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.

3.75 Stars!
I thoroughly enjoyed the second half of this book (the first half felt kind of slow for me).
Things I liked/loved:
- The gradual buildup of the relations that Bel had with everyone whether it was romantic or friendship
- The diversity representation throughout the book
- The way issues were discussed/worked through, such as parental pressures, parents divorcing, being burnt out
I would say the book was pretty realistic, in terms of Bel getting a reality check. Not everything went perfectly according to plan because, in life that happens, you can put all your effort into something and still not get/achieve it.

“I promise I’ll still like you, even if I ever have a problem you can’t fix.”

📖 My mechanical romance

Cute and nerdy YA story that focuses on team of students who compete in robotics. We meet Bel, who finds her place in this team and Mateo, who is team leader and wants to win in national competition. But Bel isn't so hyped on it and it takes time and long hours together with them and robots and sparks begin to fly. Will their romance jeopardize the competition?

Nice read, thanks to Netgalley for receiving ARC copy. I missed cover image and constructed chapters but overall I enjoyed the book.

"You can stand up without standing alone" My Mechanical Romance by Alexene Farol Follmuth

📚REVIEW📚

Bel is the new senior transfer at her school, after putting not much effort in designing a catapult, Ms Voss decides to move her to the AP Physics class days before the robotics try out, needless to say she makes the team. Now she has to contend with the annoying Teo, the guy who lives in a mansion, gets everything right and leader of the Robotics team.

Here is your opposites attract, acadamia, enemies to lovers trope. I enjoyed this book alot, seeing Bel grow into her own skin. The fighting and arguments and the first kiss... Swoon worthy!!! It was so interesting to learn about STEM too. There are also so many dynamics around females entering a male dominated industry and how we still as females need to let our voices be heard. I laughed, sighed, sniffled and nodded my head so many times.

Rating
5⭐

Huge thanks to the author @afarolfollmuth, @holidayhousebks, @peachtreepublishing, @pixelandinkbks and @netgalley for this ARC. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

I have an attachment to how Alexene/ Olivie writes and here amazing characters and books. I loved this YA novel and the cuteness it has. I loved Bel and Teo! Never thought I’d see myself reading about STEM or about robotics. Loved how realistic the characters are for their age and how relatable they feel. I’m pretty sure as a teenager I said the word like with every sentence. I love enemies to lovers and adding rivals? Please and thank you!! I will be purchasing the physical copy of course.

DNF held out on writing this review pre-release but now that it has been published and rather well loved I can safely say that it was not for me.

This was such a cute book!! I am really glad I read it, it was just what I was hoping it would be!

My Mechanical Romance is a story following two characters, Bel and Teo. They go to the same high school, and while they're complete opposites, they find themselves working together in the robotics club. Bel is finishing high school, and while she likes making stuff, she is not too keen on extracurriculars and isn't even thinking about college applications when she is basically forced to join the robotics club. Teo, on the other hand, is the caption of the club, he does soccer, and is very focused on his future. They start off a bit shakey - the boys of the club are ignoring her, and the only other girl doesn't even like her. But Teo and Bel realize that working together actually brings good results to their team, and they're growing closer.

I really enjoyed this book, as I already mentioned. I liked the romance that is the center of the story, but I also like how many other aspects the book brought. I liked the talk about how women in STEM are treated, and how much harder they have to work, only to not get the same recognition. It really did an amazing job of showing how much really goes into being a woman at such position. I also loved how it portrayed being a teen, at the end of high school, and how confusing of a time that can be. While Teo has everything figured out, Bel is hiding behind the facade of not caring, because she doesn't know how to balance everything she's going through. There are parents, friends, teachers, everyone just expecting you to figure it out - and I like how this book in the end emphasized that it is okay if you need more time to figure it all out. That it's okay if you change your plan, if you're still unsure of it. I really appreciated that about the story.

I really enjoyed the characters in this book! The focus is, of course, on Bel and Teo, whose POVs we read from. But I also enjoyed the side characters a lot, especially Bel's brother Luke and her friends Jamie and Lora. I also liked Teo's mom (even though I started the book disliking her), and his friend Dash, who's also in the robotics club. I wish we got to see more of Neelam, even though I enjoyed her character as is. All of the characters are well-developed and I enjoyed reading about them. I loved reading about Bel becoming better friends with Jamie and Lora, and especially liked how she at one point thinks how nice it is to have friends that are supportive and just there for you.

I really did like the writing style, the book felt dynamic, and the dialogues were interesting. The pacing was just right, the romance took enough time developing, and I really felt like the characters seemed real. At times, I did feel Bel was a little too much "not like the other girls" for my taste, but it was only a few scenes where I thought that (like when Teo notices that her hair is held up with a pen and not whatever else hair tie everyone else uses - the way he thought that was what made me feel this, not that she was using a pen instead of a hair tie).

Overall, I really loved this book! It was the perfect balance of cute, fun romance and a more serious commentary on women in STEM, and figuring out your future when you're in high school. It was a quick read, I flew through it in one sitting. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys ya contemporaries (and even if you don't, maybe you'll be surprised). It was truly a lovely book!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.