Category: Science Fiction

Title: This Cruel Design (This Mortal Coil #2)
Author: Emily Suvada
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Canada
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: ebook
Release Date: October 30, 2018
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Cat thought the Hydra epidemic was over, but when new cases pop up, Cat must team up with an enemy to fix the vaccine before the virus spirals out of control in this thrilling sequel to This Mortal Coil, which New York Times bestselling author Amie Kaufman says “redefines ‘unputdownable.’”

The nightmare of the outbreak is finally over, but Cat’s fight has only just begun.

Exhausted, wounded, and reeling from revelations that have shaken her to her core, Cat is at a breaking point. Camped in the woods with Cole and Leoben, she’s working day and night, desperate to find a way to stop Lachlan’s plan to reprogram humanity. But she’s failing—Cat can’t even control her newly regrown panel, and try as she might to ignore them, she keeps seeing glitching visions from her past everywhere she turns.

When news arrives that the Hydra virus might not be as dead as they’d thought, the group is pushed into an uneasy alliance with Cartaxus to hunt down Lachlan and fix the vaccine. Their search takes them to Entropia, a city of genehackers hidden deep in the desert that could also hold the answers about Cat’s past that she’s been searching for.

But when confronted with lies and betrayals, Cat is forced to question everything she knows and everyone she trusts. And while Lachlan is always two steps ahead, the biggest threat to Cat may be the secrets buried in her own mind.

Review:

I loved this book as much as the first.

There were still lots of surprises throughout the book, though not as much as the first book. There were a couple of things about the origins of certain characters which I guessed correctly. I gasped at the end of so many chapters. It was so good!

I don’t know a lot about science or coding, so I think some of those parts of the story went over my head. I found the technology fascinating, even though I didn’t understand all of it. I think the panels are a real possibility in our future.

I loved this book. The ending was so good! I can’t wait for the next one!

What to read next:

• The Darkest Star (Origin #1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

• 

• Zero Repeat Forever by G.S. Prendergast

• 

Have you read This Cruel Design? What did you think of it?

Title: The Darkest Star (Origin #1)
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction
Publisher: Tor Teen
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: ebook
Release Date: October 30, 2018
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

When seventeen-year-old Evie Dasher is caught up in a raid at a notorious club known as one of the few places where humans and the surviving Luxen can mingle freely, she meets Luc, an unnaturally beautiful guy she initially assumes is a Luxen…but he is in fact something much more powerful. Her growing attraction for Luc will lead her deeper and deeper into a world she’d only heard about, a world where everything she thought she knew will be turned on its head…

Review:

I really enjoyed this story. I’ve heard a lot of good things about Jennifer L. Armentrout’s books, but I hadn’t read one before. Now I’m going to look for more of her books.

This world was like ours, but there was an alien invasion. The aliens can take the form of humans, so it can be difficult to tell the difference, unless the Luxen (the aliens) wear a bracelet which signals what they are. The main character, Evie, becomes immersed in the Luxen world, after going to a Luxen club called Foretold.

I guessed the twist in the story fairly early on. It was the same twist as another book I read recently, so I was able to figure it out. I won’t tell you which book it was, but if you have read both books, you will know what I’m talking about.

I’m curious to see where this series goes, but I guess I’ll have to wait a while for the next book!

What to read next:

• This Mortal Coil by Emily Suvada

• 

• Obsidian (Lux #1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

• 

Have you read The Darkest Star? What did you think of it?

Title: This Mortal Coil
Author: Emily Suvada
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Source: Library
Release Date: November 7, 2017
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Catarina Agatta is a hacker. She can cripple mainframes and crash through firewalls, but that’s not what makes her special. In Cat’s world, people are implanted with technology to recode their DNA, allowing them to change their bodies in any way they want. And Cat happens to be a gene-hacking genius.

That’s no surprise, since Cat’s father is Dr. Lachlan Agatta, a legendary geneticist who may be the last hope for defeating a plague that has brought humanity to the brink of extinction. But during the outbreak, Lachlan was kidnapped by a shadowy organization called Cartaxus, leaving Cat to survive the last two years on her own.

When a Cartaxus soldier, Cole, arrives with news that her father has been killed, Cat’s instincts tell her it’s just another Cartaxus lie. But Cole also brings a message: before Lachlan died, he managed to create a vaccine, and Cole needs Cat’s help to release it and save the human race.

Now Cat must decide who she can trust: The soldier with secrets of his own? The father who made her promise to hide from Cartaxus at all costs? In a world where nature itself can be rewritten, how much can she even trust herself?

Review:

This book is amazing! I had heard that it was good, but I wasn’t prepared for how thrilling the story would be.

It is set in a post-apocalyptic world where people have electronic panels in their arm that can enhance their bodies. There are apps that can give you better sight or hearing, or even change the taste of the food you eat.

It didn’t take long for me to become familiar with this world, because there are very few characters at the beginning. Cat lives by herself and only has a couple of friends who live nearby. This made it much easier to figure out what the world was like, with the special panels built into people and the virus that threatened to kill everyone.

There were so many twists in the story. I never would have guessed the ending in a million years! I was reading it before bed and I couldn’t find a good spot to stop reading, so I ended up reading very late.

I loved this book so much! I can’t wait to read the sequel that comes out tomorrow!

What to read next:

• This Cruel Design by Emily Suvada

• 

• Zero Repeat Forever by G.S. Prendergast

• 

Have you read This Mortal Coil? What did you think of it?

Title: Rabbit and Robot
Author: Andrew Smith
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Canada
Source: Publisher
Release Date: September 25, 2018
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Cager has been transported to the Tennessee, a giant lunar-cruise ship orbiting the moon that his dad owns, by Billy and Rowan to help him shake his Woz addiction. Meanwhile, Earth, in the midst of thirty simultaneous wars, burns to ash beneath them. And as the robots on board become increasingly insane and cannibalistic, and the Earth becomes a toxic wasteland, the boys have to wonder if they’ll be stranded alone in space forever.

Review:

This book is a futuristic story, set on a space ship that cruises around the moon.

The beginning of the story was a little confusing. It opens right in the middle of events. The boys are trapped in a lake with talking animals. I had no idea where the story was going when it started like this!

I liked how dramatic the cogs, or robots, were in this story. They each had a dominating emotion which they would constantly exhibit. For example some were depressed, or angry, or sexual. They made the story entertaining because they were so extreme and unpredictable.

One thing I don’t really agree with is that it’s a young adult story. When I was a teen, I don’t think I would have enjoyed this story because of the mature themes. It is more of an older young adult novel since the main characters are teens, but the themes would be too mature for younger teens.

I enjoyed this book! It’s a unique dystopian story!

What to read next:

• Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

  

• Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Schteyngart

  

Have you read Rabbit & Robot? What did you think of it?

Title: The Raging Ones
Author: Krista & Becca Ritchie
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Release Date: August 14, 2018
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

From New York Times bestselling authors Krista and Becca Ritchie, comes The Raging Ones, an edge of your seat sci-fi romance with twists and turns that you will never see coming!

In a freezing world, where everyone knows the day they will die, three teens break all odds.

Franny Bluecastle, a tough city teen, dreams of dying in opulence, to see wealth she’s never known. Like the entire world, she believes it’s impossible to dodge a deathday.

Until the day she does.

Court Icecastle knows wealth. He also knows pain. Spending five years in Vorkter Prison, a fortress of ice and suffering, he dreams of life beyond the people that haunt him and the world that imprisoned him.

Mykal Kickfall fights for those he loves. The rugged Hinterlander shares a frustrating yet unbreakable connection with Court—which only grows more lawless and chaotic as their senses and emotions connect with Franny.

With the threat of people learning they’ve dodged their deathdays, they must flee their planet to survive. But to do so, all three will have to hide their shared bond as they vie for a highly sought after spot in the newest mission to space. Against thousands of people far smarter, who’ll live longer, and never fear death the way that they do.

Review:

I absolutely loved this book!

I was on the edge of my seat through the whole book. The premise was crazy: everyone on the planet knows the day they will die. Everyone is ranked in society based on how long they will live. Those who live longer are given more opportunities because they will have more time to make use of their lives.

The three main characters survive past their death day, and they are emotionally linked. They can feel each other’s pain and happiness. Once Court and Mykal meet Franny, they include her in their journey to join a space mission, so they can escape the world that they don’t belong in. The question is, will they all make it onto the mission?

I had so many questions through the book. When I was getting close to the end, I was disappointed because I was still wondering about many things. However, all of my questions were answered in the last couple of pages! It was an amazing ending, and I wish I didn’t have to wait so long for the sequel! I have no idea what is going to happen next!

What to read next:

• Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

  

• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

  

Have you read The Raging Ones? What did you think of it?