Characters: 4/5
Setting: 5/5
Writing: 4.5/5
Steam: None
Plot: 5/5
Overall: 5/5

Favorite quote: “Do you know how many Richardson’s there are in the world?” she sighs.
“Do you know how many fewer Richardson’s there would be if there were more Bels?”

First off, thank you to NetGalley for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

My Mechanical Romance is a YA Contemporary novel about a Filipino girl named Bel who switches schools for her senior year when her parents split up. To make up for an assignment she completed at, quite literally, the last minute, her Physics teacher moves her to the AP class and tells her she must try out for the Robotics team to increase her grade.

Once she’s on the team, she begins to see the blatant double standards on the Robotics team and in the STEM field in general.

Even if this book didn’t have a glorious academic rivals-ish to lovers trope, I still would’ve loved it because of the representation of what it’s like to be a woman in STEM. I am not in STEM, nor will I ever be, but I still found this aspect of the book to be completely relatable. Unfortunately, this is a pretty universal experience for non-men in fields traditionally dominated by men. The book beautifully portrays this dynamic, while also giving us badass women of color characters who learn to take up space and not listen when a man tells them they aren’t enough.

Back to the glorious academic rivals-ish to lovers. There are plenty of big, fancy words I could use to describe Bel and Teo, but the only word in my brain right now is CUTE. Their banter is impeccable, and I absolutely adore their moments of vulnerability. I can’t say much more without spoilers, so I will end this paragraph with this: THAT EPILOGUE!!!

I honestly cannot think of anything I did not like. There were a few weird phrases that could’ve been polished a bit more, but because I had an advance copy those could still be fixed before release. I felt that a few of the characters could’ve been fleshed out a little sooner, but by the end of the book I grew to love them all.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes their romance with heaping spoonfuls of feminism and banter. And a dash of Taylor Swift.

As a women in STEM, a roboticist, high school robotics alumni, and lover of the author’s work as Olivie Blake in the Atlas Six I can’t begin to express how excited I was to read this, and I was not disappointed!

The story switches POVs between two high school robotics teammates and rivals, Bel and Teo, turned (well you can guess what happens) as they navigate their senior year. The characters were really well developed and relatable. I really related to Bel’s journey to becoming an engineer and finding the confidence in her abilities, as I’m sure plenty of women in STEM can. Joining robotics let’s Bel channel her creativity and affinity for building, and realize that she can continue to do that as an engineer. I wish I had this book in high school and heck I wish my friends who didn’t go into engineering had this as well. When we don’t see people who look like us in a role, it’s hard to imagine ourselves there as well. I hope reading this can give more girls the push they need to see engineering as a path for them, even if they’re not the stereotypical engineer. Also I should mention the relationship between Bel and Teo is so cute and supportive

My Mechanical Romance is a cute coming of age story revolving around (incredibly talented and smart) high school school students finding love and their identities.

Bella and Teo are not your typical enemies to lovers. This was such a fun read and would recommend to my younger friends. Bonus points if they're kinda nerdy! Lol

Thank you to NetGalley and Holiday House for providing me with an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review! I wasn't sure what I was going to think about the book but I ended up loving it and read it super quickly. I typically don't go for YA romance books, however was pleasantly surprised. Definitely a fun and easy read .

So happy after reading this book. I might have found my new favourite author….Alexene I’m a fan!
A heartfelt story about Bel and Teo, struggles of high school students, struggles of being a women in STEM, struggles of broken families. I got hooked already after reading the first 10% of the book.
The romance was just right, perfect YA romance. The friendship, the family love, the romance, I loved every part of it.
Being a reader who has almost zero knowledge in STEM, I didn’t feel like I don’t understand a thing, it’s very easy to follow and I even feel the nerves during their competitions.

Definitely a 5 out of 5 stars for me!
By the way I love the book cover!

I absolutely loved My Mechanical Romance. It was such a sweet, heartfelt book about a guy who's been planning his future since he was a child and a girl who hates to talk about her future. I love how this book went from Academic rivals to friends to lovers. The growing friendship between Matteo and Bel was absolutely the sweetest thing I've ever seen. Seeing them get closer to each other through small precious moments made me giddy.

Matteo and Bel are nerds who are into Robotics. Well, Bel isn't into robotics; she's forced into it by her teacher, but sooner she falls in love with it. Both of their personalities were so different, and exploring it was the best part of the book. As someone who has to apply to college well for a few months, I could understand these characters so well. I could appreciate Matteo's need to be the best to get into MIT, and I could also understand Bel's thought process of avoiding college admissions and talking about what major she wants to do. I love how the Author put this through because she made me feel what the characters were feeling, and I admire her for this. Not going to lie, I did panic for a moment after seeing Matteo work so hard to get into MIT, and then after a few moments, when panic subsided, I thanked the gods that I did not choose engineering as a career option.

Diversity isn't something we usually see in books, especially at this level, because I still struggle to find characters that play an integral part in the book, be POC. The author did a great job depicting different cultures in this book, and I was glad.

The author also had a serious message for women in STEM in her book. The way she informs people of women's struggle in STEM is not really forced but yet such an important part of the book. I love how we had a POC woman in STEM, and I especially loved how the author pointed out the characters readers might like while reading as being part of the struggle. I was just blown away by the whole thing.

"I have a feeling that if I leaned in closer, it would be like magnets. Like being drawn into some sort of gravitational field where things would just magically fit"

Quick Stats:
Overall: 5⭐️
Characters: 4.5⭐️
Relationships/Friendships: 4⭐️
Setting: 4⭐️
Writing: 4⭐️
Plot and Themes: 5⭐️

Wow, that was an insane journey. Nothing about this book disappoints. The focus of POC Women in STEM is something no one else has done and was oh so refreshing to read.

The book starts with a good pace and keeps it up until the last page of the epilogue. Although I usually prefer fast-paced books I think this book works perfectly as is, giving us the time we need to really learn about the characters and see them grow.

The characters all had such unique personalities that all worked together really well and made for some interesting friendships (*cough* Neelam and Bel *cough*) and did a great job of diversifying the lives of the characters.

The Humour sprinkled throughout never failed to make me laugh whether it was a bad pun or just an awkward scene, Follmuth tied it in beautifully to the scene.

Ms. Voss was most certainly my favourite character and made me so envious of Bel for having someone so supportive and caring as a teacher. I think I speak for most girls when I say having a teacher like that would make the world of difference through the confusion of high school.

Overall, this brilliant STEM romance was a definite 5 out of 5 stars for me

My Mechanical Romance by Alexene Farol Follmuth
4.5⭐️/5

Dual POV? Check.
Women in STEM? Check.
Academic rivals to lovers? Check.
Awesome robot fights? Check.
Funny banters? Check.

I love this book! Was suppose to give it a 5-star rate but I really had a hard time reading the first half of the book. I think there are unnecessary narrations or conversations but when I get to the other half, well, things have just become much more interesting. 😉

Teo and Bel's romance is so adorable. I love the build up and damn, Teo is so fine! He learned Taylor Swift songs for Bel and sprints from his soccer practices to teach Bel. Aack! ❤

Moreover, the book does not only cover the romance between Bel and Teo but it also includes topics like burnout caused by perfectionism, unplanned future, learning to trust others, and most importantly about bias based on gender. The book portrays well the struggles every girl faces especially in a male dominant field (e.g. engineering), being looked down when the truth is we are just as capable as them.

As to the characters, they are very relatable as well that I see myself in Bel- having the struggle not knowing what you really want in life and Teo- experiencing a lot of pressure because of people’s expectations.

And I just wanna add... the epilogue is *chef's kiss* ❤❤❤❤

Release date: May 31, 2022

Thank you Netgalley and Holiday House for the arc!

This book was a really nice surprise. Overall, I felt it was well written and I was invested! I felt like the title was a bit misleading. I wouldn't say it is really romance focussed, but I acknowledge that it probably was the perfect amount for a YA fiction book,
I particularly loved the diversity - particularly shown in the names of characters. I really liked Teo and although I didn't love Bel, to begin with, I really warmed up to her. I loved the dual POV, especially because their perspectives were actually funny in a sarcastic way. The humour hit the spot.
The STEM focus was particularly interesting to read. The overall message was something that I loved.
I really enjoyed the way all the texts and speech were authentic to young people! Nothing worse than a book that tries too hard to be "youthful". Follmuth got that on point.

My only criticism is some of the conflict eg, the breakup, felt slightly rushed in its introduction. She got rejected then in the next line she's decided she can't be with Teo. It might have benefited from Bel walking us through those thoughts.

A nice, satisfying read.

This book was AMAZING!!!! It’s like The Love Hypotheses but in high school and with robots. Bel and Teo are so cute and absolutely perfect for each other. My Mechanical Romance is addictive and I will definitely be re reading this book many times.

4.75/5.
(this is practically a 5 star book except for 1 tiny complaint which i will get to later)

Thank you to Netgalley for the arc!!

#womeninstem

!!! 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝟏 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐫, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤. 𝐢 𝐝𝐨 𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐥'𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲, 𝐚𝐥𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐭 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐥𝐲 !!!



i LOVED how this book was executed. the author did an amazing job of showing the struggles that women have to face on a daily basis in a male dominated field. i also enjoy the fact that the author wasn't constantly trying to pit the women in this book against each other. she didn't make neelam a complete bitch for no reason. speaking of neelam, i'm so in love with her. she speaks her truth <3 !!

𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘁.
ok, i'll admit that i was very apprehensive at first because i really really don't like stem. i have nothing against it besides the fact that i completely suck at anything to do with it. stem was NEVER ever my strong suit. ever. but i was pleasantly surprised by how enjoyable it was. the author did a very good job of explaining unfamiliar terms. the whole premise was very exciting. a woman of color in stem. i loved the representation throughout the book.

𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲.
the romance was oh so sweet. i thought the relationship between teo and bel was very pure and cute. i also really enjoyed the enemies to lovers aspect. like no offense to teo but he was so rude to her in the beginning. either way, they eventually settled their differences and a relationship started to blossom.

𝗯𝗲𝗹.
my queen. i love her. i feel like it's been rare lately for characters in romance novels to acknowledge their flaws very openly. but bel did. and she made the audience aware that she was flawed (like any human is). thank GOD she didn't let having daddy issues be her only personality trait, because the amount of times i've seen that is appalling.

𝗳𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗺.
yeah. yes. i loved it. i think this was a perfect read for women's history month. "𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘣𝘰𝘺𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺, 𝘶𝘯𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘶𝘴, 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘯𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘰". i barely have words for how much i loved this line.

𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗹.
i loved this book and it would be a 5/5 if there was some lgbtq representation. i know i know, we can't ask for everything 🙄🙄 but it would still be nice to see queer woc representation. just a thought. and before anyone comes to comment that nOt EvErY bOoK hAs To HaVe LgBtQ cHaRaCtErS, im not saying that the author did anything inherently bad by not including lgbtq characters. but whatever. this book was amazing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for providing me with an ARC of this in exchange for an honest review. This book will be published on May 31, 2022!

Enemies-to-lovers ... TICK
Women in STEM .... TICK
Women of colour rep... TICK

After reading (and loving) The Love Hypothesis, I was sooo excited to read this! This is a more YA version, set in a high school with academic rivals who are sweet and relatable (if you were even the slightest bit nerdy in high school then you will love these characters and this story). The pacing was a bit slow for me at times and it took a while to get used to Bel's quirky, expressive POV, but I got much more into the book in the second half.

If you're looking for a sweet and entertaining YA rom-com/academia romance then this is for you. I'm loving all the STEM-related rom-coms at the moment and can't wait to read more!! Let me know if you have any similar recs :)

3.5 stars

Thank you netgalley for an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

It´s actually like a 4.8.

I really really love this book, like from the firsts moments to the end. Idk if it is because the characters are in my range of age, but I actually connected with them, I can even say that each character has something of me in them. But I specially connected with Bel and Teo, because I´m a strange mix of them.

AND THE STORY, I love this type of books, every second that I spent in this book was amazing, idk why I had the idea of this being a rivals to lovers but it´s not. I would say that actually it is a cute strangers to colleagues to friends to lovers and it´s a good one. I also love how we can see the pressure that everyone lives in the last year before university and how teenagers actually worried about doing good at school and about satisfying our parents.

The only warning I have is that there’s a good bit of technical talk regarding robots and science, that can be hard to understand.

Look, I don't read contemporary romance books. I barely read romance stories in general but THIS was so nice! Quick enough to breeze through yet I felt like I knew and truly loved the cast of characters. I saw a mirror of myself in parts of Teo and it was amazing to see the trope of rich boy x 'poor' girl written like this. I also really enjoyed Bel and didn't think she was on-the-nose at any point of this book - which, in my opinion, is incredibly difficult to do in YA books in general, especially YA romance.

MOST IMPORTANTY, though, this book talked about women in STEM. About women of color in male-dominated spaces. But also taking up your own space, learning your limits, and learning to trust others. The author portrayed these issues (and many more) brilliantly.
I do have to mention that I think the trope of 'academic rivals' is not quite met here, but 'academic colleagues to lovers' is still a pretty dope trope to find in such a book! Would LOVE to read more!

the plot of the whole book was also very interesting and i'm so happy
that stem inspired romance books are getting more popular these days.
i really liked reading about the robot fights since i also used to be really
into science in high school.
when it comes to romance i'm just gonna say it's one of the most
adorable ones i've read about in a while. teo and bel were the perfect
couple and i love how they understood each other and always tried to
be helpful and considerate. their issues were also resolved in such a
nice way and i was so relieved that there was no drama. all the other
characters were lovable as well.

First of all, I love the title!!
Second, this book is a very unique YA romcom that I wish I would have had when I was in high school! While Teo has his life figured out for him like so many high school MCs, Bel doesn’t have any clue what she wants in life for most of the book. That is super realistic but almost never actually portrayed in books or movies about high schoolers. I felt the same way as a high school senior, so it was really nice to see a character that didn’t have a vision board planning out her life since age three.
Also the representation of STEM was great to see! Since many people think there is no crossover between literature and science, it is sadly rarely used in books.
The relationship between Teo and Bel is really nicely done in this book since it’s clear it’s not their whole life as high school seniors, just an adorable part of it!
Finally, I loved all of the Taylor Swift references! When Teo goes to learn the lyrics, it’s too adorable!
I really liked this book and it would be great for anyone who doesn’t know exactly what they want to see that reflected in a main character! Plus romance and STEM!

I am the type of person who goes to bed by 9:30pm most nights, so when I say that I was up until 3am finishing this book, it really means a lot. This story is absolutely delightful - it is sweet, funny, well developed, well paced and, most importantly, it made me very happy

Often in YA books, particularly romances, I find that while the main character is often fully developed, the supporting cast is very flat. That is not the case at all in My Mechanical Romance. While the book does focus on its two perspective characters, Bel and Teo, it still manages to breathe life into their friends and families. I would read sequels about Dash, Jamie, Neelam and Lora in a heartbeat. It also encapsulates the complex dynamics between teenage girls in a way that manages not to bring me back to my own anxious days of being that age.

While the book does follow some of the predictable tropes for a teen romance, the "will they won't they" and the "there's no way she likes me back" are cute rather than frustrating, and they don't take away from this being a unique and fun story. Plus, there are robot fights - and who doesn't love a good robot fight?

I'm definitely forward to whatever Alexene Farol Follmuth brings us next.

ARC was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Academic rivals to lovers? Girls in STEM? Cartoon cover? TAKE MY MONEY!!!!!

Bel is actively avoiding anything that has to do with applying to college and struggling with her relationship with both of her parents after their divorce. After failing to turn in an assignment, she is forced to join the robotics team, by Ms. Voss, a teacher who sees Bel’s intelligence, creativity, and potential to succeed in engineering. Bel feels inadequate and like she isn’t cut out for the robotics team after butting heads with Teo, the team captain and failing to become allies with Neelam, the team’s only other girl. The more that Bel works with Teo on their robot, she begins to enjoy the design and engineering process and is actually looking forward to competing in nationals.

This young adult rom-com transported me back to high school (in a good way!) because I hardcore related to the main character . I remember being so stressed about college,
—like how can one choose their life direction at 18??? Living up to others expectations is a uniquely different stress. Now that I am older (definitely) and wiser (kind of), I know now that those fears just get in the way of actually enjoying life! Not to mention that the main character is a weird girl, like okay same??? Nerds, unite.

I was literally smiling the whole entire time I was reading this book and I had so many laugh out loud moments. It was a new experience reading a YA romance published in this decade, but one I totally am in love with. I love the diverse representation that is being served!!! The humor was top-tier and the banter was very amusing. It was very well written, especially because i feel like modern/gen-z jokes can come off kind of strange in books, but our queen Alexene executes it perfectly.

Bel and Teo had such a precious type of love, even with moments of misunderstanding and learning how to communicate with one another. I especially love that Bel learned to take up space and Teo learned to create space for himself. Also, an honorable mention for the side characters because they had depth and killer personalities and weren’t just there to be in the background of the plot, we love to see it!!!!

I really appreciate a feminist book that is REAL because Bel is strong, hard-headed, and independent af. There is women of color in STEM representation and I am so here for it, we need way more of this!!!!! I wish I had this book when I was in high school!!!!

This is such a cute and wholesome romance novel! Enjoyed reading this and I love the characters. Beyond the romance, there are some memorable aspects such as the life of girls in STEM and family dynamics.

These days I love a good YA contemporary or romance. Especially when they’re nerdy. So My Mechanical Romance by Alexene Farol Follmuth, aka Olivie Blake, sounded like a perfect read for me. I might not know much about robots or STEM. That’s not the type of nerd I am, but I was eager to check it out, and I’m all for supporting women in STEM.

This book follows Bel and Teo, two seniors at a prestigious high school where science is pretty cool. That’s not quite Bel’s scene, and when it comes to college applications, she’d rather than die than think about them, much to the school’s chagrin. Teo, on the other hand, has everything planned. He is going to be the best ‘soccer’ captain, win at the Robotics Nationals and get into MIT. When Bel accidentally proves she’s a mechanical genius in a class project, she is pushed to join the robotics team. At first, she was not happy about it. But as sparks begin to fly between her and Teo, she realises that within that club, she’s found two things she loves.

If you’re looking for a book that talks about women in STEM and proves that they don’t need to act one way to belong, this will be for you. There are three girls within the club, and all have different interests and mindsets. It was good to see, even if there is a lot of in-fighting for a good portion of the book. This is a story that shines a heavy light on the misogyny with the sciences. The girls are clearly on the team for diversity points; the girls will always need extra help when the boys don’t, and the boys will always be the stars. Reading this book made me so mad, but I count that as one of the good points. We should be angry that teenage girls are being treated like this. Girls reading this book should be able to see that if they like science or maths, they belong in those teams and classes just as much as the boys. We need to start calling out a lot of that crap, especially when even the teachers are playing along with it.

Other than that, I wasn’t actually a big fan of this book. I got through it quickly, and it made me grin in places, but that was not enough. My favourite characters were probably Bel’s best friend Jamie, Teo’s best friend Dash, and Bel’s older brother, Luke. This is a book with some pretty heavy family dynamics, and I did feel for both kids. The way they’ve been bought up and their lives have been going is causing them to act certain ways. That’s not fair on them. Teo doesn’t have to be the best, and neither Bel nor her brothers would be a failure if they didn’t get into a top school. It was frustrating, and it complicated my feelings so much. Is it important to the characters and the readers to see that things like this happen? Yes. Did it make the protagonists unlikable? No. But they both felt wishy-washy in their own ways, and it didn’t really feel like we saw those issues properly dealt with. In the end, they were okay, and their parents were happy with that. That was it. For issues that put a dampener on the book at times, that felt a little rushed.

When I started this book, I really thought I was going to love it. And since it was such an easy read, it feels like I should like it. But the moment I finished the book, I started wondering whether I did enjoy the book or not? Asking that question suggests to me that no. I didn’t really. It didn’t necessarily expect something just cutesy. I’m fine with heavy themes, even in romance and contemporary. But it didn’t feel like enough time was spent on either of those aspects.

If you’re looking for YA with a focus on STEM, then do check this book out. But if you’re not curious about that aspect, then there are better YA romances out there.