Melanie "Mel" Hirsch has always dreamed of having a successful writing career, but for now, she works as a writing tutor for a local university. When she comes across an advice article from the 1950s on how to find a husband and starts to wonder if any of the suggestions would work in the modern world, she decides to test the theory and use the results of her experiments as the basis for her first book. If she's lucky, maybe she'll meet a nice guy along the way, too. Unfortunately, her friend and co-worker, Cameron Whitacre, an adjunct computer science professor and director of IT at the university where Mel works, isn't too keen on the idea. He claims that he's concerned about Mel's safety since she'll be meeting a number of strange men while conducting her experiments, but the truth is that he's secretly been in love with her ever since they met five years ago and has been waiting for her to notice him ever since. Mel has a bit of a crush on Cameron too, but won't let herself act on it because she's afraid of messing up their friendship. Besides, she doesn't believe that he returns her romantic feelings; if he did, wouldn't he have made a move at some point in all the years they've known each other? The more involved Mel gets with her "research," the more frustrated Cameron becomes. Will he gather the courage to confess his true feelings before it's too late?
I really enjoyed the unique premise of this story as well as Mel's "mancounters," which were generally pretty funny. Most of the advice she followed from the article was terrible, even for the 1950s! I also enjoyed the humorous group texts between Mel, Cameron, and their mutual friend Ivy. However, I was a bit frustrated by Cameron and Mel's prolonged unwillingness to talk to each other about their feelings, both because it was so obvious how they felt about each other and because they both seemed stuck, unable to move forward with their lives as long as things between them remained unresolved. When the conversation finally happened, it was very late in the story, so we didn't get to see much of them as a couple before the book ended.
Overall, "Book Smart" was a cute, funny story that I recommend for all fans of sweet contemporary romance and romantic comedy. It's an excellent debut for author Amanda Pennington, and I will certainly be watching to see what she writes next.
*Review copy provided by Smartypants Romance. All opinions expressed are my own.
About "Book Smart"
Book Smart, an all new friends-to-lovers sweet romance by debut author Amanda Pennington, is available now in Kindle Unlimited!
Melanie Hirsch is tired of watching life pass her by…
I’ve spent the last few years watching my dreams of a writing career and true love fade away, settling for a dead-end job and denying my feelings for my best friend – until I find a list of dating advice for single women to “find a husband” in the 1950s. I decide to experiment: try out the 1950s advice on my 21st-century dating pool and write about the results. If love is timeless, some of the dating advice still holds value. Maybe my experiment will launch my writing career. Maybe I’ll get over my best friend and meet someone new. Either way, I’m done watching from the sidelines.
Cameron Whitacre can’t wait forever…
I’ve spent the last few years in love with my best friend, hoping she’ll notice my friendly overtures have more than friendly intentions – but before I realize what’s happening, she declares me her wingman for a dating experiment. This idea could launch her writing career, so I’m trying to be supportive. But her experiment turns my life into a desperation-fueled dumpster fire. I need to show her how I feel without jeopardizing our friendship, all before she falls for someone else.
"Book Smart" is a full-length contemporary romance and can be read as a standalone. Book #3 in the Work For It series, Educated Romance World, Penny Reid Book Universe.
Read an Excerpt from "Book Smart"
A man with perfect golden-blond hair and a slim-cut suit appeared next to me. He smiled with the bright ease of someone who’s had enough alcohol to lower his inhibitions but not enough to make him obnoxious—yet.
“I don’t think I’ve seen you here before.” He gestured at my face with his Guinness.
“I’m new here.”
He grinned. “This is like a throwback to college days, huh?”
Not any college I’d ever been to.
“Right,” I said, “those good ol’ days.”
“So tell me.” He stepped closer. “Are you here for the business or the fun?”
My best friend Ivy hadn’t mentioned which business we were supposed to be involved in, so—“I’m here for the fun.”
Guinness’s smile took on an edge. “Excellent. Want to dance?”
Glancing around for Cameron and Ivy, I couldn’t spot them. The lone bartender was busy with a large crowd, so Cameron would be a long while, and Ivy must’ve been tied up with the host. Besides, wasn’t the point of being here to meet someone new? “Sure.”
We moved to the dance floor at the edge of the pool, swaying with the bass. The light of the chandelier above us cast a glow over everyone, and Guinness looked charming in the glass refractions, his golden hair glinting.
His lips brushed my ear. “You’re beautiful.”
It was nice, feeling charmed.
I took a breath to answer him with my own compliment—probably about his pretty hair—when my gaze locked on Cameron. He stood across the room, leaning one shoulder against an exposed pillar. I smiled at him, but he didn’t return it. He just stared. My rhythm faltered. Tossing back the last of his drink—which actually might have been the gin and tonic he got for me—he moved through the crowd without the ease and friendliness he’d had earlier. No mischief lit his face. He didn’t look away from me—not once—and I forgot that Guinness existed at all.
Cameron broke eye contact when he reached us, glancing at Guinness before opening his mouth to speak.
The crowd on the dance floor surged, jostling us toward the pool. Cameron’s hands reached for me at the same moment Guinness let go of me. An instant passed as we fell into the pool, and then warm, chlorinated water surged up my nose. Even though I didn’t stay under for long, I gulped breaths when my head broke through the surface of the water. The shock of suddenly being in the water, not to mention Cameron’s actions, had left me breathless.
“Pool party!” someone yelled—it sounded like Guinness—and people jumped in at random. The water churned, and chaos reigned. The suits and tuxedos and gowns made a colorful kaleidoscope in the turquoise water.
Cameron grasped my hand underwater. “Are you okay?”
“Yes. Are you?” I sputtered around a wave of water when someone cannonballed next to me.
A man swam into view but I didn’t recognize him until he spoke. The dim lighting of the chandelier was replaced with the harsh blue glow of underwater pool lights, and his golden hair was now flat against his head. He looked completely different. Wet Guinness was not at all attractive.
“Did you bring a swimsuit?” Guinness asked.
Irritation jabbed at me. Did I look like I was expecting a late-night swim? “No.”
He grinned. “I don’t mind.”
And that was my cue to leave. I already felt disoriented from the surprise swim, but this? It wasn’t his fault we were in the pool, or that he looked bad without his golden hair, but it was his fault for suggesting skinny-dipping at this exact moment.
Book note: The appeal of skinny-dipping relies entirely on the context.
I turned away and followed Cameron to the edge of the pool, moving through the water in that vaguely weightless, slow stride I’d seen Grandma use in her water aerobics classes. He climbed out first and then turned to offer me a hand.
I looked up. Oh.
Mr. Darcy at the lake had nothing on Cameron emerging from the pool. Clingy, wet clothes; rivulets of water streaming down his chest; his cowlick sticking on end even as it dripped. Frantically looking away, I took his hand. I couldn’t let Cameron see me staring—he’d never let me live it down.
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