NERD IN SHINING ARMOR - Vicki Lewis Thompson
Dell
ISBN: 0-440-24116-2
May 2003

Contemporary Romance

Hawaii —Present Day

Jackson Farley has had a crush on Genevieve Terrence since her first day of work at Rainbow Software in Honolulu , but he knows he doesn't have a chance of wooing and winning her — if he ever could muster the nerve to ask her out. Pretty, kind-hearted Genevieve is an organized, efficient secretary with a great sense of style; Jackson is a color-blind, absent-minded computer geek. He's a genius, and his work is highly respected, but his erratic habits and sometimes eye-popping clothing combinations are more likely to earn a lady's ridicule than her affection. When Genevieve agrees to accompany Nick Brogan, one of the firm's partners, on a trip to Maui , Jack invents a reason to accompany them, hoping to save Gen from becoming the next notch on Nick's bedpost. Or to pick up the pieces of her broken heart afterward.

But Nick is more than just a womanizer, and there's a lot more at stake than Gen's heart. Nick has embezzled millions of dollars from the company, and after flying to a deserted part of the Pacific Ocean , he parachutes out of the company plane, leaving Jackson and Genevieve stranded in mid-air. Fortunately, Jackson 's years of playing flight simulation video games stand him in good stead, and he lands the plane near a small, deserted island. Gen takes a good look at him and realizes there's more to Jack than meets the eye. After a few more heroic gestures, he becomes even more appealing. He doesn't know a blessed thing about surviving in the real world, but that's okay because Gen does. Born and raised in the backwoods of Tennessee , she's done her best to ignore her roots and eradicate her hillbilly speech, but the lessons she learned in the woods as a child provide food and shelter for them now. While they are waiting to be rescued, and she's teaching Jack survival skills, maybe she'll teach him a little about the interactions between men and women. But are sharks the only predators they have to worry about?

NERD IN SHINING ARMOR is an enjoyable, sexy romp. It's a story of love and learning and life, and although it's predictable at times, it's entertaining. Jack and Gen are likeable characters, but Gen is pretty much a stereotypical hillbilly, while Jack is more three-dimensional. He's a fairly typical nerd, but he isn't as clueless as she believes. He has no objections to a fantasy fling, but he wants more — a lot more. He wants to be Gen's hero, the man of her dreams, her knight in shining armor. He's smart, but Gen's resourceful, not to mention sexy as hell. Swashbuckling derring-do isn't Jack's style — he's a beta hero — but chivalrous deeds and steadfast devotion have won many ladies' hearts, and Gen's is no exception.

There's an aura of unreality about the story, which takes place in just a few days. The cast of secondary characters is small, but none of them, with the exception of Gen's younger brother, are well developed. They add little to the tale, and some readers may find them and the subplots more of a detraction than a complement to the main story.

If you're in the mood for a book with more chuckles than substance, or for something a bit different, try NERD IN SHINING ARMOR. You may never look at nerds the same way again.

Susan Lantz