Title: My Mechanical Romance
Author: Alexene Farol Follmuth
Genre: YA Romance
Publisher: Macmillan Children’s Books
Pages: 272
Release Date: 23 June 2022
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Hello fellow book lovers!
Today I’m sharing my review for My Mechanical Romance by Alexene Farol Follmuth, a fun, witty opposites attract, rivals to lovers YA debut that includes kickass women in STEM, a swoonworthy budding romance and some pretty spectacular battling robots!
Synopsis
Nerds are so hot.Especially battle–robot–building nerds.When Bel accidentally reveals a talent for engineering at school, she’s forced into joining the robotics club.
Enter Mateo Luna, perfect on paper – captain of the football team and the robotics club – who recognizes Bel as a potential asset, even if they couldn’t be more different. And as the nights of after–school work grow longer, Bel and Teo realize they've made more than just a combat–ready robot for the championship: they’ve made a connection themselves.
But with graduation approaching, their differences and what they want for their futures, threatens what they’ve built together.
Can they survive Nationals without breaking their robots – or their hearts?
Review
It’s such a cute, wholesome read that manages to capture the essence (and dilemmas) of teenage life, on the precipice of change—with the expectations from friends, family and teachers to know exactly what you want for your future, which can be pretty daunting when you’re still unsure. Especially when already dealing with moving to a new school, trying to make new friends and coping with the fallout of your parents divorce whilst your siblings pick sides.
The characters were really endearing, particularly Bel, whose quirky sense of humour and self depreciating manner made her my absolute favourite character. Teo took a little longer to warm up to as he does start off as a bit of an engineering snob, not listening to the ideas of his teammates (particularly Neelam.) But he does begin to see things differently as the book progresses and that’s when he really began to endear himself to me.
I love the romance and dynamics between Bel and Teo, which is really well developed, it progressed naturally and felt authentic rather than instantaneous and I loved that! Though it’s—for the most part—a lighthearted romance, it does highlight the challenges faced by women in STEM; mainly the gate keeping of what women in STEM should look like or enjoy and the misogynistic lense through which many the characters view STEM subjects.
Neelam is a prime example, being both smart and extremely capable but treated like she’s not good enough or smart enough to be valuable to the team.
Overall, a really fun and enjoyable read from the author of The Atlas Six (using her pen name Olivie Blake) that’s perfect for YA fans looking for fast paced, STEM related rom-coms.
Also thanks to Macmillan Childrens Books and Netgalley for the e-arc.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
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