NERD GONE WILD - Vicki Lewis Thompson
St. Martin's Press
ISBN: 0-312-99866-X
February 2005
Contemporary Romance

Porcupine, Alaska - Present day

Alaska -- where the days are long in the summer, but dark, cold, and too short in the winter. The Loose Moose, Porcupine's only hotel, is an ex-bordello that holds a wealth of Gold Rush history within its walls.  There are antiques in the lobby and a parlor decorated in red velvet, complete with a ceiling mirror hanging right above the old Murphy bed.  According to Betsy Baylor, the proprietress, sex is just a way for the residents of Porcupine to keep warm on the long, lonely winter nights.  But for heiress Ally Jarrett, sex is the farthest thing from her mind.

Ally's in Alaska to begin her dream career, wildlife photography, and this is the perfect location to escape the sheltered life she's led.  The Top Hat restaurant is the local watering hole run by Clyde Hammacher, who tap dances on the bar every evening.  Ally wants to make new friends, but she's keeping her millionaire status a secret so they'll treat her like just an ordinary person.  Among her new acquaintances is her estranged uncle, who has agreed to help launch her photographic career.  For Ally, this is the opportunity to meet a new face from her family after all these years.

But it isn't long before her worst nightmare appears in the form of Mitchell J. Carruthers, Jr.  Ally is outraged.  How dare the geek follow her all the way to Alaska on the pretense of signing some trivial papers for her grandmother's estate.  Dressed in a neon orange parka and cap, complete with yellow pompoms and fuzzy orange earmuffs, Mitchell is a strange sight to behold.  The only person in the room whose pulse is working overtime is Betsy's.  She's looking for husband number eight and summing up the possibilities in Mitchell.  Ally hopes Betsy can keep the nerd busy while she escapes to the Top Hat.  Mitchell isn't much to look at in his geeky glasses and retro outfit, but Betsy doesn't care.  He's a living, breathing male and she can't wait to show him her parlor. 

Mitch doesn't like snow.  When he left Chicago , he vowed he would never again shovel snow.  Now here he is, at the end of the earth, chasing after Ally so he can keep a deathbed promise to her grandmother.  He searched every store in Los Angeles for the matching orange nightmare he's wearing and wishes he had his jeans and leather jacket, not to mention his motorcycle.  The heavily framed black glasses just add to his nerd disguise, but he doesn't really need them over his contacts.  As P.I. and bodyguard, Mitch's job is to handle the estate and keep Ally safe from her evil uncle.  For months, Mitch has admired Ally from afar, and he's kept his hormones in check. But now, in this backwoods town, where only a shared bathroom separates their bedrooms, he has his work cut out for him.  He spurns Betsy's attentions, plants a bug under Ally's bed, sets up his surveillance equipment, then goes to the Top Hat for dinner, where he enters to find Ally shaking her booty on top of the bar.  Looks like he has his work cut out for him, after all.

NERD GONE WILD is a laugh-out-loud book with exceptional characters and lots of racy dialogue, excitement, and adventure.  After years of confinement under her grandmother's watchful eye, Ally is ready to break loose and begin a career of her own, if she can ditch Mitchell.  Ally thinks Mitch is just her grandmother's nerdy assistant and tends to shrug off his attentions in her quest for freedom.  Little does she know that under those geeky clothes is an alpha man of the finest quality.  As for Mitch, he wants Ally more than he should, but maintains his nerdy disguise.  His job is to keep her safe and out of the clutches of her greedy and lecherous uncle.

The secondary characters in NERD GONE WILD are so much fun.  Matchmaking Betsy, owner of the Loose Moose hotel, offers a ready supply of condoms to Mitch and Ally, should they need them, because as she puts it, there isn't much to do in Porcupine. Clyde is Betsy's main squeeze; there's big, tough Rudy, who keeps chickens in his kitchen; and Dave, the wanna-be chainsaw sculptor.  Kurt Jarrett and his girlfriend, Vivian, are the perfect villains who devised two plans for Ally, and one of them might mean her life.  Lots of sexy innuendoes contribute to the overall success of this book, and Ms. Thompson does a wonderful job of blending the erotic with romance that is sometimes tender, sometimes funny, and always exciting.

NERD GONE WILD is an excellent way to heat up these cold winter nights and has my full recommendation.  Ms. Thompson's previous books about geeky guys are THE NERD WHO LOVED ME and NERD IN SHINING ARMOR.  NERD GONE WILD is her newest offering, and I recommend you search out the others so you won't miss any of the excitement. These novels are sure to become cherished keepers. The next book, GONE WITH THE NERD, is due out in August 2005, and takes place in California 's Bigfoot country.  I can't wait to read it, and you won't want to miss it either -- it's just a few months away!  Ms. Thompson does wonders for nerdy guys everywhere!

Diana Risso