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Ricochet
When seventeen-year-old Tati sends a saliva sample to a DNA ancestry testing site her results come back inconclusive. What’s wrong with her DNA? And what does it have to do with her unexplained seizures and the beckoning tunnel she sees during them?
What Tati discovers is more than she could have ever imagined possible. Parallel universes exist and her abnormal DNA compels and condemns Tati and her other selves—shy Ana—privileged Tatyana—and on-the-run Tanya, to a lifetime of ricocheting between their parallel lives in the multiverse.
With knowledge of their existence a deadly threat in every universe, the only chance all four have to survive is to work together to take down the scientist responsible: their father.
What Tati discovers is more than she could have ever imagined possible. Parallel universes exist and her abnormal DNA compels and condemns Tati and her other selves—shy Ana—privileged Tatyana—and on-the-run Tanya, to a lifetime of ricocheting between their parallel lives in the multiverse.
With knowledge of their existence a deadly threat in every universe, the only chance all four have to survive is to work together to take down the scientist responsible: their father.
328 pages, Hardcover
First published October 8, 2019
363 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 114 reviews
December 20, 2019
The premise of Ricochet by Kathryn Berla was so intriguing that I didn't hesitate, grabbed the book and started reading straightaway.
There are four points of view, so it took me a bit of time to get used to the four narrators: Tati, Ana, Tanya, and Tatiana. The author clearly put a lot of effort into differentiating their worlds and their voices. In fact, I quickly found myself relating more to one of them than to the others! Two of the protagonists live in the US, having been adopted by American parents, although they do know that their origin is Russian. Overall, their life circumstances are fairly similar and you can concentrate on how the differences came about. The other two are much more connected to Russia. So you can say that the task of following the 4 different stories was slightly reduced by this coupling.
I love the idea of multiverse and how it was developed in this book. The story also touched on teenager-parent relationships, first love, trust issues, friends. At some point the pace became really fast and the story started bearing similarity to an action thriller with lots of chases and narrow escapes. This was the bit where I got confused and started wishing for fewer characters. I'm still not sure about the ending- I think it should have been told from the point of view of another protagonist, the one who was the most attached to the girls' father. The way it was it felt less emotional, almost detached.
The cover is really beautiful and deserves a special mention. Overall, a quick read with varied characters and a lot of action.
Thank you to NetGalley and Flux for the review copy provided in exchange for an honest opinion.
There are four points of view, so it took me a bit of time to get used to the four narrators: Tati, Ana, Tanya, and Tatiana. The author clearly put a lot of effort into differentiating their worlds and their voices. In fact, I quickly found myself relating more to one of them than to the others! Two of the protagonists live in the US, having been adopted by American parents, although they do know that their origin is Russian. Overall, their life circumstances are fairly similar and you can concentrate on how the differences came about. The other two are much more connected to Russia. So you can say that the task of following the 4 different stories was slightly reduced by this coupling.
I love the idea of multiverse and how it was developed in this book. The story also touched on teenager-parent relationships, first love, trust issues, friends. At some point the pace became really fast and the story started bearing similarity to an action thriller with lots of chases and narrow escapes. This was the bit where I got confused and started wishing for fewer characters. I'm still not sure about the ending- I think it should have been told from the point of view of another protagonist, the one who was the most attached to the girls' father. The way it was it felt less emotional, almost detached.
The cover is really beautiful and deserves a special mention. Overall, a quick read with varied characters and a lot of action.
Thank you to NetGalley and Flux for the review copy provided in exchange for an honest opinion.
August 5, 2021
Ricochet by Kathryn Berla is a young adult science fiction fantasy standalone novel. The story in Ricochet is told in rotating chapters between multiple points of view, four in total of Tati, Ana, Tanya, and Tatiana.
Ricochet tackles the concept of parallel lives in multiple universes. One of the girls has suffered from seizures her whole life and sees a tunnel. Tati decides to send in her DNA and gets an inconclusive result so she wonders if that has anything to do with her seizures that have never been explained. Eventually Tati’s vision in the tunnel changes when she sees another girl.
I think it’s probably pretty understandable to anyone that when you have multiple characters to keep track of it’s not easy to distinguish them right away in a normal situation. This book then gives them names like Tati, Ana, Tanya, and Tatiana on top of that and you should see my dilemma. The simple idea of multiple universes coexisting makes sense to me in theory so I didn’t think that would also make this one a confusing read but the story added in on top of the characters I was following really never resonated with me. So when I added everything up in the end this one only rated two and a half stars, it had an interesting idea but just not executed in a way that I loved.
I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.
For more reviews please visit https://carriesbookreviews.com/
Ricochet tackles the concept of parallel lives in multiple universes. One of the girls has suffered from seizures her whole life and sees a tunnel. Tati decides to send in her DNA and gets an inconclusive result so she wonders if that has anything to do with her seizures that have never been explained. Eventually Tati’s vision in the tunnel changes when she sees another girl.
I think it’s probably pretty understandable to anyone that when you have multiple characters to keep track of it’s not easy to distinguish them right away in a normal situation. This book then gives them names like Tati, Ana, Tanya, and Tatiana on top of that and you should see my dilemma. The simple idea of multiple universes coexisting makes sense to me in theory so I didn’t think that would also make this one a confusing read but the story added in on top of the characters I was following really never resonated with me. So when I added everything up in the end this one only rated two and a half stars, it had an interesting idea but just not executed in a way that I loved.
I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.
For more reviews please visit https://carriesbookreviews.com/
August 6, 2019
The plot was confusing as HECK, but overall I actually quite enjoyed!!
The premise was quite confusing, and if I could redo the whole experience I would read the blurb first, because it definitely provided crucial information about the novel which I completely missed...
But I thought the characters were really cool!
Overall, even though I was confused at times I wasn't bored while reading, and it is a very clever book!!
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for providing me with a review copy! All opinions are my own.
The premise was quite confusing, and if I could redo the whole experience I would read the blurb first, because it definitely provided crucial information about the novel which I completely missed...
But I thought the characters were really cool!
Overall, even though I was confused at times I wasn't bored while reading, and it is a very clever book!!
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for providing me with a review copy! All opinions are my own.
April 1, 2019
Fans of Orphan Black will enjoy this one.
***I received this ARC courtesy of Netgallery in exchange for an honest review***
A 5 star book downgraded to 3 stars because of that ending.
This was a very terrific book. I absolutely loved the premise but the ending left me wanting more.
Tatiana has been experiencing seizures since she was a kid, despite being on several medications. She has been tested and tested over again and their is no medical basis for her seizure. During her episodes she sees herself in a white tunnel. After she turns nineteen, she suddenly sees a girl that looks just like her, and she explores the belief of the alternate dimensions.
It was a bit slow to get into and it was also confusing. There were four girls in total and they all had variations of the name "Tatiana" so there was Tatyana, Ana, Tati, and Tanya, keeping them all figured out was hard even though there was a header at the beginning of each chapter. Also the secondary character also appeared in the alternative universe, so in one universe, Tatiana's birth mother would be Ana's birth mother's sister. Again it got confusing after a while.
The end I absolutely hated. I actually feel like this book could have been made into a series. It had the potential to be more but instead the author Seriously. Terrible terrible idea. It just felt rushed, her dad and even Vadim could have featured more in it even though I would have hated it, it would have made the story more authentic.
***I received this ARC courtesy of Netgallery in exchange for an honest review***
A 5 star book downgraded to 3 stars because of that ending.
This was a very terrific book. I absolutely loved the premise but the ending left me wanting more.
Tatiana has been experiencing seizures since she was a kid, despite being on several medications. She has been tested and tested over again and their is no medical basis for her seizure. During her episodes she sees herself in a white tunnel. After she turns nineteen, she suddenly sees a girl that looks just like her, and she explores the belief of the alternate dimensions.
It was a bit slow to get into and it was also confusing. There were four girls in total and they all had variations of the name "Tatiana" so there was Tatyana, Ana, Tati, and Tanya, keeping them all figured out was hard even though there was a header at the beginning of each chapter. Also the secondary character also appeared in the alternative universe, so in one universe, Tatiana's birth mother would be Ana's birth mother's sister. Again it got confusing after a while.
The end I absolutely hated. I actually feel like this book could have been made into a series. It had the potential to be more but instead the author Seriously. Terrible terrible idea. It just felt rushed, her dad and even Vadim could have featured more in it even though I would have hated it, it would have made the story more authentic.
April 6, 2021
This book had so much potential... but oh boy, where do I start?
First of all, It was confusing. Switching between four parallel universes following nearly identical characters with the same name? By the end I couldn't even remember who was who anymore. Should be the other way around, right? Well it wasn't.
Oh by the way, don't claim that your characters are geniuses and the write them as idiots.
Plot? What plot? 75% book was dedicated to... well I don't even know what it was trying to do. Nothing happened. The remaining 25% wasn't any better. We just got the same explanation over and over again as the four Tatyanas discovered the same things. And the climax lasted maybe five pages without any build-up whatsoever.
In the synopsis the thing that really caught my attention was this:
"When seventeen-year-old Tati sends a saliva sample to a DNA ancestry testing site her results come back inconclusive. What’s wrong with her DNA?"
Her I was, expecting this awesome explanation as to why her DNA isn't human... but all that's said about it when the time comes for the truth is that her DNA just wouldn't be recognized as human. That's it. No explanation to why that is. Maybe it was because she was subject to some genetic engineering? But here's the thing, as long as you have 45-47 chromosomes, YOU'RE HUMAN. And the four Tatyanas only had a few genes altered. So unless they had a set of chromosomes inserted or removed from their genome, their DNA test would show human. But who knows what really happened to their genome? It's never explained.
That brings me to the next part... how the science behind their ability to travel between worlds is "explained". Look I get it. It's fiction and there is no science concerning the existence, much less travel between, parallel universes so Kathryn Berla had to bullshit it. And that's fine by me! I LOVE science fiction! But the thing is... you can't just pick out a bunch of cool-sounding science words, mash them together (when they don't belong together), and call it an explanation!
And the conclusion... what? Basically the conclusion centers around the idea that you're the center of the universe and if you're not there then nothing else exists. I mean, come on. Narcissism at its finest. She kept using that proverb (?)... philosophy (?)... whatever it is: " If a tree falls in the forest with no ears to hear does it make a sound?". The answer is yes. It does.
Oh also, apparently all science is evil, so stay away from it you guys.
Anyway, I was disappointed and confused. Not a good combination.
First of all, It was confusing. Switching between four parallel universes following nearly identical characters with the same name? By the end I couldn't even remember who was who anymore. Should be the other way around, right? Well it wasn't.
Oh by the way, don't claim that your characters are geniuses and the write them as idiots.
Plot? What plot? 75% book was dedicated to... well I don't even know what it was trying to do. Nothing happened. The remaining 25% wasn't any better. We just got the same explanation over and over again as the four Tatyanas discovered the same things. And the climax lasted maybe five pages without any build-up whatsoever.
In the synopsis the thing that really caught my attention was this:
"When seventeen-year-old Tati sends a saliva sample to a DNA ancestry testing site her results come back inconclusive. What’s wrong with her DNA?"
Her I was, expecting this awesome explanation as to why her DNA isn't human... but all that's said about it when the time comes for the truth is that her DNA just wouldn't be recognized as human. That's it. No explanation to why that is. Maybe it was because she was subject to some genetic engineering? But here's the thing, as long as you have 45-47 chromosomes, YOU'RE HUMAN. And the four Tatyanas only had a few genes altered. So unless they had a set of chromosomes inserted or removed from their genome, their DNA test would show human. But who knows what really happened to their genome? It's never explained.
That brings me to the next part... how the science behind their ability to travel between worlds is "explained". Look I get it. It's fiction and there is no science concerning the existence, much less travel between, parallel universes so Kathryn Berla had to bullshit it. And that's fine by me! I LOVE science fiction! But the thing is... you can't just pick out a bunch of cool-sounding science words, mash them together (when they don't belong together), and call it an explanation!
And the conclusion... what? Basically the conclusion centers around the idea that you're the center of the universe and if you're not there then nothing else exists. I mean, come on. Narcissism at its finest. She kept using that proverb (?)... philosophy (?)... whatever it is: " If a tree falls in the forest with no ears to hear does it make a sound?". The answer is yes. It does.
Oh also, apparently all science is evil, so stay away from it you guys.
Anyway, I was disappointed and confused. Not a good combination.
April 9, 2019
"Ricochet" is an entertaining and very interesting story about a girl who is able to communicate with herself in parallel universes. I found myself thoroughly enjoying the actual premise of the novel. It was original, and unlike anything I've read before.
The story is relatively fast-paced, and is good entertainment. However, it does struggle with world building and the story is neither written in chronological fashion nor in a way that really makes sense. There were a lot of time jumps between past and present.
The characters were really bland, but the story's premise was interesting enough that I still wanted to continue reading. It had its flaws but I would still recommend the novel to fans of "Orphan Black", it has a similar vibe to it.
The story is relatively fast-paced, and is good entertainment. However, it does struggle with world building and the story is neither written in chronological fashion nor in a way that really makes sense. There were a lot of time jumps between past and present.
The characters were really bland, but the story's premise was interesting enough that I still wanted to continue reading. It had its flaws but I would still recommend the novel to fans of "Orphan Black", it has a similar vibe to it.
July 14, 2019
The premise for this sounded so good and I was looking forward to this so much , but I just couldn’t get into it at all. I tried, I really did, but it was just all over the place and too confusing , the POVs don’t help at to that. Just not for me, sorry.
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion
April 9, 2019
2.5 stars
The book centers around the idea of parallel universes, with one girl, Tatiana, split into four versions of herself. Each version suffers from something like seizures, which are revealed to be tunnels between the girls so they could (potentially) visit each other. Tati has what the American audience would probably consider a pretty decent life: a girlfriend who loves her, (adoptive) parents who love her, amazing grades...not a care in the world beyond whether her girlfriend dropping the "I" from "I love you" means something *eyeroll*. Ana and Tati's lives are the most parallel of the four girls, except that Ana hasn't asked out her crush yet and her dad is sick; on the other hand, she seems to have a better support system of friends than Tati. Tanya's life is very different, living with her birth mother in Germany, hiding from her birth father. She is sheltered from the rest of the world, only having contact with a kid name Victor. Tatyana is closest to her, also sheltered from the rest of the world, but this time by her birth father, who experimented on her/them, and in luxurious surroundings.
With four versions of one girl, one might expect a little discussion of nature vs. nuture, but it isn't discussed at all. Tanya is really the only POV that has a unique voice compared to the others; she also has the most agency despite being the only one who never visits anyone else (this may have been purposeful, since it is stated at one point by Tatyana's father that she is different from the others and easier for Tatyana to visit...though this is never expanded upon). The Tatianas neither feel similar enough to be the same person in four different situations nor different enough to be four unique characters, and it was frustrating to have this premise and somehow be neither of these things. Most of the POVs were so close that if I started in the middle of a chapter, I spent a while trying to figure out which girl's POV I was in. This was especially true for Tati and Ana, whose situations were similar enough that I couldn't necessarily count on the people around them or their situations to clue me in, especially in the first half.
With four characters to introduce, the book begins slowly, and we're through two rounds of each character's POV before things start feeling like more than introduction...but that's a fourth of the book, which is a long time for your only conflict to be seizures (and made-up BS about whether your girlfriend loves you because she doesn't want to show PDA in front of her conservative parents who might disown her, which you explained to the audience before whining about it...). This might have been okay, but once the action actually starts up, a lot of development is simply told to us. Rather than seeing Tati and Ana develop a relationship once they've met, they both tell us about the relationship: how important it is to them, what happened over their meetings (which are described as if they've been meeting for months, even as other characters are living out a single day over several chapters), how it's transformed them (rather than showing us the transformation), plus they often repeat to the audience information they learned in those meetings even when it was information we experienced firsthand. There's one chapter that consists of Tati telling *us* what Ana told *her* that she (and we) experienced, telling us how she's suddenly become less insecure now that she's met Ana, and telling us why she has the skill to visit Ana when the other girls don't have it.
A lot of the story's development comes from others volunteering information to the girls. Tatyana gets a letter that explains things to her, plus her dad's explanation. Tanya is told her background from Victor's mom. Ana is given information from government agents trying to stop the project that their father was heading. Tati gets information from someone her parents hired to find out her background. They have small moments of agency, but for the most part the girls are led by other characters through the story (Tanya a little less than the others). One needs look no further than Tatyana's list of things she needs to do to see how little she does--she looks for freedom from her aunt for 24 hours so she can investigate, not an escape from her father who has done this to her. When he locks her up, she gives him attitude, but agrees to go along with what he wants.
Likewise, solutions to problems seem to show up out of nowhere, even when the girls supposedly had skills or knowledge beforehand. Tati describes why she can easily visit Ana, but the background behind it had never been brought up before. Tatyana talks about her love for Rosie (a previous housekeeper), but the smallest mention of the previous housekeeper had been made before, nothing that would imply a special connection. There are more examples, but they may be spoilery.
Meanwhile, elements are dropped that, in retrospect, don't make sense. Tati is convinced that her blanket was always blue, but it is now pink, a color that she apparently hates, and a dog's collar switches color for her. This is never explained. It suggested, to me at least, that Tati was shifting from one universe to another, with minor differences between those universes. But that is not what happens, and it never is explained why she would have a blanket that was a color she hates and why she wouldn't remember that being true.
On the other hand, it was fun to take the clues that each of the girls were receiving and try to guess what had happened to each to get them to where they were. Is X person the same as Y person in another world? What changed to make these girls' lives so (or not so) different? This was a fun aspect of the mystery behind them, like trying to see the whole puzzle from small pieces.
The climax, while full of action and containing three of the four girls, feels very rushed. Ana steps into it like an outsider, but she's the POV we're in for the action, so the entire climax feels very surreal, as if being observed through two sets of lenses: ours and Ana's. Ana even gives us a safety net: she tells us she can just go back through her tunnel if things go wrong, thus lowering the sense of danger for the POV we're in. Why not show us this part of the story from the POV of the girls who are really living it?
All in all, the book wasn't what I had hoped it would be from the description.
*I received a copy of the book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*
The book centers around the idea of parallel universes, with one girl, Tatiana, split into four versions of herself. Each version suffers from something like seizures, which are revealed to be tunnels between the girls so they could (potentially) visit each other. Tati has what the American audience would probably consider a pretty decent life: a girlfriend who loves her, (adoptive) parents who love her, amazing grades...not a care in the world beyond whether her girlfriend dropping the "I" from "I love you" means something *eyeroll*. Ana and Tati's lives are the most parallel of the four girls, except that Ana hasn't asked out her crush yet and her dad is sick; on the other hand, she seems to have a better support system of friends than Tati. Tanya's life is very different, living with her birth mother in Germany, hiding from her birth father. She is sheltered from the rest of the world, only having contact with a kid name Victor. Tatyana is closest to her, also sheltered from the rest of the world, but this time by her birth father, who experimented on her/them, and in luxurious surroundings.
With four versions of one girl, one might expect a little discussion of nature vs. nuture, but it isn't discussed at all. Tanya is really the only POV that has a unique voice compared to the others; she also has the most agency despite being the only one who never visits anyone else (this may have been purposeful, since it is stated at one point by Tatyana's father that she is different from the others and easier for Tatyana to visit...though this is never expanded upon). The Tatianas neither feel similar enough to be the same person in four different situations nor different enough to be four unique characters, and it was frustrating to have this premise and somehow be neither of these things. Most of the POVs were so close that if I started in the middle of a chapter, I spent a while trying to figure out which girl's POV I was in. This was especially true for Tati and Ana, whose situations were similar enough that I couldn't necessarily count on the people around them or their situations to clue me in, especially in the first half.
With four characters to introduce, the book begins slowly, and we're through two rounds of each character's POV before things start feeling like more than introduction...but that's a fourth of the book, which is a long time for your only conflict to be seizures (and made-up BS about whether your girlfriend loves you because she doesn't want to show PDA in front of her conservative parents who might disown her, which you explained to the audience before whining about it...). This might have been okay, but once the action actually starts up, a lot of development is simply told to us. Rather than seeing Tati and Ana develop a relationship once they've met, they both tell us about the relationship: how important it is to them, what happened over their meetings (which are described as if they've been meeting for months, even as other characters are living out a single day over several chapters), how it's transformed them (rather than showing us the transformation), plus they often repeat to the audience information they learned in those meetings even when it was information we experienced firsthand. There's one chapter that consists of Tati telling *us* what Ana told *her* that she (and we) experienced, telling us how she's suddenly become less insecure now that she's met Ana, and telling us why she has the skill to visit Ana when the other girls don't have it.
A lot of the story's development comes from others volunteering information to the girls. Tatyana gets a letter that explains things to her, plus her dad's explanation. Tanya is told her background from Victor's mom. Ana is given information from government agents trying to stop the project that their father was heading. Tati gets information from someone her parents hired to find out her background. They have small moments of agency, but for the most part the girls are led by other characters through the story (Tanya a little less than the others). One needs look no further than Tatyana's list of things she needs to do to see how little she does--she looks for freedom from her aunt for 24 hours so she can investigate, not an escape from her father who has done this to her. When he locks her up, she gives him attitude, but agrees to go along with what he wants.
Likewise, solutions to problems seem to show up out of nowhere, even when the girls supposedly had skills or knowledge beforehand. Tati describes why she can easily visit Ana, but the background behind it had never been brought up before. Tatyana talks about her love for Rosie (a previous housekeeper), but the smallest mention of the previous housekeeper had been made before, nothing that would imply a special connection. There are more examples, but they may be spoilery.
Meanwhile, elements are dropped that, in retrospect, don't make sense. Tati is convinced that her blanket was always blue, but it is now pink, a color that she apparently hates, and a dog's collar switches color for her. This is never explained. It suggested, to me at least, that Tati was shifting from one universe to another, with minor differences between those universes. But that is not what happens, and it never is explained why she would have a blanket that was a color she hates and why she wouldn't remember that being true.
On the other hand, it was fun to take the clues that each of the girls were receiving and try to guess what had happened to each to get them to where they were. Is X person the same as Y person in another world? What changed to make these girls' lives so (or not so) different? This was a fun aspect of the mystery behind them, like trying to see the whole puzzle from small pieces.
The climax, while full of action and containing three of the four girls, feels very rushed. Ana steps into it like an outsider, but she's the POV we're in for the action, so the entire climax feels very surreal, as if being observed through two sets of lenses: ours and Ana's. Ana even gives us a safety net: she tells us she can just go back through her tunnel if things go wrong, thus lowering the sense of danger for the POV we're in. Why not show us this part of the story from the POV of the girls who are really living it?
All in all, the book wasn't what I had hoped it would be from the description.
*I received a copy of the book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*
September 4, 2020
Meh.
Currently into the whole parallel worlds thing so finally picked this one up. It was admittedly a little disappointing. The book being split into four rotating chapters didn't give me room to actually get to know/like any of the Tatyana's I met aside from the first - but only because she was the first.
I think as well for a long time - half the book- there was no sense of danger/conflict so I was just reading about these four girls and wondering why they had the access to each other that they did.
When we finally got there the answer was underwhelming and had a sudden countdown attached to it.
The characters with similar names was cool albeit confusing from time to time and ultimately the whole thing felt very bite-sized/fragmented so I was never able to truly settle and get invested.
Currently into the whole parallel worlds thing so finally picked this one up. It was admittedly a little disappointing. The book being split into four rotating chapters didn't give me room to actually get to know/like any of the Tatyana's I met aside from the first - but only because she was the first.
I think as well for a long time - half the book- there was no sense of danger/conflict so I was just reading about these four girls and wondering why they had the access to each other that they did.
When we finally got there the answer was underwhelming and had a sudden countdown attached to it.
The characters with similar names was cool albeit confusing from time to time and ultimately the whole thing felt very bite-sized/fragmented so I was never able to truly settle and get invested.
April 6, 2019
Unusual, in that it's told from the viewpoints of four different versions of one 17-year-old girl, living in alternate realities.
Two are living in America, with loving adoptive parents. Tati has a pretty idyllic life, apart from the fact that she has random and medically inexplicable seizures. Ana doesn't have it quite so good, but her life is OK. She has the seizures too.
So does Tanya, who escaped from Russia with her increasingly mentally unstable mother, and isn't allowed to leave their run-down house. And so does Tatiana, who lives in luxury with her scientist father and aunt in her native Moscow.
When the girls begin to cross between worlds, it sets off a suspenseful sequence of events in each of the realities, and nothing will ever be the same again for any of them.
I was enjoying this up until the ending, which I felt short-changed most of the characters - especially the ones that had been most protagonistic. But it wasn't so disappointing as to drop a star, and for other readers it may work better than it did for me.
Two are living in America, with loving adoptive parents. Tati has a pretty idyllic life, apart from the fact that she has random and medically inexplicable seizures. Ana doesn't have it quite so good, but her life is OK. She has the seizures too.
So does Tanya, who escaped from Russia with her increasingly mentally unstable mother, and isn't allowed to leave their run-down house. And so does Tatiana, who lives in luxury with her scientist father and aunt in her native Moscow.
When the girls begin to cross between worlds, it sets off a suspenseful sequence of events in each of the realities, and nothing will ever be the same again for any of them.
I was enjoying this up until the ending, which I felt short-changed most of the characters - especially the ones that had been most protagonistic. But it wasn't so disappointing as to drop a star, and for other readers it may work better than it did for me.
April 12, 2019
This books was a totally amazing read. I am not that much into sifi, but I enjoyed this one .it deals with parallel universes and does that well. The narration was good, especially while describing the scientific events or facts. science fictions sometimes lack the poetic appeal of a book which I look for, but this book didn't have that problem. I liked the ending. It would make a good movie also.
Really lucky to receive the arc from netgalley.
Really lucky to receive the arc from netgalley.
June 20, 2019
I really really wanted to like this story. It had everything I love : parallel universe, gay representation, psychological thriller. But it fell flat. The beginning parts were really confusing and even though Kathryn Berla tried hard (i guess) the characters, for the most part, were unrelatable. The book was very slow paced and confusing to say the least.
January 4, 2020
Frankly, I don’t know what to think about this book.
The idea of multiple universes and DNA experiments was amazing. I really loved the different points of view and how different Tati, Ana, Tanya and Tatiana (variations of the same name) were and what each of them had to go through.
The blurb for «Ricochet» was masterfully crafted to attract the attention of Sci-Fi readers, but I don’t know if that was the right move. I really wanted more information about the DNA alterations, about the experiments, about her family, about everything, basically! Maybe, the author was restricted by the page count, but the story needed more details to make it a true Sci-Fi.
The idea of multiple universes and DNA experiments was amazing. I really loved the different points of view and how different Tati, Ana, Tanya and Tatiana (variations of the same name) were and what each of them had to go through.
The blurb for «Ricochet» was masterfully crafted to attract the attention of Sci-Fi readers, but I don’t know if that was the right move. I really wanted more information about the DNA alterations, about the experiments, about her family, about everything, basically! Maybe, the author was restricted by the page count, but the story needed more details to make it a true Sci-Fi.
February 25, 2020
2.25 STARS
The one thing I didn't feel with this book was actually confused. Instead, I felt a great amount frustration at themes and ideas going to waste. Not to forget—this is the type of science fiction where the science is a mere convenience and completely butchered.
I received an ARC through NetGalley for an honest review.
The one thing I didn't feel with this book was actually confused. Instead, I felt a great amount frustration at themes and ideas going to waste. Not to forget—this is the type of science fiction where the science is a mere convenience and completely butchered.
I received an ARC through NetGalley for an honest review.
February 26, 2020
Beautifully written, a plot that was well-woven, and engaging characters.
CW: This book contains queer characters! Bigots beware! 😏
CW: This book contains queer characters! Bigots beware! 😏
May 27, 2019
1 STAR
YOU CAN ALSO FIND THIS REVIEW ON MY BLOG https://antonellasbookworld.blogspot....
I had a hard time getting through this book. I read lots of reviews about it and there are basically all positive, but I honestly don't find lots of positive things in this book starting from the very focus of the story: the multiverse theory.
I'm not that informed on it and I don't know so much about that kind of physics and theories. This book should have explained it better, because everything is very confusing from the beginning.
Firstly, all the characters in this book have basically the same name but different nicknames. This thing already makes it a mess, because I barely could follow the story. The names are basically the same and at the end there was confusion as to who was who.
Secondly, as I said before, there is too much unsaid regarding the multiverse theory. I didn't understand a lot about it, and since it's a theory that not lots of people know a lot about and this is a kind of book who is usually read by 'common' people who often don't have that kind of knowledge, it would have been good to explain something more. I honestly found it very confusing, I have lots of questions about it, for instance: how the hell did they become just one person? How the hell did they have different lives but the same name?
Also, speaking about the story, reading the synopsis, I had high expectations of it. I've read lots of sci-fi books and I was kind of drawn by it because the string theory is really an interesting one and who wouldn't read a story regarding this theory? But after 30% of the book I realised the story wouldn't be that exciting as I thought. The story was bland, unexciting and plain. It was very predictable too honestly. There are no twists and turns and after only three chapter I wanted to give up and dnf. The povs were too much and it made it hard to follow the stories, all different from each other but with the MC having the same name. There was a good idea behind the book, but it was developed poorly and badly. The ending was underwhelming. Unfortunately I really expected much much more and the book didn't met my expectations. It wasn't enjoyable and too long, because nothing really happened and lots of things were left unsaid. It wasn't developed enough and the real problem wasn't adressed.
*Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
YOU CAN ALSO FIND THIS REVIEW ON MY BLOG https://antonellasbookworld.blogspot....
I had a hard time getting through this book. I read lots of reviews about it and there are basically all positive, but I honestly don't find lots of positive things in this book starting from the very focus of the story: the multiverse theory.
I'm not that informed on it and I don't know so much about that kind of physics and theories. This book should have explained it better, because everything is very confusing from the beginning.
Firstly, all the characters in this book have basically the same name but different nicknames. This thing already makes it a mess, because I barely could follow the story. The names are basically the same and at the end there was confusion as to who was who.
Secondly, as I said before, there is too much unsaid regarding the multiverse theory. I didn't understand a lot about it, and since it's a theory that not lots of people know a lot about and this is a kind of book who is usually read by 'common' people who often don't have that kind of knowledge, it would have been good to explain something more. I honestly found it very confusing, I have lots of questions about it, for instance: how the hell did they become just one person? How the hell did they have different lives but the same name?
Also, speaking about the story, reading the synopsis, I had high expectations of it. I've read lots of sci-fi books and I was kind of drawn by it because the string theory is really an interesting one and who wouldn't read a story regarding this theory? But after 30% of the book I realised the story wouldn't be that exciting as I thought. The story was bland, unexciting and plain. It was very predictable too honestly. There are no twists and turns and after only three chapter I wanted to give up and dnf. The povs were too much and it made it hard to follow the stories, all different from each other but with the MC having the same name. There was a good idea behind the book, but it was developed poorly and badly. The ending was underwhelming. Unfortunately I really expected much much more and the book didn't met my expectations. It wasn't enjoyable and too long, because nothing really happened and lots of things were left unsaid. It wasn't developed enough and the real problem wasn't adressed.
*Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
September 23, 2019
I am always intrigued by books which use a multiverse type theory, so when I read the description of this one I thought it sounded like something I would really enjoy. The book opens with Tati, one of four narrators, each of which is a different version of the same girl. Tati is a happy, intelligent teenage girl living in the USA with her adoptive parents, When she and her girlfriend decide to do a DNA test as part of a school project, her results are strangely inconclusive and this sets her on a path to try to discover more about her past, and whether that can explain the strange seizure like episodes she has been experiencing, Ana is a more reserved version of Tati, one who has yet to strike up the courage to approach the girl she likes. Tanya is living in Germany with her controlling mother, and in hiding from her father, while Tatyana is living a life of luxury with her scientist father. It soon emerges that all four girls in their parallel universes, are the result of a science experiment, and they begin to ricochet between their different lives with dramatic consequences.
I loved the central premise of the book, but I found the execution lacking in some areas. I often lost track of which girl and timeline I was following, but I understand that this is a risk when having four such similar versions of the same character. The pacing started out fine but I found the ending pretty rushed. I did like the different versions of the Tatiana character but wish some more development had gone into the character of her father, as someone who was supposed to be the villain of the piece he felt more like a caricature than a well developed believable character.
I loved the central premise of the book, but I found the execution lacking in some areas. I often lost track of which girl and timeline I was following, but I understand that this is a risk when having four such similar versions of the same character. The pacing started out fine but I found the ending pretty rushed. I did like the different versions of the Tatiana character but wish some more development had gone into the character of her father, as someone who was supposed to be the villain of the piece he felt more like a caricature than a well developed believable character.
February 17, 2020
Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher and netgalley. Thanks! All opinions are my own.
Book: Ricochet
Author: Katheryn Berla
Book Series: Standalone
Rating: 2/5
Publication Date: October 8, 2019
Publisher: North Star Editions
Pages: 328
Recommended Age: 16+ (some violence, science stuff)
Synopsis: When seventeen-year-old Tati sends a saliva sample to a DNA ancestry testing site her results come back inconclusive. What’s wrong with her DNA? And what does it have to do with her unexplained seizures and the beckoning tunnel she sees during them?
What Tati discovers is more than she could have ever imagined possible. Parallel universes exist and her abnormal DNA compels and condemns Tati and her other selves—shy Ana—privileged Tatyana—and on-the-run Tanya, to a lifetime of ricocheting between their parallel lives in the multiverse.
With knowledge of their existence a deadly threat in every universe, the only chance all four have to survive is to work together to take down the scientist responsible: their father.
Review: I really like the premise of this book and I thought the characters were well developed and the world building was well done as well.
However, this book is confusing and the ending doesn't make sense to me. It was also slow and overall I had to downgrade my rating because of the ending.
Verdict: It wasn't for me.
Book: Ricochet
Author: Katheryn Berla
Book Series: Standalone
Rating: 2/5
Publication Date: October 8, 2019
Publisher: North Star Editions
Pages: 328
Recommended Age: 16+ (some violence, science stuff)
Synopsis: When seventeen-year-old Tati sends a saliva sample to a DNA ancestry testing site her results come back inconclusive. What’s wrong with her DNA? And what does it have to do with her unexplained seizures and the beckoning tunnel she sees during them?
What Tati discovers is more than she could have ever imagined possible. Parallel universes exist and her abnormal DNA compels and condemns Tati and her other selves—shy Ana—privileged Tatyana—and on-the-run Tanya, to a lifetime of ricocheting between their parallel lives in the multiverse.
With knowledge of their existence a deadly threat in every universe, the only chance all four have to survive is to work together to take down the scientist responsible: their father.
Review: I really like the premise of this book and I thought the characters were well developed and the world building was well done as well.
However, this book is confusing and the ending doesn't make sense to me. It was also slow and overall I had to downgrade my rating because of the ending.
Verdict: It wasn't for me.
December 3, 2019
I enjoyed Kathryn Berla's new sci-fi novel, Richochet. The story covers the idea of a multiverse and a scientist who uses his daughter as an experiment to test the limits of the multiverse. He has successfully allowed his daughter to travel between the multiverse to four different lives of herself. She sees how decisions that were made had a different outcome for her life. Ana, Tati, Tatyana and Tanya must all work together to find some way to help each others lives. While the story was very interesting in he beginning there were a few times within the middle and ending that I felt lost, especially when the girls got together, I couldn't remember who was who. I also thought the explanation was lacking and should have been a little more solid because the ending seemed abrupt and not thoroughly explained. While I enjoyed the individual characters in this story, their coming together was not as fluid. The cover of this novel is absolutely gorgeous and vibrant. I liked the authors writing style, very simple and lends itself to teenage lingo. Overall, I think this is a good YA novel for younger readers who may not need the in depth story line like an adult may need.
Raging Book Reviews
*Special thanks to @fluxbooks for the opportunity to review the novel for an honest opinion.
Raging Book Reviews
*Special thanks to @fluxbooks for the opportunity to review the novel for an honest opinion.
November 9, 2019
This is the first book I have read from this author and now she has a new fan. This is a young adult sci-fi fantasy like no other. When I started this book I couldn’t put it down. These characters suck you in like you are in their world. It only took me a couple of days to devour this amazing story.
Tati is your typical seventeen year old girl. She doesn’t know it but her world is going to turn upside down. Tati sends a dna sample to find out her ancestry but she doesn’t get the answers she was hoping for. She soon discovers that there is not only one of herself. Tati is brought into a life that seems crazy to her. She never thought there was more worlds than just one. Tati has a lot of events that happen to her and she doesn’t know who to turn to for help. Will Tati be able to find out the truth or will it bring too much danger?
Tati is your typical seventeen year old girl. She doesn’t know it but her world is going to turn upside down. Tati sends a dna sample to find out her ancestry but she doesn’t get the answers she was hoping for. She soon discovers that there is not only one of herself. Tati is brought into a life that seems crazy to her. She never thought there was more worlds than just one. Tati has a lot of events that happen to her and she doesn’t know who to turn to for help. Will Tati be able to find out the truth or will it bring too much danger?
April 3, 2019
*I received the eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.* Ricochet is a fast paced novel, full of twists and surprises, with a very intriguing premise: what if it were possible to travel between parallel universes? It’s a good book to read during a weekend (or for a readathon). It’s entertaining, and you will run through it. But keep in mind that you may be left wanting a little bit more...
What I liked:
1. Fast paced! Non stop action and emotion!
2. It hooked me! I read it in just a couple of days. I really needed to know what was going to happen next.
3. The main characters were interesting.
4. Despite the complex topic, it’s a light read. I think it would be the perfect book to get out of a reading slump.
What I didn’t like that much:
1. I constantly mixed up the four main characters and their stories. It can get a bit confusing.
2. The last two chapters felt really rushed... When I think about it, maybe the whole book felt rushed. The story deserves more pages or a sequel.
3. The ending felt abrupt. The last two chapters tried to solve everything and crammed way too many things.
Final rating: 3.5/5 stars
What I liked:
1. Fast paced! Non stop action and emotion!
2. It hooked me! I read it in just a couple of days. I really needed to know what was going to happen next.
3. The main characters were interesting.
4. Despite the complex topic, it’s a light read. I think it would be the perfect book to get out of a reading slump.
What I didn’t like that much:
1. I constantly mixed up the four main characters and their stories. It can get a bit confusing.
2. The last two chapters felt really rushed... When I think about it, maybe the whole book felt rushed. The story deserves more pages or a sequel.
3. The ending felt abrupt. The last two chapters tried to solve everything and crammed way too many things.
Final rating: 3.5/5 stars
April 29, 2019
How do I review this? Because I don't wait to give a single thing away. I knew very little about this book. All I knew about this book was the first line of the blurb. (When seventeen-year-old Tati sends a saliva sample to a DNA ancestry testing site her results come back inconclusive.) That's all I needed to know to make me wait to read this book. So, if that line draws you in, stop reading the review or the blurb and wait till you can read the book yourself if you need more than, please finish this review.
We start off by following Tati, a high school student starting of a project for school that has to do with her DNA. We soon learn that something is up when things start being weird. We learn about Parallel universes and mee Tati. I loved how we, the reader, learn about these different universes. I also like how we can see how one thing can totally change a person's life.
Knowing that I only need that one like going in I didn't know and the Parallel universes or that the four need to team up to take out scientist aka their father. And I'm glad I didn't know those things because for me those were twists in the story that made it that more enjoyable.
The only thing that would have made this better was something that happened at the ending, I just needed more info.
This was a wild pager-turner that shows the power of our choices. It's such a good read and I hope many, many people enjoy it!
We start off by following Tati, a high school student starting of a project for school that has to do with her DNA. We soon learn that something is up when things start being weird. We learn about Parallel universes and mee Tati. I loved how we, the reader, learn about these different universes. I also like how we can see how one thing can totally change a person's life.
Knowing that I only need that one like going in I didn't know and the Parallel universes or that the four need to team up to take out scientist aka their father. And I'm glad I didn't know those things because for me those were twists in the story that made it that more enjoyable.
The only thing that would have made this better was something that happened at the ending, I just needed more info.
This was a wild pager-turner that shows the power of our choices. It's such a good read and I hope many, many people enjoy it!
April 22, 2019
*thank you to Flux Publishing and to Netgalley for this free copy in exchange for an honest review*
Ricochet is a sci-fi story set in (what I’d say is the near future) where somehow 1 girl has had her DNA spliced into 4 separate persons: Tati, Ana, Tatyana, and Tanya.
First thing that I find a bit problematic is that some characters share interactions with people of the same name, along different timelines (Tati and Ana both attend a school with a Priya and Andrew in attendance, but they aren’t the same people). This was a bit confusing but it made it hard to know who’s timeline I was in.
Tanya and Tatyana don’t seem to have anything in common, and so their stories were easy to separate out.
I feel like the ending was a bit rushed, but still a good tale nonetheless
Ricochet is a sci-fi story set in (what I’d say is the near future) where somehow 1 girl has had her DNA spliced into 4 separate persons: Tati, Ana, Tatyana, and Tanya.
First thing that I find a bit problematic is that some characters share interactions with people of the same name, along different timelines (Tati and Ana both attend a school with a Priya and Andrew in attendance, but they aren’t the same people). This was a bit confusing but it made it hard to know who’s timeline I was in.
Tanya and Tatyana don’t seem to have anything in common, and so their stories were easy to separate out.
I feel like the ending was a bit rushed, but still a good tale nonetheless
May 5, 2019
I want to start off by saying I typically do not like fantasy or sci-fi, so I was apprehensive to say the least.
This book is about Tatiana and her alternate universe selves. Initially it was hard for me to keep the different lives straight, but after a few chapters, I was able to tell them apart.
I found this book exciting! It was refreshing to have a YA that didn’t center on romance. There was a romance but it wasn’t a theme critical to the plot line.
I highly recommend this book. I did receive this book free for review purposes, but I would love to add a hard copy to my personal library.
This book is about Tatiana and her alternate universe selves. Initially it was hard for me to keep the different lives straight, but after a few chapters, I was able to tell them apart.
I found this book exciting! It was refreshing to have a YA that didn’t center on romance. There was a romance but it wasn’t a theme critical to the plot line.
I highly recommend this book. I did receive this book free for review purposes, but I would love to add a hard copy to my personal library.
March 29, 2019
I received this book from netgalley in exchange for my honest review.
I didn't like it, I had such hopes because of the idea of it, but I got so lost in the who was who and the details, I don't really understand some things, how if they weren't merged did the dog color change, and the blanket? How did other people see them things like that.
It was not easy to sink into this book and read it, it took me forever and most of the time I wanted to give up, but I wanted to know the end of it a little bit, and also yo say that i could review this properly.
I didn't like it, I had such hopes because of the idea of it, but I got so lost in the who was who and the details, I don't really understand some things, how if they weren't merged did the dog color change, and the blanket? How did other people see them things like that.
It was not easy to sink into this book and read it, it took me forever and most of the time I wanted to give up, but I wanted to know the end of it a little bit, and also yo say that i could review this properly.
November 8, 2019
Ricochet by Kathryn Berla is a YA sci fi that has an interesting premise but it was slow to get into. The story was a little hard to keep track of because it jumped between past and present but also between characters. I never really settled into the story and felt that even though interesting it could have been more. The characters didn’t really grab me I felt like they need more substance as did the worlds in which they lived.
Whilst it didn’t meet my expectations doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give it a go. I am not a great lover of sci fi unless it is done really well and for me Ricochet didn’t stand up.
Whilst it didn’t meet my expectations doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give it a go. I am not a great lover of sci fi unless it is done really well and for me Ricochet didn’t stand up.
October 11, 2019
I'm late reviewing this because I've been trying to decide what to say. I didn't enjoy it. Too confusing even though I know about the multiverse theory already; I can't imagine trying to read this without knowing. I still don't understand who the other three girls got to their universe, and I didn't understand the ending. It's not badly written, just confusing. Not a good one for me.
March 6, 2020
since the majority of books i “read” are audiobooks i gave myself an A-Z challenge to physically read at least one book for each letter in the alphabet.... this is R.
i wasn’t super into this. i picked it up because of the interesting premise and i saw a review saying that fans of orphan black would like this. i ADORE orphan black. this wasn’t anywhere close to that masterpiece.
meh.
i wasn’t super into this. i picked it up because of the interesting premise and i saw a review saying that fans of orphan black would like this. i ADORE orphan black. this wasn’t anywhere close to that masterpiece.
meh.
October 14, 2019
I received an eARC of this from NetGalley, but that in no way affects my opinion on this book.
First of all, for like a quarter of the book I had no clue what was going on, it was all just SO confusing. The whole parallel universes concept was really fascinating, but the way it was all built just didn't do it for me. I feel like two universes would have been enough to keep it all going, the rest were overkill.
I would've enjoyed it a lot more if two of the universes were developed more. So even though it's interesting to think how things affect how our life develops, in this instance it didn't work for me.
First of all, for like a quarter of the book I had no clue what was going on, it was all just SO confusing. The whole parallel universes concept was really fascinating, but the way it was all built just didn't do it for me. I feel like two universes would have been enough to keep it all going, the rest were overkill.
I would've enjoyed it a lot more if two of the universes were developed more. So even though it's interesting to think how things affect how our life develops, in this instance it didn't work for me.
September 3, 2019
Hey! This is a book about multiverses and lesbians!
Seriously, this book starts with two girls making out and discussing their relationship. I’m so here for this!
This book is divided into four povs:
Tati is and out and proud lesbian dating Pryia, who is not out yet which puts a strain on their relationship.
In Ana’s world, on the other hand, the single moment that allowed Tati to find the courage to make a move on Prya unfolded differently so she and Pryia are only friends. (Ana and her lesbian thirst were amazing though!).
Tanya lives in Germany with her abusive and controlling mother, not being allowed to leave the house or have access to any type of technology. I hope she becomes a badass ninja, improbable I know, but still.
Tatyana makes me fear for her. Run, girl, run! And wake the fuck up while you are at it, they are evil...
I loved what the author did with these four characters. Each one of them is the same person, only raised in different circumstances, so even though they are the same DNA and personality-wise there are subtle and not so subtle differences. Figuring out which decisions caused every one of those differences in every version of their lives was extremely entertaining and the author made a great job of building up the story.
One of the things that remained the same in all four* Tatyanas was their sexuality and I really loved the author for this because it meant that she did not present sexuality as a product of the environment we are raised in or something we “catch” but something as intrinsic to our selves as our DNA.
(*Tanya and Tatyana’s sexuality is never explicitly discussed perhaps because of their lack of interaction with the rest of the world.)
I particularly liked how different Tatyana and Tanya were from Tati and Ana. The first two having been barred from interaction with society at large and having abusive parents that controlled every aspect of their lives struggled to trust in themselves and their skills and I would have loved to have seen more of the consequences of their upbringing and how they knowingly fought against them.
Something else I really enjoyed was how the four Tatyanas interacted with each other and how they were catalysts in the lives of the others, their presence or even just thinking about the other lent them courage and momentum because it proved that they had the potential for more. I really liked the character development (even with Tanya and Tatyana’s characters feeling a little less solid than the other two) and the way the author was able to make this story into a puzzle, every chapter adding one more piece to the overall picture.
The ending itself was completely unpredictable and jaw-dropping, the only problem I had, being with the aftermath that I found too short and anti-climatic for a standalone.
The writing rubbed me off at times, trying to be too descriptive at the absolute wrong moment (there is a limit to what we want to know about food digestion) and towards the end the story felt a bit reminiscent of Cold War propaganda with the Americans being the good guys and the Russians being riddled with corrupt politicians and crazy evil scientists that try to defy God but other than that, I definitely enjoyed this and will keep an eye on Kathryn Berla.
Thank you to NetGalley and Flux for this Arc.
Seriously, this book starts with two girls making out and discussing their relationship. I’m so here for this!
This book is divided into four povs:
Tati is and out and proud lesbian dating Pryia, who is not out yet which puts a strain on their relationship.
In Ana’s world, on the other hand, the single moment that allowed Tati to find the courage to make a move on Prya unfolded differently so she and Pryia are only friends. (Ana and her lesbian thirst were amazing though!).
Tanya lives in Germany with her abusive and controlling mother, not being allowed to leave the house or have access to any type of technology. I hope she becomes a badass ninja, improbable I know, but still.
Tatyana makes me fear for her. Run, girl, run! And wake the fuck up while you are at it, they are evil...
I loved what the author did with these four characters. Each one of them is the same person, only raised in different circumstances, so even though they are the same DNA and personality-wise there are subtle and not so subtle differences. Figuring out which decisions caused every one of those differences in every version of their lives was extremely entertaining and the author made a great job of building up the story.
One of the things that remained the same in all four* Tatyanas was their sexuality and I really loved the author for this because it meant that she did not present sexuality as a product of the environment we are raised in or something we “catch” but something as intrinsic to our selves as our DNA.
(*Tanya and Tatyana’s sexuality is never explicitly discussed perhaps because of their lack of interaction with the rest of the world.)
I particularly liked how different Tatyana and Tanya were from Tati and Ana. The first two having been barred from interaction with society at large and having abusive parents that controlled every aspect of their lives struggled to trust in themselves and their skills and I would have loved to have seen more of the consequences of their upbringing and how they knowingly fought against them.
Something else I really enjoyed was how the four Tatyanas interacted with each other and how they were catalysts in the lives of the others, their presence or even just thinking about the other lent them courage and momentum because it proved that they had the potential for more. I really liked the character development (even with Tanya and Tatyana’s characters feeling a little less solid than the other two) and the way the author was able to make this story into a puzzle, every chapter adding one more piece to the overall picture.
The ending itself was completely unpredictable and jaw-dropping, the only problem I had, being with the aftermath that I found too short and anti-climatic for a standalone.
The writing rubbed me off at times, trying to be too descriptive at the absolute wrong moment (there is a limit to what we want to know about food digestion) and towards the end the story felt a bit reminiscent of Cold War propaganda with the Americans being the good guys and the Russians being riddled with corrupt politicians and crazy evil scientists that try to defy God but other than that, I definitely enjoyed this and will keep an eye on Kathryn Berla.
Thank you to NetGalley and Flux for this Arc.
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