Hacking IT is about a smart software developer named Kylie. It all begins when she notices that the lights in her office are not like they used to be. She talks to one of the other women at the office she shares and gets admin rights to the control panel and finds that there was a hacker in the system and tries to follow him to undo what was done. Of course, the chief security officer is then alerted that there was a hacker in the system, and believes that it was Kylie. Finally she is able to explain that she was just trying to HELP, not hurt and that maybe he should figure out a new staff to keep control of his IT stuff since they let a hacker in and mistook her for the hacker instead.

And this is a romance novel so of course, Luke and Kylie start a little relationship. Which complicates things a bit - but as they begin to realize that someone seems to be after Kylie, Luke ends up being her personal security as well. Luke has been looking into her background and thinks that he has discovered a BIG secret about her - but is it true? Well, you're just going to have to read to find out...

My favorite quote from the book: "There was only so long a smart person could bang their head against a closed door before simply climbing a fence."

I received a free e-copy of this book from the publisher in order to write this review, I was not otherwise compensated.

I really enjoyed Hacking IT, and am looking forward to the next book in the series. I wish however, that the ending didn't feel a little rushed, glossing over some of the consequences that the hacker consortium faced.

Thrown into the Hackers world was never so much fun. What could have been a dry read with all the technical jargon used and as a backdrop, in actuality was captivating and entertaining. As the reader, I felt connected to the characters and the situations as they unfolded. I truly enjoyed how the story evolved layer by layer, giving the reader a better understanding of technology and its pros and cons. Expertly weaving all aspects of the story and technology together in such as entertaining manner was genius. I look forward to the next installment of the series.

This ARC book was complimentary, provided by the Publisher and NetGalley. I am voluntarily providing my honest review.

I received an arc from Netgalley. Luke and Kylie meet after a misunderstanding however the connection they feel can’t be denied.

A hacker threatens afire security and soon Luke and Kylie are on the hunt for this hacker. Little do they know there is another threat after them. These two are thrown together and Luke goes into protective mode.

Together they remove the threat and grow into a beautiful, genuine relationship.

I discovered Ms. Dean years ago when I found and read her High School Reunion. I absolutely loved it and while I always meant to read her again, I hadn’t really gotten around to it. But when I saw Hacking IT and realized that she was in fact the right Kimberly Dean, I was so excited to read it. It was a little bit of a wait getting Hacking IT, but once I did, I started it that very night and I completely, positively LOVED it — it was just wonderful! 

And speaking of wonderful, our hero and heroine were just that! I loved both of them a lot, but I have to say that Kylie was my favorite, so we’ll start with Luke. Luke is just great, he’s easily the kind of hero that you fall in love with. He’s protective and possessive and you never have to doubt his feelings for Kylie or that he’d do whatever he had to do to protect her. He’s sweet and supportive and he doesn’t try to hold Kylie back. Luke is a dream, he’s without a doubt sigh-worthy, and he totally stole my heart. 

But while I loved Luke, he didn’t compare to just how awesome Kylie was. Seriously that woman is a BOSS and the bomb all rolled it into one! She’s wicked smart, unapologetically sassy, and incredibly fierce. Kylie is strong and passionate and protective. She is an amazing, amazing heroine and she is definitely one of my favorites — I won’t forget her! 

I can’t believe that it’s been so long since I’ve read one of Ms. Dean’s books, but I’m glad that Hacking IT was the one that re-introduced me to her! It was an exciting, entertaining, absorbing read and I couldn’t get enough. It was full of heat, action, and bad-it-rhymes-sassery. I wholeheartedly loved, loved, loved it and I can’t wait to read the next book or any other book by Ms. Dean! 

Hacking IT is the first book in The Hackers series, it’s told from Luke and Kylie’s POV, and they do get their happily-ever-after.

~ A Hopeless Romantic's Booklandia, 5 Stars

Hacking It features Kylie, a woman who designs websites (yawn), but it pays the bills. Her hobby is deeper work that I don't want to describe because of spoilers. Kylie doesn't suffer from the impaired social skills so commonly written in this type of fiction. She's gorgeous, smart, and can carry on a conversation. Luke works as the head of security with Afire, and formerly worked with Secret Service. Throughout the book they try to one-up the other with info that they learned about each other through their investigation. There is great chemistry between Kylie and Luke, and I was sad to see the book end. I would vote for a sequel that features Kylie's mad skills and Luke's research ability to solve a crime, while we see them deepening their relationship. 

The prejudice against women in the technology workplace is a strong topic that is handled well in Hacking It.  Kudos to Dean for working this element into the story; I seldom see it in this type of fiction.

My full review is at www.ReadingObsession.com

This read was okay for me-- not terrible but no great either. The h and H worked well together, but it was easy to figure out who the villain was. Also, their story seemed to be one of lust and no love. I didn't feel convinced these two had deeper feelings for each other. This wasn't a terrible read, it just wasn't for me.

This is a voluntary review of an advanced copy.

I really enjoy romantic suspense books so this book was great and hard to put down. It is intriguing as you watch Luke and Kylie grow close and act on their attraction while they try to figure out whose behind the hack.

It is nice when there is a plot that allows readers to have a chance to figure out who is the bad guy and the motivation behind it. I won't say any more about that and give away any spoilers.

There was a major difference that Luke and Kylie had to face about their beliefs and how it would affect their relationship. I was pleased that they could talk it over and find that they could each give a bit so they could be true to who they really were and yet respect each other's convictions.

The little teaser for the next book sounded good and I love that Luke and Kylie were still showing up in the book! Love that Josie is featured next!

This was a fast, quick read but an enjoyable one about a white hat hacker and a smart heroine which is always nice! Nice flow, good interaction between the characters and a somewhat believable storyline. Nice, quick read for an evening! I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC for NetGalley.

When company Afire is hacked it is discovered by Kylie, smart cookie and white hat hacker. At first Luke (head Security Officer at Afire) suspects Kylie of the hack, but she can disprove that. And sparks fly between them while they are searching for the hacker.

I liked the writing and the characters. I always love it when the woman is smart and is the best in her field.
The story in itself was rather simplistic in my view. It is a fast read, very well researched and with a believable romance.

Have you ever seen the description of a book and known immediately that it was going to be awesome and upon reading it were faced with the possibility that it might actually be better than you originally thought? For me, that book was Hacking IT by Kimberly Dean. A female white hat hacker using her skills to uncover a black hat hacker, who has stepped away from his computer and entered the real world? Um, yes, please.

From the Publisher:

Independent software developer Kylie Grant is on top of her game in the world of IT. She has loyal clients, a good reputation, and a prestigious membership in technology giant Afire Industries’ small business accelerator. Things are going well until she stumbles across an innocuous issue with the lighting in the building where she rents space. When she digs into the problem, she discovers something unexpected—a hack.
The incursion doesn’t affect her, but Kylie leaves enough clues to fix the problem. That earns her a visit from Luke McAllister, Afire’s chief security officer. Luke is handsome and rugged and everything that Kylie likes in a man, but she soon finds that he is blaming her for the security breach. Before long, the two are on a collision course, but also secretly looking at more than each other’s digital footprints.
When a fluke accident sends Kylie to the emergency room, Luke fears that the beautiful developer is in danger beyond the online world. Little does he know that she is also hiding a secret that threatens to jeopardize their now sizzling relationship.
Can Kylie fix Afire’s problems without falling victim to the hacker? And can Luke learn to trust her and keep her safe before their enemy strikes again?

The Review:

I love trying new-to-me authors, which thanks to Netgalley has become much easier than it used to be. Before I started writing reviews for it, I rarely tried an author I'd never read before because books are expensive and bad books felt like I was throwing my money away. With a price of $3.99 in digital, I might have pulled the trigger on Hacking IT, but chances are I wouldn't have even seen it had it not been for Netgalley.

What I really enjoyed about Hacking IT was that Ms. Dean was able to pull me in from the first page and kept me engaged until the end. Some of my favorite authors haven't been able to do that lately (looking at you About That Kiss), so I was very pleased that this one did.

On top of that, this book, coming in at just 163 pages, feels like a whole book. Many novellas suffer from their lack of length, but Hacking IT isn't one of them, and it actually felt as if it was longer (in a good way!) than it was.

I think the best thing about this book, and the thing at which Ms. Dean excels, is creating tension--both sexual and otherwise. It isn't good enough to have the narrator tell us that the characters are worried (because of course, they're worried--someone is stalking them), but Ms. Dean manages to make you feel their fear. This is something that not everyone can do and Ms. Dean does this with tremendous skill.

My one issue, and the reason I knocked off half of a star, is that the mystery was too easily solved. I figured it out fairly quickly and kept wondering how anyone as smart as these characters were could have missed it. This isn't that big of a deal, but it is annoying. The main part of romantic suspense is keeping the reader in suspense and because I was so easily able to figure out who the stalker was I wasn't in suspense. Just a little more subtlety would have sufficed, however, even with a not so mysterious mystery this book succeeds where many others don't.