get me out of my slump!

Cute concept, but not for me. DNF at about 26%, it was too stressful to read about these high school students obsessed with school and competing against each other. Also didn't really buy into the main female character who is just a natural genius who doesn't care about school at all.

My Mechanical Romance is first and foremost a fantastic title because immediately thought of My Chemical Romance. Second, This is also the author of the Atlas Six so you know we are getting a great story and fantastic characters. Bel and Mateo were absolutely adorable. This was so cute and such a good story and women in STEM. Great reread potential. Definitely go and get this book.

I loved Alexene's works under the pen name Olivie Blake and this DID NOT disappoint! It was incredibly impressive seeing another side of her in 'My Mechanical Romance', and I could not put it down, Perfect for fans of her previous works who want to see all that she can do!

4.5/5

CW: Misogyny, divorce, absent parents

Includes: women in STEM, diverse cast of characters, slow burn, enemies to friends to lovers, women supporting women, dual POV narration

My Mechanical Romance is the extremely nerdy YA slowburn that we all didn't know we needed. We follow our resident new girl Bel who's not afraid to get her hands dirty while rocking sparkly Doc Martins, and the super hot, super rich, and super nerdy robotics team captain Teo Luna. As the two navigate the varying expectations that society has for them, they also learn more about themselves and the power they have in shaping their own identities. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving access to a free copy in exchange for an honest review. (Although I will say the formatting was super messed up and a lowkey struggle at certain points.)

The slow burn romance had me SCREAMING. It was done so well I felt like the most tender slices of meat after a long day of thorough and slow roasting. The romance was impeccably done and brought out the best in both of our protagonists, I absolutely loved seeing women supporting women (and having it shown in the sometimes less than perfect ways), and we loved seeing that side character growth. The unsung hero of this book was definitely Ms. Voss and I will die on that hill.

Aside from just sheer enjoyability, there were also some really great topics explored. Whether it was the various forms in which gender based biased manifests in STEM, the inherently elitsist nature of higher education, or the unhealthy amount of expectations being heaped onto literal CHILDREN, we got to see some really great discussion and development of things that I think could really be talked about more. Especially that last one, because being expected to decide your future at 17 is really not okay.

The only reason I didn't give the full 5 stars is because there were some issues that seemed like they were going to lead somewhere but then never ended up being addressed. One such example would be Bel's relationship with her brother Gabe and how he viewed Luke as a "failure." This one wad really loaded and then Gabe kind of just... Fell off. I would have loved to see more from his character.

Overall, if you love seeing girls kicking ass and taking names (especially POC girls), really cute and quirky slow burn romances, and also casually want to burn the patriarchy, I think this is a book you'll enjoy :)

(Soon I will also post this review to my bookstagram @bookishotaku)

This book was a fresh of breath air and a dazzling experience. I adored the characters so much, their personalities, their talents and their intelligence was so fascinating to read. The romance was so adorable, I squealed many many times while reading this book. The plot was brilliant and I absolutely adored the women in STEM representation. The book was mesmerising.

4.5 ⭐
Hello?? WOMEN IN STEM?! Sign me up!
This book was super fun and cute to read. The pacing was great and the characters were realistic. Bel not knowing who she is, who she could be and what she wants is so relatable. I loved that the book focused on this aspect and not only on the ralationship between the mcs.

The representation of women in STEM was on point, highlighting the hardships they have to face and how they struggle working in a male dominated field. I liked Neelam and her "redemption arc".

Overall i liked how the book combined the cute romance and aspects of life the reader could connect with, while still being funny and lighthearted.

Ingredientes: enemies-to lovers e área das ciências (STEM), já vos deixei curiosos?

Que livro fofo 😍

Gostei muito que a história falasse de robótica, um tema tão atual e tão pouco abordado. Achei o enredo bem construído e o romance bem conseguido, apesar de ter sentido que a parte dos inimigos foi um pouco forçada.

Um romance muito divertido, leve e ideal para as tardes de verão que nos esperam!

Thank you to Holiday House, and Net Galley for providing me with an arc of this title, in exchange for an honest review.

I'm really on the fence about this book! I'm teetering between a 3 and 3.5 rating.

I think I went into this book with high expectations of thoughtful prose, and a certain type of writing, due to Follmuth's backlist under her pen name; Olivie Blake. But I don't think it met that expectation at all.

Firstly, it took me a while to get into this book. I really liked the premise of a high school Robotics club surrounding students in their final year. I enjoyed that this was a Woman in STEM heavy book, and I related to a lot of the sexism Bel encountered, and the lack of confidence she had in herself all because she learned in a non-traditional way. However, I found her extremely annoying. She gave off very pick me girl energy, and I grew tired of it quickly. Her internal dialogue was juvenile, and it immediately made me age her down in my head. Reading this book, I would've fully believed anyone if they'd said the characters were 15/16, rather than 17/18 year olds.

The slow-burn romance between Bel and Teo could definitely be stuffed into a Academic Rivals-to-Lovers trope box, just about. Teo's internal dialogue was a little easier to digest, but I still found it extremely juvenile and falling short of what I wanted from this book. However, I was talking to someone before writing this review who assumed the internal dialogue of the characters was the way is was due to their social awkwardness and 'nerdy' personalities. I can see it, but it didn't quite redeem it for me. There were just too many sentences that I read that made me go; "seriously?"

Despite the things I didn't like (which seems like a lot now I've skimmed what I've already written) overall I did like this book, and I definitely think other people would too. I can understand the appeal of the story (which was good, and interesting!!) and I would definitely recommend that people check the book out, I just didn't personally vibe with the writing.

Follmuth tackles woc in stem/sexism/generational expectations when a first gen American very well, and although some areas of the book read as juvenile, these topics were explored extremely well. I also very much appreciated the Epilogue, it definitely closed out the book well.

Parting thought is that Ms. Voss is a queen, and deserves the world. I had a teacher just like her in High School, and I hope you all did too!

I truly have never had anything but love for this authors work! She writes in a way that captures you and I’m so happy I got to read this one. The chemistry the characters had was insanely good. It was a page turner I just couldn’t put it down. Recommend to anyone and everyone especially younger people in stem

I'm a sucker for geeky romances, and this one definitely lived up to my expectations. It was cute, but also had the angst I love to read. I loved learning more about robotics competitions as well and wish they'd had something like that at my school as it sounded so much fun!

The pacing was good too and I liked that it didn't feel like the ending was rushed at all, which I sometimes get with romance novels sometimes.

** Thanks to NetGalley, Alexene Farol Follmuth, and Holiday House for this ARC **

I should not be wasting my time on high school boys when I was clearly born to be some artist's muse, which is a calling I will probably age into around my late twenties.

This was, as every other reviewer has said, SO CUTE. Written by the same author as The Atlas Six (who writes her adult SFF books under the pen name Olivie Blake), this YA romance focuses on two high schoolers, Bel and Teo, who fall in love while working together on their High School robotics time. Kind of like an adolescent, G-rated version of an Ali Hazelwood novel, My Mechanical Romance was sweet, funny, and took on the challenges of being a woman in STEM, even and especially in high school.

Loving this as a continuation of my dedication to reading any/all STEM-themed romances.

4 stars - I really, really liked it.

My Mechanical Romance by Alexene Farol Follmuth is a fun YA romcom read. The characters are all likeable (well maybe not Neelam to begin with) and relatable. The budding romance of the two main characters is fun to follow. I loved that the author touched on how hard it is for females to fit in the world of STEM and how they are often considered outsiders. The diversity in the friendships of the characters are great. I was glad that the author completed the story in the end and didn't leave us wondering what happened to the characters. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading a nice clean romcom with academic aspects.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in return for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Have you ever felt like a book was made for you? This was what I felt reading this book. It was a very refreshing ya romance book that also gave light to some important topics like sexism especially in STEM. I really enjoyed the whole book and I was so happy about the representation in this book being filipino and a woman in stem myself. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who’s looking for a light romance read with great plot.

I was fortunate enough to have kindly received and ARC of this from Holiday House Publishing and Alexene Farol Follmuth!

OKAY SO HEAR ME OUT!!!

I liked it, I did, but I felt like it dragged a little at the beginning and in some parts and I know it’s YA but it felt so over the top etc with some scenes. However, with that being said, I did really like the storyline and Bel and Teo. They were cute and the whole concept was great!

At about 70% I was hooked and invested and this is where it really picked up for me, and I immediately marked it up from a three star rating to a four!

As a person who feels like she understands the stem-heavy high school experience, Alexene Farol Follmuth pretty much nails it!

This book was so refreshing, and really created a window for stem students (especially girls) to see themselves in! I loved the story, the characters, the writing. Follmuth has created a wonderful romance story (and the academic rivals to lovers we've been yearning to see from her...).

Ohhh, I just have to admit I love it 🥰
It’s been a while since I read such simple, romantic and non spicy book. In this case I really appreciate that’s My Mechanical Romance is a school story!
I appreciate the fem trope, cos If boys can do engineering so do girls!
Book is simple in the best sense of this word!
Also, I’m non native English speaker and for me some words connected with the robotics subject was challenging, but I do learn some new words !
I want to thank the author cos book is really good and main idea is interesting, as I said before I love it 😍

I really was craving a cute romance and this delivered. I didn’t have particularly strong feelings about it. But the whole plot line was really intriguing to me. I think it’s good representation of girls in stem. And Bel is as a character I loved. She was a quirky character and it reminded me of some girls from my high school and their experiences. It was definitely worth the read.