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Sparks
Gabrielle Winston, an accomplished business process analyst, struggles to believe that she has discovered the seeds of the financial meltdown 0f 2008 - in October of 2007.
The day after the discovery, she finds evidence of commercial espionage within her firm. This new knowledge makes her the main target in a war among ruthless, ultra-rich industrialists.
Some of them are determined to make her disappear; others of them are determined to protect her. One of them, Jarin Cole San Chappelle, has discovered that he loves her.
The war escalates past intrigue and espionage into murder; and in the final confrontation, she has to pull her best bluff to win - and she doesn't have a poker face.
The day after the discovery, she finds evidence of commercial espionage within her firm. This new knowledge makes her the main target in a war among ruthless, ultra-rich industrialists.
Some of them are determined to make her disappear; others of them are determined to protect her. One of them, Jarin Cole San Chappelle, has discovered that he loves her.
The war escalates past intrigue and espionage into murder; and in the final confrontation, she has to pull her best bluff to win - and she doesn't have a poker face.
246 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 1, 2010
291 people want to read
About the author
Cathryn Louis
2 books27 followersAn author, writing from my unique perspective of the high-tech geek lifestyle. They’ve got loads of money, huge egos, and complete disregard for the rules – any rules. It’s a perfect recipe for suspenseful, contemporary stories, where intrigues are certain, but survival is not.
My first, Sparks, is a thriller where the heroine lives in a high-rise condo, makes millions with her laptop and is, of course, on high society’s ‘A’ list. She really knows how to live…but today, she’s marked to die.
My first, Sparks, is a thriller where the heroine lives in a high-rise condo, makes millions with her laptop and is, of course, on high society’s ‘A’ list. She really knows how to live…but today, she’s marked to die.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
December 21, 2015
Fun, fast paced, technical thriller from a talented new author. Interesting journey through an obstacle course of information technology, personal security, financial analysis, and upper level management intrigue. Allows the reader a glimpse inside that complex world, without requiring an advanced degree and years of experience in the corporate world as IT staff. The characters are interesting and I definitely would like to know more about them beyond this tale. The novel isn't perfect, for me the romance seemed forced (though I liked the ending). However, this is great escapist fare that only requires the reader to settle in and enjoy the ride.
November 23, 2012
Sparks is a financial mystery with Gabrielle as a heroine. She develops an application called SPARKS to run algorithisms to forecast financial situations. SPARKS forecasts some financial doom and Gabrielle tries to let her organization know of her discovery. Not everyone wants to know though and she ends up fearing for her life. She also suffers from a broken heart - her fiance's future plans were not in alignment with hers. He departs and she is left alone. She must fight for her life because of her discovery and hopefully find love in the process.
I received this book directly from the author. All opinions, good or bad, are my own.
I received this book directly from the author. All opinions, good or bad, are my own.
February 5, 2013
I like Sparks. It was a fast paced, twisted mystery. There were times when the characters and their relationships were a little hard to keep straight. And the key love story seemed to develop a little fast...but overall I really enjoyed it.
February 28, 2013
I couldn't finish. 32% into this book and it was all jumble talk of the mortgage crash and stock market plummet. I couldn't be bothered with that stuff.
November 30, 2016
Delightful Tech and Romance
Tale of a female computer scientist, her private program, her job, her friends and the men who are interested in her. I highly enjoyed it although I wish she had fallen for a different guy.
Tale of a female computer scientist, her private program, her job, her friends and the men who are interested in her. I highly enjoyed it although I wish she had fallen for a different guy.
October 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 its 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.
✳✳ Reviewed on I ♥ Bookie Nookie Reviews
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 its 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.
✳✳ Reviewed on I ♥ Bookie Nookie Reviews
January 1, 2013
Sparks fly as love and danger collide!
What would you do if you knew an economic meltdown was eminent? Gabrielle Winston is a computer genius who finds herself in the middle of a brewing financial disaster. She developed a "killer" financial analysis application (she calls it Sparks) that predicts that the bond market is due to collapse. It will drag the stock market down too. What should she do?
The situation reminds readers of the 2008 financial meltdown caused by defaults in the mortgage bond market. If savvy financial companies had known ahead of time that the disaster was coming, could they avoid the crisis? A self-serving business man might use the information for his own gain.
In this story Sparks predicts the meltdown. Now Gabrielle must warn her company and accept reprimands for using her program to run the analysis using restricted information. Gabby doesn't know there's a mole inside the company working for their enemy--a malicious businessman who plans to wreck the family he's grown up hating. Gabby becomes a target as she tries to help her company survive the impending financial disaster. Love sneaks into the picture when Gabrielle meets a handsome artist/company executive. Afraid to trust her heart, Gabby fights the attraction.
SPARKS is a fast-paced story filled with love, intrigue, interesting characters, and danger. Sparks fly as Gabby attempts to do the right thing. More sparks fly as one of her friends attempts to steal her program--with orders to kill her if necessary. Can Gabrielle survive and build a new future with the man she loves? Buy this book and prepare yourself for a roller coaster techno-thrilling ride. It's worth taking.
What would you do if you knew an economic meltdown was eminent? Gabrielle Winston is a computer genius who finds herself in the middle of a brewing financial disaster. She developed a "killer" financial analysis application (she calls it Sparks) that predicts that the bond market is due to collapse. It will drag the stock market down too. What should she do?
The situation reminds readers of the 2008 financial meltdown caused by defaults in the mortgage bond market. If savvy financial companies had known ahead of time that the disaster was coming, could they avoid the crisis? A self-serving business man might use the information for his own gain.
In this story Sparks predicts the meltdown. Now Gabrielle must warn her company and accept reprimands for using her program to run the analysis using restricted information. Gabby doesn't know there's a mole inside the company working for their enemy--a malicious businessman who plans to wreck the family he's grown up hating. Gabby becomes a target as she tries to help her company survive the impending financial disaster. Love sneaks into the picture when Gabrielle meets a handsome artist/company executive. Afraid to trust her heart, Gabby fights the attraction.
SPARKS is a fast-paced story filled with love, intrigue, interesting characters, and danger. Sparks fly as Gabby attempts to do the right thing. More sparks fly as one of her friends attempts to steal her program--with orders to kill her if necessary. Can Gabrielle survive and build a new future with the man she loves? Buy this book and prepare yourself for a roller coaster techno-thrilling ride. It's worth taking.
October 5, 2013
I received this book from Goodreads' in a First Reads giveaway. Thank you Cathryn Louis!
I really enjoyed this book! The plot is good and very well written. It did take me a little while to get "into" the book due to all the technical details and the complex relationships between the numerous characters. However, once I got there, I was hooked and couldn't put the book down!
I really enjoyed this book! The plot is good and very well written. It did take me a little while to get "into" the book due to all the technical details and the complex relationships between the numerous characters. However, once I got there, I was hooked and couldn't put the book down!
February 17, 2013
Read my full review HERE
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews