I was excited and surprised to see WIRED (Buchanan-Renard, #13) by Julie Garwood made available by Net Galley. I enjoy this series, but I have not read the more recent books until I requested this one. It was an O.K. romantic suspense, but not my favorite in the series. The suspense plot was well integrated and interesting with several subplots, but I had some problems with the H/h’s romance.
Allison Trent has a brilliant mind that can solve complex puzzles and problems. When she discovers computers, there is no program she cannot fix or hack. This is her escape from an aunt and uncle who have raised her sister and her after their parent’s death. She is also beautiful and is a model for a local designer part-time. Allison’s main fault is complying with people who take advantage of her rather than confronting them.
Liam Scott is a hot shot FBI fixer. His missions are all secret and he travels the world. He does not believe he will ever be willing or able to settle down in one town with one woman. He is assigned to recruit Allison for her super computer skills.
As in any romantic suspense, this would begin the back and forth romance dance, but Liam comes into Allison’s life and then disappears repeatedly. Allison keeps letting him back in and then regretting it when he is gone. He reappears to solve a problem or save Allison from bad guys and starts to realize he cannot stay away from her, but they never share feelings until the end. This is just not the type of relationship I hope for when reading this type of book.
For me, this is book was not up to my expectations from previous books in this series. The way Allison thinks was interesting, as was the suspense plot. The romance was lacking for me.
Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and Net Galley for allowing me to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have loved Julie Garwood for years and who does not want to hear more about the Buchanan family that many previous books have been written about. Wired is her typical FBI and mystery book that I know I can just sit down and read in a few days. They are a guilty pleasure I give into when I have so many other books to read.

WIRED is everything fans look for in a Julie Garwood book and, as always, you won't want to put it down. Her characters have a depth to them that makes them real. The family dynamics in her storylines are always unique. Poor Allison has an extremely unique aunt and uncle and I actually cheered out loud (luckily I was home alone) when she was finally able to stand her ground and put a stop their abuse.

I have to admit that as far as Liam went, I did have a tough time with him. Loved his accent, his dimple, his sense of fair play but it was his "she's an asset so hands off" attitude that bothered me. It wasn't that he had that rule but that he just couldn't stick to it. He gave off such mixed signals that even I wanted to kick him. He did finally admit that she is more important than his job and got to the rescue just in time. Which we knew would happen but this author likes to make us wait for the HEA

It may have been awhile since Ms. Garwood has given her readers a contemporary (according to her website the last was FAST TRACK in 2014) but she's back and I had a blast visiting her action packed, love filled world once again.

~ Annetta Sweetko for Fresh Fiction

The complete review may be found at http://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=63204

FBI agent Liam Scott has a leak in his office, but not being sure who he can trust he needs an unconventional way to find the bad guy. Someone who can hack into their systems without alerting the perpetrator. Enter gorgeous college student, Allison Trent; not a woman you’d peg as a computer genius, but looks can be deceiving. She’s not thrilled with the job offer, Allison doesn’t want to draw the attention of the FBI because of some secrets of her own, but not many can say no to Liam. He’s persuasive and downright sexy. Not that she should notice, because Liam is all about his job, and Allison doesn’t want to get hurt. Still, they can’t help the growing attraction building between them. Every time Liam resolves to stay away that irresistible pull between them brings him back to her.

Allison was a quirky character, very smart, beautiful, but a little socially awkward. Her mind works a little differently and so it completely escapes her that she has so much power just from her looks alone. It’s completely by accident she was discovered for a modeling job, and if it weren’t for her aunt and uncle pressuring her to take jobs for the money it brought them Allison would’ve never accepted.

Her aunt and uncle were completely horrible people, but, unfortunately, Allison’s guardians since the age of four when her parents died tragically. They were such losers! Thankfully, Allison doesn’t let them use her as a doormat, not since she came of age, but it didn’t stop them from trying throughout the story.

Then there’s the security program Allison has been working on that makes her another kind of target. Honestly, danger just seemed to follow her around. Allison handles all these issues well, but the fact that Liam had her back every time she needed him spoke volumes about his devotion to her. He was protective without being condescending.

Their relationship didn’t start out with the feel of permanence, especially since Liam makes it clear his job isn’t conducive to long term, but the gradual realization that they couldn’t live without each other was fun to watch. There was a lighthearted, amusing feel to their romance, and I found myself laughing in more than a few spots.

Wired was a fun, engrossing story full of action, danger, and a hot romance. I was so caught up with these two I read this straight through in one sitting!

Allison Trent has not had it easy growing up - losing her parents at such a young age and then having to live on tenterhooks at her Aunt and Uncle's home where she and her sister were never made welcome. There is just one constant in her life that gave her the escape she needed - computers. More specifically code, hacking and all that that entails. Now that Allison is almost finished her degree, she knows what she wants from her future. But when her relatives keep dragging her down, and the FBI suddenly show an interest in her skills, life becomes a lot more complicated and dangerous. And whenever Allison is around Agent Liam Scott, she knows that she could lose the most important thing of all to him - her heart.

Liam Scott's entire life is dedicated to the FBI and he has no problem living out of a suitcase and jumping from country to country as he is needed. But when he needs Allison Trent's special skills to uncover a leak in his own agency, she is a threat to so much more than national security. Because when he is around her, she stirs up feelings that he has never had before, and he finds himself falling for this beautiful, intelligent, and loyal woman. But his life is dangerous, and as Allison becomes a target, Liam will do whatever it takes to protect his asset, even if it means protecting her from himself.

Fast-paced, exciting, and seriously hot, WIRED by Julie Garwood is everything you want in a romantic suspense novel and then some. Allison is a kick-ass character who is so intelligent and caring, never giving up on those she feels deserves a second chance and always helping right injustices in any way she can. But it is only when she comes into contact with Liam that she begins to realise that she has hidden away inside her computer for most of her life and that she wants more for her future. Liam is sexy, protective, strong, and really likeable, and I really enjoyed watching him open up in this story. While there is some technical language in this novel, it is not overpowering and really adds to the development of the plot.

I devoured WIRED by Julie Garwood and honestly, as soon as you pick up this book, you will not want to put it back down. So what are you waiting for? Time to get buying.

Due to circumstances beyond my control, I will not be able to review this book. I have deleted it from my system and will buy the book if I decide to read it on my own.

Thank you
Ruby

I haven't read a Garwood novel in a long time so when I saw this on netgalley I was excited to revisit her. Contrary to other reviews I actually enjoyed the book. There were a few things that could have been done better but this followed your typical romance novel formula and was entertaining. I always preferred her historical romances better than her contemporary ones. I guess I was just in the mood for the mind candy that these romance novels provide.

I liked that Allison was a strong smart character who didn't want to rely on Liam to fight her battles for her and was a modern day Robin Hood. The chemistry between Liam and Allison was great and I loved the way he just showed up for her, and how after a while she stopped even questioning it. The story flowed nicely and while it may have been a bit predictable it was still an entertaining read.

Liam Scott is a FBI agent working on a case when he realizes someone on the inside is leaking important information, possibly putting witnesses and other agents at risk, which means Liam is willing to do a lot to find out who's responsible for it.
Allison Trent is a computer genius and someone who's more than willing to break the law if it means she's doing it for the greater good. Not that anyone ever learns about it.
When the FBI contacts Allison and asks her for help, she's not exactly thriller given how she sees certain laws about hacking, but she decides to do it anyway.
Allison is someone who's had a hard time in life, having lost her parents at a young age and having to live with relatives that were anything but caring, but who still call her constantly asking for money.
After meeting Liam, she finally seems to see her relationship with her aunt and uncle as something she can put a stop on and as they get to know each other things surely heat up between them, but Liam says he's not someone who's looking for a relationship.
I enjoyed Wired. I thought it was a nice mix of romance, suspense and humor. This was my first book by the author and I'd certainly read more of her work!

I’ve been a Julie Garwood fan for decades. Although I’ve only read one other of her contemporary romances which I enjoyed. I sat on the arc for Wired for awhile mainly because I read two dark but absolutely fantastic books back to back at the beginning of the month, and I ended up with a book hangover that sent me into a bit of a slump. I did not want Julie Garwood’s book to suffer at all because of a slight slump. I wanted to savor it. It pains me a bit to say it, but I didn’t enjoy Wired at all and it had nothing to do with a book slump.

Allison is a brilliant computer programmer, just finishing up college. Actually brilliant doesn’t quite cover the depths of her intelligence. She’s also beautiful enough to have put herself through college by modeling. Unfortunately, her downfall was she was unbelievably naive and willing to always give someone the benefit of the doubt.

Her parents died when she was four, and she and her older sister were sent to live with her Aunt and Uncle. At first, they reminded me of Harry Potter’s Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon but much, much worse in the long run. She even had a cousin Will who was a spoiled brat like Dudley, although where Dudley improved as an adult, Will turned to violent crime.

My issue with Allison was no matter how badly someone treated her, she kept going back for more or just ignoring the problem. She constantly handed over her hard earned money to her atrocious Aunt and Uncle to bail her cousin out of scrapes with the law. Even after he turned violent she pled his case and got him out on parole, only for him to put someone else in ICU. Even at the end, she felt sorry for him. Yep, some poor schmuck is in ICU and she’s feeling sorry for the guy who put him there.

It didn’t just stop with him, this girl was a disaster. She let her new boss at the FBI walk all over her and treat her like dirt, all while she worked 80+ hours a week and solved all his problems. She continued to ignore the danger her Aunt and Uncle posed and didn’t call in the law through their attempts at harassment and their attempts to blatantly steal from her.

Even Liam, our supposed hero, walked all over her. He fought any feelings for her tooth and nail, getting his rocks off then leaving with barely a Goodbye. Needless to say, I thought he was an asshat. The only impressive thing about him was his ability to show up every time Allison was in danger, despite his globetrotting job. He had a cape with an S on it somewhere, or maybe a Star Trek transporter.

The only reason I finished Wired was because I wanted to see what happened with the leak at the FBI and to see her relatives to get their comeuppance along with Brett Keaton and his backer. Unfortunately, after all the buildup two of the three were wrapped up so quickly I felt cheated.

In the end, this was quite a disappointment. I’m consoling myself by the fact that even the authors I consider my heroes can’t please everyone all the time.

Rating: 2 Even Heroes Can Crash and Burn Stars

It is so rare for me not to finish a book. It seriously upsets me.

Even if I don't like it, I make sure to give it a try until the end. But I couldn't with this one. I tried really hard but it took me a day just to read 4 chapters. I kept going for 4 days after, trying to get as much into the story as possible but unfortunately this book just did not do it for me.

I'm so disappointed because I liked this author. Well, at least the only other book I read by her. The Bride was so great, it's in my favorite shelf!

Anyways, I couldn't get into this one. There was too many unnecessary descriptions. It was uninteresting and everything felt unnatural.

Allison's character was too unrealistic. But even that was okay. The thing is she was so annoying. The way she thought, the way she talked... Ugh!
Liam was bland. That's the first time I read about a male character that doesn't make me feel anything. It was really sad and I had to stop.

If you break the law, no matter how good your intentions, you might end up in jail. If you hacking companies' computers you better beware! The FBI does not look at hacking very kindly.

Allison is in her senior year of college. As brilliant as she is writing code and hacking, she has left herself vulnerable. It all started very innocently trying to find money that was stolen from senior citizens. She never kept a dime. All she did was find the money, place it in a secure account, and sent all the information to the FBI so they could arrest the culprits and restore the money to the owners. What started as a one-time deal became her obsession. Now the FBI is knocking at her door and she is in a panic!

Gorgeous FBI agent Liam Scott has heard about Allison mad skills with computers. Having observed her in action at a workshop, he was so impressed he wanted to hire her to solve his problems right away. Well, he also wanted to know her more intimately but that was against the rules. This time his will and resolve will be tested to their limits. She is gorgeous, intelligent, sweet, and no other woman has ever affected him like her.

LOVED this book! Never read anything by this author before and I am glad I took a chance. Not only do you get a steamy romance, but you get a well written, well-planned story full of thrills and chills. Love may be in the air but so are criminals who slteal, kill, and absolutely turn Allison's world upside down. Do not miss this one. It is a must read!

I am voluntarily reviewing this book. I thank the publisher for sharing a copy of this book with me.

​
**4 Stars**
This wasn't my favorite Julie Garwood book. I've read the rest of the books in this series and loved them all, but when it came to Wired, I felt like it was rushed. It didn't seem like her typical writing. With that being said, the characters and the plot I enjoyed, but it seemed like it was missing her usual flair and action. The suspense was missing which made the book seem different than all of her previous ones. There were some twists and layers which were fun to read, checking in on Jordan, Noah and Alec was fun, but I missed the ususal Julie writing. Overall. I enjoyed the story though. If you're expecting this to be similar to the others in the series, you might not get it.

Spellbinding. Computer expert and hacker with serious family issues is recruited by the FBI. A fascinating page turner that has it all.

Great romantic suspense! Allison kind of reminded me of the chick from The Girl With the Dragon tattoo only not as severe. She was really different from any character I've read lately and it was a nice change of pace. Her innocence was endearing and it really made me root for her. Although, at times I wanted her to stand up to Liam and I had to remind myself that that just wasn't in her character. Liam was a likeable hero and very protective of Allison. He tries to fight his feelings for her but ultimately fails and I liked that once he realized it, nothing stopped him from being with her. I do wish we could have found out more about what happened to Allison's family members but still a solid read!

Wired was the first romantic suspense book I've read from Julie Garwood, and while I didn't enjoy it as much as her historical romances, it was ultimately an enjoyable read.

When FBI Agent Liam Scott discovers he has a leak in his unit, he knows he needs a skilled hacker to help him uncover the traitor. Allison Trent may not look like a hacker, but she's brilliant with computers and the perfect person for the job. However, when Liam approaches Allison to help him uncover the leak at the FBI, she turns him down in the hopes he won't uncover her past. Liam, however, is persistent and will do anything to convince Allison to help even if he has to break a few rules along the way.

Allison goes through quite the transformation over the course of Wired. She starts off as a bit of a meek character but grows to be a much stronger person. While Allison has always been confident in her computer skills, she has less confidence in other aspects of her life. It was nice watching her gain more confidence in other areas and finally understand what is and is not good for her.

Liam loves his job at the FBI and you can tell he's truly concerned about how a leak could affect active cases. Unfortunately, his love of the FBI and being an FBI Agent is really the only personality aspect he has. I never felt like there was more to him than his work and I wish his character had been more developed.

Liam and Allison had some great chemistry, but I never felt like they had a connection outside of the bedroom. Liam is a bit too pushy for my tastes and Allison lets herself be talked into things far too easily. I did enjoy the scenes where they got physical, but that's more so because I enjoy the author's way of writing those scenes than the characters themselves. Also, most of the obstacles to their relationship are dealt with in a short scene and I didn't like the way it ended up being handled.

The story of the FBI leak ended up being a bit anti-climactic and I was honestly a bit bored by that storyline. I enjoyed Allison being a hacker and how she constantly proved people wrong about how they judged her and her abilities. Unfortunately there wasn't a lot of suspense in regards to her uncovering the leak and the traitor being dealt with. The storylines dealing with Allison's family and with the computer program she was developing were a lot more interesting. At least in those storylines we finally got some suspense.

Overall, Wired wasn't my favorite Julie Garwood novel and I'll most likely stick to re-reading her historical romances in the future.

Wired is the latest addition to Julie Garwood's excellent FBI/Buchanan/Renard romantic suspense series.

It's the story of Allison Trent, a collegian computer genius and sexy Aussie FBI agent Liam Scott. Allison is a smart woman with a feisty nature and an unusual hobby. Allison likes to go cyber hunting for hackers and security lapses and fix things or right their wrongs and deliver the evidence to the FBI in an anonymous tidy package. Since some of her fixes were a little on the illegal side, she is not anxious to work with the FBI when they come calling, even though she would be working with the hunky Liam. When she divulges her past adventures, the FBI agrees to hold her harmless if she will work with them for one year.

Added to Allison's pressures is her greedy aunt and uncle and their no-good son, Will. As a teen and adult, Allison did some modeling for a local designer and her relatives took most of her money to bail out Will from his various troubles. There is also the matter of a thieving fellow student who tries to pass of Allison's work as his own and gets Alison in a world of trouble when she shuts him down.

Liam gets more impressed by her skills and intelligence as he gets to know Allison and finds himself also getting more attracted to her. But Liam isn't a staying kind of guy and they both know that in that way lays heartbreak for them if they lets their hearts get involved. Easier said than done!

This book is just the right mix of romance, suspense, villainy, and humor that we would expect from Ms. Garwood. For readers of the series it's a great new book to read. For newbies, it can stand on its own and it's a look at a great series that they can go back and read from the beginning and enjoy!

Another new author to me that I wanted to finally try her.I have heard many great things about this series and the author, and I was excited to start it because apart from what I told you have you seen the cover???So pretty !

First of all I loved how the story starts,it was so interesting and I was intrigued to read more,but while I continue reading I find that there wasn't a big progress and even though I like the story this make me not to enjoy it as much as I wanted.

I loved Allison, she is determined,strong and smart .A heroine like that should have a strong hero too but I can't say I was impressed with the hero in this story.There wasn't an actual chemistry between these two.

Overall it was an ok story for me but I really want to read the rest!

Oh this book had so much potential! FBI bad boy meets hacker model?! That's just asking for some sexy action. Unfortunately it fell a little flat DESPITE the entertaining plot.

Allison is about to graduate college and is a profoundly genius hacker; her brain exists in code. The main plot of this story was a possible internal threat to the FBI has been leaking information and only Allison has the brain to solve its complexities. Enter Liam, (now this may be because I've not read the rest of the series) a take-charge, do-as-I-say FBI agent who's discovered Allison and her talents. Now the ground work has been lain for some pretty exciting action...but Allison discovers the threat so quickly, I fear the rest of the book struggles to find ground to stand on.

*Spoilers here*

Her aunt, uncle, and cousin are despicable people who are violent and abusive and now have stolen money from her and her sister. And now we throw in that they re stalking her to the point that she has to change her number and move. Hello, crazy. Not only does Allison have this issue, oh no. Her former housemate stole her life's work of a computer security program and is now trying to sell it off!But surprise she stops him and then gains the wrath of the mobster he hired to back him financially.

This book could have been so much better if it stuck to one plot point, or even that there was another sense of danger for Liam (instead of Allison having THREE!). Plus Liam may be the FBI's "bad boy" but all I sensed was over-bearing controlling sexy guy. I didn't feel the connection between these two whatsoever. Plus any guy that disappears for 8 weeks and doesn't reach out to his woman....uhm BYE! Wish I could've enjoyed it more as a romance, but at least the action was dramatic!

I know I have read many Julie Garwood books in the past and I have enjoyed them. This book had me at a crossroads as far as my feelings. I am torn at a few levels.

On one hand I really did enjoy the story. FBI agents and a brilliant computer hacker is a great basis for the story. It was engaging and enjoyable on many levels.

The one thing that I did not care for at all was the description of the bedroom scenes. Some of the words that were used were extremely old-fashioned and at several points just had me laughing and saying "she really didn't write that". I don't know if these words were chosen because Allison was not very experienced or if it's just the style of writing for this author. But it was very distracting especially in a romantic scene.

If you get past the descriptive portions of the physical romance, the story is very good. I thoroughly enjoyed Liam's character. He was so sweet and caring. I loved his take charge attitude and his care for Allison.

Overall, Julie Garwood is a solid writer that has brought us an interesting and entertaining read. Not really in the contemporary romance genre, but trying.

Wired is my first Julie Garwood book. I’m not sure why it took me so long to try one of her books because it has everything I like a crime to solve, a romance brewing, and some tense moments.

Wired is the story of Allison Trent, a beautiful woman, so beautiful she started modeling part-time at a young age. She is also smart and soon to graduate student from Boston College. She has a mind for technology with a gift for writing complex code. She is also a superior hacker. Her hacking skills are used for good in a Robin Hood way.

Liam Scott is an FBI agent who recommends Allison to the cyber crime division to help them figure out who is leaking FBI information and putting agents in danger. Liam is a man who is married to his career and jumps around the world at a minute’s notice to put out fires where he is needed. He likes it that way. He doesn’t want to be tied down to one place or one woman.

Wired is told in third person point of view, so the reader has the benefit of getting in the head of the characters. Since the focus of the story is primarily Allison, we know her more than any of the other characters. In addition to the main plot, there are a couple subplots that keep the story moving at a good, steady pace with a lot of action and tension.

I thoroughly enjoyed Wired. I didn’t realize it is part of a long-running series until I received the book. I didn’t feel lost at all as the book works as a standalone. Some of the Buchanans make an appearance in this story, but there isn’t any reference to previous books or any events that have me wondering what I missed.

The only flaw for me is that I don’t feel like I know Liam like I should. I understand that he works on highly classified projects, but I think we could have a little more about his story. He is always leaving because of his job, and we know he is conflicted because he is drawn to Allison and shows up when needed but something is missing in the development of this character.

There is enough suspense and action in Wired that I’m interested in starting at the beginning of this series and get up-to-date with the characters. Julie Garwood is a talented author that makes her readers want more. I recommend Wired for any fans of a strong female lead in a good mystery with a little romance thrown in for good measure.