Ridorkulous

Dorky #1

by Mary Frame

Awkwardland. It's where I live. And I'm the president, mayor, and sole citizen.

Reese Jackson is living her safest life. This polymath is tired of trying to fit in with a small town that never knows what to do with her. Her absentee family may have forced her into dorm life for her own good, but she goes from her classes to her room and back—no parties, no dates, and no drawing attention.

Until one noisy night, when Reese gets kicked out of her dorm.

Fitz Moreland is living his okayest life. He’s on his own to pay for college, but he’s scraping by with an athletic scholarship and free rent with a friend. If he can keep it together, he’s on track to graduate with a useful degree, especially now that he’s finally said goodbye to his drama-loving ex-girlfriend.

Until one night, when she gets him kicked out of his house. What happens when there’s one single room left for rent in the entire town and two people who desperately need it? A merrymaking, money-seeking landlord arrives and throws them into a series of ridorkulous challenges to compete for it, of course. It’s the dorky duckling versus the BMOC. The winner will get a place to live—but the loser may just forfeit their heart.

Genres: Romance, New Adult, Contemporary, College, Contemporary Romance, Young Adult, Enemies To Lovers

286 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 10, 2019

About the author

Mary Frame writes romantic comedies with quirky characters, steamy moments, and banter that will make you blush and snort-laugh at the same time. She’s a full time mom with a full time job and has no idea how she manages to write novels, but it probably helps that she's a dedicated introvert. She doesn't enjoy writing about herself in third person, but she does enjoy reading, writing, dancing, and damaging the ear drums of her co-workers when she randomly decides to sing to them.

She LOVES hearing from readers and will not only respond but likely begin stalking them while tossing out hearts and flowers and rainbows! If that doesn't creep you out, e-mail her at: maryframeauthor@gmail.com

www.maryframe.com

Instagram: @maryframeauthor
Facebook: www.facebook.com/AuthorMaryFrame
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Reviews

[NMmomof4 · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 Stars

Overall Opinion: This was sweet. I thought it was unique in a fun way and I had to love the crazy side characters! I liked their connection and I liked the characters. I just didn’t quite feel like it was fully executed. The dramatic elements seemed a little OTT but then not addressed fully (more like swept under the rug) and there was hardly any closure. I also kind of freaked out when I noticed that this said it was a duet, but the other book is about another couple (some of those great side characters) and is said to be a standalone — so not really the ‘duet’ that I’m used to. While it won’t find its home on my favorites shelf, it was fun and sweet for a freebie!

Brief Summary of the Storyline: This is Reese and Fitz’s story. Reese and Fitz are both kicked out of their housing because of a fight that Reese’s roommate/Fitz’s ex-girlfriend started. They are both desperate to get the last available room in town and meet a crazy character that offers them to ‘battle’ for it. They are so desperate that they go along with the crazy proposition and in the meantime realize that there is more to one another than their initial impressions. There are some funny moments, some ex/family drama, and a sexy scene...and they get a HFN ending.

Point Of View (POV): This alternated between Reese and Fitz’s POV.

Overall Pace of Story: Good until the abrupt ending. I never skimmed.

Instalove: No. They dislike each other at first, become friends, and then more.

H (Hero) rating: 3.5 stars. Fitz. I liked him but I also wanted to shake him regarding his ex.

h (heroine) rating: 4.5 stars. Reese. I liked her. She was quirky, shy, and super smart.

Sadness level: Low, no tissues needed

Push/Pull: Yes They both push away at times and I’d say the H is the main pursuer of the relationship

Heat level: Mild. They have some tension, chemistry, and one scene they get each other off with their hands in a shower

Descriptive sex: Yes and no while they have a descriptive sexual scene, they don’t actually have sex

OW (Other Woman)/OM (Other Man) drama: Yes The H’s ex/h’s ex roommate causes drama for the couple and there is an OM that pursues the h and causes some jealousy for the H

Sex scene with OW or OM: No There is a scene with the H’s ex/h’s ex roommate with OM (not super descriptive)

Cheating: Not between mcs The H’s ex cheats on him

Separation: Yes They are separated shortly (days?), but there was no mention or suggestion of other partners during this time.

Possible Triggers: Yes The h is a virgin and the H had been with just his ex

Closure: This ends right after they resolve their conflict with not a lot of closure. I get that they are young, but I definitely wanted much more! I would call this a HFN ending they only hint at “ILYs”

Safety: This one should be Safe for most safety gang readers

- Does Not have cheating between mcs
- Does Not have a descriptive sex scene with OW/OM (and mcs)
- Does have both the h and H pushing away
- Does have a separation between the h and H
- Does Not have abuse
- Does Not have a HEA ending

[Sanyah(Taylor’s Version) · Rating 3 out of 5]

“He whoops and then I’m in his arms, his mouth on mine, lingering for a moment before we separate long enough for him to say, “You know, if I have to buy you a book every time I screw up, you’re gonna need a bigger box.”

Get you a man who buys you books every-time he messes up.

[Tracy C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fitz and Reese had a bit of a slow burn. Fitz being able to see Reese come out of her shell and participate in life was everything. The situation they managed to get themselves into was very Ridorkulous. As was the cast of secondary characters! Just missed 5 stars because I thought the ending was a bit abrupt.

[Clau · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ridorkulous is a cute and funny romance, where we have a shy and awkward main character. Reese has a really hard time communicating with others and making friends. It doesn't help that her roommate is mean and only talks to her to insult her.
Because of said roommate, she ends up being homeless in the middle of the semester. And she only finds one room available in the whole campus, but she must compete with Fitz to get it. Fitz as in the jerk who used to date her former roommate.
The story is fun to read, and I really liked both main characters (Fitz, only after he stopped being rude to Reese). But I think that the romance wasn't enough, and the ending was abrupt. It doesn't have an epilogue, and the story really needed one.

[Sonia N. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet and funny book. Reese is and has always been socially awkward, Fitz is handsome and finds himself attracted to her.
Cute storyline, with funny characters.

[Nanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book that makes Jane Austen's references is always a good book 😍😍😍
Loved Fitz and Reese!

[Luli · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 stars.
Cute and enjoyable. You will need a bit of suspension of disbelief nonetheless.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a hoot! It’s intelligent, quirky, fun and romantic! If you like smart heroines, hunky hero’s, an ex-drama queen, and a dash of silliness to solve a housing crisis - then this book is for you. It’s a stand-alone story with interesting characters that are hard not to love.

[Valeen Robertson (Live Thru Books Blog) · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Reese is kicked out of her dorm for reasons that have nothing to do with anything she did wrong, she finds the last housing available. Unfortunately, she has to compete with Fitz for that room. What's a dorky girl to do when faced with the popular athlete?

Ridorkulous was refreshing fun, cute and charming. I loved Reese and Fitz together! Not only were they adorable together, but I loved how different their story was from the stuff I normally read. If you like your romances with dorky but adorableness, I definitely recommend you 1-click Ridorkulous today.

ARC via Hidden Gems Books for an honest review.

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[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mary I love you !!
Usually I never take this long to read one of your books but my days are too busy it makes me cry sometimes !!
But never the less !! 5 amazing stars how I love how you write about smart girls !!
I loved the story line like how did you think of this haha especially the Jude character and Beast I am so curious as if he will speak in the next book.
I loved the connection between Reese and Fitz ! And the bedlam Games !!
I just loved it all !!! Thanks for being a Amazing !! 🌈❤️

[Casey Moon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good but too insta-lovey

This was a fun story with likeable main characters but the romance felt incredibly rushed. They only knew eachother for 2 weeks and then dated for what? 2 days? Not to mention the male MC had just gotten out of a relationship with his childhood love and was expected to just move on and figure out his feelings immediately. Idk, not my cup of tea. Fun plot but way too insta-lovey.

[Lisa (Two Bookish Brits) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars!

Ah well this was actually adorable.

It’s a typical Nerd/Jock story but there’s more to it.

Fitz and Reese are so different to one another but yet they work so well together.

She’s smart, brainy but incredibly shy. Having a sheltered life had her closed of and scared of human interaction. After being pushed by Granny to interact she finds herself in a dorm surrounded by people who never see her, with a terrible roommate.

Fitz is handsome and caring. Being with his best friend was supposed to make him happy but it’s quite the opposite..

When a night goes way wrong they find themselves in a fight and thrown out of where their living..

With only once place available Fitz and Reese find themselves competing in challenges for the one bedroom left but things are about to take a turn and boy, you’re going to want to read it.

I loved this story, their story so much and although the author made my heart ache near the ending i still loved it.

This is my first read from this author but now I’m looking into the others, I want more.

[Eve · Rating 3 out of 5]

My goodness, when I read reviews about the ending being abrupt, I didn’t think it’d be anything like that. It literally just ended, no warning.

Regardless, I had a nice time with this. The characters were fun to follow and the plot kept me interested enough. I mean, let’s be honest, it was all a little bit far fetched but that just added to the intrigue.

[Kathy✨ | clarysfreckles · Rating 2 out of 5]

waste of time.
insta-love e historia sin sentido.

[Mela · Rating 3 out of 5]

How to put it? A pleasant YA funny romance.

Without pretending that (especially) young men aren't horny, but also without sex on as many pages as possible - in other words, well-balanced topic.

Serious issues touched as deep as such kind of the book allowed - going too deep (in such genre) almost always goes bad.

Nonetheless, not this kind of YA that every adult can read. You have to have a bit of that "college girl" in you to enjoy it, I think.

Definitely much better than Picture Imperfect which I didn't finish. Perhaps Mary Frame is simply a better writer of YA than adult romances. I don't know, but I will try her more.

Strong 3-3.5 stars.

[Shorouk A · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars,

This is a ridiculous story. I had to stop my mind at the beginning but after that everything was okay.

Likes:
I loved the representation of a Polymath person.
I liked all the characters. The young and old characters.
The story starts with unique start for a couple to be and I liked the change.

Dislikes:
There were some things that Fitz said that I didn't like but not too much things.

[Ornella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Truly ridorkulous. Cute and fun read!

[Judy Christiana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoy being exposed to “new-to-me” authors. According to my Goodreads listing I found Mary Frame in September 2015. I am pretty sure that her book “Imperfect Chemistry was free for a short time and I picked it up. That is a great way to discover new authors (to you). I loved her writing style, her humor and her characters. I was hooked after the first book and then read every other books she released.
It took me a while to get to a point to read Ridorkulous. I had a large TBR (to be read) stack and still have quite a few books waiting for me to get to them. I wanted to read this book, so I could jump into the series and be ready for the next book in this series, Geektastic, which will be released on October 31, 2019.
When I began to read Ridorkulous, it was a feeling like coming home. I was thinking, gosh I missed reading Mary Frame’s books. Her books flow so easily, take you along for a fantastic journey and tug at your emotions.
The characters of Reese, a super smart, sheltered, reclusive, beautiful inside & out female and Fitz, a striking gorgeous, confident, well liked guy are molded to perfection.
These are two people that normally would never have interacted. Their relationship begins very awkwardly and builds on from that moment to get even more awkward, but as romance stories go, they find attraction and a happily ever after. I especially like friendship to romance stories, where relationships are slowly built, before any physical action takes place. This is one of those stories. I loved both of these characters so much. The way that Ms. Frame made the characters change from adversaries to friends was very realistic.
I am looking forward to continuing the series in a few weeks when Geektastic is released!

[Yvette89 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a different sort of romance than my usual pick. It was refreshingly entertaining. I will not give details but I absolutely loved the characters and the plot. Especially Reese and her adventures. She is a dork with a capital D. She likes to be invisible. Stays in the shadows and has a brain like a computer. Awkward and sweet. You can’t help but fall in love with her. You never know what will happen. Fitz is the hero. Handsome, a bit of a nerd but has a big heart. The kindness gets him into a bit of a sticky situation. Their first meeting is a bit unique and starts the whole adventure of fun and laughter. The supporting characters are interesting too. I this is a new to me author that I will certainly keep on my radar.

[Secretly Adorkable Readers · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I’m at Jude’s. Lying in the narrow bed. There’s a wall of smooth heat at my back and an arm around my torso, tethering me in place. A strong, lean, muscular arm. Holy Pythagoras. I’m sleeping with Fitz. He’s spooning me."

This book made me laugh so hard at times and fell in love with Reese from the very beginning. Reese is a walking factoid. She is very smart and adorkable. I think you will love this story. It was ridorkulous. Her grandma was hilarious too and some of the southern sayings were too cute.

I cannot wait to read the next book!

[Ninna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, I think the name really says it all but I was looking for a light, funny read and hoped this would deliver. Sadly, it was just another soap opera level rom com. There were some light, funny moments but many, many more eye roll moments. I just think this genre, particularly MCs in their early 20's, may have run it's course for me - time to buy a cane to shake at the neighbor kids.

[Karen "The nice one" Y · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my heck, I loved this book! I laughed, cried a bit, the friendship, the Mathew McConaughey innuendo's, and the house owner who reminded me of a character he would have played. And Granny! Loved her ❤️ loved everything about this book! Oh, and one more thing.....I LOVE the quotes at the beginning of each chapter!
I DARE you to make up your own mind!

[Irine · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was all fun until she started talking about her inner goddess. O_O

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was cute. Not super spicy. Fitz and Reese were cute. Loved Jude and Beast and want to know more about them!

[Elle · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's cute, sweet and funny! I love it.

[liz ౨ৎ · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars - despite not liking this book, i saw a lot of myself in reese and the way she views relationships

[Sabrina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this one in a couple of hours without stopping, it was so good ! The story is unusual and funny, and the characters are the best. All of them were interesting, you cannot help but like them and how they all become friends. Also this is a bit of a slow burn, the hero and heroine are really different and fighting against each other but they slowly become friends and open to each other as well as resolving their own personal difficulties. The writing style is impeccable, I liked how well structured it is, there is no scene I thought was useless or too repetitive, all had their purposes.
Another Mary Frame story I really enjoyed, I cannot wait for the next one, which is going to be about two characters introduced here I believe.

[JadeShea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ridorkulous begins when the hero and heroine meet in a very strange way, and now both of them are homeless. Now, they must compete for a room to stay in, and things are getting even more complicated.

This book was different and funny. I enjoyed the hero and heroine together, the only downside was the stupid drama with the ex-girlfriend. That was annoying. Other than that, I really enjoyed this one a lot.

[Annika · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 adorkable stars

[dumbells · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am oscillation in my regard for this book. Just when the two characters are getting somewhere with their dialogue and thinking they do or say something that kills everything that has been building so far. And by everything I just mainly mean my regard in these MCs characters, cuz that is where most of this reads focus is.

I mean it started up a bit flimsy with the typical misunderstood and marginalized main heroine that is being bullied on top of that. She is all shy and plays at being invisible so as not to attract negative attention as she is not good at confrontation and speaking her mind. A misunderstanding with her roommate and enters our hero on the scene and they are instantly showing animosity towards each other (some of it stemming from their undercurrent of attraction). I was still reserving judgment at this as there was some room to grow still from here. But it did have this whole the-heroine-and-hero-will-overcome-their-differences-and-failings-and-through-the-power-of-friendship-become-better-versions-of-themselves anime vibe. Not necessarily too bad a thing if plaid well, however while this is happening in college this whole thing still had a distinct note of high-school running throughout. I mean the h was just projecting all kind of "Notice me Sempai" feelings that she did not know how to identify and handle. The hero was just an ass hat from the get go. And why might you ask are they showing this antagonism towards one another? Well the h has a total rational reason for it as it was the H who fought with another guy, all of which has nothing to do with her, and his action got her kicked out of her dorm and homeless. And the H dislikes h because she witnessed him at his lowest point in life, and he cannot handle it so he projects his humiliation onto blaming her for just being there, in her dorm room. Unbelievable. At this point the hopes of the interest in these MCs lie in how they get over this misunderstanding, get over themselves and move on.

Issue #1 They never outright talk that whole incident out, explain each other's reasons for acting or being there. It is just swept under the table and they agree without saying it outright to not discus this incident and just barge into their attraction and relationship. This all seems a pretty rocky ground now that how the relationship is being established and I cannot help but hold my breath waiting for this burring-their-heads-in-the-sand behavior to come back to bite them in the ass.

Now they have some good progress in establishing their relationship parameters, burying the hatchet and even when they share their family history, their fears for their future and all those emotionally bonding moments they have seem to be moving them along in a decent direction towards well established MCs and a couple. And then the H or h says or thinks something that is just so part of the NA genre that makes me cringe and want to contradict everything they say after that.

Issue #2 The H finds out that h is not only a virgin but also has never been kissed and finds that ever so thrilling and is even more possessive of his developing feelings towards her. He even mentions how caveman attitude that is and that he should be passed it but he cannot help it as, according to him, the h is so much more different than his previous girlfriend. How caring and smart she is unlike his ex. How sweet and innocent and bla bla. All that jazz. She is an untouched special flower, we get it. I have been exposed to this before, H desiring the h even more because of her innocent in myriad of ways and I can get passed it, to an extent. It helps he was a bit self aware of this cavemen behavior. What bugs me more is those reasons he lists for liking her and main one being how different she is from his ex. Not a big fan of damaged Hs finding their true loves in the next person after being royally mind fucked by their previous choice in partner. Those are your choices and you recognize they were wrong which is why you are seeking something truer than that, own up to it. See there is this principle I became aware of what people do when they get hurt. We say "never again" and then try to the best of our abilities to stay away from similar dangers. It's a survival thing. Now I think it was in How I Met Your Mother that they explained how this manifests when it comes to a failed relationship. Meaning the other person has that previous person that hurt them so ingrained in their brain that they actively seek out and only pick out their next love interest in the person they know is diametrically opposite in every way they can find to their previous partner. If it was a rather messy and/or toxic relationship they will naturally be drawn to a sweet, nurturing character to sooth their ego and nurse their emotional hurt. This they call over-correcting. It is OVER-correcting as the partner they seek might be in temperament completely opposite from the character that suits them usually and is just picked out for that moment to alleviate the hurts of previous relationship and restore the faith in love etc. In a sense I feel that chosen person is being used in a way. I mean maybe a more permanent relationship can be developed, but most often these relationships are short lived and thus the idea of a rebound was established. Because so many of those type of relationship have low chance of surviving. And having a heroine that is so inexperienced with interacting with people, let alone venturing into romantic relationships I foresee nothing but heartache for her. She is very smart but also ever so naïve as many of the other characters point out, even the H. This feature can be endearing and awake the nurturing instincts in some and thus those feelings lead to those of amorous kind, but she will never have the bandwidth to recognize it. She will never have the proper tools to prepper herself for any kind of pit falls as they are coming definitely. Navigating a first romantic relationship with a partner that is still reeling for the collapse of his previous one is nothing but a field of mines and just due to blow up anyone's face if they are not properly informed ahead of time. So yeah… I take some issue with how this is navigated and presented by the author as this perfect developing relationship that is just flimsy at best, and if it wasn't in a book form such as this I would predict imminent failure.

I was intrigued by the sister character and how she instinctively took h's side when no one else would. But then the cracks behind her own shining armor started to show annnnd then I had some questions. Issue #3 So this grown ass woman graduated a year ago and is just what? Hanging around the collage campus with her brother and his young friends. She is just partying it up with the young kids huh? Doesn't she have her own life and group of friends? Doesn't she have a job? What is this whole set up about with her and Jude guy? I mean that seems to be all kinds of fractured relationship forming and I am just loosing all respect for this woman the more I get to know her. She started out strong with her instincts and insight into her brother, but the more I get to know her I start to think she is just a damaged individual (if not a sociopath) that wants to see the world burn. She is anti-romance and so she thinks her brother should learn a lesson on the harsh realities of life by losing this bet they have established between the H and h. She holds her own secrets very close to her chest and cannot stand when Jude is not a right out open book and so far as to go invade his privacy and thinks herself "totally entitled to do so cuz she is seeking the truth." X-Files you ain't lady.

I can go on the dissect the inherent problems that should be resolved in this book before any kind of attention should truly be paid it but I don't have the interest do so for a 2 star NA rom-come wanna be read. There was a fair attempt at introducing a unique character in the h, and it worked up to a point but even that was flawed. If she has a trust fund and can get anything she wants at the snap of her fingers as she reveals later in the book why is she freaking out about being homeless? She could get a condo anywhere around that campus and not worry about it. That was never explained. Not to mention she is a bonified genius. I mean she doesn't say so, but he wide topics interests and knowledge absorption makes me question why she is even at this undisclosed college? I would think she would have done excellent in any kind of standardized testing and shown her aptitude may times over so much so that any Ivy League school would trip over themselves to get her. Again never explained. And what is up with the hero being kind of poor but not really. He lives with some friend at some buddies place for free cuz he can't afford to pay rent otherwise and then when he gets kicked out he is kind of worrying about this fact. But when he and h are arguing for that new place in front of Jude he just says he will take it, without asking for how much rent would be or anything. All of sudden he can afford anything as long as he does not go home for whatever convoluted reason that is also set up there. Yeah… credibility in this book was low from the start Issue #4 I have many questions and not the right kind, mostly they are focused at these obvious glaring plot holes, that is not where an author wants their readers attention directed at.

And once more ending that was an utter disappointment. It just ended kind of abruptly. The drama with the ex is just never properly resolve in front of the reader, it's just summarized like the H fessed up to his ex's parents about them having already been broken up. No one even dares mention ex's mental issues and if she will be dealing with them. And they are conveniently revealed to be her manipulation and not so much mental issues. A shame, because having the ex actually be more complex than just another scheming b**ch would add much more depth to the story. And then they have a last bet challenge between h & H that turns out to be a big gesture kind of game/test and they are just together after that, all sins forgiven cold turkey. I mean it ended so abruptly it took me days after the fact to realize what was so wrong about that. I had no high hopes to begin with it, but I mean there was not even anything more raunchy between the MCs to cement their luveeee for one another. All they do throughout the book is a couple of kisses that are just meh the way they are described by the author and one quickie hot&heavy make out session in the shower with coitus interruptus moment. And that's it.

Honestly this sudden plunge into a HEFRN (happy ending for right now) killed the ever so meager rating I was gonna give this book from 2 stars into 1 star. And there we go, seriously even doubt I will read the next one in the series.