Not a bad book by any means, it just didn't engage me enough to praise it. The protagonist is somewhat dull and immature, and the plot is thin. Some good ideas are here, but as a whole, it just doesn't work that well.

At first I was hooked by the blurb a war veteran in espionage world, but then after reading this book I realized this is not for me.

The main character is somewhat contradictive a bad ass heroine but with fragility that doesnt add up. It irked me, because the characterization is not as strong as I expect to be.

I'm struggling to finish this because I can't connect with the character. However thank you netgalley for providing the arc.

One heck of an entertaining and intense ride... Fast, entertaining, suspenseful and action-packed… you will find yourself flying through and it will be hard to let go before you reach the final page…It's a scorcher!’

From the very beginning, the reader knows we are dealing with an exceptionally monstrous human being--a sociopath whose hubris knows no bounds. Thankfully, the author provides us also with a remarkably strong female protagonist. Such an individual is required if anybody can stop this "Mad Scientist." Knowing this is set in the near future increases the tension and keeps the suspense ratcheted up.

The most popular and decorated soldier from the global terrorist war is bored in peace. The military will not send her out on any more missions. I liked the book and the plot.

I didn’t really go into Clouds and Earth with any preconceptions. I know I fancied a bit of sci-fi and this was showing some of the tropes. It also had a heroine who screamed badass, had the word ‘espionage’ somewhere in the blurb and also had a cover that kinda reminded me of the Matrix. I liked the Matrix. So I decided I’d give it a go. A window into my sophisticated book buying process there.

Clouds and Earth started quite well

Somebody gets beat up and killed. We meet a taciturn director of some secret project (sci fi loves a secret project). And then we see our heroine - Sandy Attiyeh - destroying the competition in a sailing contest. Sandy is the only surviving member of a regiment that was wiped out in the Long War (aren't they all long?). She’s now the poster girl of the military. A token symbol that they throw out at cadet events in order to inspire the troops. A flawed female Captain America. She attends the occasional glam dinner as well, before retiring to her quiet life which features waking nightmares and drug-induced torpor. Yes, behind the laughing, stubborn ex-soldier sailor girl is a woman on the edge.

I think I was aware that Clouds and Earth wasn’t a classic when I was suddenly a good 60 or 70 pages from the end and realised that not only was there not a lot going on, but I didn’t actually care for the main character either. What was worse is that I felt like I should have done. She suffers from PTSD, is suicidal and the only activity which has any meaning for her is sitting by a bedside, waiting for her comatose soldier buddy to wake up. She’s a walking tragedy which should automatically qualify her for my sympathy.

Alas, no

Instead, I varied between indifference and a sort of mild irritation. And it wasn't any one thing - it was a combination of things. Her liking for cosmetics, for one.I know, I know - bit harsh having a go at a woman for caring about cosmetics. But it's less about using them, it's more about the meaning that she attaches to them. She admits to herself that she likes how she looks at some fancy dinner she attends, remarking on how she is a 'better' version of herself, as if cosmetics alone can make you 'better'. I'm sure there are plenty of people who do believe that, but I'd like to think that a war hero who has presumably seen humanity at its very worse, would have a real appreciation for what's valuable.

It just doesn't add up

But it doesn't have to either. There's no reason why she can't be this way, it's not wrong. It's just a little facet in her makeup which together adds up to 'meh'. There are instances where she seems a bit sulky, usually in her confrontations with her commander. She's also thoughtless - one major stunt showing little regard for the paranoid culture that predominates in a post-war world. And she takes a job with a guy who practically embodies the words 'Don't take me a job with me you absolute lunatic!!', purely because she enjoys the idea of a little espionage (I READ about espionage, I don't practice it, so don't judge me. The closest I've been to espionage is having the last Oreo. And I was caught).

I don't dislike her

It's just that there's not much TO like. And if I'm indifferent to a main character, automatically we've got a problem. Sandy's not the only character, but she is the lynch pin, and the story revolves around her to a large extent. We're introduced to other subsidiary characters, all hovering around the benchmark known as 'just about interesting'. Two cadets called Massi and Natalie form a sort of parallel storyline microcosm thing which I don't wholly understand the relevance of, as they barely have anything to do with the main plot (I assume that a sequel is going to flesh this out). Natalie is brilliant, if a little cold, while Massi is a sort of would-be Schwarzenegger - all brawn and not a whole of brain. He is the more likeable of the characters though. Not exactly Prince Charming, but he has a sort of everyman-like quality and his journey shows far greater development.

As for plot ...

Do you ever read a book, get to the end and can't for the life of you figure out what actually occurred? Clouds and Earth is that sort of book, made all the worse by a character I couldn't get on board with. The main thing though is the plot or the seeming lack of one. Sandy doesn't do all that much initially, apart from enjoy the odd social occasion, moon over coma boy and whinge to the military about how she doesn't have a job to go to. Massi and Natalie are in training, seemingly interminably. It's hard to figure out what the point of the whole thing is. The end cliffhanger didn't surprise me or shock me  - and only served to cement an indifference that had already been building.

There are some saving graces. But together, Clouds and Earth is just a little bit so-so. A particular action scene with Massi is probably the most exhilarating part of the story and even felt a bit Hunger Gamesy.  But other than that, I wasn't all that gripped, and there was practically nothing in the emotional stakes either, apart from one flashback scene which didn't do any favours when it came to liking Sandy but was notable for the power and shock value. The only real reasons that I finished it were a commitment to feedback and ... well, I hate not finishing books. Only 5 have beaten me. This one wasn't so bad that it was going to be one of them.

Summary

All in all, Clouds and Earth isn't a bad book, it just isn't particularly good either. With a sullen and immature central character and a dull, thin plot, there's not a lot to be invested in and the promise of a sequel didn't stir me at all. If you're keen on science fiction and especially future world science fiction, you might have something for you here. Otherwise, I'd give it a miss.