2 Stars The Unbalanced Equation started off cute (especially with that meet cute), but went downhill quickly for me. The beginning gave me The Love Hypothesis vibes, but the stepsiblings trope was a big nope for me. I’ve read other books where the main characters have romantic feelings that they haven’t acted on, then their parents announce they are dating/getting married and the main characters will be stepsiblings. Something about this and how they’ll be related by marriage just makes it icky for me and I couldn’t get past it to get into the romance. I’m definitely disappointed because the start was so cute, especially since Tom has clearly been hiding his feelings from Liz for a long time, while pining for her.

3.5 Stars
Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!
Tropes you have to love for this book: age gap, enemies to lovers, forced proximity, guy falls first
After Tom and Liz met and had an interaction full of sexual tension, he finds out he is going to be her PhD Assessor. Instead of doing the normal thing and saying "we need to keep this professional", he essentially makes her working life hell. Jump ahead to Liz finishing her PhD and thinking she's free of him, they are thrown back together both in the lab when they have to share a workbench and in life when Liz's dad and Tom's mom announce they are getting married. I wanted to like this more than I did... but some of the actions of Liz and Tom were so immature it was hard to take them seriously. The manipulations by Tom (after justifying being mean to Liz fo years) and the way Liz tried to make Tom's life miserable while living in his house... both so questionable. 
Things I did like: the dual POV, the age gap, Liz knowing her worth and knowing that she doesn't need marriage and kids to be happy, their banter and relationship when they were actually being good to one another
It was close to four stars for me, but just missed the mark. I'll be interested in seeing who the next two books in the series are written about!

I was sure as hell this book deserved more than 3 stars, but I didn't feel 4 stars was the way to go. So... here we go, 3.5 stars for "The (Un)Balanced Equation".

Liz and Tom met at a "welcoming" party and there was immediate chemistry between them. When Liz has to run off from the party, Tom is determined to find her, ask for her number, and start something... Until that plan is crashed by the fact Tom has to be Liz's professor. He decides to stay away from her and act like an insensible dude during the four years Liz is her student, so their relationship is pretty much non-existent when, due to tragic circumstances, Liz and Tom have to work together. Now that years have passed, and Liz is no longer her student, maybe something could happen... Instead for the fact that Liz hates Tom after the hell he put her through during those years.

If you love any of these clichés, this book is for you: second chance romance, enemies to lovers, forced proximity, lots of tension, and steamy sex. If you've read "The Love Hypothesis" and want more books like it, this one is for you as well.

This book has a lot of things I love. It kept me intrigued and made me forget I was reading it because I was so into the story time didn't pass around me. The author has a way of narrating that is funny and easy, and it keeps you hooked on the story.

I found the romance cute despite some very questionable points (that I will discuss later on), and the hot scenes were good. There was a lot of well-constructed sexual tension during the entire book.

I absolutely adored the Halloween party, it was my undoubted favorite part of the book and I really enjoyed reading it.

Now, here is what I didn't like that much: the male main character. Yes, I know how that sounds, but I have my reasons.

Tom is pushing his forties, so you would expect the man to be mature for his age. Sorry to break it for you, but he is definitely not.

And Liz... Liz was equally childish. They're just a perfect match.

I'm a huge fan of enemies to lovers, but I was missing that "hatred turns into passion" in this book. I felt their relationship was entirely based on "instalove" (which I despise), sexual tension, and insulting each other here and there when they did not really mean a single word.

A lot of scenes gave me second-hand embarrassment, except when I was trying to punch Tom through my Kindle screen for being, and I quote my dear Liz, a bastard.

But, overall, it was a good book. It was fresh, steamy, and, in complete honesty, everything I expected it to be when I started reading it.

The Unbalanced Equation starts with a rewritten first line of 'Pride and Predjudice' and it's not the only time it tries to draw a parallel between itself and the classic romance novel.

The prologue shows the immediate connection between Liz and Tom that's proptly followed by the shocking news that Tom is going to be Liz's PhD assessor and he decides to be terrible to her, because they can't be together. The actual story starts when she already has her PhD and ends up both working (due to a fire) and living (because of their parents getting married) with Tom.

I liked the relationship aspect of the story a lot. Because of the two point of views we know what both of the main characters think about each other. Liz and Tom are coworkers which helps a lot with the weird power dynamic a lot of romance books have. All of the friendships depicted feel realistic and like actual friendships.

What I didn't like was the manipulation and how quickly it got resolved. I think it deserved a much longer conflict than it got in the book and it caused the ending to feel very rushed to me.

I have a love/hate relationship with the enemies to lovers trope but fancied something light after a busy week at work and this seemed to fit the bill. A STEM setting, set in Glasgow, what more could this British geek want? Macfarlane's writing is witty and well-paced, though a tad repetitive at times. I really liked Liz and Tom, though there were moments when I wanted to yell at Tom to grow up.

Altogether, an enjoyable, fun read for a rainy afternoon. 4 out of 5.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this in exchange for my honest review.

Normally I love the enemies to lovers trope - what is better than witty and snarky banter, mixed with sexual frustration.

However, I really struggled with loving The Unbalanced Equation. Their relationship felt more toxic hatred to toxic relationship than enemies to lovers. With the exception of Liz & Tom, Jenny & Jim, the characters were easy to forget and difficult to connect with.

I know that this book got a lot of love, but unfortunately it fell flat for me. I couldnt' get past the toxicity of the characters. If it wasn't for H. L. Macfarlane's writing style (that kept me captivated), I would have only given it two stars, but it deserved an extra star for the writing style!

Thank you to NetGalley & BooksGoSocial for this ARC for my 100% honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Unbalanced Equation starts off with the flashback to the first meeting between the FMC, Liz, and the MMC, Tom. There's a spark between them from the get-go due to their shared interests, but various circumstances keep them from developing their romantic relationship beyond initial interests. Pining ensues.

I feel bad because I wanted to enjoy this book, but it just wasn't for me. I found both main characters to be rather unlikable and immature, and the entire foundation for their relationship felt kind of gross. I'm not a fan of mismatched power dynamics, and there's no amount of convincing that can get me on board with it.

This might be a bit nit-picky, but the shared interests I mentioned above were a string of references to real life media, which to me is not the best way to start a book because it ruins the immersion and almost feels like the author just wanting to show off how well-versed they are in "nerd" subculture.

To be completely honest, I think this book could do with another pass with an editor. There were multiple times where punctuation, or a lack thereof, made me have to stop and re-read certain passages to understand what the author was trying to say.

Overall, I think this has the potential to be a good book with some more work. Or maybe I'm just not the target demographic as someone who also didn't love The Love Hypothesis.

The Unbalanced Equation is the first book in the Hot Mess Trilogy, an enemies-to-lovers romantic comedy, written by H. L. Macfarlane.

Fun, fast-paced and enjoyable read in an academic STEM setting!

Writing your PhD is no easy feat, especially not when your assigned assessor is doing his best to make your life a misery; challenging everything you do and forcing you to redo research to the Nth degree. Thomas F*cking Henderson is your man and he made Liz' life a complete hell for four years.

With her PhD behind her, she has successfully secured a research post, but to her horror she ends up having Professor Henderson as her a bench partner, thanks to ever so slightly meddling Professor Ito, the best friend of Professor Henderson's.

The next shock for Liz, is that her father and Professor Henderson's mother have decided to get married. Add in an eviction, a meddling ex, some partying and you have a fantastic hard-to-put-down story. Tom is frustratingly stupid at times, and so is Liz, but Macfarlane has managed to create a thoroughly entertaining story.

Elizabeth “Liz” Maclean and Thomas “Tom” Henderson met four years ago at a university party. There was chemistry, and a great conversation sprang between them. But the night died when Liz had to leave abruptly. The next day, Tom is informed that he will be Liz’s PhD assessor, which means they shouldn’t get involved. What does he do? He starts being as mean to her as possible so she won’t like him anymore, and it will be safe between them.

Now, Liz is starting a job, and Tom will be her bench partner. To her horror, not only is this happening, working with someone she hates, but they find that Liz’s dad and Tom’s mom are dating, engaged, and will get married soon.

The happy couple will live in Tom’s house until the wedding and invite Liz to do the same. When her landlord kicks her out with only a few days of notice, she sees that offer as her only option. That’s how Liz and Tom get to live together, one room in front of the other, to Tom’s delight and Liz’s hell.

I liked this book a lot but didn’t get to love it. Some parts didn’t sit well with me. It felt like the story could have evolved more sometimes. Also, both Liz and Tom did a lot they shouldn’t have done. But the point sometimes is to show us what not to do in real life. And this book is a good example of bad actions and judgments, all wrapped up in a lovely story of romance, family, and friendship.

The banter was great, and it’s steamy enough for this story. I loved how the characters got into a romantic routine, even trying not to love each other.

It was hard for me to rate this book. Maybe not a 4*, but also not a 4.5*. I decided to go with 4.25* so my head could rest.

Do you want a lovely rom-com set in Scotland? A STEM, work-place, 2nd chance romance (kinda enemies to lovers) story arc? Then definitely check out this book!

MacFarlane really hooked me in with this story. The spice was great! The pining between the MCs and providing dual POVs? Easy wins in my book. I also loved the dynamic between characters in this book - especially the friendship between Tom and Daichi. Their dynamic as best friends was very believable, and even reminded me of myself with my best friend. They were definitely stand-outs for me!

The only thing stopping me from giving this book higher than a 4 was Tom’s selfish motivations towards Liz during the book - these just rubbed me the wrong way (you’ll know what I’m talking about once you give this a read). No spoilers, but he did redeem himself by the end of the book because of his self awareness, so that’s a bonus.

If you love a STEM workplace romance, I definitely recommend this read. I will be recommending this book to my romance loving friends!

Content warnings: sexual content, death of a parent, mentions of cancer

Thank you Netgalley and BooksGoSocial for the complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

DNF
The book was so boring it felt thrice as long as it actually was.
I usually love the enemy to lovers trope but in this case I hated it. The H was a complete asshole to the h, because that is apparently the only way he could resist her; once he’s not her professor anymore he thinks it’s fine to break into her phone to silence all her dating apps and sabotaging all her attempts to move out of his house.
There’s also the forced proximity trope but it felt very forced (they have to share a house AND a desk at work?!) and not at all conductive to actual romance.
Overall, I think it was supposed to mimic a very popular women in STEM romance book (that coincidentally has the word equation in the title as well) but it is far from the mark.

At first I felt like there were way too many things going on - so many tropes - but ultimately I couldn’t put it down and needed to see how it all played out!

Liz & Tom have a sort of insta-love moment at their department social. The connection is there, but nothing ends up happening as Liz leaves and doesn’t come back (still not sure why… 🤔). The next morning Tom finds out he will be her PhD assessor, so decides he needs to be mean to her to avoid falling for her, or her falling for him.
Flash forward to the end of Liz’s PhD - Tom’s lab burns down and he’ll be working right beside Liz for 3 months. They find out their parents have been secretly dating and are getting married. Liz gets kicked out of her apartment & goes to live with all of them… so yeah, a lot of stuff 😂

So we’ve got:
- Enemies to lovers
- Instalove
- Teacher/student
- Age-gap
- Parents dating
- Forced proximity (at work and at home)

Tom & Liz also have a LOT of similarities in their likes/dislikes.
I thought it was a bit too much, and didn’t like Tom’s sabotaging efforts.
But ultimately I enjoyed their banter and wanted to see how it all played out!

Thank you NetGalley and Macfarlane Lantern Publishing for this ARC book for review consideration. All opinions are my own!

Very fun and lovely read! If you loved the love hypothesis and you are a fan of the enemies-to-lovers trope, this is your book.

The author did a fantastic job with the dual POV. It's one of my favourite things about this book. The spicy scenes are soooo good too!

I can’t pinpoint to a scene in particular I loved above the others because the whole book was fantastic. Enemies to lovers is my one of my favorite trope so I know I would like this book.

Thank you NetGalley for this book!

📕 review: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
review: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Unbalanced Equation
Written by: H.L. Macfarlane
Release date: September 14/22

It was easy to get into this book right away. Liz and Tom were easy to root for even when they were making bad decisions. Still some may not appreciate the lies and manipulation used to further their relationship. I enjoyed the STEM story but I’m not sure how much the anime references did for the story as a whole. But I could be wrong. All that being said I think this is an easy read and would recommend as long as you are open to an open door romance with quite a bit of 🌶.

Many thanks to @netgalley @booksgosocialgroup and #hlmacfarlane for the opportunity to read this advance copy.

This is a solid 4 ⭐️ for me! If you love Ali Hazelwood/STEM books I would definitely recommend this!! This was such a quick read for me because I really enjoyed it- I was hooked from Liz and Tom’s meet cute. The spice, chemistry, and banter in this book are great. Highly recommend.
Thanks to NetGalley for this arc in exchange for my honest review

H. L. Macfarlane: What a wonderful, wonderful author. This book was one that I could not put down. As a teacher, I was using my planning period, my lunch, my breaks—- every spare moment to read this book. Unbalanced Equation was a special read for me. I’m usually trying to guess the ending the entire time. I didn’t have time to do that with this book because I was focused on the plot. Liz and Tom. Tom and Liz. The two main characters, along with their parents were so likable. I could see their beginning dinner being so awkward!!! I really felt like I was there. By the time Liz had to move in the “mansion,” I was nervous for the whole “family” and ready to see it play out.

This book would make a great movie (for tv or made for theaters). I really enjoyed getting to know these characters. This will make a great series.

The Unbalanced Equation
@H.L.Mcfarlane
Macfarlane Lantern Publishing

Nothing gets my literary boots wet like academia fiction, sassy female characters, and intelligent boys being closet romantics.
Here's looking at you @alihazelwood and @
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I went through this book in less than 24 hours and read it on my phone while my husband slept.
In short, it was a fantastic read that held me captive in its Scottish charm until my neck started hurting.
I loved and hated the back and forth between Tom and Liz's characters because they were fire. Sometimes a dumpster fire of emotions, sometimes I forgot to breathe because the smoke got heeeeeavy, but hey, can't we all relate?
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It starts off with the sweetest anime meet-cute worthy of any nerdy girl who has been in similar situations.
EX: My own relationship: Sailor Moon and Pride & Prejudice.
Not only does Tom save Liz from mansplaining nerds, but he also bests them with his own knowledge, then sweeps her off her pretty little feet. Be still, my nerdy heart.
Until orange juice wrecks the night.
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I love the drama that ensues years later and captures these two in a cluster most epic with family, friends, and each other: the bar, the fire, the close quarters, the love of single parents, the eviction, to the moving in with each other out of pure desperation…
It's glorious how a simple twist of fate can change everything, especially when fate is a toddler, and she keeps spinning.
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Tom: Acts tough, but he's a mama's boy, has a soft side under his polished exterior, an Arsehole, but a lovable arsehole with a kind soul.
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Liz: Fakes being tough to avoid confrontation, pain in the arse, and stubborn but is kind, lovable, and a daddy's girl. Wants to feel deserving of love but is afraid of being hurt.

Good concept and well written. Love that they were enemies but really had feelings for each other. Enjoyed all the times they were put together or had to interact. It was great seeing them in situations where they flirted and had a lot of conversations. You get to see their attraction to each other and why they would be perfect together.
Would have given 4 stars but unfortunately was disappointed when the characters used sex as revenge against each other. The way it happened in both situations didn’t sit well with me.
Had a good pace and a satisfying HEA. I received this book for my honest opinion.

Liz and Tom are forced to share a lab at the university where they both work. They have a history that they have to face when their paths cross outside work as well. Will they move on from enemies?
A fun read, Looking forward to the rest of the series.

From the cover alone you can guess what this book is going to be about. It is a passionate enemies to lovers between Dr Elizabeth Maclean 👩‍🔬 and Professor Thomas Henderson 👨‍🔬, who met at a mixer back when Elizabeth was still starting her PhD program. There are many hilarious and awkward moments in this book and what I liked the most was how self aware of their own awkwardness the characters were.

Let’s start with Liz. While she may be a total brainiac and a doctor of science 🧬, when it comes to flirting she can be just as awkward as anyone else. There were times were her pettiness and need for revenge irked me but she did make up for it with her witty banter, she really didn’t spare Tom any punches. It is really nice to read female characters who can enjoy themselves and have a good time 🍸and yet still kick ass in the lab 🧪!

Moving on to Tom, he might be 38 but he’s just as randy as any other 18 year old 🙈. There were times were I wanted to shake because he was acting childish but he too made up for this with his charm.

This book has all the tropes that make up an enjoyable STEM novel: forced proximity, enemies to lovers and second chance romance.