The Nerd and the Marine

The Morrison Family #1

by D.R. Grady

What does a to-the-core, orphaned Marine have in common with an introverted electronics expert with too much family? A dog named Bentley. Her sister talks Lainy Morrison, self-proclaimed nerd, into caring for Captain Mitch Monahan’s dog while he’s deployed. The pair get to know one another through e-mails, family DVDs, and pictures. Can love overcome old fears and sustain a relationship formed an ocean apart?

Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Friends To Lovers

350 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 1, 2011

About the author

From D.R. Grady comes vivid tales of contemporary romance, romantic suspense, and paranormal and fantasy romance, all with a generous dollop of humor. D.R. Grady books are clean stories for avid readers who love witty dialogue between heartwarming, brainy characters, as well as extraordinary supernatural beings or powerful, capable warriors. No matter your preference, fall in love with these clever, empowered characters who recognize love and companionship when they find it. Choose your own adventure!

Be sure to follow D.R. on BookBub for the best deals! https://www.bookbub.com/authors/d-r-g...

And check out her website. www.drgradybooks.com

Reviews

[CeCe · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great start but then got boring real quick.

[Elizabeth Neal · Rating 3 out of 5]

**3.5 Stars**

There were some contradictory statements that left me unsure if the Hero and heroine were virgins. If they aren't, then both have at least been celibate for years. I do wish we had been given confirmation regarding this.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was sweet and old-fashioned, and I mean that in the best way. A bit unrealistic, but then so are most romances. :)

I love the epistolary format! It's uncommon in modern romances, but it's one of my favorite formats.

There are some things that I think would've made me like this book even more. This seems like kind of a long list, but keep in mind that I gave this four ("really liked it") stars. I DID really like it. These are just personal preferences:1) Instead of the "nerd" being a gorgeous woman who wears glasses, I would've loved it if she had been average looking or overweight or something. Because, I didn't buy that anyone THAT gorgeous would be as clueless about it as Lainy.

2) For having several technical experts in the family and being published in 2011, some of the references seemed dated to me. A DVD camcorder? Gameboy? No Skyping or Facetime or Flickr? It all felt a little "early 90s" to me.

3) I had a hard time suspending disbelief that the characters got to their early 30s as virgins who plan to wait for marriage. No wonder so many of Lainy's relatives seemed to get married in their teens if they were told no sex until then! The "no sex" thing definitely added to the book's sweet, old-fashioned appeal, but I would've enjoyed the book more if there was sex in it. Not even explicit, but just a fade to black would've been more realistic, IMO.

4) There were some points where I wondered how much experience the author has with the military. I have almost none, but my brother-in-law was deployed and I imagine iced sugar cookies and brownies would never have made it to him without melting. The only things we were able to send him were things like jerky or dried fruit snacks. Also, the way the author portrayed military men talking to each other felt very feminine to me. I don't know any men who sit around talking about a woman's self-esteem the way these guys did. You could definitely tell the book was written by a woman!

5) There were several times where characters were on the floor rolling with laughter about things that I didn't see THAT much humor in. Like the "detour" thing. It's amusing, but rolling on the floor laughing? Maybe you have to see it to get it. ;)

Even for all that nitpicking I just did, I have read this one twice and will probably read it again. It's sweet, uncomplicated and old-fashioned and sometimes that is EXACTLY what I need. I read the blurbs for some of the other books in the series, but they didn't grab me, so this will be a stand-alone for me.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was sweet and old-fashioned, and I mean that in the best way. A bit unrealistic, but then so are most romances. :)

I love the epistolary format! It's uncommon in modern romances, but it's one of my favorite formats.

There are some things that I think would've made me like this book even more. This seems like kind of a long list, but keep in mind that I gave this four ("really liked it") stars. I DID really like it. These are just personal preferences:1) Instead of the "nerd" being a gorgeous woman who wears glasses, I would've loved it if she had been average looking or overweight or something. Because, I didn't buy that anyone THAT gorgeous would be as clueless about it as Lainy.

2) For having several technical experts in the family and being published in 2011, some of the references seemed dated to me. A DVD camcorder? Gameboy? No Skyping or Facetime or Flickr? It all felt a little "early 90s" to me.

3) I had a hard time suspending disbelief that the characters got to their early 30s as virgins who plan to wait for marriage. No wonder so many of Lainy's relatives seemed to get married in their teens if they were told no sex until then! The "no sex" thing definitely added to the book's sweet, old-fashioned appeal, but I would've enjoyed the book more if there was sex in it. Not even explicit, but just a fade to black would've been more realistic, IMO.

4) There were some points where I wondered how much experience the author has with the military. I have almost none, but my brother-in-law was deployed and I imagine iced sugar cookies and brownies would never have made it to him without melting. The only things we were able to send him were things like jerky or dried fruit snacks. Also, the way the author portrayed military men talking to each other felt very feminine to me. I don't know any men who sit around talking about a woman's self-esteem the way these guys did. You could definitely tell the book was written by a woman!

5) There were several times where characters were on the floor rolling with laughter about things that I didn't see THAT much humor in. Like the "detour" thing. It's amusing, but rolling on the floor laughing? Maybe you have to see it to get it. ;)

Even for all that nitpicking I just did, I have read this one twice and will probably read it again. It's sweet, uncomplicated and old-fashioned and sometimes that is EXACTLY what I need. I read the blurbs for some of the other books in the series, but they didn't grab me, so this will be a stand-alone for me.

[Kate Anders · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute LDR, Love the ‘pen pal’ aspect

I am such a sucker for books where the main characters fall for each other primarily with writing to each other. I’m always looking for “pen pal romance” recommendations and this one was suggested to me, Add in how centered this book is with a dog makes me all set.
I have to say I tend to shy away from military romances because a lot of people get the details wrong and as a former military spouse it drives me bananas, but this one worked for me because so much of it was them talking via email. Sure there are some inaccuracies, and honestly I don’t know many army guys (or in this case marines) who would watch family home videos, but hey maybe it could happen. To be honest I was in it for the long distance email relationship, well that and the dog. To be fair this is a SWEET romance, if you are here looking for hot and heavy or something that doesn’t taste a little like cotton candy then this probably isn’t the book for you.
I liked the funny stories about Lainy and her family, although there are so may it’s hard to track them all. I loved the antics that the giant root beer loving dog got into. And I liked how the emails went from friendly to sweet, to emotionally invested.
This book worked for me simply because I was in the mood for something sweet that made me smile and laugh, and this book got the job done for me. Sweet romances really aren’t my thing, but this is clearly the exception to this rule.

[Abby · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved the idea of this book, but certain aspects were simply too unbelievable. Both protagonists come off as naive when it comes to relationships. While I can understand being uncertain about some things, some of their thoughts were completely unrealistic.
The male POV was so innocent, a prepubescent boy would be more likely to swear or have a sexual thought... It just wasn't an accurate portrayal of a male in their thirties. The romance and interactions between the protagonists seem like they could take place between young teenagers, or a couple well into their retiring years.
Also, instead of having 90% of the book be them exchanging emails and showing their thoughts, I would have liked to see them spend more time together in person.
I did enjoy the family's shenanigans, though. They never failed to bring humor to the pages.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow!

While there may be some problematic areas with writing style & plot, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, the characters, and the whole shebang!
Im not comfortable with some of the male/female interactions and thinking. The statement that the men kept their wives away from their business ‘stuff’ yet they are the same idiots who tied the women up & threw them in the lake!?!?! There was great deal of that archaic nonsense that my outraged modern self had to ignore.
HOWEVER
Lainy is an electronics genius; her female relatives are on the whole string women; Lainy & Mitch’s story is a delight.
I loved the whole email structure & the build up.
Anyway I’m off to read more from this author : she has a whole ‘Nerd’ series and I hope to read & enjoy them all. ❤️

[Elizabeth Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dog Lover

This is the first book in a series called The Morrison Family. The book series take place in a small village outside of Hershey, PA. Captain Mitchell Monaham had to give up his dog Bently a golden retriever with strong mastiff characteristics to a local animal shelter. Lainy sister couldn’t allow this man to give up his only family and called Lainy to help out. They became pen pals who fell in love all because of Bently. I would recommend this book to others! I hope I can read the rest of this series soon.

[Brenda Barber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful Read

My first book from this author, but not my last. I loved this book - the characters, the storyline, everything. I laughed, I cried a little, I just loved this book. You will not regret giving this book a read.

[Autumn Breier · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 out of 5 Stars

The Nerd and the Marine was a very cute and enjoyable summer read. I really liked The Nerd and the Marine.

[Amber "Epp" · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really great feel good read ..... I am going to enjoy reading this series !!!!