I really liked this book! I gave this a 4 star rating.
I found this a very character-driven book, however I would've liked some more depth to them and some more exploration of the relationships.
The world and atmosphere was enough, however, I really like world-building and even though it was clear that this was the future, I found it hard to imagine the world in my mind. I really liked the AI and sciencey stuff but maybe would have liked some more descriptions of objects or cities.
I did really enjoy the writing, I really liked that every chapter ended with an article or a Wikipedia page. That kind of compensated for the lack of world building for me.
The plot could have been a lot better because I honestly didn't really care about it a lot. I thought this book was more about the characters and how each person had their own opinion about men and what happened/should happen to them. I found it really interesting to think about who I would relate to most. So even though I didn't find the plot very interesting, it was compensated for me. This is also why logic got a pretty high score, as it's hard to not find logic in the thoughts of actual people. As the author said, there's nothing in this book that can't actually happen to us, so that makes it a lot easier to relate to them.
Intrigue and enjoyment were both pretty good, as I never really had the feeling I didn't want to continue this book. However, a stronger plot would've made this book even better.
Overall, this was a nice read which gave me a lot to think about!

[I got an audiobook arc from NetGalley]
[I used G from Bookroast's rating system called CAWPILE to rate this novel. For more information, visit her YouTube channel.]

I liked the first half of the book, where they describe the world, and Athena tries to figure out what is going on and why she was summoned to help find the missing genome. Then at some point the book turns into a wild proclamation on how all men are bad and only want to rape and kill, with more and more long passages on the subject. The actual choice from the title was to resurrect some maybe modified men, or to throw away all the research and maybe modify women so they wouldn't want men anymore. The author couldn't decide for himself, and it didn't really feel like Athena herself was up to the decision.
The mystery part was subpar, with the supercomputer sending clues to Athena in the form of dreams. They did make three men but hold them in a dream state? Why?! Creepy massage implants, anyone?
I listened to the audiobook version. The narrator was mostly OK and easy to follow, I liked how each of the characters was given their own voice.

I received a digital copy of the book from NetGalley

This to me was such a poorly written book, I found it to be a little problematic and as such I had a problem finishing this audiobook..

This book is a wild ride of a book for 2020. There has been a worldwide pandemic that killed all the men of the population. Would a Matriarchal world be better than a patriarchal one? Although an Amazonian type society look like? Well for the next generation there hasn’t been enormous changes. Teens still do what teens do—chat online, use Wikipedia and struggle with plans of the future. Women have been the only survivors for decades the next generation is coming into its own. Project Y is attempting an experiment to bring men back and a saboteur has stolen the scientific materials. Athenas been wrestling with thoughts, feelings even dreams curious about men....now she’s been brought into the criminal investigation by the all-knowing AI that Is the “unbiased” overseer of society. This is an excellent book that explores many philosophical issues about gender and sex without being preachy. The Narration was very good. I think she did a great job with so many female characters creating unique and distinct voices.

I requested this book to review through #Netgalley and leave review freely.

It is the year 2099 and all men are dead. There was a Y virus that killed them all. But now some of the women want to bring men back and have a Lazarath genome that they are doing research on.

Someone as stolen the Lazarath genome. Athena, as been having strange dreams and the AI that lives in their world, has said that Athena can help find it. She goes with the special police to help find out who has taken it and why.

I thought this was strange to ask a random person to help out in a police investigation but went with it. Their first stop is to talk to the doctors who created the genome and all their contacts. Athena's dreams seem to be telling her where to look for answers, which was also strange, but it all becomes clear in the end.

There were a few shocking moments that I wasn't expecting, and really like how things were revealed to us. The last few chapters were really gripping.

3.5/5 stars.

Athena's choice by Adam Boostrom. Narrated by Alex Ford.
I liked listening to this audiobook. It was different as it was set in the future. I liked Athena's character. I liked the narrator too. Different but good. 4*

Very interesting premise but it ended in just good expectations... I'm a bit disapointed about it. It was entertaining but I was expecting so much that ended very fast in a simple adn weird way. Yeah, the word is disapointing... and not believable

DNF @ 50%.

When I read the synopsis of this book I thought it would be right up my alley. Future dystopian world where the male race is wiped out by a fever pandemic, um yes please! BUT.

I kept wanting to enjoy it but just couldn’t get into it. This book seemed so scattered. There were too many timelines for me and I found myself confused about which part I was in. There was also news articles scattered in from additional years. And it was just too much. At 50% I still had no idea where the story was going and I hate to DNF a book but I couldn’t put in anymore time with this one.

Audio edition reviewed. Narrator Alex Ford credibly and clearly voices multiple characters, including the non-human ones, and maintains a good pace for keeping the story moving with good pacing.

I enjoyed the author's depiction of the world, and North America in particular, in the year 2099, with flashbacks to mid-century events. The technology in genetics and sensory implants, interactive communication, transportation, use of 3D printing for an individual's on demand food and clothing production were intriguing and within the realm with what I could imagine exists by that point in time.

The choice entrusted to Athena is connected to the entirely female world population's struggle to decide whether to resurrect human males, who were wiped out decades earlier by a targeted virus. In news flashbacks and through 2099 conversation among influential scientific and governmental leaders, we hear pros and cons that reflect our present day and historical perspective of the role of men in society, business and in interaction with females.

It is difficult to imagine expressing my opinion in an age where the world is still dominated by males, however the impassioned arguments put forth by characters in the story gave me much to consider. I recommend the book for that point, and also for depicting the envisioned technology as a backdrop enhancing characterization and plot.
#NetGalley, #

The premise behind this one really intrigued me so I gave the audiobook a listen. The narrator was okay, but I wish I would have read this one instead. I had a lot of trouble getting in to this one and the flashbacks and timeline changes were really confusing and difficult to follow when listening. I remember parts of this book but if you asked me to tell you about it, I couldn’t. I would maybe give reading this one a try if I was in the mood in the future. This one gets 2.5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thinker Books for the audio version. Narrator did a great job giving each character their own voice. The book itself takes you for a ride into the future.

A great story but not what I expected. I found this to be different from what I’d imagined it to be but still just as thrilling and felt suspense that they experienced.

This book really took me by surprise!! The storyline was totally shocking and intensely compelling. The futuristic descriptions and inventions were mesmerizing and thought provoking on their own but to have a nice plot and captivating characters was a true treat!!! Athena Voss is a teenager in the year 2099 who’s really trying to find herself, she’s feeling like she hasn’t contributed and wants to be an artist but that is still just a dream. All the men have been gone from earth almost 50 years, killed off from a virus, and a project to bring them back has Athena right in the middle and she isn’t sure what is happening!! Athena has some hard questions to answer and some interesting data to process..will she bring them back???#NETGALLEY#ATHENA’SCHOICE

3 stars

I thought this book was okay. First, let’s start with the narrator. I thought that she did a good job at portraying Athena as a character and she made all the women sound different with different accents which was a plus. The problem that I had was more of the book itself. I don’t know if this was because of the fact that I didn't have a physical copy, but I was confused most of the time that I was reading it. The ending felt rushed and didn't feel complete, though I can assume that that is what Boostrom was going for (the incomplete part, not the rushed part.) Other than that, I enjoyed all the characters as a whole. I thought Athena was an interesting character and that Valerie was very enjoyable to read about.

I received this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Athena's Choice is a novel that depicts a utopia or dystopia, depending upon your point of view (or possibly your gender). Set in the far future, the world has spent decades without men after a mysterious Y-Fever kills all males and a far smaller number of females. A young woman named Athena Vosh becomes drawn into a criminal investigation when the security around the Lazarus project, which is dedicated to reviving the males of the human race, is breached. Athena has been having odd dreams or visions, with of all things, what seems like a man, sending her information about the Lazarus Project and its lead scientist, Dr. Grace Antares. This is particularly odd because Athena is an artist, not a scientist, and she's a teenage girl.

Cutting back in forth in time, we see the evolution of the Y-Fever events, and the lives of Grace, Athen’s lover and friend Nomi, and a police investigator, Captain Valerie Bell, who enlists Athena's help after being directed to her by an AI called the Core. (The Core meets with Athena and maddeningly tells her that she has something to tell her but can't tell her unless Athena knows what to ask.) First, Valerie and Athena look into the breach of the Lazarus Project at the Helix research labs, and then, ultimately, Nomi helps Athena unlock a huge piece of the Lazarus and Y-Fever puzzle. And like I said, utopia? Dystopia? It's hard to say.

Some aspects of the book are rather fascinating such as the idea of Happiness Profiling, which plugs into people's brains and figures out what would soothe them or bring them happiness. The inventor of the method was horrified with the results. Let's just say that men and women are made happy by very different things in Athena's world. That said, I wish all the characters had had greater depth to them. The book is a slender 278 pages, and I think with a bit more length, we could have explored characters like Grace, Eve, and Valerie to build a richer story. There were also other aspects of the book which were too simplistic for me, however. Namely the fact that the book takes a very, very binary view of the world, and also doesn't take into account things like chromosomal variations. What if a man is XXY or XXXXY? What about XO women? What about trans individuals? (It also neglects any depth of discussion of sexual orientation, which most evidence points to as being biological and which affects brain development.) The book had a subterranean Minority Report feel to it, in which people are judged guilty before they've actually done anything. It's also interesting that this view of a feminist world is written by a man. Boostrom certainly gives us a view of a skewed feminist utopia. What is the cost of utopia? Is utopia ever real? A thought-provoking, if imperfect, novel.

Alex Ford does a fine job narrating the audiobook, adding dimensionality to the characters.

I received a Digital Review Copy of this novel from the publisher via Edelweiss, and on audiobook from in exchange for an honest review.

Athena’s Choice
Author: Adam Boostrom
Narrated by: Alex Ford

The story:
The story is told from Athena Vosh’s point of view and is set in 2099. 50 Years ago, an experimental virus wiped out the entire population on men from the planet. There is now a project in place to bring men back. This story debates the value of men, their purpose and mentality. The story is very thought provoking…. I enjoyed the tale however the ending was extremely disappointing..

The narration:
I thought the narration was clear and set at a good pace. Easy to listen to and understand.

3* from me.

First this isn't my type of story.
Very different about the future and a world without men .
Finished it but a took a while wasn't really a story more sci-fi.
Narration was okay but some of the voices didnt sound right.
Voluntarily reviewed.

Great read with an interesting premise. This book joins the best of speculative fiction with the page-turning suspense of a classic detective novel. The characters are credible and engaging.

This book had a very engaging storyline. The idea that a human-developed virus could wipe out the entire Y-chromosom population (yep, that's the entire male population) had me hooked immediately. It was also an interesting story direction to build a world without world hunger and war once all males had been eradicated (feminist idea to the extreme?), especially given it was written by a male Author.

Awesome world building, realistic AI design, and great moral conflict idea. It was a page turner with good story pacing, I really wanted to know what would happen next. The mystery element was also captivating, especially at the start. As the story unfolded, the plot twist got more and more predictable to me (because I read too many Mystery & Thrillers books), but it didn't really put me off the story overall.

Writing style-wise, the Author's choice to use a character's first name and title interchangeably within the same paragraph threw me a bit (e.g. "Captain Bell did X" and "Valerie then spoke" - took a few seconds for me to realise they were the same person), but it wasn't too annoying once I got used to it.

It read like an original Netflix movie - I could picture the scenes playing in my head clearly. I'd say it would make a good introduction to sci-fi for YA readers (even though the book wasn't labelled as YA), with the more scientific aspects relatively easy to understand.

Specific to the **audiobook** version, this was a great production. The voice actress did an awesome job, distinguishing between the more ethereal voice for the AI and Core, whinge-y tone for the 19-year-old Athena, and the more mature voice for Captain Bell. One scene where this was very obvious to me was the conversation between Athena and Core #3 - I had no problem at all following who spoke the line, as they had two very distinguished voices.

Once I realised that the ebook format would have a better visual on the news articles, memory scenes, and the likes, I decided to pick it up as well. The multimedia representation was definitely better, but the overall experience was probably equal to the audiobook (again, because of the awesome voice actress). The book was greatly produced, regardless of format.

This was a great futuristic story, starting with a pandemic that we could feel we could relate because of the 2020 pandemic!
Not only was it really interesting in the way the author made us feel about what our body or our children’s may be like in the future, but it also gave a vision of women empowerment. What would you do if no men were around ever again?!
It gave a great varied perspective on the role of everyone in our current society and Athena is a great ambassador for that throughout the book.