Reviews tagging 'Cancer'

The Unbalanced Equation by H.L. Macfarlane

6 reviews

anjasfairylights's review

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emotional funny sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Okay so normally I don‘t give ratings under 4 stars because I‘m easily entertained and satisfied with the usual romance novel, but in this case it‘s different. My feelings about this book are a mixture of annoyance, terror and resignation, mainly because of our mmc Tom. I appreciate the possibility to read about romance from the guy‘s perspective (the book is written from both perspectives chapter-wise) for once but does it really have to be a manipulative man-child?
He literally lied to the fmc Liz the whole time and he‘s not even really sorry about it? It feels like the author wanted to convince people that a woman can in fact make the man a better person. But like, can you not. Liz should have blown Tom off completely. I can‘t fathom why anyone would stay with such a person, nevertheless in a fiction romance novel that gives you the chance to portray healthy relationships instead of toxic ones.
I enjoyed the writing itself (even though the formatting and the font is really weird, what happened here?), the story was okayish constructed and as I said the two perspectives were nice for a change, but heck am I disappointed by Tom and the ending. Edit: Forgot all about Liz‘ red flags in my men-hating rage. This book was quite a trip.

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bethanramsay's review

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lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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redwoodreads's review

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slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Thankyou to NetGalley, the publisher and H.L Macfarlane for a copy of this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Liz and Tom meet 4 years prior to the story at the beginning of Liz’s PhD. There’s some chemistry that gets squashed by Tom becoming Liz’s PhD assessor. 4 years on, Liz’s PhD finished, their lives are forced together again when their respective, previously widowed, parents announce their engagement.

Liz and Tom are petty, childish and selfish. They sabotaging each other, making the other’s life difficult and bring out the worst of each other but somehow they fall for each other. I really do not like the step-sibling trope despite them knowing each other before becoming step-siblings (this however is my own fault for not reading the blurb first). The miscommunication really grated on me and whilst the step-sibling trope was easy enough to ignore for the majority of the book, any reference to “our parents” really gave me the ick.. 

I didn’t DNF the book and I did keep reading but I now know these tropes are not for me. 

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belarna's review

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lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0

Do you want a lovely rom-com set in Scotland? A STEM, work-place, 2nd chance romance (kinda enemies to lovers) story arc? Then definitely check out this book! 

MacFarlane really hooked me in with this story. The spice was great! The pining between the MCs and providing dual POVs? Easy wins in my book. I also loved the dynamic between characters in this book - especially the friendship between Tom and Daichi. Their dynamic as best friends was very believable, and even reminded me of myself with my best friend. They were definitely stand-outs for me!

The only thing stopping me from giving this book higher than a 4 was Tom’s selfish motivations towards Liz during the book - these just rubbed me the wrong way (you’ll know what I’m talking about once you give this a read). No spoilers, but he did redeem himself by the end of the book because of his self awareness, so that’s a bonus.

If you love a STEM workplace romance, I definitely recommend this read. I will be recommending this book to my romance loving friends! 

Thank you Netgalley and BooksGoSocial for the complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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tifcochran's review

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I received this book from NetGalley for an honest review.

Now, I love Romantic Comedy books. They are just the perfect palate cleanser between dark fantasy or thriller books. The tropes, the banter, the tension, yes please! However, with Unbalanced Equation, it just did not hit the mark for me. I love the Sunshine/Grumpy, forced proximity, and enemies to lovers tropes, but Thomas is not grumpy instead he is mean and manipulative.

The story starts with an almost Instalove, they immediately fell for each-other in a matter of minutes and then instead of being an adult, Thomas decides he is going to be an ass to her when he finds out he is now assigned her PHD Advisor. 

There was tension, but it seemed much more physical vs emotional for both of them. Which i feel 4 years of pining on Thomas' part would maybe make him fall a bit in love with her for her mind/personality.

This story also hinges on Thomas' and Elizabeth's single parents announcing they are marrying each-other. Even though they are not related, it just is on the edge of 'ick' for me.

Overall, The story was okay and had fun banter. I was just wanting a little bit more from the characters and Elizabeth not to be such a pushover with Thomas. 

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ramreadsagain's review

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funny lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

I was gifted an advance reader copy of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Liz's new lab partner is her old PhD supervisor who was horrible to her for years. They then find out that her dad and his mum are engaged, forcing them into close proximity amid sexual frustration and unresolved drama and lies. 

Despite containing a couple of tropes I dislike (age gap, step-siblings (sort of)), this was a solid sexy science romantic comedy. The workplace enemies-to-lovers is well done and the banter was top notch! 

The characters are loveable and remain so throughout the conflict/mistakes, unlike a lot of romances where I end up hating one of the MCs due to an unforgivable fuck up. They have great chemistry as well and I really rooted for them. 

The pacing is good, not flopping at any point and I read this in two sittings. I really enjoyed the science as well, it was really well done (saying this as someone with a degree in a biological field). 

The rating is brought down by the whole age gap thing which really is just unnecessary. Furthermore I like romances to have a few extra side plots which I feel like this just didn’t have. Side characters apart from one or two also felt underdeveloped. 

Still an enjoyable read and I’d recommend this for any fan of the genre! 



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