This has been on my TBR shelf for a VERY long time…and I’m truly glad I finally got around to it because this was a ride I wasn't expecting.
Synopsis: The year is 2575 and newly ex's Katy and Ezra's planet was just invaded–forcing them to evacuate onto separate ships. Their two ships however are being tailed by an enemy ship as they move as quickly as they can to avoid another fight and make it to a hopefully safe planet. Ezra's ship has other issues...a plague and a rouge AI that they created attempting to take over. Left in the dark, Katy the hacker, and Ezra the fighter pilot, have to work together to uncover the truth of what is actually going on and save their dwindling numbers. Told through a series of diagrams, emails, medical files, maps, interviews, and more, this non-tradition book has a unique take on a futuristic invasion.
Plot: I had absolutely no clue what this was about going into it. I had only previously just flipped through the pages and realized it was filled with creative narrative elements and that was really all I needed to want to read this. It did take me a little bit to get into, however. With the extremely scientific plot and the non-traditional style of writing, I was probably a fourth of the way through before I became invested. But, as soon as I was in it, I was IN it. I can honestly and confidently say that I had not a singular clue about where this was going to conclude, and that was exciting. Many twists and turns and some truly heartbreaking moments that made me audibly gasp. There was also a lot of stimulating themes concerning the future with technology and AI which kind of gave a little bit of a scary glimpse at what our future could be like. I still feel like I have a lot of mysteries to uncover and am looking forward to see what this author duo brings to the other books in the trilogy.
Characters: I’m gonna be honest and say that I wasn’t particularly jazzed with any of the characters for most of the story, and there were a lot of characters. I think my general lack of feelings had a lot to do with the interesting style that drew me in to begin with. It just left me, while entertained, unable to fully connect with any one character because we aren't in any one character's mindset. However, over the conversations and emails and getting familiar with Kady and Ezra in particular, I really grew to care for them and my standout character–the fascinating AI. So not really a miss for the characters, just takes quite a bit of time to actually care about their narratives.
Books just aren’t made like this anymore...so so extremely fun and unique. I am starting the second immediately.
4/5 stars.
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