MY NERDY VALENTINE

Author: Vicki Lewis Thompson ISBN: 0312939094 1/2007 CONTEMPORARY Publisher: ST. MARTIN'S PRESS

Aspiring psychologist Amanda Rykowsky’s schedule is certifiable. Between study, bartending, and an internship with a sex therapist whose techniques would make a Playboy bunny blush, there’s zero time for romance. Still, Amanda is flattered to receive an anonymous Valentine…until the messages take a sinister turn. Stockbroker William Sloan swears he’s not the one sending Amanda cards, but he suspects the culprit’s intentions are more dubious than sharing a box of Godiva. Something about gorgeous, determined Amanda brings out the usually reserved William’s inner he-man, and he insists on acting as a decoy boyfriend. With a fake relationship masking some very real lust, it’s only a matter of time before William and Amanda give in to the sweetest of temptations. And once he’s dealt with her secret stalker, William’s next mission is to strike Amanda with Cupid’s arrow….

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

Just in time for Valentine's Day we get a long awaited new book in Vicki Lewis Thompson's Nerd series. This series is golden through and through, and I knew that I would not be disappointed by Ms. Thompson's newest book. I never am.

Amanda Rykowsky is interning for the world's kookiest sex therapist so she can finish out her degree in psychology. Driven and focused, Amanda has no time for men or the drama that they will bring to her life, so she has chosen to stay alone. When she accidentally drops a bag of sex toys literally on the feet of a handsome nerd after a shopping trip for her boss, she isn't sure who is more embarrassed—her or him. I mean, seriously, the guy has a hat with earflaps! What would he know about sex toys?

William Sloan cannot believe his bad luck. Of all the days to be caught out in his hat with the earflaps, this is not a good one. He has a legitimate reason for the hat, in that he has sensitive ears, but still, he would have to meet the most amazing woman while wearing the dang thing. Now, she can't wait to get away from him and practically bolts at his invitation to lunch. Things don't look any better for him when Amanda calls and accuses him of leaving Valentine's cards in her desk drawer. He has no idea what she is talking about, and once she figures that out, she decides it is time to get a little freaked. When the cards become increasingly vulgar and then downright nasty, she goes into full scare mode. And who is there to save the day? Why, our boy William, of course!

I don't know how in the world Ms. Thompson dreams up these quacky, over the top secondary characters for her books, but she does it so well, probably the best I have ever seen! I fall in love with these characters and want to read about them as much as I do the main set! TALK NERDY TO ME is a delicious, provocative, naughty addition to Vicki Lewis Thompson's Nerdy series. I am seriously beginning to think that a nerdy man is the way to go!

Kristal Gorman