A review by sarasreadingnook
The Unbalanced Equation by H.L. Macfarlane

2.0

I was initially looking forward to reading this book because I thought this would be fun and cute. The title is a little nod to chemistry: we balance equations with coefficients so that there are an equal number of atoms on both side of the equation in the end. So, I did really want to enjoy it. With regards to book content, there are some tropes in here that readers may enjoy, such as: dual POV, forced proximity, and other contemporary romance tropes. However, there were several things I didn’t enjoy. The warped power dynamics and how early they set as well as their results are something I can’t get behind. I was so thrown off from the Prologue and Chapter 1, things happened and decisions were made so I knew this would be a challenge for me to read. The relationship between their parents and how this is presented and executed, again, not into it. Plot didn’t maintain my interest. I felt that the main characters lacked maturity and I couldn’t root for them. 

There are anime/manga references thrown in as well, so this may be appealing for some reader, as well as the tropes mentioned previously. Unfortunately, this ended up not being the book for me. 

Thank you to the NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced release copy. All opinions are my own.



Content Warnings: sexual content, swearing, cancer-related parental death prior to the events of the book, mistreatment, alcohol.