Sadie Hayes

I received an ARC copy from Miss Literati in exchange for this review.
You finally have it. It's been 53 days since Sadie Hayes' The Social Code was released and now the sequel, The Next Big Thing, is finally here. You grip your book and excitedly make your way to your favorite place to read. You flip the pages anxiously and with each paragraph, more and more details from the first book come flooding back to you, making you more anxious as you wait to find out more about the mystery ending of The Social Code.
And then that's it. The first chapter is over. What? No! Sadie didn't say anything at all about the mystery ending. In fact, she added more mystery. But it doesn't matter. Now you're hooked. Now you have to know what happens, as if you didn't already have to know.
Adam and Amelia Dory and their partner T.J. now have a company that is being talked about by pretty much everyone in the country. Newspapers, blogs, magazines, everyone, is raving about the new Doreye app. The only problem is, Doreye is running out of money. Their biggest investor wants them to get their company more organized, to set up roles for their employees and stick to certain rules.
To T.J. and Amelia, the right people for the right roles are easy to discern. Unfortunately, though, Adam doesn't like the role that is clearly the best position for him, a role that causes him to be manipulated into making some bad choices-for Amelia, for himself, for T.J., and for Doreye as a company.
Adam's ambitious nature in The Next Big Thing is as strong as it was in The Social Code. Adam can't always see things clearly, but he always means well. He just gets too caught up in his vision to know what the right thing to do is.
Amelia keeps her good sense of knowing right from wrong, as well as her stubborn ways in following through with what she knows is right-something rare in the world she now lives in. In addition, though, she gets a little added transformation and it's nice to see her being a little more social in this book and taking her eyes off the computer screen a little more.
I was pleasantly surprised to get to see a side of T.J. in The Next Big Thing that not only wasn't in The Social Code, but wasn't expected. In the beginning, it is easy to kind of write T.J. off. He's rough around the edges, but Sadie shows us why. And she helps him smooth those rough edges out, until you love him just as much as the other main characters.
Self-sufficient Patty, Amelia's old room mate and T.J.'s old family friend, decides she's just as good as anyone to run a company, if not better. It starts out well. The business becomes extremely popular right away. But, Patty soon has to shut it down, and she wonders how any good could come from her flopped business attempt.
After finishing Hayes' first book in the series, The Social Code, I was relieved to already have the sequel. The Social Code leaves you desperately needing more. Both books are extremely original. I know basically nothing about coding and business, and while Sadie throws it in, she also keeps up the pace by letting her characters brilliantly clue you in as to what is happening. Don't let the technical talk turn you off, Sadie guides you right through it. And I feel as though I know a little more about business now, though I didn't at all have that uptight feeling of learning something I wasn't really interested in.
So, on November 26, I greatly advise you to go and pick this book up. And until her third book comes out, I invite you to bite your nails with me as we await for the next book in The Start-Up series. (Ew! No! I didn't mean that literally! Biting your nails is a very bad habit! Get those hands away from your mouth!)… (altro)

NOTE: I received the title through Netgalley.

Oh boy! I love stories about smart girls! Especially about smart girls who aren't lacking common sense. And happy for me, Amelia is definitely an IT genius, a.k.a. a smart girl. But she is a lot more than just some geek who wants to bury herself in code. She's learned the hard way that there are things that are right, and things that are wrong. She takes a stand and decides that she wants to remain true to herself and stay away from trouble. No matter who blackmails her and how, she stands firm and I admire this about her. Amelia is such a strong character, there's no way that I wouldn't end up liking her.

Her brother, Adam is the most trusting and naive guy I've ever read about. I did not like that about him. In fact, it sort of made me feel sorry for him. And his hunger for money... let's just say that it wasn't fun to read about. That is not to say that money-wise he isn't being quite realistically portrayed. Just the opposite, it fits the plot and Adam and Amelia's past. I just didn't like how he seems to push Amelia to do the wrong thing or the less right thing so they could end up rich faster. In other words, he was sort of lazy and waited on Amelia to do it all.

Then there's has-it-all TJ. He's a mama's boy, quite used to luxury and the interest of girls. He's a curious, intriguing character and I wonder when he's going to get a real backbone and stand up to his father. Also, I have a feeling he and Amelia might be just right for each other, which would be so awesome if it happens!

In conclusion, I think that The Social Code is a pretty nice, fast read that anyone would enjoy.… (altro)

NOTE: I received the book via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this cover the moment I saw it!!! So pretty! It's kind of an upgrade from the first installment too.

Let me say now that book one in this series was nice. I liked how the characters developed gradually. So I thought... I'd like to see how the story progresses. Right?

Well. I was mostly confused in this second installment. Why? Too many characters come and go and it can blow your head off your neck. I had hard time following what was going on most of the time. I got confused who was who and which story was whose. Also, I had a hard time concentrating on the book because of the neutral voice of the narration. For some reason, Sadie Hayes wasn't quite able to pull off the 3rd person POV. Which is unfortunate because this story has got potential. Like, lots of it.

Not to mention the unrealistic development of some relationships. Sure, the reader is meant to believe what they see on the page, but seriously? We're not that naive to take every word for granted. I, for example, like to ask questions of the characters. Especially 'why'. Like, why would a grown guy, who's been played by the world not once, be so naive that he's borderline stupid at times, and blind to the truth all the time? It's frustrating and irritates me way too much. I mean, it's just a book.

Let's get a bit into the characters now, since they make or break a book most of the time.

Amelia Dory is the same trusting, amiable, good-natured person she started out to be. I guess she's a bit more realistic to the world's machinations, but not entirely. What I love about her though is her quick wit, her undying energy to create perfect code and her determination to stay true to herself. No one, not even her own brother can sway her once she's made up her mind.

Adam Dory is the type of character who evolves so much, you can barely keep up with him. He started off as a good boy, striving to find riches through his talents. But he changed. He almost sold his soul for money. He most certainly sold his sister, so no wonder there. This was the book where Adam was to be pitied and hated and cast aside to cry (or whatever it is that guys in his situation should do.) I did hate him. I pitied him too. But then he was reborn and gosh! He was like a phoenix coming out of the ashes. The only thing he isn't grown enough to do is apologize. He acted like a complete arse throughout the entire book, and not only with Amelia. Lisa, his sweetheart who he dumped and embarrassed on several occasions suffered his ego, too. All in all, I can sum up Adam as an insecure, jealous guy who was always in the shadow of someone else (and hated it). He was incredibly naive, easy to lead on, susceptible to all sorts of influence.

T.J. Bristol is another favorite character of mine. He's the regular player, bad boy, yada yada. He's also gotten his heart broken by a girl long time ago. But the pain is fresh, and I believe he's acting all cool, composed and womanizing just to protect himself. Then Riley comes back to town and he's all riled up again. But he's got feelings for someone else too. What I didn't understand was how come one minute T.J.'s all into Riley again, then next moment he's only thinking about Amelia? It's not making sense to have your heart go in 180 just like that.

Patty was another character that needs to be mentioned. She was creative, innovative, quick-witted. But she lacked the luck to see into reality. I think she was a little blinded by her success to see what her venture had turned into. I liked her though, for how strong she was, how true and honest.

The ending threw me off. Perhaps it was the take it or break it moment and it broke it for me. You'll see why if you read it, but dang! I didn't expect it and was seriously whacked by it.… (altro)