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The Reluctant Nerd
Graduate student Ernestine St. Bennett is intrigued by a nerdish new tenant in her apartment complex and decides to help him overcome his apparent social ineptness by applying the same scientific tactics that work on her fish. Little does Ernestine know that Simon Prime is really Sam Pierce in disguise, an ex-cop turned private investigator--a man who definitely does not need his masculinity enhanced!
"Ms. Paul keeps the chuckles rolling fast and furiously in this diverting romance." --Romantic Times
"A compelling and touching love story. The misguided Ernestine is a completely unique heroine and watching Simon/Sam fall for her is great fun. Highly original." --Rendezvous
"Ms. Paul keeps the chuckles rolling fast and furiously in this diverting romance." --Romantic Times
"A compelling and touching love story. The misguided Ernestine is a completely unique heroine and watching Simon/Sam fall for her is great fun. Highly original." --Rendezvous
184 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 1, 1994
5 people are currently reading
178 people want to read
About the author
Sandra Paul
65 books10 followersSandra Paul married her high school sweetheart and they live in Southern California with their three children, their dog, and their cat.
Sandra loves to travel — even if it’s just several trips a month to her hometown bookstore. Bookstores are her favorite place to be! Her first book with Silhouette Romance was the winner of an RWA Golden Heart Award and a finalist for an RWA RITA.
(from eHarlequin.com)
Sandra loves to travel — even if it’s just several trips a month to her hometown bookstore. Bookstores are her favorite place to be! Her first book with Silhouette Romance was the winner of an RWA Golden Heart Award and a finalist for an RWA RITA.
(from eHarlequin.com)
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
July 29, 2015
Purchased as a freebie on Amazon. This was a unique, fun read with some very interesting characters, a quirky plot and a unique romance. Not your typical female protag - with a name like Earnestine, I figured she'd be different. She's a smart scientist who is socially inept. Simon/Sam is an undercover detective, dressed as a nerd and hating every minute of it. Earnestine decides to help Simon come out of his 'shell', and it leads to some very funny moments as Sam flounders to juggle his disguise, his investigation and his growing attraction to Earnie.
Earnie's character was refreshing - she's not a dumb female protag making dumb choices to move the plot forward. She is intelligent, socially awkward, and talks at length to her pet fish, Waldo. The dynamic between her and Sam was very funny at times, with a few Lucy/Ricky Ricardo moments. There were also some heartstring pulling moments.
For those that prefer the tag, this is a 'clean' romance.
Earnie's character was refreshing - she's not a dumb female protag making dumb choices to move the plot forward. She is intelligent, socially awkward, and talks at length to her pet fish, Waldo. The dynamic between her and Sam was very funny at times, with a few Lucy/Ricky Ricardo moments. There were also some heartstring pulling moments.
For those that prefer the tag, this is a 'clean' romance.
November 29, 2013
Absolutely adored this one. It felt like those old Cary Grant/ Kate Hepburn movies like Bringing Up Baby. Slightly screwball, extremely charming. Oh, and Waldo. Loved the fish. Loved the ending. I will definitely be reading more of these.
God, the trip to the museum. Classic.
God, the trip to the museum. Classic.
October 23, 2019
Cute story. Wish there'd been more sex in it, frankly. For those who prefer 'sweet and mild,' this is a good one to pick up. Our heroine is wholesome, naive. Our hero is...not either one of those things!
June 21, 2017
A fun read!
December 22, 2015
The Reluctant Nerd is Simon Prime is hiding his true identity of Sam Pierce a private detective working undercover to protect his retired foster father.
He meets Ernestine St. Bennett, a brilliant scientist but a unique young woman with little social graces outside her lab or talking about her studies. The fun starts when she decided the nerdy Simon Prime needs help with his social and sexual dysfunctions. She starts a study and discusses it daily with her pet fish Waldo.
O'Malley, Sam's foster father and a friend of Ernestine's father is being stalked by someone writing letters seeking revenge from one of his past cases as a police detective before he retired.
Ernestine's study is brilliant and adds a depth of humor to a bungling romance with Simon. It reality they are developing true feelings for each other and this makes the entire romance sweet and amazing that is survives all the misunderstandings. Add the mystery of who is after O'Malley and the threat finally escalated to include Ernestine too.
I found The Reluctant Nerd humorous, romantic, a fun mystery with lots of good dialogue and funny situations and enjoyed it from start to finish.
He meets Ernestine St. Bennett, a brilliant scientist but a unique young woman with little social graces outside her lab or talking about her studies. The fun starts when she decided the nerdy Simon Prime needs help with his social and sexual dysfunctions. She starts a study and discusses it daily with her pet fish Waldo.
O'Malley, Sam's foster father and a friend of Ernestine's father is being stalked by someone writing letters seeking revenge from one of his past cases as a police detective before he retired.
Ernestine's study is brilliant and adds a depth of humor to a bungling romance with Simon. It reality they are developing true feelings for each other and this makes the entire romance sweet and amazing that is survives all the misunderstandings. Add the mystery of who is after O'Malley and the threat finally escalated to include Ernestine too.
I found The Reluctant Nerd humorous, romantic, a fun mystery with lots of good dialogue and funny situations and enjoyed it from start to finish.
April 13, 2021
Socially awkward, sweet, and great plot
I really liked this book and I don't often write reviews but this one deserved one and needs more hype in my opinion.
The characters developed wonderfully, it was funny and exciting, and I loved the plot and the characters. I've already reread this book at least three times, and it's my go to when I can't find anything else to read.
I have a love for socially awkward characters and the value of intelligence, and Ernest was it for me, my own personal dose of cute and a blissfully ignorant character, but intelligent all the same, and she didn't want me to throttle her at all, she made me want to give her a big hug and say it's okay to know more about beta fish than how social mechanisms work. Sam was also amazing in how he approached Ernest and worked with her on growing as a person as well as developing himself in such a cool way, despite the hidden identity.
Must read on my list, awesome job Sandra!
I really liked this book and I don't often write reviews but this one deserved one and needs more hype in my opinion.
The characters developed wonderfully, it was funny and exciting, and I loved the plot and the characters. I've already reread this book at least three times, and it's my go to when I can't find anything else to read.
I have a love for socially awkward characters and the value of intelligence, and Ernest was it for me, my own personal dose of cute and a blissfully ignorant character, but intelligent all the same, and she didn't want me to throttle her at all, she made me want to give her a big hug and say it's okay to know more about beta fish than how social mechanisms work. Sam was also amazing in how he approached Ernest and worked with her on growing as a person as well as developing himself in such a cool way, despite the hidden identity.
Must read on my list, awesome job Sandra!
November 26, 2015
A charming romance! Our heroine is an awkward genius who talks to her fish and spouts great facts about animal sexuality and is kind. Our hero is undercover as nerd...enough said.
The love that grows between these two is genuine. The plot is a bit silly but a nice frame for the romance.
We have a clean romance with only a great make out scene. The fish is awesome. The couple time is grand.
It could use a little updating with the VHS reference but everything else works well. The ending could be a little bit more but all in all a really pleasure fest of a read.
The love that grows between these two is genuine. The plot is a bit silly but a nice frame for the romance.
We have a clean romance with only a great make out scene. The fish is awesome. The couple time is grand.
It could use a little updating with the VHS reference but everything else works well. The ending could be a little bit more but all in all a really pleasure fest of a read.
January 2, 2010
Ugh. A silly plot with a silly (and sometimes downright stupid, despite her IQ) heroine.
Sure, because shy guys need to get out of their shells, they need a nerdy (she says she left that stage a long time ago, but it's apparent she didn't!) heroine who's talking to her fish on a regular basis, to show them the ropes.
Oh, puhleeze.
Sure, because shy guys need to get out of their shells, they need a nerdy (she says she left that stage a long time ago, but it's apparent she didn't!) heroine who's talking to her fish on a regular basis, to show them the ropes.
Oh, puhleeze.
June 2, 2014
Adorable.
November 19, 2015
Love the characters - the author had you rooting for them all the way through. Loved this one - 4-1/2 stars :)
November 30, 2013
Nice clean romantic read!
March 31, 2017
The Reluctant Nerd is a very funny book written by author Sandra Paul.
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February 17, 2018I found this hard to get into until about the middle but then it started getting good. I also felt it ended to shortly. There was more they could have done rather than abruptly stopping when the two got together.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews