Gentlemen Prefer Nerds by Joan Kilby

JKilby-Gentlemen Prefer NerdsI am a self-proclaimed nerd and I absolutely love it when I can read about other nerds. Unfortunately, Joan Kilby and I seem to have different definitions of what a nerd is. Because of that, Gentlemen Prefer Nerds was very different from what I expected. As much as I wanted to like it, I just couldn’t.

Self-professed nerd Maddie Maloney is an expert on jewels. Jewel thieves are another matter entirely! So when a mysterious Englishman warns her that a thief known as The Chameleon is after the rare pink diamond on display in her aunt’s shop, she tells herself it’s just a joke. Even if she can’t get Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome out of her mind…

But Fabian Montgomery doesn’t give up easily. He’s everywhere she goes, convinced the thief will strike. And when the diamond does go missing—and Maddie is suspected of stealing it—he whisks her away from the police and together they pursue The Chameleon.

Fabian plunges her into a glamorous world far from her humble workshop and transforms geeky Maddie into a sophisticated siren capable of espionage. Her mission: to seduce The Chameleon and steal back the diamond. But Fabian isn’t telling her everything—like who he works for, and why he’s so interested in The Chameleon…

I hate to say this but there was nothing about Gentlemen Prefer Nerds that stood out to me as unique or amazing or even nerdy. Maddie has an almost encyclopedic knowledge about jewels. Yet for someone who was supposed to be a nerd, and a lover of murder mystery novels, Maddie continually made stupid mistakes. The worst was probably when she called her father, even though she knew that the police were watching him and had tapped his phone. I’m not sure if it was that phone call or something else, like what Maddie said to one of the hotel employees, that led the police directly to them. Either way, it was Maddie’s careless, stupid mistakes that brought disaster.

While Fabian didn’t exactly make stupid mistakes like Maddie, he never really acted like a secret agent. I can’t think of a specific example of this; it was just the feeling I got while reading Gentlemen Prefer Nerds. The only time I really thought he acted like a secret agent was when he broke into the locked up jewelry shop to warn Maddie. But even then, what secret agent breaks into a jewelry store to warn the owner that someone else is going to steal the jewel? It wasn’t realistic at all.

The plot was very simplistic, with only a small smattering of humor. The plot didn’t exactly drag from point to point but there was no rush or push to the ending. Humor would have helped that problem, but just like the fact that Kilby and I don’t have the same definition of nerds, we don’t have the same sense of humor.

The chemistry between Maddie and Fabian wasn’t hot, yet it wasn’t exactly forced. It was there but still slightly unbelievable. I mean, I can totally understand why Maddie was attracted to Fabian. His attraction to her, though…not so much. Opposites attract could be the explanation, the chemistry just wasn’t hot enough for it to be truly believable. Don’t even get me started on when they finally had sex: It was weird and awkward. I cringed the entire time.

I had such high hopes for Gentlemen Prefer Nerds. I really, truly wanted to like it. Or even love it. But I just can’t. And that makes me sad.

About Casey 203 Articles
Casey is the founder of Heart Full of Ink, Director at Reading Until Dawn Con, and a full time cheese addict. She's been ranting and reviewing for Literary Escapism since 2010, and is part of the trio #3Bloggers1Series podcast. When she's not reading, looking for new books, or stalking authors online (waiting for more books), she can be found binge watching Netflix. But really, her life is all about DEM BOOKS!

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