Not a fan of the writing and inconsistencies. Nothing major, but could have easily been spotted and fixed. A Honda turned into a Toyota halfway through the book, a blog is discussed between two characters then suddenly one of those characters is surprised that the other reads the blog.. Just minor things that got on my nerves. Otherwise the book could have been really good.

I think this book was one of the first books I requested on NetGalley. Unfortunately I did not finish this book and haven’t gone back to it. I will do my best not to go on a book request spree. Thanks to NetGalley and Lost Island Press for the ARC.

2 kids on opposite ends of the social ladder go missing, and the rumors fly. This book was surprisingly gripping. Capsule is definitely a cool concept. I loved the idea of this fully immersive, magical, nonsensical game that only our main characters know about. I'm still deciding how I feel about the mystery surrounding it, but the more I ruminate, the more I think the novel ended perfectly.

4.5 I was thrilled to get this book for a honest review and I have to say this book was a gem. It has many unique elements .The ideas were up to date and it gave me black mirror vibes.
I highly recommend this book.
Modern Technology
YA thriller
Wish this book got more promotions

I really liked the game aspect of this book and the friendships between the characters and the development between them all. This isn't really a thriller as I was expecting but did handle the topic of grief really well and made me feel for all of the characters.
This also had such a satisfying ending which I wasn't expecting.

This was my first book from Mel but I definitely want to check out more.

3.5 stars

This book deserves all the stars for such an original idea, I've personally never read anything like it. Absolutely loved the real life video game component and the beginning was so well set up with the mystery of the two missing teens.

The memories and the mystery itself were a little too mushy for me. I was just looking for action and the story turned out to be very emotionally driven.

I did just want to mention something about the writing itself. The author had this habit of using the parents' last names, when referring to them from the POV of their kids, instead of using "mom" or "dad".

For example:

"She couldn’t remember the last time Mr. Mendoza had ever been openly frustrated with Jay" ---- should read "her dad".

"Jay looked at Jackie, wondering what her reaction to Mr. Mendoza’s suggestion would be." ---- should read "their dad's".

"The only users she followed were Jay, Mr. Mendoza, and a few classmates from middle school." ---- should read "her dad".

It was just something that I found quite strange and it jarred me every time it happened, so I thought I would mention it.

Overall, a very enjoyable read.

This was a great, fast-paced read that I didn't want to put down! The events of the book take place in one day, and I loved that the writing was solid but the pace fast so that I could read it in a day as well. I think this book will be great to recommend to young adults trying to get into reading!

I really liked this book and what I liked about it was that I loved how the book drew me in. The book tells a really good story about the characters and what they are going through. It was one of those who what when why and how. I gave it five stars because it was one of my favorites to review and I had an amazing time reading it. So, thank you for the chance.

Capsule is a quick and easy read that draws you in from the first sentence and has you on the edge of your seat, frantically turning the pages to see the story unfold and what happens next, and then before you know it, you've reached the end of the book and you don't know what to do with yourself.

I really enjoyed this book. The pacing was spot on, and I loved the character's depths and how they interacted with everyone. It was such a fast, fun read, and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to get lost in a great story for a while!

Capsule is a really good book! A mixture between the movies Happy Death Day and Countdown. An app that will turn real life into a game and explore the past of the characters until the truth is revealed.

It's a book about forming friendships, about grieving and how that can either bond people for life or tear them apart. The game puts these three very different characters working together and going through some very hard times. It's interesting to see where these characters come from and their changes over time.

The ending is something I'm still torn by. I like it and also don't like it at all. There are still a lot of questions to be answered - enough for a sequel... maybe... *wink* - all ends well, but is not that simple. The game app is just like that, like a game, it's not real. And it means something that saddens me. It has a consequence that leaves a bittersweet feeling. Otherwise is a happy heartwarming story.

This book ended up surprising me more than I expected. I thought it was going to be another Ready Player One. But it turned out to hold its own. This book is filled with adventure, thrill and great character building.

Torrefranca's new novel was a highly engaging read, with some brilliant character development that led to some real emotional connections being felt between myself and the characters in the book. The social media aspect of the novel with regards to the social media game is a really clever idea, creating a sense of danger in the new age of modern technology.

[2.5]
It's an okay YA murder mystery, way too much like One of Us is Lying for my liking personally. I've seen that other people have enjoyed this one, so maybe my opinion is an outlier, I'm not sure.

*I was able to read this book with the eARC thanks to netgalley*

Given that-- I got to ~15% from when I got the book to when it was no longer available on netgalley,

The first 15% is really good-- mystery, wtf, young adult, (older/HS) harry potter fans.

will post full review on Goodreads-- and the book on netgalley expires in a few minutes, so I wanted to give my thoughts so far :)

Capsule…a mystery that draws you in and keeps hold of you until the end. Through the characters of Jackie, Kat and Peter we get to explore how our past doesn’t define us, the notion of friendship and follow them on a crazy game quest.
Jackie is known for living in her head and obsessing over gaming. She’s renowned for shying away from opportunities to interact with others, so it comes as a shock when she gets caught up in the game Capsule.
Capsule is an app that appears on her phone one day. She can’t erase it, she doesn’t remember downloading it and nobody else can see it. The app appears on the day her Head announces the disappearance of two students, Kat and Peter. These two seem to have nothing in common and the rumours are flying. For reasons she’s unsure of, Jackie decides she wants answers.
What follows is a little confusing initially, but it’s a drama that I found myself keen to follow.
No spoilers here. Some of our questions about Capsule remain unanswered but it had a really positive message about looking beyond our expectations and opening yourself to the possibility of interaction.
Thanks to the author and NetGalley for granting me access to this prior to publication.

The most original premise I have read this year. I enjoyed this novel even despite not connecting or relating to the characters at all. I don't think this even needs to be marketed to sci fi fans solely, this was a great solid thriller.

Even though this book took me a bit to get into, it was surprisingly gripping and kept me on the edge of my seat. This was such a cool, amazing concept.

My rating: 2.5/5
If I had to describe this book in a single sentence, I would explain it as "One of us is lying but Sci-Fi"
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The book hooked me in right from the beginning. The plot and the entire idea of this book is so intriguing to me. The characters are also well developed and although they can be termed as "unlikeable", they are quite realistic.

HOWEVER, I found the ending to be very anti-climactic and some questions remain unanswered. This is the main reason I gave this book a lower rating, since I'm more of a plot-driven reader, but if you enjoy character-driven books more, you'll definitely like the ending.
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Overall, try giving this book a read if you want to read a unique sci-fi novel!

5/5⭐️ without a doubt. This book doesn’t only have an amazing premise, but is also incredibly well crafted! Pieces to the plottwists are given to you early on, but not enough to predict whatever’s bound to happen, which definitely made me reread a few pages after finishing it.


An app downloads itself onto Jackies phone.
“PLAYER, WELCOME TO CAPSULE,” it reads.
Right above Jackie sees Peter Moon and Kathabelle Pike , two students who mysteriously vanished a few days ago.
“THE SUBJECTS ABOVE ARE IN DANGER. COMPLETE THE LEVELS IN TIME TO WIN THE GAME. READY FOR A CHALLENGE?”

Jackie, the gamer who uses “dude”, “bro” and “guys”.
Kat, the trendy girl who manipulates people just to feel something.
and Peter, the mean loner, who writes blog posts about people from his school—not the good kind.


Kat and Peter were pretty unlikable (in the beginning). But god, were they interesting! I looked forward to Jackie’s chapters, because she’s the one the book follows. But reading Kat being a manipulative b*tch and Peter being his mean cold self… it was extremely entertaining. Especially the way they struggled with themselves.

This book isn’t exactly about the game they have to complete. Well, that’s part of it. It’s really about friendship. God, that sounds cheesy. At the end of the book we learn that you can become friends with anyone, the most hated boy, and the most popular girl. It’s the character development for me.

I’m trying to wrack my brain for something I didn’t like about this book. They were either not important or there weren’t any, because my noodle’s empty.

originality: 5/5
writing: 4/5
plot and pace: 5/5
relationships: 5/5
characters: 1000/5

(Read the full review on Goodreads)