At first, I was putting off reading this book because I thought it was going to be The Love Hypothesis again - younger female, hunky angry advisor, STEM, etc. I'm so glad I pushed past those initial feelings because I truly enjoyed this book.

The Unbalanced Equation follows Tom and Liz, four years after they hit it off at a party. Four years after he unexpectedly became her PhD advisor and turned into a massive jerk. In multiple ways, after they thought they'd finally gone their separate ways, their lives are intertwined more than they ever expected. Can he redeem himself after four years of being her worst nightmare? Can she reconcile the old Tom with the new Tom she's seeing now? Read and find out!

I do feel there was a missed opportunity to talk more about Liz's desires to go into gene therapy and Tom's pivot into that field himself. It felt like both wanted to go that way because of losing their parents, but it was never stated. It felt like a missed chance for emotional bonding.

Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for this ARC.

Reading the first chapter, I didn’t want this book to suck me in — I’m not a science person or someone even remotely familiar with anime. Turns out the book was adorable, funny, and compelling regardless of my quibbles.

I read this one in two sittings! A great enemies turned lovers plot with lots of laugh out loud moments along the way!

Liz hates Tom. Then one day they find out their parents are getting married, and they all move in together.

Honestly the book wasn’t terrible it just felt weird to me. Tom was an alright character and Liz wasn’t as bad as Tom. it really could’ve been better. Like the characters were alright I liked Tom sometimes but then the rest he was meh. Same with Liz. And the plot was a little weird like you just found out your parents are getting married to each other and you’re kissing and having sex. 😭😭

Also I don’t think Liz should have forgiven Tom so fast.


Spoilers:





When I started this book I was hoping the parents wouldn’t actually get married but nope they did! And the way they became a couple at their wedding made it even worse. Like that’s your step sister . It was even weirder that everyone was just okay with their relationship as if they aren’t step siblings. I definitely would’ve liked it a lot more if the parents didn’t get married and they just called off the wedding. But yea I still don’t get how everyone was okay with it like even the parents 😭

3.5 ⭐️

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

To be honest, I was a little hesitant during the first few chapters, but I ended up really enjoying this. Most of my worries at the start (stem)med from the fact that it was very similar to The Love Hypothesis, but I also found the characters a little bit flat to begin with. It very quickly picked up for me though and began to come across as the individual story it is. I loved both the main characters, and enjoyed their easy banter (when they weren't hating each other). The forced proximity trope was perfect for this storyline and some of the scenes were so cute and romantic. I also liked that the chapters alternated between them, as it gave greater insight into their thoughts and feelings. Their views on long term relationships were refreshing to see in a romance novel and I hope to see more of it. I also loved the relationship they had with their parents and their friends, it was very wholesome and loving.

There were a couple of small things that frustrated me. Without spoilers, there were 2 moments where the main characters manipulations of each other went a step too far for me. The other was that some chapters felt like they could have continued the scene but instead skipped ahead in time which I found a little abrupt, which is only really a negative because I wanted to read more!

I think I'm always going to be a fan of STEM set novels, but I really enjoyed this romance and honestly wish I could start it again for the first time!

I requested this from NetGalley because it’s clearly meant to be similar to The Love Hypothesis which it is but nowhere near as good. The main characters aren’t particularly likeable and behave quite childishly for people aged around 30. The setup reminded me a lot of a 90s/00s teen romantic comedy movie with the main couple's parents getting married and them all living together for needless reasons. They behaved like teenagers playing silly games and with him being an asshole towards her for no real reason. His meanness made no sense and seemed to conflict with his personality which made it stand out even more. This happens off the page but it’s referenced often enough to seem like a different character all together is being discussed altogether.

The pacing was pretty slow which doesn’t work very well for a romantic comedy and I felt the story dragging and tiresome to read.

Having said all that negative stuff though, I did enjoy some of the banter between Thomas and Lizzie, especially in their initial meeting and I always love a pining hero.

Elizabeth Maclean managed to survive the four years under her tyrannical PhD assessor Doctor Thomas Henderson. She’s started her postdoc, glad to be free from Tom. But his lab gets burnt to the ground and he’s given a space to work in the same lab as Liz…on the same bench. To make matters worse, Tom’s mum and Liz’s dad surprise them both by announcing their whirlwind marriage and Liz’s landlord wants her out. Tom offers her a temporary place to stay. Will Liz uncover Tom’s true feelings or are they doomed to fail in their co-existence experiment?

If you like STEM romance, this might be one for you. I can’t help but compare it The Love Hypothesis– you’ve got the enemies to lovers and miscommunication tropes, slow burn romance, forced proximity. But that’s where the similarities end.

Told from a dual POV, The Unbalanced Equation is rife with red flags. Tom is a rich 38 professor but acts like a jealous 16 year old, sabotaging many aspects of Liz’s life in order to force her to stick around and like him (seriously?!) and Liz is almost 28 and keeps playing games with Tom trying to get revenge for how he treated her during her PhD. I didn’t think the chemistry was there between these two characters. Their relationship is so toxic in so many ways and the story is just too long and drawn out. It’s quite repetitive too so I struggled to finish it.

To be honest, I really didn’t want Tom and Liz to end up together because of the toxicity and childishness of their relationship. Can people just not talk about their feelings and where they stand? I think that in many ways this book just missed the mark.

Not for me I’m afraid. Thanks to BooksGoSocial and NetGalley for the ARC. The Unbalanced Equation is out the 15th of September.

I can't believe I just read about a fMC (Liz) and mMC (Tom), both scientists, with actual chemistry, decent banter and tension. It's been a while since that's happened. There's even dual POV and the guy is the one pining too. I was unsure about the direction but I became invested once the story found it's flow. It did unfortunately lose a lot of momentum in the last quarter though. A few things happening that I found either unnecessary or too drawn out. Almost as if everyone turned on their "let's be childish" switches. The conflict felt like such a waste of time. Also, why is no one in their personal lives weirded out by the whole step-sibling thing? 🤔 They're sharing parents now. lol 😐

If you're one of the STEM girlies out there then this is a romance especially for you. The science discussions will be right up your alley.



Thanks to NetGalley and Macfarlane Lantern Publishing for providing a copy for an honest review.

I really really loved this book !

First it has everything you need : Really great characters, ennemies to lovers and force proximity.
She is a badass, he has a HUGE crush on her, what more can I say.

AND ... they don't want to get married or have kids !! I didn't even know I needed a representation but it felt so good. This book will stay close to my heart thanks to that ! (and this point didn't even change my rating on the book, that's how great I think this book is).

...

"Miss M-"
"Doctor"
"Of course. Doctor Maclean. I didn't mean to offend you."
"I'm sure, Doctor Henderson".
"It's Professor now."
"I know. I meant to offend you."

4,5 ⭐️
Okay where to begin, I’m in love. With this book, with the plot, with the characters, with the setting, with the tropes…Yeah you get the gist right? I devoured this book in one day, it was an easy read, and not too long and not too short.

Some of the tropes in this book are: Enemies to lovers, STEM, close proximity, misunderstanding, the guy falls first, teacher-student, age gap, Rich/poor.

The characters have really funny banter and I keep hearing them saying it in this lovely scottish accent. Which is another thing I loved in this book, that it’s set in Scotland! Makes me really want to go there on my next holiday. And I mean, who else really want to be able to go see Toms townhouse and the family estate in real life?

Also lastly I find it so refreshing that the authour writes about not wanting to have kids and get married! This is a topic that needs to be put into these kinds of books so much more, since it’s still (in 2022) taboo to not want to have kids.
Thanks Netgalley and H.L Macfarlane for letting me read this amazing book! Lots of love, Frida

Who doesn’t love a good enemies to lovers with forced proximity set in a STEM background?! This was such a cute rom com and is truly a combo of two of my favorite books, The Hating Game and The Love Hypothesis. If you are a fan of any of the above do yourself a favor and pick up this book.

Thank you netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.
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Unbalanced Equation was a funny, slow burn romcom that I think will be compared to The Love Hypotheses, but this book has its own distinct differences.
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You’ll enjoy this book if you like:
•enemies to lovers
•work place romance
•forced proximity
•age gap
•STEM romance

I enjoyed the dual POV, it’s my favorite way for romance books to be written. I liked the banter between Tom and Liz. I’m not a fan of the miscommunication trope and I thought the characters were a bit immature at times, but overall it was a cute read.

Thank you netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Unfortunately I was not enthralled by these characters. The lacked that off the chart chemistry that often comes with enemies to lovers novels. It's slow to pick up and no comedic relief.

This story is simply delightful. The book’s description says that it’s perfect for fans of The Hating Game and The Love Hypothesis and I couldn’t agree more. It’s definitely enemies to lovers between two scientist who find their lives suddenly tangled together at the turn of a few events. Between all the banter, angst and witty remarks exchanged between the characters, I had a lovely time reading this book.

Elizabeth hates her PhD assessor. He makes her life like a living hell, is critical, and is cold. Most importantly, he doesn't remember her as the girl he flirted with the night before she got assigned to him. Thomas and Liz are thrown together (after she thought she was finally done with him) after his undergrads burn down his lab and their parents announce that they are getting married. Now they have to learn to like each other.
This STEM romance had me fawning at first, especially with the energy the cover was giving. However, the more I read the more I felt iffy about it. Tom is a walking and talking red flag. I could not/would not fall in love with him lol Liz was also pretty immature.
The writing style was pretty fast paced and engaging. There was a lot of repetition though. The same conflicts over and over again.

I’d like to thank NetGalley, BooksGoSocial, and H.L. Macfarlane for this arc in exchange for an honest review. Going into this, I knew it was enemies to lovers. I knew it’d have all the angst, emotions, discomfort, and tension most adore. The plot was steamy and left me squealing in place over some parts! Liz is a postdoc, Tom is her former PhD assessor, talk about awkward. The two end things when they first meet at a staff/student mixer when Tom starts acting completely awful. Given the circumstances, he thought he was doing the right thing. He thought he wasn’t good enough for her. HE FELL FIRST!!! Fate puts them in each other’s lives when their own parents decide to get married and the two have to work through what seems like years of resentment towards each other.

I love a good STEM romance so I was pretty into this. The banter was funny, the chemistry was incredible, and overall it was enjoyable. Tom was a moron most of the time. I mean seriously, the things he did to her life? Insanity. I didn’t care for Tom at all and personally thought that Liz could do way better. He is extremely questionable and he seems so toxic, especially when he spent months pining over her and ruining her life and still couldn’t tell her he has feelings! He was manipulative in my book, though he did make me smile when he took care of Liz on her period <3

I really liked how different Liz was. I see many authors push the narrative of the two protagonists getting married and having babies which works for some book couples yes! And as much as I adore those plot lines, it was also refreshing to see the complete opposite. Liz and Tom ended up together but without the pressure of getting married or having kids. There are other things they chose for their lives that are just as important. Liz was also just so so lovely. She clearly has an incredible future lined up with her research.

I enjoyed this book, I just didn’t connect with the characters that much. Some of the lines made me uncomfortable. The adult step siblings thing was really something I could’ve lived without but I enjoyed seeing how they came together in the end to save their parents’ wedding! Aaaand Tom’s confession during said wedding was kind of adorable.

I do love a good rom-com and I have to say that The Unbalanced Equation was a very enjoyable rom-com. A fun haters to lovers story with a few unexpected interesting twists.

I had high hopes for this one and it did not disappoint.

There are many enemies-to-lovers novels on the market currently, and as one of my favourite tropes, I was so excited to pick this up. This novel has leapt up my favourites list as it is just so funny. I laughed out loud numerous times.

I loved that it was set in Scotland too! 'The Unbalanced Equation' also features nods to many nerdy pop culture favourites which really helped to ground it in reality.

The characters are really likeable and I enjoyed the dual perspective. Tom (the male love interest) was written brilliantly - it felt so fresh and believable to read which really enhanced the story.

If you like slow burn, sexy romances then this one is definitely for you!

I requested this book when I was still testing out the Netgalley waters, and therefore was not paying a lot of attention to the short blurb. Now that I am actually reading all the books I've requested, I've noticed this one is not at all what I would normally read, therefore I'm unable to give it a fair review.

This was awl very interesting plot, at times I did not like the male main character, he rubbed me the wrong way , I still ended up wanting them to work out.