Not really my type of reading, a sci-fi story, with very hard location to imagine, Little hard to read, did not finish.
Thank you NetGalley for the free advance copy!

Kang, Lydia. Toxic. Entangled Teen, 2018.

Hana has been hidden on a bioship her entire life. She is not allowed to leave her room, which her mother arranged to have hidden even from the ship's map. No one really knows she's there. But her ship is dying, and when a crew comes aboard to observe the slow death of the ship, Hana decides she wants to live.

This is a good book for fans of Across the Universe or other epic science fiction stories that focus more on the characters and their relationships than on the exploration or science aspects. It would also be easy to recommend this book to teens who enjoy John Green's stories, because these may have a different setting, but the plot is still quite similar.

Recommended for: teens
Red Flags: none
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

I received a complimentary copy of this book through Netgalley for the purpose of review.

An interesting take on a familiar sci-fi concept. I enjoyed the book and I liked the MCs but I never really felt especially invested. I imagine those newer to sci-fi will get a lot more out of it though.

Toxicis a really tough book for me to rate. On one hand, I've never read anything like it, but at the same time, it was really hard for me to visualize this biological ship.

The best part about the book was Hana. I liked that while she was vulnerable, she was also resourceful and caring. I think I liked her the most because you got to know the most about her.

The very beginning was really good, and I was definitely interested, but even as I was reading it, I wondered how the entire concept was going to be fleshed out into an entire book. I felt like a lot of the time I had to suspend disbelief to allow myself to continue with the book.

Toxic easily has one of the most gorgeous covers I've seen so far this year. This was the perfect definition of cover love: I knew I HAD to read this one even before I actually read the blurb. I know science fiction isn't really my genre, but I like branching out every once and a while to mix things up. It's been a while since I read a story set in space, and Lydia Kang was able to make it into a very interesting experience. I loved the idea behind Toxic with the biological ship Cyclo, the detailed descriptions of the ship, the use of colors to communicate... Cyclo was basically another character and I loved to see how the ship 'evolved' over time. As for the other characters: there are a few cliches involved, and I'm not sure I like Hana, but overall their development is interesting enough to follow. I do think Cyclo overshadows the other characters in its uniqueness though. That said, it was an entertaining enough ride with plenty of action as Cyclo becomes less and less predictable and more dangerous. I wish there would have been less romance scenes involves, especially since most of it is quite cliche and takes away attention from the more interesting sci-fi elements. I'm sure romance fans will take those scenes differently though. The writing is solid and makes this ride very enjoyable. Fans of more romantic YA sci-fi books will have a blast reading Toxic.

I in truth had quite a deal of fun with this one, but it did take a while for me to get emotionally invested in the events taking place. This books pacing was sluggish, yet I look up after one sitting and find myself halfway through? It did take a little over half the book for things to pick up, but this was a read that felt took a while to get through. I found it hard to care about much in the story; the relationship between Cyclo and Hana had a complexity to it that did snag my interest instantaneously. And despite my lack of caring, I did like Hana more than our other POV, Fenn, but as the story moved forward, the characters got better and started growing on me. However, Hana went through the most character development. Going from this naive, insecure, dependent girl to gaining some agency and taking initiative gave a better connect to her character. The secondary characters were okay? There wasn’t much expansion on their characteristics. The only character who really caught my interest was Portia— she was this mysterious, brash woman with a secret depth kind of character and she intrigued me.And the diversity of course isn’t lacking in this one. I’m not just talking about the different alien species— Hana was designed after her mother/creator who is Korean and according to Fenn, he’s Taiwanese, German, Spanish, Japanese, and Senegalese. There is instalove happening in this book and though there is an excuse—they have 3 weeks left to live— I just… couldn’t care about their development or them as a couple? They grew on me as a concept, but there was such a rush between the two, I couldn't truly connect with it. Yet despite my gripes, everything picked up after 60% and it was worth it. I had a lot of fun after the initial slow first half, I’d count this as a win.

I didn’t think, when I first started this book, it was going to be a 4.5 star read. The cover makes it look like a light YA sci-fi romance; instead, it’s a delightfully dark, horror-filled space thriller. Requesting this from NetGalley is probably the best impulse decision I’ve made all year.

PLOT

In this futuristic world, humans have succeeded in growing living spaceships. Obedient and nurturing, Cyclo is one such spaceship; she’s been a second mother to Hana, the girl who shouldn’t exist. Hana’s mother grew her in a test tube and has reared her secretly on board the ship all this time. The day she’s supposed to finally be introduced to the rest of the crew, Hana wakes up to find that they’ve all disappeared – she is the only one left, on board a Cyclo that’s slowly dying.

The flies are already settling onto the carcass in the form of a team from ReCOR, the spaceship company who grew Cyclo. Enter Fennac, Portia, Gammand and Miki. All convicted felons, they’ve agreed to carry out ReCOR’s objectives on this death mission in return for money being provided to their chosen beneficiaries. They weren’t expecting to find someone still left on board. And yet there she is: Hana, trapped and alone, meeting other human beings for the first time. And the last – when the ship dies, they all will too.

Until the 40% mark, I’ll be honest – the pace is a bit slow, and I thought more than once about DNFing. But then the book abruptly takes a nosedive straight into And Then There Were None territory. AND IT IS AWESOME. Crew member after crew member is being picked off – but by who? Or what? From here, it’s a fast-paced, high-octane thriller that doesn’t let up until right at the end. This book is properly scary; the implosion of Hana’s entire world is truly terrifying.

CHARACTERS

I was a bit dubious when I saw that it was dual first-person POV, but I needn’t have worried – Kang handles it like a pro. Fennec and Hanna’s styles of talking are very dissimilar. He, as befits his criminal status and greater life experience, is funny, cynical, and irreverent. In fact, he’s not just funny: he’s bloody hilarious.

Hana is understandably more reserved and uncertain, particularly at first, but she has a core of fundamental strength that enables her to deal with the breakdown of her entire world without falling to pieces. The progression from ‘girl completely dependent on Cyclo for everything’ to ‘independence’ progresses at a believable speed. The romance between her and Fennec is rapid, but they do have like a week to live. So you can’t really blame them. The only weird thing was a strange, uncharacteristic decision Hana makes right at the end, which I felt wasn’t explained very well.

The other characters are also brilliantly fleshed out. No thin side characters here! Portia, Gammand and Miki all have their own motivations and backgrounds. Love them or hate them, you have to empathise with them: if they don’t complete their objectives before they die, ReCOR won’t pay their beneficiaries. It’s easy to understand why they’d be willing to crush anything that gets in the way of them finishing their mission before Cyclo blows. Even if that thing might be Hana.

I don’t want to give too much away, but Cyclo is a character in her own right, and it’s far too easy to empathise with her too.

There might be murders, but there is – to a large extent – no villain here.

Unsurprisingly, considering most of the crew is comprised of aliens, there is diversity galore. Hana was engineered to have Korean ancestry; Fennec tells us that he’s 'a little bit Taiwanese, German, Spanish, Japanese, and Senegalese, last time I asked my parents.'

WRITING

No real complaints here. Kang’s quick-fire style is well suited to keeping the tension ratcheted up; the flowery romance language was a bit harder to swallow, but oh well.

Also, this book was unexpectedly profound. It mused on a wide range of topics – death, obviously, but also choice, and independence, and loneliness. But it was never preachy, which helped it pack an even bigger punch.

If there’s one YA book you’re going to read this year, make it Toxic.

Love it!

A fast-paced action-packed, romantic, sci-fi adventure that grabs hold of you and does not let go.

Once again I want to state these opinions are my own, and I want to thank Netgalley and Entangled Publishing for allowing me to read Toxic by Lydia Kang. Toxic would not be possible without the creative thoughts of Kang.

I had really high hopes for this book, but they fell very short in the first hundred pages. The idea Kang had for this novel is very cleaver, but it was poorly executed.

First off, I really don't like Hana; she is needy and weird. I couldn't find a connection to her or the other characters. Most of the background was of Hana, Fenn, and Cyclo. The only person who really interested me was Fenn, but his background/history was played on repeat. Fenn isn't a very deep character, but I appreciate the thoughts he has and his depressing past. Moreover, the reason why I didn't like the charters were the fact that they lacked any depth to them. They were all just there on the ship waiting to die.

The plot... Dear Lord. The plot would have been amazing if Kang would just stop with the scientific terminology most people don't understand and the lack of character connection/build between the characters. THe way Fenn and Hana fell in love wasn't realistic or logical. Hana has this child-like nature to her and well Fenn is a thief. It somewhat grosses me out how Hana is just falling so fast for Fenn when this is her first interaction with people. Also, the fact that they actually "do the do" makes it extremely creepy; I don't know how Hana can automatically go from being this shy little naive girl to knowing or not being embarrassed by sex. I mean even people who are experienced still get nervous and embarrassed. I'm just not loving the personality dynamics in here. The plot was also completely predictable with what was going to happen in the end. The ending felt like a cliche "cherry on top" kind of ending. "Oh yay everyone will live and Cyclo may even live on, even thought shes a murderous space ship!" Not the sequel I'm really looking for in books right now.

Ultimately, the book need serious work on both the characters and the plot. Both which are key elements to a novel. Once again I want to say these opinions are my own, and I'm sorry it took so long to get back on the review. I was really struggling to finish Toxic, because it was so boring and predictable.

Cheers, Lovelies.

Fenn and his crew of mercenaries are on a one way trip to gather critical data on Cyclo, a sentient biosynthetic spacecraft, which is dying. Their contract with ReCor, the company that builds ships like Cyclo, states if they can complete 90% of their mission before they die with the ship, a substantial death gratuity will be given to whomever they wish. Fenn doesn't want to die but his sister needs the money for her medical bills.
When the crew boards the ship they discover it wasn't abandoned as expected. Hana, a sixteen year old bioengineered human who was created and kept secret from the crew, was left behind. As Fenn and Hana's feelings for each other grow, they explore ways to keep the ship functioning in order to survive this ordeal. Time is running out, tensions are high, and then a crew member is found murdered...Cyclo knows who the killer is but she's not telling. Someone or something is trying to sabotage their assignment and kill the crew in the process. Fenn and Hana must try to discover who is behind the murders before it's too late.

Toxic is an intense YA sci-fi fantasy about a crew embarking on an impossible mission in which everything seems determined to kill them. I really enjoyed the unique characters, especially the non-human crewmembers. I didn't really care for Fenn or Hana's characters as they felt a little juvenile for 17/18 year old's, with Hana it makes sense, but that doesn't stop them from trying to cram every romantic/sexual experience into the few weeks they have left to live. Be warned...the novel does incorporate some pretty graphic and violent content. Overall, I felt this was an exciting and entertaining novel with some mystery, thrills, romance, and a few surprises as well.

Thanks for the early review copy!

I recommend this novel to fans of young adult novels. It was well-written and interesting novel.

Hana isn't supposed to exist. She's grown up hidden by her mother in a secret room of the bioship Cyclo until the day her mother is simply gone along with the entire crew. Cyclo tells her she was abandoned, but she's certain her mother wouldn't leave her there to die. And Hana isn't ready to die yet. She's never really had a chance to live.Fenn is supposed to die. He and a crew of hired mercenaries are there to monitor.When I started reading I couldn't put it down.Lydia Kang is magnifysent writer.I cannot wait to read more of there books.Keep up the great work.You should definitely read this book.Can't wait for the next book.