DNF at 50%.

I did enjoy the world-building that Hollis put in the novel, as well as the focus on the political and social aspects of struggling fro human rights. There is some good allegory and thoughtful commentary. I also thought the writing, overall, was good and had a solid plot.

However, I had a difficult time following the plot line of this novel due to the numerous shifts both in time and between characters. I also didn't really like the characters all that much, which took me out of the plot more, I think. Finally, I continuously questioned the idea that 'Lumans' are somehow not human, genetically, when their enhancements were from a mechanical chip. I may have just had trouble understanding the concept, though, or maybe it would have been explained more in in the last 50% of the book.

I was not the biggest fan of the non-linear storytelling format because of how ineffective it felt. Another thing I was not a fan of was the romance, which was painfully forced and felt super rushed at the end. Overall, it was not horrible, but I would not recommend it.

In the not too distant future the world is divided among humans, Lumans and Solos. Lumans are humans with implanted neural chips which originally corrected severe childhood disorders. The chips also raised the intelligent quotient of these children. Government tracking chips have been imbedded and human “monitors “ assigned to each Luman. Solos are Lumans passing as human and not tracked by the government. 

Angela Mathers is a Luman working alongside a powerful Congresswoman. Her life long goal is to be free of government control by making sure her bill to remove the trackers, monitors and all laws imprisoning Lumans is passed into law.

Isabella Dodge is working for the agency assigned to monitor all known Lumans. Using her inside information as a Solo, Isabella walks a dangerous line by helping other Solos from being detected and imprisoned by the government. When her path crosses Angela’s, neither one of them would have predicted their attraction to the other or the ramifications of their bonding.

Unusual Minds is a complex story which demands the reader’s full attention. It is told through multiple points of view as well as moving from present to past. The chapters are all appropriately labeled so that the reader knows exactly who is narrating and where and when the events occur.

There is a depth to the novel which held me spellbound throughout. This is more than a dystopian fantasy. It is a social commentary on todays struggles for all minorities and the people with power who regard them as less than. Civil liberties for all LGBTQIA+ is still a dream in much of the USA. Lawmakers are removing the hard fought gains made over years with a stroke of a pen.

As a debut novelist, Tracie Hollis is distinguishing herself as a distinctive voice in women loving women novels. Her descriptive voice offers us a lush use of language that paints with a masterful hand. As Hollis grows as a writer, I am positive she will polish out the finer details in storytelling. I for one cannot wait to read her next offering.

I received a free advance review copy from Bella Books through NetGalley. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Good story, but very unusual. This is not a romance story. There were so many main characters in story that it was hard to keep track of them all. This was more of dystopian paranormal tale. The story was well written and interesting, but not what I would usually read. If you like Speculative fiction then I would definitely recommend this book to you. I would definitely give this authors books another try.

Unusual Minds has an interesting premise: a race of people who have been implanted with neural chips (Lumans) and who are oppressed by humans out of fear of what they can do. While the premise was intriguing, the storytelling is chaotic and very hard to follow at times. If you enjoy non-linear storytelling with many POVs, then you might enjoy this book. I think I would have benefitted from chapter titled that included the characters’ names so that we knew which POV we were jumping to. Each character also has their own flashbacks within their chapters which can add to the confusion. I did enjoy the political intrigue, but the characters were hard to connect to in my opinion. I could understand their motivations but sometimes their inner dialogue didn’t make sense to me.

edgy, epic, gritty, gripping dark sci-fi
Reading this debut novel don‘t expect the usual, don‘t seek for trite romance, don‘t look for linear, easy story-telling, don‘t hope for undiluted happiness or HEA: Enter the dark, bold, and gritty dystopian world so skillfully build by Tracie Hollis. Readers, I think, will either love or hate the edgy style of this debut author.
It took me a few pages and then I started to really love and admire the stroboscopic effect of the non-linear story-telling: The story flashes back and forth over two decades and between different characters. For me that worked after a short period of adjusting to this unusual way. I was fascinated how the dystopian world and the story build slowly up in my mind like a kaleidoscope where different pieces slowly fall into place.
There is the present day struggle for freedom for the enhanced humans („lumans“) in the US who are robbed of basic rights and are quasi indentured to the government and there is the start two decades ago of their internment: The eddies of the fateful events revolve around Angela and Isabella who stand at the forefront of the fight for freedom. The tapestry woven by Hollis is brilliant, compelling and drew me as a reader deeper and deeper into the tangled webs of Angela and Isabella who navigate the dark maze of government where lies, spying, intrigues, brute force, cunning strategies abound.
The language is rich, full of images, compelling, haunting - not many authors manage to uphold such a dense, unusual, poetic prose relentlessly until the very end. This is how the book starts: „At dawn, a torrent of rain came like a premonition, pummeling the star magnolia trees in my parent‘s yard, ripping the spring blossoms from their nurtured existence.“ Or describing „home“: „Ahead of her lay the road‘s idyllic promise, stretching as fas as her sight could see. She smelled its dusky petrichor before seeing the rush of the Mississipi glittering through the cypress trees. Angela was home.“ Or grief: „She would rather burn up, rolling in fury and fire, screaming Gin‘s name until she crumbled to ash and bone, her embers floating in the night air, drifting up to the stars and disappearing.“
The story twists, dark and luminous scenes are iuxtaposed, intertwined and flash before our eyes. The language draws us deeper and deeper into the quagmires of deception ….
I‘ll stop now and you, fellow-readers, can decide whether you want to dive into this novel or give it a pass.

Thanks to Bella Books via netgalley for the ARC. The review is left voluntarily.

2.5 stars. The premise of this book is very good, a dystopian world where chip enhanced people (Lumans) are being repressed by humans out of fear. There are various ways how Lumans and humans try to gain ground, be it by political games or underground resistance. In theory, I should enjoy this book very much. Unfortunately, the book did not live up to its promise for me, I found it very hard to read and get invested in.

The structure of the book was rather chaotic. There are many POVs, including from people that I didn’t find particularly interesting. Furthermore, all these characters had their own flashbacks and to make it even more complex, the flashbacks are not chronologically ordered and chapters were often very short. So, in the end it felt like I was constantly jumping through the story.

Another thing that I struggled with was the characters themselves. The writing felt emotionally distant so I couldn’t connect to the characters and I didn’t understand them. The romance for instance, was awkward to me, it was very fast and they both seemed to have feelings for other people at the time, but they fell in love anyway, even when I didn’t feel any chemistry between them.

There is some action and a lot of things are happening, I enjoyed the political games and intrigue, but in general I really wanted to like this book better, especially considering that this is a debut book. I think the author has good creative ideas, but I can’t recommend this particular book. I’ve seen others enjoy this better, so maybe it’s me. I recommend to read some other reviews as well.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

In 2030 scientists discover a way to transplant neural implants into children, giving them superhuman senses. When people begin to fear them, these children are imprisoned by the government in camps but some escape detection. Isabella is one of these 'solo' escapees and meets Angela, a high profile luman, in the course of her work. As they uncover a web of deceit they also develop a more than professional relationship.
The blurb sounded so good and seemed to be right up my alley but I just couldn't get invested in this story. The chapters span the course of 20 years and jump through time without warning and not chronologically. The chapters are also told from many POVs, and there seem to be a lot of characters. On top of that these characters can disguise themselves as others and take the name of the disguise in some chapters. Some of these chapters are less than 1 page and it was exceedingly difficult to keep track of the who, and when let alone what was going on. The story felt very disjointed and I wasn't able to follow it well enough to be invested in any of the characters or what happens to them. I have read many stories where a vague plotline invites a bit of mystery but when there are too many vague plotlines that are just a bit too vague it leaves the reader apathetic and I feel that's what happened here. It looks like others enjoyed this so please try it for yourself but unfortunately this one just didn't work for me.

In the near future scientists discover a way to use a neural chips implanted into newborn children’s brains to cure birth defects. Angela Mathers was born prematurely and was selected for the neural chip program. As an adult she’s extremely intelligent and cunning. She’s a Luman and a social outcast because of the chip. She’s an aid to a powerful Senator who is trying to push a bill through Congress to have Lumans human rights restored to be equal to humans. Isabella Dodge works as a government agent assigned to watch over the Lumens and to prevent humans from attacking them. Isabella has also been implanted with a chip but has kept this hidden, the government thinks she’s human as she will be killed if found out.

Angela and Isabella meet and it’s instant attraction both physically and mentally between their chips. They both have had very difficult childhoods and have developed relationships with other women. Angela’s personality is very sociopathic and she comes across as a big time user to get what she wants.
Isabella has lived in hiding her whole life and has formed close friendships with others who are also hiding their true luman selves.

Holllis has created a very unique storyline with a dystopian sci-fi theme. For a debut author it’s a great start creatively. I would have liked to have seen more character development for the MCs to get to know their feelings and thoughts better. And for the beginning chapters to flow more evenly. It was difficult to follow with the switching from present day to the past and from one characters point of view to the others’. Overall I enjoyed the book with the unique storyline.

ARC received from Net Galley for an honest and voluntary review.

2 stars

The premise was great, I just feel it wasn't executed as well as it could have been.

The time jumps and constantly shifting POVs were quite confusing - i think the chapters could do with character names to let you know whose pov it is.

The plot was very convoluted, with multiple confusing storylines going on at once and no clear point of connection - almost like completely different stories just mashed together.

I did like Angela and Isabella's connection but feel this could have been fleshed out more too.

The ending was very sudden and didn't wrap anything up at all.

I can’t decide whether or not I liked this book. It I an interesting story line and again it shows how people react to something they don’t understand. What the book did say was that the USA was the only country who regarded Lumans as less than human yet none of the other countries seemed to be making any effort to try to help change America’s treatment of Lumans, Be they right or be they wrong the USA always seems to get themselves involved in other countries government issues if they don’t agree with them and thought what was happening was wrong. So I feel the rest of the world should have been trying to be involved and encourage changes. The book ended not exactly on a cliff hanger but with some things unresolved. Does this mean a sequel? For all I can’t decide about the story, my curiosity about these unresolved issues would probably mean I will have to read it. I think it is well written and thus the author kept the story interesting so that did encourage me to keep reading.

I rarely read sci-fi. It took me a few more chapters to engage with the story, especially the time jump back and forth from the first few chapters confused me a bit. But once I learned the timeline, the story ran smoothly.

The world-building was incredible. I could tell Tracie Hollis stroking the storyline calculated and thoughtfully. The first half of the book is about Angela trying to pass the bill, but after that is where the story really begins. I love this book more than I expect, and my heart goes to Angela and Isabella. But I feel like everything is rushing toward the end, and a few storylines end without disclosure. I feel sad and lonely at the end. I wish there would be a sequel. It has to be a sequel, right?

I received an ARC from Bella Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

When it comes to debut authors Bella Books has a pretty good reputation. When I saw this one appear I figured the premise was pretty cool and it being a Bella debut author would almost guarantee success.
It definitely wasn't for me.

I'll tell you why, but first *SPOILER ALERT*. Continue at your own risk.

First, the book has extremely short chapters in varying third-person POVs and some weird time jumps. The majority of the story takes place around 2050, but we have “flashbacks” to early 2030 and beyond. The flashbacks aren't chronological and are in different POVs as well. All these switches happen without warning, and it was incredibly confusing to get into the story. I think for the first 40% I had no idea what was really going on, where the story would go, how the characters would connect, and how the storylines would connect. And BOOM all of a sudden it all connects? No.
So Angela, one of her mains is in a relationship of sorts with a married Senator. The other main, Isabelle, is in a sort of benefits thing with her ex who is engaged to someone else. They are knowingly “helping” them cheat. When Angela and Isabelle hook up for the first time they are both also still seeing the others, and they still want them after. Even though our MCs share an immediate unbreakable bond. Again, wtf? Things happen, people die, and the longing for previous partners remains. It's horrible and not fun to read.
Some political stuff happens, an uprising, Angela and Isabelle work together to some extent. It all just annoys me, to be honest. The writing is just not for me. Let me share a line with you that made me want to throw out this book.
They made love until Angela had no more questions, a foregone avalanche of pleasure leaving them in an intoxicating blur of incoherent sounds and haptics.
I mean, what is this? Who writes this? Who enjoys reading stuff like this? Let me tell you that sex scene if you could really call it that, is one of the strangest things.

This book is just strange and not in a good sci-fi kind of way. I really wish I could say I enjoyed it, but alas, I cannot. I would not recommend this book to anyone I know because the writing is just strange and the storytelling choices are even weirder.

I've read reviews that as way more enthusiastic about this story than I'm being right now, please check those out.

Thank you, Bella Books, Tracie Hollis, and NetGalley, for the ARC.

This book started slow. It got better, though. The point of view switched without any notice, which made it confusing. Angela and Isabella, the two main characters, were hard to connect to. I can understand Angela with what she had going on. The premise of the book is good. It does bring to light the political and social aspects of alienating people that did nothing wrong and the fight to give them their rights. They were alienated because of what happened to them as children.

I didn’t like the ending, but that is a me thing, nothing against the book or the author.

I will recommend this book if you like sci-fi and also a lot of political aspects. It is also a dystopia.

Creating a program that implanted neural chips in children to correct disorders was a interesting concept for a scifi novel. It had a great story that I was invested in and it worked with the scifi elements. It had what I was looking for in this type of book and I enjoyed how good Tracie Hollis wrote this.

"She read his expression as he looked around. He heard something, Isabella thought. She watched as he peered across the concrete floor past parked cars, then hurried through the darkness. Isabella followed his movement down another level into the murky underground. He slowed his pace, crouching down to study something on the ground. Then, as quickly as it had appeared, the hologram disappeared from her mind’s eye."

Overall, I found the book enjoyable, intense, and compelling. I really couldn’t put it down and found that the ending came too soon.

A story set in the not too distant future jumping between 2030s to 2050s. A top secret program took children and enhanced their abilities. But along the way they were declared non-human (robotic) and not given autonomy over their lives. Referred to as Luman’s, they are tracked and controlled as they function doing much of the work in society. Angela Mathers is working with a senator to get legislation passed that will free Lumans. Isabella Dodge has infiltrated and works for Control, the agency who oversees Lumans. But she is part of a network that helps Lumans escape and live free in society.

There is good world building and I had to pay attention in the beginning as the time period jumps back and forth. Of course Angela and Isabella’s paths will cross. But there are obstacles including people that don’t mind bending the rules to stay in control. I’m not a big Sci Fi reader but this is a quick paced read and feels plausible. Thank you to NetGalley and Bella Books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.