Customer Reviews

The Givenchy Code

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

A self-confessed numbers geek and designer shoe aficionado, Mel Prescott suddenly finds herself thrust into a live version of an on-line game of cat and mouse, with her as the prey. Mel, a perennial student (and hopeful NSA operative), has a passion for ciphers and cryptology, so she is up to the challenge, especially since Sydney Bristow is her heroine. She initially ignores the invitation to the game when it proclaims that she has to "play or die", and she wants no part of the sick game.

Matthew Stryker, a former marine is assigned as her "protector." At first she does not believe what he is telling her when he tries to explain the game to her. He knows all too well how serious it is, since a few months ago, he ignored the clues, and as a result, another women who did not play the game was found dead. Together, Mel and Stryker travel all over Manhaten trying to solve a series of clues and puzzles to elude her assassin Lynx and complete the game. But the assassin has raised the stakes by murdering Mel's former lover. Adding complications is the growing attraction between Mel and Stryker as they race the clock to beat Lynx at his own game.

The story is fast-paced and the writing is witty. The only thing that turned me off is that the protagonist was the stereotypical post-Sex in the City single with a designer clothing and shoe fetish. It gets old after awhile that every chicklit heroine seems to have this annoying attribute. Other than that, it is a great story with a punny premise loosely mirroring the infamous "Da Vinci Code" right down to the clever book cover. Defnintely a great way to wile away the afternoon!

Melanie Prescott's day was not starting out well. It's a gloomy and drizzly day, she has to walk six dogs at once, and she runs into her ex-boyfriend. Then a mysterious man hands her an envelope that will change her life. Inside is a message: Play or die. She initially thought it was a joke, a friend playing on her love of codes and ciphers, but soon she knows it's real.

Melanie once played an online game called Play.Survive.Win, and played it well. She eventually lost interest and forgot about it, but now someone has taken that game and modified it for the real world. She must truly play or die. She meets sexy Matthew Stryker, who has been designated her Protector by the game mastermind. He didn't take the message seriously the first time, and a woman died. He won't make the same mistake twice. They need to work together to decipher the clues while playing cat and mouse across Manhattan with an assassin who is equally determined to win.

What can I say about this book? In one word: Wow. From the first page, I was hooked. THE GIVENCHY CODE starts out like an ordinary chick lit novel with designer clothes and ex-boyfriend problems, but it quickly changes into a riveting romantic suspense that is full of action. It even adds in the perfect amount of sexual tension to keep things hot. Melanie handles being forced into the game of her life in what I thought was a very realistic way. She also actually uses her brain rather than completely depending on Stryker's brawn. Stryker and her also work very well together. They make quite the team and their sexual tension is incredible. Stryker is a one hot and capable hero, and it's not just his strength and military training that's needed for their survival. This is one action-packed romance that you won't want to miss. Fresh and irresistible, I hope Julie Kenner plans to write more books such as this one. I highly recommend THE GIVENCHY CODE and can't wait to reread it.

I've never read any Julie Kenner books before so I didn't know what to expect from this book. It was like an adult version of a treasure hunt with a life on the line. It was a fast paced read and I enjoyed it. It's very entertaining. The only thing this book lacked some some thrilling action packed scenes.
I'm looking forward to reading the next one 'The Manolo Matrix', which I hope has more action.

If I really thought about it, I would probably find some nits to pick with this book -- but anything that sucks me and and keeps moving forward so that I *must* keep on reading counts as a success as far as I am concern.

There's an obvious take on "The DaVinci Code" here, combined with a bit of cyber-thriller and a ticking clock that keeps the story moving at a fairly frantic pace. The highest accolade I can bestow? I went out and bought several of Ms. Kenner's backlist as soon as I finished this one.

Melanie Lynn Prescott is your normal everyday garden veriaty grad student living in NYC. She loves shopping with her roomate and is looking for love after dumping her boyfriend.

Then while out walking dogs she runs into her ex and also a messager who gives her a message. The ex takes the message and later she goes to her exs appartment to read the message. The message says "Play or Die" and gives her clues to follow. She is scared and spends the night with her ex. The next day the ex is dead and she and Mathew Striker who is hired as her protector must outrun Lynex who is out to kill her. They must unscramble codes connected to an internet game called Play.Survive.Win. Will Mel and Striker find and figure out what the clues mean in time or will Lynex get them? Find out in The Givench Code.

While it starts slow with a lot of character background, we're off to the races almost as soon as our third major character shows up. The action happens quickly and the puzzles are interesting while being geared for the heroine. A nice touch is that she doesn't always get things right on her first take.

While I wouldn't say this is gripping action and plot twists keeping you on the edge of your seat, it is a great weekend read or a beach bum book. The characters are believeable, the story is well paced, and it doesn't get too serious even when life is on the line.

Before he died, brilliant online game maker Archibald Grimaldi developed the most popular role playing game yet when he created PSW (Play, Survive, Win). The participant would answer questions about themselves and if approved would be assigned as a Target, Protector, or Assassin. The Target would run around the cyber city seeking clues and safeguarded by the Protector while the Assassin tries to kill the Target before the opponent solved the puzzle. Grimaldi placed in motion a real world version of his hit Internet game.

Former counterterrorist marine Major Matthew Stryker applied to PSW years ago, but never played. He was assigned to protect Jamie Tate with twenty thousand dollars deposited in his bank account. He ignored the assignment and the money until he learns that someone he assumes an Assassin murdered the Target Jamie in real life He is sent anther 20K and told the Target for him keep safe is Melanie "Mel" Prescott, who has played successfully on line PSW. She rejects the role of real life Target as a hoax until Matthew risks his life to keep her safe leaving behind a corpse as they flee for their lives from a mentally unbalanced Assassin.

This action thriller never slows down once Matthew realizes that the PSW game is played for real. In some ways, the story line will remind the audience of the movie The Tenth Victim, but has it owns freshness. Matthew is a delightful skeptical Protector while cryptographic aficionado Mel refuses to become a victim. Julie Kenner writes a tense suspense novel that will grip the audience from start to exhilarating final countdown.

Harriet Klausner

For a fast, fun read, this is a really good book...but if you're looking for shocking plot twists or nail-biting suspense, this isn't the place to find them.

The protagonist is smarter than your average chick lit heroine, which I appreciated. As a major computer geek (who is nuts about gaming and puzzles/cryptography), I appreciated the subject matter and the main character's interests. In a sea of heroines who are in publishing or fashion, it was a nice change to see that women can - gasp! - also enjoy other pursuits and excel in other fields in chick lit novels. (granted, Mel *was* rather obsessed with shoes...but this fact was nicely balanced with her "geeky" side.) I would love to see more female authors take a risk and write their protagonists into more male-dominated fields...intelligence and capability are much more captivating for me than a character's encyclopedic knowledge of designer labels.

The computer terminology and gaming lingo were fine...I wouldn't imagine they'd be foreign to the casual computer user. I would've preferred a bit more detail in that area, but the jargon isn't crucial to the plot, and I can understand why the author might choose to keep it simple.

I liked the shift in point of view that the author used for the characters...the change between first- and third-person perspective was a refreshing change of pace. In the back of the version I read, the author has a short "interview" with herself (which in itself is pretty entertaining)...she mentions that when she wrote the other two major characters, she couldn't see herself writing them in first-person (like she did with the main character). I agree completely with that choice...I think it was a great way to set the tone.

My only real hang-up with the book was the ending. No spoilers here...I won't give anything away...but I will say that I was expecting a nice little plot twist at the end. If I had written this book (and I wish I had!), I would've gone with the ending I was hoping for...the ending here was a little too straightforward for my tastes.

I enjoyed it enough to look for other books by this author...I like her writing style. I think she did a pretty good job of balancing beach-read fluff with action and adventure.

A delicious page-turner -- I couldn't put it down and read it all in one day. This story had all the right elements -- fun dialogue, a lot of laugh-out-loud moments, a yummy hero, high fashion, great shoes, and an original plot. Loved it!!

Grad student Melanie Prescott has a knack for math problems, codes and ciphers. When a coded message is delivered to her by a mysterious stranger, she's intrigued.

And when her ex boyfriend uses the message to see her again, she goes along with his extortion. After all, he did give her a pair of Givenchy pumps, right? It's not like she's going to take him back or anything, right? Well, okay, Melanie does have sex with him but, as far as she's concerned, it's definitely a no-strings thing. Especially when she discovers the ex with his brains blown out and the mysterious stranger accosts her with scary threats.

In a panic she runs, heading to her apartment where ex-Marine Matthew Stryker is waiting for her. Stryker explains that they're players in the PlaySurviveWin Internet role-playing game, except this game is real. Melanie is the target, Stryker is the protector and the mysterious guy is the assassin.

Set in Manhattan, this story moved quickly, lots of action. I read it in one sitting. Fun and original. I didn't experience one ~What?!~ moment, everything made sense. Not much sex but the sexual tension was good.