Cover Image: Reclaimed

Reclaimed

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

Stars: 3.5 out of 5

This was an interesting read and it went in a different direction than I expected. What would you do to get rid of the memories of the most traumatic events that haunt you? What would you do to never have to remember then again? Would that make your life easier? Better? Would that help you start over? Or would you realize that those events are also part of who you are, and by erasing them, you erase an important part of yourself as well?

This was the most interesting aspect of the story for me. I understand that people can be so damaged and haunted by something horrible in their past that they would do anything to get rid of the memory. Even accepting to be part of an experimental treatment offered by a person whose face nobody has ever seen. Even accepting to go to a remote and desolate location where they would basically be at the mercy of that same person. I understand that the desire to forget can overwhelm the instinct of self-preservation. And when you get to the place and things don't seem quite right, or when the man in charge makes the hairs on your back stand up, you still try to make excuses, because you want so bad for this to work...

This book also raises an interesting question of whether our memories and experiences shape us as a person. That we are the sum of all the experiences we had - both good and bad. If we erase the bad, would we still be the same person? Also, how can we be certain that someone who has absolute access to your memories didn't modify something else? How can you be sure that you are still you, and that your desires are really yours, instead of implanted by a machine?

So I loved all those concepts and questions raised by this book. Unfortunately, the characters we followed through the story felt a bit flat to me. Though, I must admit that they improved by the end of the story, but for most of the book, I wasn't really engaged in their stories or their well-being. I felt slightly more engaged with Senna than the other two, but even then, it was more mild curiosity than concern.

Plus, the villain's motivations didn't particularly stand to scrutiny. What was his end-game there? Keep these people prisoners on his nice little ice world forever? Edit their memories so badly that they become no better than androids who obey his every whim? That's not viable on the long run.

Also, the technology itself was more in the realm of fantasy than science fiction. So that was a bit of a let down. And I also found that the ending was wrapped up a little bit too neatly.  There would have been a lot more fallout for the survivors after they basically accused the most influential man in the system of kidnapping and illegal experimentation. I mean, look what happens to those who go against rich and influential figures in our times - most times those lawsuits go nowhere and we never hear from the accuser again... yet the accused are still rich and thriving. 

All in all though, it was an entertaining story that I would certainly recommend. 

PS: I received a copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

DNF
I just couldn't get into this one. It wasn't bad, but I think it just wasn't for me. I couldn't connect with the main character and the technology wasn't really making sense to me. It seemed black mirror esque but I think this wold be more for someone who reads more near future sci fi

Was this review helpful?

An exciting plot, and I liked the switching between character perspectives. Ultimately it was a bit too predictable for me, but I'm interested in following this author's career further.

Was this review helpful?

This is the first book I've read by this author and I'm definitely interested in seeing more of her work. She has very unique ideas.

Was this review helpful?

I love the mashup of scifi and thrillers in this book! The concepts had me super intrigued and the more the story progressed, the more I was on my toes. I also thought the other themes of trauma were well handled and exploratory in a good way. Highly recommend if you like fast-paced reads with twists and turns!

Was this review helpful?

This is one of those books where it's definitely me and not the book. This just didn't end up working for me.

Was this review helpful?

Three strangers travel to Ganymede to undergo an experimental treatment to remove their most traumatic memories. Teen brainiac Han wants to forget his mother who died; supermodel Zurri wants to forget the stalker that terrorized her up until his death; and the infamous Senna wants to forget the cult leader who raised her and dragged her into a grisly terrorist act in space. The three have been chosen by Paxton Dunn, billionaire and “smartest man in the universe,” who shrouds himself in secrecy while living as a recluse in his isolated research facility on Ganymede.

When Han, Zurri, and Senna arrive, the research station seems loaded with creature comforts that are hard to come by on their home station (unless you’re rich like Zurri). Sure, the station feels a little claustrophobic and Paxton is at least a little bit creepy, but they’ll be done with the treatment and possibly happier than ever when they get back home, right?

After their first treatment, things get fuzzy for each of the three and Paxton gets weirder, along with his oddly stoic, cookie-cutter attractive staff. As the three guests struggle with sudden holes in their memories, they start piecing together the dangers surrounding them as their powerlessness grows with each treatment.
This book was a fun read with some great creepy vibes and an underlying foreboding pulsing through the walls of the space station that makes me want to classify the story as “space gothic.” I liked the three protagonists a lot and I loved the worldbuilding, which was a space-cyber-punk-shiny-glitz feel to it.

I was disappointed with Paxton as a villain, mainly because I prefer stories to have a heavier emphasis on character. Paxton makes bold and shocking choices that drive the plot and force the protagonists to fight to survive, which worked well for me. But I never understood what was motivating him, why he chose these particular protagonists to join the experiment, and what led him to be such an evil genius.

I liked the way the story hems in the protagonists as it progresses, to the point where I felt like the walls were closing in on the station and the stakes ratcheted up over the course of the story, all the way through a big finale. Two thumbs up for creepy .vibes in this fast-paced sci-fi thriller!

Many thanks to Berkeley Publishing Group/Ace for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

More people should be reading this book!!!
This story was told in a really unique way, I was super interested in what was going to happen with these characters the whole way! It's very heavy sci-fi, but it's also a spooky thriller and it's awesome!
I think the ending got a bit confusing, there were too many things at once and a few of the "twists" or "explanations" were unnecessary for me, because the important part for me was to know how the characters were going to handle it all.
I definitely recommend this to everyone who likes sci-fi thrillers!!

Was this review helpful?

I originally fell in love with Madeleine Roux's writing back when Salvaged came out (not that long ago, actually). And now she's bringing readers another science fiction thriller, Reclaimed, and I am all sorts of here for it.

The Ganymede compound is offering what seems to be too good to be true. They're offering a fresh start – a total erasure of all the bad memories, leaving one feeling finally and totally free. As the saying goes, what often looks too good to be true...

Yet, some cannot look away from this opportunity. Take Senna; she's gone through hell and back and still to this day faces public outcry whenever her face is recognized. It feels like the only way forward is to remove the person she used to be. To remove the nightmares of her past.

“It means we can help you,” Patron told him, offering what smile they could given their strange, alien face. “It means the technology can take it all away.”

Wow. Once again, Madeleine Roux has managed to create a novel that simultaneously punches you in the face and the feels. Reclaimed is a tense science fiction novel that raises questions of self, identity, trauma, and the limits of technology.

In other words, this book is going to make you think. It's also going to work hard to make you feel something towards the three leading perspectives, all of whom have different reasons for wanting specific memories erased.

I'll admit that I didn't like all three characters at first. It took me quite a while to appreciate their complexity. That changed before the book was done, though I'll admit the harsher and sadder parts of their story still hurt to think about. That's how you know a character was written well, I suppose.

Overall, I really enjoyed this read and found myself quickly devouring the contents. I think the thing I love the most is that it blended science fiction with horror and thriller elements, thanks mainly to how human beings process trauma. It was fascinating.

Was this review helpful?

Futuristic dystopian science fiction starts off with an excellent premise but unlikable characters, predictable outcomes, and the usual tropes made it a disappointment after all.

Want to get rid of some nasty memories? If you're lucky, you might be selected for an experimental memory erasing technology on Ganymede. The three who arrive to get the special treatment have trauma they want to forget. Senna, Zurri, and Han meet the brilliant founder and developer when they journey to the isolated, icy outpost to begin their sessions. Paxton Dunn talks a good game and his staff attempts to meet expectations while everything starts to fall apart almost immediately.

The first half of the book, told in alternating points of view, was decent world building but then the narrative falls into the typical realization and rebellion pattern familiar to readers. The Sci-Fi elements regarding black holes, etc. were a bit out there and I found the scenario way too difficult to buy into even when trying to suspend disbelief. Since I didn't like any of the characters, I really didn't care much or worry that all wasn't going to turn out OK. I love good science fiction that contains references to colonization of other planets and cutting edge tech, but this fell flat way too soon. The bad guy is a total stereotype and the rest of the characters one dimensional. Oh well. Honestly, it read more like YA/teen fiction than adult fare.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group, Ace for this e-book ARC to read and review.

Was this review helpful?

What do an ex-cult member who was the sole survivor of a horrendous accident, a model with galaxy-wide fame and a stalker who goes up in literal flames, and a teenage boy genius with complex familial grief have in common? They all have memories they want to get rid of—forever. In Madeleine Roux’s Reclaimed, three individuals stories interweave in a claustrophobic, unsettling thriller set on the icy moon of Ganymede.

After a bit of necessary setup, Reclaimed takes off running and doesn’t let up until the end. The alternating POVs of Senna, Zurri, and Han are used to great effect, as each of them have vastly different life experiences and reasons for agreeing to the cutting edge project of tech giant Paxton Dunn. Complications are introduced early and continue to snowball into a heart-pounding, page turning thriller, with some cool (if a touch predictable) sci-fi twists. Roux leans on the unreliable nature of memory, on its own and as a result of Paxton Dunn’s project, and combined with the distortion of repeated trauma, it makes for a genuinely and deeply disturbing read.

Multiple protagonists are LGBTQIA+, which is always a bonus to me. Aside from some minor complaints about the ending and misogyny as a plot device—though really, what thriller doesn’t lean heavily on misogyny as driving force (at least in my experience)—Reclaimed was an anxiety inducing, engaging, thought provoking read. Though it’s listed as a follow up to Salvaged, this novel can be read on its own. I’d highly recommend it to anyone looking for a great blend of science fiction elements with the traditional beats of a thriller.

Thank you to Ace and NetGalley for an advance reading copy. All opinions are my own.

Was this review helpful?

RECLAIMED by Madeleine Roux is a futuristic, sci-fi, dystopian story line focusing on three humans who have suffered extraordinary personal tragedies, and have been offered a once in a lifetime chance to erase the specific memories from their pasts.

Told from several third person perspectives including Senna, Zurri and Han, RECLAIMED is set in the middle of the twenty-third century, when space travel, AI servitors, VIT, and VR are the norm. Wealthy entrepreneur and self-proclaimed genius Paxton Dunn has set up an experimental lab, at the Ganymede compound, on one of the moons of Jupiter, and has contacted our three leading characters for his inaugural test subjects and specific memory erasure. All three subjects have suffered through horrific experiences, and Paxton has targeted each for who they are, and what they know but the ‘treatment’ sessions begin to reveal that something is not quite right with Paxton and his crew, and the subjects begin to lose a little more of themselves with each progressive session.

Senna is a young woman who has spent most of her life controlled by a charismatic leader, a leader who dominated and restricted every aspect of her life but like many of his type, the need for power and control outweighed the safety of his followers, and in the end Senna is the only one to survive. Loneliness and innocence ooze through her broken façade.

Zurri is a super model with an ego to match but a stalker demanded Zurri’s attention. A televised promotion for Zurri’s new line of cosmetics ensured the world watched as her stalker appealed his final challenge. No amount of facial cream will heal the pain or memories of what happened and why.

Han is a fourteen year old, computer IT wizard, but he too, lost everything to a man man whose need to control destroyed many lives. On the fast track to genius, Han may become Paxton’s protégé, but a protégé that is about to take down a man he once considered his hero.

Madeleine Roux pulls the reader into a story of what ifs and hows? What if someone or something could erase the bad memories leaving only the good ones intact? …but therein lies the problem when memories are erased, what is left behind is a gaping ‘black hole’ of nothing, and in its’ place is darkness and pain. As our three ‘test subjects’ begin to breakdown both physically and emotionally, each will come to realize that their lives are no longer under their control.

RECLAIMED is a thought-provoking and aptly cautionary tale of desperation and loneliness, power and obsession, arrogance and egomania, suffering and pain. The premise is twisted and haunting, complex yet equally easy to read.



THE READING CAFÉ: http://www.thereadingcafe.com/reclaimed-by-madeleine-roux-a-reviewexcerpt-giveaway/


GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4037351324


AMAZON. COM: https://www.amazon.com/review/R39XZ5PXTBX6JY/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv


BOOKBUB: https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/2307636529


B&N (Sandy_thereadingcafe)posted: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/reclaimed-madeleine-roux/1136466571?ean=9780451491855&bvnotificationId=23a4832f-006a-11ec-9240-12b784291ffb&bvmessageType=REVIEW_APPROVED&bvrecipientDomain=hotmail.com#review/185624827

CHAPTERS/INDIGO (Sandy_AT_The_Reading_Cafe) posted

Ibooks (Sandy sch) posted

Was this review helpful?

On the surface, Han, Senna and Zurri couldn't be more different. Zurri is a famous model; Senna is the lone survivor of a cult (famous in an unwelcome way); and Han is a brilliant young man, but a loner. But they all have one thing in common: a traumatic memory so hard to deal with that when legendary reclusive genius Paxton Dunn offers them a new experimental therapy that can remove targeted memories they jump at the chance.

From the moment they arrive at Dunn's remote facility on Ganymede things seem a little off. And once the treatments start all three of them begin feeling increasingly disconnected--not only from their memories, but even from their own sense of self. As they each begin to realize what is happening they find they must work together to escape the facility and an uncertain fate.

Reclaimed builds suspense gradually, but really picks up speed once the inconsistencies in the treatment start to reveal themselves. The meaning of the title only becomes clear at the story's climax, but it represents a triumphant breakthrough for the troubled trio. A very satisfying payoff to a thrilling psychological ride.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced reader's copy.

Was this review helpful?

This was a fun sci-fi thriller. The three main characters all have traumas that they hope forgetting will let them move on and have better futures. The traumas make them fairly sympathetic as they are all grim enough you’d need to be pretty heartless to not pity them. They are all from the same space station which is city sized. It sounds like humans occupy most of the solar system but haven’t gone further. When selected to be the test subjects for a new technology the three of them head to an isolated base where there’s just the 1 inventor of this technique along with several eerily similar beautiful women as assistants. Obviously there’s nothing wrong here and everything is perfectly normal! As the characters start having memories erased the creepy factor starts ramping up.
It’s a fast and fairly short read. They are only on the creepy moon base for a few days which keeps the plot moving right along as a thriller’s plot should go. It’s a good bit of escapism reading,

Was this review helpful?

Madeleine Roux is best-known for her YA horror books with two popular series Asylum and House of Furies, however she also released an excellent underrated adult sci-fi/horror novel Salvaged in 2019. Fans of this subgenre will be delighted to know that she has a new novel Reclaimed due out this month which furthers her brand of claustrophobic horror in space.

Reclaimed takes place on a small intimate scale introducing us to three damaged characters struggling to deal (badly) with trauma from their past who seize on the relief offered by the idea of erasing the troublesome memories to allow them to move on with their lives, unburdened by their current emotional pain. The universe that this novel takes place in is very minimally sketched out, but that’s forgivable as it’s largely irrelevant to the story—all you need to know is that this is set two centuries in the future where mankind has spread out among the stars and advanced technology is now commonplace.

What the author does well is to humanise the three main characters from the first page they’re introduced to us, making them sympathetic and easy to understand even if we can’t relate to the circumstances they’ve regrettably found themselves in. Senna is the sole survivor of a cult whose members were slaughtered by its leader, Zurri is a supermodel with a deranged stalker and Han is a gifted teenager who lost his mother in an explosive crash. It’s not hard to imagine why they would take up the invitation of a reclusive genius to visit his isolated base on a distant moon to undergo a cutting edge procedure to remove their respective traumatic memories.

Often in a horror novel, there are moments when you facepalm in disbelief at the unrealistic actions of its protagonists staying in a clearly dangerous situation for longer than reasonable. In this novel, we’re presented with each character’s viewpoint in alternating chapters and can see how they handwave away troubling signs out of a desperation to be able to function in normal life again in Senna’s case, out of a desire to not require constant debilitating self-medication in Zurri’s case and out of hero worship in Han’s case. Plus the isolation of the tech mogul’s facility is compounded by dangerous atmospheric conditions making shuttles out of the area infrequent and unreliable. Finally the very nature of the treatment they’re undergoing makes it easy to dismiss the unsettling visions they’re experiencing – of course having brain surgery could come with bizarre side effects, no reason for them to panic! Until it’s too late…

Each chapter is from a different protagonist’s viewpoint, however it’s not written from the first-person which is crucial to the great hook of the story. The main characters have memories being rewritten and experience gaps in their recall, but the reader is perfectly aware of what took place on the page, so there is a delicious horror when we are aware of something that the characters have been made to forget. The incongruity of seeing them in terror one moment and then perfectly calm and happy the next is a special kind of terrifying and sends chills down the spine as we contemplate how the trio can escape from a nightmare they don’t even know is happening.

Reclaimed is a brilliantly plotted science fiction story with an exhilarating take on classic sci-fi tropes and majorly creepy psychological horror elements. It features a strong cast of diverse characters you’ll be praying will survive and a nail-biting suspenseful atmosphere that keeps the reader frantically turning the page. Pick this one up once it’s out and join me in hoping that the next sci-fi novel from this author isn’t far away!

Was this review helpful?

One Sentence Summary: Senna, Han, and Zurri join an experimental program on an isolated moon to erase painful memories, but things stop adding up, and there’s no way out.

Overall
Reclaimed tells a fascinating story of how our memories impact us and what might happen if they suddenly become hazy and vanish. Described as a claustrophobic science fiction thriller, I felt it delivered on every front. The world was fascinating and definitely sci-fi and it, and the story made me claustrophobic. There were so many weird things going on in the dome on Ganymede that I couldn’t shake the creepy feeling and the twists and turns had me madly flipping the pages. Despite a slow start to the story, it was a quick read, though I did love the characters enough that I couldn’t read fast enough to find out what happened to them.

Extended Thoughts
Senna is the sole survivor of a deadly crash on Mars. But, more than that, she’s the sole survivor of the cult that hijacked the spaceship that was used to crash into Mars. Once, she lived completely off the grid, with no implant and no VIT device that literally keeps track of one’s life and offers endless entertainment. Now she’s infamous, and desperate to get rid of the trauma and horrendous memories.

Han is a fourteen-year-old boy with a high IQ who worships reclusive genius and billionaire Paxton Dunn. Ever since his mom tragically died, he’s been desperate to forget the last message she ever left for him. And Paxton Dunn might have just the thing to help him.

Zurri is a successful model everyone knows, though that doesn’t mean she’s immune to trauma. On her rise to fame, she neglected to form certain boundaries, boundaries that will come back to haunt her in a most horrific and public display.

Targeted by Paxton as potential test subjects who can benefit from his unique invention, he invites them for tests before finally inviting them to the distant and dangerous moon Ganymede, where they will live in close quarters with just a handful of other people. There, they will undergo a procedure to remove the traumatic memories, but, no matter how desperate Senna, Han, and Zurri are, they can’t shake the feeling something is very off.

Reclaimed starts off slowly, with most of the first half being not much beyond set up and getting the characters into one place. But, once they’re all in the dome on Ganymede, the claustrophobic part of the book description comes into play right away. From there, the story spins away wildly. The distrust was almost palpable to me. Right away, I started to get suspicious, but part of my mind was afraid to speculate. Still, I found some threads kind of frayed and others kind of forgotten. At the end, I felt only one character really got any closure, leaving me wondering about the others and how the experience really impacted them.

The characters were the big standouts for me. Even though how the reader is supposed to perceive them is set up right away, I still found them fascinating. Senna, Han, Zurri, and Paxton were so different from each other and had some interesting connections to each other that I felt drawn into their web. I loved the diversity from the mousy blond girl to the black supermodel to the Asian teenager who all held a piece of the puzzle and formed a close trio no matter how Paxton tried to change them, though I wish there had been more focus on the impact of the truth of how some of them were connected. It was fascinating, though, to see how they seemed kind of jerked around as they underwent their treatments to remove unwanted memories. I liked how they retained the core of their characters despite all the things being done to their brains, but I do think the edges could have been softened a little so it didn’t feel like it stuck out so much.

Reclaimed tells an interesting story of three people desperate to have certain memories removed, until they are and suddenly something feels like it’s missing. I loved the strange push and pull of them wanting to remove memories and freaking out about the empty spaces. It seems to want to shine a light on how our memories make us who we are and how, no matter what, we’ll still want to hold on to them no matter how painful. I’m fascinated by memories and how our past experiences shape us, so I really enjoyed how the story played out, despite feeling there were maybe a few too many loose ends.

The one thing that really disappointed me, though, was how the memory removal science-y, tech-y stuff worked and what powered it. I am not a science-inclined person, so my forays into science fiction are carefully plotted. I expected some explanation I could barely follow, but ended up disappointed with how, well, kind of out there it was. There is some science basis to it, but I haven’t the first idea to how it actually works. The whole mechanism ended up feeling kind of like a cop out to me. A suitable explanation that did add an interesting layer, but overall felt a little too simple. Though I did like the creepy edge to it.

And Reclaimed is creepy without being too creepy. There’s something odd about the dome and the reader is introduced to it right away. The words are carefully put on the page and the characters lead the readers on, hinting without overtly saying. There’s a very eerie feeling, though not enough to keep me awake at night. Just creepy enough for me, I suppose, and I scare easily. I loved how the dome immediately made me feel claustrophobic and isolated. There’s more weirdness the longer the characters stay, but the dome itself was fascinating. It felt both entirely mechanized and somehow also breathing on its own. It definitely takes all needs into account, but I also couldn’t shake a watched feeling.

Despite a slow start, Reclaimed does tell an interesting story that does offer some food for thought for readers. Once the story got going, the pace picked up and I found myself flying through the pages. I wish more of the story had been focused on it, though it was also interesting to get the backstories of Senna, Han, and Zurri. Overall, a fast science fiction thriller with really interesting characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a review copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

Was this review helpful?

Reclaimed is a fast paced and exciting story that asks a pretty tough question: Would you have traumatic memories removed if you could? And what would be the cost?

I was invested from the start by the premise alone. Because how can the reader not ask themselves that question? The participants in this particular "treatment" have all undergone some seriously life-altering (in the bad way, of course) events, and the ensuing trauma is making it hard for them to live their lives. So when they're presented with the option of basically just slicing out the bad stuff, they're game. But the thing is, if something sounds too good to be true? Yeah, it probably is.

Senna, the main character, understandably wants to rid herself of the memories of her space cult (yes, space cult, love it) and its tragic end. The other two participants are dealing with equally harsh life events in which they have lost people close to them, or been harmed. I really felt for them, trying to navigate a very invasive futuristic world where privacy is nearly non-existent, and nearly every person in the universe knows of the events that are destroying them.

The atmosphere is incredible, and from the start, you just know that something is "off", and that the rich guy who is offering to provide solace is probably not as advertised. The problem is, of course, the characters' memories are being messed with, and nothing is what it seems. I read this book so quickly, as I was eager to find the answers, and it did not disappoint!

Bottom Line: An exciting and thought-provoking adventure, I definitely enjoyed and recommend Reclaimed!

Was this review helpful?

If someone told you they could take away your most painful memories, would you let them?

For Senna, Zurri, and Han, the choice is clear. Senna is running from a traumatizing shuttle craft at the hands of a cult leader; Zurri witnessed the death of her former manager—and stalker; and Han seeks to escape the guilt that comes from hearing his deceased mother’s voice every day. But as the three undergo the memory-erasing procedure, they begin to lose more than just their tragic moments. Is it a side effect of the technology? Or is there a more deliberate, and sinister, hand at play?

This book was so, so stressful. I’m going to go right ahead and say that I’m not usually upset by content warning topics in books, but this one was super intense in a way I can’t even really articulate. So if you are sensitive to themes of sexual assault or manipulation, definitely stay clear!

I very much got the sense that this book was a metaphor for the ways that women’s voices are frequently erased by powerful men and their vast resources. In that capacity, I really appreciated its message. The combination of a sci-fi world with such a feminist and relevant take is something I haven’t seen done before.

As for characters, for the first half I disliked pretty much all of them. Except for Senna who was just kind of ~there~ (which made me feel for her given her background). Zurri just came off as a diva, Han was SO cocky, and I could tell pretty much from page one what was going on with our tech overlord Paxton. However as the story progressed, I think most of them got nicely developed, and appeared much more human. I do wish we got some of that complexity earlier on though.

I also need to thank this book for making me realize that futuristic super techy utopian sci-fi worlds just aren’t for me. Unlike in other books, this one had a world and technology that didn’t confuse or overwhelm me. It seemed throughly explored, well written, and had good background. But at the same time, it didn’t wow me, and I think that’s a me problem. Therefore, I would recommend reading some reviews from other people who DO typically enjoy this specific brand of world building in order to fully get a sense for how it was done.

For my own personal enjoyment I would give this book a solid 3.5, but if any of what I described above is in your wheelhouse, for sure check it out!

Pacing: slow-medium
Intended audience: Adult
Content warnings: sexual assault, assault, death of a loved one, cults, stalking, manipulation

Was this review helpful?

It's a 4 ⭐️ for me!

This book follows our MC who has had a traumatic event happen in her life, and thus signs up to undergo an experimental procedure that will take away the bad memories, or so she thinks...

This was such a fun sci-fi! I really liked the mystery aspect and the atmosphere the most over everything! There was not a ton of world building, but the world building we got painted a vivid, futuristic world that I could see being our society in the not-so-distant future.

I really enjoyed getting the three different POVs for this book as well. It kept me on my toes, and it was cool to learn about the two others in the experiment and how they related to our MC.

Overall, a really great book! I would say the ending was a little guessable, but it was a fun time getting there and definitely left you questioning what could happen with the characters if the story ever did continue...

xx
-Christine

Was this review helpful?

I liked this book! With the MC Senna being scapegoated for something that was not her fault, she hides for a year with a friend. Lonely and feeling like a burden, she applies to be part of a cutting edge program designed to delete your worst memories. As soon as she and two other patients go to the remote treatment location on one of Jupiter’s moons, things start to get really weird!

Listen, I love me a bananas book and this totally qualifies. Senna knows something is wrong pretty early on but she’s there for a reason and she’s determined to finish this thing out. She’s super vulnerable and I felt like reaching in the book and grabbing her out a few times. It’s like watching a trapped bird and dying to open the window for her.

Once you start getting the awesome model and fellow patient Zurri involved though, things really get interesting. Zurri takes no shit from anyone, I seriously loved her. Sure, she’s kind of meant to be brash and spoiled but I liked her the best, a strong woman will always get my vote.

The third patient, Han is just a teenage boy and I didn’t connect with him as much but he’s still an important part of the triad.

I don’t want to spoil anything so I’ll just say that this books is creepy as hell, atmospheric, maddening and entertaining. If you are a fan of movies like Annihilation or Ex Machina you’ll like this.

Thank you to @netgalley and @berkleypub for my gifted copy of Reclaimed!

Was this review helpful?