This book is a bit of an acquired taste, and I'm not sure that I acquired it by the end. If you love reading books with horrible main characters you are meant to hate, you'll love this. If not, this is going to be upsetting from start to finish.

I do think this book is relatively successful at what it sets out to do. It explores cycles of abuse, misogyny (both external and internal), and, obviously, the ethics of cloning. Martine's storyline really pulled me in, and every revelation about what her life was like got me more and more invested. The place she ended up in by the end still sticks with me. I wanted to pry the book open, pull her out of it, and weld the door shut after her. That speaks volumes for the effectiveness of Gailey's writing. 

That being said, the main character, Evelyn, is written as a cold, uncaring asshole, and that is done so effectively that it makes the novel hard to read. If you need your main characters to be even remotely likable or empathetic, you will not like this one. I do understand that Evelyn is intended to be this way, but on a personal level, it was just too much. I couldn't stomach a second read of this.

Overall, this is a brutal examination of misogyny, abuse, and personhood. It won't be for everyone, but if you're ready for a tough read, it'll deliver. 

(Cross-posted on Goodreads)

Sarah Gailey has become an insta-buy author for me. I love her writing style and find her stories intriguing with the perfect touch of weirdness. When I saw this sitting on the shelf at The Book Rack, I knew I had to get it; A scientist who perfects cloning technology only to have her husband have an affair with a more obedient clone of herself? Yes, please! Basically, every character was disliked but it didn't matter, it was like a trainwreck that I couldn't look away from. There were some deeper themes here around domestic violence, abuse, and grooming, so be aware of that. 

Nature vs. Nurture by Chase Petra is a cool song that hits the same beats about children, parents, and ethics!

The Weirdest Thing I Learned This Week podcast turned out to be the perfect place to recommend this book, for so many reasons. The best way I can describe this story is: parts of Frankenstein and Stepford Wives reanimated with modern concerns.