My best friend was a giant dork…right up until he became a billionaire. That’s right, my best friend is a billionaire. Who would have guessed that my nerdy BFF would become an overnight success? Not even Oliver expected the dating app he’d created for a high school coding class to take off the way it had, or for a mega-corporation to acquire it. And as for that whole insta-celebrity situation? … acquire it. And as for that whole insta-celebrity situation? Yeah, no one saw that coming. Not that I’m complaining, mind you. Oliver’s sudden windfall definitely has its perks, especially for me, his oldest and closest pal. Limos and private jets? Don’t mind if I do. But there are downfalls, too. Ones I definitely hadn’t seen coming. Like the fact that my dork of a bestie is suddenly in demand with the ladies.
Oliver has always been cute, but never cool. And game? Well, the guy just didn’t have it. Until now, it seems. Money might not buy love, but it can get you a fresh look. New clothes, new haircut, new glasses…and what do you know? My tall, nerdy BFF is now a hottie, and every girl wants him.
If he can have any girl he wants, then why is he kissing me? I swore we would only ever be friends…so I guess the better question is: why don’t I want him to stop?
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I was in love with my best friend
When her brilliant best friend creates an app that earns him billions of dollars, Oliver, A.K.A. Jackson, moves away to a specialized school. Both Olivia and Oliver are socially awkward but have a deep, strong, fierce friendship and devotion to each other. Oliver knows he’s in love with his best friend but she’s a little slower to come to the realization. Desperate for his happiness, she tries to push him onto another girl whom she deems “perfect” for him. But in doing so, she risks losing her best and only friend. Will their friendship survive? And will the realization that she loves him too come too late? The chemistry and the tension between these two was so intense, I felt like shaking them into awareness.
Loved, loved, loved this book. Super well written and fun. The characters were wonderful. Absolutely recommend this book!
I really loved Oliver, the nerd who developed a love app and became a billionaire. He was cute and awkward and so in love with his best friend. A fun book to read
An amazing sweet romantic comedy. An engaging romance that kept me addicted page after page. It included tension, lots of laughs, suspense, angst, low self esteem and tension. This slow burning friends to lovers romance was fantastic while the both learned love doesn’t mean they couldn’t over come their short comings. I voluntarily read and reviewed this ARC of an outstanding emotion journey with a very HEA.
Olivia and Oliver have been best friends for a long time…both are nerdy and socially awkward, except with each other! Great read to see if they can overcome their shyness and admit to the other that they more then like each other as a friend? Or will his new found status a self made billionaire effect their relationship? Great YA read!
I have to admit two biases about Maggie Dallen’s Tall, Dark, and Nerdy: A Sweet YA Romance (High School Billionaires Book 1). First is a bias about the author. I’ve adored pretty much everything she’s written. Enough that the song “Nobody Does It Better” is playing in the back of my head as I wrote this review. The other is a bias for tall, dark and nerdy guys. I got me mine when I was a freshman in college (add in runner and, sadly, take out billionaire, though we do well enough). Gals, if you don’t got one already, it’s highly recommended. Now, as to this book? No shocker here: Liv and Oliver’s story is superb. A totally fun, finely tuned, romp with great characters and a great plot. Read the publisher’s blurb for a summary. It tells you what’s needed. Just know that you cannot go wrong with a Maggie Dallen book, and that’s certainly the case here. But for the fact that I’m literally dictating this review to my husband from my hospital bed I could go on and on with praises. The book definitely deserves it. Since I can’t do that I will simply note that the book is most definitely one to read, and it is easy to highly recommend. I’m definitely looking forward to the next book in this new series.
Nerds Rule! Ok, so this one was particularly fun for me because I *am* the nerd that can’t communicate well with others and often both doesn’t understand others and isn’t understood by them. Never developed an app that I then sold for mega money (or any money) but I’ve been coding almost as long as Oliver has been alive in this book, and I’ve developed a few tools to solve problems presented in my own life, much as Oliver does here. So yes, very relatable to me in particular. But also a genuinely good book with a lot of laughs and an appropriate amount of angst – let’s face it, these are teenagers we’re talking about – and it does in fact have the RWA-required Happily Ever After. Very curious to see where Dallen takes the next book in this series, and this book itself is very much recommended.
4.5 / 5 nerdy stars
While nerdy heroes and best-friends-to-more are some of my favorite tropes, the whole billionaire thing… isn’t. So I was curious to see how that combination would work out in this story.
I was downright delighted (ha!) to see that Oliver is not a spoiled trust-fund kiddo and that, despite his sudden wealth, he’s mostly* the same down-to-earth guy as before.
“Honestly, Jackson, sometimes I think all this wealth is wasted on you.”
He didn’t miss a beat. His lip curving up on one side in amusement. “That’s why I’m giving it away to others.”
Then, there were moments like this that made me want to shake some sense and courage into Liv:
“No one noticed me—not really—and then Oliver came along and noticed me enough for everybody.”
I mean… come on! What are you waiting for, girl?!
Other than occasionaly losing my patience with Liv, I enjoyed the story, I also reallyreally liked the characters, and I’m looking forward to reading more books in this new series!
*) gratuitous helicopter rides notwithstanding