Review: Fell Short of Expectations :-(
Rating: 1 out of 5
Date: 10 30, 2013
I was so excited when I read the summary for SPARKS. I really thought I was in for a wild story full of deception and corruption and hot sex, but I was sorely disappointed.Gabrielle Winston has created a financial analysis application that could corner the market and change the way businesses are run called Sparks. She shouldn’t have used her software for work-related business, but she did and now she can’t hide the impending financial doom that everyone will encounter from her bosses and the rest of the public. While uncovering this upcoming crisis, she also unravels the plots of enemies and creates a few enemies of her own. Now she must keep quiet and keep safe and hope the inner turmoil doesn’t ruin her. Jarin San Chapelle is a successful businessman and artist from a wealthy family with ties to Gabrielle’s company. He wants her application and he wants her too. He can have both if he can keep them safe.First, let me tell you Cathryn Louis is obviously one smart cookie. She is a self-proclaimed techie with the resume to back it up and you can see that there is no shortage of information in her writing. I’m not dumb, but most of the plot revolves around industry terms that those in the business know and it’s another language for those who don’t do this for a living, like me. So I ended up skimming a lot of material with detailed instructions on how Gabrielle does her analyst job. (Pages upon pages of information on corporate networks and financial analysis apps. Blah.) Luckily, I understand enough about the market crash to follow that part of the plot, but its not something I desire to read about in a novel in such extreme detail. Let me repeat, DETAIL. I would’ve stopped reading if not for the fact I was reading for review. The plot of corporate espionage and hostile takeovers during an impeding market crash could have been interesting, but its not well executed. I was bored and lost for the majority of book.That being said, I was also expecting romance. Where is the sexy time?? Gabrielle and Jarin don’t even meet until the second half of the story and then all of sudden - BAM! - they’re in love. Uh, what did I miss? It was so out of the blue it seemed that it may have been thrown in afterwards. Gabrielle hates Jarin for being a jackass then the next day he grabs her to say sorry and that’s their love story. I’m not exaggerating. That’s it. Stolen glances and possessive feelings are mixed into the remainder of the story to convey their relationship. Unbelievable and boring.Unless you’re an IT techie genius or an investment banker I would not read SPARKS. Even people with those specific backgrounds may not find this interesting, because who wants to read about work when you’re not at work? I read for entertainment and to escape real life and this book failed me on both counts.✳✳ Copy provided by the author/publisher for an honest review.