Teaser Tuesday – 6th March, 2018

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by The Purple Booker.
Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This is my choice of the day:

Reclaiming Shilo Snow – Book 2 of The Evaporation of Sofi Snow series by Mary Weber

46% The night Miguel met Sofi, he’d been at a party celebrating the successful, newly established FanFight games – which were the latest in cross virtual and live entertainment created by the thirty ruling United World Corporations.

“To feed humanity’s blood-enthrallment while testing our Corp inventions,” they’d joked behind closed doors.

BLURB: Trapped on the ice-planet of Delon, gamer girl Sofi and Ambassador Miguel have discovered that nothing is what it seems, including their friends. On a quest to rescue her brother, Shilo, a boy everyone believes is dead, they must now escape and warn Earth of Delon’s designs on humanity. Except the more they unearth of the planet and Sofi’s past, the more they feel themselves unraveling, as each new revelation has Sofi questioning the very existence of reality.
Meanwhile, back on Earth, Sofi’s mom, Inola, is battling a different kind of unraveling: a political one that could cost lives, positions, and a barely-rebuilt society, should they discover the deal made with the Delonese.
But there’s a secret deeper than all that. One locked away inside Sofi and ticking away with the beginnings, endings, and answers to everything. Including how to save humanity.

I haven’t read the first book in this series – and paid the price as it took me some floundering before I managed to work out who was doing what to whom. I’ve now figured it – I’d have got there sooner if I’d read the blurb – and am now settling nicely into this tense adventure, where those tricky aliens aren’t what they said they were… And isn’t that cover marvellous?

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New Cover for Dying for Space – Book 2 of the Sunblinded trilogy

I have recently been lucky enough to have a shiny new cover for Dying for Space produced by superfriend Mhairi, who agreed with me that the original covers for the series weren’t hitting the spot – and announced that she could make me something more genre-specific. So she did…

It’s great, isn’t it? I love the fact that Mhairi used images of the same girl on both covers in the series. Dying for Space is available at Amazon.com for $2.78 and at Amazon.co.uk for £1.99.

And in case you missed it, this is the cover for Running Out of Space. I think they look really good together. Running Out of Space is available at Amazon.com for $1.37 and at Amazon.co.uk for £0.99.

Review of NETGALLEY arc We Care For You by Paul Kitcatt

When I read what fellow book blogger, Ana, from Ana’s Lair had to say about this offering, I immediately hightailed it over to NetGalley to request it. I was delighted when I was approved and bumped it up to the top of my pile because I was so keen to read it.

Margaret Woodruff is slowly dying in a care home. When her son is presented with the chance of exceptional care in her final months, he finds the offer hard to resist. Winifred is assigned to Margaret’s care. She’s a Helper: a new kind of carer that’s capable, committed and completely tireless – because she’s a synthetic human being.

This is ambitious book is not only a gripping story about what happens to an old lady in a care home, but it is also a discussion about what it means to be human. Kitcatt isn’t afraid to hold up the pace of his unsettling story to provide detailed conversations between Margaret and Winifred, which have stayed with me since I finished reading the book. I’m not sure if I agree with the conclusions he comes to, but they are certainly food for thought and I do thoroughly agree with the prevalent view throughout the book that the life experience gained by the elderly is essentially thrown away in our modern society. This is in sharp contrast to almost every other culture throughout history, where the wisdom of the aged is valued and held in high regard. Although the conclusions that Winifred come to are somewhat worrying…

Any niggles? Well, I do have one. I’m still scratching my head as to why Kitcatt has set the book in 2022, given the sophistication and real-life appearance of the robot. That is only four years away and I simply don’t believe we are anywhere near producing an artificial being with that sophistication and complexity to be rolled out and fully interact with a very fragile human being in the manner described in the book. To be honest, when I saw the date I nearly didn’t continue, being rather nerdy about this sort of thing. While I’m aware, great strides have been made in the field of AI and robotics. I simply don’t believe we are within touching distance of the likes of Winifred and her hub.

However, the writing is sufficiently good and the book has been produced to a high standard with solid formatting, so I decided to proceed and give the author a pass on the unrealistic timeline. Other than that, this is an engrossing read with some important things to say about what we value as a society and a species, and though I thought I knew exactly what the ending would be, that final twist did leave me with a shiver up my spine. All in all, this is a memorable and unsettling read, recommended for anyone who enjoys near future science fiction relating to our current society.
8/10

Sunday Post – 14th January, 2018

This is part of the weekly meme over at the Caffeinated Reviewer, where book bloggers can share the books and blogs they have written.

So how come we are already nearly halfway through January? This last week has gone by in a blur, probably because last Monday and Tuesday I started my Creative Writing classes for the new term. It was lovely to catch up with my students and discover how they got on during the Christmas break. Unfortunately, I was unable to teach Tim this week as he has gone down with the nasty viral illness that is going the rounds. On Wednesday, I dealt with teaching admin and continued working on the manuscript of Miranda’s Tempest, which I’m rewriting.

On Thursday, Mhairi came over and we talked through our writing progress before getting down to work. She has been designing new covers for my Sunblinded trilogy and she spent some time working on the font. I’m hoping to be able to release the new cover for Running Out of Space before the end of the month. On Saturday, my sister and I went shopping together and then spent the afternoon at the hairdressers – it was lovely to meet up with her again, as she has been unwell with an ear infection.

This week I have read:

Defender – Book 2 of the Hive Mind by Janet Edwards
Becoming a telepath was hard. Being a telepath is harder.

Eighteen-year-old Amber is the youngest of the five telepaths who protect the hundred million citizens of one of the great hive cities of twenty-sixth century Earth. Her job is hunting down criminals before they commit their crimes, but this time her team arrive too late. Someone is already dead. Someone that Amber knows. Amber is determined to catch the murderer, but she doesn’t realize who she’s up against, or the true danger of opening her mind to the thoughts of others.

I thoroughly enjoyed this one – it takes the story of Amber and her efforts to help keep law and order in one of the huge underground hive cities further after the first book, Telepath. This is another page-turning adventure from this talented author. I shall be reviewing it in due course.

Virology – Book 2 of the Shock Pao series by Ren Warom
Core is dark and Slip is everywhere, vital to everything that happens in the world and outside of anyone s control. Avis float the skies and their arrival will trigger a tide of rebellion against the system in Foon Gung. The key is Shock Pao, within him lies the means to control Slip. Control Slip, control the world. Shock was a Haunt once, impossible to find, but he isn’t anymore, and he s running out of places to hide.

Shock finds himself on the run from, well, everyone. This time though, he’s not alone. But as the sickness infecting the Patient Zeros gets worse and begins to spread, he and his rag-tag group of friends must begin a desperate search for a cure. If they don’t find out what’s causing this, who’s causing this and find a way to put a stop to it, everything they’ve fought for, the brief freedom they’ve managed to achieve, will come undone.

This cyberpunk adventure is a great foot-to-the-floor action story, taking the characters who featured in Escapology onto another major threat to their wellbeing and freedom in this dystopian cyberworld. I remembered all over again why I cared about Shock and Amiga, while I stayed up later than I should to read this entertaining, densely written thriller.

My posts last week:

Sunday Post – 7th January, 2018

My Outstanding Reads of 2017

Can’t-Wait-Wednesday featuring Shadow Play – Book 18 of the Bill Slider series by Cynthia Harrod Eagles

Friday Face-off – Man is a knot into which relationships are tied… featuring Daughter of the Forest – Book 1 of the Sevenwaters series by Juliet Marillier

Interesting/outstanding blogs and articles that have caught my attention during the last week, in no particular order:

Six Word Stories – The Readers https://richardankers.com/2018/01/12/six-word-stories-the-readers Richard has a quirky fertile imagination and I love reading his amazing output…

Max Carrados, the Blind Sherlock Holms https://interestingliterature.com/2018/01/12/max-carrados-the-blind-sherlock-holmes/ Once again, this fascinating site delivers as this article sheds light on an intriguing writer, now forgotten…

Handlanger https://photolicioux.wordpress.com/2018/01/11/handlanger/ You know that quote about a picture being worth a 1,000 words? This is one of them…

Reading Bingo Results for 2017! https://rathertoofondofbooks.com/2018/01/11/reading-bingo-results-for-2017/ At a time of year when readers are reflecting on their 2017 reading experience, this one looks like such fun. Anyone up for having a go?

Housework won’t kill you, but why take the chance? https://blogging807.wordpress.com/2018/01/08/housework-wont-kill-you-but-why-take-a-chance/ Just in case I decide to do some cleaning and tidying, instead of writing…

Thank you very much for taking the time and trouble to visit, like and comment on my site and wishing you all a happy, successful 2018!

Teaser Tuesday – 24th October, 2017

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by The Purple Booker.
Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This is my choice of the day:

Gnomon by Nick Harkaway
57% Without really meaning to, she does something she has never done before, running a location ping on Jonathan Jones. Not far away. Alone. Reading and drinking wine over a bowl of gnocchi in a place she has never heard of. It must be new. The reviews say it is excellent. Jones has not yet added his own opinion, which is heavily weighted with acquired respect.
She realises she has made quite a bold move, like the sudden hinge point of a casual contact where the hand is not withdrawn. There is no going back to where they were, to the pretence of disinterest. If she does not reach out to him, after this, she will look flighty.

BLURB: Gnomon, which took Harkaway more than three years to complete, is set in a world of ubiquitous surveillance. Pitched as “a mind-bending Borgesian puzzle box of identity, meaning and reality in which the solution steps sideways as you approach it”, it features: a detective who finds herself investigating the very society she believes in, urged on by a suspect who may be an assassin or an ally, hunting through the dreams of a torture victim in search of the key to something she does not yet understand; a banker who is pursued by a shark that swallows Fortune 500 companies; Saint Augustine’s jilted mistress who reshapes the world with miracles; a refugee grandfather turned games designer who must remember how to walk through walls or be burned alive by fascists; and a sociopath who falls backwards through time in order to commit a murder.

Yep. Same book as last week. It is thoroughly enjoyable, if dense and very layered, so no skimming through this one, or I’ll miss something important. Besides, with such beautifully crafted prose, it would be something of a crime to speedread through it. I really like Detective Neith – while also thoroughly on the side of Diana Hunter, the woman she is investigating. I’m fascinated to see how this one turns out…

 

ANNDDD…

 

Caught Reading Redheaded hosts this part of the blog tour and asks me about the worldbuilding in Running Out of Space – as well as posting a review…

Teaser Tuesday – 17th October, 2017

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by The Purple Booker.
Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This is my choice of the day:
Gnomon by Nick Harkaway
8% An instant later she is flying at a wall. She recognises a print from the Dogs Playing Poker series by Coolidge, supposedly ubiquitous, but she realises this is the first time she has actually ever seen one, and then she hits. Hunter’s house is of distressingly solid construction. In a more modern dwelling this might cave in a plasterboard wall but not here. She slides down the wall and lands badly, and a huge shape, comically thuggish, blocks her view of the room.

BLURB: Gnomon, which took Harkaway more than three years to complete, is set in a world of ubiquitous surveillance. Pitched as “a mind-bending Borgesian puzzle box of identity, meaning and reality in which the solution steps sideways as you approach it”, it features: a detective who finds herself investigating the very society she believes in, urged on by a suspect who may be an assassin or an ally, hunting through the dreams of a torture victim in search of the key to something she does not yet understand; a banker who is pursued by a shark that swallows Fortune 500 companies; Saint Augustine’s jilted mistress who reshapes the world with miracles; a refugee grandfather turned games designer who must remember how to walk through walls or be burned alive by fascists; and a sociopath who falls backwards through time in order to commit a murder.

As you can see, I’m not very far into this one and it isn’t particularly straightforward. I’m just getting used to the writing style which is quite wordy and literary. I loved Gone-Away World and enjoyed Angelmaker, so I’m hoping that I’ll soon fully bond with this one and the pages will start turning themselves…

*NEW RELEASE SPECIAL* Review of The Uploaded by Ferrett Steinmetz

Being the shallow sort, I was first attracted by the fabulous cover for this book, then intrigued by the premise which prompted me to request it from Netgalley.

In the near future, the elderly have moved online and now live within the computer network. But that doesn’t stop them interfering in the lives of the living, whose sole real purpose now is to maintain the vast servers which support digital Heaven. For one orphan that just isn’t enough – he wants more for himself and his sister than a life slaving away for the dead. It turns out that he’s not the only one who wants to reset the world…

This dystopian, YA science fiction near-future adventure explores a premise that I’ve recently come across in other books – Reaper by Janet Edwards and The Real-Town Murders by Adam Roberts – whereby people are spending more time in a virtual reality at the expense of our organic, real-time world. There are differences, of course, and Steinmetz has the dead uploaded into a virtual Heaven, which sounds a great idea.

However, the dead are still in charge of governing and over time they out-vote the living, who are increasingly losing out to the dead. Professionals are inevitably dead – but imagine being treated by a virtual doctor who has been dead so long, he has no sympathy about the fact you are in a lot of pain. This is the kind of problem the living are coping with. I like this world very much, which is well thought-out and poses some interesting questions.

Our protagonist is certainly very ticked off with his situation. His parents, who died six years ago in one of the virulent plagues sweeping across the planet, spend their time and energy in a fantasy world looking out for dragons, rather than keeping in touch with their children. Amichai, bright and inventive, is boxed into a miserable dead-end maintenance job so necessary to keep the Upterlife going, so relieves his frustration by breaking the rules and getting into mischief. However, he is treading a very narrow line – if he finally succeeds in really annoying the authorities, the dead can examine his ‘Shrive’ his last ‘save point’ where his thoughts and memories are uploaded and if they judge him to be a criminal, he would then die a ‘meat death’ where he won’t be uploaded once he dies. Unsurprisingly, the real-time population are really fed up, but reluctant to revolt given the way the odds are loaded against them.

I enjoyed this one. The plot twists and turns as Amichai flounders to find his place in this unhospitable world with a strong supporting cast. I think I could have loved it a tad more if I hadn’t found Amichai so flaky and annoying, but I’m aware this is a very personal response. My grouse is that when the situation is so dire, his impulsive risk-taking is plainly inappropriate and a lot of the narrative tension rides on it. However, if only he behaved with more responsibility, he wouldn’t have found himself in such a bad place – and given that his sister is pretty much reliant on him, I lost patience with his attitude. That said, the author makes a good case for the reasons why he is as he is – and he is thoroughly called to account for his behaviour and forced to reconsider his attitude, so there is a sense that he grows up during the book. If you enjoy dystopian science fiction reads with plenty of action, then I recommend this one.

While I obtained the arc of The Uploaded from the publisher via NetGalley, this has in no way influenced my unbiased review.
8/10

Sunday Post – 3rd September 2017

This is part of the weekly meme over at the Caffeinated Book Reviewer, where book bloggers can share the books and blogs they have written.

It’s been a good week. I’ve managed to get lots of writing done – now 24,000 words into my major rewrite of Miranda’s Tempest, I am really delighted at how well it’s going. The weather continues warm and fine, though the evenings are drawing in fast, berries are appearing and autumn is knocking on the door.

Unfortunately, I ran into big problems with my knitting project – with all the typing I’m doing, my left hand got very upset about the knitting as well, so my sister stepped up and has taken it over, bless her. It should be ready for the film rehearsals next week.

I now have sorted out a release date for Running Out of Space, the first novel in my space opera series The Sunblinded – 11th October. I’ve decided to finally go for it now and get this series self published. Wish me luck!

The grandchildren are now staying over for their last stay with us before they return to school for a new academic year. They asked for a ‘lazy day’ time, so we didn’t go out and about with them yesterday. Today we’re going to have breakfast and the Look and Sea Centre with my sister and visiting the beach before taking them back home in the afternoon.

This week I have read:

The Uploaded by Ferrett Steinmetz

In the near future, the elderly have moved online and now live within the computer network. But that doesn’t stop them interfering in the lives of the living, whose sole real purpose now is to maintain the vast servers which support digital Heaven. For one orphan that just isn’t enough – he wants more for himself and his sister than a life slaving away for the dead. It turns out that he’s not the only one who wants to reset the world…
This one is fun. Lots of action set in a dystopian world with a really intriguing premise – I loved how the dead ended up running the lives of the living.

 

Just Off the Path by Weston Sullivan
Hansel never asked to be a hero. He never wanted to fall in love with Rapunzel, Queen of the East. He didn’t ask to be raised by Gothel the Wretch, and he certainly never wanted to be credited for her arrest. But more than any of that, Hansel never wanted to lie: but he did. He lied about everything. He thought that he was done with it all when he and his sister Gretel retreated into the woods to reclaim their land, but he should have known better. Years later, Rapunzel’s guards knock at his door, and they say the words he hoped that he would never hear: Gothel has escaped. As he and Gretel take refuge inside Rapunzel’s castle in the eastern capitol of Hildebrand, Hansel is thrust back into everything he never wanted in the first place: his lies, his legend, and his lust.
This is a really interesting idea – a real mash-up of a number of Grimm fairytales told by one of the child victims – Hansel. It goes in unexpected directions and it is huge fun waiting to see who next turns up.

 

Sea of Rust by C. Robert Cargill
BRITTLE started out his life playing nurse to a dying man, purchased in truth instead to look after the man’s widow upon his death. But then war came and Brittle was forced to choose between the woman he swore to protect and potential oblivion at the hands of rising anti-AI sentiment. Thirty years later, his choice still haunts him. Now he spends his days in the harshest of the wastelands, known as the Sea of Rust, cannibalizing the walking dead – robots only hours away from total shutdown – looking for parts to trade for those he needs to keep going.
I loved this one. Brittle’s strong first person narrative took me right into this shattered, dystopian world where the robots are locked in a final battle for survival. Beautiful writing and plenty of action – great fun.

 

The Dazzling Heights – Book 2 of The Thousandth Floor series by Katherine McGee
New York City, 2118. A glittering vision of the future, where anything is possible – if you want it enough.
Manhattan is home to a thousand-story supertower, a beacon of futuristic glamour and high-tech luxury… and to millions of people living scandalous, secretive lives. Leda is haunted by nightmares of what happened on the worst night of her life. She’s afraid the truth will get out – which is why she hires Watt, her very own hacker, to keep an eye on all of the witnesses for her. But what happens when their business relationship turns personal? When Rylin receives a scholarship to an elite upper-floor school, her life transforms overnight. But being here also means seeing the boy she loves: the one whose heart she broke, and who broke hers in return.
Avery is grappling with the reality of her forbidden romance – is there anywhere in the world that’s safe for them to be together? And then there’s Calliope, the mysterious, bohemian beauty who’s arrived in New York with a devious goal in mind – and too many secrets to count.
Here in the Tower, no one is safe – because someone is watching their every move, someone with revenge in mind. After all, in a world of such dazzling heights, you’re always only one step away from a devastating fall….
I thoroughly enjoyed the first book in this series and was delighted when I saw this one pop up on Netgalley. We get to follow the tortuous lives of these youngsters who have it all – including a hatful of knee-buckling problems… A real page-turner with another cracking climax.

My posts last week:

Sunday Post – 27th August

Review of The Cold – Book 5 of Star Wars: Adventures in Wild Sapce by Scott Cavan

Teaser Tuesday featuring Sea of Rust by C. Robert Cargill

Tough Travelling – Strongholds featuring The Just City by Jo Walton

Review of The Heir to the North – Book 1 of Malessar’s Curse by Steven Poore

Friday Face-off – Thunder is the sound of hoofbeats in heaven… featuring Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

*NEW RELEASE SPECIAL* Review of Death Shall Come – Book 3 of the Ishmael Jones series by Simon R. Green

Interesting/outstanding blogs and articles that have caught my attention during the last week and a bit, in no particular order:

SPRAOI – Source to the Sea https://inesemjphotography.com/2017/08/26/spraoi-source-to-sea/ This wonderful series of photos of this amazing parade is yet another slice of life by this amazingly talented photographer

Riders of the Storm – Hurricane Harvey Rising Water https://familytravelhostusa.com/2017/08/27/riders-of-the-storm-hurricane-harvey-rising-water/ Sad pictures this time – family photos no one wants to take…

Space Features of the Week http://earthianhivemind.net/2017/08/26/space-features-week-26-july/ This invaluable, enjoyable weekly roundup is becoming a regular feature on this blog – with good reason

Sex Scenes: How Did it Happen http://melfka.com/archives/2438 This enjoyable article made me realise this isn’t a subject much discussed by readers – and yet we all read them, don’t we?

Jo Walton Interview – 2017 Edinburgh International Book Festival  http://fantasy-faction.com/2017/jo-walton-interview-2017-edinburgh-international-book-festival I was thrilled to read this extensive interview where this highly talented, versatile author discusses her canon of work.

Thank you very much for taking the time and trouble to visit, like and comment on my site and may you have a great week.

Review of KINDLE Ebook Reaper – Book 1 of the End Game series by Janet Edwards

I am a solid fan of Edwards’ writing, so was a bit shocked to discover that a couple of her novels were languishing in my To be Read pile – see my review of Scavenger Alliance. While I was ill, I took the opportunity to read them…

In the year 2519, people on Earth don’t grow old and die any longer, their bodies are frozen and they start a new life in the virtual reality of the Game. Jex is almost eighteen, working twelve hour shifts, and dreaming of when she’ll be legally adult and begin her long-planned idyllic life in Game. When a bomber attacks a Game server complex, one of the virtual worlds of Game crashes, and eleven thousand immortal players die during emergency defrost. Death has struck Game for the first time in centuries, and Jex is questioned as a suspect in the bombing.

I really enjoyed this one. Edwards has a knack for writing strong young characters with plenty of depth and suitable lack of experience, but who don’t come over as whiny and annoying. It’s harder to achieve than she makes it look, as once again I found myself completely beguiled by Jex, who has a grindingly hard life in common with all children who now grow up in a post-Gamer world. Once the unthinkable happens and a bomb explodes, the high-handed and clumsy law enforcers simply scoop up all the teenagers who were working near and around the frozen stacks of bodies and question them. Such an event on their records will immediately bar them from being accepted by any of the games, dooming her to living in the grey, twilight existence of the real world.

The depiction of the general neglect and bleak surroundings now pervading reality, while all the talented and able adults are away in virtual reality is well done. I found the worldbuilding very nicely handled, given the way Edwards braids into the unfolding investigation. For this is a thriller as Jex finds herself involved in the desperate hunt for the ruthless bomber who has killed thousands and is poised to strike again.

This thriller is a real page-turner, as there are all sorts of plot twists. I also very much liked the unfolding romance which works well. There is plenty of humour when we see the ideal lantern-jawed hero transformed into a geeky teenager who ran headlong into a game rather than cope with real-life relationships. All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this entertaining YA science fiction offering, which comes highly recommended.
9/10

Review of KINDLE Ebook Saven Deception – Book 1 of the Saven series by Siobhan Davis

I have constantly seen positive reviews for this series and finally Lola persuaded me to give this one a go.

Sadie Owens has been slowly dying inside. Bit by bit, piece by piece, day by day. Trapped in a life she hates, she relies on only one person—herself. Despised by her family and betrayed by an unscrupulous government, Sadie dreams of a different life. When she is chosen to participate in the government’s new social experiment, she is ecstatic at the prospect of spending six months in Thalassic City, the shiny new city under the sea. Sadie is captivated by Logan, the beautiful boy with the ocean-blue eyes, but he isn’t all he appears to be. When she finally uncovers the government’s real agenda, the truth is more shocking than anything she could ever have imagined.

I very much enjoyed Sadie’s character – she has clearly had a rough time at home with a hostile, unloving mother and siblings who took their cue from her. It doesn’t help that the family are poverty-stricken with no opportunity of escaping dead-end, draining jobs, forcing them to take desperate measures. It is one of the reasons why Sadie applies for Thalassic City. Davis tucks in snippets regarding Sadie’s backstory in the first person (I) pov giving us a ringside seat to her thoughts and emotions – a staple in YA fiction.

There is an interesting cast of supporting characters – I particularly liked Jenna, the girl who rooms with Sadie and gets involved with Dante. I also like Jared. As for Logan, the handsome boy who Sadie falls for in the classic eyes-meeting-across-a-crowded-room way, he is clearly difficult to trust given his background which is gradually revealed as the story progresses. I liked the way Davis fed us a continuous stream of information as the story progresses, so that our perceptions are continually changing throughout. As for the courtship dance between them, that isn’t an aspect of the book that I found particularly interesting other than the way it contributes to the overall story arc of the Saven and their interest in humanity and what bargain they strike with a government fast running out of sufficient resources. However, I don’t have a particular problem with the insta-love – it’s the way I fell for my ex-husband… hook, line and sinker with the solid belief that we were intended to be together forever.

The scene-setting and worldbuilding also works very well. I found the underwater city believable as they journeyed down to it and again, while the setting seems well developed and convincing, it unfolds alongside the action. So given there is a lot of building tension throughout, when the climactic finale arrives, it needs to provide plenty of thrills and action – and it certainly does. I couldn’t break away during this section of the book, as I was desperate to know what happens next. I’ll warn you – while plenty of the issues that run throughout the book are addressed, it does finish on a cliffhanger, however that isn’t too much of a problem as Saven Disclosure, the next book in the series, is available.

While I obtained the arc of Saven Deception from the publisher via NetGalley, this has in no way influenced my unbiased review.
8/10