I have to stop at 62%. The worldbuilding by way of our protagonist pushes at my suspension of disbelief, said protagonist is supposed to be smart but isn't coming off as such, and the plot has been pretty slow. It was telling that a plot twist is what made me bail, when I felt annoyed rather than intrigued. I've been also bored, and annoyed, and repelled - and some of that is deliberate, but some is that this book, a marrying of science fiction and romance, is too much world and not enough romance. And the romance, because of the protagonist's point of view, is gross and clinical and what emotion there is is muted and misunderstood.

Definitely not a book for me. ( )

I love this book, I love it with the fierce fire of a thousand suns.

Ernest is simply the best character I've read for a while. He's very naive and a true innocent; and when we meet him, the beliefs of his entire life are about to be challenged. To see Ernest discovering 'our' world is how we learn about his, and it's such a delightful and, at the same time, heartbreaking adventure...

He has never had contact with people, all his life devoted to work, and now, after 30 years it's time for retirement, 30 days for himself, and then... Reclaim. He is so enthusiastic about this chance, so curious about... everything. And his first stop is a coffee house, where he meets Will... and coffee. His bewilderment and deep emotion at seeing actual books and be able to reenact as close as possible the things he saw in his beloved old-times feed is terribly endearing. You can't help love him.

And this world, this awful, awful world that it's slowly unveiled makes you take a second look to all that you take for granted. Any time that Ernest is horrified at something, something that for me and you simply is, it's a shock that forces you to understand how much we are what we are taught to be. But we also see how we can be more. You'll see Ernest learn, and grow and become a person, and it's a fantastic journey.

The story keeps a great pace, and it's a perfect mix of action, romance and adventure, with really thrilling moments.

The whole cast of characters is great, and I finished the book wanting more. I want to know what they will all do, I want to know more about their lives...

Yes, I could keep reading about these people for a long time.


( )

Read for m/m team bingo challenge, round 6. My short review is here
And to repeat the most important points, I really liked it and I'm really hoping for a sequel. :) ( )

Aside for the hot cover, one of the reason that pushed me to buy this book, the other is obviously the author: Jordan Castillo Price is one of those authors that will never disappoint you, she has both story than characters solid and strong, and so plenty satisfying, even when I’m reading a futuristic setting, that is not usually my cup of tea.

In a not so far future, some apocalyptic disaster, destroyed the world how we know it; a central power, the Deacons, govern the society and people are cloned in number pieces and programmed to live 30 years flat: from 0 to 10 years you are trained, from 10 to 30 years less one month you work always the same job, and then you have 1 month of retirement before giving back the AI that has let you survived till that moment and receiving your “prize”, i.e. your soul will leave your mortal body to go… well no one knows exactly where, but it has to go somewhere right?

Ernest has reached 29 years and 11 months and now has a full month to enjoy his retirement; the first place he chooses to go is an old style coffee-book store; true, the coffee is not the same, it’s given through syringes or IVs, and the books are artificial tablets, but at least it’s something Ernest is doing for pleasure, spending all the money he saved before his planned death. But then the owner of the coffee place, Will, start to insinuate the doubt that there is another true, that he is not fated to die in one month, not if he will stop to report each night with the central system.

There is a lot of fight against the system theory, but also a je accuse on how people mistreated the Earth and the gifts they received from Her. Ernest is not at fault, like they are not the other like him, since he has no idea there was something different before, revolutionary knowledge like psychology and history were purged from the available data feed, and they are accessible only from the very wealthy members of the Deacons. Ernest is not gay or straight, he is chemically castrated and so he has no sexual desire at all; not only that he is also deprived of testosterone, and so without sexual desires he has also no stimulus at all.

Will recognizes in Ernest some potential, and with some good placed inputs, insinuates in him the desire to “taste” the life, and it’s not a metaphor, Ernest was fed through a shunt in his arms, no solid or liquid food at all, nothing through his mouth. When he meets Will, there will be a lot of things he will learn to do with his mouth, not only eat: taste, kiss, and many, many other pleasurable activities.

Even if a claustrophobic society, the story is not at all boring or heavy, on the contrary, it’s almost sweet and romantic; there are some sad moments, but they are balanced by other more light events, and in the end, the feeling is very much like I have read a classical romance.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0981875270/?tag=elimyrevandra-20