Forget Prince Charming

Title: Forget Prince Charming

Author: Natalie Stenzel

Genre: Category Romance/ Harlequin Flipside

Back cover

Haley Watson has kissed one too many Prince Charmings -- those major hunks with major character flaws. She caught her latest ex-hunk warming up for their romantic weekend by having sex with his secretary. So if all princes are jerks,
then geeks -- aka frogs -- must actually be a sweet, reliable, overlooked species. Natural habitat: computer stores and libraries.
But just when Haley has a real live geek in her sights, her new neighbor Rick Samuels -- the Anti-Nerd -- starts in with the charm. Haley informs him that she dates only hotties with pocket protectors and thick glasses.
Rick resents Haley's stereotyping and feels it's time to teach Haley rule #1 of the Genus Geekus...
Some frogs really are just frogs. And some princes are frogs in disguise.

If you are looking for a sweet, fluffy, fun (and short) read, look no further. In Forget Prince Charming we meet Haley Watson, a girl who realizes that she just might be a bit shallow. You see, she dates men who are good looking, successful, and seemingly nice. Sounds great, right? Well, except she allows their good looks to blind her to their perfidious deeds. She is a sucker for a hawt body and charming smile. After she catches her latest boyfriend holding a... "private conference" with his secretary on his desk, she swears off dating any more princes. Henceforth she would only date "frogs", aka geeks. Her new neighbor, Rick, was having none of this. He no longer looked like the geek he was, and he wants her all for himself. As their friendship grows, Rick "helps" Haley with her geek hunt, sabotaging her every step of the way.

Ms. Stenzel did not break new ground with her book. There is nothing innovative about it, but it is cute. There were moments when the timing was unclear. I had to backtrack a time or two to double check if a day had passed or a week. The only other thing that bothered me was that Haley and Rick seemed to blow things out of proportion at times. She is making a conscious decision to seek out geeks to date. He thinks she is being mercenary and shallow. Yes, she is making this decision based on the geek stereotype, but it stems from a desire to be less shallow and find a good guy. She is misguided, he is pig headed. Despite that, I had fun between the pages of Forget Prince Charming. So much so, that I am going to keep my eyes peeled for her other books.

Grade: B