My Mechanical Romance

Alexene Farol Follmuth's new novel 'My Mechanical Romance' is like a warm hug which I could not get enough of! It is an adorable teen romance, set with the fun backdrop of a high school robotics team. The vibes were giving Robot Wars crossed with your favourite enemies to lovers high school romance. What more could you want?

Teo is an overachiever, captain of both the football and robotics team at his exclusive high school, destined for MIT and greatness. His path has been set and he is on track to take the world by storm. Enter Bel, a transfer student from a less academically intense high school, a girl who has not been given the opportunities to shine previously but who clearly has untapped talent when it comes to design and engineering. Teo is so used to all of the attention from teachers and peers that he struggles to handle this forthright new student questioning his decisions. We are left to wonder whether Bel and Teo can put their differences aside for the good of the team (and perhaps acknowledge their romantic chemistry along the way!).

If you think you know what happens in this novel, you would probably be spot on with your guesses. However, I do not care about the predictability. I love Bel finding friendships she deserves in her new school and being taken seriously as an engineer by her teachers and estranged father. I love Bel and Teo's competitive banter which spirals into an adorable relationship. And I love the side characters and what they add to the story, particularly angry and underappreciated Naleem and ADORABLE best friend of Teo, Dash (I want all the good things in the world for him!).

Overall, I sped through this book and loved every minute. I cannot wait to see where Follmuth goes next with her novels for young adults as this is a fantastic start! 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher who provided an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Words can't explain how much I love this book. This masterpiece of a YA contemporary romance titled My Mechanical Romance.

𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝗜𝘀𝗮𝗯𝗲𝗹 "𝗕𝗲𝗹" 𝗠𝗮𝗶𝗲𝗿:
The new transfer kid, has zesty fashion sense (glittery eye shadows, dangling earrings, sparkly Docmart) but has a big potential in engineering (which is a "boy's stuff"), A SWIFTIE, either in super aggressive of super passive mode.

𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗼 "𝗧𝗲𝗼" 𝗟𝘂𝗻𝗮 𝗷𝗿:
The golden child, teacher's favorite, rich asf, BIG NERD, the leader, the ever reliable, very busy, too serious person.

Why everyone should read My Mechanical Romance:
- half filipino female MC, half mexican male MC (diverse! The author is half filipino too)
- grumpy FMC x grumpy MMC
- light academia
- hate to tolerate to love each other trope
- CUTE FLUFF ❤❤❤
- don't have vulgar scene, minor friendly
- VERY AMUSING BANTER
- relatable problem for highschoolers
- dual POV
- robotic and mechanical stuffs
- subtle feminism
- hardworking girls in male-dominated fields, girls in STEM
- did I mention banter? Yes it deserved to be mentioned twice because I love it so much
- the best YA romance contemporary I've ever read
- went straight to my "Best Reads of 2022" list!!

That's it. I coudn't put this review into coherent paraghraps because this book is just perfect and I'm obsessed! I NEED THE PHYSICAL COPY AFTER IT COMES OUT BECAUSE I WANT TO HUG THIS BOOK SOO BAD. Bel & Teo are owning my whole heart❤️❤️❤️

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Macmillan Children for granting me an early access of the ARC!

Rating - 4.5/5

Wow, I loved this book so much!! Academic rivals to lovers is one of my favourite tropes and this book delivered it perfectly. Bel and Teo have amazing chemistry and complement each other in their characterisations so well. I would have loved to have seen more of thier relationship! Outside of their relationship, each are strong characters with their own distinct narrative style and personalities, with the changes between each of their points of view feeling well placed and easily distinguishable (very helpful for someone who often forgets to read chapter titles!)
The side characters are fun and lovable, my favourite is probably Neelam, although I won't go into much detail about her to avoid spoilers. Jamie and Lora are the friends everyone wishes they could have, and Dash is just an all round fun and personable character. Together the whole cast works really well!!
The themes addressed in this book are explored so well, primarily focusing on the pressure on women in STEM, from Neelam who has known it for most of her life, to Bel's introduction to it, and the effect it has down to even a classroom level. Both characters experience it in similar yet different ways, the difference in their attitudes as a result of this was incredibly well written.
As well as this, the family dynamics between Bel and her family compared to Teo and his was interesting to see, especially how they impacted both of the characters.
One last thing, then I'll stop rambling, the pop culture references. I know they're not for everyone, but I enjoyed them. It fit with the characters and the style of writing, I think they worked well!
So, as its 31st May as I write this, happy US pub day to My Mechanical Romance! Thank you to Cheyney Smith and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this arc!!

I did not know what to expect when I started reading but this book is utterly phenomenal and I loved every single second. But first can I mention that for the first time ever, I saw a character that had my name, MY NAME! I have never read a book with a character that has the same name as me and she was a STEM girl!

Take up your own space, Bel. Don’t let other people tread over it.

This book has my whole heart, it discusses all the things I am passionate about and we get all the nerdy banter too! Through Bel and Teo we see how misogyny creates barriers for women to succeed in STEM careers and how much harder they have to work to get even a tenth of the recognition that the men get. How Neelam is constantly dismissed and belittled, how she is made to feel inferior to Teo and how hard she has had to fight for her place and even then her ideas are ignored. Even the teacher and how his language changes depending on whether he’s speaking to the girls or the boys. How this is so normalised that speaking against is seen as making a fuss. I felt this all deep in my soul.

You don’t have to make the world perfect just so people will love you.

Another really great discussion was how as teenagers when we barely understand ourselves, we are expected to have our whole life planned out and that it is seen as failure if you haven’t. The pressure that we and the adults put on ourselves to know what we want to do and yet so many of us just don’t and that should be okay too. It was also great to see how socioeconomic factors affects how “prepared” a young person is by 18 to have their lives mapped out. If we have been denied opportunities and a better education because we can’t afford it then how is it our fault that our choices are limited and we don’t know what it is we want to do. Combine that with expectations from parents and it can be very stressful for the person. I loved seeing this all discussed in the story without it becoming too heavy.

If I want the world to recognise what I am truly capable of, I have to show them.

I loved Bel from the moment we meet her but Teo took me a few chapters to really like, he seems like the usual arrogant boy who thinks he deserves all the special treatment but as the story progresses we see that he isn’t actually like that, though he does have some prejudices towards how he treats Neelam. I loved how much he changes and grows throughout the story and learns to let others in and help him and that he can trust other people and even how he views Neelam.

I loved seeing Bel grow throughout the story too as she finally finds something she truly enjoys and is passionate about and how she fights for it. I also loved the conversation between her and Neelam near the end of the story where we finally see why Neelam was hostile towards Bel at first and they learn to understand each other better. I also loved seeing a teacher that truly saw Bel’s potential and guided her without shaming or guilting and spoke to her respectfully, we all need teachers like this in our lives.

I think about how much I want them all to succeed in life; to go far, as far as possible, until every girl who succeeds is a beacon of light for all the others.

One of my favourite things was seeing the female friendships and women supporting women. How Bel and her friends truly want the best for each other and don’t try to stab each other in the back to progress themselves because there is space for all of them. I just truly loved that we see this in the story, it brought me so much joy.

This book is absolutely incredible and once I started I could not put it down reading well into the night. I loved these characters and that epilogue was everything! I really hope we get to see more of them in the future.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC of "My Mechanical Romance" by Alexene Farol Follmuth. This is a YA debut by well known author Olivie Blake.

When I got asked if I wanted to try this, I immediately said yes. The concept was spectacular and when I started, I knew it was executed perfectly. Both Teo and Bel were beautiful characters that weren't one dimensional. They felt like actual students and Alexene didn't shy away from portraying doubts about the future and careers. I loved that about this book.

Overall, this book felt like a book from heaven and I clung to every fibre of it. I am so excited to see if she writes more YA romances (I hope its on one of the side characters from this book because I will pay as much money as I physically can for that to happen)

I adored this book. It is the perfect blend of the coming-of-age and romance genre, and lightly touches on topics of class, culture, family dynamics and intersectional feminism. The character development is thoughtful and the cast is diverse, with humour sprinkled throughout. It’s definitely one of my favourite and most unique YA novels. Would highly recommend if you enjoyed titles such as Not Here To Be Liked (YA) or The Love Hypothesis (Adult). 4.5 stars!

Firstly, I would like to thank NetGalley and Macmillan for providing me with an earc of this title.

So I requested this on a whim. I saw it featured once or twice on Bookstagram and I was enamoured by the title. I mean as a Millennial with a very distinct emo phase how could I not!

But it wasn't until after I had actually requested it did I realise who the author was. For anyone who isn't aware Olivie Blake (the author of The Atlas Six) is a pseudonym for Alexene Farol Follmuth and this is her YA debut.

Unfortunately, The Atlas Six was one of my most anticipated reads of 2021 but also became one of my most disappointing reads of 2021. I was devastated that I didn't love it in the same way everyone else did. I mean I am still wondering what I missed that everyone else saw in that book.

Once I realise My Mechanical Romance was written by the same author - I was apprehensive. Some of my issues with ATS was the writing style, I found it very slow and distant, I didn't connect with the characters, and the overall story just wasn't exciting.

But this was the complete opposite! - I loved it!

Firstly, this book is so funny. Follmuth's writing style in this is so much more accessible and creates such humour moments between the characters and the reader.

The story is also inspiring and touching. I haven't read a lot of women in STEM books but I think this has amazing representation. Especially from the point of view of a character who doesn't believe that STEM is for them, who comes across the sexism and misogyny within STEM, but ultimately overcoming any internal and external fear to find and peruse something that they absolutely enjoy.


And I loved every single character. Similarly to TAS, My Mechanical Romance has a plethora of side characters but each felt unique and well developed. Even our two main POV characters had a depth of personality, issues to overcome and quirks that made them so much more relatable.

If you are looking for a soft and fluffy STEM romance - I highly, highly recommend this one!

I really enjoyed My Mechanical Romance even if, at times, it made me want to throw my phone (reading on the Netgalley App) across the room because of the sexism our main character, Bel, repeatedly had to face.

Follmuth did not shy away from some of the harsh realities of being a young girl, a woman, in a STEM Field - a field dominated by men. It was incredibly frustrating and upsetting to see how Bel was often devalued for her gender. It was also incredibly striking to have Bel's treatment contrasted with Neelam, another teenage girl on the team, and how she often overlooked and ignored. Neelam was a great antagonist and challenger to Bel, pointing out that her dislike for her stems from her frustration for her and because of her. She had been on the robotics team a lot longer than Bel - yet Bel is taken more seriously than her because she's more likeable. I loved the scene where Neelam confronts Bel with this - it was an incredibly important conversation for them to have.

My favourite relationship in this isn't even the romance, but rather the friendship between Bel and Jamie. The way Jamie described her friendship with Bel . . . I cried. It was just so beautiful and poignant and I loved it. Jamie was also hilarious and 100% relatable with her shipping of Bel/Teo, with her enthusiastic text messages declaring them 'enemies to academic colleagues to lovers'.

I liked Teo too, and I'm glad we had chapters from his perspective because if not I don't think I would have liked him as much - especially with his attitude and ignorance towards Bel in earlier scenes. A lot of it was misunderstandings and his own ego, but without seeing in to his thoughts, feelings and confusions I would've just written him off as a selfish jerk.

Overall, I really did enjoy this book. I loved how Bel had a teacher who encouraged her to try out new things and to take up space. I loved how Bel's relationship with one of her brothers began to flourish. I loved how Bel gained confidence in her abilities, but also came to terms with what she didn't know and how to be okay with that, knowing she has time to learn. I like that the book didn't end things in a totally neat bow tie. I liked how it made me laugh and rage and cry and laugh some more.

Thank you to Macmillian for sending me this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I received an advanced reader copy of this book in return for my honest opinion. Thank you to Alexene Farol Follmuth and Macmillan for giving me the opportunity to read My Mechanical Romance before its release.

At this point I honestly feel like women in STEM romances can do no wrong. I’m a huge advocate of encouraging girls to feel welcome in these study areas and building careers within them. I was the only female in my A Level Mathematics class and the pressure and stereotypes I felt just within this class were unreal, so I have complete and utter respect for people who managed to push through this and continue with their passions.

My Mechanical Romance is an enemies to lovers clean romance centred around Bel; a teenage girl who finds herself thrust into the world of Robotics after a forgotten assignment. Joining this team is full of troubles; finding herself struggling against the doubts of being the newest team member, but she also has to deal with the ingrained misogyny within the engineering field. What starts off as an obligation soon reveals her passions.
I really loved the characters within this book and I enjoyed the progression of Bel’s dynamic with Neelam; it was an important view into the effects the male centred field has not only on the relationship between men and women, but also on the relationships between females within STEM.

The romance was adorably sweet as well and I fully enjoyed every minute of this book. If you’re looking for a new STEM based romance this is THE one to read next.