review || DATING ON THE DORK SIDE { cover reveal } by Charity Tahmaseb & Darcy Vance

Dating on the Dork Side by Charity Tahmaseb & Darcy Vance

To Be Published: November 30, 2015

Stung by an epic betrayal, Camy Cavanaugh relies on the sure things: her best friend, her job as peer tutor, and her safe spot on the sidelines of life. But when she hacks into a secret, trash-talking website, it ignites a war between the sexes that won’t end until the whole school is turned upside down—and Camy’s world is turned inside out.

Now the hottest girls in school refuse to date the A-List boys. But with the Homecoming dance looming, everyone from the queen bee to the girl “most likely to” pushes Camy to hook them up with guys from the nerd herd.

And then there's quarterback, A-lister—and former crush—Gavin Madison. He hasn’t spoken to Camy in three years … but he’s talking now, begging her to pair the guys on the football team with girls from the Honor Roll.

It’s a contest of wills and everything is on the line—even Camy’s heart. Will she retreat to the sidelines, or will she find the courage to get back in the game?

cover revealed { & review! } after the jump

Collins Mark Books | November 30, 2015 | Contemporary Young Adult
★★★★1/2

SOURCE: GODDESS FISH TOURS

Stung by an epic betrayal, Camy Cavanaugh relies on the sure things: her best friend, her job as peer tutor, and her safe spot on the sidelines of life. But when she hacks into a secret, trash-talking website, it ignites a war between the sexes that won’t end until the whole school is turned upside down—and Camy’s world is turned inside out.

Now the hottest girls in school refuse to date the A-List boys. But with the Homecoming dance looming, everyone from the queen bee to the girl “most likely to” pushes Camy to hook them up with guys from the nerd herd.

And then there's quarterback, A-lister—and former crush—Gavin Madison. He hasn’t spoken to Camy in three years … but he’s talking now, begging her to pair the guys on the football team with girls from the Honor Roll.

It’s a contest of wills and everything is on the line—even Camy’s heart. Will she retreat to the sidelines, or will she find the courage to get back in the game?

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{ about the authors } .

-- charity .
Charity Tahmaseb has slung corn on the cob for Green Giant and jumped out of airplanes (but not at the same time). She spent twelve years as a Girl Scout and six in the Army; that she wore a green uniform for both may not be a coincidence. These days, she writes fiction (long and short) and works as a technical writer for a software company in St. Paul.

Her short speculative fiction has appeared in UFO Publishing’s Unidentified Funny Objects and Coffee anthologies, Flash Fiction Online and Cicada.

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-- darcy .

Darcy Vance is the slacker half of the author duo of Charity Tahmaseb and Darcy Vance. She didn’t start writing seriously until she was 40, and didn’t publish her first novel until she was 50. Even then, she needed a co-author to get the job done.

While Charity was busy slinging corn for Green Giant and jumping out of airplanes for the Army, Darcy was busy making out with boys and perfecting the art of the doodle. She only makes out with one boy now (her husband) but she still doodles wantonly.

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{ excerpt } .

Tuesday at lunch, Mercedes cornered me at my locker. “I heard about Elle and Rhino,” she said. “Can you do that for me?”

“Do what for you?”

“Set me up with someone. I was supposed to go with Lukas, but Elle won’t let that happen. So, I was thinking ... maybe you could help me date on the dork side?”

“On the what?”

“You know, get me hooked up with one of those nice guys you know. All the boys in my classes are either jocks or jerks. And they’re all on the list.” She rolled her eyes. “So, will you?”

I wasn’t sure what to say. On one hand, Mercedes Washington was the real deal, a true Hottie of Troy. She didn’t need my help to get a boy. But on the other hand … the girl standing next to me bounced on the balls of her feet like she could barely contain her enthusiasm. And, underneath all that energy, she was really very sweet. I couldn’t tell if she didn’t see the difference between us or if she just pretended it didn’t exist. Someone like Mercedes deserved a boy who would treat her with the respect she deserved.

“Do you like Star Wars?” I asked.

{ review } .

Every now and then I like to pick up a book that is not my typical story -- aka, something younger than a "new adult" (because, let's be honest : if it's romance, it's my typical story...). And while sure, there's a little bit of romance going on in this story, the main feel for this story is high school drama.

And oh, what a fun ride this one was.

Once upon a time, Camy was 'one of the guys', but a football injury during a pileup in eighth grade ended that. She went from 'one of the guys' to the smart girl who hung out in the tutor room. Her best friend lived across the street and he always seemed to have her back. She crushed on the quarterback, but honestly, she'd been crushing on Gavin for years.

Everything that she knew in her comfortable world changed, though, when she found Jason “The Ab” Abernathy in the tutor room, typing slowly and with high concentration, until he realized she was in the room. From there, Camy went on a mission...

This was such a fun read. I loved the camaraderie that happened between the girls of the school when the jocks' big secret blows up. I loved how real this world felt -- even though it was hurtful to the girls to find all this negative (and some overly positive) attention on each and every one of them. There wasn't a girl in the school left untouched in this secret world the guys put together -- whether words such as 'slutty' or 'boring' were attached to their name, or 'smells f-ing fantastic'.

Friendships are tested, relationships crumbled, trust broken... But this class is about to learn some big life lessons.

Definitely a fun read; very glad I gave it a chance!

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*from the comments section:
I'm home today with a cruddy cold so, if anyone has questions, go ahead and ask. Who knows what I might say under the influence of cough medicine? Also, if any of your readers would like a second chance to win one of our books or a giftcard, they can check out our newly revamped website at: www.thegeekgirlsguide.com Click on Mail List and sign up for our newsletter to enter. As a bonus, you'll get four free short stories by Charity. Win! Win! Win! Win!

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