Review: “Nerdelicious”
This book came to me via an ARC program, and I chose it because I was in the mood for a romantic comedy. However it turned out to be less comedy than I had anticipated.
The Premise
Fred (short for Fredericka) returns to Blue Falls, en route to New York but in need of a respite to have a base while she looks for work — not to mention, to gather her wits after the end of a bad romance. Six months later, she winds up drunk at a party, with a slobbering mess of a kisser, and she is rescued by “Beast”, a seven-foot tall mute gentle giant who is the foster brother of Grace, who lives with Fred and her “Granny” with whom she’s been staying. Beast asks her to help him build his communication skills with dating, but this soon evolves into much more. Knowing she plans to leave, Fred is tugged between this budding romance and the call of the outside world. Beast can’t come with her because his damaged past ties him to Grace and their other foster brother Jude — but nerdelicious Fred still isn’t giving up hope.
The Pros
I really appreciated that this story had an unlikely hero and heroine. Beast’s lacking vocal communication skills are a result of past trauma, and Fred is the polar opposite: she can’t shut up. The nerdy fandom is running at a constant pace in her mind. Somehow, these two manage to find a middle ground where they communicate through technology and sign language. Apart from the romance, I also liked the side story of the foster children who stick by each other — this was endearing and very touching. As the story wound to its eventual end, I loved that Beast worked towards transforming himself and overcoming his past issues, so he could communicate better with Fred.
The Cons
While I liked the overall story, I was expecting more comedy. It started off hilarious, and then from that point, it was back-and-forth with a blossoming romance that was sweet, and sad, and sexy — but not really funny. Beyond that letdown, I was also hoping for more conflict between the two main characters, but Beast just seemed like the perfect boyfriend, and Fred the perfect quirky chick — their only challenge was distance, which was easily solved. Another issue for me was that the POV shifted coming down to the end — without warning. Suddenly we were in Beast’s head — WTF? Why? When this happened, I actually wished that the entire novel had been split half and half, rather than just this one solo chapter dangling there by its lonesome. This felt like a missed opportunity, as it could have made an even better story.
Conclusion
This was a good read, but I wanted a bit more. I liked the stream-of-consciousness narrative with dollops of references here and there (some of them over my head!) to align with the book’s title “Nerdelicious”, and I can see many readers thoroughly enjoying this book because they can connect with these types of characters. For me it was a bit lacklustre as I expected something different, but I would still highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a light read with refreshing characters.
