If you’re tired of contemporary romances in which the heroine returns to her small hometown and finds love, this isn’t the book for you. While not perfect, Smart Girls Think Twice, with its smart girl heroine and bad boy hero, was a generally fun read for me.

Boston sociologist Emma Riley is back home in Rock Creek, Pennsylvania to attend her two sisters’ weddings. The formerly dying town has become an artists’ haven and Emma decides to take advantage of her stay to study the changes to her town. She uses a research grant to interview newcomers and town influentials to get their perspectives and first up is newcomer Jake Slayter. Problem is, Jake has no desire to be interviewed.

Jake has his reasons for avoiding the interview. He was at the top of the extreme sports world when his career was ended by an accident. He’s now working as a temporary bar tender in Rock Creek and trying to maintain a low profile. Everyone in town thinks he’s there to build a major sports complex, when he’s actually there to find his birth mother.

Emma won’t take no for an answer and heads to the bar. At first glance, Jake isn’t very impressed. Emma is the “smart sister”, while her sisters got all the looks. Jake is a major hottie and bad boy, and is used to dating “bodacious babes.” (I got very tired of those words very quickly).

Despite himself, Jake becomes interested in Emma. When a bar patron calls her “ugly” and proceeds to feel her up, Jake is surprised to see Emma knock the jerk to the floor. Jake quickly becomes more interested, calling her a “kick ass sociologist.” I appreciated that Emma didn’t simply simply cave in when Jake began to pursue her. She remains true to herself, keeps doing her research, and stands up for herself.

I really enjoyed Emma’s character and liked that she doesn’t feel sorry for herself because of her looks. I also appreciated the view into Emma’s professional life. She’s at a career crossroads; she loves doing sociological research, but isn’t particularly happy teaching.

There are a lot of different characters thrown into the mix and each time a new one was introduced, my initial reaction was, oh no, not another one. However, I quickly became interested in most of the characters, with the exception of Emma’s family. I would have preferred fewer interactions with them, and more with Emma and Jake, as well as some of the other town residents. It’s also worth noting that while Emma and Jake have a lot of chemistry, I found some of the more engaging scenes in the book to be between Emma and a young geeky friend.

Even though this is part of a series of books set in the neighboring towns of Rock Creek and Serenity Falls, it worked fine for me as a stand-alone. The town is definitely populated with some over-the-top characters, but, for the most part, I enjoyed both them and Smart Girls Think Twice.