Best story I have ever read, hands down. The plot, the characters, the details, the writing style, the development of the story and the characters was expertly done. I can't express how much I love this story. I'm so happy there is a sequel, and I am going to start reading it now.

I just read the whole thing and I loved it! Will definitely read the sequel! :)

This story is one of my favourites on fiction press you truly are a fantastic writer.

Love this fic so much! Took me two solid days to fully read, but was well worth it. Your attention to detail is impeccable and your writing style is fluid. Gemma and Boone were very multidimensional and enjoyable to get to know. Can't wait to read the sequel next! ;)

And that was that! XD this is perfect!

I stumbled upon this story while searching out something new to read; I read "An Oliver Twist" a year-ish ago and really, really enjoyed it (to the point I remember it a year later!) so I thought I'd have a look to see if you had written anything else that may pique my interest. Seeing as I read this entire story in an evening (okay, I lie, I went to bed after Chapter 24 and read Chapter 25 the next morning), I'd say it more than piqued my interest!

I love the plot line in this! I really like spy/action stories, and this was very well done. I liked the Gemma/Boone aspect of it as well, and while I'm glad it was there, I'm also glad it wasn't the MAIN focal point of the story. So I just wanted to say thanks for providing me with an evening's entertainment :) I'll definitely read Ricochet (although I may wait until it's all been posted; I don't want to ruin it for myself by reading only one chapter at a time!).

I love love love this story. It's my second time reading it, and I have started the sequel, and just can't get enough of Gemma and Boone! However, rereading this chapter, I feel like Gemma and Boone are mostly working through HIS issues, and I don't know, I just wish that somehow Gemma is going to make him work for the relationship, and her, in the sequel.

I took a break from this story a while ago and finally came back to finish. I'm so glad I did. I started from the beginning and got caught up all over again. I love your writing and your strong female characters. Those times when your feminist side pop up always make me smile. I'm glad that Gemma and Boone are working through things realistically. They do have a lot to figure out - great sex is not everything. :)
I'm so excited to move onto the sequel! Thanks for sharing such a fabulous story.

Hey!

Thank you again for reviewing my story! I really appreciate it! Here is your returned review!

I have to say I absolutely love the description in this. You're so good at it! The beginning of this chapter was amazing. Little pieces of description like "he unwrapped himself from me" and "his breath smelt of toothpaste" really paint a clear picture as well as enrich your story. You've got the perfect balance of description - not too much and not too little - and it's nicely spaced out around the story so that readers can imagine everything that's happening. That is pure talent!

I actually like that this chapter was "lacking in espionage" because it does a great job at setting everything up and beginning to build our understanding of the characters and the relationships between them. It is important to see how they interact with each other and what their relationships are like so we can learn more about them. You've done this so well! I love the dialogue. Their interactions are always engaging and fun to read and reveal more about them.

I love the characters! Ben is such a cutie. He clearly cares about Gemma a lot. I feel bad for him though. I would hate to be in that position where my partner was going off for long periods of time and I didn't know exactly what was going on. I also feel sad because I think he's a real genuine guy and very sweet and it makes me sad that it seems like Gemma will end up with Boone :( Ben had better get a good girlfriend later on in this story, okay? :P Ben is a sweetie. We need more guys like him in the world!

Not that I don't like Boone. I love Boone, don't get me wrong. He is sexy as Hell! He's a great character and there is a sense of mystery about him. I like that he managed to reassure Gemma. I can't wait to read more about him!

Your narrative is basically flawless too. So far this is brilliant!

I would say that maybe there was a little too much dialogue in this. The whole chapter was solely dialogue-driven so it felt more like reading a script than a story. Breaking some of this up with some more description and narrative would maybe make this a little better :)

Anyway, this is a great story and I can't wait to read more!

Keep writing!

-Vicky

Now that am quite happy i love ur story ,it's written well i sat all day,and the characters ar realistic nd i dnt quite dislike Gem anymre,the romance was there and the suspense had a thrill to it,i'd want u to complete the sequel have read the 2 chapters already

I love gem and tom's scene together despite my dislyk 4 ha they converse well and share this like emotion?,they dnt need to say muchwords they can be there for each other,and boone is so protective i luv it,he has this tough image but when caring for her or when his with her he bcomes tough but nervous its so funny..he manages quite well,and they dnt talk much b4 sayn whats on their mind like when he tld ha he was thinking of her in pakistan..i lyk him well

SINCE ITS FROM GEM'S POv,i'll talk abt her first Am nt sure dr hav bn any female lead i hav dislykd so much,i mean she doesn't deserve finding love,its d same stuf goin on she's a commitment phobe also,yh a live in b.f is d best she can do,its lyk a dejavu ben loves her bt shes scared 2 commit so asked 4 time,she loves boone but he's scared 2 commit and also asked 4 more time,and i knw am probably seeing with an extreme dislike but u can blame me,i mean i feel for ben bcos he loved her but she wasnt even making an attempt she jst threw al d travels news on his face with no reluctance abt leaving him,i'll say again shes not bad bt my umm...pain?(dat wld do) for ben has clouded my reasoning,its lyk all along she was waiting for boone to take the first step,nd yh she couldnt tell ben abt her wrk bcos of d obvious reason but she was so vague on her other emotions with him,but wld tell them to boone,screw ''patners'' atimes she wld let ben rant stil doin what ever she was doin..bt i lyk d fact dat she was brave and strng and a little emotion on her part was her drive,oh i lovd d fact dat she didnt give sh*t abt what pple said and acted so cool,danny..i lovd hm i love computer geeks plus that glasses of his did wonders to my imagination,plus i love a little cia or any other risky crime detection or covert activity the thrill u knw,crime/millitary computer geeks ar cool,cracking a firewall,retreiving videos from survelliance cameras getting locations throught tracking device i love it plus his cool to be arnd,then boone i actually like hm alot and i hav much to say abt him bt cnt get it too words,then there is laura i like her, the joke is nt lost on me, but i like her shes professional and is gud at that plus her comments ar always deep smwr betweed sarcastic,thr is also nixon, i lyk hm then yorke i lyk hm,then giddens i must say i share similar feelings with gemma on giddens,and laura doesnt want kids boone seems lyk the guy that wld wants his quiver filled of them since his gud at relating with pple,bens mother well she needs a spanking...and abt the sequel ur'e writint i wld rather not read abt their love well as u can tell am nt a fan of them being together,if u hav made ben mre of a lng term highskul b.f i sure wld hav lovd her better,mayb i shud hav read d sequel b4 this, nt knowing what appnd in her past..sorry 4 d abbrv,nd common errors

SINCE ITS FROM GEM'S POv,i talk abt her first Am nt sure dr hav bn any female lead hav dislykd so much,i mean she doesn't deserve finding love,its d same stuf goin on she's a commitment phobe also,yh a live in b.f is d best she can do,its lyk a dejavu ben loves her bt shes scared 2 commit so asked 4 time,she loves boone but he's scared 2 commit and also asked 4 more time,and i knw am probably seeing with an extreme dislike but u can blame me,i mean i feel for ben bcos he loved her but she wasnt even making an attemp she jst threw al d travels on him with no reluctance,i say again shes not bad bt my umm...pain?(dat wld do) for ben has clouded my vision,its lyk all along she was waiting for boone to take the first step,nd yh she couldnt tell ben abt her wrk bcos of d obvious reason but she was so vague on her other emotions with him,but telln then to boone,screw ''patners'' atimes she wld let ben rant stil doin what ever she was doin..bt i lyk d fact dat she was brave and strng and a little emotion on her part was her drive,oh i lovd d fact dat she didnt give sh*t abt what pple said and acted so cool,danny..i lovd hm i love computer geeks plus that glasses of his did wonders to my imagination,plus i love a little cia or any other risky crime detection or covert activity the thrill u knw,crime/millitary computer geeks ar cool,cracking a firewall,retreiving videos from survelliance cameras getting locations throught tracking device i love it plus his free to be arnd,then boone i actually like hm alot and i hav much to say abt him bt cnt get it too words,then there is laura i like her the joke is nt lst on me but i like her shes professional and is gud at that plus her comments ar always deep,thr is also nixon i lyk hm then yorke i lyk hm,then giddens i must say i share similar feelings with gemma on giddens

Hey! Thank you once again for reading and reviewing my story. I am currently returning reviews, so here is your review!

There isn't much I can say about this - it's just amazing. You pack so much into this. There is mystery, for example I am already intrigued as to who killed Dimitri and why, there is so much action which literally left me hanging on the edge of my seat and there are amazing characters. There's also emotion to this story - I genuinely felt moved when I read the ending of this chapter. Gemma seemed so tough and ready to fight earlier in the chapter, but this shows a more vulnerable side to her. This is great because it immediately makes her a character readers can relate to and empathise with. Everyone has a soft, vulnerable side, so it's much easier to relate with this side to her personality. This is just great - just in this first chapter you have included everything that a story needs.

I love Gemma! She is literally the perfect female character. I love that she is not this tough, hard-edged girl we see in most action stories. The fact that she is actually vulnerable, as seen in the ending to this, makes her much more human as well as makes her a unique, interesting character, not an average cliche character in action stories. I also like Boone. He's got this certain element of mystery about him. The dialogue between them is great. It's convincing and flows well and also shows their individual personalities. Ben seems too nice, so I'm not sure about him just yet. However, the ending picked up my opinion of him. He clearly cares about Gemma a lot.

The plot itself is amazing. This is definitely one of the best stories on Fictionpress. There is so much action already and I've already got so many questions, especially questions about what exactly her mission with Operation 67 is and what will happen in this mission and whether they will complete it. It's a compelling story that makes you want to read on straight away. I can't wait to read more!

It's also clear that you've really researched this. I love all the little details like the name of the gun she has. It's great to see hard work going into a story. I hate seeing stories that have little flaws in little details because the writers haven't thought properly about them or haven't researched. It just loses credibility of the story. You've done this so well and the little details make this realistic and believable. It means I can almost imagine this intense CIA world even though obviously I've never done anything like that! :p

Just a few small points - I didn't like when she was telling Boone what had happened to Dimitri. We already know this happened, I don't think you need to tell us this again. You could just say "I told him what happened." I understand maybe you want them talking to each other but it feels repetitive to read. Also, in the last line you say Ben smells like laundry detergent and shampoo. I thought everyone smells like this unless they smell of sweat lol :p Maybe more interesting description would be better.

Anyway, this story is amazing, and once again thank you so much for reading and reviewing my story. You are so so talented and this is an incredible story.

Thank you and keep writing!

-Vicky

Too lazy to log in!
But hey, Vertigo's done, congratulations! What an amazing work. And such a good ending! So many things to look forward to! I'm gonna head straight to the sequel now!
Take care and keep up the amazing work! :)