Gone With the Nerd (The Nerd Series) [Mass Market Paperback]

Vicki Lewis Thompson (Author)

Book Description

Series: The Nerd Series | Publication Date: August 2, 2005

Hot movie star Zoe Tarleton gets piles of money but no respect because she always plays a beautiful bombshell. When she gets the chance to play a geeky chemist working on a formula to combine weight loss, sexual potency, and anti-aging in one powerful pill, she is determined that this role will open up her career. Zoe may be too hot to understand her character, but she has a plan: her ultimate nerd lawyer Flynn Granger can teach her the ropes. Flynn agrees to help Zoe out, but he's strictly business about it--his girlfriend is a Harvard professor and he plans to propose the next weekend. But when he sees Zoe in an outfit she considers nerdy, he realizes he's taken on an impossible task--she's just too cool to change. As they rehearse scenes in a secluded California cabin, they'll have to embrace their alter egos and fight the growing attraction between them. And they'll have to dodge an increasingly unstable stalker who wants to end their relationship...and Zoe's life. Gone WIth the Nerd is Vicki Lewis Thompson at her fun, sexy best.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Ever wonder what might transpire if a nerdy entertainment attorney and one of Hollywood's hottest stars holed up incognito in a remote cabin in California's Bigfoot country? As this zippy, character-driven romance shows, just about anything can happen, particularly if the equation includes actress Zoe Tarleton and her lawyer, Flynn Granger. Eager to move away from her fluffy sex kitten roles, Zoe talks Flynn into coaching her on the finer points of becoming a nerd before she auditions for the role of a brainy chemist. Her request soon turns complicated when Flynn discovers the script they'll be working on is R-rated for its steamy sex scenes. Worse, someone (or something) has learned who they are and plans to do one or both of them in. Could the culprit be the star-struck teenager next door, Zoe's jealous high school chum, Flynn's girlfriend or Bigfoot? While it doesn't take much to figure out who's on the ugly end of the poisoned blueberry pie, gas leak and nest of killer bees, fans of Thompson's earlier Nerd romances (The Nerd Who Loved Me; Nerd in Shining Armor) will find this sexually charged, funny romp every bit as entertaining as those that came before. (Aug.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Glamorous movie star Zoe Tarleton wants to be taken seriously as an actress, so she sets her sights on snagging the role of flat-chested science nerd Vera. She asks her nerdy lawyer, Flynn Granger, to secretly spend the weekend with her in a remote cabin near the old mining town of Long Shaft (innuendo intended) to teach her the intricacies of nerd-dom. Flynn has a lawyer girlfriend but finds spending time with his most famous client intoxicating. He also happens to be crazy about Big Foot, who seems to live in the area. The intense sexual attraction between Zoe and Flynn is interrupted by an attempted poisoning, an almost lethal swarm of bees, and a falling tree. Although there are humorous bits, the main focus here is simply sex, while an extremely happily-ever-after ending almost makes up for the obvious plot. Although the fourth of Thompson's Nerd books is not her best, fans of the funny series will be glad to see it. Diana Tixier Herald
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks (August 2, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312998589
• ISBN-13: 978-0312998585
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,493,827 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Could Be "Nerdier", December 29, 2005

By 

Wantz Upon A Time Reviews (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gone With the Nerd (The Nerd Series) (Mass Market Paperback)

In this installment of Vicky Lewis Thompson's "Nerd" series, a movie star-Zoe Tarleton-is paired up with token nerd, Flynn Granger, a Hollywood contract attorney.

Zoe spirits Flynn to a small town to give her nerd lessons for a role she hopes to land. When they arrive in a Bigfoot-crazed area, strange things happen. Is a blueberry cobbler supposed to foam up in the garbage disposal? And what about killer bees and crashing trees? This story promises hot romance with a thrilling hint of danger.

Promises and hints only take a reader so far. "Gone with the Nerd" gets high marks for premise, but low marks for believability. The two main characters in this book are fraught with contradictions. Zoe acts the selfish diva one minute, and is suffused with morals the next. Even in a fast-paced romance, it's hard for me to believe she falls hard for her attorney after mere hours, despite knowing him five years; and vice-versa with Flynn.

Flynn, the nerd, isn't as nerdy as one might expect. Wearing glasses does not a nerd make. As a woman married to a true nerd, I can attest that Flynn barely qualifies, especially after the book concludes. Flynn's motivations for being with Zoe are understandable for any hot-blooded male, but a nerd wouldn't handle it nearly so well. My husband agrees that Flynn would not be accepted into Club Nerd.

A reader may also be put off by how Zoe and Flynn deal with their morals considering his impending engagement to his girlfriend. Romance readers like their heroes and heroines to be heroic, but these two come up short, even if these issues are "resolved" at the end (which a romance reader expects). And if they are not behaving as they normally would outside of this weekend adventure, how can they really expect to be ready to get married after two days?

In the end, if you enjoy steamy romps that end happy, it's a decent read. However, if you are distracted by double standards and inconsistent behavior, there are many other reading choices available. C.W.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars nerdy but fun tale, August 3, 2005

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gone With the Nerd (The Nerd Series) (Mass Market Paperback)

In Hollywood, glamorous actress Zoe Tarleton asks her lawyer Flynn Granger to allow her to study him so that she can learn how a nerd thinks as she hopes to land the non sexpot role of Vera Parsons, a research chemist in the film the Billion Dollar Pill. Flynn tells her he is going to marry Harvard professor Kristen Keebler, but he agrees to meet her in Long Shaft, California so that he can teach her to behave like a nerd, but also will tell his fiancée the truth. Zoe wonders how it would feel to have someone protect her like he does Kristen.

In Long Shaft, Zoe meets her high school friend Margo Taggart, who has arranged everything. Flynn arrives and one look at Zoe tells him she over killed the nerd bit. He also enjoys the Bigfoot paraphernalia in the area as he appreciates cryptozoology. As Zoe observes Flynn and rehearses her role with him, they begin to fall in love, but questionable accidents and strange sightings seem to interfere with their kisses.

The strong lead couple carries this nerdy but fun tale that will send the audience seeking previous nerd novels (see NERD IN SHINING ARMOR, THE NERD WHO LOVED ME, and NERD GONE WILD). The story line is amusing with a touch of suspense caused by the incidents that seem to happen a lot to Zoe. The Sasquatch locale and the two youngsters the lead couple meets add humor. Although the intrigue subplot involving the accidents seems an unnecessary stretch, readers will enjoy the romance between the accounting nerd and the sexpot actress.

Harriet Klausner

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not My Kind of Nerd, March 22, 2006

By 

Madd Witch (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gone With the Nerd (The Nerd Series) (Mass Market Paperback)

I've been following this series and I've pretty much loved every one of the books, "Nerd in Shining Armor" and "The Nerd Who Loved Me" are both firmly tied for first place. I just don't think "Gone with the Nerd" really measures up to the rest. What really killed this book for me was Flynn. He's just not nerd enough for me. That and, I'm sorry, the fact that he's on the verge of proposing to his girlfriend yet can't hardly keep it in his pants after a scant few hours alone in a cabin with Zoe, just irks me. It's a major flaw in his character that pretty well puts me off. I don't find myself rooting for this relationship to work out because, despite the fact that he realizes he's not really in love with his girlfriend, he's basically become a cheating jerk in my eyes.

I gave it 3 stars because the writing was still there, the ending was sweet, and I kind of enjoyed the Bigfoot thing. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for "Nerds like It Hot".