4.5 stars

Wow. Just wow. If Scythe is any indication, the Dimension Drift series is going to be a corker, hands down.

Meimi is only 16 years old but she's much older than the usual teenager, having lost her father and sister, acting as caretaker for her emotionally and mentally fragile mother and living in a world where monstrous beasts are created to "dispose" of undesirables as defined by the Authority. Meimi supports herself and her mother by doing freelance scientific work for the local crime lord, Scythe, and becoming beholden to him for their very survival is not a choice she would have willingly made, had she actually had a choice.

From the first few words, I was completely hooked on this story and its characters. The plot is full of nonstop action and tension while the characters, Meimi as well as others, are vividly drawn, even the exceedingly dangerous Lacerator, the newest of those killer monsters. Beyond all that, though, Ms. Bauer is a master craftsman of worldbuilding and that alone would have kept me fascinated.

There is only one thing wrong with Scythe---it's a prequel and by the very nature of the beast (so to speak) that means the story ends way too quickly and leaves you hanging, swinging in the breeze. I really hope the next prequel, Umbra, will be out soon, followed by the first full-length novel, Alien Minds ;-)

Reviewed by Lelia Taylor, November 2018.

Another brilliant book by Christina Bauer!

Meimi is the spirited female lead who's post-apocalyptic life goes up in flames when those she's looked up to or trusted in do what they feel is in her best interest. Just before this, the guy she's literally been dreaming about shows up to help her mom out and realizes she's his special someone. Everything should be pretty straightforward, right? Nope, Christina Bauer introduces twists and turns to keep the reader engrossed until the very last page. Overall, I found it to be a solid introduction to a series and I can't wait to read more.

Thank you to Christina Bauer, NetGalley, and Monster House Books for the chance to read this story and give others my honest thoughts and opinions.

After reading the blurb, I was excited to get my hands on this one. It was even better than I expected.

Meimi is about sixteen years old and a genius. Too bad, she can only use her talents to create devices for the black market, since it's the only way to keep her mother alive. Thanks to her mother's mental illness, she's been placed on the government's to-be-exterminated list. Meimi makes sure the two of them live off grid, but it's not easy. While semi-stealing parts for her latest order, Meimi runs into more than a little trouble, and she finds herself mind-melding with the government's latest killing beast. It could be a dream just like the ones she has about a hot alien guy...but as things get weirder and more dangerous, she begins to question more than her sanity.

This is a book for multi-universe, science fiction, action, teen romance and imagination fans. Meimi is a tough girl...not overly so, though. And it's this which makes her enjoyable. She's a genius in her area—dimension drifts—but she's social null and more than awkward. Plus, she's not a kick-butt heroine like often found in these novels. Her talent is simply her brains. And heart. Her sass is heavy but it fits very well to her situation and background. Plus, she's aware that she doesn't know everything and can't handle every situation. It's easy to like her and connect with her.

Imagination hits science fiction hard and creates a rich, fun world. There's a dash of dystopian which makes for an interesting mix with the multi-universes and dimensions. Not everything is scientifically sound...not even close, but that's also not the point. There is a ton of fun in these pages, and it's a fantastical dive into Meimi's amazing devices and the shifting of dimensions and creatures. The criminal/mafia add-on gives a nice touch as does the problems Meimi faces with her family situation.

The romance hits fast (as is often the case in young adult novels) and that was a little disappointing. But at least, the author makes sure to give a solid reasoning behind the almost 'instant' love in wonderful science fiction style.

This isn't a literary wonder but an enjoyable read to get lost in and an adventure with tons of thrills. I'll be continuing with this series to see what happens next.

Scythe (Dimension Drift Prequels Book 1) Kindle Edition
by Christina Bauer 
I received a complimentary copy of this novel via NetGalley and am leaving a fair and honest review.

Another sci-fi Dystopian novel starring a spunky girl. And that is all it is. Mediocre most of the time with bright flashes of okay and dark moments of miserable.

Meimi is our trademarked spunky girl. This time she is a science and engineering whiz with dreams of Thorne, a boy from another dimesion.

Meimi is the narrator for most of the book, except for a single chapter. That mystery chapter was one of the bright flashes and I wish we had more of them. Also, the brief (very brief) appearance of the Scythe was the singularly most interesting piece and I would love to have explored both Thorne and Scythe.

The story is a little bit hard to nail down because we spend a good 60% of the book in exposition. When we finally get to the real purpose, I was bored. Apparently, Meimi is keeping away from the big bad and is asked to build something that would end up with her being in the hands of the big bad.

There are a pile of better Dystopian teen coming of age books out there! And there are worse. I really hope in the library of this Dimension Drift story that it gets better and we learn to follow the interesting characters.

Not bad but not great.

3 ½ stars out of 5 five bumped up to 4 because of The Scythe and Fritz.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01L6I1WEM

The Book Nerd was not impressed.

I received this novel from net galley and the publisher. Thank you!
This novella was a good read and insightful for the upcoming series Dimension Drift. Meimi is very talented with designing technology and hacking systems. We get to read some of Meimi's backstory before her memory gets wiped so she can design tech for the Authority. She gets into some trouble and needs the help of Fritz and the Scythe to pay the Authority off so she can remain off the grid with her mom. When her mom is lucid for the first time in a long time, they open another dimension, the second dimension to send a message asking for help. Thorne, an alien, arrives to help them and Meimi cannot help but feel this intense connection to him, and he calls Transcendent. However, Meimi is betrayed by the Scythe, but kept alive so the Authority can use her talents, which involve wiping her memory. I am looking forward to reading Alien Minds to see where Meimi and Thorne's story goes!

I really enjoyed this book! Good storyline, dialog, action, and writing. I recommend checking it out!

It was very interesting to read the prequel, but not really interesting enough to finish or blog about.

This is a fun, interesting read. Be warned - this is a prequel! The cliff hanger of an ending has me interested in the next of the series. I enjoyed the characters and the setting. Sounds like Meimi gets herself into lots of trouble!

I have not read the original series, so I came into this book completely blind (also because I never even read the synopsis).

The book was great. It was fun an entertaining to read, and it had everything that makes this a Christina Bauer book and the heroine still have the distinct savage attitude Bauer gives to literally every single one of their narrations/characters.

However, this book was a good enough read for me to actually consider to check our the original series, and despite being so short was still surprisingly enjoyable, and I laughed a few times.

There really is not that much to criticize about (or critic on in the first place) because of how short the book is, and how the book was not (or need to be) this excellent well-written and in-depth story with a huge problem. It's just a prequel.

So yes, I would recommend it to people, but then again, I think most to prefer to read the original books always before the spin-offs, which I completely understand.

Not my cup of tea at all other branches of sci-fi stand out to me personally a lot better than this.

When it comes to dystopian novels, I'm a bit wary. The set up is almost always the same and because it takes a certain amount of understand of history and science, it makes it a bit difficult for me to read. This one, is just the right blend with a bit of sci-fi to it that I'm intrigued. I liked Meimi the main character. This story is way too short as it ended right as the story started to get good. This is a prequel in some ways and it did a good job in setting up the world as well as the characters.

This is a bleak world where there are haves and have nots. Meimi is a have not so that she can contain her freedom. Unfortunately for her, she is young and dumb. This is to be expected of a seventeen year old. Many questions arise out of this story and I'm eagerly anticipating the next book in the series. One can only hope the next story is longer.

The pace of this story is nice and fast. It is concise with not an extra word. Meimi's friends are interesting and I wish there was more about them. I like that her friends are other females instead of having adversarial ones. The kicker in this story is the boy from another dimension. What is he and why would he honour his father's promise? So many questions - absolutely no answers. This dystopian story is recommended to readers who like a bit of sci-fi.

Dimension Drift, by author Christina Bauer, is the prequel to a new young adult paranormal romance series called Dimension Drift World. In this first installment, Bauer introduces readers to a new world where most people live in domed cities and are under the control of the so called Government. Set in the year 2611, Meimi has been searching for her older sister Luci who apparently ran away with her boyfriend a year ago. Since then, her mother has become a shell of herself. Until the day of Meimi's birthday.

This is the same sister who was close to her mother and a draft scientist. Meimi and her mother live off the grid in an abandoned chemical factory due to the fact that her mother is not altogether healthy. Plus, what Meimi does, designs her own technology, will get her dead if she ends up being caught. In this world, those who don't meet the Authority's strict guidelines, are tossed away and never seen again. Meimi isn't your average teenager. She actually gets down with the scientific designs like magnetic enhancers and makes good money doing so.

Meimi’s mom asks her to help her create a void or drift so that she can call on a friend to help them find Luci. Creating this drift will put their lives in danger and if caught by the government they will be executed. Hoping to avoid the wrath of the government after she makes a huge mistake, Meimi calls on a business acquaintance of hers that may be able to help her cover up the deed. The only other thing you need to know about this story is that the second character to be introduced in this series, Thorne Oxblood, makes a brief appearance and there is definitely a connection between the two.

So I wish I had gone into this knowing it was a novella. I don't tend to read too much about things when I'm getting into them because I want to avoid spoilers, but there was something unsatisfying about this book. I don't even know if it was the length of it, or the fact that the length of it meant that a lot needed to be crammed in to a short amount of space.

At first, I was really excited about the book, but as it went on, the enormous plot holes made it hard to suspend disbelief and it fell into the more common tropes. My attention waned and even short as it was, I struggled to finish it.

I feel like the book can't decide what it wants to be. There are so many things going on at once and so many elements being introduced. That may have worked for a book, but for a novella it just feels rushed.

Rating: 4 Stars

So Dimensional Drift is a prequel to a new series by an auto-buy author of mine Christina Bauer. I was excited to dive into this new world and see how things start off. A very dystopian reality that has very strict laws and school is mostly a way to teach you how awesome the government is and have you working for free. The sick or unproductive are removed and science is forbidden unless it is under strict control. Basically being your own person is not an options. Still we get to know Meimi and her world and how she survives day to day until everything goes out the window and a science crime leads to a stranger from another dimension and all sorts of trouble for her.

This is a seriously fast read but it got me curious about the world, which sounds horrible and no place I'd want to be in, and in Meimi. The science behind it all with the different worlds and dimensions have such promise. There is a bit of romance forming and I'm curious to know more about our gentleman. There are so many questions from the Scythe, her sister, this world drifts, and more. I look forward to learning more about them and diving into this new series full of science, action and adventure, and more.

First of all, I'll read whatever Christina Bauer writes! Second of all, I screamed with joy when I got the notification for the release of Dimension Drift. This will probably be a short review to cover the basics and I won't get into the plot itself because this is a novella and I don't want to spoil it by accidentally revealing even the smallest details. I love the author's writing style and like her previous books I've read, this one also managed to completely transport me into a different world! I got immersed in the story as soon as I started reading it and basically bawled my eyes out when I actually realized how short it really was! The plot itself was very original and I immensely enjoyed how the story progressed! I seriously wasn't expecting the twist that came out of nowhere towards the last couple of chapters and I'm desperate to find out what'll happen next! All the characters introduced in the novel were interesting and three dimensional, which is very impressive for such a short novel! They really managed to achieve a certain depth that's not very easy to come by in books and it really blew my mind!

Overall, I cannot recommend Dimension Drift enough! I absolutely loved it and read it in a matter of hours. It was impossible to put down and ended way sooner than I was expecting! I was seriously not ready for that ending and I'm pretty sure you won't be either, if and when you choose to read it!

I really enjoyed this story for the most part, but at times it did slow down. The characters were interesting and the government was exciting. I enjoyed the plot and setting and am curious about reading more of this series.

"Learning Squirrel is one step above attending class in a junkyard. But what do you expect? Everything’s made out of garbage these days. At least, I have my freelance work to keep Mom and me housed, clothed, and fed. How? I’m your regular high school science geek for hire, except my work manipulates space-time. The good news is that these gigs pay really well; the bad news is that Poppa C’s government likes to kill people like me for ‘independent scientific thought.’ Whatever. I’m not worried; hiding from their detection systems is easy for me." Sounds like a great story that my students or more like middle school students will be interested in reading, but it didn't sound interesting to me.

I really struggled with this book. There were times when the story was interesting and I think that there are some good concepts at work here, but I kept being thrown out of the narrative by the plot contrivances and the dialogue just does not ring true at all. The story follows Meimi, a teenage girl in 2612 who conducts drift science in secret. The premise is a good one and I thought that it was a shame that it wasn't matched by the execution. I think one of the issues is that the pacing is really uneven. There are some areas that the prose lingers over and then a vital aspect of the plot gets dealt with in a few sentences. The characters are really cliched and feel very one-dimensional and the blossoming relationship between Meimi and Thorne feels incredibly rushed and totally unauthentic. All in all, although I thought the story itself had real potential, ultimately, it just did not work in practice.
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This is a prequel for the Dimension Drift Worlds Books. This is a fast-paced read with loads of drama and suspense. Meimi is doing her best to survive and keep a roof over her and her mother’s head, until she messes up on a job. Now she needs the help of the Scythe, can she pull off? Will she be able to find her sister? Transports you to another time and place, great characters and an entertaining read. I liked it.

Rating: 2.5-star
Thank you to the publishers for offering this ARC. I was hoping to like this book because I really enjoyed Angelbound however the writing style wasn't for me. Too much telling in the form of inner monologue in the first person POV