*Thank you so much Net Galley for providing this ARC*

3.5⭐️

Liz & Tom meet 4 years ago and hit it off right away… then life happened, and Tom handled it in the most horrible way possible. Now, all those feelings are buried beneath years of animosity and forced professionalism. Can Tom fix his mistakes without making it worse? Will Liz give Tom a real chance to do it?

Things I liked:

- The spicy scenes are *chef’s kiss*- The spice is mild at best, but I had never before seen a hero that liked a little pain with they’re pleasure in a book with a cover like this one. To say I was pleasantly surprised is an understatement.

- New fav trope alert? - I feel like this book, instead of being sunshine & grumpy, they were grumpy & grumpy, and I LOVED IT! They were perfect for each other to the point of stupidity, and I mean that in the nicest way possible. As in, how stupid do you have to be to NOT see that you have found your soulmate? They are basically you! With just tiny differences here and there!

- Finally! A couple that doesn’t want the 2.5 kids and white picket-fence future. - I think, mainly in younger generations, people are in search for a happy future suited to what their dreams are, aside of what’s societally expected of them. In turn, many people do not what a wedding, or children, or to settle down and grow roots somewhere. They’re all lovely options, but it’s not all that there is. I have hardly ever read a romance where both MCs are aware that they do not what their future family to include children, or marriage, without some tragic/traumatic backstory that impedes them from being able to have children or to view marriage as nothing but assured horribleness. There’s nothing like that. Tom and Liz are both could do all those things, they just CHOOSE not to – It’s a choice just as valid as the opposite one, but romance literature is truly lacking in these stories. These two characters wanted to find their person to enjoy them for as long as they were allowed to, and nothing more. And we love to see it.

Things I didn’t like:

- How absolutely toxic Tom was, throughout the entire book. - In my opinion, he got off easy. I don’t know if I could have ever forgiven him. Especially the phone thing - It gave me the creeps instantly, with every alarm in my mind screaming ‘WHAT ARE YOU DOINNGGG?’

- The whole ‘step-sibling thing’ is not my fav, but I liked the rest of it so much that it was manageable.


Is it slightly problematic and toxic? Mmmmaybe… Is it still better than any dark romance out there? Yes. So, although I believe the cover is a bit too cutesy and fluffy for the mental games that this couple gets into, I enjoyed it. I mean, was it entertaining to me? Absolutely. Would I have also yeeted Tom out of my life so hard and fast that he would turn into a shooting star if this happened irl? Also, yes.

In summary, I adored this book, and I don’t really know how. I’m very aware that I probably would have hated it based on the shit the MCs get into, but I loved that they were both game for each other’s shit – Soulmate stuff, I tell you.

My current rom-com kick continues with this novel from H.L. Macfarlane. Liz and Tom are at academic odds due to years of misunderstandings; however, when they show up to the same restaurant and are led to the same table, they are in for a surprise. Tom's mom and Liz's dad are getting hitched!

What follows is a slightly long-winded but humorous tale of revenge, jealously, love, and forgiveness.

I appreciated the premise of this book, and seeing women in STEM is always great for readers, but I could have done with one or two fewer hurdles. I see people comparing this to The Love Hypothesis, so I would like to add The Kiss Quotient as a similar tale. If you liked either of those, you will like this one as well I bet.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this digital ARC!

first of all, thanks to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.

this book didn't work for me. the urge to not finish the book happened several times, but I remembered the positive reviews I had seen and tried to give it more chances.

at first I was very interested, the chemistry between the two characters was evident to me and it felt like I was going to get hooked. soon this view turned out to be overly optimistic, because as soon as Tom decided that the right decision was to be an asshole so as not to step over the line of his work instead of just communicating, I realized that the book I was going to take a path that I wasn't going to like.

and it still got worse. he invaded Liz's privacy several times and even sabotaged her flat hunt by using mediocre justifications to himself about how it would help her in the long run. at this point reading his pov had already become extremely painful.

the characters' lack of communication and attitude were so childish that they didn't even look like they were both adults (especially Tom). their relationship didn't seem healthy anymore, I didn't want them to be together and I got bored with so many paragraphs where they tried to convince themselves that what they were doing was right when it was clear that they themselves knew it wasn't .

I'm not a big fan that books uses a lot of references and in this book there were several about anime. and I really like anime a lot, but it was way too much, to he point that really annoyed me.

on the bright side, I liked the academic and scientific environment,it didn't focus so much on science but also didn't leave it aside. it was close to being just right to me. but I kinda feel like it could be a little more explored without being too much information outside the focus of the book.

This romcom reminds me of The Love Hypothesis, while also being unique.

It has all the great attributes of a romcom. However, I did find the MC a tad bit manipulative and even creepy, which in my opinion does not fit well with this genre.

With that being said, it was a nice and easy read, and I don’t regret sticking until the end!

What do an almost one night stand, anime, a lab fire, and a marriage between widowers have in common?
Liz and Tom-two geneticists who are forced to work together…and then live together when their parents announce their impending marriage.

This book was such a fun read. Set in rainy Glasgow, it employed two of my favorite tropes-forced proximity and enemies to lovers to build a really engaging story about two geneticists and their hesitations about love. It also had a really lovely cast of side characters that I hope we get to see more of in the rest of the series. I particularly loved that this book didn’t skimp out on the science behind what these two do in their labs everyday…nor did it skimp on the spice ❤️‍🔥

I was provided a copy of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

A delightful entry into the burgeoning "STEMinist" romance catagory perfect for fans of The Kiss Quotient and any of Ali Hazelwood's work. The story is a sweet "enemies to lovers" "forced proximity" that utilises both its scientist leads and it's Scottish setting to the best of its ability. Although I wouldn't see this story reinvents the wheel for the genre, I don't think it should be asked to and The Unbalanced Equation is just a pleasant way to spend an afternoon.

I will say, I do have to agree with other readers and reviewer that the MMC is absolutely thick and 90% of the "drama" in their story is caused by this supposedly intelligent grown man acting like an outright toddler. (Oh no, I have to work with pretty girl, can't handle emotions so I will treat her like crap and make her experience in academics all that much harder because I am in fact an idiot sandwich). Despite this the book remains bingeable, charming, and a perfect quick read.

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.
On the same bench, no less.
For three whole months.
To make matters worse and much to their mutual surprise 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.
Now stuck working together, living together and planning their parents’ Christmas wedding together, will Liz discover that Tom’s attitude over the last four years was all a ruse to hide his true feelings? Or are the two doomed to fail in their co-existence experiment?
Couldn’t put it down really enjoyable read totally recommend
Thank You NetGalley and BookGoSocial
I just reviewed The Unbalanced Equation by H. L. Macfarlane. #TheUnbalancedEquation #NetGalley

The Unbalanced Equation can pretty much be summed up by one quote from Liz. "How could the two of us be this dysfunctional? We were like children."

This book is about Tom and Liz and their path to love. They meet during Liz's first year as a PhD candidate and immediately hit it off. Unfortunately, the very next day, Tom finds out that he is her assessor so they can't act on their attraction. Fast forward four years and they are thrown back together due to several factors. Can their love work out this time around?

The characters in this book made some very cringe worthy choices over and over again. Tom, who is 34 and then 38, acted like he was 8 years old at times. "I like this girl? Let me treat her like crap for years." He also totally invaded her privacy and made decisions for her life without consulting her. Real hero material. Liz wasn't that much better. After he finally confessed his real feelings, she toyed with him over and over with a complete disregard for his well-being. Their communication was non existent for most of the book and it definitely didn't feel like I was reading about 28 and 38 year olds. Their relationship did not feel healthy. They did show some growth so hopefully they will actually live HEA.

Let's end on a positive note. Here are the things I liked about this book: 1) the Scottish setting. I felt like Glasgow was perfectly brought to life, and I just want to cuddle under a blanket and listen to the rain. 2) Liz and Tom's banter. They really had great chemistry together. 3) the steam level. This book is sexy without being too over the top. 4)the science/academic environment. I love reading about smart people doing smart jobs. 5)it was well written and I would read more from this author in hopes that the characters would click better with me.

Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for the advanced e-book in exchange for my honest review.

This was so entertaining and I enjoyed every second of it! I liked how the trajectory of Tom and Liz's relationship was not predictable from the start. I could not put this down!!! I am an absolute fan of books centered around scientists and it was evident that the author has a background in science, which I appreciate, since I am a scientist myself. Also, the banter and tension were EXCELLENT. A must read for those who like workplace enemies, close proximity, and steamy scenes.

“The Unbalanced Equation” is an academic-based rom-com by H.L. Macfarlane. I think this book is compared to “The Love Hypothesis” because part of this book also takes place in a lab - where the main male character is an academic advisor, later bench partner - and there’s tension between the two characters - oh, yes, and “sexy time” also thrown in. I liked that Ms. Macfarlane used her science background for the two main characters - more STEM-based romance books are something I’d like to see, but the school/lab was how they met, the real meat of the story is due to the situation they find themselves in regarding their parents. I wanted to like the two main characters more than I did - the main male character is nearly 40 yet he often acted so immature that it was difficult to always believe that he was that clueless about people in general. This book also had a lot of miscommunication - one of the tropes I really don’t like. I also felt like this book was way too long, in fact I got to one point and said aloud, “Why am I only at 80% of this book? I’ve been reading it for quite a long time now.” For me, it needed to be tightened.

If you like The Love Hypothesis then you definitely need to give this one a try. This book involves science backgrounds/working in a lab, but also includes some forced proximity and enemies to more. It has some unique twists to keep things humorous and is pretty steamy as well. Highly recommend. I received a complimentary copy of this book and all thoughts and opinions are my own. Pub date 9/15/2022.

First off, I admire anyone who can write novels. I know it isn’t easy and it takes a lot of work.

That said, from the second page, I was bored. And after reading the first chapter, I could not being myself to trudge through the rest of the book.

The writing needs more editing. It’s wordy, missing commas, and the intention behind every action is spelled out instead using nuance and body language to guide me along. I see you’ve written many other novels, I’m sure you have a fantastic fan base. I’m just not one of them.

I did appreciate the trigger warnings, and the disclaimer about this being written in British English.

Very fun read! I love nerdy and unique characters. The sexual tension and chemistry was sizzling. A few odd repetitive word choices (the characters "huffed" way too much), but otherwise I enjoyed it. Not a huge fan of the manipulative and inexcusable behavior, but for the sake of the plot I guess it worked. Would read this author again!

After reading the description of this book I was intrigued. Academic enemies to lovers is a genre that I love and I just knew I had to read this.

For the most part, it was everything I wanted it to be. I read the entire story in a day and I struggled to put it down as tropes like forced proximity, age gap and a good slow-burn romance all come together to make the MC’s chemistry and tension undeniable.

But, and this is a big one, Tom’s actions and choices had me unsure whether I really supported their relationship.

His ‘justified’ actions were not at all justified, and I feel like he was forgiven way too quickly. It made some scenes in the book painful to read and at times I considered dnf’ing it. I’m glad I didn’t though, because although Tom displayed a lot of petty behaviour, the rest of the story was well developed and loveable. The side characters, relationships, setting and resolution in this book were a lot of fun to read and have me excited for any possible future books the author may write in this genre.

After reading this book I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a slow-burn rollercoaster of a romance set in the world of academics.

The Unbalanced Equation offers a second chance at love / enemies to lovers with deliciously doubled forced proximity, after the dreamiest of male leads falls for and loses our—equally well educated and whip smart—heroine within the very first chapter.

I’m a sucker for a romcom with STEM based / academic settings, so I downloaded an arc of this book on a total whim. When I tell you I could not put it down—H.L. Macfarlane will have you hooked and swooning within mere minutes and then you’ll wonder where your whole night went!

If you adored and devoured the Hating Game and the Love Hypothesis, you simply must read this book… but, do note, that Unbalanced Equation offers more steam (and pop culture references) than those two books combined. You were warned and you’re welcome!

Forced proximity
Enemies to lovers-esque
He's nice to everyone but her
Tension
Some decent spice
Scottish main characters - I really hope they do an audio version of this book with proper Scottish narrators because that would be amazing!

This is about a couple in STEM but I think that is where the love hypothesis similarities end.

Tom and Liz were equally endearing and annoying. There was a lot of anime talk in the book (which was way over my head). Tom had some pretty big red flags which I am choosing to overlook.

Jenny and Jim were so lovely together, they made my heart happy.

"Even if it's bad it's still sex. And trust me...it won't be bad."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Because I've liked you for so long I have your entire damn body memorised. So let me take the lead, if that will ease your nerves."

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

Thank you to BooksGoSocial and Netgalley for this Arc.

The unbalanced equation was a short and cute book. My favourite part of the book was the warning at the start that it's written in British English. IDK why but it was so funny to me.

The unbalanced equation followed Dr Elizabeth Maclean and her old PhD supervisor turned lab bench buddy, Dr Tom Henderson. Read this for fun enemies to lovers in an academic setting. It's cute and not something to take too seriously. A beach read if you will!

But there are some questionable and slightly worrying things in this book. I can move on from him being her old advisor because they did meet before that but their parents getting married?? their parents who met in a support group for people who recently lost spouses...why did no one bring up how odd and unhealthy that was?

I really didn't know what to expect with this book and that sometimes turns into an utter delight. That's exactly how this book went for me.

Pure attraction at first sight brought Professor Thomas and a PhD student, Liz, together at a university mixer. Thomas had already made up his mind to ask Liz out when they got separated for the evening. As luck would have it, early the next morning, Thomas is asked by her superior to be Liz's PhD assessor for the next several years. What can Tom do except accept the assignment? He is trying to get his career off the ground anyway.

So Tom does what he feels he needs to do over the next few years - he is a complete jerk to Liz and he is harder on her than he has ever been in his life. He does it all under the guise of wanting to keep his distance and make her not flirt with him, but it just makes her hate him with a passion.

When she graduates, they run into each other again and are thrown together in some very unique and hilarious situations. Can Tom live with what he has done to Liz? If she finds out the truth, can she forgive him? This book is worth reading to discover the answers.

I was provided a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. The opinions stated above are mine without biases.

Tom has nursed a hidden crush on one of his PhD students since the moment he met her. After a fire at his lab, and his mothers sudden news, Tom finds himself engaging with Liz more than he thought possible. Meanwhile, Liz can’t believe her luck in being stuck with her harsh colleague.

I loved the forced proximity trope and the slow burn element of the books as well. At first, I was worried that it was going to be longer than necessary but the development of the storyline and the characters were built up perfectly. The writing made it so easy to fall in love with the characters and the storyline as well. The wit and banter between Liz and Tom was so naturally written, I could have read an entire series on it.

The main critique was that the slow burn was potentially too slow at times, which took up most of the book, which then lead to the relationship being quite short and I think I would have enjoyed seeing more of the relationship, after the slow burn was written brilliantly. But other than that, I don’t think that’s a massive criticism to change as I still thoroughly enjoyed the book.

At first, I definitely thought that the book was going to be fairly similar to Ali Hazelwood’s The Love Hypothesis but I couldn’t be more wrong. The only similarity here was that the heroine was involved in S.T.E.M so Hazelwood’s influence was definitely evident, but that goes for all romantic fiction and this representation that is making its way up the book charts.

Look, I tried not to dnf this one, I really tried. At one point I came to read the reviews, saw that people liked it, and decided that I needed to give it a better chance. However, the FMC is just too juvenile, and getting me riled up, so I am dnf'ing at 80% (with a lot of skimming through to this point).
First of all, this is NOTHING like The Hating Game and The Love Hypothesis.
Second, "enemies-to-lovers" can someone explain how? We're told he's horrible to her, but nowhere we're shown that. She (apparently rightfully) is always angry towards him, but she just comes across as bitchy for no reason.
Third, all the anime references? Especially when it goes on for pages? For someone who is not the least bit interested in anime, this took me out of pages of the story. A casual reference would have been okay, but here it's more than that.
Another point, his invasion of her privacy! Big red flag!
Also, I hate it when one character rages against the other for something, while they have been doing the same thing to them!
Sorry, I tried, but it's just not for me.
Thank you to the publisher and author for the ARC via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.