Elizabeth Maclean managed to survive the four years under her tyrannical PhD assessor Doctor Thomas Henderson. She’s started her postdoc, glad to be free from Tom. But his lab gets burnt to the ground and he’s given a space to work in the same lab as Liz…on the same bench. To make matters worse, Tom’s mum and Liz’s dad surprise them both by announcing their whirlwind marriage and Liz’s landlord wants her out. Tom offers her a temporary place to stay. Will Liz uncover Tom’s true feelings or are they doomed to fail in their co-existence experiment?

If you like STEM romance, this might be one for you. I can’t help but compare it The Love Hypothesis– you’ve got the enemies to lovers and miscommunication tropes, slow burn romance, forced proximity. But that’s where the similarities end.

Told from a dual POV, The Unbalanced Equation is rife with red flags. Tom is a rich 38 professor but acts like a jealous 16 year old, sabotaging many aspects of Liz’s life in order to force her to stick around and like him (seriously?!) and Liz is almost 28 and keeps playing games with Tom trying to get revenge for how he treated her during her PhD. I didn’t think the chemistry was there between these two characters. Their relationship is so toxic in so many ways and the story is just too long and drawn out. It’s quite repetitive too so I struggled to finish it.

To be honest, I really didn’t want Tom and Liz to end up together because of the toxicity and childishness of their relationship. Can people just not talk about their feelings and where they stand? I think that in many ways this book just missed the mark.

Not for me I’m afraid. Thanks to BooksGoSocial and NetGalley for the ARC. The Unbalanced Equation is out the 15th of September.

I can't believe I just read about a fMC (Liz) and mMC (Tom), both scientists, with actual chemistry, decent banter and tension. It's been a while since that's happened. There's even dual POV and the guy is the one pining too. I was unsure about the direction but I became invested once the story found it's flow. It did unfortunately lose a lot of momentum in the last quarter though. A few things happening that I found either unnecessary or too drawn out. Almost as if everyone turned on their "let's be childish" switches. The conflict felt like such a waste of time. Also, why is no one in their personal lives weirded out by the whole step-sibling thing? 🤔 They're sharing parents now. lol 😐

If you're one of the STEM girlies out there then this is a romance especially for you. The science discussions will be right up your alley.



Thanks to NetGalley and Macfarlane Lantern Publishing for providing a copy for an honest review.

I really really loved this book !

First it has everything you need : Really great characters, ennemies to lovers and force proximity.
She is a badass, he has a HUGE crush on her, what more can I say.

AND ... they don't want to get married or have kids !! I didn't even know I needed a representation but it felt so good. This book will stay close to my heart thanks to that ! (and this point didn't even change my rating on the book, that's how great I think this book is).

...

"Miss M-"
"Doctor"
"Of course. Doctor Maclean. I didn't mean to offend you."
"I'm sure, Doctor Henderson".
"It's Professor now."
"I know. I meant to offend you."

4,5 ⭐️
Okay where to begin, I’m in love. With this book, with the plot, with the characters, with the setting, with the tropes…Yeah you get the gist right? I devoured this book in one day, it was an easy read, and not too long and not too short.

Some of the tropes in this book are: Enemies to lovers, STEM, close proximity, misunderstanding, the guy falls first, teacher-student, age gap, Rich/poor.

The characters have really funny banter and I keep hearing them saying it in this lovely scottish accent. Which is another thing I loved in this book, that it’s set in Scotland! Makes me really want to go there on my next holiday. And I mean, who else really want to be able to go see Toms townhouse and the family estate in real life?

Also lastly I find it so refreshing that the authour writes about not wanting to have kids and get married! This is a topic that needs to be put into these kinds of books so much more, since it’s still (in 2022) taboo to not want to have kids.
Thanks Netgalley and H.L Macfarlane for letting me read this amazing book! Lots of love, Frida

Who doesn’t love a good enemies to lovers with forced proximity set in a STEM background?! This was such a cute rom com and is truly a combo of two of my favorite books, The Hating Game and The Love Hypothesis. If you are a fan of any of the above do yourself a favor and pick up this book.

Thank you netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.
.
Unbalanced Equation was a funny, slow burn romcom that I think will be compared to The Love Hypotheses, but this book has its own distinct differences.
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You’ll enjoy this book if you like:
•enemies to lovers
•work place romance
•forced proximity
•age gap
•STEM romance

I enjoyed the dual POV, it’s my favorite way for romance books to be written. I liked the banter between Tom and Liz. I’m not a fan of the miscommunication trope and I thought the characters were a bit immature at times, but overall it was a cute read.

Thank you netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Unfortunately I was not enthralled by these characters. The lacked that off the chart chemistry that often comes with enemies to lovers novels. It's slow to pick up and no comedic relief.

This story is simply delightful. The book’s description says that it’s perfect for fans of The Hating Game and The Love Hypothesis and I couldn’t agree more. It’s definitely enemies to lovers between two scientist who find their lives suddenly tangled together at the turn of a few events. Between all the banter, angst and witty remarks exchanged between the characters, I had a lovely time reading this book.

Elizabeth hates her PhD assessor. He makes her life like a living hell, is critical, and is cold. Most importantly, he doesn't remember her as the girl he flirted with the night before she got assigned to him. Thomas and Liz are thrown together (after she thought she was finally done with him) after his undergrads burn down his lab and their parents announce that they are getting married. Now they have to learn to like each other.
This STEM romance had me fawning at first, especially with the energy the cover was giving. However, the more I read the more I felt iffy about it. Tom is a walking and talking red flag. I could not/would not fall in love with him lol Liz was also pretty immature.
The writing style was pretty fast paced and engaging. There was a lot of repetition though. The same conflicts over and over again.

I’d like to thank NetGalley, BooksGoSocial, and H.L. Macfarlane for this arc in exchange for an honest review. Going into this, I knew it was enemies to lovers. I knew it’d have all the angst, emotions, discomfort, and tension most adore. The plot was steamy and left me squealing in place over some parts! Liz is a postdoc, Tom is her former PhD assessor, talk about awkward. The two end things when they first meet at a staff/student mixer when Tom starts acting completely awful. Given the circumstances, he thought he was doing the right thing. He thought he wasn’t good enough for her. HE FELL FIRST!!! Fate puts them in each other’s lives when their own parents decide to get married and the two have to work through what seems like years of resentment towards each other.

I love a good STEM romance so I was pretty into this. The banter was funny, the chemistry was incredible, and overall it was enjoyable. Tom was a moron most of the time. I mean seriously, the things he did to her life? Insanity. I didn’t care for Tom at all and personally thought that Liz could do way better. He is extremely questionable and he seems so toxic, especially when he spent months pining over her and ruining her life and still couldn’t tell her he has feelings! He was manipulative in my book, though he did make me smile when he took care of Liz on her period <3

I really liked how different Liz was. I see many authors push the narrative of the two protagonists getting married and having babies which works for some book couples yes! And as much as I adore those plot lines, it was also refreshing to see the complete opposite. Liz and Tom ended up together but without the pressure of getting married or having kids. There are other things they chose for their lives that are just as important. Liz was also just so so lovely. She clearly has an incredible future lined up with her research.

I enjoyed this book, I just didn’t connect with the characters that much. Some of the lines made me uncomfortable. The adult step siblings thing was really something I could’ve lived without but I enjoyed seeing how they came together in the end to save their parents’ wedding! Aaaand Tom’s confession during said wedding was kind of adorable.

I do love a good rom-com and I have to say that The Unbalanced Equation was a very enjoyable rom-com. A fun haters to lovers story with a few unexpected interesting twists.

I had high hopes for this one and it did not disappoint.

There are many enemies-to-lovers novels on the market currently, and as one of my favourite tropes, I was so excited to pick this up. This novel has leapt up my favourites list as it is just so funny. I laughed out loud numerous times.

I loved that it was set in Scotland too! 'The Unbalanced Equation' also features nods to many nerdy pop culture favourites which really helped to ground it in reality.

The characters are really likeable and I enjoyed the dual perspective. Tom (the male love interest) was written brilliantly - it felt so fresh and believable to read which really enhanced the story.

If you like slow burn, sexy romances then this one is definitely for you!

I requested this book when I was still testing out the Netgalley waters, and therefore was not paying a lot of attention to the short blurb. Now that I am actually reading all the books I've requested, I've noticed this one is not at all what I would normally read, therefore I'm unable to give it a fair review.

This was awl very interesting plot, at times I did not like the male main character, he rubbed me the wrong way , I still ended up wanting them to work out.

I had gotten a arc for this from netgallery!! Tysm for it.

Here’s the list of tropes in this book:
Enemies to lovers
Workplace romance
Forced proximity
Age gap

This is about Tom and Liz when they first met at a bar and let’s just say things get sorta intimate but then from there on things go downhill and Tom finds out he has to be her professor! Then on they become enemies with Tom being a arse to her.
But then years past and surprise! Tom’s widowed mother and Liz’s widowed father are going to get married!
They are forced to be living together when Liz gets kicked out and Tom tries to “save her” from spending money since Liz works crappy jobs. From here on out we get to see the two bicker with one another while living under the same roof before the wedding for their parents, which we see them start to gain feelings for one another again and find out about what happened between them and know about them and their feelings rising up once more!



What I liked:
-The characters being flushed out, it felt like a real person!
-The funny banter!
-How well written it was
-character development

What I didn’t like:
-When you find out how they became “ enemies “ was a dumb reason but its totally understandable
-I also wished they talked! Because if they did we wouldn’t have to see them be repetitive which started to get boring and knocked down the stars for me
-Tom being controlling in the beginning

I also wished it would’ve explored more of some of the topics in this book since it is sorta like the live hypothesis with the STEM.
But lastly I wished I was in love and felt something for these characters but I couldn’t sadly which knocked another star for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for this e arc in exchange for an honest review.

Enemies to lovers, dual pov, banter, forced proximity, guy falls first, STEM… all the things I love in a book. And yet I didn’t love the book… it was fine but nothing special unfortunately.

This book follows Liz who has begun her new job and finally escaped her cruel phd assessor. And Tom, the cruel phd assessor who’s lab has just burnt down so is working in the same lab as Liz once again. Not only do they have to work together, but their parents are getting married and they have to live together. Liz and Tom can not escape each other, whether they want to or not…

So what didn’t I like about it?
It felt very repetitive- yes Tom didn’t treat Liz well when he was her assessor and yes she had a right to not like him, but everything went back to that even after he apologised, offered her a place to stay, and waited on her hand and foot.
The games Liz and Tom were playing were very childish they were supposed to be 30/40. I thought we were finally getting somewhere in the shower scene but it definitely rubbed me the wrong way. As did the hotel scene.
The fact that their parents were getting married also made me uncomfortable, I know they are not related, but their parents are together and it just felt wrong that they continued pursuing each other. That being said, I definitely skimmed over the wedding speeches. I was not that interested and could have done without it- plus the speeches were supposed to be for the newly weds, not each other.

I read the first 20 chapters so quick and I was really enjoying the slow burn, but it did feel unnecessarily long and I found myself getting bored halfway through.

'The Unbalanced Equation' by H.L. Macfarlane will inevitably be compared to 'The Love Hypothesis'. It is an enemies to lovers romance set in a lab. I honestly feel like that is where the comparisons end - a romance in stem does not have to be like the others! Reading this book has also made me realise the issue with a lot of other enemies to lovers romances; these couples are never really 'enemies'. Whereas, Tom and Liz are actually pretty vile to each other before the sparks turn into sexual tension - this made their arc a lot more satisfying and their connection a lot more steamy!

When I read the blurb, that not only are Tom and Liz forced to share a bench in the lab, but their parents are getting married AND they have to live together, that sounds pretty farfetched. Macfarlane actually pulls it off pretty believably at a good pace at the beginning, the forced proximity of the lab and the house elevating the manipulation, game playing and attempts at revenge to a twisty and enjoyable place.

Overall, where this plot is going is really obvious. Plus, Tom makes some majorly shifty and questionable decisions to manipulate Liz... However, I could not resist the allure of this cheesy story, couple with excellent chemistry and realistic enemies to lovers arc. 5 guilty pleasure stars.

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

I liked this read, it was simple and quick! Light and breezy, as Jake Peralta would put it. However, my biggest reason for giving it 3/5 stars is that Tom, the male lead, comes off as predatory in some of his thoughts about Liz. As a current senior in college hoping to go into a career in academia, some of the storylines in this novel just struck me the same way. I genuinely fear going to a Ph.D. program and having an advisor that makes my life miserable, when I know there are wonderful professors out there who will be hard but ultimately will treat you fairly because they see your potential. Also, some of the more niche cultural references got lost on me as someone who currently resides in the U.S., but it was fun to stop and search for the answers and learn more about a different culture. I live for that stuff!

Overall, not a mindblowing read but it explores romance in a new and creative way.




Thank you for letting me review this book! :)

I absolutely enjoyed this book!! I thought it was going to be really similar to The Love Hypothesis, but other than it being a STEM based workplace romance it really wasn't the same! Liz and Tom were such fun characters and I loved the drama surrounding them. Tom was so sweet at times but some of the manipulation was extremely questionable. I loved Jenny and Tim and they were so adorable. You should absolutely give this book a try if you like romcoms, workplace romances and age gaps :)

I absolutely love this book. It’s an insta-lust to enemies to lovers, STEM romance. Tom and Liz meet at a staff-student mixer and are instantly attracted to each other. Tom intends to ask Liz out and then finds out the next day that he’s assigned to be her PhD advisor. Knowing he can no longer act on his feelings and to protect his career, Tom acts like a complete hardass jerk to Liz throughout her whole PhD process. Fast forward to the present, Liz is working post doc and by a series of unfortunate events, Tom ends up working in the same lab. Forced proximity brings long-dormant feelings back to the surface. The slow burn in this book was delicious. I loved that Tom always pined for Liz and seeing him be able to finally act on those feelings was so satisfying. If you’re a fan of The Love Hypothesis, you’ll enjoy this book.