Amazing -totally gripped throughout

Loved this book so much that I didn’t want it to end . Recommend to all

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Dark, chilling gender-centred dystopia

Close to home, dark, chilling and another excellent gender-centred dystopia.

A little bit of The Road, and a large dollop of Dalcher's female-centred near-future hellish situations.

She always manages to make me shut the pages and give thanks for the imperfect yet vastly superior present to the one she vividly brings to life.

This slightly more complex story begins with the fairly swift collapse of society, a novel in itself, but puts within this the mother (Miranda) and daughter (and also the THEME of mothers and daughters) fighting to find somewhere safe as the world tears itself to pieces around them as the economy implodes.

And the only option? The cultish woman-only refuge of Femlandia, created by Miranda's cold, tour-de-force of a mother decades before. Which has its own rules, hierarchy and politics. And of course secrets.

Oh so dark, I listened to this as an audiobook and was chilled with the turns the story takes, it reminded me of how I felt reading Naomi Alderman's The Power, what can happen when there is a large gender imbalance, what humans can be capable of.

But. You can't deny the author's methods of drawing in a reader, of consuming them in a frightening world and narrative, and toying with their emotions... she's now a favourite of mine.

This won't give you many chuckles (though there is dark humour here in spades), but it's thrilling and scary stuff. Insightful, deep and surely bound for a screen some time soon?

I audio-read a lot of this, and the voice of Miranda, youthful enough yet motherly and strong suited the first person voice, I wanted to continue listening long past the end of each chapter. Easy to follow as an audio-read, and the additional narratives from other characters added background and slowed things down for context, leaving me wanting to know more of what was happening.

Come on men, don't just leave these titles for women - I want to talk about them with you!

With thanks to Nudge Books for providing a sample Audible copy, and the publisher for the Netgalley reading copy.

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1 person found this helpful

Gripping

Love this author. Have read all her books. Really enjoyed this it kept me at the edge of my seat wanting to know more.
Left me thinking for days after…life certainly is interesting

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Very Close To Living Up To Expectations

🧡 I was so excited about this book. A feminist dystopia, an end of normal life, a cult. It’s everything my warped mind desires. I was hoping for another The End of Men. Or And in a lot of ways it delivered. There’s a sinister undercurrent, zealotry, society in turmoil. I liked Miranda’s story and

💚 There was no single thing that reduced the impact of this for me, but if I had to nail it down, I’d say I wanted morrrrre. More on the economic collapse, more detail about Femlandia’s earlier days, the rest of the communes. More about Jen and Miranda’s history. In all this I felt like I was coming in late to the party. And in some instances I found the characters’ motivations baffling. I think I could have been brought round, but I needed to know more, with a longer lead in.

💜 The overall message is an excellent one. It is one that sees the flaws in men and women as human flaws. Not the same, but neither more or less malevolent than the other.

Lots and lots of content warnings. Sexual assault and abuse in particular. It’s quite brutal at times and, much as I didn’t enjoy those aspects,they fit in with the story.
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SOUNDBITE

🎧 Absolutely beautiful narration by Cassandra Morris and Brittany Pressley.There’s a sense throughout of a sort of ethereal strength. It’s an understated performance which was easy on the ears, but still conveyed character.

🎧 What made it all the more impressive was the nuance in giving voice to so many female characters. I should have been lost as to who was talking, but it never happened.

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2 people found this helpful

Had potential. Didn't reach it. Such a shame.

Slow for the first 10 chapters. Great potential story line. Rushed ending. Save your credits.

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Disappointed

Couldn’t get on with this narrator, they are so very crucial and important!
Story was very slow and couldn’t relate to any of the characters.
I liked christina dalcher book Q and after good reviews I thought I was safe to use up my monthly credit on this. How wrong and disappointed I was!

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1 person found this helpful

thought I'd like it, but I didn't

The protagonist really, really annoyed me. The story annoyed me. I do not recommend.

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