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.

3/5
Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan for providing this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
This book isn't bad by any means, it simply just wasn't for me. I can see how people enjoy it and I definitely understand their ability to love it however I didn't.
What I did love was the conversation and main themes around women in STEM and even further woc in STEM.
Unfortunately I didn't connect with any of the characters or the romance and so this book fell quite flat for me.

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!!

Super cute teen romance as Bel and Teo end up on the same robotics team. Teo is focused, driven and has his life mapped out whereas Bel is bright but aimless. It takes a teacher to point her at robotics but as Bel gets a plan, things get hard and complicated. Teo and Bel are the centre of the book yet the romance takes a back seat as we understand teen group dynamics and what it feels like to be a teen and want so desperately for things to work out.

3.5 stars, rounded up to four.

A wholesome, Young Adult read about falling in love in a robotics club; ‘My Mechanical Romance’ was not the type of book I expected from this author, but it was intriguing nonetheless.

Despite it being firmly in the YA Romance genre, the highlight of this book, for me at least, was the honest and compelling account of how it is to be a WOC in STEM. I am not in STEM - but I am a WOC.

From topics such as imposter syndrome to the feeling that you need to work twice as hard as your male peers for half the recognition, this was an honest and eye opening exploration into the harsh reality. The relationship between the MC and the only other girl on the team was additionally interesting, a deep dive into internalised misogyny as a consequence of the above.

The love story itself, the premise of the book, fell a little flat for me. I don’t know whether it was because of the genre or just the tropes used but I didn’t find myself getting invested in either character. A lot of the lines felt cliché and nothing new, this element of the book was a letdown - ironic, given it’s meant to be a romance.

An enjoyable read.

Thank you to the team at Macmillan’s for reaching out with an ARC of this book. xo

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!