A Beautiful Disaster

Reviewed by Michael for Diverse Reader

Holy Geek Romances, Batman!!!!

I’m not sure that I’ve ever read two characters that are more perfect for each other than Brendan and Dakota. Both have been damaged by their individual childhoods and end up being fostered by Dakota’s aunt and uncle. But both of them deal with that damage in completely opposite ways.

Dakota is more carefree and commitment phobic. Relationships are temporary, and that’s okay with him. He doesn’t allow himself to get attached to anyone except his family and Brendan.

Brendan is more uptight and regimented. Everything has a particular order. To-do lists are a necessity in his day-to-day. He’s closed himself off from everyone except, of course, his family and Dakota, who he’s been in love with since they were teenagers. But he also struggles with those feelings because of a promise he made to Dakota’s aunt years previous.

These two, so opposite yet so compatible that they refer to each other as “the other half.” They bicker constantly, almost like an old married couple. But they also have each other’s back. They are like oil and water but mixed together they’re an amazing vinaigrette.

But then one weekend everything changes.

So, here’s the thing, I loved everything about this book. Well, almost everything. There was one chapter that wasn’t necessary to their story, and a half of another one. But that’s minor because I suspect that it was done to push the over all series forward.

That said, there’s one thing that completely impressed me. So many books center around the geek culture since it’s “in” at the moment, thanks to big budget movies. But so many of those books get their facts wrong. They don’t research the comics or cartoons or movies they’re referencing. As a reader who has been immersed in that culture for well over thirty years, the mistakes can become glaring. But not here. Every reference is spot on. I appreciated that because it showed that the author was not only using that culture as a simple backdrop but cared about the culture itself.

All I can say is geeks rule, and so does this book!