Alexene Farol Follmuth

Nerds are so hot. Especially battle robot building nerds. Bel would rather die than think about the future. College apps? You're funny. After-school robotics clubs? Not a chance. But when Bel accidently reveals her talent for engineering in class, she's basically forced into joining her school's legendary robotics club. Make that her school's way-too-bro, way-too-competitive robotics club. All the boys ignore Bel and even Neelam, the only other girl on the team, doesn't seem to like her. Enter Mateo Luna, captain of the club (and the whole school tbh), who at first seems to support Bel, recognizing her talent--until they start butting heads. They're oil and water: Bel won't ask for help and Teo refuses to take it. As the nights of after-school work grow longer and longer, Bel and Teo realize they've built more than just a combat-ready robot along the way to nationals: they've made space for themselves and each other. Sharply funny and honest about the challenges girls of color face in STEM, in life, and in love, My Mechanical Romance explores the vulnerabilities of trust, allyship, and falling in love--especially when you barely even know who you are yet.

My Mechanical Romance

Ivory Flores

“Oh, I know. My mom tells me all the time, but apparently nerds are hot now.”

Emilia Vulliamy

I've always believed that there's a possibility for everything in the world to collide for a single perfect moment, and that sometimes, if you're lucky, you get to have one for yourself. This one is ours.

You’re this new colour I didn’t know existed and now I see it everywhere and I’m like, thank God I can see it now.

faith hurren

"The girls that get ahead are the ones who let stuff like that roll off their backs, but that's not the easiest thing in the world to do. There's a lot more kinds of strengths than just being outwardly tough..."

"..or that he was a 'super remorseful muppet'-"

holy fuck, the universe loves my weird obsessions....and by god i love it back

"Shredder, which, given the Ninja Turtle nickname..."

Allyssa Fritz

"I mean come on, boys can do it," I call out to her. " So how hard can it be?"

"He's a dick," says Jamie to a freshman girl who's sodding over a boy. " And a woman needs a man like a fish needs a bycicle."

"We all know the male ego is notoriously fragile. Even the cute ones are a lost cause."

Keira 💫

I was expecting a cute science romance but I wasn’t expecting such complex characterizations in this book I LOVE IT

we see in depth the pressure both bel and teo are under in their personal lives - bel trying to navigate her new family dynamic and teo trying to be “enough” to “deserve” his father’s affection as well as richness (this is me trying coded)

i love bel from her personality to her clothing style. she felt so real as character

bel being a swiftie is so real too and the way teo is trying to learn the lyrics to make bel smile

love seeing all the diversity involved esp the Filipino representation and Tagalog! also love the representation of women in stem perspectives and experiences especially in male dominated spaces

even though it was very subtle, didn’t love the jungle asian mention in the beginning. it was off putting at first but we move

"birds of a feather" by billie eilish

I was expecting a cute science romance but I wasn’t expecting such complex characterizations in this book I LOVE IT

we see in depth the pressure both bel and teo are under in their personal lives - bel trying to navigate her new family dynamic and teo trying to be “enough” to “deserve” his father’s affection as well as richness (this is me trying coded)

i love bel from her personality to her clothing style. she felt so real as character

bel being a swiftie is so real too and the way teo is trying to learn the lyrics to make bel smile

love seeing all the diversity involved esp the Filipino representation and Tagalog! also love the representation of women in stem perspectives and experiences especially in male dominated spaces

even though it was very subtle, didn’t love the jungle asian mention in the beginning. it was off putting at first but we move

very cute, liked it. i just got bored at times 

cyndi petronel

Ellie M.

Thank you to the publisher, Holiday House Books, and Alexene Farol Follmuth aka Olivie Blake for approving my request of an ARC through Netgalley, in exchange for my honest review. 

This was everything I’ve ever needed packed in a book. Bel Maier, an 18-year old senior in high school at Essex Academy doesn’t know what she wants for her future. However, she was given an opportunity to join the robotics club at school after her professor sees her potential in building stuff, where she meets Teo Luna, captain of the soccer team and is the backbone of the robotics club. And as they figure out the road to building robots together, along with the rest of the team, they start to butt heads. This is an academic rivals to lovers in STEM and is a multicultural romance novel that is so endearing and wholesome. 

I am absolutely overwhelmed by this. First of all, FILIPINO REP? I appreciated the fact that I felt seen at the mention of our traditions and culture. And as a student in STEM, I felt with the characters on a different level. I would also like to thank Ms. Voss for reminding me of my former teacher who’s always been supportive of me and for pushing me out of my comfort zone so I could meet new opportunities. We deserve more teachers like you. :) 

Overall, this book was such a lighthearted read! The beginning was slow at first but the build up of the plot, characters, and conflict was so much better than I expected. I also LOVE the Taylor Swift references. But THE BEST REASON TO READ THIS BOOK? WOC IN STEM. Not only does this book offer good writing, loveable characters, adorable banter, and fluff, but it has WOC characters such as Neelam and Bel, who are two entirely different people but are passionate in fighting for the same thing: breaking stereotypes, norms, and occupy their spaces in the field of engineering. AS THEY SHOULD. The author truly knew what she was doing and I LOVE it. This book would empower girls to put misogynistic men in their place. 

With that being said, Nerds are hot AF, and FUCK THE PATRIARCHY.

this isn’t in any way totally lonely bUT I AM CRYING MY SHIT OUT

This book and the whole time im reading it, oh honey, i enjoyed every second of it! Loved how Bel just connects with me, as a filipino, and as someone who doesn't have any idea what in the hell am i gonna do in the future (im on my 20s now btw). She's just like me. Figuring things out and just letting it all flow with me. 

would definitely reread this whenever i feel like im being clueless of the world and of the future haha.

would 4 out of 5 recommend to someone that reads YA romance with two cute and into science couple! >< 

turtle

women in stem?? YES!! 

This book and the whole time im reading it, oh honey, i enjoyed every second of it! Loved how Bel just connects with me, as a filipino, and as someone who doesn't have any idea what in the hell am i gonna do in the future (im on my 20s now btw). She's just like me. Figuring things out and just letting it all flow with me. 

would definitely reread this whenever i feel like im being clueless of the world and of the future haha.

would 4 out of 5 recommend to someone that reads YA romance with two cute and into science couple! >< 

and i LOVE DASH OH MY GOSH (TдT)

nina 

3.5 stars

i can’t believe i just read and enjoyed a book about a robotics team, something i know ZERO about but their team carried this book for me.

this was so cute

nuélle

ehh idk maybe this was good and I was just in bad mood while reading it so I didn't enjoy it much or maybe it just was not my type of book

carolreadabook

Thanks to @netgalley for the e-ARC.

A premissa do livro é simples: um grupo de robótica do ensino médio, que inclui uma menina com um talento natural para matemática e design e um menino que sempre soube que robôs era tudo o que ele mais amava. 

As complicações começam para Bel quando você é uma menina e está na área que majoritariamente é dominada por homens e ainda tem que resolver aos 17/18 anos o que vai fazer o resto da sua vida. Enquanto para o Teo, o problema sempre foi perceber que é não é responsabilidade dele resolver tudo e que ele não precisa ser excelente em tudo para finalmente ser amado. 

Eu amei o livro e os personagens— a leitura só não foi mais fluida porque eu li pelo app do NetGalley. Acho que o que contribui para ser um livro único é trazer essas questões tão presentes em nossas vidas quando estamos no ultimo ano do ensino médio de maneira natural e sem um peso de “ai você está perdido pq não sabe o que cursar na faculdade” ou “faça as coisas porque é isso que você espera de ti, não algo que terceiros esperam de ti”. 

E a verdade é que sempre que eu pego um livro novo para ler. Eu quero ler esperando que ele seja meu mais novo livro favorito e que a experiência com ele vai ser única e foi exatamente assim que eu me senti com esse livro. Especialmente para mim que tem sempre uma dificuldade de “morrer de amores” por livros YA; sempre me irrito com personagens dessa faixa etária, mas tem um que são tranquilos e o casal BelTeo foi assim pra mim. Eles são muito fofinhos. 

Ao ler MMR, você pode esperar encontrar referencias da Taylor Swift, conversa no carro, roupas do estilo criativo romântico (fontes: não foi preciso) e termos de robótica, matemática e física que eu passei reto. 

O livro já foi lançado (31 de maio) e é assim que chegamos no final desse rolê.

“I wrote this for us, for the girls that we are and the ones that we were. For the women we will be; for the many who will come after us and find, if we do our job right, that there is room for them here. For those who battle each day with impostor syndrome; with doors that slam shut; with criticism from others who doubt us. For those who try and are tired but who hope and aspire because we, for better or worse, have that rarity, that gift, of creativity and curiosity and wonder. For those who can and will change the world. I am grateful if I can give voice to even a fraction of your story, so thank you for letting me try.”

I think this^, alone, is enough reason for you to give this book a chance. Loved every page of this book to bits. Here’s to women (in STEM and in general) 🥂❤️‍🩹🫂

Samantha Huster

This was a cute little YA STEM romance. Lots of little moments that definitely make you smile or even reminisce about high school for those of who are long since graduated. 

The ending was a little rushed and I thought some of the issues of women in STEM could’ve been given greater attention. It seemed like an afterthought at times but if you’re not looking for your book to make a huge statement and just want an enjoyable romance…really well-written.

Kimmy Hobden

thea lockburn 

** spoiler alert **
           4.75 ⭐

I actually really really enjoyed reading this book!! its a fun short read and just super wholesome. 


I absolutely loved bel and the entire robatics team. All the characters honestly go so well together. I absolutely loved Dash. 

This book to me is just short, sweet and a nice little palate cleanser. I was actually reading the inheritance games halfway when i decided to read this and finished it in one sitting! I'm not sure why, but the inheritance games just got me in such a book slump and i finally managed to read my first book of 2023! 

I really recommend this book if you want to read something short and sweet that isn't too confusing and just overall super cute.

isabella

3.5 teo luna💕💞💖 bel maier 💘💝💓 minhas criancas

Anita Olaide Lewis 

Extremely extremely late to giving a review on this book. But here goes.
I read this book in one sitting which is insane because I normally try my best to stay away from young romance novels.
Oh my God you guys, I'm not really into the science thing because I really don't like it, but this book was amazing.
The representation was spot on, and I love how each character that was necessary was given enough "screen time" 
This book deserves nothing less than 5 stars

Caroll-Ann

I loved this book. The love story is as cute as can be BUT the book also touches on other topics that are important today. For example, the fact that in the engineering world women tend to not get taken seriously and how wrong that is. I would highly recommend this book for everyone BUT especially for lovers of “the love hypothesis”, I don’t know why but it reminded me of that book in such a good way. 

This book gets published on the 31st of may so be sure to buy it.

it's your typical cheesy teenage romance which means I loved it

Anna

C’est vraiment super cute comme livre ! Je suis in love des deux personnages, ils sont attendrissants et très attachants !!
C’est vraiment une romance drôle qui nous donne le sourire !

Christine Bruce

Shut up, this was so cute and fun and honestly inspiring? 
I'm 33, and its got me thinking (once again) about going back to school for chemistry... Like Bel, I never had a teacher inspire me to try in STEM until my senior year, but by then it was too late to feel like I could do anything with it. And not enough people pushed me towards it. So I didn't. But now... I may or may not be looking at some night classes.

tish

não entendi metade do que rolava no livro pq não sei nada de robótica mas achei o romance super fofinho, bem escrito e amei a relação deles

..am i allowed to rank this glorious book any higher?

sofia !

just the best story about romance in robotics but also- THESE CHARACTERS HAD LIKE SUCH REAL PROBLEMS IN LIFE AND WEREN’T SURFACE LEVEL AT ALL? which i appreciated so much. the EASIEST romance i have read this summer, i devoured every second of this and already must reread. i love bel canto and now i’m currently looking for a mateo luna. if you want something SO CUTE with great writing and messages, READ IT.

Heather

I love a good YA romance, and I really liked how this one had more depth with real struggles. Not just surface level issues. Teo and bel were so cute together. I loved the banter between them. The characters had such great chemistry together. I loved seeing them bond over robotics. 

I’m deducting a star only because I feel like the “fall out” was just ehh. Like just a fall out for the sake of having one in there. But overall, I would recommend this one. 

Thank you NetGalley, the publishers, and Alexene Farol Follmuth for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

sydney

This book is super cute and I loved seeing Tao and Bel let down their walls. There are times in the book where it seems like it’s trying to be “woke” but it didn’t take away from the overall story so I didn’t mind it. I really liked that the book was more about her finding who she is and what she likes than it was the romance. Don’t get me wrong it’s definitely still a romance I just think that Bel’s personal journey is more important.

I received an arc through netgalley.

My Mechanical Romance

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