Opposites Attract (Nerds of Paradise, Book 1)

Casey Flint has been in a dark place since her mother died.  She’s stopped doing most of the things she loves, and now, she’s discovered her father has sold part of the family’s Wyoming ranch.  Her world seems to be crashing down around her, but she decides to fight back.  She must get the land back and save her ranch.  Scott Martin is a rocket scientist, newly arrived in tiny Haskell Wyoming.  He dreams of building a ultra-green, off-grid house, and he’s just bought himself a piece of the Flint ranch to build it on.  Casey’s initial sizzling attraction to Scott quickly fizzles when she learns he’s the one trying to steal a piece of her heritage.  The fight is on.

“Opposites Attract” is a solidly written story of two people fighting over a piece of land, but it represents more than just land to both of them.  For him, it’s his dream; for her, it’s her past. The premise has a lot of potential; though Casey’s obsession with the past and her mother’s death begins to wear on the nerves. She fights against her own happiness, fearing it disrespects her mother’s memory. A reasonable premise, but overdone.  The rocket factory in small-town Wyoming also seems a stretch, and Scott seems more hunk than nerd.  Rocket factory aside, Ms. Farmer does a fine job of bringing her readers into the small-town atmosphere, with its gossip and local villains.  The minor characters are particularly well done, and the next book in the series is set up intriguingly, and sounds very promising.

Marc Joseph