This is a must read for all the girls that know that WIG really means Women in Games.
With Christmas creeping around the corner, all that Tove wanted to do was to hide from family drama and the real world into the safety of cyberspace with her pug girl, Q. Stockpiled with enough coffee to wake the dead, Tove was ready to take a well-deserved break from hacking and sharpen her blade in the Mists of Pandaria, to the sound of Big Bang Theory and re-runs of X-Files. She might even try her luck at DayZ – hopefully without having all her stuff pinched.
Well, if only.
Press-ganged into action by Interpol, Tove finds herself stuck in Prague, with a target painted on her back, and forced to play spy-games with her BFFs computer whiz Arnie and the gadget guy of the group, Ota – who also happens to be determined to set her up. Running against the clock, going undercover, chasing terrorists, and fending off a group of black-hats, what could go wrong?
A games industry veteran, N. P. Statham knows exactly what it is to be a girl in a world where girls aren’t supposed to like gadgets, computers, games, sci-fi, comics – in short, all the fun things in life. A life-long geek, she embraces her love for all things tech in the character of Tove Torv, sharing first-hand experiences and personal anecdotes that only someone who has been in the trenches can offer.
The author’s experience as a game developer and expat are reflected in thrillers with a tech edge set all over the world, with very unique and strong characters.
Apart from writing, N. P. Statham also teaches game development at the Uppsala University, and enjoys books, far too many TV shows, and of course a good game. She lives in Visby, Sweden, with her husband, their pug Petal (inspiration for Q), and their English bulldog Astrid.
*Edited October 2016 to fix some typos and grammar mistakes, think I caught em all*
N.P. Statham is my friend/book-buddy on Goodreads and Facebook... I was gifted a copy from the author in exchange for my honest review... I didn't guarantee a favorable one , all my opinions are my own :)
Very hard to put down after page 150... carve out some time for this one hehe
Some books start out... not 'slow' but 'steady' I like to say... they build up the world and introduce you to/let you get to know the characters, drawing you in slowly before the action gets going..
There's a quote here that describes what I mean better: "My books have are not plot driven...I count on the characters to drive the story, so I have to know who they are and what they are about before the story can really get going. And that requires a kind of patient listening to them" - Eleanor Morse
N.P. does this wonderfully, her characters aren't "perfect"... their flawed but good people (even the 'baddie' guy near the end you feel a bit of sympathy for), they have little quirks, you really connect with them and want them to be alright/succeed in their mission.
I gasped and laughed out loud many times in this book (my mom was wondering 'what the heck' i was reading haha)... Loved Tove's personality as well, she reminded me of a couple good friends of mine. She's a strong girl who is comfortable with who she is but is scarred from an event that happened with her family (minor spoiler but won't say it here)...
Q was so adorable! Her antics were so cute/adorable... I want a dog like her :) The closeness of her and Tove made me smile and my heart swell... reminded me of how close my Tasha and I were.
The one 'baddie' was a bit of a twist... made me raise my eyebrows and re-reading it to make sure I read it right... I wanted to join Tove in kickin his a$$.
I couldn't turn the pages fast enough... my heart was pounding through the latter half of the book, hoping everything would turn out okay for Tove and the gang.
Happy smile on my face at the end... but also bittersweet, I didn't wanna leave my new friends *hugs them all*
Very much enjoyed this book, nothing negative to say about it, highly recommend it... will definitely be gifting this book for birthdays/Christmas in the future :)
Maybe poor Tove will understand more Czech in the future hehe ;-) Ota, Arnie, and her made an excellent quirky team... remind me to never get on their 'bad' side... definitely would want Tove on mine if something went south.
I don't read many books but this one was just me all the way through. I found myself quickly hooked by the charming Tove and Q as I laughed and enjoyed the roller coaster ride of a mystery. Lots of little things that made me mark out. If ur a geek u'll love this book to. Seriously try it out as you'll not regret it. Really hoping there's a sequel in the not to distant future.