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BOOKWORM REVIEW: The Unbalanced Equation by H.L. Macfarlane


RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
STEAM: 🔥🔥🔥

Trust the author's process. Sometimes we need to remind ourselves of that, and I am glad I did with this read.

Dr. Thomas Henderson is on top of Dr. Elizabeth Maclean's most hated list. After all, the man made her Ph.D. assessment years a living hell. That was after they met briefly after a party and made a great impression on each other. This has left Liz baffled and traumatized after all of these years.

Now he's back in her life one time. Not only are they sharing a research bench after his lab was burnt down, but their parents are also marrying each other. Liz ends up living with Tom and their parents, and she has to go along with the wedding planning.

But Tom does not seem to be the evil Ph.D. assessor she experienced before. He is kind and considerate and he cannot seem to take his eyes off her. Now her opinion -- and possibly feelings -- for her former mentor could be changing.

I have to be honest: I was close to not finishing this book. The two characters were immature and constantly flip-flopped on their feelings and thoughts. Sure, they had fantastic chemistry when they were not bickering, and there were moments that made me swoon and giggle. Yet, for two grown adults, they played too many mind-games that felt appropriate for their age.

Something compelled me to keep reading, however. A good chunk of it can be attributed to the great ensemble cast, which included the adorable affianced parents and Tom's best friend Daichi (who also happens to be Liz's boss). The spicy moments were also fantastic.

I am glad I stuck with it. H.L. Macfarlane does a great job of circling back to the main points that had me frustrated with the book, and she provides fantastic arcs for the main characters. Once the clouds part in this read so to speak, we find that Tom and Liz are really two products of life's circumstances doing their best to navigate it all. What I find the most relatable in their story is how their anxieties affect their perception and -- in turn -- influence their relationships with each other and other people. I also loved the idea that when people make mistakes -- even ones that hurt -- we have to remember that they are people, too, and sometimes their intention may have been quite different and possibly the opposite.

** I am voluntarily reviewing an advance copy of this book. Thank you to H.L. Macfarlane, BooksGoSocial, and NetGalley for providing an ARC. **

ABOUT THE BOOK

What do a bad landlord, a family wedding and a rogue Bunsen burner all have in common?

After suffering four years of scrutiny from her PhD assessor, Elizabeth Maclean believes she’s finally free of Dr Thomas Henderson’s tyranny when she begins her postdoc. But when a fire goes off in Tom’s lab (stupid undergrads) he ends up working in the same lab as Liz.

On the same bench, no less.

For three whole months.

To make matters worse – and much to their mutual surprise – Tom’s mum and Liz’s dad announce their impending marriage after a whirlwind romance. So when Liz’s landlord tells her to move out, pronto, it tips her over the edge. Desperate for a place to stay and in need of a saviour, the last person Liz expects to offer her a temporary home is Tom himself.

Now stuck working together, living together and planning their parents’ Christmas wedding together, will Liz discover that Tom’s attitude over the last four years was all a ruse to hide his true feelings? Or are the two doomed to fail in their co-existence experiment?

A smart, sexy enemies-to-lovers story perfect for fans of The Hating Game and The Love Hypothesis, The Unbalanced Equation is H. L. Macfarlane’s first foray into contemporary rom-com territory. She swears there are no faeries this time.

MEET H.L. MACFARLANE

Hayley Louise Macfarlane hails from the very tiny hamlet of Balmaha on the shores of Loch Lomond in Scotland. After graduating with a PhD in molecular genetics she did a complete 180 and moved into writing fiction. Though she loves writing multiple genres (fantasy, romance, sci-fi, psychological fiction and horror so far!) she is most widely known for her Gothic, Scottish fairy tale, Prince of Foxes – book one of the Bright Spear trilogy.
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