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

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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