Synopsis
from back of book: Movie
star Zoe Tarleton has everything but respect. Now she's determined to
get it by snagging the coveted role of a plain-Jane chemist. All she
needs is for her decidedly uncool attorney, Flynn Granger, to teach
her the award-winning subtleties of being a nerd.
California's
“Bigfoot Country” is the ideal secret hideaway for coaching. That
means rehearsing the steamy scenes too. Who'd have guessed that Zoe
and Flynn's performances would be so convincing? Unfortunately,
something is turning their hot love story into a hair-raising
thriller.
The
killer bees, the poisoned food, and the toppled tree are no
accidents. Someone's out to get them. Does Flynn have a love-struck
woman in his life? Does Zoe have an insanely jealous fan? Or is
Bigfoot real – and more resourceful than anyone imagined? It's just
Zoe's luck. She's finally found the man of her dreams and the role of
a lifetime – and both of them could be her last.
Stats
for my copy:
Mass market paperback, published by St. Martin's Press, 2005;
Christmas present from my mom.
First
line:
Two blocks from the restaurant, Zoe Tarleton knew she was screwed.
My
thoughts: Zoe
is a fun heroine, a movie star who's been relegated to glamour girl
roles and who longs to be taken seriously. She's auditioning for the
role of a nerdy scientist, and decides she needs to immerse herself
in the world of nerdism. Enter Flynn, her contract lawyer. He wears
glasses, he drives an older car (she has to ask him how to lock the
doors because the car does not have power locks), he's in a long
distance relationship with another lawyer, and his PDA is never out
his reach. When Zoe asks him to go to a remote cabin in the woods
under the assumed names (from the movie script) of Tony and Vera (in
order for her to avoid being recognized by anyone) and teach her
everything she needs to know about being a nerd, he is resistant, but
finally gives in and agrees, on one condition – he has to tell his
girlfriend where he'll be and why.
Part
of the nerd training sessions involve reading lines of hokey dialogue
from the movie script, with Flynn coaching Zoe on how a nerd would
talk or act or respond to situations, such as telling her the
character of Vera would not leave the top two buttons of her blouse
undone, or she would not sound so sure of herself, etc. I thought the
movie dialogue was a little over the top, and that Zoe was wrong in
thinking this was a serious movie that would get her serious
attention. I kept anticipating that in the end the movie would be a
bomb or be canceled before it got off the ground, or something along
those lines. But no, it actually was a serious movie.
Of
course all kinds of wacky times ensue, some between the two of them,
some involving the local townspeople. Flynn quickly gets into the
spirit of things and embraces his nerd persona, and Zoe quickly
realizes she wants to embrace Flynn. They dance around each other,
and the build up to their relationship was played out slowly (though
not too slowly since it is a single weekend) and satisfyingly.
I
went into this one a little leery compared to the other Nerd books,
as the backdrop of the Bigfoot storyline did not appeal to me at all,
but I was satisfied with the way that played out.
As
usual with a Vicki Lewis Thompson book, there is plenty of humor to
go along with the heat. One of my favorite passages:
As long as Flynn kept his tie on, he wouldn't turn into Tony. Besides, most sexual encounters began when a guy loosened his tie. A loose tie led to everything becoming loose. Flynn wanted to stay tight.
Unfortunately
when I made a note of that passage I forgot to write down the page
number and I'm too lazy to flip through the book and look for it now.
Very
enjoyable, and I'm looking forward to continuing with the series.
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