Aerie Paperback – June 6, 2014

A compelling romance between two top-of-their-game business people who might find they are stronger...together. Cara and Liam come from two entirely different worlds: she's in IT infrastructure and he's a god of sportswear with an idea for a game-changing end-to-end customer experience. Can they work together despite their differences? This plot showed real insight into the war between long term and short term business interests, delivered in a pace-y accessible way. A bit depressing to see how the consumer is the least important element to some business minds at best, and more probably an irrelevant irritant too often though. An excellent read. I found every chapter had something at the end that made me turn the pages for something more.

I would recommend this book to anyone that likes twists & turns that challenge, especially a person with understanding of technology. Because the latter is not my strong suit, I almost gave up on it. As Penny listening to what she terms Sheldon's jibber-jabber ("Big Bang Theory), there is no reason not to become friends with the plot & characters just because the technical terms are alien to one. I'm glad I stuck it out with Aerie.

Modern drama. So fast paced, I couldn't put it down. I really enjoy a story full of believable characters. From the first page the reader is drawn in to the story. Author touched on every human emotion. Well done. Highly recommend this good read.

Aerie is a wonderful tale of startling brilliance that keeps its reader enthralled without the use of raw sex or unnecessary violence. The characters are subtly developed but completely so by the book's end. The writer shows a style like that of a NYTimes best selling thriller.

What a thriller? Every time I thought I knew where it was going, a new twist came. The characters are rich. The story is real. The look into human nature is true. A must read.

Great summer read full of suspense and romance!

Aerie takes place in the fast-paced world of tech development in the early 90s. Little does Cara Larson know when her firm is hired by Windwear, it will come with handsome CEO Liam Scofield and that it will nearly destroy both of their careers. When Cara meets Liam, she falls in love with him in spite of herself. Their love is tested when Cara is accused of stealing the Aerie software, and again when Liam’s company is threatened by lawyer Lauren Janelle’s underhandedness, but the two emerge victorious, both in business and with their relationship in tact.Aerie is well-written. Though there is a lot of technical jargon, it is approachable. While the specifics of some of the business/tech talk was lost on me, I was propelled forward, curious to see how the relationship between Liam and Cara would play out. I liked that their story was a romance in the true sense of the word–Riley has penned a sweet courtship in a world where erotica sells–which is why it held my attention the way it did. Though I questioned why, given that Liam was about to propose to Cara, he would be so quick to believe the lies Lauren and Cara’s boss, Peter told him about Cara, he does realize the error of his ways around the middle of the story. From then on out, he does his best to make it up, redeeming himself in the minds of both Cara and the reader.If I had one wish for this book it would be that there were less on the business end of Aerie’s story. If some of that were edited out of Aerie’s 475 pages, the book would be a more manageable length, the pace would quicken, and Cara and Liam’s story would be in the forefront where it belongs, rather than being given near equal time with the development, theft, and sale of the Aerie software.Overall, Anne Riley’s Aerie is a pleasurable diversion into the world of early software and Web development and industrial intrigue against the backdrop of a sweet romance that is well worth the read.

I was warned that this book is a little "techy", but glad I stuck with it. When I finished the book, I realized that you need to set the stage with all the technology language for the plot to be successful. I liked the characters and how everything fell into place.