Review: Endearing Characters in a Sweet Yet Steamy Romance
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 11 20, 2012
My Fair Dork seamlessly fits into the collegiate world Ms. Harris has gotten so good at conveying through her previous seven books in the Men of Holsum College series.  In this sweetly sexy story of opposites attracting, socially awkward and ugly duckling Harold becomes popular jock Owen's pet project and before they know it their relationship evolves into something more.Harold is an utterly adorable character whose sweet nature, shyness, and struggle to take what he wanted and deserved completely won me over.  He's felt undeserving his whole life and because of his negative body images has kept himself hidden under baggy clothes and seeing him come into his own and become a social butterfly was inspiring and put a smile on my face.  Once he completely transforms his looks it's he who is now the popular one and I enjoyed seeing a jealous Owen try to win Harold back.Owen has denied his true orientation forever for fear of what his social circle might think.  His helping Howard starts out innocently enough but once he gets to know the real Harold beneath the ugly clothes and bad hair he's completely drawn to him.  Their relationship progresses in a natural and increasingly steamy rate that is immensely satisfying and shows a quietly romantic bond behind closed doors.  In public though Owen continues to struggle until a grand gesture at the end wins all of us over and gives us a HEA wrapped up in a nice bow.The sexual interactions between Harold and Owen start off a bit awkward and frantic but ultimately evolve into something more mature and assured.  I loved seeing them together and Owen's complete acceptance of Harold gave me great hope for their future together. The secondary characters were equally appealing and it was nice seeing characters from previous books interact with new characters seamlessly.  Collegiate life is nicely presented and conveys new students uncertainties realistically in this book that can be read on its own but will be more richly rewarding in a marathon reading of the entire series.  Ms. Harris continues her streak of combining steamy and emotional encounters with likable characters and I highly recommend her to those wanting an entertaining and satisfying m/m read.