Overall Take:
Wondering what would happen if the government took over as the result of the next pandemic? Look no further. Buy a copy of this one today and find out!
Star Rating:
4 Stars
Genre:
Dystopian Romance (don’t see that often)
Synopsis:
Olivia has done her due diligence to the Nation by staying in a loveless marriage for ten years. Now she’s cashing in on her Challenge Pass in exchange for a few nights of passion. Her children will be well cared for, and it’s time to focus on herself.
With three nights and a Nation sanctioned escort, Olivia never thought she’d see Ethan again. Ethan was her true love, only to have abandoned her. Though secrets are between them can Ethan give her the escape she’s always dreamed of? Can Olivia take that leap of faith and leave the world she knows behind?
Thoughts:
This book was a whole lot of fun. Dystopian works well if it is closely believable and this book did well set up that word, and it was done well. I really enjoyed most of this book, and it was tracking to be a strong 4.5 rounded to 5 star read for me, however, things took a turn in the final few chapters.
Even though this is the first book of what’s to be a trilogy, I do think that things were cut off at an awkward place for Olivia. I don’t know what to say without giving it away, but I have strong feelings towards the way Olivia left things. I couldn’t imagine doing this for any cost and as such I am just struggling reconciling her choice against what was left in the novel for explanation. I do think that had this ending been a little more drawn out, with more explanation it would have potentially bumped this up for me. But here I am a few days later, still confused and upset at how this book ended (and I’ve read several in between). So, for one to invoke such strong feelings is a heavy lift, so the writing was on point, however, just because it is against what I believe I am going to have to rate it a little lower, but not much. I’m still undecided whether I would pick up the next novel in the trilogy. I’m upset enough that I might just to see how things work out, but on the other hand I’m upset. So, it’s a catch 22 and I’m not sure.
However, I will say that the writing is compelling. In order to give me such strong feelings the writing must be on point. I will give Melissa Gowdy Baldwin that. She also did an amazing job with her world building. It wasn’t based on COVID, but we are close enough to COVID to understand what a pandemic might do to us, we can imagine.
I will say that I wish some of the marriage proclamations were a bit better explained as they didn’t really make sense to me. This could be because I’m a bit too liberal and I didn’t quite have on my far-right cap, but I just wish some explanation was given to why a few of them existed. I think there is plenty of time with the other books planned for this to happen, however.
The spice scenes were not overwhelming and were delicately and delightfully done. They were, like the rest of the book, well written but steamy. I enjoyed that the terms used were accurate and not overly accurate. Nothing like getting to a spice scene and reading about being impaled. That’s my personal pet peeve. I think that Ms. Gowdy Baldwin wrote the scenes nicely and while realistically, they were something we can long for.
Overall, this was a delightful read and one that I enjoyed. I am looking forward to seeing how this trilogy works out and I have high hopes for it!
Publication Date:
April 4, 2023
Author:
Melissa Gowdy Baldwin
Page Length:
336 pages
Publisher:
Atmosphere Press
Link to buy
Affiliate link
