Upgrade by Blake Crouch

What if your body could be stronger or your brain smarter than any other human being. Would you do it? In the new action packed Sci-Fi Thriller, Upgrade, it’s all possible, but is it the right thing to do?

Logan Ramsay works for GPA, an organization stopping the illegal gene editing happening all over the world. When one mission goes wrong he finds himself waking up in a hospital bed, in complete quarantine. As time passes he realizes he’s smarter, faster and now he’s the guy they want to hunt. My favorite part of any super hero movie is when the character undergoes their “transformation”. This book did not disappoint! At times it felt like it went a little over my head with all of the scientific terms, but it really added to the overall feel of Logan getting an upgrade.

Logan has a complex past. His family has secrets that kept this story constantly taking twists and turns. While he was able to turn his emotions down, we as the reader couldn’t and even with all the action there was plenty of heart.

While the middle of the book slowed down for me, I still couldn’t put it down. The constant need to know what would happen kept me enthralled. Even with most of the story talking place with only Logan we get a good amount of side characters that each open up new turns in the plot.

The Epilogue turned this book into a 5 star for me. Even though this story is fiction there are some very real elements of human nature that make you think. Blake Crouch really touched on the parts of humanity that are both ugly and beautiful.

Thank you to Netgalley and Ballantine Books for this advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

Happy Reading

Tricia, XOXO

Into the Mist by P.C. Cast

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with this free excerpt of, Into the Mist by P.C. Cast, coming out Jul 12th 2022, in exchange for my honest review.

In this short excerpt I was able to really get a sense of the characters and the scene. The descriptions were very well done and I could picture myself there in the story. It starts with a very diverse cast of characters on a road trip. I was a little thrown off by the description of the person from Tulsa, as that’s my hometown. I’m curious to see where this character goes with that outdated Bible Belt stereotype.

There was definitely a good amount of mystery surrounding the situation and if I were reading this book now I would continue it to find out more.

Synopsis

As men fall to the mist, the age of womankind begins to rise.

The world as we know it ends when an attack on the U.S. unleashes bombs that deliver fire and biological destruction. Along with sonic detonations and devastating earthquakes, the bombs have also brought the green mist. If breathed in, it is deadly to all men—but alters the body chemistry of many women, imbuing them with superhuman abilities.

A group of high school teachers heading home from a conference experiences firsthand the strength of these new powers. Mercury Rhodes is the Warrior, possessing heightened physical powers. Stella Carver is the Seer, with a sixth sense about the future. Imani Andrews is the Watcher, with a rare connection to the earth. Karen Gay is the Priestess, demonstrating a special connection with Spirits. And Gemma Jenkins is the Healer, a sixteen-year-old student who joins the group after losing her parents.

As they cross the Pacific Northwest, trying to find a safe place to ride out the apocalypse, the women soon learn they can’t trust anyone, and with fresh danger around every corner, it will take all their powers to save themselves—and possibly the world.

Happy reading!

Xoxo Tricia

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

I didn’t realize that 2022 would be the year I fell in love with sci fi but here we are! I blame my step dad and his love for Star Trek, I went to way too many Star Trek conventions as a kid. He had a room dedicated to the show and I never really understood the love for a show about space until I started reading books about space.

Space terrifies me! I’m perfectly content staying here on Earth watching the stars at night, but something happens when I read about it or see a movie about it. I’m completely captivated. The thought of being where only a few humans have been is exciting. The fear of being left alone in space is paralyzing. This book takes both of those things and puts them together in a sort of funny and intense story about hope, science, and our will to survive.

I highly recommend the audio book narrated by Ray Porter. He has such a comforting voice and he brings out the humor perfectly.

Once you buy the audio book make sure you grab a physical copy to lend to friends, especially your math and science friends. This is one of those books that you tell everyone about when you’re finished. After eight years of being a homeschool teacher I geeked out at all the science in this book.

What I love most is the fact that our main character, Ryland Grace, has amnesia when he wakes up IN SPACE. His reactions are so pure and helps the reader follow along in his discovery of why he’s there. You don’t have to have a full understanding of the high tech lingo to enjoy what’s happening to the main character. He is very human and relatable.

I almost cried reading this one and that is something I did not expect! You’re taken on a roller coaster of emotions and thrown effortlessly between the present time in space, and the past time on Earth. This was an easy 5 stars for me and I look forward to reading more about that terrifying thing called space if Andy Weir writes it.

SYNOPSIS:

Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission—and if he fails, humanity and the Earth itself will perish.

Except that right now, he doesn’t know that. He can’t even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it.

All he knows is that he’s been asleep for a very, very long time. And he’s just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company.

His crewmates dead, his memories fuzzily returning, he realizes that an impossible task now confronts him. Alone on this tiny ship that’s been cobbled together by every government and space agency on the planet and hurled into the depths of space, it’s up to him to conquer an extinction-level threat to our species.

And thanks to an unexpected ally, he just might have a chance.

Happy Reading!

LovelyReaderGirl