I tried to like this book. The narrative was strong, but I couldn’t fall in love with characters. I went back to it twice but couldn’t get into it. Cover is awesome

Did not finish. Not the type of book I enjoy. I gave it a good try, but just couldn't waste my time any longer.

I found this book a bit hard to understand and not very interesting. Too many details about a field I know nothing about and not presented in a way that was helpful. I couldn't connect to the story.

I'm surprised that by the end I found myself saying "I liked it"!! It was a heavy book both on my mind and my soul, it felt like I took forever with it!
It is a realistic novel about the tech world, a lot of technical terms that sometimes needed to be looked up. Tech startups, successes and failures, ambitions and dying dreams, ...

What I loved most is Marie & Stuart's relationship. It felt grounded and real and at same time cute. Stuart and his dream team.
It just felt real. An insider into the tech world, the dreams to change the world and the sacrifices they have to take to conquer the world.

I listened to the audio version but I think maybe the written version would have been more suitable for this one!

Really couldn't get into this one. It sounded very interesting, but in the end it was tech heavy and I found the character development was lacking. The main relationships didn't quite click and therefore the storylines just fell flat.

Great book for the IT savvy, I found myself a little lost in all the technical a few times. The background story has enough of a hook to keep me in there. Not everything was very wrapped in a bow so a potential book 2 on the horizon?

💭 ᴍʏ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛꜱ:
I had good hopes for this one as it felt like it would be a groundbreaking story about a couple doing their last big investment. However, I've found that it was very technical and although there was a bit of a story in there it didn't really come out. The characters weren't really relatable, except for Marie. As somebody not coming from the Tech world I found it quite hard to follow. Overall, I just think that the title, the cover and the synopsis don't really give a good impression on what the book is about. This just wasn't for me, but if you're interested in a Tech start up this is definitely worth the read.
⭐️⭐️

🤓 ʀᴇᴀᴅ ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪᴋᴇ:
Silicon Valley Startup
Technical books

ꜱʏɴᴏᴘꜱɪꜱ:
𝘐𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘪𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘰𝘴𝘮𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘦𝘰𝘶𝘭, 𝘚𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘦, 𝘑𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘢, 𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘰𝘯 𝘝𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺, 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵-𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵: 𝘊𝘖𝘔𝘗𝘈𝘚𝘚, 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯-𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘔𝘪𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘰𝘧𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘥 “𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴”. 𝘈𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 15-𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 - 𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘥𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘬𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘶𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘚𝘦𝘰𝘶𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘨, 𝘣𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘮 - 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘈𝘴𝘪𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦, 𝘶𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴.

Riding High in April is the story of a couple, Marie and Stuart, who have found themselves in the big tech world of Asia. Stuart is consumed with his work and Marie seems to be along for the ride. The book tackles the meaning of success, the toll it takes on our relationships, and our mental health.

While the premise of this book is intriguing, I just could not get into it and ultimately did not finish. I listened to the audiobook and I do think that perhaps if I had read it on the page it would have grabbed me more, there was too much tech jargon and the narrator just didn't captivate me so I found myself not retaining a lot of what I was listening to.

I've been seeing more and more tech startup books pop up, and for them to really bring me in they need to be either comical or thrilling. Unfortunately, this wasn't the wild ride that I was hoping for, however, I do think it would be a great book for someone who is familiar with big tech startups and Silicon Valley coming into it or someone who wants to get to know more about the industry.

I am sure this is a case of 'it's me and not you' but I found this book very hard to get through. I did it as an audio and maybe as a physical book, I would have enjoyed it more. But as an audio, I found it hard to follow along in to the world of tech. I didn't find the friendships or the relationship compelling enough to feel drawn in to the story. I found the location/setting to be interesting but I just didn't love this one. I wish I had.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

As a former computer software engineer, I really looked forward to a fictional dive into the complex world of IT startups, and the perceived glamor of the Silicon Valley world.

Unfortunately, however, for me the read just fell a bit flat. Granted, the IT world isn't that exciting and tends to be overrun by "tech nerds" who really do live up to their stereotype of "computer geeks" and discussion of complex and somewhat dry subject matter.

This book, however, is fiction, so I expected more. I expected to really be cheering for the characters or despising them, and yet I wasn't. I expected more glitter and glam with the international locations and that seemed to fall flat for me as well. I expected the characters to have more personality and more interesting lives than the people I worked with for 25 years. Frankly, the tell all books about Steve Jobs and life at Apple in the early days were more interesting to me.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this book and the opportunity to review it.

This one was a new genre for me but I decided to give it a try.
I am not a tech-freak and sometimes felt a bit overwhelmed by this. I felt like an outsider in these parts of the story.
I paticularly enjoyed that the book is set across Asia where Marie seeks solace and tries to escape her reality. Her partner Stuart, a tech entrepreneur is angsty and neglects the woman he loves and tries hard to get his grip on the Asian market.
I listened to the audio-version which made me finish this story. The narration was a pleasure to listen to even if I was not too gripped by the story itself.
Thanks #NetGalley #Books Fluent for an listening copy in exchange for my honest review.

Great book for the IT person, the average person can get lost in translation. The background story is interesting and fun, but some strings are left dangling, perhaps a book 2?

This one was just ok for me
Not a subject matter I’m particularly interested in but also I feel like with some more zest it could have captured my attention a little better.
I loved the book being set across Asia. What I didn’t love was the mispronunciation of several Japanese words or locations (listened to audiobook)
The book takes you on a journey into the tech industry and how deals are navigated and people are often dispensable

This book was... interesting. It felt flat. There was nothing that drew me into the story. However, I had an overall feeling of pity for all the characters. I'll give it three stars - it's not a bad book, I just didn't find it engaging.

Unless you know a lot about tech, coding and start ups, this book will be in a foreign language. The narration is bored and there is no actual story.

This book was tough to listen to for me - it’s an engaging enough story, but the narrator isn’t right for all characters. Additionally, it listens like a nonfiction book even though it’s labeled as fiction. For fans of business books, I think this will be a hit.

Tech start up and the good, the bad and the ugly. Set starts in Silicon Valley and then takes you on the travel excursions to Asia. The storytelling, set across Asia, has an almost otherworldly quality to it. Marie seeks solace and to escape the realities of feeling disconnected from the world through her swimming, while Stuart is angsty and neglects the woman he loves in the service of what he sees as the greater good. The relationship between Stuart and his partner, Niraj, they don't call themselves "friends" yet they spend more time together than a married couple, as many do when starting a business. Riding High in April captures that sense of riding the tech edge, of an aspirational yearning where the constant chase for success never quite satisfies. Point perfect on the tech lingo, the dialog is taut and realistic. Like a tech insider, Townsend accurately portrays the thought processes of tech world where relationships are sacrificed to the greater good of changing the world, and the collateral damage that can take place as a result. This was no humorous ride, rather, a serious take on life in the global, modern, high-tech world. The book provides the realistic view of the tech world.

It’s 2010 and Stuart is an aging tech entrepreneur. He’s had some incredible highs and lows in the Wild West of Silicon Valley. He’s on the brink, again, of a huge breakthrough. Once more, he’s going all in. In the process he’s shutting out his partner of 15 years, Marie. Marie also worked in the dotcom boom of the early 2000’s. When she was laid off she began to flounder. She never really had meaningful employment again. She and Stuart tried to have a baby. They were unable to have a child. She just floated along for several years until the book opens when she follows Stuart to Singapore to hangout while he works. Now they are not connecting and not really trying to. Stuart is a workaholic and Marie is not pursuing him.

The book is an interesting look behind the curtain of the tech world. It shows how the business works and how the ever changing landscape effects the people. However, I didn’t understand a good portion of the tech speak and there is a lot of it. Also, I didn’t connect with the main characters. There’s nothing wrong with them. They just struck me as self-absorbed.

Thanks #netgallery for this book. I tried to enjoy this. I'm not sure if it was the basic topic - computer start up - and all that lingo but I just couldn't get into it. I didn't care about the characters or the storyline. Unfortunately this will get a low rating from me.

Thank you Netgally and SparkPress, I enjoyed this well done listen.

I got through this one but frankly maybe I’m a little out of touch with the subject in order to be intrigued. I really enjoyed the male voice of narration. His voice was perfectly suited to the subject matter. The cover was excellently suited as well.

Here’s the rub:
This is the saga of a tech entrepreneur struggling to launch his startup business and hold together a shaky relationship with his girlfriend. Not a good combination for sure.

Stuart is no doubt talented as a software engineer developing a secure system, called COMPASS. It’s premise is that it helps clients safely connect to a “distributed cloud infrastructure.” This is an especially unconventional project since it is based on “open software,” the “rebel cult” to which he’s religiously devoted.This reader says what?!?!

He is living in San Francisco with his girlfriend, Marie. His work is taking him out of the country further hobbling his and Marie’s relationship. He’s completely focused and obsessed with his career, and she’s equally attached to the prospect of having a baby. Unfortunately Stuart is completely disinterested in fatherhood. So there is the great divide. Marie misses Stuart in his absence, and suddenly, without announcement, she flies to Seoul to see him, a visit he receives with ambivalent feelings. They move to Singapore together and travel all over Asia, but she’s unhappy. She wants to get married! You see Marie has little interests, neither a career nor a child to fill her days,

Stuart’s career downfall is getting across to prospective clients the benefit of his product. I said Marie has little interests but she is a latent author. Stuart asks her to ghostwrite a book for him, a task that keeps her busy and at least nominally connected to his preoccupations.

The author gives the reader a good dose of the cultural ethos of the tech world.

This is an intriguing but overly technical tale p, for this reader, of frustrated love and ambition.