Tag: women in technology

REVIEW: Loathe at First Sight by Suzanne Park

REVIEW: Loathe at First Sight by Suzanne Park

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Avon in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Melody Joo is a new video game producer at a male-dominated gaming company. The boss, Ian MacKenzie, is everything awful you can imagine – demanding, tantrum-throwing, egotistical, and misogynistic. And since he’s the leader, many of the other staff follow his example.

In a moment of commiseration with a female colleague, Melody tosses off a random game idea about male strippers fighting zombies and such in the apocalypse. She was just joking around. But Ian gets wind of the idea. And when the board backs him into a corner about the company’s low engagement with female gamers, he throws Melody’s idea at them. And they love it.

Now Melody has to work with the company’s latest intern – Ian’s nephew Nolan – on this fast-tracked game. Melody and Nolan have already had several conflicts. What are the chances they can finish this project without killing each other?

Review

This was so much more than I was expecting! I knew it would be an enemies-to-lovers romance, but that was a smaller piece of the whole story than I realized it would be. And it was terrific!

The bulk of the story focuses on Melody, striving to succeed in a field – and a company – willfully working against her. The racism and sexism is rampant. Early on, Melody assumes Nolan will be a part of that.

The nitty-gritty gaming pieces are not part of this, which I liked. The focus stayed on the people and the outcomes, which was perfect. While I might not have been 100% clear on what Melody was doing all the time, I definitely knew she was busting her backside, working long hours and leveraging the expertise of her team members and friends when she needed to. When word gets out about her game – targeting female gamers and produced by an Asian woman – the backlash is tremendous. There are no magical solutions to the haters and trolls and doxxing and harassment that Melody endures. But I was quite satisfied with how most of that is sorted out in the end.

The gaming story is balanced out by Melody’s parents who were a lot (for Melody, not for the reader) and her two best friends who are both experiencing major life transitions. They were just the right blend of helpful and focused on things outside Melody’s work life. They rounded out the story well.

I thoroughly enjoyed this one! If you like your romance books with a full, meaty story around the relationship, pick this one up. If you love books about strong, bright women fighting for a seat at the table, pick this up. And if you love books about women in tech fields charting their own courses in both their work and personal lives, pick this up. I don’t think you will regret it. You can read my review of the author’s latest YA romance, The Perfect Escape, here. (Language. TW: Harassment)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥½*

*♥♥♥♥½ = Loved it! Would read again.

BONUS REVIEW: Mask by Kate Hannigan

BONUS REVIEW: Mask by Kate Hannigan

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Aladdin in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

At first glance, Josie, Mae, and Akiko look like normal girls. But in reality, they are the Infinity Trinity. Thanks to some special artifacts – a cape, a mask, and some boots, the girls are superheroes.

Akiko’s family has been taken to an internment camp because of World War II and the attack on Pearl Harbor. But she gets word her mother has gone missing from the camp. And she’s not the only person missing. Several superheroes, like Zenobia, have gone missing as well.

As the girls start looking for Akiko’s mother, they run into a new villain on the scene, a clown called Side-Splitter. Side-Splitter is setting off bombs around San Francisco and trying to destroy American Naval vessels. The Infinity Trinity have their hands full with this guy!

Review

I love the creativity and uniqueness of this series. This is a re-imagined WWII story where superheroes are real. The racial issues of the time – like the internment camps – are present. Real historical figures are mentioned. The real role of women in the war is also reflected in the story. As with book 1, there are extensive end notes that let readers know which parts of this fantasy tale are anchored in reality.

The final art for the graphic novel sections of the book were not available in my review copy, but there were descriptions of what will be included in the final art. I think readers will enjoy this fun feature to this series. I love the creativity of including comic panels – this is a superhero story after all – into a prose novel.

While there is a lot about this series that I love, I struggled with the pacing of this story. There were several sections that dragged for me. In this story there are several times where the girls are puzzling out coded messages, and it’s hard to put action into moments when they are listening and thinking. There are fight scenes, of course, but this particular story also has quieter moments of thinking, of empathizing with Akiko as she stresses over her mom’s role in the Side-Splitter’s plans, etc. The great features I have already mentioned, though, make up for the slower sections of the story telling for me.

There are several unresolved threads here, including the missing superheroes, to lead readers to book 3. These books should definitely be read in order. Be sure to check out the first book in the League of Secret Heroes series, Cape.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥

REVIEW: The Boyfriend Project by Farrah Rochon

REVIEW: The Boyfriend Project by Farrah Rochon

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Forever in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Samiah’s mind was on her date later that night with Craig when her sister first mentioned the Twitter post. Someone was live tweeting her first date with a guy. As the tweet thread continued, Samiah started to feel sick. The woman was obviously out with Craig. He was using the reservation she had gotten for them for this other date. He had told her something came up and made plans with her for later that night.

By the time Samiah got to the restaurant to confront Craig, there was a third woman there. Craig had “catfished” all three of them. Samiah lit into Craig, and other diners caught it on video. It went viral. At least she gained a friendship with the two other women. That was the only positive from the whole mess. Now the ladies have sworn off men for awhile and are going to spend time on themselves and things that matter to them.

Then Samiah meets Daniel, the new hire at work. He’s smart, compassionate, and gorgeous. Even though she said she was going to take 6 months off from dating to focus on herself and a project she’s been wanting to dig into, Daniel is too tempting to keep pushing away. But Daniel is keeping a secret. And after her experience with Craig, that is something that will devastate Samiah if it ever comes out.

Review

This was delightful! It’s a fun romance between two great characters. I was fascinated by Daniel’s real job. And Samiah is an ideal protagonist – smart, a great friend, and a leader who knows her field and her value. Together, they were explosive.

But what made this different from some of the other tech-based romances I’ve read lately (The Right Swipe, Can’t Escape Love) is the mystery that Daniel is working on throughout the book. It’s an ever-present background issue. There’s nothing for the reader to figure out, though, no culprit to find. It’s not the focus of the story, but it’s still a fascinating layer to the whole. I loved it.

It’s clear early on that Samiah’s new friends are leading women waiting to tell their own stories, sort of like the Central Park Pact series, which I loved. And the epilogue in this book does double duty for wrapping up Samiah and Daniel’s story as well as teeing up the next book in the series. And you can sign me up for that right now! This was so good, I won’t hesitate to snatch up the sequel the minute it debuts. Contemporary romance fans as well as geek/tech romance fans should not miss this one! (Language, sex)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥½

REVIEW: The Right Swipe by Alisha Rai

REVIEW: The Right Swipe by Alisha Rai

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Avon in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Rhiannon has worked her tail off building her dating app, Crush, into one of the top apps in the country. As a woman, she had a long list of bad dating experiences she wanted to screen out for herself and other women looking for someone with her app. And people responded. Now she has a chance to buy out the older style Matchmaker. It would give her a huge market share and help her serve folks who wanted to go with the personality profile style of dating AND the app-swiping folks who used Crush.

Samson Lima was a football player for awhile. And when that fell apart, he took care of his sick uncle for many years. Now, his aunt needs him. She’s the sole owner of Matchmaker now that her sister has passed away. The company needs an infusion of something fresh – and that’s Samson. He’s agreed to be a spokesperson for Matchmaker and also let them find him a match publicly to get some good publicity and show people what the process looks like.

Samson and Rhiannon are at an industry event when they run into each other. Again. Awhile ago, they matched up on Crush and spent a steamy evening together. Rhiannon broke her own rules for hook ups and agreed to a second date. When Samson didn’t show, she deleted the profile she had on the app. He was dead to her. She didn’t know his uncle’s health took a turn. When Samson got his feet under him again and remembered the broken date, he couldn’t find “Claire” on Crush anymore and had no way of apologizing for ghosting her. But judging from the daggers she glares at him, forgiveness is not going to come from Rhiannon any time soon.

Review

This was delightful! Samson and Rhi are fantastic characters. She has a history that keeps her wary and always on the offensive. He has been burned by people he thought of as family. They are both terrified to be vulnerable and trust others, which makes trying to build a relationship tricky.

Which is fine because Rhi doesn’t want a “relationship.” A physical connection is all she wants from Samson – and she tells herself she doesn’t even want that. But the chemistry between them is unavoidable. Their trust issues keep cropping up, though, and put a wedge between them again and again.

This is another football-adjacent story that addresses concussion issues. I enjoyed how the author worked the issue in without using active players. It felt different and worked in some additional dynamics that I enjoyed.  It never felt like it was tacked on to be timely or “relevant.”

The secondary characters were as delightful as Rhi and Samson. I would love for this to be a series like the Reluctant Royals series by Alyssa Cole or the Bluff Point series by Jenn McKinlay. In those series, a secondary character in one story becomes the protagonist in another. There are several secondary characters in this I would love to see star in their own book! *

I have been on a romantic comedy (rom-com) kick lately, and I’m loving it. This is a terrific entry in that genre. Don’t miss this one! (Language, sex)

*[I discovered this IS going to be a series!! This is book one in the Modern Love series. Book 2 – currently titled Girl Gone Viral – is scheduled to release in Spring 2020]

Rating: ♥♥♥♥½

REVIEW: Cape by Kate Hannigan

REVIEW: Cape by Kate Hannigan

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

World War II is underway. Men are fighting. Women are helping build battleships. Many Japanese Americans are in camps while others fight for America in the war. And three girls – one Irish, one Black and one Japanese – can’t sit together in a diner for a slice of pie.

The world needs heroes, but supers like Hauntima and Zenobia have disappeared. No one knows where they’ve gone or why they don’t help any more.

Josie, Mae and Akiko are part of a larger group of people who answered an ad for “puzzlers” to help in the war effort. Josie isn’t sure what they’d actually do if they were chosen, but she’s great at codes and puzzles, and her family could use the money. But she’s crushed when the test moderator dumps her test – and any others completed by women – into the trash without even scoring them.

But someone else is also watching the girls. And she thinks they could be even more help to the world than puzzlers. They could be heroes. With a pair of boots, a mask, and a cape from another hero, the girls could become a super team.

Review

This was so much fun, AND I learned a lot!

This is a prose novel with four small sections told in comic book-style art and panels. It’s an interesting format, and I enjoyed it. The timeline – World War II – is interesting with a diverse set of main characters who all have family tied to the war. There’s a strong girl power vibe to this which ties beautifully to the sections about a very real group of women called the Eniac Six, the women who worked on the first electronic computer. The author’s note includes great historic information as well as book and internet recommendations for further information. For me, this gives the book an extra layer of awesome!

The superhero pieces of the story are fun – learning new powers, developing team work, etc. The author does a great job of holding back some key secrets for the sequel. Book 2 of the League of Secret Heroes series  – Mask – will release in 2020. Don’t miss this one!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥

REVIEW: Screen Queens by Lori Goldstein

REVIEW: Screen Queens by Lori Goldstein

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

ValleyStart is a summer tech incubator program. The winners of the summer competition would secure an internship at Pulse, the hottest influencer rating app. Lucy is hoping to win ValleyStart to get her off the wait list for Standford. She’s gotten Ryan Thompson, founder of Pulse, as her mentor. Her whole life has been leading her to this moment. She’s ready to crush ValleyStart.

Maddie isn’t happy about leaving her brother Danny to go to ValleyStart. But he’ll be at summer camp while she’s gone, and that will keep him out of the War of the Worlds going on between their parents. But really, ValleyStart is just something else to put on her resumé to help her build her graphic design business. Win or lose, she’ll be fine.

Delia is feeling out of her depth at ValleyStart. She’s more than capable of handling the coding. But she’s working part time while she’s there, and she’s self-conscious about all her parents sacrificed to get her there. If she can win, she can get a tech job. And then that money can save her parents’ theater. No pressure.

ValleyStart has never had an all-female team win the competition before. Tech tends to be a boys club. And all three of these girls are aware of that. But this summer at ValleyStart will be their chance to show what they can do to stand out in the crowd.

Review

I loved this!! In the beginning, the girls are a little prickly, and it takes awhile for them to thaw to one another. But once they started clicking as a team, I was in it until the final page. (And I actually would have been happy to have another couple chapters!)

I loved the core characters. And I loved them even more when they stepped away from ValleyStart and engaged with a middle school tech day camp. It was a fantastic example of what can be gained when you take your eyes off yourself and your situation for awhile and focus on someone else.

There’s an excellent female empowerment message through the whole book – from celebrating the history of women in technology to looking out for the next generation of coders, designers and developers. I can’t recommend this highly enough. Do not miss this one!! (Language)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥½