Goodreads Synopsis

Mercenary Alex Mercer knows that humanity is just change in her pocket. In 2039, ever since she was orphaned on the criminal infested, tropical island of Toppanga, twenty-three-year-old mercenary Alex Mercer searched for the answers to her past. Now she’s presented with a high-risk contract that offers a different payment – information about her parents and her past. Alex and a group of assigned mercenaries must apprehend the elusive rogue soldier Maximillian Roivas.

As the mission progresses, Alex feels something lurking in her mind, a dark psychological entity that’s finally manifested and is vying for dominance. The presence yearns for a hunt, and it craves complete autonomy, and Alex can’t ignore the presence any longer.

When she uncovers more clues about the mysterious Roivas, she finds disturbing information about clandestine experiments by the U.S. military on vulnerable targets. Alex won’t rest until the experiments are permanently ended, whether it’s by her own volition or by a beast with an insatiable bloodlust guiding her hands.

My Mini Review

***I received a digital copy of the book from the author, but I read the book via Kindle Unlimited to support the author with my page reads. My review includes my honest thoughts about the book.***

This book was a fascinating look at a fictional future that seemed like an extremely violent and crass version of the X-Men. Many of the characters had special abilities, and they were working as a team to unmask and bring down a conspiracy within the government to study and use/exterminate the super-powered individuals. The story and plot kept me guessing throughout the book, and I never quite predicted exactly where it was going to go next, which I enjoyed. There was lots of great action and many of the characters had very interesting abilities, especially Rift. I also really liked the character arc of the main protagonist, Alex. She was profane and bad ass, but she also had to overcome a lot of pain and suffering. Her experiences resulted in a darkness and anger that she attempted to suppress and keep buried, but ultimately she learned that she must face and integrate her dark past and the emotions associated with it, which was personified as the beast lurking inside of her, in order to avoid being consumed by it. I enjoyed the focus on her journey, but I also wish some of the other characters had a bit more time devoted to them. They seemed interesting but also felt a bit flat and one-dimensional for the most part. The writing was okay but could have probably used a couple more rounds of editing. I don’t usually mind errors or typos because they are present in all works no matter how well-edited, but there were so many in this book it negatively impacted my reading experience. There were also parts of the story where I found the action difficult to follow because of the writing. Overall, however, I enjoyed the story, and the author did a good job of creating a very intriguing world that I would love to read more about. Therefore, I rate the book 3 out of 5 stars.