I enjoyed this book... well for the most part. Women in stem, and a robotics club? sounds fun. I did like a couple of the characters too. Jamie, bel, and Lora were nice, But I really disliked Teo. I just didn't vibe with him tbh.
The plot was nice enough, but I just Didn't connect with the romance. Don't get me wrong, they were cute but I didn't love LOVE them.
This book was also described as academic rivals to lovers, which It really isn't? like they clashed a few times, but they never felt like rivals.
I also felt like the last 20% of the book was seriously rushed. The last chapters and epilogue just left me feeling so unsatisfied. I would've preferred if there was say 20-30 more pages in it.

6.5/ 10 would recommend

This book was so cute!! I loved it so so much and reccomend it to anybody wanting a fast paced romance.
- Enemies to lovers in stem?? yes
- Representation of women of color in stem? yes (Filipino)
- Character growth? phenomenal
- Plot? also phenomenal

4.25/5 STARS
This was such a cute book! Such a wholesome read. I enjoyed it very much even though I didn’t understand most of their “building robots” part because I’m an English major but still I was screaming and all hyped for the competitions.
It was such an easy, fun read with a very interesting plot. I loved the characters and their dynamics and how almost every character gets a development. It made me love them more. High school, especially in senior year, is all about truly discovering yourself and what you want to do for your future. It can be an enormous struggle. God knows how much I struggled, but in the end, you will make a decision that will feel it’s the best one. Bel is very relatable. I feel like I saw some of me in her. She is not afraid to stand up for herself. Bel’s character and her journey were well written. I honestly at first was annoyed with Teo but this boy makes sympathizing with him very easy. He is flawed but the more you learn about him it's going to be easy to love. As a couple, Bel and Teo were adorable!! I wished we got to see them go on their first date, but still, I devoured every single moment they had together. The rivals to friends to lovers relationship were amazing. You see the progress of their relationship and I was giggling at their every interaction. The side characters were well written and loveable. However, as much as I understood Neelam why she acts the way she does, I still think that her reactions were overdone. Dash is the sweet boy. I want to protect him. He is THAT funny and cool best friend.
I gained some knowledge about robotics and the best thing in the book is I the epilogue!! It was so cute. Overall, would highly recommend if you like academic rivals to lovers, women in stem dual POVs and fluffy romance
Thank you Netgalley for providing me with this arc in exchange for an honest review.

It has been a while since I read a YA book and I enjoyed reading this one! It was a cute, fun, and fluffy romance. I loved the enemies to lovers (or academic rivals to lovers) trope. In this book, we follow Bel, a transfer student in her senior year navigating her way in life with college applications, friendships, and family relationships. Bel's teacher sees her potential in engineering and encourages her to join the robotics club. She meets Teo, the captain of the club and to no surprise, they don't get along. Despite their rocky start, they eventually start to get along as they work together in the robotics club and their friendship begins to blossom into something more. I really like the dynamic between the two, especially the banter. Apart from the romance, I loved how authentic it was, touching on topics such as the struggles of women in STEM and the journey to discover your gift and further your passion.
Thank you to Netgalley, Holiday House, and Alexene Farol Follmuth for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was such a cute, wholesome high school romance!!

First of all, the diversity of the characters! Yes, yes and YES! The female lead is half Filipino, the male lead is half Mexican, there is mention of Korean food and Holi (an Indian festival). *Back in the days*, we did not have such a wide range of representation in teen/YA books, how incredible it is to finally see diversity in books now!

The premise of this book is about a young girl in STEM and how she is patronised by male students and her male teacher. Even if there were no intended ill-will, just an unconscious act of asking a girl if she “needs help” when you would not ask a guy the same shows how deeply-rooted the stereotype that “girls are not as good as guys” is.

It is just personal preference that I gave it 3⭐️s instead of higher. I did get lost with the tech and robotics talk, but that is just because I am clueless when it comes to this stuff. I appreciate how the author incorporates these tech elements in, as it made the characters and plot so much more real! Also, this is obviously targeted at a younger audience. However, reading this innocent high school romance made my old heart so happy. 🥲

All in all, a great read that I would recommend to a younger teen/YA audience!

Thank you Netgalley, Holiday House and Alexene Farol Follmuth for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

5/5 GLOWING STARS

nerds are hot. UM, YES THEY ARE!!!

god, this book makes me feel SO neon-bright. this was literally the best YA rom-com i've ever read. i sobbed, i laughed, i cried. these characters mean the world to me and their journeys are so so special. the main character, bel, is a badass who wears jeans with sparrows on them and has a knack for engineering and design. when one of her teachers sees potential in her and encourages her to apply to be on her new high school's robotics team (which is set up extremely similarly throughout the novel to FIRST Robotics, a real program that i was in throughout high school), she meets local heartthrob teo luna. teo is fawned over by every girl within a six mile radius of him, but he struggles with a desire to fix everyone else's problems and frequently takes on too much responsibility. he's also very arrogant (especially about his robot designs)... except bel doesn't take any of his shit!!! nor does teo let bel get away with not learning actually robotics. and they start working together, and their relationship is just so endearing, and they are SO CUTE oh my god. this book is just everything. AND IT'S DUAL-POV, AND TEO BASICALLY FALLS IN LOVE FIRST AND I JUST. AHH

EVERYONE NEEDS TO READ THIS BOOK IMMEDIATELY

[4.5 stars]

Thank you, NetGalley, holiday house, and Alexene Farol Follmuth, also known as Olivie Blake, for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

In short, I REALLY LIKED THIS BOOK

academic rival to lovers? mc of color? women in stem? NEED I SAY MORE?!?!
this book 100% exceeded my expectations considering it was the first-ever YA romance book I've read.

Bel Maier
I related to her on so many different levels. She doesn't know what she wants to do going forward with her life or what she wants to study in college. Until her teacher suggests she joins the robotics team where she falls in love with engineering even though the whole team basically doesn't want her there.

Teo Luna
I also related to Teo multiple different times and for me relating to not one but BOTH characters were new. At the beginning of the book, Teo kind of reminds me of Connor Cobalt from the addicted/Calloway series. Very suck in his ways and only has one goal, SUCCESS. He's the team leader of the robotics team and during tryouts picks Bel to join the team despite the other member's objections as he sees potential in Bel.

Teo helps Bel out with learning various things about robotics and engineering. From there, their relationship grows and it was so ADORABLE and made my heart all happy, warm, and fluffy.

I loved the meaning behind the book that women and girls can be a part of robotics and stem also and it's not just for guys and boys. I loved seeing Bel's growth and this whole book was just overall fantastic and focused on not only romance or robotics but multiple different things.

This book did take me a bit to get into, but I am glad that I continued with it. It was a really cute book, and who doesn't love about reading about women in STEM?
While this book is shorter than the other books that I read, there is nothing that should have been changed. I think that there was just enough detail to make the story compelling and the characters good!

Okay I'll be honest, in the beginning of this book it took me a while to get into it. With that, I am SO GLAD I DID. It checks all the boxes: Dual POV, Enemies to lovers, AND Women in STEM. We love to see it!

I usually stray away from YA. However this book was much more than your "typical" YA romance. It had a lot more to it. The characters were compelling, especially the female lead! This book definitely exceed expectations and I would strongly recommend.

thank you to Holiday House and NetGalley for providing me an arc in exchange for an honest review!

my mechanical romance? more like my mechanical breakdown !! omg this book was one of my favorite reads of this year so far!

first off, i loved loved LOVED the characters. from the moment i was introduced to bel i was immediately drawn to her. to me, she was incredibly likeable and relatable - with her creative fashion sense and lack of enthusiasm regarding her future beyond high school, i felt myself connecting to her character in a way i don't always relate to characters. then, teo - a cheeky little arrogant nerd, who was also really sweet and i loved seeing his development going from that boy who prided himself on his work ethic and doing everything himself to opening himself to the perspectives of others and accepting their help. both of these characters worked great as being the main characters, and i'm so happy we got to see both of their perspectives in this book. but the greatness of the characters was not limited to just these two main characters; i also really enjoyed their friend group! i loved the diversity of the friend group and the different personalities of all of them (btw, dash and i are best friends !). their ensemble was lovely, and i desperately wish i could join their friend group (is there a friendship application anywhere ??)

now, for the romance: I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT!! the development of bel and teo's relationship, from being not-so-eager teammates to friends and partners to being significant others, didn't feel too rushed to me nor too slow. it felt very natural and realistic, and it was so so adorable omg. plus, i really appreciated the fact that they approached the conflict within their relationship in a mature manner; i feel that isn't always the case in ya romances, but i was pleasantly surprised that both bel and teo were emotionally mature here.

some of the other things i enjoyed about this book included the conversation of women in STEM. i think Follmuth did a great job at showcasing the struggles girls and women face in a heavily-male dominated field. another thing i liked was how the book explored bel and teo's relationships with their families and friends and teachers, and how all of those aspects affected them as individuals. i felt it added a great deal to bel and teo's characterization and personal development.

all in all, as an avid ya contemporary consumer, i found this book to be a wonderful contribution to my love of ya contemporaries. it was fluffy, moving, and engaging - i highly recommend everyone read it!

I was very hesitant at first to pick this when I found out this was written by the same woman who wrote The Atlas Six since I did not really enjoy that one. To my surprise, I loved this book!

- enemies to lovers
- women of color in STEM
- diverse and interesting characters

Overall, I enjoyed this. It was wholesome, adorable, and just a sweet young adult romance. It kind of dragged a little bit in the beginning but mostly I was entertained and found myself laughing at some parts.


(eARC provided by NetGalley and the publisher)

When Bel’s teacher convinces (read: forces) her to join the robotics team, Bel has no idea what to do. Even worse, everyone on the team ignores her! Well, all except Mateo, the captain, who thinks that Bel can really help the team - until she disagrees with his ideas.

First of all, a STEM romance? YES. As someone who took engineering for years and who has close friends on the robotics team, I loved all the engineering representation in this book. For someone who doesn’t know many mechanical terms, however, there were parts that were a bit confusing. I would’ve liked there to be more explanations for the technical terms.

I really enjoyed how Bel is just learning about robotics and finding her passion for it. I’ve read stories of how the female MC is super talented in the engineering field, but Bel is just starting to explore engineering, and she is still a flawed student who has much to learn. Bel’s character and her journey was really well written.

One thing I really loved is that by the end of the book, Bel still wasn’t an engineering genius. She had so much to learn still and she acknowledged this with how the final robotics competition turned out (no spoilers, but that Mateo scene with his family was very cute).

Thank you to NetGalley for the copy, review cross-posted on goodreads.

I absolutely loved this coming of age story!

Enemies to Lovers young adult edition? Yes, please! Teenagers in STEM? Yes, please! Females in STEM? Double yes, please!! I enjoyed how the author brought us on Bel's journey of discovering her passion for something that has always been in her. There are so may relatable parts in the book that I feel that if you are a young person interested in the STEM world, especially for females, then you should give this a read. Too often are females not taken seriously in the STEM field that this story not only sheds a bright light on it, but does so in a way were you have to take not only take notice, but it also makes you want to take action. Such an important read for young females in STEM to not only shine bright, stand tall, and have their heads held high, but to encourage other females to do the same. In a world where our male counterparts do not take us seriously because we like pretty things, our biggest supporters most of the time are the females we surround ourselves with. And for all of you males out there, if you can be in STEM, how hard can it be? ; ) Seriously though, if you want a glimpse of what it's like to be a female in the male dominated STEM world, give this a read. I believe you may find this to be very eye-opening for you.


If there is anything I'd be critical about, it would be that I wish there was a bit more of Filipino references. It felt almost as an afterthought when it could've been something special to share with the world the beautiful Filipino culture.


The author's note at the end is perfection! The bow on top to a present that many will enjoy.

Thank you so much NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC’s eBook copy.

In My Mechanical Romance Teo Luna has everything figured out, captain of the soccer team and robotics team, he knows exactly what he is doing every minute of every day to prepare himself for the future as a student at MIT. Bel Meier’s life feels like it is crumbling around her, transferring to a new school in the midst of her parent’s messy divorce, her future is the LAST thing on her mind and she struggles to find the energy to try at school. When she throws together a brillant solution to an assignment last minute, her teacher Ms. Voss encourages her to transfer to AP Physics and to join the robotics team. Bel grudging does as she says, finding it easier to go with the flow than fight against it. Bel is everything that Teo is not, but she may be exactly what he needs. Teo realizes while Bel has the practical components down to be a great engineer she doesn’t understand how to program and he volunteers to help her to help their team. As they work together the two become closer and begin to change each other for the better.
I loved My Mechanical Romance. Author Alexene Farol Follmuth truly captures the excitement an anguish of being a teen. I was initially interested in this book as I found out that Alexene Farol Follmuth is also the author of The Atlas Six (writing under Olivie Blake) so I went into this book expecting a younger Nico and Libby. But My Mechanical Romance is not an aged down version of TAS it is its own unique book that gave me the same feeling as watching Never Have I Ever.

It was very cute and heartwarming book <3

Bel, the main character, is a typical teenager who is not quite sure what she would like to do in the future, she moves into some kind of prep school in her senior year, and struggles to navigate in this new world. She join the robotics team after her teacher notices her potential, and the story start to develop from there.

I had some problems with Bel's personality at first, like, she awnsers everthing with babbles, it anoyed me, and I stuggled with some expressions used in the firts chapters, maybe because I don't know much about robotics. That saied the second half of the book fells better to me, but I loved the story, the characters, and way that her relationship with Teo developed, no drama lhama, tks!

In general, it was a really good time and I feel like I could reread this book soon!

This book is for all my women in STEM lovers out there. I loved the asian rep and the strong/independent female characters we have in the book. I found the entire plot really unique and interesting because I am a bit of a science nerd myself. The rivals to friends to lovers relationship we see from the characters was so well executed as it we see really see the progress of their relationship from hate to not so hate to like to love and I couldn't help but swoon and giggle at their every interaction. This made me learn a lot about robotics and that epilogue was just too cute!! Overall, would highly recommend if you are in need of a cute, fluffy romance book.

I absolutely love this book. It was sweet and warm like a hug I didn't know I needed. Bel is so relatable and I adore the way she was described. Teo and Bel's relationship is adorable and I miss them so much now that I have finished the book. The overall vibe so to speak of this book is so spring and warm and lovely. I have never read a book that had a focus on a robotics club so it was very cool and fun to read about.

This novel was incredibly comforting to read and I’d like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC’s eBook copy.

The story features Bel and Teo, academic rivals to lovers in the cutest high-school romance I’ve ever had the pleasure to read!
This Young Adult romcom is set in the world of STEM. I loved the way the author, Alexene Farol Follmuth, balanced the romantic and the robotic parts of the story and I enjoyed both of the POVs. It’s always nice to see a boy’s POV in a relationship!

This was a great read!

Okay so that was a very cute read!

I love all the scientific bits mentioned (nerd alert sorry) and I love the robotics team! They are a great found family for our girl Bel. To be honest, Bel irked me out a bit during first 30% of the book because girl is indecisive and when she was given a single opportunity, she barged in rather shyly... but then and acted like she know all--which she is certainly don't since she is new in the area (I agree with Neelam in that argument). In her defense, Teo and Ms Voss kinda encouraged her a bit too much and she was just finding this one thing she is passionate in so there is that. But I also love how she slowly come to term with what she wanted to do for herself, which is great!

Overall, that was a quick, sweet, mechanical YA read. I enjoyed it a lot!

This YA romance book was really fun and cute to read. I love that the main character is half Filipino which makes her very relatable and I totally enjoyed all those Pinoy references all throughout. Even though I’m not really into robotics, I enjoyed this book a lot.

Bel, our main character was struggling to decide her future while being under pressure to do good in school. It reminded me of my own experience and I could relate a lot since my parents also had very high expectations of me. Aside from that, her parents got divorced and she felt like she had to choose because she’s turning 18. She randomly joined the robotics team as encouraged by her teacher and found out she's actually really good at it. She had a shaky start with her team and struggled to fit in when she joined them. Even though she got both talent and skills, she knew so little about robotics. Some members of the team didn’t actually trust her with stuff at first, undermining her because it’s unusual for a girl to excel in robotics.

Teo Luna is the engineering department’s heartthrob. He's smart, athletic, and a social butterfly who appears to have it all together But in reality, he’s a sweetheart and I love him so much. He's also someone who is trying to prove himself over and over and fulfill everyone’s expectations of him placing a lot of pressure on himself.

The romance in this book was like a slow burn and hate to love but it was just that felt intimidated by each other at first because they’re both geniuses and are very competitive. They were both just too adorable. I enjoy it when they argue a lot when their opinions clashed and that they always talk things out and never lacked communication. The robotics competition was really cool as well, I absolutely enjoyed it. It felt like I was also competing with them. The ending was really cute as well but it left me wanting for more. I wouldn't mind if this gets a sequel too! Overall, it was a feel-good book which I highly recommend to those looking for an easy and fast read.