Mira’s mother sizes up bodies at the morgue like she’s rifling through the sales rack: this one’s too big… this one’s too small… ah, here it is. Just right. The perfect vessel for the one they’ll call Adam.
Since Adam’s survival is the key to drawing out the Conduit—a slippery sort bent on evacuating souls from their human bodies—Mira must help him pass for a typical teenage boy. That means showing him how to talk right, walk right, chew with his mouth open... blend in. Ironic, because blending in is has always been a challenge for Mira, especially with hair the color of a Dorito. But at their small, secluded prep school, blending in is a matter of life and death. Because the Conduit is watching.
Kama Falzoi Post is a functioning member of society, part-time introvert, a pinnacle of contradictions, mother, step-mother, author. She enjoys drinking red wine and listening to music.
She discovered a love of writing as a young girl. Her short stories have appeared in various online and print magazines, as well as an anthology of speculative fiction.
Her first young adult novel, InHUMAN (BookFish Books) is available now!
Follow her on Twitter at @KamaPost, or stalk her online as you see fit.
I voluntarily read and reviewed a free ARC of Inhuman provided by the publisher and the author. Thank you so much for the reviewing opportunity, as always, BookFish Books never disappoints!
If there's one thing I've learned from Adam, even aliens have the capability of becoming human.
Before I start off with my review, can I marvel over the fact that the cover is peculiarly creative and oddly attractive? The cover oozes "mystery", in fact, the entire book was a huge web of mystery and suspense waiting for the readers to unravel.
Inhuman is Kama Falzoi Post's first YA novel and she successfully left an imprint in the sci-fi/alien world with this brilliant masterpiece. The concept of the Conduit and the whole ordeal of saving an alien race from extinction brought a whole new concept to extraterrestrial war. I'll leave out the technicalities and details of what Adam is or Mira's role in the story because, in my opinion, that is a huge part of the mystery package, aside from the constant guessing of the real identity of the Conduit. I went into the book completely blind and was hugely surprised by how absorbed I was into the story, it was refreshing!
Trust me when I say that the blurb is just the tip of the iceberg.
To be honest, my favorite character has got to be Adam. Although the book was told from Mira's point of view, Adam stood out like the special inhuman he was. Mira was to help him to adapt to human life and to blend in with the crowd so that his existence wouldn't raise any suspicion, but it's the way he carried himself that was so fascinating to read.
"Like a foal that gets to its feet right after it’s born"
I particularly enjoyed reading about how Adam learned to operate his human body and subsequently his emotions, it reminded me of a newborn. The writing was smooth as the author walked us through the plot and gradually built up to a climactic ending. I was suspicious of everything and everyone and it felt good to be kept at the edge of our seats, plus the author threw in a major plot twist into the mix!
Unfortunately, as much as I adore the book, I wasn't too keen on the romance aspect of the story. I understand the instant connection, but I was never convinced by the intensity of it. I also wasn't such a huge fan of Mira because she doesn't seem as socially awkward as she initially portrayed, despite how insistent she was with her social standing. At times she also came across a little selfish with her actions, but she redeemed herself in the end. She did rise up to her character very gracefully!
Overall, I loved being a part of the chase. The book was filled with action and adrenaline, so thrilling you just have to finish it in one sitting. I also liked that Inhuman gave me the creeps, paranormal mysteries always gave me goosebumps! There I go again, adding another alien to my list of ET boyfriends.
Fans of The Host, you'd definitely have to indulge in this one!
*I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review*
CONFESSION #1: I struggle with Young Adult fiction because I often find myself frustrated with the maturity level (I mean, let's be real. They're in high school...and high school kids can make head scratching choices).
CONFESSION #2: Science Fiction Fantasy is not my usual go-to choice of reading. *points to reviewed books* I'm a sucker for romance novels. I can't help it.
CONFESSION #3: With all that said...I REALLY enjoyed this book!!
Mara? Loved her. She was strong. And whitty. And had insecurities that I could relate to as my 17 year old self. And she had a crush on a boy that she shouldn't (who hasn't done that? *raises hand* I know I have).
Adam was a great character--an alien who was "transplanted" into a body on earth. I loved the scenes where he's realizing he has feelings and what they're doing to him.
But the best part was feeling what they felt. Feeling the betrayal. Feeling the rush of adrenaline when the bad guys tried to do their damage. Mara's strength, but her uncertainty, too. All of it was well written and I flipped the pages quickly to get to the next part because I HAD TO KNOW!
My only reservation for giving it 5 stars was my confusion on the Conduit. I was hoping to know a little more about it/them and just when I thought I'd get a nugget of information, it was missing. But this might be just me because SF/F books aren't my go-to genre.
First, I need to tell you that I love this cover. It's beautiful. But you don't want to hear about that. There's a lot going on in this book. We've got tons of twists and turns to keep you guessing.
So from the description of this book, I thought we'd get a lot more of watching an alien being adapting to human life. I thought we'd also get a lot more information on where Mira's dad is from. There is some information, but not much. I almost feel like the book could have been longer and I would have been okay with that. It would have made me more sympathetic to the Senders.
There were a few things that bugged me. I needed explanations sooner in the book. Like why is Mira so special, and even when we're told, why is it only her? I wish more had been explained sooner about the Conduit. And also, does the Conduit not age? Another thing was the ending. Now don't worry, I won't be doing any spoilers. It didn't really end on a cliffhanger, but it ended at a weird spot. I think a few more lines at the end would have made it for me.
Would I recommend this book, I think so. For the price, it's definitely worth it. I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book.
I did enjoy this, but I found it mildly confusing to follow at first; maybe I'm just dumb but I couldn't keep all the lingo straight and just felt that we needed a chunk of actual backstory/explanation somewhere near the start! It all more or less trickled out throughout the book but it wasn't quite enough for me to really be able to enjoy it because I was always wondering "but why..?" and feeling lost!
Very quick read! Original concept and moments of pure magic in execution (see: Adam struggling in his new body and pizza being “beautiful”).
I would have liked to have spent more time in some places (background on Mira, her relationship with Adam, Brandon’s role, etc.), but if you’re looking for something fresh and fast-paced, look no further.
*This book was received via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*
This was quite an enjoyable read with interesting although somewhat annoying characters. There were some really shocking plot twists but also some that were quite predictable. I also thought the ending was quite abrupt and inconclusive (it isn't confirmed by the characters whether the conduit is dead and there were lots of loose ties). The first part of the book before the Senders and the Conduit are completely explained is a bit confusing but I was intrigued enough to continue reading and I'm glad I did.
Overall, this was a good read that had some highlights such as an intriguing plot but also some shortcomings.
Aliens. Yep. I don't read a ton of science fiction, and honestly don't know like a lot of the ideas that make alien books. But this one sounded good! I thought that the premise was interesting, and I thought that I would really enjoy this. Instead what I got was a lot of confusion, and romance.
In this book we follow Mira, as she works with Adam, an alien in human skin, to save Adams race. The Conduit has bad blood with Adam's race, and they are hell bent on destroying them. So together, Mira and Adam work together to draw out the Conduit, and get rid of them once and for all.
Okay, so this book was pretty confusing. I felt like I never fully knew what was going on while reading. They would say something, or a name of something would come up, and would have no idea what they were talking about. It felt like I was missing a piece of the puzzle, and I wasn't able to see the picture without it. I did enjoy reading about the Seekers taking the human's bodies, and I thought that that was the most interesting part of the book.
I didn't like Mira, mainly because she would do things without really thinking them through. For example: Mira, a girl with no fight training, decides to go into a battle with very practically no preparation. Then when she reaches the place, she realizes that she failed to bring a weapon of any kind along with her. What. The. Fuck. I mean...wouldn't you just naturally grab a flashlight, or a knife, or you know, ANYTHING SHARP, POINTY, OR EVEN A RANDOM OBJECT THAT YOU COULD HIT SOMEONE WITH?
I felt like Mira and Adam's relationship moved way too fast. I also felt like it took over the story. Instead of trying to find the Conduit, I was reading about how Mira wanted to kiss Adam. A lot less exciting. Oh, and I think that Brandon was a better match for her. Just saying.
So overall, this book was a miss for me. While I thought that the overall premise was interesting, I was often confused, and thought that Mira and Adam's relationship overpowered the story line.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest, and unbiased review. All opinions in this review are my own.
*I received the book from the publisher in return for an honest review*
Going into this book I knew next to nothing about InHuman other than the fact that it was classified as a Science Fiction/Paranormal YA book. Which are generally the types of books I gravitate towards. And with that being said I do feel like Post was very creative and different with the whole alien and Conduit thing, compared to how some other alien stories are told. (I don’t really want to go into full details so I don't spoil you by accident if you decide on picking this book up).
I enjoyed the book, I did, even though it was a little confusing at times. I just felt like something was missing. I couldn’t really connect with the main character, Mira, as much as I would have liked. It probably would have made the book a whole lot better for me. Some reasons for this being the author didn’t really explain why Mira was so special; and why only she could do what was needed with the whole Conduit thing. Yes, she kind of explained it but had the book been a little bit longer I feel like she could have covered it a whole lot better which I would have liked. (Again I’m not going into full details here.) Yes, there was romance in this book, but I didn’t really enjoy that aspect of the story. It was kind of insta-lovey. And I don’t prefer that in books.
On a more positive note, InHuman had tons of twists and turns, there was some action, and some romance like I mentioned earlier, and if this sounds like something you’d like I definitely recommend giving it a go. Though it may not be a 5 out of 5 star for me (I gave it 3), maybe you’d enjoy it more. If you like The Host or The 5th Wave, this is probably the book for you.
This is a YA Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Paranormal story so I was outside my ‘comfort’ zone from the outset. But go into it with an open mind, absorb yourself into the writers world and it soon becomes enjoyable.
Mira could pass as a ‘normal’ teenager, she has moved around a lot and is always shifting schools. Once again she finds herself in the position of the newbie as she begins her final year. She appears edgy, unlikely to fit in with the ‘cheerleader’ type but still manages to attract a couple of boy admirers, Brandon and Adam.
Her intended roomie doesn’t show up but another girl moves in, Decklin, and they become friends.
However Mira is different, her father is missing and she is searching for him. The whole concept revolves around the conduit, who might it be? In a world of senders, evacuees, aliens, humans it’s a race against time to win the war of survival.
I’m not sure if I would classify this as a mystery or simply a romance with a twist. If you like your books to include a pacy plot with ample imagination required then this is for you.
The cover is very dramatic and gives a sense of what is inside .. it is very easy to read and I’m sure this author will go on to write a lot more.
I received an ARC and voluntarily gave my opinion.
InHuman by Kama Falzoi Post is a free NetGalley ebook that I read in early January.
Much of the plot occurs in an undermining, teenage way (i.e. everything going on is immediately the most important thing ever and adults don't really understand) between and among several partially-developed characters.