Gone With the Nerd

I absolutely adore Vicki Lewis Thompson's NERD Series. As a woman married to a man who would, in all likelihood, be described as a nerd, I know first-hand how hot these guys can be! Ms. Thompson has served up another steamy slice of nerdiness in GONE WITH THE NERD.

Zoe Tarleton is a movie star known far and wide for one thing-- playing the bombshell. With her beauty and first-class body, she's made plenty of films--but she's tired of being known as nothing more than a pretty face. Then the chance of a lifetime falls into her lap--the chance to audition for the role of Vera in an action-adventure movie, a part that could, if played right, earn her a Golden Globe. The only problem is that Vera, a chemist working on a miracle drug, is a show more flat-chested, bland, nerdy woman. To turn her bombshell into a dud, Zoe needs to learn how to be a nerd, and she knows the perfect person to help guide her--entertainment attorney Flynn Granger. She's spent plenty of time with Flynn over the past few years, working out contracts, and she knows he's just the man for the job.

Flynn has always been attracted to Zoe in an off-hand, it-could-never-happen sort of way. After all, she's Zoe Tarleton and he's, well, a nerdy accountant with glasses, a monochrome wardrobe, and a Honda Civic. So when Zoe suggests spending the weekend in Long Shaft, California, home of the Sasquatch, for him to advise her in nerdiness, Flynn agrees, on the condition that he can tell his almost-fiancee, Kristen, what they're up to. The only problem is, even before they reach Long Shaft, Flynn's realizing that being in close proximity with Zoe--dowdy or not--is a real danger to his libido.

GONE WITH THE NERD is an absolute riot, and Zoe and Flynn are adorable characters. The steam these two generate is enough to erupt a volcano, and the suspense and paranormal aspects thrown into the story add an exciting mix. I love how Zoe realizes that there's more to life than fame and fortune, and how Flynn comes to understand that blending into the background of life isn't necessarily the best way to go.

You won't go wrong with this nerdy tale, and I for one am eagerly anticipating the next one, TALK NERDY TO ME. show less

Like so many people, I found this book ruined by a big blinding factor: he was cheating. You can try to fluff it up by showing how he wasn’t in love but, since he hadn’t spoken to his partner, doesn’t matter. Who wants a hero who lacks character? Not this nerd!

Every time the girlfriend was mentioned, it made me sick to my stomach. I would finally forget for a few pages and then BOOM! There was a lot justifying going on.

It is a shame, too, because there were some other things that were good. It had not bad structure and a few good details (fumbling around in the big moment without his glasses? Love!). But then, I really struggled with the speed: no one falls in love in a weekend, even if you have a long-standing acquaintanceship. show more Lust, certainly-the sex made sense- but two mature adults don’t agree to marriage that quick, especially a nerd. Yes, even nerds get caught up, but we’re more practiced at suppressing our emotions so we can think things out (we’re not people who don’t feel. In fact, there can be more compassionate people and hypersensitive people in nerdy groups). He would have forced himself to think it out.

To an extent, she was cheating too. Having experienced a relationship-of-convenience, you negotiate terms especially for longer-term relationships. Zoe would should have known the conditions for outside dating and, likely, they would have included keeping Trace abreast. Their conversation about how he couldn’t manage to catch her shows that she was justifying, calling it a publicity stunt when there was no arrangement means she was in a relationship too, and justifying her lack of commitment. She’s just as much of a cheater, despite their inability to label it as such.

And Kristen and Trace handling it with class, and hooking up themselves, does not justify or pacify the way they were treated. They were the wronged parties.

I did enjoy myself long the way, but only so much as I turned my brain off. Notice how sitting here and reflecting, I am uncomfortable. So, can you see past it? Can you let go?

And, while I’m at it, they were too pretty. To an extent, we want to insert ourselves. We want a melted sugar gloss, with enough real starch to swallow it down. Zoe was too pretty and nerds aren’t usually that built/perfect. Where were the flaws? She was flat, as was the definition of nerd, but that actually made it less believable. show less

Like so many people, I found this book ruined by a big blinding factor: he was cheating. You can try to fluff it up by showing how he wasn’t in love but, since he hadn’t spoken to his partner, doesn’t matter. Who wants a hero who lacks character? Not this nerd!

Every time the girlfriend was mentioned, it made me sick to my stomach. I would finally forget for a few pages and then BOOM! There was a lot justifying going on.

It is a shame, too, because there were some other things that were good. It had not bad structure and a few good details (fumbling around in the big moment without his glasses? Love!). But then, I really struggled with the speed: no one falls in love in a weekend, even if you have a long-standing acquaintanceship. show more Lust, certainly-the sex made sense- but two mature adults don’t agree to marriage that quick, especially a nerd. Yes, even nerds get caught up, but we’re more practiced at suppressing our emotions so we can think things out (we’re not people who don’t feel. In fact, there can be more compassionate people and hypersensitive people in nerdy groups). He would have forced himself to think it out.

To an extent, she was cheating too. Having experienced a relationship-of-convenience, you negotiate terms especially for longer-term relationships. Zoe would should have known the conditions for outside dating and, likely, they would have included keeping Trace abreast. Their conversation about how he couldn’t manage to catch her shows that she was justifying, calling it a publicity stunt when there was no arrangement means she was in a relationship too, and justifying her lack of commitment. She’s just as much of a cheater, despite their inability to label it as such.

And Kristen and Trace handling it with class, and hooking up themselves, does not justify or pacify the way they were treated. They were the wronged parties.

I did enjoy myself long the way, but only so much as I turned my brain off. Notice how sitting here and reflecting, I am uncomfortable. So, can you see past it? Can you let go?

And, while I’m at it, they were too pretty. To an extent, we want to insert ourselves. We want a melted sugar gloss, with enough real starch to swallow it down. Zoe was too pretty and nerds aren’t usually that built/perfect. Where were the flaws? She was flat, as was the definition of nerd, but that actually made it less believable. show less

Zoe is a fun heroine, a movie star who's been relegated to glamour girl roles and who longs to be taken seriously. She's auditioning for the role of a nerdy scientist, and decides she needs to immerse herself in the world of nerdism. Enter Flynn, her contract lawyer. He wears glasses, he drives an older car (she has to ask him how to lock the doors because the car does not have power locks), he's in a long distance relationship with another lawyer, and his PDA is never out his reach. When Zoe asks him to go to a remote cabin in the woods under the assumed names (from the movie script) of Tony and Vera (in order for her to avoid being recognized by anyone) and teach her everything she needs to know about being a nerd, he is resistant, show more but finally gives in and agrees, on one condition – he has to tell his girlfriend where he'll be and why.

Part of the nerd training sessions involve reading lines of hokey dialogue from the movie script, with Flynn coaching Zoe on how a nerd would talk or act or respond to situations, such as telling her the character of Vera would not leave the top two buttons of her blouse undone, or she would not sound so sure of herself, etc. I thought the movie dialogue was a little over the top, and that Zoe was wrong in thinking this was a serious movie that would get her serious attention. I kept anticipating that in the end the movie would be a bomb or be canceled before it got off the ground, or something along those lines. But no, it actually was a serious movie.

Of course all kinds of wacky times ensue, some between the two of them, some involving the local townspeople. Flynn quickly gets into the spirit of things and embraces his nerd persona, and Zoe quickly realizes she wants to embrace Flynn. They dance around each other, and the build up to their relationship was played out slowly (though not too slowly since it is a single weekend) and satisfyingly.

I went into this one a little leery compared to the other Nerd books, as the backdrop of the Bigfoot storyline did not appeal to me at all, but I was satisfied with the way that played out.

As usual with a Vicki Lewis Thompson book, there is plenty of humor to go along with the heat. One of my favorite passages:
As long as Flynn kept his tie on, he wouldn't turn into Tony. Besides, most sexual encounters began when a guy loosened his tie. A loose tie led to everything becoming loose. Flynn wanted to stay tight.

Unfortunately when I made a note of that passage I forgot to write down the page number and I'm too lazy to flip through the book and look for it now.

Very enjoyable, and I'm looking forward to continuing with the series. show less

All of the nerd series books have something that they're the best at, and something that they're the worst at.

The good thing about Gone with the Nerd is that it's the first book in the series that nerds up the heroine over the course of the story instead of just un-nerding the hero. The hero doesn't un-nerd so much as he relaxes a bit.

Also, it has a Jimmy Hoffa joke. I'm irrationally fond of Jimmy Hoffa jokes, though I know that's probably not the kind of information that is useful to most people reading this review.

Now for the bad: although nerdiness is talked about in a better light in this book than in Nerd in Shining Armor, it's largely irrelevant to the attraction between the hero and heroine. In fact, nothing besides attraction show more really seems to be relevant to that attraction. The naming of the town in which it takes place "Long Shaft" is also illustration of the fact that this series is starting to step into a world where sexual references come from places that they usually don't in the world in which we live. (This isn't to say that I don't drive past the exit for Big Bone Lick State Park whenever I'm taking the interstate through Kentucky, but it's a sad fact that in fiction, things have to be more appropriate than they are in real life.) Worst of all, this is one of those stories where we are supposed to forgive the hero for cheating because a) it just means the heroine is his real true love, unlike the woman he was originally with, and b) the breakup which takes place after the cheating is amicable.

This book is slightly less entertaining than others in the series, but not enough that I'd be willing to get rid of it. That means it's still a step above Nerds Gone Wild, which I never bothered buying in the first place. show less

amusing