I could start this as a formal review, but even in the slightest chance that you don’t read this till the end, I have to ask you in the beginning to READ THIS BOOK. I don’t think I have read a high school romance this cute and wholesome in a while now.

My Mechanical Romance by Alexene Farol Follmuth follows Bel and Teo, two high school kids who can’t be more poles apart. Bel would do anything but think about her college applications, and Teo is the kind of boy who would get early admission to a college solely based on his merits. When Bel accidentally finds one thing that makes her happy, and Teo sees her as a potential asset and recruits her to the robotics club, what follows is long hours of brainstorming sessions and building robots for the Nationals, which become their own super cute unofficial dates because of course nerds are hot. And the one “whose Spotify is currently paused on Taylor Swift’s entire discography so he can learn all the words that make her smile, even when she doesn’t want to. Especially then.” Need I say more?

I loved Teo and Bel. In the first half, Teo might come out as an arrogant, spoilt rich kid, but he is a lovely and hard-working boy worthy of every bit of success he gets. Bel doesn’t have her future figured out. And I love how the author dealt with this part of her story. It was perfect. I won’t go into more details on the same; you need to read it to find out.

Apart from the love story, I also loved the friendships. Dash was always there for Teo, and Bel had the best support from her friends. The Mechanical Romance feels what it was supposed to be, a story about High School kids. You can’t expect them to have everything figured out or say the right thing all the time. Their biggest worry might be getting into their dream college or not knowing if they want to be in one. And heartbreak would feel like when they don’t get it. And yes, high school love stories might not be it, but when Bel says, “Teo’s seen the most disgusting, secret, uncertain parts of me, and I still can’t believe he wants all of it, good and bad. But then again, I’ve seen all his fractures, and I won’t give up those either. I guess what being in love is- though what do we know about that? We’re still young enough to be as dumb about each other as possible.” You know this is as realistic as it gets.

The Mechanical Romance is the perfect summer read with adorable characters, accessible writing, and a cute plot for a love story. And yes, girls do belong in STEM.

Going into this book I had no expectations but I was very intrigued as soon as I picked up the book I could not put it down. I love books where the main character gets out of her comfort zones and enters the comfort zone of her rivaling counterpart. I love how we get to see how different Bel and Teo’s lives are but see them intertwine within eachother. Not necessarily enemies but more opposite attracts and I love it. Absolutely adorable relationships between Bel and Teo but even between the friend group how they all warm up to Bel at the beginning of the year. Watching Bel find herself within her circumstances was heartwarming. The pace of the story is slow but never boring but definitely a quick read for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, Alexene Farol Follmuth, and Holiday House for the advanced readers copy :)

I honestly don't know what to feel about this one - because I feel like people on Tiktok and Goodreads rave about it so much that I should've liked it better than I do, but unfortunately I do not. Don't get me wrong this was a cute book that had elements that I really liked but for me, it just fell flat. I still do recommend you read this if your curious about it especially with the hype it has been getting, it just was not my cup of tea.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an early copy to read and review prior to its 5/31 release date.

“I’ve always believed there’s a possibility for everything in the world to collide for a single perfect moment, and that sometimes, if you’re lucky, you get to have one for yourself.”

This one was cute! I am a SUCKER for romances with STEM in them. I don’t know why, because I am awful at math and science, but it always grabs my attention and fascinates me. Not only is the STEM representation in this book fantastic, but so is the diversity (cultural & religious).

The theme of this book to me is being able to discover who you are and what you want out of life, and not bowing down to what others perceive or expect you to be. There was a lot of character growth in this book for Teo and Bel, as well as another side character whose a little rough around the edges.

I loved the talk about the reality of girls in STEM and how it can be difficult to manage when everyone is looking down at you because you’re a female. But females run the world so…

The adults all sucked in this except for Ms. Voss. I did enjoy how Bel was managing her parents divorce because it felt very authentic to me as someone whose own parents are divorced.

This book was a little slow paced, and there was some repeatitiveness of material in chapters, but overall I enjoyed it. It is definitely towards the lower end of the YA spectrum (takes place in high school) but not too young for me yet.

Bel is awesome. She’s so blunt but in a nice and funny way.

“…until every girl who succeeds is like a beacon of light for all the others.”

Also - Community college is free in CA?! (According to this story). So why can’t it be free here in MA too? (Asking for a friend…)

TW: sexism, divorce

This book is sooo cute! I love the rivals to lovers trope and I ate this book up!!! I loved Bel’s character, her genius mind and her little weirdness which in total honesty is refreshing to read about. I also liked Mateo, he was so charming and amazing. The characters in this book are so well developed and so realistic that I couldn’t stop reading!

This was AMAZING! I thought the STEM romance was to die for! I also adored the character development!! The plot was also very inspiring to young girls everywhere!

This book was the perfect geeky romance! If you're looking for your next read after 'The Love Hypothesis', this one will give you the same thrill. The author of this novel already produced a brilliant piece of fiction and this easily follows. It's humorous, bright and such fun to read.

The characters were all so charming and the romance was to die for. I really liked this and will definitely pick up whatever comes next for this author!

I loved this one. Super cute and fun to read with a sweet romance! I loved that it was dual point of view and that each character, while also falling in love, had their own character arcs that were exciting and really interesting to read about. Personally, my favourite parts of the book were when Bel discovered her love for robotics and knew that was what she wanted to go to school for. It made me happy to read about someone discovering their passion.

I was excited when I saw this on NetGalley because this author also wrote The Atlas Six, which has been on my radar thanks to TikTok. I thought this book was great and I appreciated that it was short but still gave me just what I needed to stay invested in the story. I'm looking forward to reading more from this author.

‘𝙔𝙤𝙪’𝙧𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙨, 𝘽𝙚𝙡 𝘾𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙤.’

Bel would rather die than think about the future. But when she accidentally reveals a talent for engineering at school, she’s basically forced into joining the robotics club. Even worse? All the boys ignore Bel—and Neelam, the only other girl on the team, doesn't seem to like her either.

Enter Mateo Luna, captain of the club, who recognizes Bel as a potential asset—until they start butting heads. But as the nights of after-school work grow longer and longer, Bel and Teo realize they've made more than just a combat-ready robot for the championship: they’ve made each other and the team better. Because girls do belong in STEM.

‘𝘽𝙚𝙡, 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙣. 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙄’𝙢 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚.’

first of all, I think the cover is so cute. I love bel’s bird jeans. second of all, I loooove this story. it has an academic rivals to lovers trope and it’s just great how bel and teo grew closer.

at first bel didn’t really care about engineering and just school in general until one of her teachers recognized her talent. she was way happier when she joined the team and got so much more friends.

in the beginning teo was a bit arrogant and I didn’t really like him. he was mean to bel when he saw she was as good as him in engineering. luckily they started working together, because bel changed teo in a positive way.

‘𝙄 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙄’𝙢 𝙞𝙣 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙮𝙤𝙪.’

even though this story is about robots, science and engineering (which I normally don’t really like) I loved this book. the story is fun for everyone, because most of the book is about the lovestory of bel and teo. I’m so happy that this book was my first arc!!

𝙄’𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚’𝙨 𝙖 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖 𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙡𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩 𝙢𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙨, 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪’𝙧𝙚 𝙡𝙪𝙘𝙠𝙮, 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛.

"I like to think I have eccentric tastes in most things, but I like Taylor Swift too. I’m human, after all." SAME Bel, same 😆 #swiftie

This was a really cute YA novel! I found the pacing slower than I like, but this book was wonderfully written, witty and inspiring. I really loved the Women in STEM aspect of this book, and thought the robotics team was really fun to read about! I loved Bel's teacher who encouraged her to to challenge herself and to "Take up your own space, Bel. Don't let other people tread over it.".

However, I thought the characters were somewhat unlikable. Teo never grew on me, and although I liked Bel, she spent most of the book being so unsure of herself that it got really annoying after awhile. The amount of times I read "I mean" and "Uhm" started to get to me. I understand this was added to make it known that she was insecure, and me not liking that detail is just a personal preference.

If you're looking for a wholesome, well written, young adult, slow burn romance, centering around robotics, engineering and women in stem, I recommend it.

"Hormones are honestly the worst thing anyone’s ever invented."

✍🏼 𝘼𝙪𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙧: Alexene Farol Follmuth
🗓️ 𝙋𝙪𝙗 𝘿𝙖𝙮: May 31, 2022
📚 𝙂𝙚𝙣𝙧𝙚: Young Adult Romance

3.75⭐ Thank you Holiday House for this e-ARC!

This review will be posted to my blogs and Amazon in publication day!

This was a fun read that I went through fairly quickly! I still love YA, even as an almost 30 year old. The characters felt really fleshed out and we definitely need more books about women in STEM, especially YA books. I also really loved the cover of this book. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone in a reading slump. This pulled me out very quickly!

"Desculpe ter demorado tanto."

Bel é uma garota que corre toda vez que o assunto sobre o futuro chega à porta. No último ano do ensino médio em uma escola nova, ela só quer se esconder e não ter que pensar em tudo o que está acontecendo em sua vida, contudo, após uma trabalho surpreendente feito de última hora, ela é basicamente obrigada a entrar na equipe de robótica do colégio.

Lá Bel percebe que não será apenas abraçada por todos, ela precisa mostrar seu valor num grupo dominado pela sua maioria meninos e onde as mulheres não são valorizadas. Também não ajuda quando a outra menina do grupo parece que a odeia. Mas, no meio disso tudo, ela encontra Teo, o líder e o menino perfeito. E o seu oposto.

Teo tem tudo na vida planejado e se envolve em várias atividades com maestria. Líder da robótica, jogador de futebol, aluno nota 10, aquele que todos podem contar o tempo todo. Mas até onde isso é bom para um garoto que 18 anos que deveria ser apenas... um garoto?

Teo vê um potencial em Bel e ajuda a direcioná-la dentro das suas potencialidades que ela mesma nunca havia pensado, em contrapartida, ela traz a leveza que a vida de Teo precisava. E no meio dessa aproximação de amizade, companheirismo e amor, eles buscam construir um robô vencedor para o campeonato nacional.

Uma das coisas que eu mais gostei nesse livro é que, além do romance fofo e maravilhoso, temos diálogos e dificuldades condizentes com a faixa etária e contexto do livro. É real e necessário. Eu amo livros levinhos de young adult que me fazem suspirar, mas também adoro quando, além disso, eles nos trazem dilemas da vida e um pano de fundo sólido para os personagens.

A autora é maravilhosa em mostrar o machismo no contexto das áreas de engenharia e robótica e como a mulher precisa lutar 10x mais para alcançar o seu espaço. Da mesma forma, ela te mostra como um cara nunca vai entender na mesma proporção o que nós passamos, ainda que ele esteja do seu lado nessa briga.

Além disso, o livro também aborda os dilemas sobre escolher o futuro e a pressão feita sobre os adolescentes. Se de um lado eu conseguia compreender a Bel com suas indecisões, do outro eu queria acolher o Teo e toda a expectativa que as pessoas ao redor colocavam nele.

O final me deixou apreensiva e deu um toque a mais na história, trazendo um lado realístico e bem pé no chão, ao mesmo tempo que me deu o quentinho no coração que eu precisava.

É o primeiro livro da autora que eu leio e sem dúvida eu espero que ela escreva mais nesse estilo porque ela acertou em cheio por aqui. Aquele primeiro beijo com certeza ficou na minha memoria afetiva e eu levarei Bel e Teo pra sempre comigo.

as someone who did not have a good relationship with high school and thought they outgrew YA romances, this blew me out of all my biases and was such a cute, intelligent, and surprising read!

My Mechanical Romance is a young adult contemporary romance with a dual pov following bel, an eccentric and intelligent girl who joins her new school's robotics club much to her own aversion, and teo, captain of the robotics club. while also being a fluffy rivals to lovers romance, this book delves deeper into commentary on sexism and racism within the STEM world, familial issues, and intersectional feminism. this is also the first time i've read a book with a filipino mc (bel), which i appreciated and adored! each character felt very fleshed out and unique, even the side characters. bel and teo felt reminiscent of blue and gansey from the raven cycle and i was absolutely here for all of that.

i will say that the beginning of this book read very cheesy and cliche, in which i thought i wasn't gonna be able to continue, but after it set up the initial premise everything fell into place and the writing style grew on me. if you struggle with the beginning, please push forward because this is a cute read that's definitely worth your time!

(i absolutely need more from this author so now i'm finally gonna pick up the atlas six)

thank you so much to netgalley, holiday house, and alexene farol follmuth for this eARC!

Okay, this book is genuinely so cute and relatable!! Like, I could write an essay on how I can find myself in almost all the characters.
This is a fun, cute, quick romance to read whenever you don’t know what to read next.
First of all, the tropes: (kind of) enemies to friends to lovers and slow burn is awesome!
Both main characters are genuine and loving. Bel’s fashion style is so perfect, and it makes her stand out but not in an “I’m not like other girls” way. I want to give Teo a hug because he makes everyone feel better before himself and he puts so much pressure on himself.
I also loved this book because of the scientific background. It was so interesting to learn about robotics and made me wish my high school had stuff like that.
During the entire book I could relate to so many characters: Bel for being a girl in a man’s world, not knowing what you want to do after school. Dash because you’ve been doing something your entire life, but you realize you don’t want to make it your job. And so many more…
Anyway, you should read this book, I totally recommend it :)

I might be addicted to books about women in STEM, so please write more!

Typically, I don't read YA contemporary/romance, but this book called to me and thank god it did because it is so cute! I adored the romance, and the characters' development was great. Both had a good build-up and neither felt forced or rushed. There are some predictable plot elements, but I guess that's to be expected in a YA romance.

Overall, a great read. Highly recommended.

Words cannot describe how much I loved this book, AHHHHH. Like I don’t even know where to start or with what to start. This was just sooooo Fkn adorable and kept me so hooked the whole time, I did not want to put it down. I loved the characters, the growth, the relationship development, the tropes, the setting, and the plot.

This book just made me fall in love with the opposites attract and new girl x popular book tropes even more. Their relationship is so pure, their dynamic, support towards each other and development was so wholesome. It called me single in every language possible. And their first kiss was at a holi festival??? LIKE GOALS! It was the whole she falls first but he falls harder thing and I LOVED all of it. The epilogue has my whole heart too it was so well done.

I loved seeing Bel & Neelam’s relationship growth, and the topics of classism/elitism regarding college and sexism in STEM.

I would 100% recommend this book, so pleaseeee pick it up!!!!

Let me start saying this was such a cute book in everyway that counts. I ask for it because the cover and title were so cute and I was curious when I saw a review if it.

So about the story I can't only it was one of the cutest book I've ever read this year. It was so fun, real and nerdy. I love every single page of it because it really shows you the way teenagers act about they future. Take as example the way Teo was already accepted to his chosed school and then you have Bel who is so confused and doesn't even know what she wants be let alone chosed a school.
Another real thing about this book that maked me conect with it was the way woman are perceived in sccience. It's so Hard to be a woman in a World thats its mostly controled by guys, in the science field most of the time women are the behind the scene or the harder work trying to gain their Place as part of the project and barely got recognition for it. I really like the way the author showed you the strugles of Teo to mantain this perfect person and behind the scene he was struggling to much.

Seriously robatic and physics lenguage it's my New love language. I'm going to finish this saying that "Nerds are hot" except Teo (joking he's hotter than sin) 🤭🤭.

Thanks NetGalley for this cute and amazing ARC, I can't wait for people to read this boook.

“If I want the world to recognize what I am truly capable of, I have to show them.”

Thank you NetGalley for the e-arc !!!

A heartwarming novel with lots of robotics and inspiring moments.

With the characters struggling to find the “right” path as they were seniors and about to go to college in not so long; as I am going through the same thing, I thought the whole experience throughout the book was really relatable, which I liked.

WOMEN IN STEM WE WOOON.

The “enemies to lovers” trope is really popular right now, and as someone who LOVES this trope, I didn’t really like how it was portrayed in the story, yes there was angst and yes there were cute moments, but there wasn’t really a lot of yk, the enemies part.

With dual POV we got to see the story through Bel and Teo, the main characters, whose love story description is what lured me into reading this book. Being almost polar opposites, Bel and Teo are perfect for each other. And the conversations the characters felt so real and not forced, with genuinely funny moments and REAL conversations.

Character development was *chefs kiss*, secondary characters I turned out to like better than Teo though. 🤭

And that’s it, this pretty much sums up my whole experience with the book.

What I loved:
* Academic rivals to lovers - watching Bel stand up to Teo, especially at the start of the book was so satisfying. I loved seeing how she was able to use her own experience to help the team and how much it infuriated Teo.

* Representation for women in STEM - I loved how the author addressed the very real problems faced by women in male dominated areas, like areas related to STEM. It is an unfortunate truth that too many girls are not encouraged to pursue interests or careers that are mainly male dominated and the author did not shy away from this at all.

* Bel was a super likeable character! I liked her right away, right down to her bird jeans. She felt really realistic and relatable, I mean, who else felt like they didn't have their entire life figured out at 17?

What I didn't love:
* I feel like the ending left a few loose ends. I don't want to get into details, but I feel like there were some things that need cleared up, one example being with Teo's father.

* I feel that the ending was a bit rushed and I would have liked to see more about how Teo and Bel dealt with things more. There were a few issues in their relationship that hadn't been sorted out and I would have liked to have seen some sort of conclusion before the book ended.

* I wish the rivals part had developed more, but that's purely personal preference.

Overall, this was a really great read and I highly recommend it. It was a quick, light read!

Thank you so much to the publisher Holiday House for sending an arc of this my way in exchange for an honest review.

This just wasn't up my alley. Although i am a diehard fan of the authors other works. i just couldn't fall in love with My Mechanical Romance. I just couldn't care enough about the story or the characters considering I'm not into robotics and stem. it seemed interesting at first and then kind of just dragged for me.