Nerd Girl

by Sue Lee

Everyone knows that office romances can be risky, but how much are you willing to sacrifice for love?

Julia Hayes is beautiful, successful, sometimes nerdy, and perpetually single. She lives in Seattle and just landed her dream job at one of the most iconic technology companies in the world.

When Julia embarks on a new career opportunity, a serendipitous event literally throws her in the path of Ryan McGraw, the hot and charming VP. As the attraction grows between them, it's not long before Julia realizes that things are more complicated than they appear.

Nerd Girl is a heartwarming love story about a woman at the crossroads between true love and her career. It's about deciding what’s most important in life and taking chances to get it. But most of all, it's about not letting your mind prevent you from following your heart.

Genres: Romance, New Adult, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Ebooks, Nerd, Adult

Paperback

First published November 29, 2013

About the author

Sue lives in Seattle, WA. with her husband and twin girls.

After more than a decade of running the corporate rat race, she finally found time to pursue her dream of writing a book, Nerd Girl. As an avid reader of contemporary romance novels, she thought it would be a fun adventure to merge her unique history and knowledge of Microsoft with a heartfelt love story.

Apart from reading, writing, and spending time with her family, Sue enjoys strong coffee, weekend getaways in the Pacific Northwest, running, Husky football, and cooking gourmet meals.

Reviews

[Maveht · Rating 1 out of 5]

Warnings: This review contains spoilers. This review also contains various quotes from the book and tends to be mean.

Book: So Julia is really awesome at her job, organizing stuff is her thing. However, when it comes to her private life, she’s not as great.
Me: Okay.
Book: Really, if only things would be as good for her in relationships as they are at work, she’s so organized, but her private life is difficult…
Me: Mmmkay, I got it the first time.
Book: But you got to understand, reader, she can’t draw charts when it comes to her love life, and she really loves charts, and graphs and lists, and deadlines! God, did I mention how good she is at her job and how many problems…
Me: Yes, I bloody know…
Book: …she’s got in her personal…
Me: I AM NOT retarded, book! It’s a simple idea, I bloody get it!!
Book: Life… OK, just making sure you understand this complicated, fascinating, nerdy girl that is Julia.

Oh, book, I really wanted to like you. I really wanted to like you, because in the pile of romance novels with sculpted 6 packs of the cover you looked different, promising, smart and funny. Too bad that I was expecting something in the lines of Bridget Jones and I got a novel as thrilling as a presentation on Megasoft’s Q1 EBITDA in the EMEA Region (Get used to this stuff, people, this book is full of corporate terms and abbreviations, because any office romance needs terms like ROI to add a little spice).

So yeah, I have many issues with this book, the main one being that instead of entertaining me, it bores me to death.


We have Julia, our protagonist, who is a nerd, because…ummm…because she reads Harry Potter? Because she’s a control freak and “a tad OCD”? I have no idea, but she’s a self-proclaimed nerd, let’s roll with it.

She’s also panicking about getting older and not meeting her plan of having kids by 2017 (I am serious!). “Being the nerd that I am sometimes, I outlined this chart yesterday to remind me that I was soon going to fall behind schedule. I posted it temporarily on my refrigerator.”

She outlined a chart! Of how she has to meet The One right about now, in order to get married in July 2015 and get pregnant in March 2017! She posted that thing on the fridge! Damn, I’ve read Stephen King novels that gave me less chills than that one page!

Julia, love, rest assured, that does not make you a nerd, it just makes you a little psychotic.

Since Julia is a tiny bit dull in her conversations and interactions with the other characters, the author has to describe her using a Venn diagram (again, I wish I was joking). That diagram left me confused about how a person who just exited a 3 year relationship can be described as perpetually single and also wishing this book was about her sister Anna.

So, this psychotic nerdy, OCD, diagram-drawing character who spends entire chapters analyzing why she can’t have a sane relationship, mercifully meets “Mr. Blue Eyes” tall, dark and handsome in a scene that I actually like. He hits her with his car and “Despite the fact that I had just been hit by a car, the first thought that came to my mind was, Oh shit! My laptop’s toast!”. Now, as a woman who left everything else behind, but carried her laptop out of the office during a fire evacuation, I can completely relate to that. I also like the awkwardness between the two, during their first meetings. It’s cute and realistic, and, despite tacky sentences like “The contact of our hands sent a current through my body”, I even enjoy the building attraction between them. During their conversations, however, I have a hard time not falling asleep.

I guess one of the biggest issues I have with this book is not the fact that it’s predictable, let’s face it, all romance books are, but the fact that, despite all the author’s efforts, the characters just don’t come to life. No matter how many emotions are pumped into them, they remain just two-dimensional shapes, so, at the end of the day, I can’t be bothered to care what happens to them.

The never ending analysis of their emotions in the second part of the book rivals in dullness with the never-ending description of Microsoft from the first part. Seriously, they could probably use some chapters in the new hires training; they let people know what every freakin’ department does!

I mean read this:

“He paused with the crab cracking and gazed up at me. I saw gratitude and reverence in his eyes. How could he look at me like that? I’m the one that was so thankful for his presence in my life. He turned his life upside down for me, to be with me, yet he looked at me like somehow I was the prize.”

And compare it to this:

“He talked about the year in review and the importance of executing seamlessly for GA. He went over revenue and sales numbers, organizational health meters and attrition and hiring rates. The next fiscal year would be critical with the new Portals 8 platform, a fundamental shift from the traditional Portals operating system”.

I swear, I don’t know which is worse, but we have equal shares of both corporate and sugary snore fests. In the remaining 20 pages, the plot happens.

So, while this book was not completely atrocious, it did bore me to tears and I had to struggle to finish it. Looking for face palm moments was a good motivation to continue till the end, and here are some of the finest:

“He said he loved old book stores and could spend hours in one. Why did I find that so freakin’ attractive? It must be the nerd in me.”



“He encouraged me to get more engaged with understanding the social media benefits for marketing and how it could be used to build stronger customer relationships.”

Oh, speak words to me, book! Because all I want to read about in a light romance novel is the impact of social media on corporate marketing. Granted, maybe the author is trying to send us the message that Ryan’s voice is so amazing that Julia could happily listen to him read the phone book, but just say so, don’t write entire pages about LinkedIn!

“Julia, when I met you, it was like I could really see for the first time. The lights turned on and everything looked sharper, better, brighter. Now I know what all the great authors are talking about. Love is all-consuming—you were right. You became my air, my sun, my future.”

Ok, sorry, please go back to speaking about social media, I beg of you!

And last but not least, my personal favorite:

“You got engaged!” I cried. “AHHH!!”
Both of us squealed again with excitement and started tapping our feet on the floor, clapping and bouncing in our seats. We were such girls.”



Yeah.


So, in the end, I recommend this to people working at MS, who would actually give a damn about the corporate gibberish or at least have fun recognizing the setting.

[Hildy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author provided an ecopy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

We get a lot of requests to read author's books and I often decline because my To Read list is HUGE and I often like to read what I feel like reading and don't want to feel obligated. Every once in awhile someone approaches us and we decide to take a chance. This is what happened with Sue Lee. I'm very happy that I did. Sue is a self-published author and this is her first book. I hate to say this, but I think I didn't really have super high expectations. It's just that I'd never heard of it before and it didn't have many reviews. Perhaps this is why it hit me as such a pleasant surprise.

The story focuses on Julia, a business woman who works at a huge computer company in Seattle. She's been unlucky in love but is very successful in business. She takes on a new position in her company and meets somebody new. I won't give anything else away but I really liked the characters in the book, the main ones as well as the supporting characters. There weren't any that were over-the-top stereotypes and I found that refreshing. There's no alpha guy who throws the heroine over his shoulder and says, "My Woman!" (Sorry, JJ). There is no one with unbelievably crazy pasts. It was not a non-stop angstfest. These people just seemed really real to me. I loved reading about the business world. I also loved being immersed in the city of Seattle. I visited once with my sister and I felt like it really helped me to visualize the story. I also appreciated that it wasn't trying too hard to be too many things. It was a relatively simple story and despite it being a big predictable in the first half, it didn't stop me from being engaged. I read on my lunch hour and on my breaks and I almost never do that. For that reason, I feel compelled to give it 4 stars.

There were a few things that I had to let go in order to enjoy the story. The fact that she works for Megasoft kinda bugged me. I wish she'd chosen a different name but I just changed it in my head and I was fine. Some of the dialogue got a bit repetitive but again I could see past it because at least the dialogue felt real to me. (I mean, really, how often do I repeat myself? LOADS!) It got a little slower in the last half and I started to worry that it was going to lose me a bit but it picked back up and I really enjoyed it. I laid awake wondering what I would have done if I was in their shoes.

For a change of pace, this was a really good story. It didn't have to be flashy to keep my attention. It was romantic, sexy and real. I think it was an impressive debut novel. Plus, how awesome is that cover? I LOVE it!

[MsGabriel · Rating 1 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I am currently on the first page of the nineteenth chapter - page 173 to be exact - and am finding it a trial to finish. Why? Because almost every time Julia talks, I feel like rolling my eyes. Gaaahhh!

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE a good office romance. And one where the protagonist is a mere mortal while the object of her affection is some sought after hottie? SCORE! So it was the promise of this - and an attractive enough description - that drew me to this. Unfortunately it doesn't live up to the hype.

We get too much of Julia's (the protag) thoughts. Yes, I am aware that it is written in first person, but a lot of dialogue needs to be shaved away. So far, the whole of chapter five, which gave us summaries of her exes, needs to go. It doesn't add anything more to the story, since she hasn't had any contact with them since break up.

Julia is supposed to be the 'quiet, reserved' twin (yes, she is a twin), but other than some adverbs tossed here and there, I have yet to see evidence of this. Julia talks a lot. Actually, everyone talks a lot, and the dialogue seems either forced in certain areas or cliched in others.

I honestly believe this book would have benefited if it went through a few rounds of beta readers, because to me it still sounds like a first draft.

***Updated Version****

Okay so I soldiered up and finished the book. Unfortunately, my opinion of this book hasn't improved.

First of all, Ryan (the love interest) is a total wimp - and that's when he's not a bore, which is most of the time. I don't feel any connection with who he is as a person, so I really do not sympathize when Julia catches him in his lie. As far as I am concerned, she could dump him, which isn't a good thing if he is the love interest.

Catherine, Julia's boss and Ryan's girlfriend is the supposed antagonist, but even her reactions are weak at best. This is supposed to be the guy you've been dating for seven years! Are you going to let some little upstart 'steal' your man like that? And then all of a sudden you get cancer...really? And your answer to that is to manipulate Ryan to stay with you? *rolls eyes*

Julia's personal life is a bore, and that's okay in the beginning. I think the writer was on the right path by running her over with a car. Its just a pity the following scenes weren't as action filled as the first.

[Sarah Pauley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! Just wow! I have to first say that I would have given this book a 4.5 if we could give half a star for the simple reason I did spot a few typos (two or three, maybe four?). However, I’m giving it 5 stars for the reasons of how much I enjoyed the book.

I lost track of time reading this book, almost six hours of time maybe seven. Seriously that’s how sucked into the book I got! For the life of me I could NOT stop reading it. The only time this happens to me is when I’m really enjoying the book.

Not all books I love make me feel so much emotions as this one did. As my best friend would say, it hurt me in my feels, which is just a way of saying it made me feel a lot of emotions. I honestly balled my eyes out a few times to the point I had trouble seeing the screen (I read it on my kindle app). At one point my heart actually hurt! I love when a book or story pulls me in to the point I find myself emotional attached to characters, like this book did.

In short, I really loved “Nerd Girl” (might be because I’m a proud nerd girl and I went into a fit of giggles at her reading a certain Harry Potter book that is also one of my favorites), despite the few typos I found (not holding that against anyone though).

Will I be recommending this book to anyone? One word! YES! Not to mention I will be rereading this book again, several times in the future in fact. It is on my list of favorite books of all time already, which says a lot.

If you want to get sucked into a world of love, heartache, betrayal, and an endless range of emotions, I recommend this book completely and wholeheartedly. You will not regret it, it is worth your time and money.

[Mallory · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 stars

Nerd Girl started out really good. The pace was slow and there was a lot of technical jargon when Julie talked about her job, but it was still enjoyable.

Then it started to get booooring. I mean, all I read was how sweet Ryan was and then more boring work stuff. I would have probably given the book 3-3.5 stars at this point... even considering what Ryan did in the beginning of their relationship.

But then bam! At about 85% Ryan becomes a bigger dumbass, and Julie seems to be suffering from emotional/doormat female syndrome. Even after everything she's put through she acts like she's been given the gift of a fairytale.

So while it started out well enough, the overall book just wasn't for me.

[Tana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nerd Girl by Sue Lee

This love story started off good, and I will say I was enjoying it, but then all the sudden the story sort of pissed me off. Now I will say the story is okay, the writing was good, I just didn't like Julie and Ryan after awhile. But this is only my opinion. Some may find it quite enjoyable.

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. I really thought this was something I would like, but it really didn't work for me on any level. I was originally going to round this up to 3 stars, but the more I thought about the story after I finished it, the more I found to dislike. I think my biggest issue was just that I didn't care for the writing style. The author did not seem to subscribe to the "show, don't tell," way of storytelling, so there would be moments when, like, Ryan would tell Julia how witty she was, and I'd be like, ".......she is?" because I had seen no evidence of it. I also don't understand why this was called Nerd Girl because... she's not particularly nerdy at all??? I'm trying to think of one scene where she might come off as nerdy, and I'm coming up completely blank. She's supposed to be less beautiful and popular than her twin sister, so maybe that's why? But of course she's still beautiful and lots of people like her and Ryan falls in love with her instantly, so I don't know how that qualifies her as a nerd girl.

I was hoping to at least get sucked in by the romance, but it didn't work for me at all. I kind of like the employer/employee set-up for romances, so I was looking forward to that conflict, but then... it's never actually a conflict at all. Like, he's high up at the place she works, but he heads up a completely different department, and the only reason it's even relevant that they work at the same place is that Ryan's fiancee happens to be Julia's boss. And everything with Ryan's fiancee made me dislike him so much. I think we're supposed to think Ryan's a kind, decent guy, but I found it really hard to get past the fact that he had been dating Catherine for 7 years and was engaged to her, and after one week of knowing Julia, he's willing to throw all that away, and he doesn't even tell Julia he's engaged. Lying about being engaged is not something that's going to make me want to root for the male lead to get the girl, sorry. Plus, him deciding he had to be with Catherine after she found out she had cancer because she would die without his support or something was ridiculous and didn't help my opinion of Ryan either. (Also, surprise cancer storylines are always going to be one of my least favorite things.)

And the relationship between Ryan and Julia also went way too fast for my liking. It really is a love at first sight kind of thing, which I wasn't expecting, and I am almost never into that sort of thing. I mean, he breaks off his engagement after just a week of knowing Julia and making out with her a couple times, and then he and Julia are telling each other they love each other constantly, and they've been together like 2 weeks. I think I also realized that in most of my favorite romances I've read in the past year, the major obstacle to the couple being together is internal conflict rather than external stuff. I mean, one thing I feel like the Amour et Chocolat series by Laura Florand does so well is that with each couple, there's never some 3rd party getting in between the characters; they always have their own, internal issues they're dealing with, and being together helps them deal with those issues, and then eventually they're able to be together for real. And I find that so much more interesting and engaging than stories like this one, where the two characters fall for each other instantly, and the only things keeping them apart are Ryan lying about being engaged, the fact that his ex-fiancee is Julia's boss (which means she has to quit her brand new job), and Ryan's ex-fiancee getting cancer. Like, that's all the conflict. Neither of the characters has to grow on their own or deal with their issues together or anything. And unfortunately that's just not interesting enough for me.

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a sweet story, but I have to be honest, it didn't keep my undivided attention the way I was hoping for. The heroine, Julia tended to be overly chatty and repeated herself often...which leads me to believe that about a third of this story was unnecessary. Ryan, her love interest, was quite swoon worthy, although not always forthright which bugged me more than it did, Julia.

Now, let me just say, the romance was the best part for me. Julia and Ryan's texts messages and phone calls were elements I looked forward to as well as their intimacy - which was sexy but safe at the same time. I'm not a prude, but sometimes less is more and the love scenes were refreshing with just the right amount of heat.

I thought the writing was also good, especially for a first time effort. Lee developed her characters quite well which drew me in the more I got to know them - and made me glad I stuck with the story. Although, I think because it was a bit slow for me personally, my ADD would kick in when thoughts would scatter about paying bills or deciding what I should make for dinner.

Bottom line, this book is definitely worth it if you enjoy easy and slightly predictable story-lines.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Congrats to Sue Lee on her first book, a very worthwhile effort! This book was recommended to me by my friend and Book Boss, Hildy. I'm so glad she told me about it.
I found this book to be a very realistic story of the day to day life of a smart and successful working single gal. I think many of us can relate to the heroine, Julia, we have been her and/or know someone like her. And oh, sweet Ryan, the ever loyal and responsible love interest. His journey as well was realistic as the conflicted hero. "Love is complicated" was the theme for this book and Sue Lee illustrates this perfectly. I appreciated that all the characters were sympathetic, with strengths and weaknesses, giving the reader an opportunity to see all sides.
*Side note - I'm from Washington State (Go Cougs!) and spent the first 7 years of my married life in Seattle. Our first home was on Queen Anne Hill where both Julia and Ryan live. I've had a date at The Pink Door restaurant, where Ryan and Julia had a date. Knowing Seattle is not a prerequisite to enjoying this book at all, it was just added fun for me as I knew all the areas mentioned. :)

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

**I received an ARC in exchange for a review**

I loved this book! I've been reading way too many New Adult books lately and I'm getting tired of the usual story line … too much angst, damaged characters, and alpha arrogant male over the top sort of men. This book was a refreshing change. The main characters, Julia and Ryan, are a little older and more mature. Julia is smart and isn't afraid to show it. Ryan is sweet, sexy, kind, and intelligent. There was an unexpected twist in the book. I won't provide any spoilers, but I was balling my head off near the end. This is a standalone novel and it does have an HEA, so I found it to be a very satisfying read.

Lastly, I happen to work at Microsoft, so I got a kick out of all the corporate references. All the MS references were pretty right on.

[Mitch C. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Late Review.

Office romance. Bore the shit outta me because of corporate jargon.

h was not a win also. She's self-proclaimed nerd, extreme OCD, weird to the next level.

[Brit · Rating 1 out of 5]

ARC Given to me by author for an honest review

DNF @ 45%

Review to come

[Nikki · Rating 1 out of 5]

First of all, why is this book titled "Nerd Girl"? Other than the MC working at psuedo-Microsoft, making tons of diagrams/graphs and liking Harry Potter (I don't consider the latter nerdy btw,) there were no real "nerd traits"...not that I'm trying to put limitations on what a "nerd" can be...it should be titled "Psychotic Girl" (Yes, I'm a huge Black Keys fan) but I digress.....

I knew from the beginning that I wasn't going to like this book because it starts off with Julia, the MC, making a chart about her "ideal" length of relationship, engagement, marriage date etc. in order to have kids by her "ideal" time. *eye roll*

It's like she has no real purpose in life other than getting married. Forget having a high paying job at one of the best companies in the country.......no, she's not "successful" until she's married, living in the suburbs with her white picket fence, dog, minivan and 2.5 children.

This book was basically a girl pining over marriage. Not necessarily Ryan (the guy), but the actual idea of marriage. Her sister is getting married, all of her friends are married/in committed relationships and she's stuck being single.

Maybe she's single because she spends her free time constructing venn diagrams and charts? Or spending too much time in relationships with douchey guys?

Speaking of douchey guys...she mentions three relationships prior to the one established in the book. Out of the three, TWO of those guys cheat on her. She supposedly hates cheaters and straight up tells Ryan that...and when it turns out that (surprise!) Ryan has cheated on her as well, what does she do? She gives him the cold shoulder for a week and acts like a 17 year old girl in high school by trying to make him jealous (I laughed).

After the week of the silent treatment, she takes him back without much coercion. GROW A BACKBONE!

I felt nothing for Ryan or Julia. Together or separate. They were soooooo boring. The author did nothing to make me believe that they were ~~~so in love~~~ probably because they declared their love for each other about 3 weeks into the relationship (including the week of silent treatment) with no real relationship-building.

I started skimming at about the 45% mark. It was too much and very predictable. I predicted two of the major plot points CHAPTERS before they actually happened...and then the last 15% or so was just rushed nonsense. You could tell the author was trying to tie it up, but I feel that too much had happened up to that point that still hadn't been properly developed or explained, and then it was like "ok well x and y happened and then that led to z. The end."

All in all, it was a snoozer. Boring characters. Underdeveloped storylines. Tons of anti-climatic and rushed scenes. I wish I wouldn't have wasted 3 hours of my life reading this.

[Kanae · Rating 5 out of 5]

What can I say? I really enjoyed this book. That one sentence pretty much summed up my love for this book. My only issue with this book was the title. Honestly, I am not really sure why it was called Nerd Girl and am still twirling my hair trying to figure it out. But, I know what you are thinking; if that’s all that’s wrong with the book then it must be a great book, AND YOU ARE RIGHT. It was a 5 star for me.

Julia and Ryan were the perfect pair for me. A girl burned by her past loves that she quickly gets over by escaping into work meets a boy who was loyal to a tee and never knew what true love felt like. YES! This my friends is the makings of a great romance story (well at least to me, it is).

While reading this book, I learned a few things about myself:

1.I love the beginning of a love story.
2.I love grand gestures.
3.Sometimes, I get so emotionally connected to the characters in a book that I cry when they cry.
4.I love a couple with great sexual chemistry.
5.And if you give me all four of these, and I will love the story.

Oh and did I mention that I loved Ryan, the perfect man to fall in love with. Who knows when he f—ks up (his words not mine) and is man enough to admit it. Who tries to win you back by saying, “I’m not going to let you end us because of my stupidity?” Who wouldn’t melt over him? Me that’s who. I couldn’t help myself. He really loved her. Oh, did I mention he said, “Love was all consuming. You became my air, my sun, my future. I couldn’t imagine you not in it. A lifetime of knowing someone didn’t compare to being with for only a few weeks. It just didn’t. That’s how I know I’m in love with you. Thank God you came along when you did.” Swoon!!!!!!!!!!!!



And I loved Julia aka Jules because she really grew. She learned that love isn’t black and white, but that a great romance is complicated and has grey moments. I also loved how she was focused on her career and found solace in her work but learned that life can throw you for a loop, which isn't always a bad thing. I loved how she not only was a looker but had brains too. She was simply a well rounded girl who was looking for the love of her life. Oooh, I just heart her and was always rooting for her.

From beginning to end, I was never disappointed in this book, and I highly recommend it.

P.S. An ARC was kindly provided by the authors in exchange for an honest review.

[Dawn Barber · Rating 2 out of 5]

I saw some bad reviews on this book, but still gave it a shot. Here's my 2 cents:

I agree that some of the points of this book were repetitive in nature. I could understand making a point, but it was almost like this was a fan-fiction and the readers were coming in fresh every chapter and the author was afraid that the reader had forgotten something since the last chapter update. Doesn't flow well in a sit down and read it book.

I could tolerate the business talk - because with all the vampires, cowboys and bikers now a days, it was actually refreshing to have corporate read. I mean... Ryan actually liked reading business how to's on his spare time. He was way more of a nerd that Julia was!

What I couldn't tolerate was the ending and how it did not make sense. I know that Julia has a hard time forgiving and that was a big point in the book is for her to learn how to forgive. But when Ryan "makes" her dump him so he can slink off and hold Catherine's hand while she fights her cancer? Um, no. Feel sorry for her, yes. Help you while you're helping her, most definitely. If a guy chooses another woman over me, then that's his choice... and I hope he's happy with it, because there is no way I am going to come back to you when you were a cheater in the first place and I forgave you of that and then secondly, you dump me because your ex asks you to? No spine, no backbone, no thank you. I think the author was hoping the reader would feel obligate to Ryan since he was trying to be a good guy here, but he basically scraped Julia off and looked weak in the process. Ruined the book for me.

Sorry, Sue Lee! I will definitely try another book, because I did enjoy the book up to a certain point. :(

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, but I would have bought it anyway. I really liked with Julia, who, at the start of this novel, is a somewhat reserved woman getting over her ex's betrayal. I felt like Ms. Lee really captured what it is like to be a bit removed even in the midst of one's romances, and showed how Julia's relationship with Ryan led to changes in the way that Julia thought about everything. I like that she wasn't a pushover, even when it came Ryan, with whom she was madly in love. I finished this book in one evening, and have gone back to look at specific passages several times in the days since. If you like sexy contemporary romances that feature smart and mature characters who nevertheless are still figuring things out, this may be the book for you.

Also, the thinly veiled Microsoft references never got old for me, and made me think of Douglas Coupland's Microserfs, which may have made me like this book even better than I already did.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am pleased that I was given an advanced reader copy in exchange for a review because this book was a wonderful read. Julia’s emotions are so raw and realistic. Any woman will be able to relate to her internal and external struggles in regards to their career and all the various relationship dynamics (love interests, family, and friends). I’ve read many love stories and this one has a different twist that will resonate profoundly. This book hits you with relatable dialogue and situations in the same way that Bridget Jones’ Diary did. All women will be able to connect with some aspect of this book. A definite must read.

[TB Roxie · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a disappointment. First off, this girl was no nerd. She was just a business person. Next, there was no witty, fun and nerdy banter like I would have expected from a book called Nerd Girl - because we all know nerds are the smartest, snarkiest people around. Next, sorry but Ryan was an asshole. Not just an ass, but an asshole. The book was over for me after he cheated on Catherine the first time. The rest was like a soap opera with explicit sex. Oh, and the Epilogue, that's an HEA on crack. of COURSE she was a bridesmaid in Catherine's wedding and they were all BFFs for ever and ever. Gag.

[Jess · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bleh.

My issues are two-fold...
- The title Nerd Girl is misleading. If you're going to call your book Nerd Girl, you have to go whole hog with it. Reading Harry Potter and claiming to be super organized does not a nerd make.
- The actual story idea wasn't half bad, despite our hero being a bit of a coward. A better editor would have made a world of difference by tightening things up considerably. I skimmed chunks of pages a number of times to get past Julia's inner monologue - it didn't add much and was often times repetitive.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

More like 2.5 stars.

I was expecting more from this based on the reviews, but it didn't quite get there. I got a little frustrated with Julia and her constant questions and self-doubt. At different times, I found her quite focused and independent and then at other times, very wishy-washy. I also found Ryan to be adorable at one point and then highly annoying at other times. But even with this, it was really the constant internal dialogue that turned me off. I found myself skimming paragraphs just to get past it.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was given a free copy of this Book in exchange for an honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book!! I started reading with an open mind and found myself constantly thinking about the story and trying to sneak in reading time. The story and characters kept me intrigued. The writing was good (a few minor typos) and the pace of the story kept my interest.

I would definitely recommend this book!

[April · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow this book is amazing. I was up until 4:30 am finishing it because I just had to see what happened. This book will make you laugh but it will make you cry well at least I cried anyways. This book left me speechless and wanting so much more. I really wish there was another book to go with this one so I can have more Julia and Ryan. This book ripped my heart and put it back in a few times. I love books that make me truly feel what the characters are going through.

[Carla Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a l love story at its best.

This was a l love story at its best.

Julia has her ups and downs in anew job with a new boss. Finding new love after a heartbreak...only to find out the new love is an executive where she works. How will this work? And is the new boss involved with the man that has caught her eye....well you will have read it to find out and you be sorry. Really sun book to read.

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

i wanted to keep turning the pages...i was thinking about it when i wasn't reading all the time. just good chick lit! were there things I would change about it? yes! but i don't care.....reading is about escapism....and i was fully into escaping with this one.

[Hollie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Almost gave up on this one a couple times but stuck it out. Not one Id recommend.

[Stephie · Rating 1 out of 5]

It took forever to move forward! The book is .too damn slow... to much filling in with info not needed... i finish it but i scroll through a lot
Oh and wait i'm still waitting for the nerd part of it... yeah not there.

[Anny hernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

wow I finish reading his book and I have to say that I love it, from the first page to the last one I want more love the characters

[chloegirl · Rating 2 out of 5]

I admit I read this book because it's on KU, and my interest was peaked because of the title "Nerd Girl" implying that maybe the heroine, Julia, was going to be an actual nerd character. I read the sample and was intrigued about the chance meeting of Julia and Ryan. So being a nerd girl myself, it was a no brainer to read this one. The story was okay, nothing we've never seen before, but I was left feeling disappointed overall because I felt the book did not live up to the expectations I had beforehand.

Warning: it's hard for me to write a review without giving some things away so read on with caution!

To begin with, I felt that the title was all wrong. I liked that the characters met while working on a sprawling, tech company campus and I honestly thought one of these characters would actually be a tech geek, but that was unfortunately not the case! They were managerial types who happened to work in the tech sector, so as I was reading I really felt the title Nerd Girl was completely unwarranted.

Beyond that nitpicky issue, the story was interesting at the beginning because it did seem Ryan and Julia had an undeniable attraction to each other. As we learn later that Ryan is holding back on progressing the relationship further with Julia because he is engaged to another woman (who happens to be Julia's current boss at MS), I felt that Julia accepted Ryan's lame reasons with way too much ease just because she was so attracted to Ryan and wanted to get laid by him. I honestly have no issues with cheating in books because hey, it's a part of real life, but when characters in stories are so easily swayed by the cheater and accept the lies and unsavory behavior so quickly and easily, it makes me hate those characters, in this case Julia. From this point on, I felt that Julia was an idiotic doormat and not the smart, nerd girl she was supposed to be portrayed as.

As the story progressed, we see Ryan and Julia becoming closer as they begin to make their relationship work with their careers at MS. It seemed to be instalove with these two, and I never felt truly convinced that those feelings were indeed love, but rather just lust and shameless horniness. There was a lot of techy terms and acronym speak, which I didn't mind as an engineer, but I can see most of the target audience of this book would be glazing over with the way the book was written.

Of course this can't be the end of the story. The author then had to bring back Ryan's ex-fiancé Catherine (Julia's now almost ex-boss) with such a predictable reason to tear apart Ryan and Julia once again: the dreaded "my ex is sick and needs me so I have to break up with you" reasons. Of course it was Catherine's demand to Ryan that he break it off with Julia so he can help her deal with her cancer treatment, but in the end it just went to show how much of a doormat Ryan was when it came to his ex. At this point, the story begins to feel rushed as the author tries to wrap everything up in a cute little bow to give Julia and Ryan their HEA, which to be honest at this point I could've cared less about these characters after seeing how easily they were swayed by other people when it came to their own happiness. The fact that they were both doormats and acted so idiotic most of the time had me saying at least they are ending up with each other, they deserve one another. The conclusion of the story was so unlikely and off the wall ridiculous that I felt my eyes roll too many times as I read the final 2 chapters and the epilogue, which weirdly did not focus on Julia and Ryan but rather Catherine. Really? What did I just read?

I guess the author fooled me by making me think Nerd Girl would be a smart romance with some level of nerdiness and technical geekdom, but this story couldn't have deviated farther from that than it did. I skimmed through this just to finish it and see if there were any redeeming qualities and unfortunately it just didn't have any. Total Nerd fail.

[Crystal Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Unlike my color-coded underwear drawer, when it came to matters of the heart, there was no set of rules to follow"

Julia is a Type A personality to a T on her fast track to a successful career at a very prestigious computer corporation. (I kept trying to compare this company to Microsoft, only to discover that is where the author herself worked. This helped me to understand the corporate setting tremendously). While she was lucky in her career, her love life was not so great. She was coming off of a broken relationship of three years when she LITERALLY runs into Ryan McGraw. Well, he runs into her. You will get it if you read the book! This short chance encounter stays on Julia's mind and it isn't too long until circumstances throw them back together. It is only when Julia realizes that Ryan is a VP at the company, that drama and chaos ensues. I was so excited at the beginning of the story thinking this was going to be a fun, lighthearted romance, just what I needed coming off of some deep dark books. I mean with lines like this, what else could it be right?
"Time and time again I was unlucky in love, and I don't think it was because I alphabetized my ceral boxes or because I snored sometimes when my allergies were bad."

So the book was light, funny, predictable (in a good way) and I am totally digging it. So when I get about to 50ish percent and it seems like the story is tied up in a nice bow, I start thinking, oh she must have a lot of filler at the end. So the book keeps going and I am like hmmmm, why? Then, something so unexpected hit me out of left field. I wanted to yell and scream at the author and ask her why why why would she do this to my Julia and Ryan? Well after that, my feeling toward Ryan change dramatically. Thankfully Julia had her twin Anna there to be her rock and support through it all.

"Anna was my best friend, my sister, and my other half. She was my twin and we had shared not only our mother's womb, but nearly every single life experience together, literally, since birth"

Julia still loves him and tries to battle through the pain and move on with her life.

"One thing I've learned is that you can choose how you handle life's surprises. You can hold onto pain and bitterness or you can choose to take the steps to let it go."

With a great group of supporting characters, some laughter, some love, some heartbreak, some shock and awe, some traumatic circumstances, and a nicely wrapped up HEA, Nerd Girl really took me through a range of emotions and I felt it was a good, if not pretty great, read.


Reviewed by Mystery Reviewer for Crystal's Many Reviewers
*ARC Provided for honest review*

[JG · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of those books that pleasantly surprises you, well it did me! I don’t know whether it was the title, the cover or the fact that it’s a contemporary romance but I doubt I would have read it had I not signed up to the blog tour on the recommendation of a co-blogger but I am so glad that I did.

The story surrounds Nerd Girl aka Julia Hayes a Programme Manager working for a company called Megasoft (a large IT company, go figure!!!). Having recently broken up with her long standing boyfriend, Julia, still licking her wounds decides to apply for a new job in the hope that it will distract her so that she can finally take her mind off her ex, Andrew.

On her way to her interview, she “bumps” into Ryan McGraw, or is it the other way around? Anyway, Julia looks up and sees an extremely good looking man with eyes to die for. After brushing herself down, Julia runs off for her interview but has no idea who her gorgeous assailant was.

Thinking that she will never see Ryan again, Julia is surprised when she comes face to face with him again and after spending some unplanned time together, Julia soon realises that she is developing feelings for this man, feelings that she hadn’t experienced with Andrew or any other boyfriends before him.

I was completely lost in his kiss and I felt it in every fibre and bone of my body. Damn, he was a good kisser.

Armed with only his first name, Julia still has no idea who Ryan is and without swapping telephone numbers she has no way of reaching him, again.

After starting her new job however, Julia soon finds out exactly who Ryan is and their story together begins.

“Julia, when I met you, it was like I could really see for the first time. The lights turned on and everything look sharper, better, brighter. Now I know what all the great authors are talking about. Love is all-consuming, you were right. You became my air, my sun, my future. I couldn’t imagine you not in it. A lifetime of knowing someone didn’t compare to being with you for only a few weeks. It just didn’t. That how I know I’m in love with you. Thank God you came along when you did,”

For me this book was un-put-downable until about 80% in when a typical anti-HEA event looked inevitable. After a brief pause though, I resumed this tale to its conclusion and I was so glad I did. This story had it all, love, happiness, angst and tears.

This is a standalone book and one that is recommended when you are in need of a nice story with a healthy dose of Ryan McGraw!