3.75 rounded up to 4 stars.
A big thank you to H.L Macfarlane and her publishers for granting me the opportunity to read with an ARC! I absolutely adored this book. The book follows Liz, a smart, driven postdoc and her former PhD assessor, Tom, who has been pining after her for YEARS after an encounter at a department social that should have very well set things underway between the two of them, had the stars aligned that way.

Tom’s plans are seemingly upended after he has no choice but to serve as her PhD assessor while Liz completes her doctorate studies. In a somewhat selfish defensive mechanism, Tom treats Liz much harder than any of the other PhD students. His reasoning? If he were to treat her poorly enough, then he certainly would not be attracted to her anymore, and her to him.

Four years later, their paths cross again when Liz accepts a postdoc at her former university’s lab under professor Daichi Ito, who just so happens to be Tom’s best friend and newest temporary addition to the Ito lab after an accident burns down Tom’s lab. The two of them find out they still cannot escape each other when Liz’s dad and Tom’s mom announce to them at dinner that they will be getting married after meeting in a grief support group. Liz’s life takes another spin towards a downward spiral after she is kicked out of her apartment and with little options forced to move into the townhouse where Tom, his mother, and her father are all currently living. Under the same roof, Tom and Liz’s relationship goes through many different ups and downs.

Liz and Tom’s dynamic, despite their age gap, is spicy and fun. The chemistry and the banter between the two of them was fun to read. The tension between the two of them really has you turning the page to find out when they’ll finally give in.

What I didn’t love was the parent’s storyline - I think this book could have been better without it I found myself as a person with a stepbrother finding that part of their sexual relationship a little weird. I also found it a little weird/selfish that both Liz and Tom used their respective toasts to their parents to declare their love for each other, which just made the parent storyline so much more out of place. I also think that at some points both Liz and Tom crossed a line with each other in their manipulative moves that were kind of a turn off. Liz wasn’t without fault, but Tom’s behavior was much worse and also basically an invasion of privacy.

Overall, it was a fun read! Thank you again to NetGalley and H.L. Macfarlane for the chance to read.

ARC read

I enjoyed this book so much! I was engaged with both perspectives of the main characters from the get go. I’m getting into the romance genre and found there were so many funny and relatable moments. If you’re a fan of enemies to lovers and forced proximity tropes with a bit of spice, then this is for you.

With the opening scene, the stage is set between our two main characters Liz and Tom having an instant attraction at a teacher/student mixer at their university. Unfortunately, Tom is assigned Liz’s assessor for her PhD, so he takes the professional approach and decides being an asshole is the best way for them not to like each other over the course of her PhD.

Fast forward 4 years and some unfortunate circumstances sees them having to share the same lab. About 11% in, a twist that no one could have seen coming, places them in more of a forced proximity besides working at the same lab. From there, there’s a bit of manipulation on Tom’s part and game playing on Liz’s part (as revenge for Tom’s treatment during her PhD), to see their relationship grow, in a sort of twisted way.

I enjoyed the interactions between Liz and Tom. For people that can’t talk about their feelings and using sarcasm to deflect, it was funny to read, though also frustrating that they couldn’t communicate at times. Don’t get me wrong, the frustration fit well with the story and admittedly at the end of the book, both MCs accept their need to grow up.

If I wasn’t so busy in my real life, I could have read this book much faster as it’s easy to read, flows well and the story engaging. I definitely wanted to know more of how they would come together and kept turning the page in order to find out more. If I had to put my book down, I was thinking about when I could get back to it. It was nice to read a romance set in Scotland too. Such a great read and the ensemble of characters in the book worked wonderfully. Would recommend to anyone who love romcoms.

Love!! Has a very unique twist to the enemies-to-lovers trope, there is back and forth sarcasm. Fun times!
Has science talk and anime which I know nothing about, but did not distract me from the overall story. Dual POV, love it. Gives the reader a chance to see into the mind of both characters and their feelings of one another. Has a nice flow, very easy read.

Thank you Netgalley for this arc.

This is a double POV love story that I absolutely loved!

We follow Liz as she goes through her studies as a scientific researcher in her late twenties. A woman who refused to settle down for compromises and who has a very annoying, rude, but dangerously handsome Professor Henderson.

Professor Henderson. The man of the hour. A man with a crush, but you know, just a crush right? Oh, how glad he was that Liz got stuck with him day in and day out for three months.

I loved these two. Liz and her complete denial. Tom with his puppy love self. The lengths they went to get on each other's nerves. The banter was five stars.

I do think the story was a tad bit long. And sometimes Tom did feel like a 25 year old guy more so then an almost 40 year old man.

Otherwise I highly recommend this romance book to everyone!

I had never heard of the author before picking this book simply based on the cover, description and title but man it was so darn good. At times there were some slow parts, but in the end a slow burn was perfect for scientists. I would highly recommend this book and am so glad I got the chance to read the ARC. Definitely add this to your TBR.

My word, what a book. I really enjoyed reading this book because who doesn't love reading about Academia and seeing character growth. I went into the book blindly and am glad I decided to read it because it was an amazing read and I cannot wait to explore more from the author.

Thomas Henderson took the possessive hero to another level, even if some of his choices were questionable, the justification he used for himself for them was enough to make us readers believe he did not mean bad but just did not have much foresight.

Liz was a refreshing read, a grumpy woman who stuck to her morals and she was a FMC with whom I related a lot, be it her firm beliefs, her focus on her job and her future and everything in between.

All in all, it was an amazing read and I would recommend you all to add it to the TBR and read it for sure when it drops in a few days.

What can I say about this book? I loved it, actually to say that I loved it is not enough.
FINALLY a book where the female protagonist actually has a personality, and it's not all about the love of the male character.
FINALLY a romance where the female has other plans for the future, I can't say much or I'll spoil everything.
I finished this book in a couple of days and it was really slow burning, I just kept turning to page cause I needed to know more, and read more (y'all know what I mean).
To all the men out there, even though Tom Is a bit of a prick he made raise my bar just a little bit higher now.
Read this book, you won't regret it.

*Earc provided by Netgalley*

I thought this book so absolutely cute! This book gave me “Love Hypothesis” vibes.

While reading, I found myself laughing and smiling uncontrollably. This book incorporated a lot of my favorite reading tropes which included:
• age gap
• enemies to lovers
• and STEM!

Would definitely recommend this book.
4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

i was super excited to read this because who doesn’t love a enemies to lovers STEM rom-com.

it has two POVS which is nice to know how both characters feel within the same moments and i enjoyed the funny sarcastic banter.

even though it was a very short dialogue i loved how the author added something about jenny having a rough birth with thomas, as someone who suffered a severe traumatic birth last year and still struggle to this day it was nice to read in a book because these are real life issues.

the only plot point i didn’t like was the two main characters elizabeths dad and thomas’ mum getting together/married making them step siblings. the two characters were in their older adult years though so i know a lot of people don’t really mind it however that’s just a personal preference but the book was still a light read and i really enjoyed reading it.

thank you netgally for letting me read this arc in exchange for an honest review.

When people say forced proximity trope, they really mean it for this title lol!! I love science. I love romance, And I loved this book. It was silly and sweet and all of the tropes that a romance lover could want. It makes me excited to read more from this author!!!!!

This book was such a pleasant surprise. I read this after finishing another STEM based romance and this one definitely deserves the praise and accolades for a book well written. This was delightful, sexy, and funny, so pretty much it’s a complete package in the romcom world.

As I stated I really enjoyed my experience reading this. I will admit at times I thought the book was getting a little long but then the characters would reel me back in and I would be a goner again for the story telling. However, I probably could have used a little more climax (pun intended) after their third act breakup and perhaps a little less wedding details. Either way, I still really liked this book and thought it was a job well done.

Tom. Oh Tom. He needed a swift kick in the pants for most of this book. He’s the quintessential “bad behaviors for right reasons” type of guy. If we break it down he’s very manipulative to Liz in pretty much every conceivable way. She’s quick to forgive and forget and while that’s a good thing I think she needed a few more days of eating ice cream on her friends couch before she rushed off with him into the night.

I enjoyed the sexual tension between these characters. Initially that’s what pulled me in. The chemistry was palatable and I loved it so much. The conversation in the bar with him telling her he’d have sex on the table with her just about gave me a heart attack, but only in the best way possible. The pay off was worth the wait and I was extremely gratified with how that aspect of their relationship panned out.

This book is so close to being a five star but I sometimes struggled with Tom and Liz both stepping over the threshold of is it consensual or is it not? The shower scene (while hot) rubbed me the wrong way, as did the hotel scene where she clearly asked him to leave but he didn’t. I still enjoyed it, but I can see how some people might find that more off putting. Either way I will sing this books praises to anyone willing to listen. Also, I can’t wait for the audiobook to be able to hear Scottish accents. That will just be the frosting on top of the cake.

Women in STEM stories are usually an instant buy for me, so thank you so much Netgalley for the ARC. I always have about 3 books I’m reading at once, but I read the Unbalanced Equation in one sitting. I thought this story was so creative and addictive. It gave me Ali Hazelwood / Love on the brain vibes. And the banter UGH 10/10! I also loved that is was spicy but not too spicy.

Just when I thought things could not get worse… it does, in this book. I just cannot wrap my head around it and this might be spoiler-y, but why would someone pursue their soon-to-be stepsister?

I got it, Tom liked Liz, despite being an asshole to her while supervising her research back in PhD programme. Turns out he was being one to escape his grief toward the loss of a father, which turns out to be the same time she lost a mother. Big deal. But to pursue her further after his mom practically said she was engaged to the woman’s dad? And keep pursuing her? It just sounds wrong to me.

The characters are one-dimensional, and I must admit how brave the heroine is for pointing out how the hero is the epitome of white male privilege! I do not really get the enemies-to-lovers part, but I get the gist of it… maybe.

But what actually turned me off is the way Tom barged into his room whereas Liz was off… jacking herself and yelling Tom to get out but instead he pulled the duvet off her. What the actual hell. That’s just privacy violation.

3.5 stars, but rounded up to 4 on goodreads!

Elizabeth finally graduated with her doctorate in molecular biology and never has to see her PhD assessor ever again... until she ends up working side by side with him and ends up somehow even closer. This was such a well written enemies to lovers trope! There was the perfect amount of spice and the dual perspective was so fun to read. I love a book set in a STEM University setting- it gave total The Love Hypothesis vibes with an added age gap.

Thank you, Netgalley for the ARC!

The Unbalanced Equation is a second-chance, steamy romance between two nerdy researchers in Glasgow. Tom and Liz have a meet cute early on and are incredibly attracted to one another but fate isn't on their side. Turns out the Tom is going to be Liz's PhD assessor and that puts a full stop to their romance. Fast forward a few years Tom is a professor and Liz is a post-doc and she absolutely hates his guts. For valid reason too since he made her life a living hell during her PhD to keep his feelings at bay and keep things professional between them. With their parents now getting hitched and Tom's lab being restructured, the two have no choice but to be in each other's lives again. This is tough for both of them since they're still very much attracted to each other. This story is a second chance romance that is enemies to lovers (one-sided), has women in STEM, forced proximity, and an age gap couple.

I was feeling ill and this book was just so amusing that I finished it in a night. The anime references at the beginning were a huge cringe/turn off for me and that's saying something since I watch anime. It just felt a little heavy handed but I got the point the author was making. I thought the dynamic between the two leads was the best part of the story. They're both just doing the most constantly and somehow it works for them. I disliked the male lead for 98% of the story. Apart from being this hot older guy, I"m not sure why the female lead, Liz, even likes him? He does some INCREDIBLY questionable things in this story that I would have banished him to the shadow realm. Liz reconciles his immature and frankly red-flag behaviour too soon with very little discussion between the two of them.

I just wish we got to see them talk more because the author established there was chemistry. However, since we didn't get to see what went down during the PhD years where Tom was an absolute menace to Liz, I think we just needed to see more of what made them really like each other as people besides the fact they both like anime and they're both outrageously hot. I also could have done without the adult step siblings factor but I can see that as a medium for forced proximity. I think it added to their overall dramatic messiness and buffoonery as two adults trying to make a relationship of sorts work though.

This wasn't a typical read for me and perhaps on a better day I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much. But when you're ill and regretting your choices, it's kind of hilarious to see character that are older than you be messy, ridiculous clowns in love.

Thank you to BooksGoSocial and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced reader copy of this book.

Although this book had some fun and sexy moments, the familial context made the romance pretty cringe. I think without the frame or if you don’t think too hard about it, there is some charm and chemistry, but it was hard to want to root for either of these characters in their push and pull sexual power struggle and the deceit within their relationship.

Thank you to BooksGoSocial for the ARC, in exchange for an honest review.
Dnf@46%.
I was really excited about the premise of this book, but it fell flat for me. I think the author did a good job of building up the backgrounds for the two MCs to be a good pair, but I felt like the two did not have many meaningful interactions even when I was almost halfway through the story. Further, there was a lot of telling instead of showing when Liz referenced how Tom had been rude to her. There was what I felt like to be an excess of “will they / won’t they”, and both of the main characters tended to act in a way that lacked self-awareness, was otherwise pretty toxic, and just overall cringy (especially Tom —> even when self-aware he still managed to be manipulative and immature).
Just overall not for me, but might be worth the try if you enjoyed the Love Hypothesis.

I would like to thank netgalley and BooksGoSocial for a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I found the main male character really problematic.

This was better than i anticipated. I definitely think fans of The Love hypothesis might enjoy this one quite a bit. As a STEM major who hopes to work in a lab, the new romance stories featuring female lab workers make me really excited so as soon as I saw the cover and read the synopsis i knew I had to request this one.
I find enemies to lovers to be an overdone trope (mostly because its not really a favorite for me) but i think it was done really really well in this instance. The banter was on point and the chemistry was also definitely there, and it didn't hurt that I also loved Liz as a character as well. Tom was great, but also could be quite annoying at times which did get on my nerves at one point. But overall this was solid with a lot of focus on the science which I LOVED.

So this definitely has all the makings for a book I would love: enemies-to-lovers, age-gap, forced proximity, guy falls first- like everything I would love. And it's not to say that I don't, it's just not what I was hoping for. The premise is like a love child to The Hating Game (purposefully have not read, but do know the premise) and The Love Hypothesis (actually obsessed with this book,) but it doesn't measure up for me unfortunately. Tom and Liz (the main characters) are not super likeable, and as the reader, I'm just not feeling sympathetic. I do enjoy the banter and side characters, however. There is plenty of spice in this book, and it's pretty decent.

Overall, not my favorite, but not a waste of my time either.