Beating that 'outgrowing YA' allegation as I presented you my first five stars read of the year!

I have to say the pun to have the title close to reminding you of your emo phrase is just something you wouldn't want to pass. I'm honestly not sure what I was expecting, but I've seen nothing but praises for this new try-out from Olivie Blake. It's safe to say, the book was delivered! Amid time constraints with no zest to read, this book is just what I needed.

When the author said they're writing STEM romance, this is exactly what I had in mind. Not just a character with a STEM background and proceed with the dunce-like love story. And I think what impresses me the most is how robotics or engineering is not my type of nerd and my least favorite field in STEM but there was not one time where I feel bored or clueless. In which to say, Follmuth/Blake had written the journey between Bel and Teo so compellingly.

The highlight on the challenges of being a female in a male-dominated field was such a good accost. This novel tackled a lot of serious issues including heavy family dynamics, but it was still lighthearted, romantic, and did not come off as preachy. I would understand if some people don't think of this as a great romance book sure, but sometimes a good book has to do more with what the reader needs at that given time in their life. Bel and Teo just reminded me of how young love can be gullible yet thrilling.

Incidentally, their character development is also something I reveled in. Bel's indecisiveness about herself, her abilities, right down to her glistening fashion was such a fun thing to read. It prompts me of the time my peers had things figured out while I was still obsessing over BTS and had no idea what to pursue. Meanwhile, Teo who despite having everything worked out, is a people pleaser that carried the pressure of being the team leader and the perfect son — which in all fairness, is not the kind that teenagers can withstand. Still, this propels the story forwards as we see them overcoming their struggles together.

Given the diverse characters, the sweet romance, and the high pressuring backdrop, I'd say this book has it all. Despite its flaws, it’s a pleasure to accompany Bel, Teo, and their physical and emotional journey. I love every single page of this book and I know I'm securing that copy for May 31st.

Romance meeting empowerment. This book battles the topic of women in "men" jobs. An issue that has to be adressed and did Alexene Farol Follmuth a good job adressing. Though, maybe it's my personal experiences speaking, I believe that the misogyny came too direct from the people. They always showed their prejudices toward women right at the beginning and to the female characters directly and openly. In my opinion sexists are not that "brave" which means they talk behind womens backs or to their superiors about their doubts towards them. Also they mostly don't do it openly and publicly as e.g. Richardson did at the competition.
Another thing I noticed is that the women didn't stand in each others way and always stood up for themselves. This is a little glossed over version of how it is. Sadly women often stand in their own and each other way and in my opinion this was not portrayed in this book.
But apart from the issue of sexism I liked the book. It was well written and really entertaining. I finished it in one day. But it is not one of these books where I am hooked and don't know what to do with my life after I finished and want to read more of the characters. I liked how we did not learned how the competition ended and this was the perfect ending to that story for me.

My Mechanical Romance by Alexene Farol Follmouth is such a cute and wholesome read. I like how this is a romance book set in an academic/STEM setting, while still addressing the sexism that women and girls face in science and engineering.

This book will not only make you fall in love with characters, but also make you dislike quite a few. I know when books are written well when I start to feel actual emotions for fictional characters.

Overall this book is written well and has a cute romance with lovable characters. I rate this book as a 4 out of 5 stars. Also I love the cover and how simple it is!

Talk to me about the inherent elitism and misogyny in education (especially in STEM, whew) and I’ll indulge you. Or just read this book if you don’t wanna talk to me at all (which is fair, since I also wouldn’t wanna talk to a person who can’t whip up a good argument from her jumble of thoughts.) You’ll feel understood, but on top of it all, you’ll swoon at the sweet high school romance this book has to offer.


full review: https://ruddy-jitterbug-af6.notion.site/My-Mechanical-Romance-a055a58d29d04842872af1d1657219e6

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book.

My Mechanical Romance is a sweet YA love story that will appeal to many readers. I can picture a number of my high school library patrons who will love this story.

1. Fish Out of Water. Bel, one of the main characters, is new to this prestigious private school and its robotic club. She is a bit different than the surrounding cast of super-high achievers.

2. Enemies to Lovers: Take a fish out of water and throw her into a robotics club filled with super-high achievers? You have enemies!

3. Realistic Family Issues: Both main characters, Bel and Teo, deal with those universal issues that many teens deal with. Divorce, busy parents, etc.

4. Girls fighting for their space and respect in a traditional boys' realm of robotics.

I truly cannot wait to add this to the school library and promote it to students: a high school romance where characters grapple with their looming futures while participating in robotics.

This is a great young adult romantic comedy. It reminds me of The Love Hypothesis for a couple of reasons, namely the writing, relationship, and focus on STEM, and I have a feeling people who loved that novel will like this one as well! I read it in one sitting and couldn’t put it down. It’s a short book, less than 300 pages, but it’s still so meaningful and fun. This book follows Bel, our main character, as she joins her school’s robotics team. There she meets Mateo, aka Teo, who quickly became one of my favorite love interests because of how much he cares about Bel and is proud of her.

I also thought that all of the characters were realistic, especially in terms of teenagers today, and likable. Bel is a great character, and I related to her a lot while reading, especially when it talked about how she never really knew what she wanted to do with her future because girls are typically expected to like and do certain things. And, as I mentioned earlier, Teo is one of the sweetest characters, and I loved him! Their relationship was so perfect and I loved witnessing the struggles they went through because they were realistic and were solved in productive ways. The side characters are also great as well.

This book is well-written, and I laughed out loud a couple of times while reading it! I was truly immersed in the story and highly recommend it. The only warning I have is that there’s a good bit of technical talk regarding robots and science, which I didn’t understand, but people who are interested in these things would really love it. But the book does a good job of explaining everything, and I learned some new things.

“For the women we will be; for the many who will come after us and find, if we do our job right, that there is room for them here.”

An absolute 5/5 stars for this gem. I’m so thankful that I could get my hands on this a little early thanks to NetGalley.

Reading this YA novel really brought me back to my teenage years. I saw my self laying on my bed, daydreaming about my future and writing in my diary about crushes I’d had. The romance in this was sweet and pure and it made my heart swell.

I loved Bel. I think she’s one of the more relatable teenage characters I’ve read in a long time. I like that she’s smart and capable and creative. I also like that she didn’t know exactly what she wanted from life at first; that the idea of deciding was scary for her. That’s relatable and it was refreshing to read. I actually love all of the girls in this novel. Bel is creative, intelligent and artistic. Jamie is disciplined, drive. And smart. Lora is outgoing, positive and kind. Neelam is hungry for success, she’s determined snd smart. These girls were a joy to read about. I would’ve loved to read about girls with goals like theirs when I was a teenager.

I really loved reading Teo’s story, too.
I can relate to the struggles his people pleasing tendencies created. I think that he’s kind and I loved the way he loved Bel.

The representation of women in STEM was stellar. This novel touched on the judgement and hardships women face when they enter into a field or career dominated by men. What a beautiful story for the girls and young women who are smart and creative and capable. Let this story give them hope and let them know they’re enough.

I want to shout my love for this from the rooftops!!

IM OBSESSED WITH THIS BOOK!

Bel was so unique and relatable. It was so refreshing to have a girl in STEM protagonist who doesn’t have it all figured out. One who hasn’t had her life planned out since middle school, or who isn’t so cutthroat about school and SATs as others. It made her feel so much more human and vulnerable and genuine. I want to be her when I grow up!

Oh I want to just give Teo a hug. He is so sweet and hardworking but he deserves a BREAK! The juxtaposition of Bel’s laid back attitude to science and his no nonsense hard core work ethic was endearing! I’m a sucker for opposites attract!

I loved the descriptions of the engineering and physics. (I learned quite a lot.) I hope it helps some kids understand these concepts, or become more interested in the field!

Sometimes YA books feel either too juvenile or too adult, but this felt just right. I’ve met teens just like this team. They feel real and tangible and I hope they have a beautiful future!

Thank you for the Arc!

Actually I find this book quite cute. It's the story about rivalry in high school life. However, I don't really enjoying the way author tell her story, maybe it's just not my cup of tea. It seems tedious, to much characters that made me confused about the main plot.

The good point is I love the way author talk about patriarcy in STEM world, especially when many people see women are not compete enough. I also love the way author show reader about how difficult to choose our next future. Because not all people are like Teo.

If you are into STEM, Young-Adult, rivalry and Rom-com things, this one for you!

A fun, but no less challenging, expose into the battles girls and women still face in STEM, and the incredible talents they showcase when given the space to shine.

I just adored everything about this book, and I cannot wait to share this with the girls in my life! Both Bel and Teo had a strong and natural presence on the page, their personalities both vivid and compelling. The execution of this rivals turned friends turned lovers relationship between them was emotionally pleasing, and I loved the fun - and adorably honest - banter, and the growth exhibited in both of their arcs.

High school is tough and facing the future that lies beyond it tougher still. This was a relatable uncertainty that Bel couldn’t escape. But, the heart she conveyed, and the way she grew comfortable in her passions, spurred on by the encouragements of her newfound friendships and physics teacher, Ms. Voss was enlightening, and as her confidence in what she wanted grew, so did my pride in her. Teo’s character was equally developed and the truths he learned, and the trust he built in his teammates, served him well.

Though I admired both Bel and Teo’s characters, the real hero for me was Ms. Voss. The way she recognized Bel’s talent and became a solid presence for her, championing her and encouraging her to pursue and enjoy the things she wanted to pursue, regardless of what molds she broke along the way. And molds she did break! The grin I bore, and the celebration that ensued during a certain robot battle…I was so happy with how it all played out.

My Mechanical Romance is an empowering read featuring a diverse POC cast, and a strong heroine boldly occupying her space in the world, that every teen girl should read! Pre-order now, and secure your copy for May 31st.

Thank you, Net Galley and Holiday House for the complimentary e-copy of this book. 4.5⭐️

Well, this was just the sweetest YA book I've read in a while!

As a Mum of two girls, I loved how it centred around Bel and how she finds her goal in life - one that isn't traditionally female.

Bel is the new girl at school, she has to deal with finding her passion, navigating friendships, hostility from her peers and fitting in, when Bel is designed to do anything but fit in, she's got spunk, tenacity and her own individuality

Teo plays the usual role of hunky teenage boy, who also happens to be loaded and super smart. I appreciated that it focused on the pressure he was under from all of those around him and also, from himself. Gave the character depth, so he wasn't just "man candy"

It's a book I will happily buy for my girls to read when they hit their teens.

Bel is the new girl at school and somehow her lack of participation has landed her a spot on the robotics team. Teo is ‘that guy.’ Everyone loves him and not just because he’s the soccer caption and resident robotics all-star. What will happen when these unlikely teammates are forced to work together? Will sparks fly? And I’m not talking about the robots… 😉 Let’s find out!

Read if you like: YA contemporary romance, rivals to lovers, girls in STEM, finding your potential, pretentious teen drama, first-person stream of consciousness, quirky girls, and infuriatingly charming boys.

Bel is sweet and so lost when it comes to what to do with her life. She’s still trying to cope with a bunch of family changes and a new, fancy school. She’s not even worried about fitting in. She just wants to get this year over with. But one excellently executed, last-minute assignment catches her physics teacher’s attention and her year is about to drastically change.

Teo goals, plans, and a truckload of expectations from quite literally everyone who knows him. He understands that he was born into a life of privilege and because of that he constantly strives to do his best in everything he does. The problem is… he does everything. But robotics is the one bright spot that he chose for himself. But now there’s an unplanned and eccentric entity in his inner circle. How will this new girl affect his perfectly planned future?

Has a rom-com book about robotics competitions ever made you cry real tears? No? Because this one did and you want to read it, trust me. I don’t read contemporary romance often, let alone YA contemporary, but this one had me hooked. I got some deliciously nostalgic 10 Things I Hate About You Vibes (no fake dating), the characters vaguely remind me of Blue and Gansey from The Raven Cycle, and who doesn’t like an underdog/ finding your passion story!? It was sweet, funny, and the romantic tension was so awkwardly real. You get ALL of this PLUS, a powerful story of girls’ struggles in STEM academia AND a diverse POC cast. The exclusive setting made me lament my own upbringing and lack of educational resources, but someone has to populate the rural areas. I guess.

Basically, this book has it all. I laughed out loud. I cried. I love the multicultural characters. I love the academics and high-pressure setting. And this YA romance had just enough steam to keep it sweet. Make sure you look for My Mechanical Love coming on May 31, 2022

[netgalley arc]

so cute!! i love when books taking place in high school have characters that actually act like high schoolers😭 the dialogue is so much more fun to read

also neelam best character <3 was kinda mad at first bc she was the "villain" but it worked out heh

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4618289169?book_show_action=false

Thank you Netgalley and Holiday House for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book was like a breath of fresh air, and there are very few books like it in young adult literature. My Mechanical Romance focuses on what it is like to be a women in STEM, especially through school, and the misogyny and sexism women face. The book also manages to capture the feeling of what it is like to come to the end of education and that loss and grief you feel, I thought that was done very well. The book is told through dual perspective of Bel and Teo. We follow Bel who has just transferred to a new school, and is spotted by her teacher as having a natural gift for engineering. Bel is put forwards to try out for the robotics team and Teo the president of robotics club instantly takes a liking to her but that doesn't last long. Bel and Teo clash over a lot of things, but over time they come to like each other's company and maybe something more. We watch as the robotics club work together to get to nationals in a hope to win. This book is filled with friendship, love and teamwork, and is a must read.

This sweet book was engaging, fluid to read. I’ve not much to say about It, the writing was good, but too simple sometimes, but definitely perfect for a teen audience.

"To, you don't need to fix anything. I'm not asking you to change. I'm explaining that I think you're a very serious person because you take everything very seriously."
"So I should take nothing seriously instead?"
"No. Forget it." She turns away.

I like the way the author talks about the difficulty that sometimes is to choose a university, the general underneath theme was good and

I loved the way, @afarolfollmuth described Bel from Teo point of view, honest and humorous.

“She talks to all the kids like they're grown-ups, which is kind of funny. I can't decide whether I think she's doing it on purpose-like, if it's a proven effective strategy-or if that's just how she is.
I think it's just her.”

This was a cute read.
Definitely something you are already expecting. There's no surprise element in the plot but I'm not complaining about it. If I wished for a bit more? Yes, but this is still an arc and I know there's room to improve.
Still would recommend if you're looking for a short cute read.

I’m not the biggest fan of YA romance novels. However, this was so incredibly sweet. The slow born, academic rivals to lovers trope was executed perfectly. All the characters were so developed and added to the story. I loved seeing female empowerment throughout and the friendships. It handles conversations of tough topics so well. I think this was such a very cute and easy read.
I’m such a huge fan of Olive Blake!

Thank you to the publisher, Holiday House Books, and Alexene Farol Follmuth aka Olivie Blake for approving my request of an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was everything I’ve ever needed packed in a book. Bel Maier, an 18-year old senior in high school at Essex Academy doesn’t know what she wants for her future. However, she was given an opportunity to join the robotics club at school after her professor sees her potential in building stuff, where she meets Teo Luna, captain of the soccer team and is the backbone of the robotics club. And as they figure out the road to building robots together, along with the rest of the team, they start to butt heads. This is an academic rivals to lovers in STEM and is a multicultural romance novel that is so endearing and wholesome.

I am absolutely overwhelmed by this. First of all, FILIPINO REP? I appreciated the fact that I felt seen at the mention of our traditions and culture. And as a student in STEM, I felt with the characters on a different level. Academic validation is all I’ve strived for in my life and like Bel, minus her bubbly personality, I understand how it is to be compared to your siblings or cousins that are successful and the enormous pressure that comes with your parents’ expectations. It’s difficult and you often end up losing grasp of what it’s like to have real passion or get burnt out. It’s the same with Teo. I know the feeling of trying so hard to be perfect that any mistake would ruin everything you’ve worked so hard for.

I would also like to thank Ms. Voss for reminding me of my former teacher who’s always been supportive of me and for pushing me out of my comfort zone so I could meet new opportunities. We deserve more teachers like you. :)

This was such a lighthearted read! The beginning was slow at first but the build up of the plot, characters, and conflict was so much better than I expected. I also LOVE the Taylor Swift references. But THE BEST REASON TO READ THIS BOOK? WOC IN STEM. Not only does this book offer good writing, loveable characters, adorable banter, and fluff, but it has WOC characters such as Neelam and Bel, who are two entirely different people but are passionate in fighting for the same thing: breaking stereotypes, norms, and occupy their spaces in the field of engineering. AS THEY SHOULD. The author truly knows what she’s doing and I LOVE it. This book would empower girls to put misogynistic men in their place.

With that being said, Nerds are hot AF, and FUCK THE PATRIARCHY.

First and foremost, thank you, Netgalley and Holiday House for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

"Nerds are hot."

This one took me some weeks to finished it since, well... I am not really into eARCs and yeah, too busy with assignments to do. But I still managed to keep up with the pace.

My Mechanical Romance followed a high-school student named Bel Maier, who was being forced by her teacher to enter the robotics team. So yeah, reluctantly, she joined the team and there, she met Teo Luna, the rich genius boy and the leader/captain of the robotics team.

My thoughts: I love Bel so much. She's funny, intelligent and kind of that sarcastic girly. She looked like she didn't what she's doing, but don't judge a book by its cover, she's really good in everything she's trying to do. Including designing robots.

And Teo Luna? Okay, this atta boy here made me fell in love with him too. He's a genius boy that was born into a rich genius family (of course) and such a good leader. He knew what he's doing and everyone was relying on him.

Furthermore, I love the way the author described about the real thing that also happened in real life where girls always being judged by the boys when it comes to play extreme sports and e-sports too.

Okay... to be honest, this is my first reading anything from the author; Alexene Farol Follmuth/Olive Black. You know what? Her writing style really suited my taste, so this is a sign for me to start reading The Atlas Six ASAP.

Last but not least, this book is such a fun and light STEM YA romance to read and fast-paced too. I also learned a lot of things about robotics and physics (I'm an accounting student so yeah) term too. There's a lot of funny scenes that will make you laugh out loud.

Will I recommend this to everyone to read this book once it's already out to the world so it can shine? Yes.

If you are a fan of these tropes: STEM cute romance book with robots, enemies to lovers, slowburn and full of POC and diversity characters. I beg you to please pick up this book once it's already out!

Rate: A solid 5🌟
—Feyssa.

Fabulous, YA, STEM, multicultural, romantic comedy

Lovely Isabel (Bel) Maier is ethnically Asian-Filipino, with sleek, dark hair, and a tan complexion. She lives with her mother, a hard-working ER nurse, and feels very conflicted about loving and missing her father, since his infidelity is what led to the rancorous divorce that blew up her family in the recent past. It is her senior year, and she is attending, for the first time ever, an exclusive, private school, the Essex Academy for Art, Science, and Technology (“Essex”). Her mother enrolled Bel in this school as the fulfillment of one of her main financial demands of Bel’s dad within the terms of their divorce settlement. Essex is located in Sherman Oaks, a ritzy area of the San Fernando Valley, in Los Angeles County, about 10 miles away from where Bel used to live before the divorce—and where her father still lives—in a working-class area in Van Nuys. Though Bel routinely makes all A’s in school, she takes that impressive feat for granted and doesn’t realize how brainy she actually is. Her current goal in life is to be as invisible as possible to her teachers at Essex and avoid being railroaded into attending college, since she has no idea what, if any, career path she might want to choose. None of her life-long friends in Van Nuys care about doing well in school, participating in extracurricular activities, or going to college. All they ever do is hang out, both inside and outside of school hours, in a care-nothing huddle. Like crabs in a bucket, anyone who tries, in the smallest way, to escape from the dead-end of their group-think is yanked back down by the others into their mutual bucket of mindless mediocrity. This fate is not only the assumed inevitable destiny of the boys in Bel’s former world, but it is a fate that is practically written in stone for the girls. In addition, Bel’s parents don’t outright discourage, but never particularly encourage, her obvious intellectual giftedness, her superior mechanical-design-drawing skill, or her notable ability at building things, by utilizing the extensive stock of tools owned by her father, a general contractor, which includes, among many other things, a complete set of welding paraphernalia. Bel likes to stick to pursuits she already knows she is good at, because her biggest fear about trying anything new is that she might fail at it and make a fool of herself in public.

For the past six weeks, fellow Essex senior, Jamie Howard, a beautiful, bright, hugely ambitious Black girl, who is on track to be class valedictorian and plans to become a high-powered attorney someday, has been Bel’s Transfer Buddy. Among her many extracurricular activities, for years now Jamie has volunteered to be the assigned guide for new transfer students. In Bel’s case, what might have been just another routine, unimportant relationship has evolved instead into a close friendship. Unlike Bel, Jamie prefers literature to math and science, but she is in AP Physics to pad her application for Stanford. Bel is not currently in any AP classes—which were virtually non-existent in Van Nuys, so they are not something that she has naturally gravitated toward. As a result, she is taking regular Physics with a teacher named Ms. Voss.

As the story opens, school has been in session for three weeks, and it has been two whole weeks since Ms. Voss assigned a project to the class to build a model of a catapult and write an accompanying explanatory report. When Jamie brings up the fact to Bel that her catapult project is due that very day—in exactly 15 minutes when her Physics class begins—Bel suddenly realizes she forgot all about that assignment in the midst of a raft of other overwhelmingly challenging assignments from all her other classes. Rather than just giving up and taking an F—an unthinkable prospect for Bel—she decides to take advantage of the few remaining minutes available to her. Using a pen, a rubber band, part of a tape dispenser she filches from the school library, and two caps she removes from plastic water bottles she scrounges from the school’s recycle bin, Bel “MacGyvers” a working catapult.

In the middle of Bel’s Physics class, Ms. Voss escorts Bel into the hall to talk to her privately. Bel is afraid she is going to be scolded for her careless completion of an assignment that is half her semester grade, but Ms. Voss tells her that her catapult is far and away the best one created by anyone in the class, even though it is obvious to the teacher that Bel threw it together at the last second. She tells Bel that the catapult is amazingly ingenious. Unfortunately, she informs Bel that the best grade she can give her for it is a C, since she did not turn in the required report. A-student Bel absolutely does not want a C and asks what she can do to bring up the grade. Ms. Voss hesitates only a moment before telling Bel there are two things she must do to earn an A. First, she wants Bel to transfer to AP Physics (the same class that Jamie is in). Second, she wants Bel to go to the tryouts taking place in a couple of days for the Essex robotics team. Ms. Voss also strongly suggests that Bel consider applying for college programs in mechanical engineering, since she obviously has a talent for design. She urges Bel to not allow the world, which is universally unfriendly to smart girls, to force her into a box and persuades Bel to take a risk on herself. Then she sums up her pep talk by asking Bel if she *can* do robotics, not if she is *willing* to do it. Overwhelmed by a type of praise and support that she has never encountered before, Bel finds herself admitting that she *can* do robotics and committing to participate in the robotics tryout. However, Bel doesn’t say anything when Ms. Voss tells her that, for the tryout, she has to do a project called an “egg drop,” in which participants create an engineering design in computer-aided design (CAD) software, which requires the use of physics and math to generate a structure to protect a computer-animated egg from breaking when dropped. Bel has never had any opportunity in her previous, underfunded, public school to learn CAD, but she figures it doesn’t matter. She believes she will feel nothing but relief if she fails the tryout and avoids the scary prospect of being on the robotics team. All Ms. Voss requires is that she participate in the robotics tryout, not that she win the competition.

Mateo (Teo) Luna has attended Essex straight through since kindergarten and is in his senior year. His father is a world-famous, billionaire, tech genius, and his mother is a former model and current, enormously successful, social-media influencer. Teo is half Latinx through his father and half Jewish through his mother. He has sleek, dark hair, a tan complexion, and is handsome with a ripped, athletic physique. He is captain of the robotics team and captain and offensive midfielder of the Essex soccer team. He is enrolled in six AP classes and has already submitted his application for early admission to MIT, his dream school. His fallback applications are to Stanford, Caltech, Michigan, Berkeley, and Carnegie Mellon. He lives in a gigantic mansion in the Mulholland Drive area of LA where a lot of celebrities live. Teo has been on the award-winning, Essex robotics team since freshman year and, as far as he is concerned, everyone on the team who is any good only joined because he recruited them. Every year that Teo has been on the team, Essex has gone all the way to Nationals, and last year they were the winning team. Teo resents the fact that he is required to recruit a new member for the team, because he absolutely does not want to have one more hassle piled on his already over-filled plate of leadership responsibilities. It will be up to him to train the new member to overcome any, inevitable, robotics-related deficiencies they might have. However, since there is no way to avoid this issue, the factor he will put the most weight on in the tryouts is an already existing ability to do welding.

The day of the robotics tryouts, Teo is bored and just wants it over with. While a bunch of freshmen demonstrate their egg-drop entries in CAD, he notices out of the corner of his eye that Bel has begun busily sketching on a piece of paper. Little by little, everyone in the room starts watching her instead of the tryout demonstrations and, finally, Teo’s own curiosity is roused to such a degree, he leaps up and strides over to Bel. Barely pausing to lodge a perfunctory request for permission, he snatches up Bel’s drawing—and is stunned at the high quality of the design she has tossed off within mere minutes. Casually aborting the current egg-drop display on the computer at the front of the room, with practiced ease, Teo programs Bel’s design into the CAD software and runs the program. As he already suspected from his quick but comprehensive glance at her drawing, the physics of her design work perfectly. His entire focus on Bel, he asks her if she knows how to do welding. When she says, yes, he instantly dismisses all the other hopeful applicants with a negligent wave of his hand and, to Bel’s stunned dismay, informs her that she is now a member of the robotics team.

This book is absolutely fabulous. It is one of the best YA romances I’ve ever read. In every possible way, it is extremely well written. It has an original, exceedingly entertaining setup, which instantly grabbed my avid attention, and the Meet Cute is tremendous. Throughout this novel, there are moments of quirky humor and moments of enthralling poignancy. And each and every relationship of the main protagonists to various subcharacters adds to the story in important ways. No page space is ever wasted on boring fluff.

I am personally a major fan of adult and YA STEM romances between two mentally sharp protagonists. In that regard, Bel and Teo are a superb match, and their personalities are vividly and compellingly drawn. They are both brilliant, both emotionally damaged in their own unique ways, and both have a strong, emotional growth arc. I love the way Bel, over the course of the novel, comes into her own and realizes how talented and intelligent she is. And I was very impressed with the way that Teo learns to become, as one psychologist put it, a “human being, instead of a human doing.” It is truly outstanding the way this author presents the progression of their relationship from strangers, to team partners, to friends, to romance.

I am very grateful that this novel is constructed in the manner of adult romance novels, with the dual point of view of both Bel and Teo. This allows the reader to deeply get to know Teo, who is a wonderful romantic hero. However, in keeping with the conventions of the young-adult genre, this story is written in their alternating first-person points of view, rather than the deep-third POV typical of adult romance.

I particularly enjoyed the fact that this story is completely multicultural. As far as I can tell, there is only one white character. The cast includes the following ethnic groups: Asian-Filipino, Latinx, Jewish, Black, Chinese, Korean, and Portuguese. None of the members of this delightful cast are stock figures. Even the most minor characters are drawn with great sensitivity and depth, especially the female characters.

The writing itself in this novel is smooth and polished and a pleasure to read. I am not someone who typically enjoys it when a novel is written in present tense, as this novel is. But it is so exceptional in every other way, I was able to easily overlook that artistic choice.

I am very much looking forward to the release of the audiobook version of this novel, which will allow me to experience this fantastic story on an even deeper level. This novel is a total keeper, and I look forward to re-reading it many times in the future.

I rate this book as follows:

Heroine: 5 stars
Hero: 5 stars
Multicultural Cast: 5 stars
Romance Plot: 5 stars
STEM Plot: 5 stars
Setting: 5 stars
Writing: 5 stars
Overall: 5 stars