@TastyBookTours Interview & Review: Her Winning Formula by Shannyn Schroeder

Her Winning Formula

Hot & Nerdy, #3
Shannyn Schroeder

Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Kensington
Date of Publication: November 24, 2014
Number of pages: 98

Available at the following retailers:
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Spring break was supposed to be a last blast of fun for three friends before the reality of adulthood set in. But for the trio’s science whiz, it’s an education in instant attraction…

Chemistry major Felicity Stone can tell you everything about the way chemicals interact, but when it comes to social interaction, she needs schooling. Abandoned by her friends, Felicity is faced with spending spring break alone—unless she accepts a gorgeous stranger’s invitation to pose as his girlfriend at a family wedding. Not one to turn down a research opportunity, Felicity never expected it to produce such breathtaking results…

Teacher and baseball coach Lucas Tanner is fascinated by Felicity’s potent mix of spirit and scientist, not to mention her delicious curves. When Felicity asks him to return the favor by teaching her how to pick up guys, he can’t refuse—but he’s not at all happy with the idea of her using a formula for flirting on anyone but him. Can he convince her that together they have the perfect chemistry?

Excerpt: 

The movie was filled with killing and explosions, but couldn’t hold his concentration. The mousy girl in the bed beside him kept grabbing his attention. And she wasn’t doing anything but reading silently. She didn’t even move her lips when she read, but her facial expressions changed. Her eyes would narrow or her forehead crinkled. Sometimes a sly smile snuck up on her. He didn’t know how he knew, but it was like it surprised her when it happened.

He couldn’t remember the last time he read anything for school that had him feeling any kind of emotion, much less what she was experiencing. He paused the movie. “What are you reading?”

She didn’t look up from the book, but answered, “Research.”

He tossed the remote on his bed and jumped onto her bed, jostling her in the process. “Come on. Research isn’t that fascinating. What are you really reading?”

Annoyance crossed her face with his intrusion. “It is research. I enjoy research.”

“Let me see.” He held out his hand for the reader.

“No.” She hugged it tight to her chest.

Now he had to know what it was. No one guarded research material. He crawled over to her, and she scooted farther back until she hit the headboard. “Let me see.”

“No. Now go away and watch your movie.”

“This is more interesting than the movie.” He eyed the way she held it to figure out the best way to snatch the device.

She turned to get out of bed, presumably to get away from him, giving him his opening to grab the reader. He moved fast, and she stood looking in disbelief. Her mouth hung open and fear entered her eyes, but she covered it quickly with anger as she crossed her arms.

He hadn’t yet looked down at the screen. “I’m just playing. If you really don’t want me to see this, I’ll stop.”

“Whatever. Do what you want.” She knelt on the bed and then sat, pulling her knees up to her chest. She bit her thumbnail.

He glanced down at the screen and began reading. He smiled. Felicity was reading a naughty book. “You’re reading porn?”

“It’s not porn. It’s erotica or erotic romance.”

“Chick porn.”

“You’re such a guy.” She grabbed her reader back and turned away from him.

“Why did you call it research? Why not say you’re reading a novel?”

“I am doing research.”

“Sex research?”

She looked over her shoulder and rolled her eyes.

“You don’t know…I mean….”

“Shut up, Lucas. I know how sex works. I’ve even had sex.”

“Then why research?”

She huffed and put the reader down on the bed. “These books aren’t just about the sex. They’re about human interaction, relationships. How people relate to each other and learn to understand each other.”

“That’s just part of life.”

“For people like you it is, not for me.”

“For people like me?”

“I’ve known you for less than a day, but I can tell that everyone likes you. You’re open and friendly, and you understand what people mean and what they need. I don’t. I don’t get any of that. I read these books because I get a picture of what normal people think when they see someone, how they interpret someone’s words or actions.”

He stared at her. He didn’t know what to say. During the course of speaking, she opened up. Her body language relaxed, and she was in the moment, not worrying about anything. She was honest and vulnerable. It was pretty fucking sexy. He lay down and rested on his elbow. “Does it turn you on?”

She rolled her eyes again. “Such a guy.”

She turned over on her stomach and went back to reading. He mimicked her pose and bumped his shoulder into hers. “You didn’t answer the question.”

“Sometimes,” she whispered.

Review: 

When I first saw the series Hot & Nerdy by Shannyn Schroeder, I just had to take a look.  Three books about three "nerd" girls, almost done with college and trying, unsuccessfully, to have a last hoorah together before heading in different directions. The first book, Her Best Shot, gave us Layla - the math whiz.  The second was Her Perfect Game with Charlie the hacker. And this final story is Felicity, the science nerd.

One of the best things about this trilogy is that its not the same girl, just with a different name and hair color.  Ms. Schroeder shows us that there is plenty of diversity attached to that wonderful 'Nerd' label.  Each of the girls has a completely different personality. Getting a peek a their interactions with each other was both fun and revealing of more facets of each character.

Felicity is much more the 'typical' nerd that people think of - problems interacting socially, using math and science to calm herself when stressed. What was lovely is that Lucas sees beyond this and helps Felicity to see past what she thought of as her social awkwardness. I attribute his patience with Felicities quirks to his being a teacher. I heart me some Lucas. (And with a name like Lucas, I immediately pictured Lucas Black and that's the image that stayed.)

My biggest complaint about this series is that I want to know what happened in Vegas. (yes, yes, I know what happens in Vegas, blah blah.) I had hoped that this book would give us that final wrap up, where the girls come together once again and maybe introduce the guys to each other.  It didn't. *sniff*  On the other hand, that does leave us with an option for a follow up story. So, I am going to just keeping hoping and watching for a follow up.  Because darn it, I need to know what happened in Vegas when all three of them meet back up.

I got this book through Netgalley for the book tour and gave this book a solid 4 stars.

Interview: 

Today, we welcome Shannyn Schroeder to Musings and Ramblings. Let's all give a big Geeky welcome!

Thank you so much for having me and for the Geeky welcome. My Hot & Nerdy girls would appreciate it.

Let's start with some writer specific questions before moving into the fun stuff. That way everyone can really get to know the person behind the writer. We will finish things off with a round of Think Fast. Ready for the interrogation to begin?

I am a mother of 3, so I’m a master interrogator. Bring it on.

Writing Specific

1. Is your writing style more plotter or pantser?
I’m pretty much a pantser. I’ve tried to plot and outline, but I just freeze up. I do spend a lot (A LOT) of time thinking about characters and getting to know them and picturing individual scenes before I write, though. Sometimes, I even jot down notes about specific scenes, but then I rarely go back and look at the notes. I just sit and write.

2. When is your favorite time/place to write? Do you write structured or patchworked?
Because I am a mom, I’ve taught myself to write wherever and whenever. When I first started, I only wrote in the morning while my youngest was in preschool or late at night when the kids were all in bed. Then I progressed to writing while they were in their extra activities. Swimming? 40 minutes of writing. Ballet? Another hour of writing. This allows me to get a lot of writing done without taking away from my time with them. I’m structured in that I am a linear writer. I write the story sequentially. I never skip around. Even though I might know what is going to happen 3 scenes from now, I don’t skip ahead to write it.

3. How involved are you with Social Media and self-promotion?
Every writer has to do self-promotion and in all honesty, I kind of suck at it. I’m on Twitter more than anywhere and when I’m there, I just talk to people. When I’m on tour with a new release, I’ll tweet the info, but I’m bad at sending out info about buying my books. If I remember to do it once a day, I’m doing good. I am on Facebook, but I don’t really like that platform, so I spend much less time there. I am still getting the hang of twitter myself. I just don't get the hashtag thing.

4. What do you like to do when you are not writing?
As I said above, I like to hang out with my kids. I also use TV for my downtime. I love TV. I love it even more with satellite and a DVR. It’s a little sick how many shows I record in a week. I’m almost afraid to count, especially since it’s the fall season. (Okay – I checked. It’s about 20 shows a week. I knew I’d regret looking. That’s like another part-time job) I try not to watch the "New Shows Previews" because that just adds more to my must see list. Thank goodness for the DVR.

5. How did you choose the genres you write in?
I write contemporary romance. I don’t know that it was as much a choice as finding the right fit. The first 2 manuscripts I wrote were romantic suspense because that’s what I loved to read when I started writing. Even as I drafted that second manuscript, I knew something was off. It wasn’t suspense-y enough, but I didn’t know how to fix it. When I came up with the idea for what would become my debut (More Than This), I knew it was a straight up contemporary. Once I started writing, I realized that it was a natural fit for my voice.

Fun Stuff

1. If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why?
This is a tough one because there are so many possibilities. I think I’d either like to clone myself so one version could do all the things I hate (laundry! Grocery shopping!) and the other could do all the rest. If I couldn’t clone myself, I’d like the ability to freeze time for everyone except me. Then I could make everyone stop in the middle of the day so I could relax and read a book and not have to worry about how to get everything else done. Nice answer! That's taking being in two places at once to a smart conclusion.

2. What was the name of the last book you read?
I read Play for Me by Hannah Martine. It’s not out yet, but that’s one of the perks of having writer friends. You get to read the good stuff before other people. But since it’s not fair to tell you how good it is when you can’t buy it yet, I’ll tell you I also read Make It Count by Megan Erickson – if you like my nerdy heroines, you’ll definitely like her nerdy Alec. I did like your nerdy heroines. *heading to goodreads to mark the book*

3.Tell us 2 positive and 2 negative character traits you possess.
Positive – hardworking and loyal
Negative – stubborn and controlling

4. What is your biggest pet peeve?
This one is easy – stupid people. Well, really people who lack common sense. I know it’s horrible to say that, seeing as I’m a teacher, but I have no patience for people who do dumb stuff. My mom always told me that it doesn't matter how smart you are, without the common sense to use it.

5. What would we find in your refrigerator right now?
Lots of leftovers. Since I have to run kids to sports 3 afternoons a week (around other obligations), I cook enough dinner for at least 3 or 4 days and then we eat leftovers. Right now, you’ll find, chicken and rice, pasta, and Italian beef. Sounds yummy!

Think Fast

– These are the easiest ones ever!
Elvis or Sinatra? Elvis
AM or PM? PM (total night owl)
Mountains or Sea? Sea (even though I’m not a strong swimmer, I love water)
Meat or Veggies? Meat
Italian or Chinese? Italian
Summer or Winter? Summer (I despise winter and dream of running off to Hawaii – I live in Chicago) Then I guess I won't tell you about our high of 82° today here in sunny Florida surrounded by all our lovely water. ;)
Coffee or Tea? Tea
Cake or Pie? Cake
Car or Truck? Van – I’m a mom
Dead Tree or Electronic? BOTH! I love to read any format

Thanks for coming by and spending some time with us. Any final words of wisdom to pass along?

Thank you so much for having me. This was one of the most fun interviews I’ve done. I don’t know about words of wisdom, but I will say – Take a break and have some fun!

Giveaway: 

$10.00 Amazon or B&N eGift Card or Printed Bound Copy of First Two Novellas in the series, HER BEST SHOT & HER PERFECT GAME

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Author Bio:

Shannyn Schroeder is the author of the O’Leary series, contemporary romances centered around a large Irish-American family in Chicago and the new Hot & Nerdy series about 3 nerdy friends and their last spring break. When she’s not wrangling her three kids or writing, she watches a ton of TV and loves to bake cookies.

To connect with the author online:

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