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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book. It was totally bananas, but I couldn't put it down. It was horrendous and awful and introspective and dark and weird and toxic and painful...but oh so good. It explored so many topics outside of the obvious ethics of cloning: family and matrescence and abuse and grooming and fear and betrayal and creation and science. It was body horror done to the most reflective, and I can both say I enjoyed it immensely and also felt disgusted and wanting the horror to be over all at once. I will think about this book for a long time. It's dark and horrifying, but don't sleep on it. Let it unwind at its own pace. It's cold and slow at first but winds up to a fever pitch into a wild but perfect ending.
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma
Moderate: Domestic abuse
Minor: Abortion
dark
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This didn’t read like a typical thriller. It was more the kind of book you turn the lights down low, light a candle, and sit on the couch with a glass of wine to read. I liked the reflective tone and how it made me think of the ethics around cloning that I hadn’t considered before. The main character was complex and the reader got to be inside her twisted and confused and traumatized mind, and I enjoyed every minute.
plot had great potential but overall the book was extremely underwhelming and anticlimactic
This book would make a great companion to Docile, another excellent piece of speculative fiction from Tor, as both deal with the implications of societal imbalances when they are magnified by scientific advancements. I don’t think it is a coincidence that both these books were also written by not-cis authors! In this book, cloning, spousal abuse, and feminism all come together in perfect harmony within the guise of a domestic thriller. I would recommend this one to both domestic thriller and speculative fiction fans as a gateway into the other genre.
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Points for originality and interesting/flawed main characters. Nothing stands out that I didn’t like. Just found that I could “put this book down.” But worth a read.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes