This book was an absolute delight all the way through, I devoured it so fast! I’m completely obsessed with Tom and Lizzie’s dynamic 🥹

Tom’a mom said it best when she said “Honestly, the two of you have got to be the worst at actually talking to one another that I have ever seen”. Both Tom and Liz have plenty of flaws and it makes them very difficult to root for at times. The book spends so much time building up tension only for the “third act breakup” to come what feels like ten pages later. All the being said it’s an easy read and manages to keep you interested enough that you can convince yourself to finish the book.

After suffering four years of scrutiny from her PhD assessor, Elizabeth Maclean believes she’s finally free of Dr Thomas Henderson’s tyranny when she begins her postdoc. So when a fire damages Tom’s lab, he has to work in the same lab as Liz for three whole months. To make matters worse, Tom’s mum and Liz’s dad announce their impending marriage after a whirlwind romance. Just to top it all off, Liz has to move out of her home and finds herself living with Tom, whilst helping him to plan their parent’s wedding. Soon what seemed like a disaster might not be what Liz actually though.
Whilst there are comparisons to ‘The Love Hypothesis’ which I loved; I am not sure if this book really gelled for me. These were two main characters who seem just right for each other, but I must admit that I didn’t always like them. At times, Tom was quite immature in his actions.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read an ARC of "The Unbalanced Equation", written by H.L. MacFarlane, scheduled to release on September 15th, 2022!

Overall, I rated this novel a 3/5 stars!

This book focuses on Elizabeth, who is about to start her Post-Doctoral college work. She wrongfully assumes that she has seen the last of Dr. Thomas Henderson, who has made the last four years of her college life completely miserable. Liz ends up working in the same lab as him (of course)

In case that wasn't enough, Tom's mother and Liz's father decide to tie the knot with one another, and Liz's landlord uncerimoniously announcers that it's time for her to move out. This is one enemies-to-lovers novel that you won't want to miss out on, as it's said to be a combination of The Love Hypothesis and The Hating Game.

Thank you to NetGalley and publishers for allowing me to read this ARC,

Normally, I love enemy to lovers, stem based rom coms, however this didn't do it for me. There were almost too many tropes happening. The first thing that put me off was the whole soon to be step-siblings thing. It might just be me, but knowing that I'm catching feelings for essentially a brother would be very weird and a little bit creepy for me. Overlooking that however, the book went off with a really good start, rounded out everyone's character pretty well, and the banter was actually funny. The other thing I have to nit-pick is the fact that the filler chapters go one for too long. I felt like throughout chapters 15-40 everything was just a bit unnecessary, and didn't really add anything to the story. Thirdly, I really didn't like how Tom was so controlling over Liz's life, forcing her to live with him? messing with prospective dates? major walking red flag from the get-go. Also the conflict resolution towards the end of the book was a bit rushed for me. The story in itself was well written and I can see the aim that Macfarlane was trying to go for. I can't say that I liked this book, but also cant say that I disliked it, I think others may really enjoy but sadly I'm not one of those people.

This was a very well written book but it didn’t do it for me. I wasn’t a fan of how much Tom controlled Liz’s life. The relationship also felt one sided and forced. I got the feeling that without the problems with their parents they would not have gotten back together and in the beginning their parents were also what brought the together again. A lot of the book was too awkward for me. I’m glad i read it but i wouldn’t re read.

# General Thoughts

Usually I’m not a big romance reader but this cover and the summary kinda caught my attention. Since I work in a medical setting, the STEM theme spoke to me and I liked most of the tropes that were promised to be in this book. Lately I’ve been craving more romance in my fantasy stories so I thought I might give the actual romance genre a go. And let me say, it did not disappoint me with this one!

Here are just some of the tropes:

- forced proximity
- enemies to lovers
- female in STEM
- strong FMC
- Disclamier: Big miscommunication trope!

# Summary

Liz and Tom meet at an university event and they click immediately. After a slightly awkward scene with a lot of sexual tension there is an aprubt end to the evening.

The time jump to after Liz’s PhD is jarring at first, as the reader discovers bit by bit what happened over the last few years and why Liz and Tom aren’t on good terms anymore. The two of them are suddenly forced to work on the same lab bench and especially Liz isn’t at all happy about this development. But because romance authors can’t leave well enough alone, Liz’s father and Tom’s mother announce that they will be getting married. After the shock of this revelation, Liz gets evicted by her landlord and Tom offers to take her in. From this point onward, things get even more complicated.

# Characters

**Liz**

Elizabeth McLean is a strong FMC and POV character that I liked a lot at the beginning of the book. She knows what she wants and (almost) always has a plan how to get it. During the middle part she made some petty and questionable choices that I just couldn’t comprehend but towards the end she got me on her team again. Overall I liked her less than Tom because she really had no other reason for her mean actions except revenge and that just wasn’t enough for me.

**Tom**

Dr Thomas Henderson seems like a young, easy-going type of university professor every student loves. Unfortunately, he can be a massive ass if he chooses to. In Liz’s case, he does. He might have a reason for it but here’s where the miscommunication trope comes into play. This whole story could have been half as long if he would have just talked to Liz after the first chapter. Instead, in order to hide his feelings for her and protect his career, he thinks he has to act like the worst bully ever. PhD programs are hard enough as it is, being assigned to an assessor who tears you down at every meeting isn’t helping. So yeah, whenever we’re in Liz’s POV, I hated his guts. The thing is, as soon as we switch to Tom’s POV I couldn’t help liking him. And that’s why in my opinion the author did a great job crafting these characters and the relationship between them even though I hated the ongoing miscommunication.

# Relationships

The connection between the MCs is complicated at best. Every time they seem to get close to each other either one or the other manages to mess everything up. But I guess that’s what keeps the tension up. Overall, the relationship between Liz and Tom was never stagnant and filled with a lot of bickering and banter which made it feel much more relatable to the reader.

# Plot

Well, it’s a romance book so obviously the relationship between Tom and Liz takes center stage. But even though we focus a lot on them, there’s still other things going on in their lives. There’s work, friends and lot of normal every day things going on that we get to take part of. After the engagment of their parents is announced there’s also a lot of wedding planning going on.

# Final Thoughts

This was a nice break in my reading schedule, which is usually very fantasy heavy. It had humor and banter and good chemistry between the characters, which always makes a book more enjoyable. The STEM factor was a personal preference for me and I found some of the inside jokes hilarious.

If you like a strong FMC character and a guy that falls first, all in a scientific setting and a lot of angst around the romance, this is the book for you. (Just be warned of the miscommunication.)

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and H.L. Macfarlane for this ARC copy.

I liked that the characters and setting gave me The Love Hypothesis vibes and I'm all about a university setting, especially ones that focus on STEM subjects.

There were a lot of tropes going on so it will appeal to a nice variety of people! I think it will especially stand out to fans of Ali Hazelwood with the quirky nature of the characters and the academic plot.

It's got a good heat level too, so for those looking for something steamier this is a good option!

This was my first book by H.L. Macfarlane and I was not disappointed in the slightest! I am a sucker for an enemies-to-lovers and forced proximity so this book gave me everything I could've wanted.

I am the furthest thing from having a PhD and being a doctor, however, this book was so much fun. Even someone without a science background could relate to the characters and enjoy the academia setting. It had really sweet moments and I especially appreciated reading about a strong, intelligent, and no BS kind of woman like Liz.

I ate up every moment of Tom's pining and unrequited crush, and despite wanting to shake him half of the book, I absolutely adored his character and how much he loved Liz. This story was sweet, funny, and very swoon-worthy. It had great tension, hilarious banter, and the spice was very well done.

I look forward to reading more from this author!

Its been a while since I have smiled so much at a book.
I really enjoyed the two main charaters and the way they interact with each other, the banter!

I thought Tom and Liz’s inner monologs were so funny.

Liz’s so mean, not mean mean but sassy mean and that’s the best kind. I just want to be her friend.

Tom felt like a big hug, or maybe I just wanted him to give me a big hug. Thats probably it :))

The Unbalanced Equation is a cheesy rom - com full of sweet romantic moments that got me squealing like a high schooler as well as cringeworthy scenes that made me almost grimace. Usually, I’m a fan of Rom - Coms but I have to admit this didn’t really fit the bill.

To begin with, the characters of Tom and Liz were well written. With Liz being a strong, independent woman in the scientific world and Tom being a prolific figure in his field, from the get go you understood their characters and knew their dynamic. Both Liz and Tom served wonderfully as main characters, especially in the sense of their relationship with their parents. With Liz being a daddy’s girl and Tom being a mummy’s boy, Macfarlane wrote that perfectly to a T.

What I also loved was the representation of a woman’s choice on if they want children. Most romance books, especially popular ones, promote finding the perfect man and then having the perfect family with a brood of children but this one sheds light on just being happy with that one person. That children and marriage aren’t a necessity and I love that! It puts life in a whole new perspective!

However, their romance was too dysfunctional for my taste. Both of the characters did not seem good enough for each other and definitely deserved much better than what they wanted.

Enemies to lovers is often a trope I love to read, however it didn’t feel like enemies to lovers. It was more, Tom treated Liz like dirt so he could keep his job… but then he could have been a grown up and actually communicated! Miscommunication is a huge player in this novel and I really do not like miscommunication, especially in large helpings…

However, despite that, I did enjoy the book in some areas. The relationships between Liz and her friends were amazing, the characters of Chloë and Harriet especially became my favourite!

I would definitely recommend this to anyone who loves tooth rotting romantic comedies as well as women in STEM!

I really liked this one.

It gave me Normal People, Love On The Brain and The Hating Game. I definitely recommend it to readers who have loved those books.

I just didn't like this one part where he called her a bitch. Damn it made me knock a star off.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, the publisher, and H.L. Macfarlane for this copy.

If I'm being honest, I picked this up expecting it to be like The Love Hypothesis BUT boy was I wrong. I absolutely enjoyed this book and it just hit all the marks for me (eg. conflict, banter, will-they/won't-they moments). What made me like The Unbalanced Equation more than The Love Hypothesis is the dual POV, which worked very well with some of the tropes: Enemies to Lovers & He Falls First. Oh, and for those who love slow-burn & tons of pining, this is the book for you!

The one thing I did not like was the VERY cringy dialogue in the first few pages (ie. Tom "saving" Liz part). It just felt incredibly unnatural and embarrassing to read that I almost wanted to DNF it. Thankfully I pushed through and it got a lot better. There were still some cute-cringy moments, but at that point, it felt like they were all part of the banter. Overall, I thought this was the perfect back-to-school read, especially for my university pals out there. It was light and cheesy and the STEM setting helped with easing back to school! :)

This wass my first H.L. Macfarlane book and it was a good read. Not extraordinary or amazing but good nonthless.
At first, I really liked Tom. I swooned for the guy. I liked his character and how he was confident and driven, with a touch of sexiness present. But then, his true colours appeared. I didn't love him. He was selfish. He acted so immature. He just didn't feel right to me. But he and Elizabeth fit. Surprisingly.
Elizabeth was ... I don't know how to put into words. Again, I don't know what to feel about her. She was kind and sweet. But she didn't grab me. I wasn't hooked and not that much interested in her. I only felt her attraction to Tom. They sure had a chemistry. But the way she acted on it was weird. She had some surprising reactions. I wanted more from her.
This book felt lacking. I needed more. The characters weren't that well developed. They had the chemistry, but it wasn't eventful. Their interactions weren't amazing. By the end, everything felt rushed. And BAM the book was finished. It was rather quick with a typical HEA. Would have rated it 4 stars if the author would have pulled the conclusion out better. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't a bad book but it wasn't that great either. The story was heart warming, funny, sad & some times frustrating and I guess I could say it was a good story. Overall it was a decent read. I'll be looking for more from this author.

I was so excited to read this! I loved the banter between the two main characters and felt they got on really well. The cons for me was that I felt like there was a lot of inner monologues and not enough dialogue (personal opinion). While I love a lot of cliche tropes, it felt like that there was one after another, after another etc in this book.
Still a very cute read and I would recommend it!

As I read this book, I kept getting flashes of The Love Hypothesis and The Hating Game, two of the small handful of contemporary romances I happen to have read this year. I am apparently not the only one who has had this thought. Dare I say, for much of this book, I think I actually liked it better than The Love Hypothesis. The premise for the tension between the two main characters, the whole reason it's an enemies to lovers trope, is more believable (though still somewhat childish and frustrating), than the Love Hypothesis. Also, this book had even more of what I would expect a STEM romance to deliver: a smart, capable, ambitious woman, confident in her skills at her job, actually demonstrating those skills within the story, and a love interest who appreciates all of that about her and finds it attractive. I truly loved the stretches in this book that took place in the lab, the author seamlessly blending scientific language and sexual tension into a single scene. Speaking of which, the steamy scenes in this book were written really well.
All the praise aside, I did almost DNF the book after the first couple of chapters because some of the initial actions of the male main character struck me as so immature and poorly thought out. The author does redeem him eventually, but it really does require giving him another chance (or two). Quite in line with the theme of the story.
Aside from the two main characters, the rest of the supporting characters were okay. It was interesting that there was a whole another sub plot line involving their parents. It added a bit more complexity to the story and allowed for the whole "forced proximity" aspect of it.
Overall, I was very glad to have read this story. I gave it 3.5 stars, rounded up to a 4 here. I will be looking forward to more romances by this author.
Thank you to Booksgosocial and Netgalley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I liked the book. I feel a little more educated after reading it lol. I liked the writing style, plenty of humour and I liked the push and pull of the characters.

I did feel that I was reading for ages and the percent wasn't moving, but I don't know how I would change it, because I did actually enjoy it. I would read this author again, and would recommend this book to those who want a little more than a quick read

Gave me all the feels!! A little bit 50 Shades, some manipulation and control instances (“unbalanced”), but an erotic ride that kept me rooting for an HEA nonetheless.

This ARC was provided by the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

I do think the story in general was good. The writing was also good. However, I had a hard time actually believing they both loved each other. Everything was based on lies and miscommunication. This is the type of book that makes me believe the characters wouldn't last long after the epilogue. They do not know how to communicate and it's not because they misunderstand a situation... it's because they don't talk about anything. Individually, the characters were ok, but together they just didn't fit even though they have common interests. I hated how childish Tom was... even at 38 years old, but I do know that he truly cares for Liz. At felt really bad for how she treated him and played with him. How he is always to blame. I didn't particularly cared for Liz's character. I understand all the hurt she got through... but she was petty af.

Don't get me even started on Jenny. She is one of the most toxic mom I've ever seen. The way she dismissed Tom's feeling, calling him her "idiot son" and criticizing his appearance. I felt really bad for him.

What I truly enjoyed in this book is the ending. How it's different of other books and what the characters' considerer their HEA.

Anyway, I do think some people would enjoy this book so much more than I did. It definitely had potential, I just couldn't...

3⭐️

This was said to be comparable to The Love Hypothesis. They are not the same, despite some slight resemblance. I didn't dislike this book since I felt that it was more about how their love influenced everyone else in their lives.

It was certainly not a bad book, but I still think some parts of it might have benefited from extra additions. I liked how each supporting character contributed to the plot and wasn't just there to support the main characters' relationships.

Just a little bit shorter would have been nice for this book; some parts seemed to drag on when they didn't have to.

Thank you to BooksGoSocial and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced reader copy of this book. But my opinions are my own.