Customer Reviews

Nerd in Shining Armor (The Nerd Series)

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(16)

 

 

I wanted to like Nerd in Shining Armor. I really did. After all, I'm a nerd, and its nice to see one of us get some time in the spotlight at least once and a while....But this book's humor fell flat and seemed forced at least to this reader, and I disliked the 'hillbilly' humor which I felt was quite corny, and at times embarrassing bad. The heroines says things like: "Tarnation Jackson, you're slower than a coon dog with a full belly!" I don't know... I really cringed. It just wasn't even remotely funny and seemed quite hard for me to believe that a modern heroine would speak like that.

Also, I felt the writing especially at the beginning needed some improvement. The writer tells us things and doesn't SHOW us. Do we really need the silly tale about Elvis's underwear, and the whole Beverly Hillbilly thing about coming to Hawaii? Couldn't that have been edited out, in favor of dropping us into some form of juicy office scene illustrating the situation for the characters?

What I DID feel the author did well was when she wrote things from the male perspective, in particular Jackson's point of view. These sections and insights into the hero's character were actually really good, and I wish were expanded in favor of dropping some scenes with the secondary romantic couple (a redundant romance involving her mother). Jackson needed more 'air time' and the secondary cast needed a little less.

Overall, this author's brand of humor just did NOT appeal to me. I found myself skipping over parts to get to the end to find out what happened... This might appeal to people who can overlook modern people saying things like "Tarnation, moonshine, etc." For me, it left me feeling let down.

Genevieve Terrence is really a hillbilly at heart. Her mother moved her and her brother to Hawaii to give them a better life than what they could have gotten in the hills and hollows of Tennessee. Genevieve and her mother have both tried hard to bury their roots. Genevieve works as a secretary for a software firm. She's heard all the rumors about her boss Nick and his "business trips" to Maui but she knows that if he ever takes her, she'll be the woman to settle him down. When Nick finally asks Genevieve to accompany him to Maui, she jumps at the chance.

Jackson Farley is a genius at writing software, but he is a total social misfit. He's color blind so his clothes often don't match and he gets so wrapped up in writing his software that he forgets everything, and everyone, else. Jackson fell in love with Genevieve the moment he saw her. She's always been kind to him and they've developed a nice friendship. When Jackson is asked to accompany Genevieve and Nick on the trip to Maui, he thinks maybe he can protect Genevieve from Nick.

During the flight, Nick proves to be a real jerk and ends up bailing out of the plane with the only parachute. This is a real problem because he's the pilot. Jackson end up putting all his hours playing with his computer flight simulator to use and crash lands the plane in water off the coast of a deserted island. Jack (a man that can crash land a plane safely should be called Jack instead of Jackson) and Genevieve swim to shore where they set about working to survive the night. Genevieve puts all the skills she learned growing up in Tennessee to use and does a lot towards saving them. Jack turns out to be a hunk under all his nerd clothes and to be very chivalrous. He is what a romantic hero should be.

Ms. Thompson writes with a lot of humor. I would highly recommend this book.

I've read several of Vicki Lewis Thompson's books and I've enjoyed all of them, but I've never hated a book more than I hated this one.

The heroine of the book (now 26) moved to Hawaii at the age of 15 from the backwoods of Tennessee. From the first page to the last page, there were continual references to her life in Tennessee--relatives that run around barefooted and making moonshine, no electricity, it being common place for girls to lose their virginity at the age of 12/13.

I've never lived in TN, but I am from the south and VLT's depiction of southern people outraged me. It was stereotypical and extremely insulting. I can assure you that there are in fact people in the south who manage to hang on to their virginity beyond the ripe old age of 12, they do own shoes, and I've never known anyone who made moonshine or who didn't have electricity.

In addition to the fact that I found the book insulting, I hated the heroine. She was superficial and just plain stupid. The last chapter of the book she finally grew a brain and was somewhat likable, but that's a long time for the reader to have to wait. The hero would have been likable if it weren't for the fact that I spent the entire book wondering what in the hell he wanted with this woman. He deserved better!

Numerous times the actions of the characters were just ridiculous. One example: they were stranded on a deserted island with no water, no food, and no idea rather or not they were going to be rescued, but they did have a gun. When a boat showed up and the occupants of the book refused to take them to the mainland, they just allowed the boat to drive away and leave them there. Any person with half a brain would have used the gun and forced the people to take them to the mainland.

Prior to reading this book VLT was an `automatic buy' for me, but never again will this southern girl spend another dime on a VLT book. I gave the book a rating of one star, but only because I wasn't allowed to give it zero stars.

Vicki Lewis Thompson's Nerd in Shining Armor is sheer, unadulterated fun. Light and lighthearted, the novel is the perfect beach read. It's a great romance with a compelling plot that will keep you reading. No new ground is broker here, but, so what? The novel is still a lot of fun. The novel concerns Genevieve Terrence, a young secretary with a huge crush on her boss, Nick. Nick takes her and Jack Farley, one of the computer nerds at work, on an overnight business trip. The trip winds up being not all it should be and Jack and Gen wind up stranded on a remote desert island, and...well, what do you think happens? Gen and Jack's story is entertaining, as is the subplot of those looking for them. If you are looking for a fun read that you shouldn't have to take too seriously, here it is. Have fun.

Jackson "Jack" Farley has lusted over Genevive Terrence for months... actually since the first time he saw her at the company they both work. She's a secretary and he's a programer and lives immerse in his computer and his own virtual reality.
Genevive is beautiful and sophisticated and is everything Jack wants. Unfurtunately for Jack, Genevive thinks that Nick (her boss) is the man of her dreams. So when Nick finally asks her to go with him to a "meeting trip" to Maui she is more than willing to go... with a good amount of condoms for a day! However, and too bad for Genevive and Nick's plans, Jack is also sent in this trip to fix a program for a company in Maui. Little did they knew that Nick had other plans of his own, so Jack and Genevive end up stranded in an island far from Maui. No one knows they are there. They have no food, water, but they DO have a very nice host (a shark that comes out everytime they hit the water). Soon Jack discovers that Genevive is not as sophisticated as he thought, but instead of being turned off by this new image of his goddess, he's even more attracted (talk about prince charming!) And Genevive discovers that this nerd is a knight in shining armor, more than willing to do anything it takes to keep her safe (God, I need one of this!).
The story is well paced, funny, heart warming and very real. It is not "Oh my god! I'm in love" after 5 minutes of being in the island together. Their attraction grows and you can see, easily, why she falls in love with him, and why she fears this. But even if he didnt have enough self confidence to go after her before, after everything that happens between them in the island, he gains some self confidence and is willing to gain her and prove her that what they have is AT LEAST worth a shot.
One of the things I really loved about the book, is that despite the fact that she's a hottie, she has brains and manners and even more, she's not fussy about things and is very nice to Jack even before they got stranded. In short she's as nice as they get. And Jack is not the typical alpha male (thank god for that), but he puts his foot down when he has to. He's too cute for his own good. He has brains, manners, chivalry, sweetness and firmness.... and a body to drool over!
I really did enjoy this book and I highly recomend it.
I just wish I could get a Jack for myself!!!!

I cannot believe I spent money on this book! It was HORRIBLE! I was expecting something funny and breezy. It was so bogged down in its own farce that it was more Penthouse Forum than romance. I have no idea how or why love was mentioned in this book.

Genevieve believes she can get her sleazy womanizing boss, Nick, into bed (which isn't hard for anyone BUT Genevieve) and entice him into marriage. Problem is, the boss wants to kill her instead.

Jackson, the color-blind computer nerd, tags along for the ride and is inadvertantly caught up in Nick's plot to crash the plane, kill Genevieve and fake his own death. So Jackson, geek-extraordinaire, miraculously lands the plane (based on flight simulator gaming experience, if you can believe that), hauls Genevieve to shore and saves her pink luggage from sharks.

Wait...it gets worse! Genevieve figures she's got nothing better to do so she'll throw the poor schlub a lesson in carnal pleasures (and believe me, she's got a long background of experience). So she finds out that Mr. Geek isn't so bad in the sack. (Please note: his feet were getting 2nd degree burns during the act. Do you know any man who's going to ignore that?) So, they spend a few days (2?) enjoying themselves that way. Were they deserted on an island, or on vacation?

Meanwhile, Genevieve's backwoods mom and psychic brother are leading Nick's partner to Genevieve through "feelings". Puh-lease!

I don't know how some books get into print. This book was so unbelievable, so non-sensical, so far-fetched that every page brought a new groan.

I must admit I'm not much of a romance reader, but I can appreciate a nicely written "beach read". Unfortunately, I found nothing nice about this book.

There's no real character development, and much of what is done doesn't paint a very empathetic picture.

From the beginning we're supposed to be excited for Gen's big opportunity with the boss-man after just a few short pages. We know nothing about him except that he's good-looking, wealthy, and a womanizer. Not much to have you rooting for him / them.

We'll skip over the implausibility of Nick taking 2 possible witnesses along on his D.B. Cooper adventure, the hocus-pocus of Annabelle & Lincoln's "psychic" powers, and the atrocious attempt to throw in a little "hillbilly-ese". (Honestly, those alone are reason enough to warn future readers to run away.)

But, let's delve further into the book (not head first, way too shallow for that...)

We have two central characters, Gen and Jack, neither of which is all that likeable.

Gen is a sex-starved, superficial, egotistical, condescending, hillbilly whose years of shame over her roots are supposedly overcome in just a few short hours.

Jackson / Jack is a hapless, love-struck puppy who puts up with Gen's bad behavior because he's so enamoured with her. For the life of me I couldn't figure out what he saw in her. We are to assume a nerd is smart - shouldn't he be smart enough to demand a woman treat him with respect?

So, despite her poor opinion of him, Gen is pawing at Jack within mere hours of her stranding. But before she does, she must smugly assume that she is a master at lovemaking and the poor nerd must be wholly and completely inexperienced. Because really, who on this Earth would deign to be with a man who isn't fresh off the pages of GQ? Oh wait, now I remember: intelligent women who care more about being with a good man that treats them well than about being with the prettiest man around.

I tried hard to like this book and I tried equally hard to put it down. But, unfortunately, once I start something I must finish it, so I was stuck with Gen and Jack and Nick and Annabelle and Matt and Lincoln till the bitter end. Curiously, the only characters I actually identified with were Matt and Lincoln, but they were mere afterthoughts.

I understand this was the author's first attempt to move beyond Harlequin-type romances. Perhaps she was daunted by the empty pages at hand, perhaps she thought the extra pages would allow for multiple sub-plot development, perhaps she got side-tracked with all the various characters with their various gimmicks, perhaps she was struck by Grisham-itis and found she had 5 pages to wrap up a 300 page novel. Who knows? All is know is that it didn't work.

Like a few other reviewers I too had great expectations for this book. I am not very experienced in the romance genre, so I felt this book would be a breath of fresh air. Well not so fresh as, stinky. This book was a huge let down. I will spare you all of a synopsis, since there is one just above. Instead I will talk about the characters and "plot". The characters were one dimensional and there were too many of them. I usually skipped the part with her mother and her half-wit brother. The hill-billie talk was more than I could take. I wonder if the author has ever even had a conversation with someone from the backwoods? I have ties to Oklahoma and Tennessee, and I have had my fare share of hearing silly backwoods sayings. But I have never heard any use of the word "tarnation".
I was hoping for a description of the island they were staying on. I dredged through half of the book, nothing. I have been to Hawaii and the landscape is nothing to leave out!! I was utterly disappointed. It was very predictable. I could see alot of the things coming for miles, and the ending? PLEASE!
I also love Kelly Ripa. I didn't know it was one of her chosen books until after I had started. In someway I have lost some respect for her. I actually could feel my intelligence seeping out the farther I got into the book. I read the book requirements for Kelly's book club and the books are to be an easy read with no heavy message, well she pegged this one right. It fits perfectly with those requirements.
Given, I didn't read the book word for word. But I couldn't. The dialogue was stagnant, which i just skimmed through. And the action scenes were laughable and not believable.

I loved the hero of this novel. He was great, sexy, funny, and much much more. I love nerds. I married a nerd. I think that more romance novel heros should be nerds. Jackson (Jack) has only "been" with two women, he is color blind so his clothes don't match, and it sounds like he has attention deficit disorder. I thought he was absolutely GREAT! He was sweet and brilliant and very real. This is a character so well rounded that I wanted to meet him.

The sad part of this book is Gen who is a ninny. She wants to sleep with her boss, always a stupid idea, even though he has proven he is a womanizer she thinks she will be the one to change him. Aack! This is beyond dumb and since she is 26 years old she should know better by now. She is shallow in her treatment of Jack for half of the book. One of the main bits of character development is that when she is stressed she has a southern twang from the "hollow" in Tennessee where they didn't have electricity and were moonshiners. O-okay. This was completely unbelievable and her phrases and references were also unbelievable and stupid. Unfortunately, most of the book is from her perspective so there are tons of these hick phrases (I happen to know hicks and like hicks and they DON'T speak this way). This is grating to say the least.

There is also a sub-plot involving her mother which I was bored and unimpressed with. She used many of the same unbelievable phrases as her daughter and she treated Matt, a good guy, pretty shabbily. Like mother, like daughter, only mom is WAY more stupid, but at least she knows it.

I really wanted to like this book, but I cannot. It would have been only two stars except for Jack being such a great hero. I found myself skimming through much of this and I didn't feel as if I missed anything by doing so.

Generieve Terrence's scheme to jump in the sack with her GQ-hunk of a boss Nick Brogan when she accompanies him on a trip to Maui turns nightmarishly awry. The twist comes when Nick is an psychotic embezzler who concocts a plan to crash the plane along with geeky programmer Jack Farley and her secretary and parachute his way out. The full-length debut by Harlequin veteran Vicki Lewis Thompson is at once a heart-thumping revenge of the nerds which chucks stereotypes to the bin. It is boisterous fun and sass as readers soak themselves in the sunny chemistry between Jack and Gen and fan themselves under the heat of their sizzling passion. Jack charms with sincerity as the leading alpha-male who saves the day while Gen regains her former feisty self as a triumphant survivor in poverty-stricken Tennessee. And no less compelling is the secondary romance between Gen's mother Annabelle and Matt - the acting executive at Gen's company. Ms. Thompson's characters are immensely amicable, complete with tart parlance and wits to make this a riotous trip of love and fun.