Cover Image: Wired

Wired

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I am convinced that Julie Garwood did not write this book. I've read a good bit of her books and the main thing that made me love her books was how she wrote her characters and made us care and fall in love with them.

None of that happened in this book.

Everybody was un-likeable, and Allison is literally the most Peggy-Sue character I have ever read about. Yeah, it was just bad all around. Allison is perfect all around, she's smart, beautiful, compassionate and in a bad situation with her relatives. Her problems were easily taken care of but the book needed to be longer, so they kept stretching things out and again, it was just bad.

Liam on the other hand, we're supposed to think of him as this dark, mysterious FBI agent, who's hot and sexy but has good intentions. Instead, he came off as a self riotous jackass, who keeps having sex with Allison before disappearing for weeks on end without calling her. I get what the author was trying to do, but it just made him a jerk.

I could get on board with any of the many storylines, and it's a no for me.

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DNF at 40%, I have absolutely no desire to keep reading this silly, annoying book. And I don't use those words lightly -- I have loved the romance genre for more than 20 years. But this book? Terrible.

I found it hard to believe that this was written by Garwood, a longtime author with many amazing books under her belt (some of which I have read and loved!). This read like a child's story. Everything was so underdeveloped and then quickly thrown away as needed for the character to attempt to move forward, the characters, especially the heroine, was written in such a way that she seemed like a young teenager walking around, not a 5 years into her college degree woman. And that made it so I A) couldn't take her seriously and B) could not see her as the love interest to some older FBI dude, no matter how "handsome" he appeared. Yes, I get it, she was, in fact, NOT a teenager but damn, the way she was written, the way her character acted and reacted to things, you could have fooled me.

The head hoping every other paragraph was also a pain and gave me a headache.

I couldn't deal with the heroine's aunt, uncle, and cousin. But what was worse was when she finally, out of the blue, decided to grow a backbone and turn away from them. I should have been cheering. Instead all I could think was "why didn't you do this on page 1? NOTHING HAS CHANGED WITH YOUR CHARACTER OR MOTIVATION SO WHY WASN'T THIS DONE 35% EARLIER?" Also: I was mad that her OLDER SISTER left her in that toxic environment, with them abusing her financially, for the last decade or more. WTF. She could have taken her away once she turned 18 and the heroine was still a minor. She could have stepped in and taken over the heroine's accounts as next of kin instead of the aunt/uncle. She could have done SOMETHING besides just run off and have a life and leave her sister in that environment. I can't even.

No, I didn't finish this book. But after dragging my way through 40% of it, there is literally no way that the remaining 60% could have changed anything, let alone turned this book around for me. Hard pass, I do not recommend this book to anyone.

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I really enjoyed this story as a suspense/mystery novel. However, the romance aspect was sadly lacking which is why I only gave this one 3 stars instead of 4 or 5. I really didn't feel the chemistry between the two characters or feel the buildup of why they were in love with each other.

I guess I have to say that I've had to try to forget the awesome historical romances that Julie Garwood used to write. Books like The Bride were one of my favorite romances growing up. If I compared this book to that book the rating of this book would probably be lower. But just looking at this book as an individual and more objectively I did enjoy the story. I haven't read a suspense/mystery since reading Dan Brown books and this one was very enjoyable without having to follow a complicated storyline.

I really enjoyed Allison's character. She was such as sweet person and always willing to help someone and always giving them a second chance. But when she gets mad she does have a little bit of a temper. Now Liam's character is much harder to like. Maybe it is because the author didn't delve too much into his character and we rarely know what he is thinking. This is one of the things I don't like in Ms. Garwood's newer books. I think it has to do with the fact she is trying to move away from the romance genre and break more into the mystery/thriller genre and giving the readers more insight to the hero's thoughts and actions will make the book less suspenseful.

I feel that there isn't as much depth to the characters as there should be. I felt a little ambivalent that Allison and Liam would get together because I was already satisfied that Allison was already the heroine of the story and really didn't need Liam except as a supporting character. In fact, if the author just had a series with Allison as the main character solving problems for the FBI and then bringing in secondary characters like Liam as the love interest and then another character for her the next book this series would be successful.

However this book is listed as a romance and I really didn't feel, as I mentioned before, the chemistry between these characters. In fact, I'm surprised that Allison didn't fall for her housemate, Dan, since Dan spent more time with her and took better care of her than Liam really did. I know that Liam said he let Allison handle her own problems because she would be mad if he interfered and handled them himself, but I really felt this was a pretty weak excuse. I'm an independent woman in reality, but when I read a romance I still want the hero to take care of the problem or at least try to and the heroine would end up handling it herself, but for the guy to just say he will stand back and see how she would handle it really didn't sit well with me.

And Liam kept leaving Allison and not contacting her for weeks or months at a time and he didn't seem to really miss her except for a little bit of lip service that he said he did, but yet he didn't contact her? And it didn't seem like he even kept watch over her at all, or at least didn't have agents tailing her! He left the responsibility for watching her over to Agent Philips. Also, he seemed okay and even amused when she told him how Agent Philips would make her work 80+ hours a week. If he were a real hero he would have a problem with that and want her to be taken care of and not doing all that work and getting herself sick.

I know there are many readers out there who feel like I do that Ms. Garwood's writing has changed so dramatically since her historical novels - the humor and the romance is no longer there. I'm hoping she eventually finds her way back to writing the way she used to.

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Computer nerdy romantic suspense = good read….

This author’s talent knows no bounds it seems. I love her historical romances and her romantic suspense keeps me happily entertained as well. And this one was no exception as Allison and Liam come together to find a traitor and lots, lots more….

I loved Allison’s character. She was uber-smart, funny and confident in what she brought to the cyber-table. She was a modern, female Robin Hood and I loved that she was a strong woman who, unknowingly, intimidated even men with her intelligence and technical savvy. Liam may have been bowled over by her knowledge but he was equally charmed by her beauty and personality. This strong, quiet alphabet agent was going to do what was right for his department, his country and the woman he now thought of as his.

A bit slow in spots, and I wished the romance between Allison and Liam was somehow more, I was entertained by the mystery and the many goings on with Allison’s family. And of course a strong, code-happy female lead always makes me happy! ~3.5 stars

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Julie Garwood never disappoints for a suspenseful title that keeps you guessing and enjoying the drama and the ride.

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I loved this book. The characters were awesome and as always Julie does an amazing job on writing a book that keeps you invested and wanting more.

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Wired was my first read by Julie Garwood and it was perfection for my heart that beats for romantic suspense! Wired had just enough mystery to keep me intrigued and just the right amount of romance to make me swoon.

The biggest obstacle for me in Wired is that it was told in third person, and I much prefer to read first person, but once I got over that I moved through the story quickly. It was fast paced read that I enjoyed immensely.

Allison is brilliant when it comes to computers and coding, so it's no surprise that this gorgeous part time model, is recruited by the FBI to find a leak. She blew everyone way with her speed and skills. While she is working for the FBI she is also dealing with money sucking relatives.

In the midst of all of this, in walks handsome and irresistible FBI agent, Liam. Maybe I should say walked, because we all know that man has some swagger. Liam, is always traveling and doesn't have time for a relationship, but he keeps finding himself thrown into situations (or find himself there on purpose? Hmm..) with Allison.

Wired is a high-stakes novel with with drama and intrigue.

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As always, Garwood delivers a fun, suspenseful romance that will leave readers on the edge of their seats. Allison and Liam have great chemistry together, and Allison's duality as both a model and a computer programmer is an interesting combination that provides both humor and a reminder not to judge a book by its cover.

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I almost didn't read this book because of the cover, but once I got into the book it surprised me. I was expecting a romance but got a thriller instead. I really liked the book. Unexpected surprises

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net galley . Wired is a great romantic suspense featuring bad boy Fbi agent and Alison model / hacker. Trouble is brewing and Liam needs help and Alison is the person that can solve all his problems and the perfect women for him. And exciting story filled with great characters and taken right off the news pages

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Julie Garwood books are always a hit. this is no exception. Plot involves FBI agent and a female hacker he needs to help him stop an internal leak. Enjoyable book and it was nice to catch up with many of the characters from previous FBI books,

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Allison Trent is a hacker, still in college, when she is approached by the FBI, specifically Liam Scott, to track down a mole inside the FBI. There are some recurring characters from Julie Garwood's other FBI books, but there is little to recommend here unless you are a die hard fan. The title "Wired" is straight. There's no play on the idea of a hacker or of being excited or charged up. This is by the numbers, and I am disappointed because I have really enjoyed Garwood's historical stories very much.

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While Wired was an entertaining read, it is not my favorite from Julie Garwood. The action sequences and the suspense factor was good. I think that I found it hard to make a connection to the characters. They seemed a little two dimensional to me. Wired was a bit out of balance toward the procedural side, and I would have liked more emphasis on the romance in order for me to rate it higher. I am still a Garwood reader, and this is a good addition to my library, just not my favorite.

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DNF
This book was very meh. I'm sad to say that I couldn't get into it.

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I've been a little surprised by some of the reviews I've read on this one because for me, it was definitely worth the long wait! I loved it just as much as my other favorites in the series.

I particularly liked Allison and thought she was a great character. Liam worked for me too. The premise of an FBI agent hiring a topnotch computer hacker really intrigued me, and I was very happy with the way the storyline played out. The book captured my attention immediately and held it throughout. I enjoyed every minute spend reading this one.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing a copy of the book in return for an honest review.

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This is Liam's book. We met him previously in another book and for some reason I thought his love interest would be someone else that was already in a previous book. I loved this series. I probably had all the other books in paperback except for the last book. For some reason, the last two books in this series haven't really appealed to me and lack the passion of the books in the previous series and the chemistry between the main two H and h fall flat. Allison is a computer genius and can write code and hack and has been known to liberate thieves when they steal from the less unfortunate. She and her sister were also orphans who were taken advantage of by relatives who weren't supposed to have custody of them per their parents wishes. She is also a part time model who has no knowledge of her beauty and uses the money to help her parasitic relatives. She meets Liam through her friend who is also a computer genius and he gets her to work for the FBI to help crack a case that threatens her life. This book for me was a 3 star book.

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I loved this book. I thought there was a great mix of romance, suspense, and mystery. Both the primary and secondary characters were well thought out, easy to relate to, and brought their own importance to the story. The connection between Allison and Liam was intense. There are many other things I want to say, but I don't want to spoil the plot. Hmm...If you like romance books, there is enough here for you to enjoy the story. If you like mystery and suspense and thriller books, this is definitely your book. There are multiple plots and subplots in one book, and they weave together beautifully. I highly recommend this fast-paced read.

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Guaranteed I will always read a Julie Garwood novel. However this was not one of her better stories. The story seemed to jump all over the place. We'd get a really long drawn out explanation of one thing but a rush job on another. Then back to the long explanation. I'd still recommend the book for a quick read.

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It's been quite a while since I've read a Julie Garwood contemporary and unlike a lot of others, I don't mind them. Sure, I'm a bigger fan of her older work but her newer stuff does its job of entertaining me. I liked this book fine but I will say that I liked a lot of her other contemporaries a lot more.

I've been curious about Liam Scott ever since we met him and I was curious to see what his character was really all about since at one time, I didn't care for him and then he grew on me and yet, I didn't feel like I really knew him. Going into this book, I was all about getting to know Liam and it's a bit disappointing to say that I still don't feel like we quite got to know him.

Wired follows Liam Scott as he investigates a mole in the FBI and he needs the help of a really smart hacker that looks like sin on a stick. Her name is Allison Trent and she's just about finished with college and wondering what happens next. He needs her help so she agrees to help him with this project but when she finds his mole, she's out of the FBI. She's not interested in working for the FBI. Each day that passes, Allison works on trying to find the mole and Liam works on trying to not jump her bones. It's not easy because Liam is always with her. Whether he's supposed to be or not, he keeps her near and he wants to help her with everything in her life. Her work. Her punk ass guardians and anything else that she'd let him help her with.

The romance between Liam and Allison was kind of abrupt. It felt more like lust for a huge chunk of the book because I couldn't quite believe that they were in love with each other. That they fell in love so quickly. There was something missing in the romance that didn't win me over completely. Maybe it was because after the book was done, I didn't feel like I knew Liam as much as I hoped I would. Allison seemed like the perfect woman. She was the genius computer hacker that the FBI was drooling over AND she was gorgeous as shit. A freaking model to boot! Allison was too perfect to be real even with her shitty ass upbringing. I didn't fully connect with either of them and that was disappointing.

Overall, this book was okay. I liked the book fine. I enjoyed the story even if the romance lacked meat. Liam had potential to be a fabulously sexy hero but I was a bit let down that we don't really get much of Liam, the man. We get a whole lot of Liam, the FBI Agent. Allison was a strong heroine but I didn't fully connect with her because she was too perfect. All in all, it was a good story but nowhere near one of Garwood's bests.

<strong>Grade: 3 out of 5</strong>

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