Leah Rae Miller

Dan Garrett has become exactly what he hates—popular. Until recently, he was just another live-action role-playing nerd on the lowest rung of the social ladder. Cue a massive growth spurt and an uncanny skill at taking three-point shots in basketball and voilà...Mr. Popular. It's definitely weird. And the biggest drawback? Going from high school zero to basketball hero cost Dan the secret girl of his dorky dreams. A band geek with an eclectic fashion sense, Zelda Potts's “coolness” stat is about minus forty-two. Dan turning his back on her and the rest of nerd-dom was brutal enough, but when he humiliates her at school, Zelda decides it's time for a little revenge—dork style. Never mind that she used to have a crush on him. Never mind that her plan could backfire big time. It's time to roll the dice...and hope like freakin' hell she doesn't lose her heart in the process.

Romancing the Nerd

Sven Test

This review was originally posted on Latte Nights Reviews.

So much cuteness and nerdiness in this story! These characters were dorky, nerdy, funny and entertaining! Dan and Zelda used to be friends years ago but suddenly Dan became popular at school and he lost Zelda. Not only that, he also humiliated her! Zelda wants revenge even though she uses "for scientific purposes" as an excuse.

She's smart, quick-witted, and her eyes are so big and doe-like I could just swim in them. But don't tell her I said all that because she hates my guts.

Dan was an adorable character. Even with being popular, he didn't let it go to his head. He was still very down-to-earth and nerdy. He has so much pressure from his father and he's really getting frustrated but trying to push through everything in his life. Zelda was all kinds of weird but in a cute way. I loved how seriously these characters took LARP. I was so excited while reading about LARP! I even texted my boyfriend that I needed to go to a LARP event because it sounded so much fun to watch! Not only was this story cute and fun, as I keep saying, but the author gave depth to the characters and would go into a more serious note on a few occasions, which I really liked.

I think I would have enjoyed the story even more if Dan and Zelda had gotten more time as a couple in the book. We barely saw them being romantic and I missed that! They would have been so adorable and funny together. The romantic aspect was obviously lacking in the book but the story was still very cute. In fact, it was so cute, it didn't feel like it was for the Young Adult audience. It would feel childish but it was very entertaining especially with the witty banter. I'm pretty sure I had a huge smile on my face while I was reading this story.

Overall, a cute story with adorable characters that will leave you giggling throughout the entire story.

<I received an eARC from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.This review was originally posted on Latte Nights Reviews.

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It's been over two years since I read my first Leah Rae Miller book, The Summer I Became a Nerd, and while the details are a little fuzzy, I definitely remember finding it adorable, sweet and funny. I was thrilled to learn that she was writing a follow-up novel which brought one of the secondary characters to the forefront. I might not remember a lot about Dan from the first book, but I still couldn't wait to get his story in this one. 

This book is a bit of a flip flop from the first one, in which the popular girl falls for and pursues the geeky boy. Here, former geek, now popular guy Dan is all about still geek Zelda. Of course, she's into him too... but she's hurt at the way she felt he abandoned his nerdier friends when he became a popular, attractive basketball player. So, what's a girl to do? Get revenge, of course. With this in mind, she created a fake online persona (that was really HER, if you get what I mean) and befriended Dan in the hopes of getting something juicy from him that she could later use to ruin him. Of course, plans like this go awry more often than not and Zelda definitely gets more than she bargained for. 

I adored Dan so freaking much. He was such a good guy. He was under ridiculous amounts of pressure from his father and I felt like he was really trying to do his best. I know Zelda was hurt, but I think she overreacted a bit. She came off as judgmental and not so likable at times. But then she also had these great moments in which I really liked her. I sympathized with her and hoped she would see the error of her ways before it was too late. Now, I can't mention loving characters without telling you just how excited I was to see Maddie and Logan again here. Love those two. 

This book was just as delightfully nerdy, funny and adorable as the first. There's a healthy dose of LARPing and I loved reading about it. I laughed and even felt a few feels. I appreciated the character growth from both Zelda and Dan. I was shipping these two about as hard as Maddie was, if I'm being totally honest. I loved how everything worked out in the end. My only complaint, and it's not even that serious of one, is that I wish there had been a little more Zelda and Dan couple time. I felt like it took them a long time to get there and I wish there had been just a little more focus on them as a pair. Even still, this was a great read that made me happy and gave me the warm fuzzies.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

FAVORITE QUOTES:

  In summation, high school can suck and popular people are assholes. They get away with things a normal student doesn't. They have inflated egos and think they rule the school.

"It's not your place to judge people. Instead, try to understand them, put yourself in their place. Every person has his or her own story, and it's your job to listen to it."

"Some of the most beautiful and poignant words I've ever read have been in romance novels."

Lisa ✩ @lifeinlit

3.5 stars!

I adore stories with nerdy characters because, let’s face it, I can be a little nerdy myself. And though I don’t play video games or LARP, I can understand being passionate about something so strongly. I totally fell for Miller’s ability to write such fun, adorkable characters while reading The Summer I Became a Nerd a few years ago, so when I saw book two was on its way, let’s just say I was pretty excited. We first met Dan in book one… and though I honestly don’t recall many specifics from that book (since it was a few years ago), I was pretty excited to hear he was getting his own story.

Dan and Zelda were pretty adorable. I can’t really say I enjoyed their “romance”, since we didn’t get to see them together much. Despite that, this story is very cute and fun, and it kept me entertained. I have to say though, overall as a YA book, this definitely read like much more of a younger book at times. And as with book one, Miller’s humor shines through in her writing. There were so many scenes in this story that had me giggling, which always wins major points with me. If you can make me laugh with your witty remarks and silly banter, I’m sold!

Overall, I’m delighted with how cute this story turned out. I definitely would have liked to see Dan and Zelda together a bit more, since their romance wasn’t exactly shown much in this story. But the chase was pretty fun, and I enjoyed this group of characters quite a bit. Another cute, adorkable addition to the Nerd series! If you enjoyed The Summer I Became a Nerd, you’ll definitely want to check out this one!
 
(Thanks to Entangled: Teen for the review copy!)

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