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3.56 AVERAGE
3.56 AVERAGE
It's difficult to rate this due to its intriguing premise and yet scattered world-building. This story has the potential, and I was incredibly obsessed with finding out about this futuristic world. The casual mention of highly technical concepts and geopolitical events was confusing and alluring. I really wish the technologies and technical references could have been elaborated further to create depth of environment to which a layperson could connect with.
The other difficulty rested in gaining an understanding of the main protagonists' feelings, worldview, and motives. It felt like it was assumed readers would be telepathic to the internal workings of this protagonists perceptions, but it really needed to be drawn out in obvious text. It somewhat becomes clearer towards the end, but even then, she still moves passively towards sudden new developments without much explanation. There were no guided hints towards her secret until the end, so her reveal just felt stilted. The ending was satisfying but rushed and complex due to sudden reveals. The story could have benefitted from further elaboration of technology, fleshing out of each colleague character, and improving the romantic tension emotional dialogue, all to create better tangibility.
Nevertheless, I still felt obsessed with Kristen. She's the badass every group needs. Strategic. Cunning. Five steps ahead. Yet somehow also five steps behind. And I wanted to love this story. I wanted to know more about this near future dystopia referred to as "surveillance capitalism". I did love parts of the book, the writing, and the intelligent uniqueness. I loved how there's some cat and mouse thrills. But it was overall disjointed, with major jumps between contexts or metaphors. It truly needs a refinement and it'd be excellent. That said, I would read another book by this author as I'm so intrigued by the style.
Thank you to NetGalley, Madeline Ashby, and TOR Publishing Group for this digital advanced copy.
The other difficulty rested in gaining an understanding of the main protagonists' feelings, worldview, and motives. It felt like it was assumed readers would be telepathic to the internal workings of this protagonists perceptions, but it really needed to be drawn out in obvious text. It somewhat becomes clearer towards the end, but even then, she still moves passively towards sudden new developments without much explanation. There were no guided hints towards her secret until the end, so her reveal just felt stilted. The ending was satisfying but rushed and complex due to sudden reveals. The story could have benefitted from further elaboration of technology, fleshing out of each colleague character, and improving the romantic tension emotional dialogue, all to create better tangibility.
Nevertheless, I still felt obsessed with Kristen. She's the badass every group needs. Strategic. Cunning. Five steps ahead. Yet somehow also five steps behind. And I wanted to love this story. I wanted to know more about this near future dystopia referred to as "surveillance capitalism". I did love parts of the book, the writing, and the intelligent uniqueness. I loved how there's some cat and mouse thrills. But it was overall disjointed, with major jumps between contexts or metaphors. It truly needs a refinement and it'd be excellent. That said, I would read another book by this author as I'm so intrigued by the style.
Thank you to NetGalley, Madeline Ashby, and TOR Publishing Group for this digital advanced copy.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
mysterious
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual assault, Blood, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual harassment
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated