Vera Strange

In this atmospheric thriller, heartbroken Morgan begrudgingly seeks solace with her overly supportive best friends at the Namaste Center, an exclusive women’s retreat in the Berkshires, after her boyfriend Noah’s betrayal. But instead of healing, she finds mounting dread. As fellow guests vanish and disturbing omens appear, Morgan must rely on the survival skills from her troubled past that she’s hidden from everyone—even from Noah. What begins as a wellness weekend becomes a fight show more for survival against a sinister force lurking in the wilderness, one that threatens more than just her broken heart.

Strengths: Gripping from start to finish, this romantic thriller keeps you guessing until the twisted end. The multi-layered storyline/flashback is well executed, effortlessly readable, while the writing style is authentic and mildly humorous. The characters feel humanly flawed and mostly relatable. The setting itself becomes a character—an isolated, cold foe that heightens the tension all the way through.

Weakness: I wanted more of Noah’s POV. ;)

Verdict
It had me at dark romantic thriller. More of that, please! Overall, not what I expected. I have no idea what I was expecting, but not that—I dig it! The last 80 pages are pure madness set at maximum thriller betrayal volume. I can’t wait for the next one with that cliffhanger. If I am still wishing for a happy ending, does that mean there is something wrong with me?

Rating: 8.5 out of 10
Spice Level: 2 out of 5
Cover Grade: A+

Thank you, Jennifer Brody & Podium Publishing. I received an advance review copy for free and am leaving this review voluntarily. All thoughts and opinions are my own. show less

(Full disclosure: I received a free e-ARC for review through Edelweiss.)

In this future utopia/dystopia, the Cure has ended aging and wiped out illness. Theoretically, humans could live forever - if not for our pesky brains, which lag several evolutionary steps behind our tech and simply cannot handle the burden of immortality.

Enter: the Centurial Assessment Test. After a rather deadly and high-profile mass shooting - called THE RAMPAGE - the government mandated an evaluation that all show more citizens must undergo on their 200th birthday. Those who pass - the lucky 1% - are allowed to go on living. Those who don't are euthanized and incinerated.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/smiteme/50533784403/in/dateposted-public/

Eva Thorne's husband Owen - the love of her life and her husband of more than a century - was marched off to his test six months back, never to return. Now her 200th birthday is fast approaching, but she can't bring herself to care. Life just isn't worth living if Owen's not by her side. But when she catches a glimpse of Owen's eyes peeking out from the face mask of one her proctors, Eva decides she wants to go one living after all - if only to find out what happened to Owen.

While I loved the idea of this story, I'm sorry to say that the execution just didn't do it for me. The futuristic, minimalist artwork suits the idea well, but it isn't my thing. The action sequences in particular are sometimes confusing, and I couldn't always grasp the tech and environmental details, even when spelled out in the narrative. The plot seemed to have a lot of gaps, and the character development was flimsy, little to none. And the ending is just one big nope from me. show less

*I was given a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review and these thoughts are my own.*

I don't often give books a five star rating, but this one gets one. It grabbed you right from the start. Who's Sari? What's The Doom? What are continuum's exactly? And then there's the time jump and you meet Myra and Aero and the others and you just have to connect with them. They both come from such different places, but you feel for them both. Wren, Tinker, all the side show more characters are fleshed out and well written.

I think a lot of people are starting to get 'over' the dystopian YA genre and want to try something else, but this one is worth the read. I didn't want to put this book down and stayed up past 2 am to finish it. A brilliant debut and I can't wait for the next book in the series.

I would recommend this book. 5 out of 5 stars. show less

This book seemed to grab you from the beginning. This book is different from other "end of the world" books- this is more of a what happens after the world has destructed. It is very interesting how the author thought out the different story lines, but yet they will at some point all intersect. I am really looking forward to the next book in the series, it did leave off making you want more. It again, makes you think about things out there that the government may or may not be attempting to show more do. I really enjoyed that the author had various areas of the world, earth and space all woven into the story and it really makes you think something like this could be possible. There are quite a few interesting story lines to play out yet. I will be looking to pick the second book up as soon as it is out! I did receive a copy of this book for free, in exchange for my honest review. show less