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jinxiejenna's review
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
This book follows Evelyn, a scientist whose only focus is on human clones. Her ex husband Nathan is also a scientist. We find out he stole Evelyn’s work to create a clone of her, a “better” version of her. Martine, the clone, calls Evelyn in a panic one evening and against her better judgements, she comes to the rescue.
I’d say this was more of a character driven book than I had expected but am glad for. It’s absolutely a science fiction novel, which is something that is somewhat out of the ordinary for me. I prefer fantasy or mysteries but when reading it synopsis at the library I was intrigued.
I can confirm there was a lot of science in it, almost all of it I didn’t understand but was written in a way that even an uneducated audience like myself could easily work out what was meant. I did take a star off for the sheer amount of science but that’s truly on me and my lack of interest in that subject.
Martine has great character development throughout. Evelyn definitely grows through out the book but not in the leaps and bounds that Martine does. I enjoyed how honest Evelyn does become with herself by the end of their story.
We find out a lot more about Nathan and his secrets- kept from both Evelyn and Martine. And the two, nearly identical women embark, together, on a solution to the many problems Nathan has created for them.
My biggest issue with this book was that I personally felt it went no where. I think that is due to the fact that it is character driven rather than a heavy, twisting, plot. I say this while acknowledging that I love an action heavy book over character driven books typically. However, that in mind I didn’t love nor dislike this book what so ever.
It was a decent read, that I wouldn’t pick up again but don’t regret my time with.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, and Death of parent
Moderate: Blood and Murder
I would like to add, in the wake of everything happening that this book is about a man creating essentially the perfect wife for himself, leaving any kind of ethics behind and that can be triggering af in todays climate as a person with a uterus. It’s by no means The Hand Maidens Tale but please keep that in mind. Good reads mentions that this book, in addition to sci-fi is a horror, mystery and thriller. I wouldn’t consider it a horror nor mystery but can see how one would. I just found that the “mystery” was more of an obvious/rational outcome to the situation at hand.spuriousdiphthongs's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Ahh, this sucked me in so fast, but I ended it feeling disappointed in much of the plot. Well-written and easy to read though, I'd recommend for fans of Lucy Foley, etc.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Abortion and Alcohol
maelstrom712's review
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship
Moderate: Child abuse, Infidelity, Blood, Medical content, and Gaslighting
Minor: Alcohol
maddie_can_read's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Really interesting book. Enjoyed the science fiction concepts and themes it explored. Enjoyed that it brought up themes of childhood trauma to explain how the main character became so rigid, mean, intense etc
However I found the writing slogged a bit when talking about the main characters feelings and I found her main insufferable at pointsI knew Evelyn wasn't supposed to be lovable, but oh my god, I could not stand her! At the beginning I was even hoping that Martine was going to kill her and take her place or something lol. Wished we saw Martine's perspective. Enjoyed the ending. Some really good scenes like them dealing with the bodies. Also wished the lab assistant came back.
The audiobook narration wasn't my personal favourite, the narrator sounded like they were about to start sobbing multiple times throughout and it gave it a bit of an odd vibe.
However I found the writing slogged a bit when talking about the main characters feelings and I found her main insufferable at points
The audiobook narration wasn't my personal favourite, the narrator sounded like they were about to start sobbing multiple times throughout and it gave it a bit of an odd vibe.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
belacqua's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book reads like an episode of The Twilight Zone. Thrilling plot developments and well developed characters had me zoom through it in one sitting. It has a very hopeful message about escaping abuse and finding the strength to rise above limitations forced on you by those who want to see you fail. Martine is such a well written and sympathetic character who shows that initial preconceived notions put on her by others can't define who she chooses to become. Evelyn has a strong story arc that sees her overcoming horrific emotional abuse to find the strength to break the cycle of others cruelty and betrayal to begin extending grace that she was never given. All of it told in a compelling Sci-fi story that will keep you hooked.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Infidelity
eachz's review
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I really struggled on and off with finishing this book but ultimately I landed on the side of liking it. A lot of the things that bothered me or seemed confusing early on made a bit more sense when all the pieces started to click together in the end. It was hard at times to get through the first ~half but I think the author ultimately did a good job of exploring the themes they were aiming to explore.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, and Medical content
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Blood, Murder, and Pregnancy
christene_littlelibrary's review
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Blood, Murder, and Pregnancy
morag's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
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)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, and Suicide
Moderate: Infidelity, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Murder
talonsontypewriters's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Blood, Medical content, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, and Pregnancy
Minor: Infertility, Vomit, Car accident, Abortion, and Alcohol
rockyc5's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Other than that I thought I had better ideas of what to do to solve the problems the characters faced than what they came up with, THIS BOOK IS AWESOME. I think it's fair to say it's totally unique even as books about clones multiply.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content
Moderate: Death, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Murder, and Pregnancy
Minor: Emotional abuse, Suicide, and Death of parent