The Nerd Who Loved Me (The Nerd Series)

Rating:
Summary: I love it when it just keeps getting better...
Review: After "Nerd in Shining Armor" I was ready for another "nerd" from Vicki Lewis Thompson. Although that novel definitely had its flaws (an unbelievable plotline, heavy use of stereotypes, and love scenes with some questionable prose), the novel was undeniably fun and original.

Thankfully, "The Nerd Who Loved Me" retains all of the spark of "Nerd in Shining Armor" while ditching all of the flaws. The plot is still far-fetched, but if I wanted reality, I wouldn't be reading a romance novel. The chemistry between the two main characters, Harry and Lainie, is great, but the supporting cast may be even better.

Lainie's adorable genius son, Harry's ex-showgirl mother and her mobster boyfriend, a really bad time-share salesman... all of the characters were quirky yet loveable. I don't remember much of the secondary characters from "Nerd in Shining Armor" but I don't think I'll be forgetting this crew for a while.

My only complaints about the novel are somewhat picky. I felt that the author kept the "villian" of the story around far too long--in the last few pages, when all I wanted to see was Harry and Lainie, along comes the bad guy yet again, getting in the way of both the characters and the plotline.

Also, I felt that the author didn't really emphasize Lainie's intelligence anough. Harry's problem with women revolves around the fact that a) he's attracted to them, but they can't stimulate him mentally or b) they are intelligent but can't stimulate him in... uh, other ways. Lainie is a gorgeous showgirl, but Harry's only glimpse into her mind occurs when he realizes she has a photographic memory. Then, viola! She's a genius, and Harry can now feel free to fall in love. I felt that the author could have made Lainie more compatible for Harry in that nature, and the love between the two characters would have seemed more realistic.

Other than that, the novel was fun, the characters were hilarious, and it was a nice diversion from life for a while. For those willing to suspend your disbelief and have a good time, I highly recommend this novel.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing, but if you've got extra time one your hands..
Review: As far as romance novels go, this one was...okay. While I enjoyed the sub-plot of Vegas showgirl and accountant, plus the hero's surrogate step-dad's mob connections, a lot of the romance fell flat. It was lost in the little details of everyday life. Also, certain things that occurred to the characters just wouldn't regularly occur to normal people. For example, when the two characters are at a time-share about to sleep with each other and the hero wishes he could have unprotected sex with the heroine in order to impregnate her, yet doesn't want to marry her. Huh? What sort of man would want to get a woman pregnant just because?

Also, the heroine seems a little too desperate for sex for my taste. And it's awfully convenient that she has the hots for the accountant just about the time that she asks him to babysit, even though she's rarely said more than two words for him.

Plus, the sex was very, very clinical and seemed to be from a man's point of view, not a woman's. I can't think of many woman who would refer to a guy's, erm, equipment as his "buddy" or "package." Additionally, when she's not referring to the male anatomy in those terms, the author refers to the male and female anatomy in very medical terms. Using "vagina" or "penis" once or twice is fine, but surely there are more, I don't know, romantic terms to describe orgasming and the anatomy that goes with it, especially in a romance novel?

My conclusion - the book was okay, but it's something I would recommend reading only if you're really bored. Otherwise, there's not much plot, not much gratification from seeing the characters get hot and heavy, and you get bogged down in minutiae.

Rating:
Summary: Revenge of the Nerd!
Review: Harry Ambrewster is your stereotypical nerd. An accountant with rather conservative tastes, Harry decides to take the bull by the horns and act on his attraction to a woman named Lainie. Lainie is an exotic dancer at a casino and the single mother of a gifted 4-year-old son named Dexter. Harry decides that the way to Lainie's heart is via Dexter.

Dexter! An ideal emissary to spread his message of love. Harry offers to babysit the boy, playing chess with him and enjoying serious conversations with the child. While he disapproves of Lainie's job, he makes the child's safety his priority.

Enlisting the help of his astute mother Rona, Harry brings Dexter to his home to meet her. He chafes at how Lainie has virtually ignored the boy, yet he loves her. He comes up with a scheme - he will pose as her husband while they take a trip to Sedona, New Mexico.

Dexter also serves a rather questionable purpose. A shady character named Joey wants to use Dexter as a "front" to prove that he, Joey is a good father. Harry and Lainie catch wind of Joey's nefarious scheme and yet, Lainie wonders if the boy would be better off with his natural father who is rich.

Joey and his equally unappealing girlfriend are eventually crunched at their game by a number cruncher and a chess prodigy. Although Lainie tells Harry she felt no romance during their affair, she is delightfully proven wrong.

Harry is a truly delightful character and you just want to cheer when he and Lainie find love. Although I usually don't care for the romance genre and find most romance stories trite and predictable, I enjoyed this book. It was funny; it was different and it gave a fresh slant on the plethora of cranked out romance novels. This one featured a very different, delightful cast of characters. Readers may find themselves thinking, "I'm so wild about Harry!"

Yeah, the revenge of this nerd was worth every page.



Rating:
Summary: GEEEZZ!!!
Review: I LOVE THIS BOOK!! this is probly the best book ive ready for years. it's funny and romantic with a kick of eroticness to it. all i have to say is keep the nerd series comming!

Rating:
Summary: The Odd Couple
Review: Las Vegas showgirl Lainie Terrell has to leave town fast. The abusive father of her five-year-old son suddenly decided he wants their child. Joey Benjamin owes some really bad people some really big money. He doesn't give a damn about his son. He never claimed Dexter and hasn't even told his family the kid exists. But things have changed. Joey's billionaire father wants a grandson, and Joey plans on using this kid to obtain the money he needs. Now if he could only get rid of Lainie. There's no way he can take a showgirl home to "Daddy."

Lainie doesn't know what Joey is up to, but she knows it's no good. She turns to her friend Harry Ambrewster for help, but she's apprehensive because she has feelings for Harry-feelings that could change their relationship from just friends. She knows he could never accept a woman like her in that way-or could he?

Harry Ambrewster, accountant and genius extraordinaire, has to save Lainie and her son Dexter from this drunken madman who came banging on her door claiming to be the child's father. Harry sneaks the two out of town to his mother's. His mother, a former showgirl, comes up with this crazy scheme to help keep Lainie and Dexter safe while she matchmakes between Harry and Lainie. If everything works out for his mother, she'll have a daughter-in-law and a grandson by the end of this ordeal.

While I was reading THE NERD WHO LOVE ME, my children came to check on me a few times. They couldn't understand why their mother who was in a quiet room, sitting in a chair, reading a book would just burst out in hysterical fits of laughter. The cast of characters, both main and secondary, were well-developed and fun to read about. I'll definitely be in line for future works by Vicki Lewis Thompson.

Reviewed by Deatri King-Bey
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers


Rating:
Summary: A mixed bag
Review: Most people's objection (if they had one) to Nerd in Shining Armor was that the heroine was distasteful. My objection here was to the hero - not that he was unpleasant, just that he wasn't well-portrayed as a nerd. The charm of Nerd in Shining Armor was the metamorphosis of the hero into a hero. Here it seemed to me that Harry was already there. This may be due to the fact that the plot was so overwhelming that none of the characters really got deep enough for my tastes.

I enjoyed this book, no doubt about it. It was a pleasant way to spend a Sunday afternoon, and the writing was smoother than I recall the first one being. That said, it read like a typical romance novel, rather than an addition to the genre. I recommend it absolutely, but I hope in the next book, the nerd is just a little bit nerdier.

Rating:
Summary: Not worth the time
Review: THE NERD WHO LOVED ME is just plain pointless. The story is so inconsequential that it doesn't even make sense.

Why couldn't a woman with a thirteen year old son marry the terrific guy who's the great love of her life?

I don't want to give away the ending but it, too, seems implausible, even for fiction.

Author Vicki Lewis Thompson's writing is fine in itself, and the subplot about the retired Vegas showgirls is clever. Still, the whole plot here is so pointless that reading this romance seems like a complete waste of time.

Rating:
Summary: Goes overboard with the silliness.
Review: This book is a bunch of silly nothingness. Sometimes, if I'm in the mood, that can appeal to me; but not in this case. I almost didn't finish it, which would have rated 1 star; but I plowed on through to the end and will give it 2 stars just for accomplishing that. But, sorry, it goes in the discard pile.


Rating:
Summary: GOOD TIMES
Review: THIS BOOK IS PRETTY GOOD. IT IS FILLED WITH HUMOR AND SEX. IT IS SWEET. IT DID TAKE ME A WHILE TO READ IT, BECAUSE IT SEEMED LIKE IT DRAGGED ON IN SOME PARTS. BUT IT GIVES YOU THAT WARM FUZZY FEEL IN YOUR STOMACH AS YOU READ IT. THE ONE YOU GET WHEN YOU ARE FIRST FALLING IN LOVE OR MAYBE ON YOUR FIRST DATE.

Rating:
Summary: The 'NERD' of my Dreams!!
Review: Vicki Lewis Thompson has done it again!!! The 'Nerd' books are the BEST books I have ever read!! This is an exciting romantic suspense tale with a touch of the paranormal that hooks the reader from the beginning. An overwhelmingly fun story that comes highly recommended by me!!!