Jul 11 2007
REVIEW: Wired by Liz Maverick
Dear Ms. Maverick:
I was excited about reading this book as it was the first in Dorchester’s new speculative romance line, Shomi. The promise was that Shomi books would feature cutting edge speculative fiction within the romance construct and Wired delivered on that promise.
L. Roxanne Zaborovsky is on a mission to go to the 7-11 when her world is disrupted by two men: one from her past and one from her future. Mason Merrick and Leonardo Kaysar. both want something from Roxanne. She’s not sure what it is and she’s not sure who to trust. Mason has a wild story to tell her that involves time travel, computer code, and alternate realities, urging her to believe in him. Leonardo shows her that Mason will do or say anything to get Roxanne to do as Mason says. In the end, Roxanne must believe in herself, which has always been the problem.
Roxanne is forced to relive small segments of her life and each time, something different happens. Sometimes she’ll wake up and find something completely new, from her wardrobe to her living companion. And each time, Roxanne gets the opportunity to remake herself. Is she brave today? Does she take a risk? How far is she willing to go to achieve her future, whatever it may be.
Roxannne’s character arc is fascinating in this story, as is the manner in which it is told. The romance, while believable, occupied too little space and ended a bit too abruptly. Parts of the world building faltered for me as did some of the suspense. I never bought into the idea that Roxanne could so easily trust either man, as it appeared she did in the beginning. I also wasn’t a believer that the bad guy was a good guy, for even part of the time, as Roxanne did. Finally, I felt that some of the tension was contrived by having a character act differently than previous and subsequent behavior without explanation.
Overall, though, this story was innovative. It’s one part Momento, one part Groundhog day. The action was non stop and while the plot required the reader to pay attention, there was a big pay off at the end as the story circled back and provided deeper insight to the scenes at the beginning. I love the idea of this story and look forward to reading more from you. B-
Best regards,
Jane
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Jul 11, 2007 @ 11:05:46
Ah that sounds so cool!!! Note to self: must read this book!
Jul 11, 2007 @ 11:53:52
I am so freaking excited about Shomi! SF is the first genre I fell in love with. Put SF and romance together? Oh, yeah!
Jul 12, 2007 @ 16:58:04
Janine – I await your review because I couldn’t get past chapter one.
Jul 12, 2007 @ 18:21:03
Keishon – if that happens to me then I may not review it. If I don’t make it at least a quarter of the way through a book, I don’t bother with a review, because I just don’t have enough to say about it. Often the reason I don’t make it is because the writing style doesn’t appeal to me, and how much can be said about that in a review? It’s something most readers have a limited interest in. I hope that won’t happen to me with this book because the concept sounds great.
Apr 12, 2012 @ 15:18:38
I bought this book after it caught my attention at my local grocery store. I am not much of a fan of novels but the last few chapters of the book did raise my interest. I am a bit confused with the world of wired but at the same time it provides room to expand and provide more tales within it like Star Trek o Dr Who.