NERD MEETS CURVY (True Hearts Dating Agency 1) by AC James

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date January 16, 2024

It’s True Blood meets Sweet Home Alabama, y’all!

Coralie dreads starting over, but Mystic River beckons her home like a siren’s call. Armed with determination and a toolkit full of DIY magic, Coralie sets out to revive her grandmother’s worn-down house. If anyone can breathe new life into the old walls, it’s her. And with lifelong friendships awaiting her, she has a support system as sturdy as a bear shifter’s embrace.

Little does she know that her homecoming will launch her into the wildest roller coaster ride of midlife dating and a mating bond that makes her head spin faster than a tornado. Coralie certainly hadn’t signed up for this level of excitement, but here she was, courtesy of the enigmatic mastermind herself, Mrs. Wilde. The queen of matchmaking and the architect of the notorious Peculiar Hearts Dating Agency promises Coralie a spicy rebound for her upcoming high school reunion.

Enter Jax, a scorching hot bear shifter haunted by a love that’s gripped him since high school. Just when he finally has a shot at settling down, a pesky ex-harpy swoops in, flapping her wings and causing more drama than a forest full of squawking birds. Tired of the chaos, this bear is ready to throw in the towel and hibernate for good!

But as they say, fate has a wicked sense of humor.

Beneath the surface of his chance to make things right and rewrite history are secrets that could detonate like a ticking time bomb threatening to shatter their fragile bond. Coralie holds a haunting secret buried deep within her heart. It shapes the choices that molded her into the fierce, curvy woman she is today. As for Jax, his past is a murky labyrinth of pain and darkness. Lives and love swing on a high-stakes pendulum as danger closes in.

Can Coralie and Jax beat the odds, untangle the mystery of the danger stalking them, and build a future that defies the limits of their pasts?

•••••

REVIEW: NERD MEETS CURVY is the first instalment in AC James’ contemporary, adult TRUE HEARTS DATING AGENCY paranormal, romance series. This is bear shifter Evander ‘Jax’ Jackson, and journalist Coralie’s story line. NERD MEETS CURVY was first released as the novella Finding Her Bearing in Milly Taiden’s Paranormal Dating Agency World 10. Some of the names, events and original premise have been changed.

NOTE: Due to the nature of the story line premise including domestic violence, there WILL BE triggers for more sensitive readers.

Told from omniscient dual third person perspectives (Coralie and Jax) NERD MEETS CURVY follows the second chance (of a sort) relationship between our story line couple. Coralie and Jax were childhood / high school friends but diverging paths sent the couple in different directions. Fast forward to present day wherein Coralie has returned to her home town of Mystic River for her high school reunion, a reunion that will bring together lost loves and hearts. Enter bear shifter Evander ‘Jax’ Jackson, and the man Coralie has always loved but both Coralie and Jax’s past are dirty and dramatic, and Coralie’s past refuses to let go. What ensues is the quick rebuilding romance and relationship between our story line couple, as Coralie is targeted by a ghost from the past.

The world building focuses on past relationships, domestic violence, abuse control and betrayal. Recounting her horrific experiences, we are up close and personal with Coralie’s past, and the drama of Jax’s failed relationship with a vengeful ex.

The relationship between Jax and Coralie is one of rebuilding friendships, and second chances. Jax’s bear has always known Coralie was their mate, and with Coralie’s return, they are given a chance at their own happily ever after but someone is threatening our story line heroine, and the Blackstone Clan must prepare to protect one of their own. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

There is a large ensemble cast of colorful supernatural and powerful secondary and supporting characters including bear, wolf and feline shifters, vampires, witches, and harpies. We are introduced to Coralie’s best friend and bear shifter Jessie, witch Fiona, Calissa, and True Hearts Dating Agency owner Mrs. Wilde; Jax’s friends and fellow shifters: chief of the Blackstone Clan Mason Blackstone, Theo, Drew, Hopper, and Wolf elder Sheriff Swiftwood; as well as Jax’s ex, harpie Bex, and Coralie’s ex, bear shifter Hunter.

NERD MEETS CURVY is a fast paced, entertaining story line of betrayal and vengeance, power and control, obsession and violence, acceptance and love. The premise is magical and intriguing but I did have to question why Jax and the others were oblivious to the fight going down; the romance is insta-love, seductive and impassioned; the characters are enchanting, powerful and charismatic.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy