I buddy read this with Julie & Dini! I think the secret to all books is a buddy read. haha! It’s been so amazing to bounce off ideas and talk about things we did and didn’t like. I also didn’t realize this was the author of Atlas Six!

This one didn’t start off as a love at first read. Is that a thing? If not, then I’m saying it is. It took me a while to really get into it and actually like the MC love interest. Eventually, we learn a lot more and it definitely changed my opinion on him. I absolutely adored the MC- Bel. Her humor is amazing, and she was such a refreshing MC to read about. She kind of lives in her own world and does her own thing. She’s unapologetically doing her own thing and it’s empowering. The supporting characters were amazing! Dash and Jamie brought so much to this story, and I loved them to death.

The STEM in this is what I loved the most. I think it’s really important that girls can feel like they belong in STEM and it’s definitely a hard world to crack. Not to mention, being a girl of color. This really put a spotlight on the injustices girls face in this world. It’s tough and I like how there’s so many lessons in this. The fact that they had people in their corner to help them shine. On the flip side, there are people who are not (teachers) their side and I’m glad that some of them learned their mistakes.

One of the things I didn’t like at all, was the female competition aspect. I understand that Neelam feels like she’s owed something because she’s been doing it longer. It doesn’t matter how someone gets somewhere; women should always support women. Women have enough of a time competing and fighting men, we don’t need to be doing it to each other. This was a huge downfall to this book because it’s not a message that I will ever get behind.

Overall, I (and my buddy reads) really enjoyed this story. There’s a lot of great messages and it was such a sweet romance. I think it’s important to shine a light on how hard STEM or anything considered a “mans” world is. I loved how we even had teachers realizing their ways, good or bad. I think it’s an important message and this book was really empowering! I loved Bel and she’s such a great role model for girls. I want to be more like Bel. 🙂

Thank you to Holiday House for providing and arc via Netgalley! All thoughts and opinions are my own.