Love on the Brain
Bee's dream job comes with a serious catch - she's co-leading with her grad-school nemesis, Levi. Bee doesn't know what she did to make Levi hate her so much and she's completely stuck on how she's going to lead with someone who won't answer her emails and seems intent on seeing their project tank, her career along with it. So Bee turns to her radiation-wielding idol in a lab-coat/wedding dress and asks herself, what would Marie Curie do?
This novel was filled with ghost-cats, Star Wars, and cemetery rescue-missions. There were plenty of funny misunderstandings and brilliant secret identities (one of my favourite tropes). The romance was swoon worthy, delicious and so, so good.
It is also filled with cool stem facts - I learnt so much about the brain! Like The Love Hypothesis, it's also another great novel about women and representation in STEM. I loved Rocio - she was such a great side character and her lines were really funny.
I was really worried I wouldn't like this as much as the Love Hypothesis, but I didn't need to. Love on the Brain is every bit as addictive and fun. Ali Hazelwood has definitely become an auto-buy author. I started reading this as soon as I was approved and finished within a day because I couldn't put it down.
My Mechanical Romance
Robots, egos and hearts collide in this cute STEM-themed romance perfect for fans of Sandhya Menon.
When Bel is forced to join the school robotics club, she never expects to enjoy it - or like working with the ultra-controlling club leader, Teo. Bel is far from having her life figured out, but she's finally found something (and maybe someone) she loves. With the end of school fast approaching, has she left it too late to follow her dreams?
My Mechanical Romance one of my favourite contemporary YAs of the year. Bel was a brilliant protagonist who showed that you don't have to have your entire life plan figured out by the end of school, and that it's not too late to decide the direction you'd like your life to take (but also that there are no easy fixes once you do!) I also loved the romance between Bel and Teo, as well as the tricky dynamics within the club.