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theluckiestlucy 's review for:
My Mechanical Romance
by Alexene Farol Follmuth
Thanks to Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!
A fun premise along the lines of Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong, My Mechanical Romance fulfilled its promise of being a fun, light rom-com while somewhat missing the mark with its emphasis on representation.
Though they went a bit fast for my taste, the interactions between Teo and Bel made for some fun and enjoyable romance with some very cute scenes here and there.
The overall characterization of both Teo and (especially) Bel did leave something to be desired. Parts of their personalities would be emphasized in some scenes and then never mentioned again. I kept waiting for resolution on what several exchanges between them hinted at, but that resolution never came, the book instead opting to ignore areas of potential conflict in favor of a smooth, romantic conclusion. The family situations of both Teo and Bel had the potential to add a lot to these characters and the story overall, but very little of it overall was resolved or even addressed (especially in Teo’s case).
The characterization of the side characters also left something to be desired. Dash had some depth, with bits of conversations between him and Bel or Teo showing that he was in fact something more than a samosa-munching fiend, but particularly towards the end of the book he took on the role of “blank slate supportive friend,” and nothing more. The situation with Jamie was similar.
But let’s talk about the STEM-girl representation. All of the familiar beats were there: Initially sexist boys’ club that sees the light when they realize how talented Bel is, the one other girl in the club acting as an antagonist to Bel (at first), the haters at robotics competitions being swiftly shown just how wrong they are. It was all extremely on the nose. But what I really, really took issue with was Neelam's characterization and how she interacted with others. I understand that part of the point of Neelam’s harshness was to contrast her with Bel and show Bel to be “naive” and not understanding how women are perceived in STEM fields. But to set her up as an antagonist to Bel with the logic being that Neelam feels resentful because Bel didn’t “earn her way through the boys club” perpetuates a genuinely harmful and outdated idea.
Overall, ⅗ stars for the fun, light romance and rather disappointing representation.
A fun premise along the lines of Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong, My Mechanical Romance fulfilled its promise of being a fun, light rom-com while somewhat missing the mark with its emphasis on representation.
Though they went a bit fast for my taste, the interactions between Teo and Bel made for some fun and enjoyable romance with some very cute scenes here and there.
The overall characterization of both Teo and (especially) Bel did leave something to be desired. Parts of their personalities would be emphasized in some scenes and then never mentioned again. I kept waiting for resolution on what several exchanges between them hinted at, but that resolution never came, the book instead opting to ignore areas of potential conflict in favor of a smooth, romantic conclusion. The family situations of both Teo and Bel had the potential to add a lot to these characters and the story overall, but very little of it overall was resolved or even addressed (especially in Teo’s case).
The characterization of the side characters also left something to be desired. Dash had some depth, with bits of conversations between him and Bel or Teo showing that he was in fact something more than a samosa-munching fiend, but particularly towards the end of the book he took on the role of “blank slate supportive friend,” and nothing more. The situation with Jamie was similar.
But let’s talk about the STEM-girl representation. All of the familiar beats were there: Initially sexist boys’ club that sees the light when they realize how talented Bel is, the one other girl in the club acting as an antagonist to Bel (at first), the haters at robotics competitions being swiftly shown just how wrong they are. It was all extremely on the nose. But what I really, really took issue with was Neelam's characterization and how she interacted with others. I understand that part of the point of Neelam’s harshness was to contrast her with Bel and show Bel to be “naive” and not understanding how women are perceived in STEM fields. But to set her up as an antagonist to Bel with the logic being that Neelam feels resentful because Bel didn’t “earn her way through the boys club” perpetuates a genuinely harmful and outdated idea.
Overall, ⅗ stars for the fun, light romance and rather disappointing representation.