#BookReview – “Beauty and the Geek” by Sidney Bristol

Blurb

Professor Steven Kipper is used to the stares, the muttered insults. Monster. Disgusting. Gross. It's all he's ever known. Relationships suck when his date won't even go out in public with him, which is why he hasn't bothered. That is until her. The woman on the internet who gets his every quirk. He's hooked on a person he's never met. The way she gets his jokes, the uninhibited sexuality and…just talking to her. She's everything he's ever wanted, only she's a stranger. Unless he can convince her they should unplug and take their virtual relationship off-line.

Tamara Roh has heard all the insults from slut to whore and they bore her. She refuses to let other people define her. Life's tough in the gaming industry, and if she can't handle a few insults the haters will chew her up and spit her out. Her only haven is with her friends and in one very explicit chat room. On-line she can be anyone she wants to, even the normal girl-next-door who just happens to get off on dirty talk, erotic gifs and video chats from the neck down. She might not be able to trust guys in real life to see past the Hot Asian Girlfriend stereotype, but with her internet beau anonymity is her safety net. The only problem is…she's falling for a man who thinks she's someone else. 

Review

In book one of the Gone Geek series, robotics professor Stephen Kipper is having a sexual relationship with a woman he’s never officially met. They hooked up in an adult chat room and instantly clicked, but he wants more than just dirty talking online. Unfortunately, he has a noticeable birthmark on his face and neck, and most people think he’s a freak. Though he wants to meet Tamara, he’s afraid he’ll lose her after she finally sees his face.

Tamara Rho is a video gamer and surrounds herself with YouTube geeks and cosplayers. She’s had a lot of bad experiences with men and is resigned to dealing with sexual harassment. Though she wants to meet Stephen, she doesn’t want him to know about her crazy life. Once they finally meet, however, romance and love blooms.

I liked Stephen a lot. He’s a total OCD neat freak with emotional baggage. Women have used and hurt him in the past, so he’s hesitant about trusting Tamara. Luckily for him, however, she saw him for the good, decent man he really was, despite his birthmark.

I couldn’t connect with Tamara. She allowed men to take advantage of her and got angry with Stephen for standing up for her. She didn’t mind Stephen’s birthmark (which is great), but she brushed aside his insecurities and only worried about her own problems.

I liked Tamara’s friends for the most part, but I didn’t like the way they ganged up on Stephen for hurting Tamara’s feelings. He did nothing wrong, and Tamara needed to hear the truth.

The book is mostly well written, but the repetition and the characters starting a sentence and then abruptly stopping became tiresome. I enjoyed the story for the hot sex scenes, geek culture references, and for Stephen, but I wish I could’ve connected more with Tamara.

3 Stars