I really enjoyed The Unbalanced Equation. I don’t know what it is about STEM romances, but they hook me in!

When Liz first met Tom, there was most definitely a spark. Something that Liz thought may stem into something more, but when she starts her PhD and discovers Tom is her mentor, and he is nothing like the man she originally met, that dream is shattered. Liz hates Tom with her entire being as throughout all four years, he made her life hell. Now she is finally free of him and about to start her postdoc, or so she thought. After a fire in Tom’s lab, he has no choice put to work in his friend’s lab, which just so happens to be the lab Liz is working in. To make matters even worse, they have to share a bench until his lab is rebuilt.

This isn’t the only thing that forces Liz and Tom to spend time together and maybe think back to the first time they met. Turns out, Liz’s Dad and Tom’s Mum are getting married, much to the surprise of both of them. When Liz’s landlord kicks her out with no warning, she is given no choice but to move into Tom’s house with both her parents. This book has a lot of forced proximity but I adored it. It’s told from both Liz and Tom’s perspective so we do see why Tom was being an asshole to Liz during her PhD. The tension between these two was perfect and I was rooting for them constantly, as were many of the side characters!

This was a fun, STEM enemies-to-lovers romance that gave me everything I needed. It was a great, quick read and the chemistry between Liz and Tom was perfect.

I love the enemies to lovers trope...the writing turned weird in some parts and I couldn't bring myself to like the characters enough to care about them

"That’s the thing about hindsight: nobody has it when they actually need it."


alkdjs chef's kiss.

This was a very addictive and entertaining read!! Liz and Tom's partnering wasn't predictable to me and I really liked that with this book. + the passion, tension and back and forth with them was really great!

It was also nice to read a book out of my element (I majored in journalism haha) to learn more about the science realm too! A great read :)

Unfortunately, this book wasn’t for me. I really wanted to like it and it had potential but it just fell flat for me. I struggled to get through it and had to stop and try and get back into it multiple times. I really couldn’t connect with the characters, I found them slightly annoying and somewhat immature. I also didn’t feel much chemistry between them. If I can’t connect with/like the characters, then I find a book really hard to read so just because this wasn’t for me doesn’t mean it isn’t for everyone.

This was a great enemies to lover story. I liked how we got a bit of background as to why Tom and Liz met and what transpired to cause them enemies. I liked how although both characters acted as if they disliked one another it seems as fate would test their connection and bring them together through the union of their parents. The one part I disliked was that Tom felt so out of control in their relationship that he turned to meddling when in reality a simple explanation for his behavior would have caused their romance to move quicker. Regardless I enjoyed seeing Liz stand up for herself and making sure she gave herself the best option. I also enjoyed that the side characters knew the main characters were in love and tried to push them together. Overall a fun steamy read.

I was drawn to this book because it featured a women in STEM and an academic setting; a postdoc thinks she’s free of her terrible PhD advisor until a series of unfortunate events led to them working in the same lab AND becoming step siblings. But, there’s also this undeniable chemistry between the two of them. It’s got the classic enemies-to-lovers romance trope with a side of academia told from two perspectives. It was a long one (for me) at over 400 pages, and I got annoyed by both main characters at different points in the book, but I still enjoyed it. The fall-to-winter setting in Scotland made it the perfect book to read in the fall! It’s the first book in a trilogy of standalone books that are all connected, and I definitely plan to read the others! Thank you to NetGalley for my first ARC!

I honestly think that books that are STEM romances are not for me. This was very well written, however I found myself unable to connect with the characters.

I really enjoyed this book! If you’re a fan of The Love Hypothesis then you’ll absolutely adore this. It was written so well and kept me wanting more every time I had to put it down. This book definitely gave me the warm fuzzy feels and I’ll definitely be reading it again when I need a cute easy romance! 100% recommend this author to my friends.

3.5/5⭐
2/5 🌶️

If you are looking for a nerdy STEM romcom in the same vein as The Love Hypothesis and The Hating Game this book will be perfect for you!

I wasn't a huge fan of the miscommunication because I just wanted to smack them both upside the head and make them kiss but did enjoy reading this book. I will definitely be reading the next book in the series!

STEM Romance, Dual POV, Enemies-to-Lovers, Forced Proximity, Age Gap,

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and H.L. Macfarlane for the e-ARC!

This book exceeded my expectations and then some, I cannot express how much I loved this book. It had everything I wanted, and more. Enemies to lovers, forced proximity, Dual POV, women in STEM, tension, playful banter and absolutely GIDDYING flirting.

Tom Henderson, a professor within the Molecular Genetics Lab at Glasgow University, first meets Elizabeth Maclean at a mixer event, and it's fair to say sparks fly almost immediately between the two of them. After a brief interaction, Tom finds out that due to staff shortages, he's to be her PHD assessor, and although he's thoroughly enamoured with Liz, he has to lock his feelings away, and become an asshole to her, in an attempt to shake off these feelings, dissuade himself from acting on his thoughts and be as professional as possible. Fast forward to the present, Tom's lab has set on fire, and he's moved to finish his grand proposal within the same lab as Liz. Much to Liz's dismay, they're stuck together, and even worse, with Liz's landlord evicting her and their parents getting married, Liz and Tom's lives become intertwined in ways neither would have expected.


Tom absolutely made me GIDDY, his sarcasm and playful flirting was something else and had me in an absolute chokehold. This man is the epitome. A gentle giant, with a heart of gold, but an absolute king in bed.

Liz on the other hand is a stubborn, hard headed, confident young woman, often to a fault. With a steely determination to get her own back on the ass of a professor who made her life miserable during her degree, I loved seeing her toy with Tom and get her own back, but also fight with her own increasing feelings for him.

"Why don't you kiss me and find out?"
"...excuse me?"
"I'd suggest fucking on the table but something tells me the rest of the bar wouldn't appreciate that"

The interactions between Liz and Tom were so intense and the slow tension was agonising but in the best way possible, the chemistry is palpable and makes you want to scream into a pillow. Their banter and witty interactions are really charming and utterly hilarious to read. This is definitely one of the best romance books I've read in a while, and I still think about these two daily.

I enjoyed this book. It’s a fast paced enemies to lovers romance read with a good women in STEM setting. I really liked the science background in the book.
Liz and Tom meet at a university mixer event and hit it off straight away. Tom then finds out he will be Liz PhD assessor and to avoid himself falling for her, he goes completely the other way and is vile on purpose. Later, they are thrown together again when Toms lab burns down and he ends up working in the same lab as Liz.
I have mixed feelings about the characters. Sometimes I was really rooting for them to get together and sometimes i really questioned their decision - I mean Tom going into Liz’s phone?!
Overall it was a cute read but not my favourite due to some of the characters questionable decisions and red flags.

This was an okay read for me. Maybe it’s the fact that I’ve been into thrillers more lately I just found it hard to get through this one.

I'm always a sucker for enemies to lovers. The banter was great and chemistry was there. I also like how the plot with the parents was unexpected. The only thing that bothered me was how he invaded her privacy. Red flags all around. Overall, not bad!

Thank you so much to NetGalley, the publisher and H.L. Macfarlane for this copy.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a free copy in exchange of an honest review, This book has all the tropes that I love: enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity, forbidden romance. However, the execution doesn’t quite nailed what I expected. It’s forgettable unfortunately and didn’t wow me.

A typical enemies to lover's story that fell a little short for me as I have read too many that are really similar. The characters were interesting but the plot predictable although I did enjoy the comedy side of things. I would read more from this author.

I adored this book, i was hooked from the beginning and couldn't put it down. it had all my favourite tropes;
Enemies to lovers
Age gap
Forced proximity
STEM workplace
HE FALLS FIRST
this book was giving me major Love Hypothesis vibes and it was executed very nicely. This one wasa smart, spicy rom-com that with great characters.
my favourite quote from this book:
“i never knew how much i was waiting on you until i met you”

If you enjoy books to the like of Love Hypothesis then you will find yourself enjoying this book, sadly for me I didn't really care for this romance as it read very generic and like hundreds of other books I've read before.

I was unable to provide review due to time constraints of me starting college. I look forward however to reading this book in the future simply as a fan, not a reviewer.

Liz really drew the short straw all around. I felt so so bad for her and it seemed like absolutely no one was really on her side. Tom treats her horrible for years, because apparently he can't be civil with someone he likes, which really sours him as a character for me. Instead of being an adult, he makes Liz's professional life hell and creates issues for her for years. And then he's suddenly surprised she doesn't like him. If men have one thing, it's the audacity.
Meanwhile Liz's dad heads all of this for years and has nothing better to do than hook up with Tom's mom. And instead of breaking this to her gently, in private, one on one, he's like let's all have dinner out the four of us lol. I was speechless.
Whole the writing was good and on one hand I kind of liked the story, it stressed me out to no hand. Liz was just pretty much completely on her whole everyone shit on her and expected her to take it. I couldn't root for Tom at all, after some of the shit he pulled and Liz deserved better.

I received and advanced copy of this book and voluntarily read and reviewed it. All opinions are my own.

I was really hoping this was going to be another STEM romance (because I love those), but it fell flat for sure. The enemies to lovers trope didn't work, and there was barely any STEM at all.