Book Review: Systematic Siege (Siege Serial, Part 1) - N. Isabelle Blanco
Synopsis:
He was the player. The most popular guy in high school. In other words, the stereotypical heart breaker that every girl died for. She was one of the nerds. The outcast teased and shunned by the popular kids in school. In other words, him and his crew. He always wanted her, she just never knew it . . . In order to maintain his popularity, he buried those feelings deep, deep down in the pit of his miserable little soul. That is, until one night he lost control. They both did. Unfortunately, they weren’t the only ones that knew it. What his friends ended up doing with the knowledge would scar her for the next seven years of her life. And leave him wrecked, dealing with years of agony because he’d lost her. Highschool graduation came and went, and they never saw each other again. Now, seven years later, Andrew’s stepped in and taken his father’s place as CEO of his family’s company, Drevlow Systems, Inc. Along with the new position comes a host of perks . . . and a brand new systems genius working as the head of his company’s IT department. An IT genius that just happens to be the one woman he never forgot. She hasn’t forgotten him or his reputation either and she wants nothing to do with him. He’s determined to have her—she’s determined to see him burn in hell before that happens. What ensues takes the term War of the Sexes to a whole new level. {Episode #1} Andrew is forced to face his past in a way he’d never expected. Or prepared for. Seven years. That’s how long he waited to find Lexi again. Seven years’ worth of memories. Fantasies that tormented his life, making it impossible for him to move on. Seven years’ worth of guilt for what he’d inadvertently allowed to happen. He had it all planned out, every step of the epic-groveling he knew he’d have to do. His plan was absolutely perfect. Genius, actually. Then he walked into his company’s IT department and seen the same big, blue-gray eyes that had haunted him for years . . .
Glaring at him from behind familiar, black-framed glasses. And Andrew knew, right then, without a doubt . . . That his plan wasn’t worth sh*t. Disclaimer: Systematic Siege: Provocative Tendencies is a series of short stories, each roughly 10,000-15,000 words long, with an estimated final total of nine episodes for the entire series
My Rating: ★★★★★
My Thoughts:
This book is told from Andrew’s POV and switches between present day and 7 years in the past. It appears the author is showing us what events in the past led to what is happening in the present. I personally would have preferred to see part 1 being from alternating POV between Andrew and Lexi on the past 7 years and then part 2 to be the same but from the present. I didn’t care for it jumping back and forth from past to present. (My personal preference, some people might like that.)
As a whole I really enjoyed the short story. There was tension and fire between to two characters – Lexi and Andrew. The passion between them leaps off the pages. You can definitely see how much Andrew cares for Lexi which makes your heart sad for all that he had to endure and give up. I liked the different twists that was setup throughout the book. It seemed the twists all melded together somehow which made the book that much more intriguing.
I wish the book would have been longer as I didn’t want it to end. I wanted to know more – what happens next? As soon as I finished reading book 1 I immediately started book 2. I really liked the book however I would have preferred to have a trilogy or have the books longer in the series versus having many short stories. However, I can’t wait to see more from this author.