When I started reading The Unbalanced Equation, it strongly reminded me of The Love Hypothesis, which I (among so many others) read and loved last year. I‘m so glad to see this trope (if women in STEM can be called a trope) popping up more and more. I think, aside from Ali Hazelwood‘s works, this is the second other such book I‘ve read, and though there are a lot of parallels, I enjoyed this one as well! I guess that’s just a certain feel-good element to it.

The book started off rather strongly with the two main characters Liz and Tom meeting at a social event, and the love interest then growing distant and downright hostile because Tom is assigned to be Liz‘s PhD assessor and he doesn‘t want to mix emotions into their academic relationship.

Tom behaves very extremely and though he realises that towards the end and apologises for it eventually, I feel like his actions were way worse than how Liz acted in response, and I didn’t like the way all of this was justified.

I very much liked the chemistry between the two otherwise, and also thought that their parents were a fun addition to the plot. I practically flew through the story and had a marvellous time right until the ending - I felt like the speeches at their parents‘ wedding were cringe-y and unlike their other interactions, for some reason those didn’t make me feel anything and instead felt over-the-top and stilted.

Anyway, a quick read that I mostly enjoyed! I‘m excited to see what else the author might write in the future.

4\5 stars

This one's a really tough one to rate. Firstly, this read so similarly to the love hypothesis that I had to try very hard not the compare the two. There were so many details that just felt too similar to be able to ignore. That being said, this book was different too in a lot of ways.

I really liked Liz for the most part and found myself enjoying getting to know her character. If I'm honest, I didn't love Tom. He was super indecisive and his character was also a little bit inconsistent. At some points, he was the confident womanizer and then at other times, he became the reclusive geek. The chemistry between the two leads? That was off the charts. H L McFarlane really knows how to turn up the heat.

Overall, this was a good book and I'm glad I got the chance to read it. Thank you to the publisher for kindly providing me with an ARC via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This was mostly entertaining, but the biggest thing I can’t quite get over is the behavior of Tom, Liz’s love interest. Honestly, both Liz and Tom were very immature and thus were terrible at communicating things to each other. If that were all, I could probably bump up the rating on this a bit, but Tom’s actions definitely went overboard. It’s not that it’s not addressed in the book itself, but the way it gets explained and accepted and the way everyone moves past this behavior (for the few that actually know what happened) is… not great, lol. Like you know that’s the reasoning you’re going to get because this is a dual POV book in first person POV, so you saw Tom doing these things in earlier chapters, but at the same time those were immediate red flags. When Tom went into Liz’s phone without her knowledge… big yikes. It can’t be explained away by just saying oh, Tom’s grown up now and has learned his lesson. It felt like Tom should’ve gone to therapy and that there should’ve been some larger reason as to why he did that instead of him being childish. Idk. People don’t grow up in a week like that. Oh yes and the hotel scene, how could I forget that? Tom even realizes afterwards just how wrong he was to behave that way, but that was really uncomfortable and borderline assault (there should probably be a trigger warning for that one scene tbh). If the genre were different, maybe it'd be dubcon? But this is supposed to be a romcom, so it feels like that scene should be edited if that's not the intent.

There is some fun banter in this book, with Liz’s sarcasm and Tom’s teasing, and Liz hating Tom initially because of how he’d treated her made sense to me. Again, Tom’s reason for behaving that way is definitely like a trope from the previous decade that I don’t currently love (perhaps teenage me who read way too much shoujo manga would’ve accepted it without a second though, since this was EVERYWHERE in shoujo manga lol). The ridiculousness of their situation and how they end up working in the same lab and living in the same house are very in line with romcoms though, so I could accept it. I thought it was neat that the author incorporated things she knows and loves, like genetics and anime, although I don’t watch much anime myself so I only vaguely recognize the names of the series they mentioned. It was cute that anime was one of the things Liz and Tom bonded over.

The Unbalanced Equation had its moments, and the ending was romantic and adorable, but like the title of the book, some of the plot elements (the biggest ones having to do with Tom) prevented this from being a more enjoyable read. You kind of have to suspend a certain level of disbelief to accept what Tom does without it hurting your head.

Thanks to Netgalley and BooksGoSocial for the ARC.

This book started off strong. It’s a STEM romance in an academic setting, and is very reminiscent of The Love Hypothesis. The meet-cute in the beginning was adorable and I had high hopes. However, Tom and Liz can’t be together because the next day he’s assigned as her advisor. Makes sense. But after 4 years they didn’t reconcile and get together in a way that I enjoyed. They had very few cute moments and almost no romance between them. They just lusted after each other for majority of the book which I wasn’t a fan of… and I like smut so that’s saying something. By the end when they proclaimed their love to each other I was confused as to how they even felt that way.

That aside, I loved both characters’ attitudes, their banter, and their shameless flirting. This book was definitely funny.

I wasn’t a fan of the manipulation – from both characters. Liz seeks out to get under Tom’s skin by playing with his emotions, completely aware that he likes her. Tom is super predatory in the way that he blocked all her Tinder matches, sabotaged her apartment hunt… and the hotel room part at the convention was actually assault.

The book began to get slow at points. About halfway though, one of Liz’s friends says “It seems like literally everything would be resolved - one way or another - if you fucking talked to this man,” and I could not have agreed more.

The anime references and Halloween costumes weren’t super universal, so prepare to be confused or have to Google different shows every once in a while. I didn’t mind this though - I learned a few things. Kirby grips are just bobby pins by the way, no Nintendo reference there. I guess that’s a Scottish thing, like Calippos.

I received this as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I liked this. I think? I definitely didn’t hate it. I think my mind is still processing it. It was a cute romance book that was a bit of a slow burn, second chance, he fell first, enemies (rivals?) to lovers romance book. I just dont think I’m a huge fan of the whole being step siblings and getting together. I know it’s not incest but I wasn’t even okay with this plot line on Degrassi when that was a whole thing. And yes, I did root for Clary and Jace when I read the mortal instrument books way back when they first came out but I still thought it was weird!!

It is extremely difficult for me to rate this book.

I binged it pretty quickly, and had fun doing so. At least, I did for the first half of the book. However, an incident occurs between the two MCs about halfway through that definitely is sexual harassment, and is acknowledged as such by the MMC in his inner monologue, but is never actually addressed. He never even apologies for it or checks in with the FMC on how she feels about (she was clearly uncomfortable); instead, he just pulls away and acts cold toward her as a "solution." I just didn't feel that incident got the treatment it really needed, especially since it was specifically labeled as sexual harassment by the MMC.

It also struck me as a liiiiittle odd that their parents are getting married. They're fully grown adults so it's not as icky as if they were still teenagers or something, but they are technically step siblings.

Other than those two glaring issues, I did enjoy this book. I particularly loved the banter between the two protagonists, and their chemistry was great. If I were an editor, I'd probably suggest the author either change that one scene to be less sketchy, or at least address it clearly between the two characters.

Sooo… this wasn’t great, for a lot of reasons.

I’ll start with the most obvious part: there were too many coincidences (his lab burns down, they have to work at the same place, their parents announce they’re getting married, she loses her flat, they become roommates,…). I’ll ignore those though. I knew what I was getting into, so I can’t complain. But… that’s a lot.

Then there’s the characters, Liz and Tom. Liz is 27 years old and Tom is 38, but the age gap really didn’t matter since they both acted completely immature.
They’re both manipulative in their own way, which made rooting for them difficult. Liz was constantly trying to get under Tom’s skin and did some rather questionable things, but his behaviour raised some red flags as well. For example, he keeps deleting messages she’s getting on Tinder so she won’t date anyone.

The book also has a ton of anime references that felt like they were only thrown in to make the book seem “nerdy”. There’s such a thing as *too* many references.

The book is also rather long. Too long for me. The longer the story went on, the more annoyed I got at the characters and it got so exhausting to read that I just wanted the book to be over.

The book did have some cute moments, but those were few and far between.

If you’re looking for a good enemies to lovers romance, I’d recommend you read something else.

Wow - a great read. Two very intelligent people, one of which acting like a complete toddler made for a very entertaining read. A bit of science, a bit of conflict, some parents getting remarried and a whole lot of spice.

I thought it was well written, bar a couple of words that seemed to pop up constantly. The steamy sections were done fabulously, the right amount of steam without feeling out of place, unrealistic or ick. The perfect romance book, a great setting with bad weather (again so relatable!). Loved the strong female character and the science lab workplace which made a nice change from all the books set in law firms or advertising!

Not a laugh out loud book, but were some charming funny moments. Can't wait to see more from this author.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced reader's copy.

This book is a Love Hypothesis-ish enemies to lovers story written for an English audience. I loved the science-y vibe and step brother twist, but found the pacing off and the male character a bit off putting. It's still worth a read though!

I wanted to love this book as I love a nerdy STEM Romance and the MC Tom, is a fellow Red Dwarf fan. However, the first couple of chapters threw me off with the characters meet cute then fast forward to their abject hatred for each other. Too many expository info dumps tell the reader what’s going on and Tom’s mother infantilizing her grown up son turned me off. The characters hate each other so much but it’s not explained why until an info dump about 14% into the book. Unfortunately this book is not for me. Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy.

The Unbalanced Equation by H L Macfarlane

Elizabeth Maclean is a post doc student in her mid twenties. Thomas Henderson is a professor who ends up meeting Elizabeth at a early school function. Their is chemistry between them but that has to come to a full halt after Thomas becomes Lizzie's assessor. Tom ends up being a total jerk to Lizzie after they shared an intimate moment when they first met.

What I loved about this book is that love is complicated and beautiful its never easy. I liked the romance between Tom and Lizzie. Their was angst, sexual energy, lust, and love. This rolled all together into a steamy lust filled romance. Before you get into the good parts their is so much more to the story Tom's juvenile behavior to set up Lizzie with obstacles that work in his favor.

I found myself rooting for this couple for them to move past all the issues that lay bear before them both. Before all this can happen the reader will go on a roller coaster ride of some silly quirky behavior. I felt as a reader you can really feel the energy between Tom and Lizzie it melt through the pages. The way they looked at it each other you can imagine the lust between them.

Then when the steamy bits flow through the pages you know everything is meant to be the way they are. I also enjoyed the nerdy behavior between the two being into anime. I am not an anime fan but loved how they shared in this together.

This book brought out the hopeless romantic in me and it just lit my heart to keep the pages turning. I found myself smiling and laughing. Regardless what everyone else says but H.L. Macfarlane knocked this one out of the park. When you feel emotion from a book which the writer aspired to engage the reader this is a win. I also enjoyed the science background of these two characters.

If you are a fan of enemies to friends angst filled steamy hot romance then this book is for you. The pages will flip fast for you and you should not be disappointed. This was the second best romance novel I read this year. This was a five star read for me!

Thank you to Netgalley, and Books Go Social for a free copy of this book for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was an enjoyable read. I liked the characters and the plot was believable.

Apparently, these days every self-respecting romance has to take place at least for the most part in a lab, which might even suit me just fine because women in STEM must be getting more and more. Ma problem was that I don't like Liz, the heroine, at all, but I don't even know where to begin to explain that everything Tom does is not only wrong, but not even remotely justifiable. Having said that there are some little comic sketches that some people might even like and certainly this is my personal opinion and so it is normal that there are quite a few favorable reviews, but mine will not be among them.

A quanto pare, in questo periodo ogni romance che si rispetti deve svolgersi almeno per la maggior parte in un laboratorio, il che potrebbe andarmi anche benissimo perché le donne in STEM devono diventare sempre di piú. Se non fosse che la donna di questo romanzo, Liz, non mi piace affatto, ma non so nemmeno da dove cominciare per spiegare che tutto quello che fa Tom non solo é sbagliato, ma nemmeno lontanamente giustificabile. Fatta questa premessa ci sono dei piccoli sketch comici che potrebbero anche piacere e sicuramente questo é il mio parere personale e quindi é normale che ci siano parecchie recensioni favorevoli, ma la mia non sará tra quelle.

I received from the Publisher a complimentary digital advanced review copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.

I received this book as an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoy going in blind to new authors and I think the unbalanced equation was the perfect introduction to H.L Macfarlane. I really enjoy the “he falls first” trope and this one was executed beautifully. I also really enjoyed the fact that both main characters didn’t want to get married or have children because in most romance novels, the epilogue is all about weddings and babies. Instead, they got animals - which I think is so perfect. My only qualm with this book was the fact that her mom married his dad - I don’t really enjoy many books with the basically adult step siblings vibe but I also understand how it fit into the story. All in all, it was a wonderful novel and I would definitely recommend it to my friends.

I'm sorry to say this was just not a book for me. I gave it my all but as much as I tied I could not get in to it AT ALL. I will say, I love the cover of the book. It's very well done and it definitely grabbed my attention when I was requesting.

⊹ ࣪˖⁩ ✐ Writing:

The romance was fun- so cute, just the most fun portrayal of a second chance, forced proximity angst of two squabbling STEM grad students. (if that’s what they are, sorry, i don’t know this works bye) Initially, It felt like the banter was forceful for the sake of being snarky but it picks up and gets way more interesting as things go by. They’re both into anime and that’s how they hit off, i thought that was a fun little touch.

If you’re looking for something similar to the Love Hypothesis - without the annoying bits, pick this up!

⊹ ࣪˖⁩ ✐ Plot/ Characters:

I had to overlook the setting of their relationship throughout the book, it was just too unrealistic to feel right lol. Thomas develops a horrible crush, finds out he’s supposed to be Lizzie’s assessor and needs to keep things professional. BUT then years ago by, they’re forced to work together AND they find out their parents are getting married AND due to unfortunately suspicious circumstances she has to move into his place? 🤨 All that aside- it was really fun and cute. Have i mentioned the fact that Thomas is literally the perfect MC? he’s so obsessed with her and doesn’t even try to hide it. The pining? the angst, the shameless flirting! We love a man that knows and does everything in his power to get what he wants <33333

Overall I quite enjoyed this book. However I found the main male character Tom very annoying and quite immature considering his age, he was frustrating and not a great match for the female character. But it was quite a good read and I would recommend it. Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced read

Thank you netgalley and publisher for opportunity to read and review this arc honestly.

Overall I enjoyed the book, story, characters, and dialogue. I felt invested enough I wanted to smack some sense into one a few times. There were funny parts in the book, some steamy as well, and I was interested enough to continue down the journey. Overall I would (and will) recommend to friends that enjoy this genre and trope. Interested to read more by this author.

3.5 ✨

I ended up enjoying this much more than I expected to! Initially, it reminded me a lot of The Love Hypothesis, and not in a good way, but I am pleasantly surprised at how the story progressed. It’s a really fun enemies-to-lovers story that kept me entertained the whole time.

This story has a lot of tropes that I enjoy, including enemies to lovers, forced proximity (housing situation & workplace), and Tom falls hard first. I thought that both of the characters were really well fleshed out and seemed more realistic, despite both of their childish antics throughout the story.

Tom was extremely difficult to like at times. Not only is he 11 (?) years Liz’s senior, he is incredibly childish. If someone had pulled the same manipulative stunts that he had on me, I wouldn’t give them a second/third/whatever chance. I did appreciate how the guilt weighed on him and it caused him to do some serious reflection and apologizing later on.

I did have one main complaint with this story that colored my enjoyment and perception moving on - and what caused me to round down my rating. There is a consent issue in the middle of the book. There is a scene where both Tom and Liz travel for a work conference and somehow (the details here are a bit fuzzy), Tom ends up with Liz’s room key. He accidentally walks in on her masturbating and instead of leaving, he stays and inserts himself into this scene. Despite her saying “no” and “please leave.” It eventually becomes “consensual”, but how consensual can it be when you’re obligated to a situation you didn’t ask for? This scene is addressed later on in the next chapter, but not to the degree that I would have hoped for.

In all, I enjoyed this book. I thought it was well written and, despite needing a different editor to cut down some of the prose, would read more from this author.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy!

I’ve come to the decision to DNF this book at 40%. Y’all. Let me tell you about this book.

It started off really strong on the anime references (this is not hate to anime I just don’t know anything about it so off the bat, this book wasn’t in my wheelhouse). Then, we got further in and those slowed down and the story progressed and I thought this could end up being pretty cute. But then I decided that no adult man should behave the way Tom does. If Adam Carlsen, the hero in the Love Hypothesis, was a total creep and absolute jerk, then you would have Tom. So basically, Tom is Tom from The Love Hypothesis. Except simultaneously better and worse.

Again, I wanted to stick it out because I saw some strong reviews for this one and I thought it could be a cute, fast read to pick up before bed every night. But tell me how I’ve been reading over a week and I’m only 40% through? I am a firm believer than no romance book should be more than approximately 350 pages (with a few rare exceptions (shout out Emily Henry)). This book has absolutely no business being 456 pages. I made it almost 200 pages in with absolutely nothing happening. If it’s going to be that long, the pacing should at least be quick.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read an arc of this book for free! I’m so sorry to say I would not recommend.