This was totally fine! I didn't hate it, I didn't love it. The tropes off the top of my head are: Forced Proximity, Age Gap, Kinda Enemies to Lovers, MULTIPLE chance love, romance in the work place. I dunno if this was trying to be the Love Hypothesis or not, there are similarities but I really wouldn't say it was a copy, maybe slightly influenced but whatever. The age gap is fine, the romance is fine, the banter is fine what I found weird was [ the whole 'their parents getting married' thing, and I really don't think that was dealt with enough, I mean I didn't see the need to be honest, there were other ways for this to play out without them becoming step siblings (hide spoiler)] Their parents are also far too much in their life for people who are 28 (ish) and 38 (ish) as in they're like 'oh you shouldn't stay out so late' and stuff. The smut scenes weren't bad but they also weren't my favourite. I also didn't enjoy [ Tom being pretty controlling in terms of BREAKING INTO HER PHONE? SABOTAGING HER GETTING A FLAT?? WHATEVER OTHER UNHINGED THING HE DID WHEN THEY WEREN'T EVEN DATING (hide spoiler)] also the whole book was just multiple miscommunications which I am never a fan of. It was still a quick easy romance though.

I loved this book! The Unbalanced Equation gave similar vibes of The Love Hypothesis in terms of the STEM workplace aspect (love a woman in STEM), but it is still distinctly unique.

Some of the tropes in this book are age gap, workplace romance (STEM), enemies to lovers, forced proximity, and (my favorite) he falls first.

The chemistry that Liz and Tom had from the very beginning was spectacular and the banter they shared was even better. Plus the fact that he fell for her instantly and pinned over her FOR YEARS!?!?Amazing! It was a bonus that the SCENES (iykyk) were so well written. Like I had to put the book down at one point.

On a different note, I really enjoyed that H.L. Macfarlane created Liz with the intention of her to not have kids. I haven’t seen that often in books where the female MC is opposed to the idea of having children! There are women today that are set on not having kids and I feel like that isn’t represented enough in books.

The only thing that made me question a little bit was the fact that their parents got married so they were technically step-siblings. I realize that they had a past before they found out about their parents, but it still was a bit iffy.

Other than that, I really enjoyed this book and everyone should read it when it comes out September 15th!!

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

If you're a fan of The Love Hypothesis or The Hating Game, The Unbalanced Equation is for you! All the best tropes in one with a smart female lead and a hottie hiding his true feelings. This book was a fun, fast read!

The Unbalanced Equation

This book was a cutesy, albeit long, read. There were points that I thought could be a natural stopping point for the book, or sufficient lulls in action or working towards resolution that I felt didn't really do the story or the characters justice, especially because I wanted to see personal growth from them a bit earlier on.

I did like that I could feel the character's emotional and physical connection, and it didn't really feel like a contrived way of bringing the characters together, although sometimes I did really dislike that these people (who are grown adults) would be so toxic to one another, but alas, I suppose a book needs drama!

I decided after chapter one this was not for me. The entire thing felt far too contrived, and we ended the very first chapter with the MMC jerking off to the thought of the FMC. No thanks.

I absolutely loved The Unbalanced Eqaution. It was the perfect example of STEM romance, and it was in the exact specific field of gene therapy I want to go into as well, which was a happy coincidence. I loved the enemies to lovers part of it, they had such good banter, and trust me, I have high standards when it comes to banter. I also liked how Liz and Tom weren't afraid to speak their minds to each other, except when it really mattered though!
Anyways, this was a cute rom com, definitely not a typical STEM romance, and I highly recommend for fans of Ali Hazelwood, Scottish men and STEM!

Thank you so much toNetGalley, the publishers and author H.L Macfarlane for the opportunity to read and review this book. I really enjoyed this age gap and academia novel. However some key points I didn’t get into would be how Tom really seemed immature for his age, but he made up for it with his witty and steamy humor and flirting. The spicy scenes were also on point I personally sensed the connection between the characters almost immediately however I was still on the top of my toes. If you are a fan of steamy and academia based romances such and The Love Hypothesis, Love on The Brain and The Soulmate Equation this author is definitely the right fit for you!!!

I tried so hard to like the characters in this book because I think they could’ve been very lovable, but the more I read the creepier Tom became and I just couldn’t really get past it. The writing generally was good and the story was enjoyable for the most part. This would be a great book for someone who is a fan of taboo romances and main characters who are quite rough around the edges. Overall a good book, just not quite my speed!

Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for providing the ARC.

This book was trying to capture the same magic that made The Love Hypothesis great, but it sorely missed the mark.

Tom is toxic af. His misogynistic inner dialogue is bad enough, but when he, a 38 year old professor, actively sabotages the woman he purports to love from meeting someone else, from finding a place to live that isn't his home that he only graciously opens up to her as a ploy to get closer to her after spending 4 years being an absolute dick to to her, I freaking can't.

Miscommunication trope is one of my least favorites, but this is next level. It doesn't help that Liz is just completely oblivious about anything that is happening. All of this could have been solved if after that initial meeting they just acted like adults and moved on with life. But yes, lets absolutely torture the poor grad student because you're completely incapable of acting like an adult about your gross feelings.

I'd give this book no stars if I could.

You can say what you want
But it won’t change my mind
I’ll feel the same about you

Liz and Tom, researchers in Edinborough feel the sparks at a chance meeting at a university mixer. Unfortunately for them, Tom becomes her Doctoral supervisor believes he must make her life hell in order to keep his job and not arouse suspicions of his attraction for her. Years later, circumstances force them together and to reckon with their tumultuous feelings toward each other.

- enemies to lovers
- forced proximity
- dual POV
- slow-burn romance
- ✨spice✨

Okay so much like the slow-burn romance in this book, it was a slow-burn getting doing for me. I found the opening chapter a bit cringe with Tom swooping in to save the day.

However, this book totally grew on me as it went on. There was a plot-driving twist near the beginning that I definitely didn’t see coming and I was in.

I liked the nerdy anime/fantasy references and thought it was a cute connection for the main characters.

I really ended up enjoying this book and would recommend if you love a spicy romance.

I will say there was an eyebrow-raising circumstance that danced a bit around consent which I feel like could be triggering for some people - so I definitely will flag that as a content warning.

If you read romance do you prefer more wholesome stories with no spice or is it a requirement?

The Unbalanced Equation by H.L. Macfarlane

⭐️⭐️⭐️.75 out of 5:

• enemies to lovers
• forced proximity
• academic rivals (sorta)
• miscommunication

This book follows Liz and Tom through their time working together in a lab. This is a very enemies to lovers trope.

Liz hates Tom and is relieved to be out of Tom’s scrutiny but because of a problem she is forced back into working with Tom. The sexual tension between Liz and Tom was *chefs kiss*

One of the things I didn’t like about this book was the amount of miscommunication it had. While later they were able to talk things through, it was frustrating when they had miscommunication throughout the majority of the book. But I liked that they were able to overcome it in the end. I really liked Liz’s character and reading her inner thoughts, they were pretty funny.

They had banter!! Which duhh we all like and the way they were together was just really cute!!!

We love an academic romance! This was witty and charming and a great read. I want more right now! I’m so happy to recommend this book.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

I will say that this book was sIow going for me. It took me a long while before I could actually sit and read more than one chapter at a time. But once I really got into it I couldn't put it down. It was amazing. I'm only deducting a star because it was hard for me to get into. Don't give up though it is definitely worth working through the beginning.

Thank you to Netgalley for a copy of this book, unfortunately i really didn't like the m/cs like come on his nearly 40 and acting like a bully on the playground and shea just like oh that is in the past without either of them growing up or having a decent conversation.

I don’t know if its just me but this book gives the love hypothesis vibes! Like low key…? A grumpy love interest? Say yes! This book is wholesome, i like it, i wont say i love it because I’m a super high expectation reader when it comes to romance! I love the characters and the storyline? *chef kiss*

This book was a miss. I didn't feel the chemistry from the two characters. The time jump from the first time they met to the present day did not make sense. I would have liked to see a flashback or two at least describing how they interacted with one another and not Liz just saying that Tom was mean to her during the four years.

Also, was it really love between the characters or mainly just lust? Mainly lusting after the other. I didn't feel the love between them.

2.5/5 stars

I unfortunately dnf’d this book. It felt a lot like it was trying to be the next “the love hypothesis” with a more aggressive grump of a MMC. I should have loved so many of the tropes in this. It had enemies to lovers, well sort of, age gap, women in STEM plus forced proximity were the main focuses of the story and I like the majority of those things but couldn't get attached to the characters Or the storyline.

Over all the story was choppy and felt a tad rushed. Very heavy in the science aspect of the book but lacked in character development and romance.

When the meet cute is all about how great a woman's tits are, and that she likes anime, even though she's a serious scientist and PhD candidate? You lost me from the beginning. I did continue and got about one third of the way through when I realized the story wasn't getting any better. This was a DNF for me.

The fact it took me over two months to finish this should tell you everything.

The writing style was simple and good but the plot was repetitive and all over the place. As a normal, rational human being, two coincidences I can let slide but more than that just becomes creepy and weird.

To be honest, I was really excited about it but it didn't live up to the hype. It was not that good.

I really enjoyed this book at first. Love the premise of semi-forbidden love in a science lab, hooray for STEM too! I was rooting for Liz the whole way until.... I wasn't. She was kind of a jerk sometimes. Also, I was mostly rooting for Tom, despite his idiotic way of handling things in the beginning... until he engaged in some definite and troubling stalker behaviors. He redeemed himself a little (and quite unbelievably) when he took care of Liz when she wasn't feeling well, but then I remembered, oh yeah, stalker. And then I couldn't remember what was so great about him anyway (besides the fact that he's smart, handsome, and uber rich). Liz and Tom's relationship felt juvenile, and the mean things they did to each other really turned me off. By the time I got to 80% through, I didn't really want to finish reading. I just didn't care much about their happy ending (and it was pretty anticlimactic, anyway). One trope I really hate in romances is a lack of communication that drives the H/h apart, and one character even came out and basically said, Why don't you guys ever talk to each other and clear up your miscommunications?! Amen, sister.

Thanks to the publisher for providing an ARC via netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion.