I did not have time to download and read this book before it was archived, so I'm unable to leave a review.

Om by Julie de Lestrange caught my attention through the book blurb, from the "inhospitable territory" subject to attacks from "an invisible enemy" leading to "an unexplained drop in fertility". From that description, I went into this book anticipating a full-on sci-fi war-like adventure parallel to the survival of humanity. The author provides an early-on foreshadowing of a civilization in dire straights, including the need for repopulation, a compromised food supply, and a center responsible for overseeing of the raising of "specimens" (akin to embryos) through artificial wombs. The description and early-on foreshadowing and explanation of the current manner in which the civilization was surviving were/is intriguing. Along the way, the storyline weaves through the lives of several main characters and there are some "breadcrumbs" left here and there that seem to point to a conspiracy theory and/or revolt. These aspects of the book also intrigued me, and when I had about 1/3 rd of the book remaining to be read, the storyline made me turn the pages at rapid speed to find out what would happen next.

That said, the first 2/3 rds of the book were a bit of a struggle for me at times. It took a while for me to become invested in this storyline and it felt like there were several aspects of the storyline that were introduced briefly but warranted additional explanation. I also went into this book knowing that it was the first in a series, so this could account for some of these aspects being quickly introduced so that they can be revisited in the future. While I enjoyed the story, and am intrigued by the idea of repopulating a war-ravaged civilization via breakthrough technology, I am not certain I'll continue to read the remainder of the series. I had to ponder on how to rate/review this book because for the mast majority of the book I was thinking this would be a two-star read for me. The last third of the book was greatly improved and made me decide to rate this book as a three-star read in the end. Because of this, I may move on to the next book in the series, hopeful that the writing style and storyline progress along the lines of the portion of this book that I was enthralled with.

I do think those who are interested in Science Fiction with a coup/uprising, survival, and/or conspiracy theory plot will enjoy this book and would recommend it to those types of readers, with the understanding that there is a lot of buildup before the "action" kicks in, at least in this book of the series.

Thank you for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

An absolute delight - I tore through this in a day. Will be contacting the authour for volume 2. Explores a war-torn society which develops embryos in artificial uteruses for most of their childhood. I was sceptical that this premise could be a way of pushing anti-abortion sentiments but the ethics of the situation were handled delicately and interestingly.

Matilda lives in he Community, a place with incredibly technology and science fighting against the terrorists from the border whilst fixing the low fertility rate problem by growing embryos. To survive, the population relies on this technology. Matilda, a researcher who works and oversees their development has to figure out why a mysterious illness is affecting some of the children but not all. But what will she find when she digs for answers and finally finds the truth?

I thought this was such an interesting plot with very good pacing and interesting world building that draws you in from the start. I never felt bored whilst reading it and I really liked Matilda as an MC and how most of the plot is based on her intelligence and the truth and the book is not riddled with romance so you can truly focus on the true plot.

The only thing I did not enjoy is that the book seemed to end quite abruptly, however I do think this is a trilogy so I know it will be continued.