A fast funny read that is enjoyable

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of the book.

DNF at 35%


I'm going to out myself on my age here, and say that The Unbalanced Equation reminded me MOST of LiveJournal fanfiction circa, say, 2006. While I do love a good fluffy, fun plot, unfortunately, the immature main characters, the stilted dialogue/internal thoughts, and the toxic behaviors of the MCs reminded me strongly of a different era of writing.. I was, shall we say, less than impressed. However, I was willing to overlook the cringey dialogue and the plot premised on unbelievable coincidences for the sake of a fun romance. I've needed one of those lately.

However, the characters themselves made me give up on this book.. When the MAIN male MC has so many toxic behaviors that, as a reader, I have to twist myself into logic knots to overlook...I can't. I am all for character development, but I have to WANT the couple to be together. But Tom was so toxic in so many ways and it was presented as charming or at least just awkward. So when I can't root for the main couple, that's when it's over, as a romance book, for me.

Thanks to Thanks to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for the opportunity to read this ebook ARC. All opinions are mine alone.

Ah. What?

How did I just finish this book about step-siblings who fall in love and ended up giving it 4 stars? I know it sounds weird putting it like that, but...it was good.

So this is an enemies-to-lovers, hard pining book with Dual-POV. Things go a little bit downhill for me because Thomas and Elizabeth, who work together(ish) in STEM and despise (though not really) each other, find out that their parents, Jenny (Tom's mum) and Jim (Liz's dad) fall in love and get engaged. And this is a book about Liz and Tom's relationship (from enemies to "friends" to lovers). What bugs me is the elephant in the room that is...is this incest in some way or not? I mean, they're step-siblings!! And everyone in the book seems okay with that fact! Even the parents!! Am I the only one bothered with this?

Nevertheless, forgetting about that, the story is built very very well. I've read a couple enemies-to-lovers and the MC's end up together in some way even before we reach 50% of the book, which sometimes is unnerving. But with this book, they only got together around 70% of the story, and I loved the tension and the games that were being played so much! It worked so well with the story because the characters didn't felt pushed to be together immediately.

The banter was phenomenal, the writing was simple yet interesting, though some characters did felt a bit left out, or maybe forgotten, it still wasn't something that bothered me enough to lower my rate.

The ending felt a little bit out of place, but knowing that we are going to get more of Liz and Tom in other books (Hot Mess trilogy), maybe it'll work out a bit better. I am curious to see where their relationship ends up and I do have some expectations but that isn't for here.

All in all, it was a good book and I think that STEM/enemies-to-lovers/slowburn/hard pining fans are going to enjoy this one. I know I did. Plus the cover is really cute!

Signing off,
B.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

After hitting it off at an office party, Tom is looking forward to pursuing a relationship with Liz until he finds out she is going to be his grad student. He decides the best course of action is to be as harsh with her as possible during the 4 year assignment.

Fast forward to Liz graduating and getting a position at the same university. After an accident forces him to work in a new lab, he and Liz are unable to avoid each other. To make matters worse, he and Liz find out that their parents have been dating and are getting married... and will be moving in with Tom for a while. Soon after, Liz loses her lease and reluctantly agrees to move in as well.

Tom decides this is a good time to show Liz he's not so bad after all....but will she forgive his behavior from the last 4 years...?

A really fast read. It was engaging, funny and a good tale of enemies to .......
Loved the science elements and tales from the labs.
A great read

Have you ever wanted to get rid of that readers block? You're in luck! You have found what the doctor orders!

Liz hates Tom Handerson! The prick who made her academic life a living hell years ago. Their path will unfortunatly cross again… But fortunately for us reader, she will be forced to spend more time then she wants with Tom, and he will do everything in his power to make her change her mind about what she thought about him…

No surprises there, we know how it ends. But its perfect! It feels like putting on your fav PJ on an early autumn night. Comfy and warm, like the second blanket.

The Unbalanced Equation is the definition of an enemies to lover romance. Slow burn, and I mean burn! Forced proximity, he loved her since forever… And yeah, i’m a sucker for HEA and an epilogue… All there for the happiness of the reader.

I read the book in 2 sittings. I couldn’t wait for the other shoe to drop, I wanted to know if they where finally talk to each other… I got invested to say the least! The characters where well developed and very early on, I found myself rooting for Liz and Tom.

If you haven't guessed it yet, I recommend this book!
You want to get out of a reader's hungover after a series? You want an Happily Ever After (HEA) story that's witty and fun? If you like your romance with a dab of angst, GO and read that book!

Now!

Thanks H.L Macfarlane for the first book of your « Hot Mess Trilogy ». Can’t wait for the next instalment « Courtney Can’t Decide ».

*I added too many exclamation mark in that review and I’m not sorry about it.

First off this book was a really fun ride!

I was a bit worried at the start it was feeling a bit forced the way they were thrown together again and again in different situations over the course of a few pages but honestly after a few chapters I was glad for their "forced proximity" !

I absolutely love enemies to lovers books, especially when it's a slow burn and boy oh boy this burn is deliciously slow.

I enjoyed the double pov, it was good to know what was happening in both characters minds as they interacted, especially when as the reader I was thinking they were acting quite childish given their ages. It was nice for them to acknowledge that in their internal monologues.

Overall it was a fun easy read that had me up half the night hooked on every word. I think this is a must read for fans of the Love Hypothesis

I really enjoyed this book. It was a fun romcom with quirky main characters and a number of side characters that made the story interesting.
What I liked about this book:
- the setting; the main characters were researchers and I liked seeing them interact in a professional setting
- the banter between the characters was entertaining with a number of laugh out loud moments for me
- the tropes; enemies to lovers, forced proximity and age gap (some of my favourites)
- the tension /chemistry between the MCs; it was electric and the dialogue and banter were superb
- the MCs idea of happily ever after did not include marriage and children; it was different from a typical romcom and I appreciated that


What I didn’t like about this book
- the conflict between the two main characters seemed to drag on for a really long time and made sections of the book tedious to read at times

Overall, this was an enjoyable read and I would definitely recommend it to others and look forward to reading other books by this author. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

4 🌟
POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD
This book was such a joy to read. Here's what I liked the most:

💗Loved how Tom accepted Liz for how she was (no extra expectations expected), this might seem cliché but few books that I know of exist where they do end up not having kids for real (The epilogue was so cute).
💗Who doesn't like filthy rich bf with a mansion that has a secret crush on a clueless fmc
Now, things that I didn"t like (I do not mean to offend anyone, this is just my personal opinion).

🤨Jim and Jenny just sprung the wedding idea out of the blue, seemed a bit ridiculous. Like their kids didn't even know they were dating? And the chances that he knew how bad Tom treated Liz, yet not confronting her beforehand :/
🤨The step-siblings trope.
It didn't fit and the offhand jokes that Jenny made about it, just icked.

But as a whole this book was a cute one, I definitely recommend this to anyone who is looking for a cute STEM book, with a major forced proximity trope.

Wow. So i took this book up three days ago and save for other life activities, I've been on it because it is actually good. Romance are kind of predictable for me usually, but for this one I never imagined that despite the fact that their parents got married, Liz and Thomas would still get together. It's a new opening for me and I really enjoyed their romance and camaraderie.

It's a story of two doctors finding love despite their maybes and what if's and gosh, the character build up is nothing short of awesome. I can't even pick a favorite character.

Being acquaintances at the start, then being at odds, and finally coming together as a couple, Tom and Liz's journey elicit interest in the reader and reminds one that you should keep the conversation going in your relationship. It's good for your health. I definitely recommend it for it's relaxing.

Enemies to lovers is always a winning trope in my eyes and this did it well with a few interesting additions. The dual-perspectives were well written and added necessary context to many decisions made by the two main characters. I’m not sure how I feel about certain behaviours within the narrative, hence giving four stars instead of five, but it’s definitely worth a read and holds its own in the genre.

This was a lot of fun. The build up of Tom and Liz's relationship was really good and I loved that we saw every little moment that made them fall in love. The fact that they kept each others clothes from their first meeting was so cute.

I received an arc through netgalley.

The first chapter of this book was good, it seemed to set things up well. I thought Tom and Liz would be very likeable characters. Unfortunately, I was very wrong.
I think Tom and Liz were meant for each other by the end of the book. I have never read a book with two characters that really bothered me with how immature they acted towards each other. I was at least happy that they were acknowledging their behaviours by the end of the book. Liz's behaviours were some of the worst I have ever seen from a character (ex. the blue balls scene). The amount of sabotage these two were doing to each other was ridiculous. The lack of communication was a bit too much for me. I was also not really a fan of the pushing of these two being together when their parents were getting married. Felt a bit awkward.

This was a delicious read. I can say I’m in love with books settings in the STEM world and this book didn’t disappointed at all with great characters, amazing scenes and a good plot. Elizabeth is a funny girl and how she acted beside Tom it was incredible delightful, making me laugh a lot. Tom is a brilliant character and their scenes with Elizabeth it is so good and full of chemistry. Thank your for this amazing story and ARC.

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

Age gap, enemies to lovers, location, hea this book has it all hot guy with an accent :)

Absolutely loved it.

Review: 5 Stars

First of all, **swoon**

This book was ADORABLE. I feel like I had a cheesy grin on my face the entire time I was reading it. I am giving this book 5 stars (which is rare) because it made me feel all the feels. It was so cute I could cringe - I really loved both of the main characters, and the dual POV was very well done. The slow burn was MINT and complemented by a lot of witty banter. The banter between the two main characters was the best part of the book. It was so natural and nerdy and sarcastic. And don't worry - there are some fantastic spicy scenes (I'd say a 2 or 3 out of 5 on the spicy scale).

I was a little worried during the prologue that the characters would be too nerdy for my taste, but the anime/microbiology/geneticist themes were not overdone at all. What a fantastic read. I am still smiling as I write this review.

Do you enjoy classic romcom themes? Good. This book has got them all. Enemies to lovers? Sign me up. Forced proximity? Even better. STEM? Absolutely! No matter your preference, this book has it.

So. Many. Tropes:
* small age gap (11 years)
* forced proximity (on so many levels)
* teacher/student
* forbidden love
* enemies to lovers
* revenge
** level 3 spice

This is a must read for fans of Love Hypothesis (and really, fans of all romcoms and contemporary romance). It was ridiculous, and predictable in all of the best ways.

Synopsis:

"But one thing was universally certain: in order to keep Elizabeth Maclean out of my reach and out of my head I was going to have to be a complete and utter bastard to her."

The book takes place in Glasgow, and follows the perspectives of Liz and Tom, two geneticists/microbiologists who have a tumultuous history in the lab. After what seemed like the perfect meet-cute at a mixer event at the University of Glasgow, Tom is assigned the role of Liz's PhD assessor. Over the next four years, Liz is forced to endure Tom's vicious scrutiny.

Fast forward four years, and Liz and Tom learn that - of all things - their parents are getting married....To each other. Just when Liz thinks she is finally free of Tom's brutal assessments, Tom's lab catches on fire and he ends up sharing a lab table with Liz, and Liz's landlord kicks her out of her apartment. In a perfect storm of calamities, Liz ends up moving into Tom's "mansion" of a townhome with Tom, Tom's mother, and Liz's father.

As their paths continue to cross, it seems unavoidable that Liz will need to learn to tolerate Tom. In what they both believe to be devious and secretive plans, Liz and Tom set out to make each other's lives miserable (in the style of How to Lose a Guy in 10 days), and in the process, are forced to confront their true feelings.

This one started out really great and I had high hopes. But there were many problematic things and that kind of put me off.

The plot was intriguing and I liked the whole forced proximity in more than one instance throughout the novel. I liked Liz's character. She was funny and fiesty. On the other hand, she did come off extremely unlikeable at times displaying similar juvenile behaviour like that of the MLC. For an almost 40 year-old man, Tom was wildly immature. His behaviour would have been better suited on a dumb teenage boy, who frankly, wouldn't know better because his a dumb teenage boy who hasn't lived a life. I couldn't get around what his personality was supposed to be. First he was showering Liz with the kind of treatment during her period that any girl would want and then he was being cold as hell because he wanted her to make the first move. In the end, he just came off as childish, underdeveloped and confusing.

This whole plotline would have been better suited with YA characters, as a matter of fact. I feel like the story would've been a lot more palatble if these weren't actually adults conciously behaving like children. While I commend their wokeness about their actions, it still left a rank taste in my mouth.

If you're a high functioning adult who can actually communicate well, this book will annoy the everloving bejeesus out of you. It's a decent enough read but I didn't care enough to finish it. I DNFd at like 90%, which is absurd because I might as well have suffered through the rest, but honestly, by 85% I was just done.

This was my first book by this author and I LOVED IT!! I devoured this book and found myself thinking about it often when not reading. This was the perfect rom-com with all good tropes! I can't find any other words to describe just how well done this book was, definitely one of my favorites of the year.

I found the push and pull relationship between Liz and Tom very entertaining in this book. Tom does many things to try to spend more time with Liz, while Liz tries to make life for Tom very difficult. Add to that friends and family forcing these two into close proximity and things are bound to happen. I really enjoyed having the narrative written from both Liz and Tom's perspective. It allows you to see and appreciate their journey throughout this book. I am looking forward to reading the other books as they come out in this series.

3.75/5

Tropes
-forced proximity
-(faked) grumpy/sunshine
-age gap
-MMC taking care of a hurt FMC

Overall this was a fun, quick read that fans of Ali Hazelwood will love. Theres a professor/postdoc relationship and a poster conference with some action in a hotel room, though I will say Liz's best friends are way superior to those in LH. Sadly I think the first chapter is the worst in the whole book, and may discourage some from reading on. The cringy dialogue does get better throughout the book, however if you aren't a fan of anime you may feel lost at times like I did.

I loved the banter and simmering tension these two characters had. They played a game of cat and mouse with eachother for the majority of the book, increasing in intensity with each interaction that had me thinking they'd finally cave to their feelings before one of them stepped away. It definitely kept me wanting more.

I would've given this book 4 stars, but the whole plotline of FMC's dad and MMC's mom marrying eachother and them becoming a sort of "step-sibling" just rubs me the wrong way, no matter how old they are. It really wasn't a big deal or taboo in this book, their parents even encouraging them to get together for most of the book, but that's one line I have trouble crossing. With the exception of that though, I thoroughly enjoyed the banter and setting of this book, and would recommend to anyone who loves a scientist office romance!

Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.