I am excited to be a part of the HEART-SHAPED HACK Blog Tour! This book is now on my go to recommendation list! It is witty, smart, romantic, and fun, all laced with a good dose of intrigue! Check out more about this book, read Tina’s Thoughts and an excerpt, and make sure to enter the giveaway!
HEART-SHAPED HACK
Tracey Garvis Graves
Genre: Romance
Release Date: August 25, 2015
When Kate Watts abandoned her law career to open a food pantry in Northeast Minneapolis, she never dreamed it would be this difficult. Facing the heartbreaking prospect of turning hungry people away, she is grateful for the anonymous donations that begin appearing at the end of each month. Determined to identify and thank her secret benefactor, she launches a plan and catches Ian —a charismatic hacker with a Robin Hood complex—in the act.
Ian intrigues Kate in a way no man ever has. But after learning he’s snooped around on her personal computer, she demands retribution. Impressed with her tolerance and captivated by her spirit, he complies and begins to slowly charm his way past her defenses. Time spent with Ian is never boring, and Kate soon finds herself falling for the mysterious hacker.
But Ian has enemies and they’re growing restless. In the hacking world, exploiting a target’s weakness is paramount, and no price is too high to stop an attack. And when Kate learns exactly how much Ian has paid, she’ll discover just how strong her love is for the man who has hacked his way into her heart.
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If you love books from authors like Penny Reid and Daisy Prescott, you might want to check out this book! Tracey Garvis Graves is a new to me author that I will definitely be stalking from this point forward! HEART-SHAPED HACK has everything I wanted! It is funny, smart, romantic, and mysterious. It was a story that sucked me in and I could not wait to see what Tracey had in store for us all. This book is a must read for anyone who loves a romance that is fun and smart with a bit of a twist.
This book had so many wins for me. First off, Ian and Kate are fantastically written characters. This story is told from Kate’s POV, which was something I appreciated as the story progressed. Ian is such a mysterious man and his cloak and dagger routine is important in the beginning. Learning who he is and what he does along with Kate allows for the reader to become even more intrigued into who this witty man is and what he does. In my opinion, the pace and development of this story would never have been so good if Tracey had not written the story this way. Both Kate and Ian are mature adults. I only state this because it was nice to read a book about well-adjusted adults after a long spout of angsty New Adults on my kindle. They are matured well adjust people who are living their lives one day at a time. Kate is pursuing her passion of helping people by running a non for profit food pantry in her community. Ian on the other hand is the sexy hacker, the Robin Hood who helps her in the pantry’s time of need. These two together are priceless. Their relationship is solid, their banter is hilarious, and their connection grows from sweet to passionate.
The romance between Kate and Ian is well written and paced really well. I loved watching Kate wrestle with her conscious, learning to accept Ian as he is and learning to trust her heart. Ian is so much fun and his charisma is something no female will be immune to. He is kind, doting, and challenges Kate, something she longs to find in a partner. Watching these two interact was a story of passion, mutual respect, and hope. As they fall further in love, I could not help but be giddy at the prospects of their developing romance.
A main theme in this story is hacking, obviously. I loved seeing how this theme played out in a book. I have not really read a book about a hacker and learning more about what you see in the movies was fascinating. The hacker world is a place of black and white and of full of so many gray areas, something the reader begins to understand the more we learn about who Ian is. There are scary realities in the hacking community and Ian does what he can to stop the evil from growing into a plague. The more that Kate learns about Ian and the closer they become, the more we learn firsthand the realities of what he does and who he is. I enjoyed watching the danger and excitement unfold and the decision Kate made in regards to his profession. When the unimaginable happens, you are on the edge of your seat, feeling everything with Kate as you attempt to make sense of the chaos unfolding. I was not prepared for this plot twist, but the build of the story alluded to something big happening. It was well played and perfect for the plot!
Needless to say, this is a top read for me this year. The writing was great. The characters were top notch. And the story as a whole was worth it all. I have another fabulous author to add to the list of people to keep an eye on. I am excited to see what more Tracey has up her sleeve and where she will go from here! Don’t miss this story.
Kate was taking a break and having coffee and a muffin at Wilde Roast Café when Ian slid into the booth and sat across from her. He was wearing a lightweight cream-colored sweater with a tan-and-green-patterned shirt underneath, and he smelled good.
“Hello again.”
Confused, Kate looked around. “Where did you come from?”
“I walked in the door like everyone else.”
“Do you live nearby?” Kate lived in the St. Anthony Main neighborhood of Northeast Minneapolis. The food pantry was conveniently located on SE Main Street, which was a short three-block walk from her apartment. The quiet brick-paved street was lined with restaurants, shops, and a movie theater and included a stunning view of the Mississippi River and St. Anthony Falls. There were also bars that featured live music and plenty of green space in nearby parks.
He shook his head. “Not really.”
“Then why are you here?”
“I felt like talking to you again. You’re seated, so you probably won’t try to strangle me this time.”
“How did you know where to find me?” She was tucked away in a back booth instead of one of the tables near the windows that looked out over SE Main, so it wasn’t like he’d walked by and spotted her.
He held a steaming cup of coffee and blew on it to cool it. “I tracked your credit card activity. According to Capital One, you bought a cup of coffee and a muffin here twelve minutes ago.”
“You tracked my credit card?” Her voice sounded rather loud and shrieky.
He held a finger in front of his mouth. “Shh, Katie Long Legs. That information is for your ears only. How’s your coffee? Would you like a refill?”
Kate did not appreciate being shushed, but she lowered her voice. “Are you some kind of cyberthief?” she whispered. And since when were criminals so well-dressed and impeccably groomed?
“I did not steal your credit card number. I simply accessed your account to see where and when you’d used it last. Then I came here.”
“If you wanted to talk to me again, why didn’t you just go to the food pantry?”
He looked at her like it was obvious. “Because you’re not there. You’re here at this café.”
“If you’re not a cyberthief, then what are you?”
“I’m a hacker.”
“Is there a difference?”
“Most definitely.”
“When you said you steal from the rich to give to the poor, I thought you were kidding. Is that how you get the money?”
“I don’t steal it. I appropriate it from people who shouldn’t have it in the first place. Then I give it to those who are more deserving.”
Kate twisted her napkin. “I can’t keep the money. I’ve already spent the first two donations, but if you come back to the food pantry with me, I can return the most recent one. It’s still locked in the safe because I wasn’t planning on going shopping until tomorrow.”
“No, Katie. I don’t want it back. It’s for you. It’s for the babies.”
“It’s wrong,” she said quietly.
“Is it?”
“It’s against the law.”
“Trust me when I say the people I took it from don’t want the law involved any more than I do.”
“What are you saying? That you’re a thief who steals from other thieves?”
He wrinkled his nose, and it was adorable.
Stop! Thief!
“It sounds so distasteful when you say it like that. I prefer master appropriator of ill-gotten funds. You can call me master for short.”
“I have lots of things I’d like to call you. Master is not one of them.”
© 2015 Tracey Garvis Graves
To celebrate the release of HEART-SHAPED HACK, Tracy is hosting a fun giveaway! For your chance to be one of four winners, enter this Rafflecopter giveaway. Follow the instructions listed for your chance to win one of two signed copies of HEART-SHAPED HACK or one of two $25.00 GiftCards! Don’t miss out on this fun chance. Good luck!
