Goodreads Description:
Five years ago, Wren Connolly was shot three times in the chest. After 178 minutes she came back as a Reboot: stronger, faster, able to heal, and less emotional. The longer Reboots are dead, the less human they are when they return. Wren 178 is the deadliest Reboot in the Republic of Texas. Now seventeen years old, she serves as a soldier for HARC (Human Advancement and Repopulation Corporation).
Wren’s favorite part of the job is training new Reboots, but her latest newbie is the worst she’s ever seen. As a 22, Callum Reyes is practically human. His reflexes are too slow, he’s always asking questions, and his ever-present smile is freaking her out. Yet there’s something about him she can’t ignore. When Callum refuses to follow an order, Wren is given one last chance to get him in line—or she’ll have to eliminate him. Wren has never disobeyed before and knows if she does, she’ll be eliminated, too. But she has also never felt as alive as she does around Callum.
The perfect soldier is done taking orders.
About Author:
Amy Tintera grew up in Texas and now lives in Los Angeles, California. She has degrees in journalism and film and can usually be found staring into space, dreaming up ways to make her characters run for their lives. You can visit her online at www.amytintera.com.
My Review:
I want to start off by saying I absolutely love the idea behind this book. It takes place in a dystopian future that is ravaged by a virus that not only kills people, but also brings some of them back. They basically come back as zombies that aren't crazy, but fully functional. Allegedly adults that come back are crazed, but there is a hint of doubt about that fact in this first book. These zombies are called reboots and basically treated as slaves. They work as police for a large corporation called HARC (the big bad). The book is from the point of view of one of these reboots. She happens to be one who took longer to come back and is therefore less 'human' than the ones that came back quicker. I think this idea is brilliant. It's a totally original and interesting take on the played out theme of zombies.
I enjoyed the book and tore through it pretty quickly, but I do wish it were a little more beefy. There could have been more character development, but it did leave me wanting to know more about them, which is impressive. I did like the main relationship between Wren and Callum, but it fell into the category of 'insta-love' in my opinion. I can understand this from a writer's point of view because it is incredibly difficult to peg exactly what makes two people fall in love. I have still yet to pinpoint it, but I think with a higher word count it could have been better accomplished in this book.
I loved the action and fight scenes, which were plentiful, but not gratuitous. They were fast paced, realistic, and smooth. I could easily visualize what was happening and even though I felt the characters could have been fuller, I rooted for them every time. I wanted them to make it. I think there could have been a few more roadblocks. The ending went a little too smoothly for the characters. I think they could have faced a few more obstacles.
Overall I enjoyed this book. It had an original plot (which, lets face it, is hard to come by these days), likeable (if not fully realized) characters, and a fast pace. The writing was smooth and flowed very nicely. It is a solid beginning to a series I look forward to reading. I want to know what happens to these characters. And I want to see HARC fall. This book is an impressive debut and I think Ms. Tintera has left the end open to a lot of potential storylines that I am excited to read.
My Rating:
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