A quick fun read. Enemies to lovers in a STEM romance - was super eager to read it.

While there were some predictable scenes and I wasn't a big fan of the H, it was an enjoyable read.

I was hooked by the cover and in general I think there's more of a demand for this niche subcategory of books because of the Love Hypothesis. And really a lot of people's biggest problem with the Love Hypothesis was the the FMC was currently doing her PhD and the love interest is a professor. I get that, it made me uncomfortable. So, I liked that Macfarlane avoids that by hvaing our FMC be in her post-doc. BUT, I could not get over the fact that they were going to be step siblings. In these rom-coms there are inevitably these random situations where our MCs are forced into the same space where they can't avoid each other. And we have that here with the fire and working in the same lab. But then do we also need them to be step siblings? I feel like there were other ways to get them to share a house with having that happen.

2.5 stars
warning: possible mild spoilers below


Right. So.
This book was just painfully average.

Pros: I liked the world-building, I LOVED the fact that it was set in Scotland, I liked the STEM background, I liked Daichi a lot.

Cons: side characters weren't well developed and used mainly as a plot point. The main characters were step-siblings?????????????? I was confused as to what exactly the plot was lol.


NOTE: I received this book as an ARC from Netgallery, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

My MAIN problem with the book: The main characters were the worst, most painfully embarrassing people. I cannot believe the way they both acted given their ages and professions. I couldn't sympathise with either of them tbh, and the fact that I liked Tom more than Liz says it all considering how ridiculous he was.

Anyways, for those who enjoyed The Love Hypothesis, this is deffo an homage to that (whether that was intentional or not).

BUT tbh I would not recommend this book to my friends and I only finished it bc I am incapable of DNFing a book soz

“A women after my own heart”

The Unbalanced Equation // REVIEW
Pub Date: September 15th

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
🌶🌶🌶🌶

Read if you like:
* Age gaps
* Dual POVs
* STEM romance
* He falls first

There are so many things that I loved about this book! I am an absolute sucker for a he-falls-first romance, so I can say with great certainty that H.L Macfarlane delivered on this one! Starting from the beginning, I think that Tom and Liz’s meet-cute was so captivatingly nerdy and spicy, perfectly setting the tone for this slow-burn romance. As a STEM-romance, a large portion of this book centered around Liz and Tom’s respective work in the lab. While you can tell Macfarlane did an extensive amount of research to create accurate scenarios and interactions between characters, things were FAR from being overly-technical or boring. There were so many likable side characters in the lab that kept the conversations interesting, not to mention the banter between Liz and Tom. THE BANTER. Every word and glance between Tom and Liz was infused with impatient lust and attraction. I really enjoyed the genuinely romantic moments the couple shared with each other as well: Tom caring for Liz on her period and Liz buying Tom flowers. And last but not least, the open-door scenes were very Tessa Bailey-esc and I am here for it!

Macfarlane is very talented in creating/writing romantic gestures, but these moments were sadly far and few in between. And while I very much enjoyed this book, it was incredibly stressful. The author threw SO many obstacles at this couple that I became so anxious from reading! I think if the author focused on and developed one issue (anger from PhD discussions, love triangle, becoming “step siblings”) rather than problem after problem, the book would have had a better sense of direction (eliminating my anxiety!) In addition to this, I thought the couple’s relationship was fairly immature for their ages (27 and 38). I would have liked to see more complex motivations and emotions from both Liz and Tom. Needless to say, if you’re looking for a spicy STEM romance, this is most certainty the book for you!

Thank you Net Galley for the advanced reading copy in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you to Netgalley and Macfarlane lantern publishing for the opportunity to read this advanced reader copy.
Disclaimer: I was given access to this ARC for free in exchange for my honest review.
The unbalanced equation by H. l. Macfarlane is my first read by the author. Requested it because of the interesting cover. I read the blurb and I was sold.
The story follows Elizabeth “Liz” Maclean and DR Thomas Henderson.
Thomas was her PhD Assessor, and he was a nightmare or as Liz puts it several times. He was complete dick to her. after 4 years of them putting up with each other Liz is finally free. She will begin working on a new lab. Free from dr. Henderson. Or so she thought.
When Thomas lab burns down due to a Bunsen burner he must be relocated and he so happens to share a lab table with Liz, and if that was not enough, they find out that their parents are getting married.
They are also forced to live together when Liz’s landlord decided to evict, he and she has no place to go. The easiest solution seems to move into Thomas townhouse, that she will share not only with Thomas but also with his father, JIM, and Thomas’s mom Jenny.
To recap; our story features, age gap, office romance, forced proximity, enemies to lovers, forbidden romance; not only because of the office but also because they will be step siblings. and miscommunication trope. … not a trigger on itself but it’s important to know it has a place on the story.
I enjoyed the read. I’ve been on a mood since I read love on the brain and this story was the perfect follow up book. The story is a bit less focused on the steam part and more on the drama aspect of it. Not that is a bad thing but if you did not like how much scientific talk there was on love on the brain; maybe read this book.
The spice of it was something that I really liked. It was not too harsh or nearing the vulgar, but it was hot. It had me blushing at some point.
the book would be 4 stars for me. I liked it, it was enjoyable and funny at times. The one aspect I did not like and the reason I removed one start it’s because of Thomas behavior. While over all he is great. He acted like a child and the whole reason why the last 30% of the book dragged a bit.
****SPOILER warning****
The reason Thomas acted like a dick towards Liz is because he liked her. yeah, that’s it. So at the beginning of the book, they first and they pretty much agree without agreeing to have sex. Its heavily implied. Liz leaves and the next day is told he will now be her assessor. Because he wants to be professional, he can’t be having indecent thoughts about her he decided to be harsh. He is rude. He makes those 4 years a nightmare for her.
This man could not just be polite to her. he couldn’t be a decent human being to her. liz talks about how she held up tears after talking to him. He was a dick to her. also, that did not stop there. He messed up her chances to get a new place, to keep her at his house, and he went through her phone to block her matched-on tinder, so she didn’t go on more dates.
I feel like she forgave him to quick, but it made sense. They had long talked about it. We see how while it was wrong, they work through it.

Tom and Liz meet at a work social and have an instant attraction to each other. Events happen that keep them from meeting up again until Tom finds out he is her PHD assessor. Tom makes the decision that he has to hide his feelings for her by being extra hard on her during her time completing her PHD. The fun begins when they find out that there widowed parents are getting married to each other. The book started out strong, dragged a bit in the middle but kept my interest. There were miscommunications that could have been solved by actually communicating. The book did benefit from the supporting characters. The dialogue was strong.
For those who like rom-coms it is an enjoyable read. I would be interested in reading the next book from the author.
STEM
Enemies to lovers
Miscommunication

While I found the description of the book interesting along with much of the book, there were parts that were too abusive for me. Tom and Liz are both at a university in Glasgow in the Genetics department. Him as a PhD member of the department and her just entering the PhD program. After a fun first meeting, things take a turn for the worse along with the use of too many plot devices.

I received a free copy of this book to review through NetGalley.

The Unbalanced Equation
H. L. Macfarlane

Genre: Romance
Published: 2022
Recommended: TBD

I had to put this book down approx. 50% of the way through, but not because I didn't like it necessarily. I look forward to trying this book again in a different format, because I had trouble maintaining my attention on it with the digital copy.

4/5 ⭐
3/5 🌶️

I really, really enjoyed The Unbalanced Equation. I made the mistake of reading some reviews after getting it and was prepared for disappointment... Talks of a misogynistic creep MMC and an immature FMC almost had me running, but thankfully I didn't find them anywhere. What I found was a strong and smart FMC who decided to füçk with the guy who was an ășșhöłě to her and a morally grey MMC who was a bit of an ąrrogąnt ąšş, but had a lot of redeeming qualities. This is definitely an enemies to lovers story where the MMC has a lot of groveling to do and, in my opinion, he did it well.

I really loved the little fandom details scattered throughout this book. While I don't know anything about anime or Manga, I could just feel how giddy that would make fans of the genre reading them. Same with the science tidbits. Hayley didn't make you feel like being left on the outside of an inside joke when she included them either.

The plot was fantastic. I loved that Tom loved Liz for 4 years and attempted to keep his distance by being a dïćk, then sabotaged his way into a forced proximity situation. Would I have been okay with this in real life? Absolutely not. Do I love when my book boyfriends straddle the line between strong-willed and pathological? Hěłł yes. Tom wasn't perfect, but I loved him nonetheless. He was truly a good guy who made some mistakes... He was such an amazing son and friend, you knew his heart was truly in the right place.

I really loved this little friend group and I'm excited for more books in this world!

2.5 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 <spoiler> 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 </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 <spoiler> 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 </spoiler> also the whole book was just multiple miscommunications which I am never a fan of. It was still a quick easy romance though.

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

I'll be honest and say I couldn't decide between 2 and 3 stars for this read. I read through it in one day but I honestly kept hoping I would like it more by the end and unfortunately, it never quite got there for me. There were aspects of the book that I enjoyed but overall I was mostly underwhelmed.

The Unbalanced Equation is romance set in academia between a postdoc and her former PhD assessor. I loved the setting - a university in Glasgow, Scotland - I loved the rainy, wintery setting and I definitely thought about cuddling up in front of a fire.

In the prologue, we see Liz and Tom meeting at a university meet and greet and there is an instant attraction. There is an age gap but it's strangely mentioned, rationalized and dismissed. I thought there would be more about that, honestly. There is also no concern for that unbalanced power dynamic of a professor and a graduate student, at first, because she's not his student.... until she is. The next day he finds out that he will be her assessor and decides, unceremoniously, to be an unmitigated monster to her to avoid his attraction and putting his career in jeopardy. It's a weak excuse, best, honestly. This begins a theme of Tom making decisions about, for Liz without her input or autonomy and I wasn't a fan.

I'm not a huge fan of non-communication or miscommunication being the main conflict. Tom is 34/38 years old and Liz is 24/28 and they present as seriously immature and it's not a good look. I couldn't get entirely invested in either of them. The banter was sometimes fun and witty and interesting but then all I'd want to do is smack either of them upside the back of the head and say "USE YOUR WORDS!"

Tom and Liz's widowed parents are getting married - Tom's mother and Liz's father met in a grief support group after they lost their spouses to cancer. Unbeknownst to Tom and Liz, they began seeing each other and surprised them with a whirlwind engagement and planning a wedding. So, Tom is a complete and utter jerk to Liz for four years to fight his attraction to her, she hates him and lets all her friends and her father know what a jerk he is, and now they're going to be step-siblings... Oh and then Tom's lab burns down and they have to work together.... Oh and then Liz gets unceremoniously evicted and she has to move in with Tom and his mom and her dad in Tom's mansion/townhome.

It's just a lot. And that's all in the first 15/20%!! Tom proceeds to do a lot of questionable things to sabotage Liz's personal life so that he can then somehow become palatable to her. She decides to be super mature and mess with him and tease him. But, to me, it wasn't sexy or steamy - I love a good tease!! This mostly felt bitchy and mean and bratty... and not in the good way. I just never bought into their love and really his actions were toxic.

I did enjoy many of the secondary characters and their interactions. The parents are super adorable and so incredibly supportive and real. Tom's best friend, Daichi, is absolutely delightful and hysterical - I mean, they do a BFF couple's Halloween costume every year and it's just a bromance I adore. Liz's friends are ride-or-die and there for her when she needs them. Liz and Jenny (Tom's mom) build a beautiful relationship which is heartwarming given Liz's grief at the loss of her mom. Jim, Liz's dad, is a gentle bear of a man who is wonderfully protective of his daughter. I was happier reading the scenes with them than I was with just Liz and Tom.

I think this book will resonate with a lot of people. I think that the author is clearly intelligent and a good writer - this just wasn't a relationship that I clicked with.

Thank you for NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars!
If you are having withdrawals after finishing Love Hypothesis or Love on the Brain do yourself a solid and read this immediately!!!

Liz and Tom meet four years ago at a work social and it’s instant attraction. Tom plans on pursuing Liz the next day, but prior to that happening he gets put into becoming Liz’s PhD advisor. He then decides that logically, instead of being mature and expressing his feelings, the best he can do is to be an ass so she hates him instead of liking him.. seems like a guy thing to do…

Fast forward to present day and their parents (both widowed) surprise them at a dinner (neither Tom or Liz have any clue) and announce that they are getting married. On top of this surprise they also have to work side by side at work after Tom’s best friend manipulates the meet cue. Then conveniently Liz’s landlord gives her a few days to move out and she is left homeless. Tom swoops in and persuades her to move in with him. The plot line is him manipulating situations to block Liz from moving out or dating other men. Both question each others liking of one another, put each other in uncomfortable situation, tease one another and make it apparent to friends and family that they should be together.

Liz and Tom have amazing banter and I was rooting for them chapter one. The supporting characters in this book are hilarious and amazing. The whole parents and “kids” falling in love thing seems like it would be a turn off from this book, but somehow it builds upon character development.

Overall I devoured this book and could not get enough of it. Ali Hazelwood and H.A. Macfarlane make me feel like I chose the wrong career because dang I want to be Liz. This was a first for me by H.A. Macfarlane, but certainly not my last!!

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

I was excited for this book only to be disappointed.

The book starts off four years ago where Liz and Tom meet at a staff-student mixer. They’re both immediately attracted to one another despite the 12 year age gap. Tom later on discovers that Liz will be his student and because of his attraction to her he has to be an asshole to her to prevent something from happening between them. Makes sense? Not really.

I really tried with this book I swear I did but I was so bored with it. I rarely dnf a book but this was a dnf for me.

Liz thought about her ex too much for my liking. I mean, who likes it when the heroine seems to be hung up on her ex that is not the hero in a romance book? Not me. Tom was an asshole for basically no reason. It made no sense to me why he felt the need to be such a jerk for four years. You can be attracted to someone and remain professional you don’t have to be mean. Apparently nobody taught Tom about professionalism.

Liz and Tom’s chemistry seemed non existent. I saw reviews of people talking about the tension, the banter…which was not there. Maybe things picked up later in the book and the chemistry between them magically appeared but from what I read there was none.

The potential this book had!! Which only made me more disappointed when I read it because it did not reach it’s potential. This book could definitely be someone else’s cup of tea but it definitely was not mine.

I was only able to read the first couple of chapters before it archived, but I LOVED what I read. I really liked what little of the characters I got to read, and it gave me the same feeling The Love Hypothesis did. Can't wait to purchase this book so I can read it entirely!

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. But when a fire goes off in Tom’s lab (stupid undergrads) he ends up working in the same lab as Liz. Oh, and to make matters worse? Tom’s mum and Liz’s dad announce their impending marriage after a whirlwind romance. So when Liz’s landlord tells her to move out, pronto, it tips her over the edge. Desperate for a place to stay and in need of a saviour, the last person Liz expects to offer her a temporary home is Tom himself.

This STEM enemies to lovers romance didn't hit the mark for me. Tom and Liz didn't seem to have much chemistry (kind of ironic), and Tom came off as a petulant child. Liz just plays games with Tom's head and cannot let go of the past and is still seeking revenge for how he treated her during he PhD. I found it unrealistic for two smart characters to be written so childish and it distracted from the plot.

2.5
Well... this was an ok book.

The science theme of the book got me interested from the start, love in the laboratory... nice :)

But then...

I had a problem with the chemistry (pun intended) between the two main characters, Lizz and Tom. At the start of the book, the way they meet and start their story felt kinda off, purely physical... A few years forward and they are enemies and the reason they are enemies could be completely avoided if someone just acted as an adult and a scientist, that they both were, and talked to each other.
The story goes too fast and without an explanation of how things happened, they are just enemies now... I did not care for them, he was horrible to her in the present time, with red flags all over the place. Even with the ending, he was not the type of person that gave a reason for forgiveness with that kind of character development... Not much of a character there...
Both of them change their minds a lot...
The "sexual tension" between the two of them was closer to torture than tension...

Another thing that was bugging me was the science thing....there was not much science happening. They could have been in any other field of work and it wouldn't make any difference. Science wasn't an important part of the story.

I liked the part of the story that shows us that love is something that you can find at any age and we can see that through their parents. It is never too late to find the right person for you and for you to heal. On the other hand, there was that odd moment of the main characters being step-siblings, but let's ignore that...

The writing was ok, that is all I have to say

This book was provided to be by Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.
Honestly the beginning of the book ruined what could have been a fun and angst filled academic romance. The prologue tells us the story of a professor who begins lusting after a first year student the moment he lays eyes on her, then spends a page providing us his inner monologue about how their eleven year age gap wouldn't be a problem because many of his colleagues are in relationships with age gaps, without addressing that she is a student in his program. In my opinion there is nothing less sexy than a man trying to justify why his attraction to a much younger woman is certainly not problematic and creepy.
This left a bad taste in my mouth that couldn't be redeemed.

Rating - 3.5 stars
Tropes - Forced Proximity, Workplace Romance, Enemies to Lovers, Guy falls first

The premises of the plot was definitely great but I just could not get into the book and feel the tension. The tropes were brilliant but the way they played out had me going "this is not it" The side characters in the book were good and had their own development and everything didn't revolve around Tom and Liz, our main characters. I loved the characters but I just found some stuff that was very idiotic perhaps. Tom and Liz hit it off the first time they met but then Tom found out she is his student instead of backing off and telling her like a normal person would he make her hate him? That did not make any sense to me at all. AT ALL.

That being said if you are reading this book because you think it's like the love hypothesis (i've seen people doing this) stop because both are very different books and the only thing they have in common is the academia setting.

The Unbalanced Equation by H.L. Macfarlane has a tough premise to sell. An older man attracted to a younger woman who he later is overly harsh as her PhD advisor and then is now going to be her step-brother because her father is now going to marry his mother.

This romance fell very flat for me. For most romances that are good it takes good writing and a good story because so many troupes are used in romance books and for me the writing was better than the story. I just couldn't get into their love story and honestly it was a chore to finish. The last half is definitely better than the first half but this book didn't do it for me.

It felt contrived and slow.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and give an honest review of The Unbalanced Equation by H.L. Macfarlane

Thank you to the Author, Publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.

I absolutely loved this STEM-based book. The characters had an enemies/rivals to lovers relationship and i loved watching it develop. I couldn't stop myself from smiling the whole way through!