From the first paragraph, I knew this book would be a good one. I immersed myself into the book from the first chapter and I cannot say enough good things about this book! Honestly amazing! The writing is incredible and the plot is just one to die for. I am absolutely obsessed with this book. My favorite part would have to be the character development throughout the book. Character development is something I look forward to and this book did not disappoint.

This was decent. I enjoyed reading it at times but I wasn’t ecstatic about it. Bel & Teo are two sort of unique characters however I’m not sure I like them all that much. I think Teo’s a tad bit underdeveloped (I don’t think I could elaborate without giving spoilers so just take my word for it) and Bel’s cluelessness about her talent at engineering just annoyed me. I actually think it was my least favorite part of the story. If you’re looking for something light and easy to read this then this would be a great pick!

**This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange of an honest review**

If you are looking for a sweet but yet poweful romance with woc in STEM and a kind of academic rivals to enemies, look no further cause this book has it all. The start is very strong as we are introduced to our great characters and their individual personalities. Bel has to be one of my favourite mc ever! Teo is just wow. The side characters were all very well written and i think this author is my new automatic read/buy. Really enjoyed the representations, and the divorce part was so realistic i felt seen lol. Just yeah, read this book!

“𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑑𝑜𝑛’𝑡 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛 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”

An adorable romcom with academic rivals to lovers, this one is the fastest read I’ve had in a while. I could not put it down. I needed to know how this relationship would play out, but also how their teams robotics competition would end.
I can’t tell you how much I wish I read this when I was in high school. Not only it is the center a cute trope, it really nails what it’s like to be a girl in STEM! I found myself getting nostalgic about my own high school as it reminded me how hard it was. She completely nails it when delving into the pressure high schoolers face over the fear that even just one quiz will impact their whole life. Overall, so wholesome. There was also a lot of stellar girl friendships and the most important one was actually a rival girl in the club. If you like The Love Hypothesis, give this one a try. Oh, last thing, I am obsessed with this cover, gorgeous.

Rating: 3.5 stars
When I started reading this book, I thought I would not like it, and I would have to force myself to finish it, but after the 20% mark, I started to genuinely enjoy it.
One thing I really liked about it was the characters – I wasn't sure I liked them at first, but I grew to love how they are portrayed. I like how the author wrote about their flaws and struggles; it was authentic and relatable. The side characters were so fun to read about too!
Altogether, this was a cute and really charming book. It was mostly clean, which I appreciated. If I had read it a few years ago, it would have easily been a 4/4.5 book—I gave it 3.5 stars because I don't think I'm into books like these anymore. It was mostly clean, which I appreciated. If you’re looking for a fun and sweet book that’s easy to read — you’ll like this book.

Women in stem? YES PLEASE!! I enjoyed this book so much! It was fun. Romantic. Quirky. I loved every bit of it.

Thank you NetGalley and Holiday House Books for providing an e-ARC of My Mechanical Romance for an honest review.

RATING: 4.5 rounded up

Teo Luna is the golden boy at Essex Academy. Not only is he a great athlete, he is also super smart! He takes all AP classes and is the captain of the school’s robotics team. He’s the person people can depend on and has his life after graduation perfectly planned out.

Bel Maier is the new girl who would rather do almost anything except discuss her college applications (or lack there of) and future plans after high school.

A mishap with a physics assignment causes Bel and Teo’s worlds to collide at Essex Academy and the result is absolutely adorable :)

I was initially drawn to this book because of its beautiful cover! After reading the book I think it’s even more perfect 😍

When I first started reading it took a little time for me to get into the story. However, once Bel and Teo actually started interacting with each other things really picked up!

I enjoyed the banter and competitiveness between Bel and Teo while they were working together and getting to know one another. Teo was able to be vulnerable with Bel in a way he wasn’t with any of the people in his life. Bel’s refusal to be another one of Teo’s “yes men” is what endeared him to her.

One of the big draws to this book is it’s discussion of girls and women of color in STEM. Alexene Farol Follmuth did an excellent job highlighting Bel’s struggles being one of the few girls in AP Physics and one of the two female engineers on the robotics team.

The character of Neelam was a wonderful contrast to Bel as another girl in STEM. Neelam plays a critical role in getting Bel to see how difficult it is for girls especially BIPOC girls to gain entry in to advanced STEM classes and extracurriculars like robotics. Ms. Voss was a true hero to me in this book! I adored her encouragement of Bel to take up space. She taught Bel to be proud of her contributions to the team as well as the things she created on her own.

The romance didn’t come into play until the second half of the book, but it was super cute! The epilogue was perfect and has me yearning for a sequel with Bel and Teo in college! A girl can dream right?

This is a slow read, incredibly slow, even for me, but it’s delightful when it actually gets down to it. The whole robotics background was a little confusing for someone inept at science, but aside from that it was fascinating when I could wrap my head around it.

I loved Bel, her POV was hilarious and she had the great balance of snarky and sweet. Luna was a little hard for me to connect with. For some reason I kept reading it like he’s a girl - I think because of the last name. Anyway, they were full of personality and they meshed really well together.

Luna had flaws and I realised he could be very arrogant which initially turned me off him, but with bel (and after their initial frenemies situation) he was a lot more open and endearing, very cute.

And Ms. Voss 10/10. I loved her determined character and how she pushed Bel to achieve the best she could achieve.

Overall, I would recommend this for those who are looking for a cute read for the spring/summer months.

Arc review of my mechanical romance
5🌟 read
"Nerds are hot these days".
The pace of the book was a bit slow for me but it never got boring. The author has written it so well. The plot is very investing and wholesome.
There’s a good bit of technical talk regarding the robots and science and the book does a good job of explaining everything.

The characters are full of personality, and they get along so well together. This book follows Isabel as bel the main character as she joins her school’s robotics team by advice of her teacher because she accidentally revealed her talent in engineering. There she meets mateo as Teo who is the team leader of robotics. Teo Luna is a good lead,very bossy, a team leader and captain. In the eyes of people he was a good son belongs to rich family. He has perfect life and accomplished in academics but in real life he is secretly hiding his inner insecurities to meet the social demands and academic pressure. He isn't too perfect, he has flaws which made him endearing.
Bel is insecure of her future and confused. She doesn't know how to make decisions for her future what she wants to become and what to study. She finds difficulty for applying college apps. She doesn't know how to convey her thoughts to others .Their relationship was so perfect and by helping each other from the struggles they went through because they were realistic and were solved in productive ways.
The supporting characters Ms. Voss and Dash are equally well written. Neelam's struggles are shown her behaviour to her fellows was tangy and harsh but we came know her reasons and her perspective towards the end.
All of the characters seems realistic in terms of teenagers today. This book is encapsulated with feelings especially everyone can relate to their own teen-age life difficulties, social pressure and struggles in academia to keep up good grades.

A wonderful book with a great message! I wish more girls had teachers like Ms. Voss. Someone who would see potential in them, someone who would tell them that girls can be engineers, someone who would take them seriously. Plus, it was great to read about a heroine who doesn't resemble Hermione Granger. A girl who procrastinates and doesn't know what she wants. A girl who doesn't care about college. A girl who makes silly decisions despite being so smart.

All the characters were very relatable, but Dash is my favourite!

Fair warning: I wouldn't define this book as enemies-to-lovers. There is a difference between "don't get along at first" and "enemies".

I honestly loved this book more then I thought I would. I expected it to be kind of childish, being set in high-school, but it was anything but. It has great representation and includes topics like feminism.

This book was very cute! I definitely wish I knew more about Robotics to better understand the lingo, but Teo and Bel were great enough that it didn’t really matter. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

"Nerds are so hot these days"

DUH. Yes they are! This new YA book was so refreshing. I do not typically gravitate towards this genre but I'm glad I did for this one. I found it to be an easy read.

The characters were we so relatable and the nerd talk made me smile. I loved Bel from the moment I met her. Sometimes her communication was so aggravating but I know that's how the author intended it to be.

The enemies to lovers vibe is one of my favorite tropes. Over time Teo and Bel started to warm up to each other. I also love dual POVs.

I think the idea of students in university is always a great topic to write about. The struggles they went through are pretty true to real life (bels parents, the sexism in engineering.)

It was slower than what I am used too which is why I have it a 4 but, it's a great book for YA!

Thanks to Netgalley for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a cute highschool romcom!! 3.5 stars

It starts out a little slow, and the ending feels a bit rushed (which is something I find with most romances so maybe it's just a genre thing), but other than that this was a super engaging read.
I loved the characters' dynamic through the book, and I'm grateful that they had actual personalities and felt really fleshed out (even side characters did, which isn't always the case). Also, the STEM theme was cool, I was actually interested in the robotics aspect of it which is something I didn't expect to happen while reading this.
I do have to point out the massive amount of pop culture references and how many dialogues felt kind of permormative (i guess that's the word?) which is something that definitely puts me off in books, and at times made it feel like it was trying to hard to be "relatable" and "woke".
Overall, this was an adorable lighthearted which you'll enjoy if you like YA romance.

WOW. This book was unbelievably enjoyable. I was slightly apprehensive at first as this book was about robotics and I do not have a clue about it but that did not matter and this book took me by surprise.

‘My Mechanical Romance’ follows Bel, an apprehensive teen who doesn’t want to think about her future (relatable). She gets pushed onto the schools robotics team by her supportive teacher Ms. Voss and the rest takes off from there. She meets Teo on the team the schools heart throb and need I go on? ;)

I found the dynamic between the two main characters so fascinating and it was certainly a great one. They just MATCHED. There’s simply no other way to put it. I feel that the dual POV really added to the story and gave me a much better connection with both the characters rather than just one.

I think this book is really important because it is so inclusive of so many different people I feel as though it could really inspire many young girls into STEM. It covers so many different important topics in a relatable, digestible way. It shows that while things may be hard, if you persevere you can always achieve your goals.

With that in mind, this book also shows that it’s okay if you don’t have any certain goals and that while it may seem like everyone around you has their lives figured out, that it’s okay if you don’t and that whatever path you do decide to go down, things will always work themselves out eventually.

‘My Mechanical Romance’ is a dazzling read that every girl should pick up in their lives.

Thank you Netgalley and holiday house for the arc of this book!

Let me start by saying, I absolutely loved this book! It’s short and quick and a very fun book to read. Plus it’s academic rivals to lovers. Can it get any better??

Bel has just transferred to Essex Academy. Upon doing a physics project, she reveals her talent for designing and engineering. Bel is basically forced into joining her school robotics club, where she meets Mateo “Teo” Luna, the robotics captain. They disagree over everything and have to learn to work together to help the team.

I loved Teo so much, not only as a love interest but as a person. His character development was done very well and I loved watching him go from this kind of self-absorbed person who took everything on himself to being a team player and giving other people a chance to shine. He was always there for his team and Bel too.

Bel was so relatable. Girls are expected to know what they want to do with their lives and she didn’t. And that’s perfectly ok. Watching her explore her choices for after high school really made me reflect on my own.

Teo and Bel together were my everything. They had the best banter and I don’t think I’ve laughed so hard while reading in a while. They had some adorable moments together and I rooted for them every step of the way.

I also really enjoyed that this book wasn’t only about Bel and Teo’s romance. They both had lives and problems and friends outside of each other and I think that’s important in romances. (just my opinion of course!)

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes the academic rivals to lovers trope or STEM. It’s absolutely wonderful and I think I’ll even go buy the physical copy. :)

Thank you to NetGalley and Holiday House for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I loved every single part of this book. There was never a dull moment and the pacing was done really well so it never felt like I would get bored. Bel and Teo were awesome and I'm so happy they both got their own versions of a happy ending.

<i>I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review</i>
<b>3.25/5 <3</b>
I came into this book really wanting to enjoy it so much because of the synopsis.

My Mechanical Romance follows Isabel ("Bel") as she discovers her passion for mechanical engineering and robotics while working in a male-dominated space at her school with Mateo "Teo" Luna, the hot-headed robotics captain.

I did enjoy the premise of this book, but there were a few things that rubbed me wrong. However, there were tons to love, so let's get started with that first.

I absolutely loved the great representation as someone who has gone to a primarily Asian STEM high school. There was a ton of diversity shown through the characters, but it wasn't really made obvious which I appreciated. Too often, books fall into this trap of overemphasizing the diversity of the characters which makes them seem like "others." However, in this book Follmuth did a great job of touching upon the different ethnicities represented, but not making that the character's only attribute, showing their multi-faceted personalities instead of making them straight robots.

Another thing I absolutely enjoyed was that Follmuth really brought this book as something more modern, especially with the behavior of the characters and some of the texts. They were extremely relatable to how I text with friends without being cringe and overusing slang, like a lot of authors do, so major props for that!

There was also pretty amazing attention to detail with the whole topic of mechanical engineering and the physics part. I love how Follmuth incorporated the part about the catapult because I think every single AP Physics course does that during their first semester!

It was also pretty relatable to me and I found myself drawing connections with my own high school experience, especially with how it was more of the smarter people who were the most popular.
I definitely respect the character arc that Bel was given and it was pretty realistic, and I do love how she wasn't shaped to drastically move across the country and be with her one, true love like a lot of books show.

Unfortunately, that was also where my problems with the book starts. I really disliked how Neelam, one of the only other girls on the team, was the scapegoat for all the hate and used to portray the "evil" character, with all the guys on the team constantly putting her down. I think I would be fine with that, only if she was given a much larger redemption arc and a chance to explain her behavior better because that part felt a bit rushed. By the end, I did really like Neelam and her motivations, while not explained properly, were definitely valid.

This segues into my major problem with the book which is that none of the guys are ever properly called out on or asked to fix their behavior. There are minor changes in Teo's behavior at the very end when somehow Neelam "proves" her worth as a skilled driver of the robot, but that isn't even ever talked about again. All of the guys have major problems with their egos, and while I agree that this happens a lot in STEM fields which corresponds to Neelam's rant to Bel near the end of the novel and how it is not going to change unless you work hard as a woman in STEM, I still feel like there should have been more done on Bel's part to bring up these injustices. However, this may just be on my side because I felt like yelling at them every 2 seconds during the novel.

This brings me to my last point on this which is that the book felt too short to cover this large volume of information over a time span of an entire school year. A lot of parts felt way too rushed, underdeveloped, and major plotline points were never really explained that well. In addition, some of the more minor parts were dragged out, especially some of the dialogue scenes which made the book feel all over the place and not well-paced. We definitely missed important details and scenes that could have been used as plot points to explain the relationship and dynamics much better.

Overall, I did really enjoy the book and the premise of it, it just was not as well-executed as I hoped it to be. Going in, as someone who immensely enjoyed <i>The Atlas Six</i>, I was really excited for this book, but ended up being slightly disappointed. I do love the understated diversity of the novel and some of the smaller things that really made my reading experience a bit better.
Excited to see some of Follmuth's upcoming works, though!

<i> if you read all the way down here, I'm surprised LOL </i>

Did I just binge the last 200 pages of this book in one sitting? Yes. Yes I did.

Thanks to Net Galley and Holiday House for this ARC of My Mechanical Romance by Alexene Farol Follmuth, which comes out May 31.

This was SUCH a cute YA contemporary romance about two nerdy robotics students with rivals-to-lovers vibes.

Things I loved:
- STEM girls run the world 👏👏
- Adorable banter (gave me Beach Read vibes)
- Lovable side characters
- JUST KISS ALREADY vibes
- There was a lot of humor in the narrator’s voice, so I loved that and it made it breezy to read

When Bel and Teo finally kissed I just about died. Ughh they were soooo cute and belong together! 🥺

My only complaint is that the early middle felt a little slow. But everything else was solid. In fact, the 75% break up was SO WELL DONE that I genuinely panicked that this wasn’t a real romance book. 🤣 There was a HEA though! And I love how the author handled and resolved that breaking point. Flawless. 👏

Overall it was a solid read and I’d recommend it if you want a fluffy YA high school romance with all the pining and all the feels.

First of all, I want to thank Netgalley and Holiday House for giving me this ARC.
It my first time to read a book with dual POV, and honestly I like it, and then I seen girls in STEM that make me so happy.
I'm in love with the story. The two main character on this book is so fluffy, like other teenagers when they fall in love. They are from strangers to academic rivals to lovers so cute. Apart from that, the other characters also support each other in their own way. Make a new solid relationship. For example, in the beginning, i can say Neelam is an annoying person that always hate on Bel, but then we can agree with other perspective that she made.
Bel and Teo have their own problem and sometimes they even make a mistake and end up misunderstanding.
What i really like is Bel represents children from Asian families especially Southeast Asia (Philippines) which makes me fee agree with some problems the have start from parents, siblings, even self problem they have.

Lastly, if you really want to read romance book but with an slightly different, just read this book. Because from the story that girls on STEM, and then Southeast Asian Family represents.

4,3/5 stars