Review Detail

The Blemished takes place in the near future, where scientific advancements have created the “perfect” humans: no family histories of medical conditions or mental illnesses, and stunning good looks. These genetically enhanced humans, or GEMS, receive all of the advantages in life while the Blemished, who are “normal” humans, are denied many of their basic human rights. While this concept is intriguing, it’s also frightening. Scientists have already found a way to screen for genetic defects before your child is even born, so the idea that people can essentially “engineer” their child – from their looks straight down to their genetic makeup – isn’t hard to believe. After all, some fertility clinics already allow you to choose the gender of your child, so this society isn’t a far cry from our own.

Although I enjoyed the concept behind The Blemished, its execution left a lot to be desired. About a quarter of the way through the book, the plot started to move at a very slow pace and sacrificed action and answers for the sake of romance. By now I’m sure you all know how much I dislike love triangles, so imagine my reaction when Mina found herself in the middle of a love square – complete with instalove and jealousy on all sides. I didn’t really care for Sebastian or Daniel, so the many scenes focusing on Mina’s confused feelings for them seemed to drag on and on.

For the most part, the characters were rather two-dimensional. I admired Mina’s determination and loyalty to her friends, but I never felt as if I truly got to know her. The same could be said for almost all of the other characters; they weren’t fleshed out but either possessed admirable qualities or earned your sympathy with a tragic event in their past. Elena was the only character to receive any real development and she received significantly less page time than the two main love interests.

Overall, The Blemished was merely an okay read. The premise was interesting, but the lack of character development and action caused it to fall flat.