Talk Nerdy To Me: Blind Luck by badjujube

A periodic taste of geeky goodness from our resident GeekPerv©, Trin.

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So I know I haven’t done a fic rec For Talk Nerdy To Me in well...forever, but when Pkitten21 told me of a glasses, bowtie and sweater vest wearing Edward I was all over:

Title: Blind Luck
Author: badjujube
Chapters: 50 COMPLETE WP Safe
Words: 81,242
Reviews: 526
Summary:Edward is a driven PhD candidate with a personality problem. Can a ridiculous, directionless undergraduate help him lighten up? AH, E/BPOV alternate.

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I won’t lie to y’all that when I first started reading Blind Luck I was a little worried because Edward started off on the wrong foot. He’s was a bit brusque, demanding and uptight but the chapter was so short and he was in glasses so I continued on. THANK GOD I DID!

badjujube provides us with a beautifully layered story that does justice to every single character she introduces us to. The story mostly alternates between Edward and Bella POV’s but we are also treated to a Jasper, Alice, Rosalie and Emmett POV, too. The chapters are short and succinct and move the storyline along so wonderfully that you never feel there is a wasted word.

Edward and Bella’s “relationship” begins with a case of mistaken identity. Bella shows up to meet Alice at her house so they can work on a project together for their college Sociology class and Edward (Hot Angry Guy as Bella refers to him) assumes she is a blind date he is to be taking to a faculty party. Once they figure out what is going on, Bella agrees to accompany Edward to the party because his main goal in life is to obtain the teaching position at the University. They concoct a story that they have been dating for three months, even though they know absolutely nothing about one another.

I think the best way to describe this Edward is socially awkward and so driven he has blinders on to the world around him. Making small talk for him is like pulling teeth. Everyone in his department thinks he’s a total asshole which could hold him back from getting his dream job. Once Bella meets all of his colleagues they are all so taken that such a sweet fun girl would be with someone as stuffy as Edward. I loved EPOV’s because we were privy to the complete struggle he had not to be rude and figuring how to interact with everyone else.

We get out of the car and walk up to the door of Ben's place. Bella's not saying anything and I am concerned that I've offended her with my abruptness. I don't know how to fix it, however, so I focus instead on being all anal about where we're going and double-checking the address of the restaurant Marcus gave me.

As many Edward lovers, I know I can be a little too hard on Bella sometimes, but I love Blind Luck Bella. She is coming out of a bad relationship with Jacob and transferred from Arizona to start fresh. She’s fun and caring and doesn’t seem to take life too seriously, but is still guarded with her heart. She can be softened up by a slice of chocolate cake and likes to knit...what’s not to love?

As time passes Edward and Bella are both confused if their relationship is just an arrangement or if the other reciprocates their feelings. It is very chaste and the building UST for 46 chapter (yep, I just bookmarked it for you) had me wiggling in my seat. However, watching Edward realize just how deep his feelings for Bella are made me swoon so hard.

I cornered Alice as soon as I arrived home to figure out if she knew when Bella was coming by to get her truck the next day. She confessed to me that Bella had asked her to bring her truck and her clothes to Ben's the next morning. Alice was pleased to see me take this task over.
I showed up in the morning with coffee and insisted that she let me help her move. I was determined to make every effort I could to make Bella like me and I knew that this was my last chance.
What I wasn't expecting was my reaction to her when she opened the door of Ben's house.
She was wearing a pair of over-sized pajamas and no make-up. I had clearly woken her up and her hair was a mess. She was beautiful.
The times before when I'd seen her I had been so concerned about dressing her up, making her look like my idea of what appropriate was. I had never seen her looking so…herself. She took my breath away.

This story is funny and quite fluffy at times. Like Edward stripping off his shirt at a yard sale to use as a bargaining tool to get the dresser Bella wanted. Or the that Jasper is a tree hugging, shade-grown, free trade beans coffee drinker who falls for his complete opposite in Alice and a room of shoes nearly keeps them apart.


Yet, for all the fun and fluff badjujube really addresses some serious issues and shows her characters working through them in a healthy way. This is so refreshing to read, because unless people work thorough their issues they can’t have a healthy adult relationship.

There are so many things about this story that I love but uptight, computer science geek Edward who still lives at home at twenty seven and lets his sister dress his is the clear winner for me. He wears bowties and sweater vests for goodness sake!

Don’t let the 50 chapters overwhelm you, this is a fantastic story filled with laughter and love and enough geekiness and awkwardness to make anyone happy.