I really enjoyed this book. The title really hooked me in, I loved the play on words.
I also loved the enemies to lovers throughout the story - the banter was fantastic and I loved seeing how the relationship between Bel and Matteo.
The use of STEM throughout the story was really well done and I found it refreshing from usual contemporary romance. Especially considering both the male and female characters were in STEM.
The whole story was wholesome and had me smiling along as I read.

Cute and I loved that it was about robotics and STEM, but the romance didn’t hit me that hard.

I found myself wandering sometimes when reading, unable to connect with the characters even though I loved reading about their trials with robotics. Teo being opposite to Bel was interesting, but to me the way the characters are written makes me feel like the author is forcing an enemies/rivals to lovers trope whereas I didn’t see why they needed to actually be rivals. This is a trend I feel I see more a problem with the romance market in general in trying to make everything enemies to lovers but not knowing how to complete the relationship— it made me feel like Teo and Bel’s romance felt rushed into. It needed more buildup. They weren’t really tense with each other at all. They were cuter, and I think they would’ve been better off as friends to lovers who have to navigate their team and discover their passions.

But, again, rather than the obvious gendered bias that comes with STEM, I felt the Bel particularly would twist words or woefully misunderstand her teammates. Many characters do tell her the importance of working as a team, but I felt too often she ignored trying to develop this skill until the end. It was nice when she got along with her teammates, but her actions were sometimes clearly just made to create conflict. The characters are very interesting and complex though, which I liked. I found myself more invested actually in learning about Neelam!

I liked that there was Filipina rep, as a Filipina myself, but I still wasn’t able to feel that invested in the characters beyond when they were figuring out projects or talking about college. The plot about Bel not being sure about the direction of her life is actually touching though, because I feel like we don’t talk about enough how there is a lot of pressure for kids to decide their future, especially ‘talented kids.’

Cute, but I didn’t find myself invested.

Thank you Holiday House & Netgalley for the ARC

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange of an honest review.

I really don’t know why it took me so long for finish it because i loved it! I loved this book so much because it was so unique! I never read about robot so this was amazing. I really liked the characters especially Bel, she was amazing, i really connect with her on a deeper level and Neelam too she was an amazing character. I loved to see how difficult it is for girls in steam and all of the struggle they face. I loved every commentary, this book really made me think a lot about future and i really needed something that could give me hope.
The only thing that I didn’t like was the kind of miscommunication trope at the 80% mark, i was really mad.

I really recommend this book to everyone is a really amazing ya that can really make you think and stimolante you.

"I look up at him and try to remember a time when I didn’t secretly think he was the best person I’ve ever known. I can’t."

"I get why it matters to me that she’s hurting. Because I think about her all the time. Because she surprises me, because she makes me laugh, and because this, whatever it is with her, is the only thing I ever do that’s easy. Because wherever I am, I want her close by."

this book! i can't believe it! obviously the premise was enticing so i knew i would like it, but i wasn't expecting to love it this much! i ended up staying up way past my bedtime to finish this book, but i have no regrets. i read the last 60% all in one go because it was just that good!

my mechanical romance follows bel, a 17-year-old who has just transferred to a new school, where she accidentally demonstrates her wits and is basically forced to join the school's robotics team. there, she meets teo, the kid of a rich CEO who has had his whole life planned since he was a child.
it tackles many things that are so important and relatable to me, like being a high-school senior and having to make all of these big decisions, dealing with the divorce of your parents and the consequences of it, but especially, the fact that i plan on studying engineering in college. this book allowed me to learn so many valuable lessons through Bel. i could see parts of myself in both her and Teo. they are both highly realistic and complex characters that are, in my opinion, so well-developed. knowing their backstory, it's easy to understand why they are the way they are, alongside the motives and the reasoning behind the decisions they make.

moreover, the academia aspect of it all was so good and i was never bored throughout the whole book. it's just such a strong YA book, which ended up surprising me in more ways than one. the dual-pov was something i wasn't really expecting, but i'm glad it was written this way, since i love to know what's going on in both the MC and the LI minds.

anyway, to conclude, can we appreciate this right here: "[…] 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."
Teo Luna raising the bar astonishingly high right now!

thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Holiday House, por providing an eARC in exchange of an honest review.

My Mechanical Romance is a cute, High School based romcom. The story alternates perspective between Bel, a new student to the school who has transferred in her senior year and Teo, the overly confident, popular boy.

Bel isn’t sure of the direction she wants to go in her life. She is smart but lacks the skills and ability to articulate her ideas into words. She suddenly finds herself in AP Physics and encouraged to try out for the robotics team, after one of her teachers sees her potential. Teo is the type of person who thinks the world would stop spinning without him keeping it going. This attitude stems more from the wanting to please his dad (a tech mogel) and live up to the expectations for him. Teo is happy when he is working on his bots. Together Bel and Teo bring out the best in each other and develop a cute relationship along the way.

I loved the enthusiasm the characters had for robotics. The excitement leapt off the page while they were building the bots and even more so when competing. There were a lot of characters to keep track of, the majority being background characters and occasionally I would forget about who they were. Overall though it was a nice blending of personalities.

Something that was addressed was the issue of diversity within robotics and engineering. As a generally male dominated area, Bel and Neelam (the girls on the team) had to fight at times to have their opinions heard. This did create some animosity between the girls because Bel had things handed to her easier, due to Teo’s interest in her.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable romcom. It was a quick read and a lot of fun.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

4/5 stars.

My Mechanical Romance is Alexene Faroll Folmouth's debut YA novel, and I really enjoyed it. You might know the author as Olivie Blake, most well-known for having written The Atlas Six. I'm happy to say that as a fan of The Atlas Six who therefore came to My Mechanical Romance with high expectations, I was not disappointed. That said, If you didn't enjoy The Atlas Six, My Mechanical Romance is generally extremely different so I would still encourage you to check it out!

The book was a great balance of plot, character studies and dynamics, all of which I loved. The concept was unique, but also featured familiar tropes, making for an easy but extremely fun read. I really loved Teo and Bel's relationship and how it developed – I felt it was very well-written and I was generally extremely invested. I also loved the side characters and various friendships in the novel; they felt very genuine and were lots of fun to read about. Along with this, I found Bel's relationship with academia to be a really interesting one, since it wasn't something you see often in YA books but I felt that it was important in My Mechanical Romance. Overall, this was a super-cute, very enjoyable and generally lighthearted read, with great characters and dynamics, and strong representation of women in STEM!

*I was given an eARC of this book by Netgalley & the publishers in exchange for an honest review.*

4/5 stars!

First of all, thanks a lot NetGalley and Holiday House for giving me the ARC of this super cute and refreshing book!! I'm so excited when I read the blurb and it turns out that this book is soo cute and waayyy better than I imagined it would be!

Sooo.. this is about the new student in competitive private school, a half-filo girl who is still trying to figure what she wants to do in the future, meet a half-mexican boy the brightest (and probably the busiest) student– the star of the school with well-planned and secured future ahead. A coincidence brought Bel to join the robotics club led by Teo and their stories start to intertwined. With different nature of their characters and motives starting their dynamic from strangers to academic rivals and club mates to lovers?!

Bel and Teo have different backgrounds and characters and ended up have to working together in a robotic clubs for upcoming competition. This book is written in dual POV, so you get to see what and how they thinking about each other and definitely getting to know their personality and thoughts better!!

I really love their banter and chemistry especially during when they working on the robots together (being the biggest and cutest nerd they are!) Not to mention how they solves their confront their misunderstanding! The way they see through each other's personality mask they wear, getting to know each other better and recognizes that they both are facing similar family issues and found themselves relying on each other melts my heart!

The main characters' growth development is the type that make you can't help but to rooting for. The side characters are interesting and adorable (in a way makes you want to have friends and teachers like them!). The interactions and dynamic of the friends circles and between the club members are so natural and gave me warmth. I like how tense I am when the whole team got nervous too during the competition! Not to mention how diverse the characters are and the way the author inserted different cultural references from foods to a festival in a natural way in daily life has to be appreciated!

Shout out to the author for bringing the topic of females struggle to be seen as equal in academic and working space into the table! Really need to have more female characters in STEM settings or academic settings in general! The robotics and physics terms and references are so cool to follow, even though I have little (close to zero) understanding about robots I still can imagine what happens to the robots they made and what it did during the competition which is a really cool stuffs!

As for the family dynamic, I like the way the author explore different type of families and issues the characters are facing. But the resolution of these conflicts are so fast-paced and I think it would be much made sense to explore into it more!

Apart from that, this book is about youth realizing and reaching for their dreams and to see how worthy yourself is despite what the society dictates you with their standards and the pressures. Overall, A very cute and enjoyable read for me!!

Recommended for the fans of The Love Hypothesis and for those who wants a light and feel good reading!

I love how the author managed to write such differently complex characters that complemented each other regardless, I think my only issue was with the pacing. I was hoping for things to play out more, especially towards the end, It was all a little too rushed for me, but nevertheless really good! The quotes were all so incredibly cute too. In all, I definitely would recommend this book!

4.5 stars!

*thank you to NetGalley, Holiday House, & the author for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review :)

Quick Description:

Bel is new to this school and she is quickly forced into joining the robotics team when they see her potential. She struggles with being taken seriously as a girl on the team, but Teo eventually sees her as a great asset. Teo balances a lot in his popular high school life: being a star of the soccer team, and captain of the robotics club. Told through alternating POVs, these two connect through their joint love of robotics in this fun academic rivals to lovers romance.

My Thoughts:

This book surprised me with how much I enjoyed it. It is cute, nerdy, and has some great messages overall. The characters are all realistic, diverse, and their interactions with each-other are written so well. Also who doesn’t love a good rivals/enemies to lovers romance?!

If you have watched the show Never Have I Ever on Netflix, let me tell you this book reminded me SO much of that! Teo is basically Paxton & Ben combined. The romance between Bel & Teo felt so similar to that show, with the academic rivals trope.

The exploration of challenges faced by women and POC in STEM was so well done. The strong female characters are what I really enjoyed about this book. It was easy to connect with the academic setting and easy to root for them. I’ve seen many people describe this as being the YA version of The Love Hypothesis, which I haven’t read yet, but I can definitely understand the connection.

Overall, I recommend this book to anyone who wants to try out a new YA romance that will leave you feeling so wholesome in the end. The multitude of themes explored such as: the stress of life after high school, complicated family dynamics, and the difficulty of first love were so beautiful. Plus, there is a few Taylor Swift mentions along the way! 🤍

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I reached about 30% of the book and unfortunately I had to stop for two reasons.
The first is that the story did not involve me and at times I found it trivial.
The second, which for me represents the main problem, is that I found the writing difficult to read as there are so many abbreviations and words of the youth language that are difficult for me to translate and since the book does not drive me crazy I decided that not it's worth the effort ...
I really wanted to like the book and I'm sad I didn't. Surely others will appreciate it more than I did

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Sono arrivata all’incirca al 30% del libro è purtroppo mi sono dovuta fermare.
La storia non mi ha coinvolta e a tratti l’ho trovata troppo banale.
Ma il problema principale è che ho trovato la scrittura difficile da leggere in quanto ci sono tante abbreviazioni e parole del linguaggio giovanile che per me sono difficili da tradurre e visto che il libro non mi fa impazzire ho deciso che non ne valeva lo sforzo…
Volevo davvero che il libro mi piacesse viste tutte le recensioni positive. Sono sicura che altri potranno apprezzarlo di più di quando non ho fatto io!

4⭐️
This book was so so cute!! I honestly think every girl in high school should read this. This book will be extremely relatable for any girl who has ever had experiences in STEM, especially someone with predominantly male teachers. Even as someone in university, I still deal with some of the things Bel faced. Simply being one of the only girls in a group of boys can be incredibly frustrating. I totally understood her anxiety when making suggestions, as I’ve felt the same so many times.
Though it was kind of a minor topic, I also loved the discussions of Bel’s struggles with divorced parents. As someone whose parents also separated when I was in high school, I really reacted to the issue of coming to terms with one of your parents doing something awful to your other parent while thinking about all the good memories you’ve had of that parent from your childhood.
Most of all the romance was so so cute and I am so grateful to have gotten an arc of this book!

This was such a quick read!! As a woman in STEM myself, I really appreciated the representation in this book! I also loved the POC representation as well!! Bel was such a fun character and I enjoyed seeing her relationship unfold with Teo. The rivals to lovers arc is truly one of my favorites!

Even though it’s YA, I appreciated that this book did not shy away from discussing the heavier themes. The author did a great job with the dual POV and developing both characters as well!

I did have a few minor issues with the book. I’m not the biggest fan of first person, so that took a bit getting used to. I also felt like maybe the pacing of the book could have been different. The start was quite slow and then the ending felt a bit rushed to me.

Overall, this was a really great read!! The perfect romance to binge read.

I honestly have no words for how much I adored this book. I thought going into this that it was a woc stem rep romance book but it was honestly so much more. This book was easily funny and the characters were so well written. There were so many times when I wished I could go through the pages and give them all hugs. The romance was great as I expected and I want what Teo and Bel have 100%. On top of these things I loved how Alexene covered the experience of women in stem in a very male dominated space. The way that it was covered and the growth of the characters made me feel so seen. Honestly
didn't know if I was going to understand what was happening with the robots or even get invested but I really did and loved every second of it. I would recommend this book to people who love a great romcom, fabulous characters, and a romance that makes you swoon!

ARC provided by NetGalley for a honest review

Academic rivals to lovers you will always be famous!! Just from the summary I knew I was gonna fall in love with this book and it did not disappoint. As someone who goes to a super competitive highschool and is currently stressing over college, this book was perfect for me. I could relate to some of the character's personal struggles, specifically Bel and Teo. They were compelling MCs and I absolutely love them. Their relationship was also really cute, especially their banter.

Despite being a YA romance, My Mechanical Romance discusses topics concerning elitism, racism, classism, etc. My favorite one was regarding the problems women in STEM go through and I personally would love to read more contemporary books that is centered around it.

For the cons, I had an issue with the writing style, it's not horrible or anything but you're either going to love it or hate it. I also wasn't a fan of the dual POV thing (although I'm not a fan of first person POV in the first place, so that just might be on me). I was really interested in Neelam's character but other than her convo with Bel at the end we didnt't really get to know much about her life (fingers crossed on a spinoff), but overall I enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend!!

First of all i want to say thank you to Netgalley and holiday house for giving me the arc or this book. I enjoyed reading this so much, it was fun, cute and wholesome. This book is perfect for teens who wants a romance book mixed with family and friendship. I so love stem and the robotics club! <33 The characters development are chef's kiss, and not to mention that i am overwhelmed with the Filipino representation.

the wordle today was trope (not to brag but i got it in two) why i got it in 2 u may ask? bc i was reading this book right before i played and this book is filled with amazing tropes 😫 academic rivals to lovers >>> i’m a huge fan of this author and my mechanical romance did not disappoint. the name is amazing the characters are amazing the banter is amazing the plot is amazing, i’m pretty sure u get my point ;) bel and teo are SJCJSKSOCOANDJISIXIAJS !! i am obsessed. the robotics in this is SO COOL!! and everybody’s character development is so realistic i love ❤️ the ending is so sweet and i literally cannot this book was so good ! anyways 4.5 stars everybody read it por favor

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher of My Mechanical Romance for this ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts and feelings.

I went into this book nearly blind, with just a very vague concept of what the storyline would hold and the knowledge that it was a STEM revolved plot and an enemies to lovers, dual point of view novel.

Part of my reasoning behind going in blind was because I’m, historically, not the biggest fan of both dual POVs or enemies to lovers as a trope. I don’t hate it, but it’s not one of my favourites.

Well, I guess me and that trope are also enemies to lovers, because ‘My Mechanical Romance’ exceeded my expectations tenfold.

My main issue with any kind of dual point of view in books is that, sometimes, the main characters don’t feel as fleshed out due to the only having a set space of time each.

I also often feel that it makes the plotline jump around a lot, or feel a little bit all over the place at times.

However, I didn’t find that with this novel at all.

Both of the main characters were well fleshed out, with insight into not only who they are and what makes them tick, but the lives they lead outside of their usual habitat and when they’re apart.

Out of the two characters, Bel was definitely my favourite. Her drive, her passion and zest for life, her ability to just…not care what others thought, never afraid to stand out and set herself apart from the masses drew me in, but it was her gentle heart and unique way of seeing the world, mixed with her quiet heartache that she experienced at home that made me love her the most.

That being said, Teo was a really interesting, dare I say encapsulating, character to read too. His story felt less intriguing and integral to the plot though, which I think was likely intentional.

I also loved a whole heap of the side characters and the friendships, too.

But the relationship between Bel and Teo was something truly beautiful.

The contrast to how they act as individuals with how they act together at the beginning of their story versus the togetherness and the united, team front that they show towards the end of the book really shows not only their individual character growth, but their ever growing love, respect and understanding of one another too.

All in all, this was a great read. I loved the characters, - lead and otherwise - but especially the main two. Their bickering, heartwarming (and at times frustrating) relationship was definitely the heart of the book.

‘My Mechanical Romance’ was a wonderfully written joyride that took me by surprise. I didn’t expect to love it as much as I did, and that is a true testament to the writing ability and the warm glow of joy that the story itself emanates.

4 stars! 🌟

An entirely too fun, cute, quirky romance between two poc hs seniors. I very much enjoyed both characters and their individual development. It felt like looking through a time machine to my senior year with Bel's storyline :,)

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC copy in exchange for a review

First of all, this book was super cute. And the tropes in this book was amazing, I mean you get; academic rivals to friends to lovers AND WHO DOSEN'T LIKE THAT??!!

Bel and Luna were so freaking cute together and you see who they develop as a person. I thought this book was where good because it took up some topics i never really have read about before like; divorced parents, girls in STEM and dealing with confusing over the future.

So basically, the story is about, yes you guessed right; Luna and Bel. Bel is this weird girl but in a good way, she is super talented in almost everything she does. She is good in school but is unsure of her future but somehow, she ends up in the robot club. And there you meet Luna the captain of the club who is indeed intrigued by Bel and her creativity. Luna have had his whole life planed out before him and knows exactly what people wants from him but sometimes it gets too much even for Luna. And he finds himself healing somehow when he is with Bel.

I really recommend this book and for you to know about all the cute scenes in this book you will simply have to read it. It's totally worth it and perfect if you're in a reading slump because the book is pretty short.

Bel starting a new school in her senior year of high school. She has no plans for the future, nor wants to make any. And so her teacher encourages her to join the robotics team as she sees her “potential”.

Enter Teo who is the bane of Bel existence.

You heard that right! This is an enemies to lovers!

The first part of this book was hard for me to get into because I don’t know anything about Robots or the terminology surrounding robotics but the author does a pretty good job of explaining things. Overall, you don’t need the terminology to still understand the book which I appreciated.

I do think that for a YA book there was a lot of big words. Words that wouldn’t really come up in daily life that characters were saying in their heads. This jarred me a little at first.

I absolutely loved the message that this book talks about with women in STEM. The diversity of the characters were great as well.

Such a cute fun read that had me smiling throughout!