Review Detail

What I Loved:

What a thrill ride this book is! Perfect for those who love dystopians, thrillers, high stakes adventures, or romance, this book hits all the right notes for male and female readers alike. With a fascinating premise, constant action, and a heroine unlike any other, this is a must-read.

The world building is particularly strong. From the first page, readers are fully immersed in a world where the dead rise with intelligence but without the same human emotions they experienced while they were alive the first time. Children adjust to the reboot better than adults and so are used by the government to keep order in the crumbling cities where reader will find a more familiar dystopian environment.

There's conspiracy, revolution, crime, and heroics, and all of it happens against the fascinating backdrop of a society where the still-living fear the risen dead, but not for the usual zombie apocalypse reasons. Reboots don't care about pain, they can't be bribed, and humans can't appeal to their soft side because for most reboots that soft side no longer exists. The heroine is the reboot who took the longest to rise and thus is the furthest from her human emotions. She's more than the usual tough, kick butt heroine--she's empty of any shred of humanity. Her toughness is a byproduct of the fact that she can't feel, can't empathize, and can't understand humans at all. She even has difficulty understanding her fellow reboots. Especially her new trainee, who has more emotions than any other reboot. The journey Wren takes from emptiness to cautiously fumbling her way toward emotions is the heart of the book.

The romance is a lovely, slow-developing discovery between Wren and Callum and is all the more poignant because the romance can't develop without Wren discovering some shred of her former humanity. Readers will cheer for her as the story progresses even as they delight in her incredible survival skills. Readers will also identify with Callum, whose courage has more to do with refusing to give up his humanity or be afraid of those who expect him to than it does his ability to survive the things Wren can handle without thinking twice.

The pacing is well done. The story moves quickly, the action is frequent and intense, but the reader is also given short breathing spaces to connect with the characters. I would hand this book to reluctant readers in a heartbeat. With sci-fi, dystopian, thriller, and romance elements blended so perfectly, there's sure to be something for every reader here.

What Left Me Wanting More:

Nothing. This book rang all the right bells for me.

Final Verdict:

Fast-paced, thrilling, and full of heart, REBOOT is impossible to put down. I highly recommend it.