This review was made possible via an ARC through NetGalley

Baby X by is a speculative thriller that asks the question ‘what happens when we can make babies with anyone’s DNA, even if they don’t consent or you never met them?’

Age has become just a number in a lot of ways, with people becoming parents in their seventies and eighties and AFAB individuals no longer feeling pressured to have children before forty. Quinn is a young woman who works as a surrogate mother and is hired to carry the child of a recent widower, Lily is an aspiring journalist whose mother is in her sixties and getting ready to get pregnant again, and Ember is a security guard whose job it is to guard her famous singer employer/boyfriend’s DNA from people who want to use it to have children of their own without his permission.

The novel goes into topics like consent and women having more time to have children being a positive thing while asking questions about technology and how far it can go in regard to reproduction and the knowledge of all parents involved in regards to their DNA.

The pacing felt very strong; the book was incredibly hard to put down and the switching between POVs slowly revealed information. I would have liked a little more exploration of how this topic impacts marginalized individuals, but I feel that the book made a strong point that protections for the most vulnerable need to be put in place as soon as possible when technology advances and considered early.

I would recommend this to readers looking for a novel focusing on social ramifications for how our technology could move forward with speculative pacing and a variety of characters who are affected differently by that technology. I would not recommend this to readers looking for slower pacing or to focus more on the technology aspects of the ideas.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️- {BABY X - Kira Peikoff}

So glad I got the chance to read this ARC from Netgalley. It was addicting and the science and technology behind it made it frighteningly realistic! It seems totally plausible that 25 years from now people could be stealing DNA from celebrities or brilliant prodigies and using it to create “perfect” embryos in a lab somewhere, then selling them on the black market to the highest bidder. It was fast paced and well written. Totally worth it for thriller fans!

Thanks to @netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was a page turner and very quick read for me. good twists and turns and def all thriller.

I find this interesting because to be able to choose your babies due to genetics is so fascinating to me. in this story you will find a guard, a surrogate and a young woman trying to understand and i very much was invested in this book.

The character and the relationships fell flat for me and seemed rushed. I would recommend the book but this book had the characters been good could have been a 5 star read.

Thanks NetGalley for letting me read and review.

Let’s start off with how OBSESSED I am with this idea, the plot, the mix of science fiction and thriller. There’s nothing I love more than some grounded science fiction and this hit all the right notes. Although the focus was on the aspect of “selecting” your child from embryos and picking the ideal child based on these factors, there was a lot more intermingled that I thoroughly enjoyed. The average lifespan being in the 100s, the technology just being in this city, the retinal drones, all scratched my science fiction itch. But there were definitely a few things that made this go from a possible 4-5 star to a 3 star and that starts with the actual writing. Although I was able to eventually get past it, it felt very amateurish and clunky. I wish the editor (if they had one) focused a bit more on blending the sentences to feel less choppy. If I had picked this up and read the first chapter in any other circumstance, this may have lost me. I was able to eventually tune out from it but I do expect a little higher quality especially when dealing with science fiction, I want it to be a little more intelligent. It did read more like a thriller in this aspect but I did enjoy the combination of genres. The ending and “kidnapping” started toeing the line of unbelievable to me when everything else was so grounded and I absolutely hated Lily as a character. Coming from 3 different female perspectives, it took a while to identify them separately as they all sounded exactly the same when it came to voice. They all looked very different and that was the easiest way to tell them apart until Lily became so unbearable that she was easy to pinpoint from the others. I know those are some heavy negatives but the plot and story really did balance out those enough that I still enjoyed reading this and devoured it pretty quickly. I would definitely give this authour another shot in the future and am looking forward to how they grow as a writer.

On one hand, this was a super quick read and I always wanted to turn the page. It’s 100% a thriller. There were good twists and the premise was truly excellent: in a future where babies can be selected based on their genetic profile, celebrities have to guard their genetic material so it’s not stolen to create children. This is the interwoven story of a bio-security guard, a surrogate, and a young woman trying to understand her past. I was totally sold.

However, there were also some ridiculous plot holes that I had a hard time getting over. On top of that, the relationships between characters weren’t developed: we just jumped into them, being told that they were now in love or now best friends or what have you. Because of these factors, I found myself skimming just to find out what was going to happen next rather that being totally immersed in the story.

On the whole, while I wouldn’t *not* recommend this book, I do wish it were tightened up just a bit because this easily could’ve been great.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books!

This was an interesting futuristic premise. It is a time when parents can have their DNA expertly mixed and analyzed and grown into embryos that can be evaluated for everything from genetic diseases to personality traits, and then choose their “Selected” offspring to be born. However, just as in the real world, for every benefit, there is a darkness. This technology also opens the door for people to buy, sell and steal DNA samples from people with the most desirable traits.

The story revolves around 3 women, A surrogate, a bio-security expert and a 20-something, all part of this scientific path to family, but all with very different places on that path.

The writing didn’t always flow well, some scenes just too outlandish and others just a bit too drawn out, with no real purpose. The characters weren’t easy to connect with, and their backstory and motivations didn’t seem to come into play until the last 50 or so pages, which made for a more thriller type ending but made the rest of the writing feel a little flat.

I loved the more futuristic, technical side of things. There were plenty of twists and turns to keep the story interesting. I especially enjoyed the writer’s use of current cultural experiences extrapolated into what the future may hold, including lenses, blinks, DNA databases, and a few other.

I think people that enjoy John Marrs style of writing what the future may hold will enjoy this one as well.

In the not-so-distant future, embryos can be created from the DNA of any two people with something as simple as a saliva sample. Most pregnancies begin with the selection of an embryo with optimal genetics. But there’s a new kind of crime happening - stealing DNA from celebrities to have their genetic offspring without their permission.

Baby X follows three women who are connected to embryo selection: Quinn, a surrogate mother; Ember, who is working to protect the DNA of a famous musician; and Lily, an aspiring journalist whose mother is going through the selection process, but Lily feels inferior for being conceived the traditional way. At first it took me bit to feel acquainted with each character since they are going through different experiences, but I quickly grew to like all of them. I enjoyed the various side characters as well, and even the more villainous were interesting - I loved to hate them.

The book has a fast pace to it. Split into four parts, the first part takes place in the span of a year, and the plot gets more complicated as things continue. I’ll admit, I had a hunch about some parts a while before they were actually revealed, but it didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the book. Things were complicated enough that there were still plenty of surprises along the way.

Overall this was a really interesting book to read. It felt like a future that could very well happen and was an interesting take on genetics and how future generations could be affected. It was different, thrilling, and satisfying.

Thank you to The Quick Brown Fox & CO, Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for the free advance copy of Baby X. My review is voluntary, and all opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley and The Quick Brown Fox & CO, Crooked Lane Books for the copy of Baby X by Kira Peikoff. I don’t read a lot of science fiction, but I really enjoyed how it was incorporated into this book because so many things really seemed feasible and a little spooky. It was interesting that some issues that are hot topics now weren’t incorporated in the DNA analysis or story, and the use of some modern slang seemed out of place too. The three separate stories took me a while to get used to and sometimes I got the characters mixed up at first. I really liked how there were a number of huge reveals that I didn’t see coming, and the final one really blew me away. If you’re looking for a clever and intriguing book, Baby X is the book you’re looking for! 4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

Baby X by Kira Peikoff was a really interesting and unique story.
I thought the writing was truly fascinating and very well done.

Thank You NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

From start to finish this book is sleep deprivation inducing spectacular. A total must read.
5 stars!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC

In the near future, people eat synthetic food and travel in autonomous vehicles. The common hairstyle for older women is ringlets. People try to steal celebrities’ DNA in order to make babies….. “like getting away with murder, except getting away with births.” This is a wonderful book that reminds me of novels by John Marrs and Blake Crouch.

At the 70% mark, I said to myself, “Oh, OH, this happened……..”. I love it when I figure things out.

Highly recommended. I plan to look for other books by Peikoff. Thanks to Netgalley.

This futuristic thriller takes you on a wild ride where stolen celebrity DNA becomes the hot commodity for those craving the perfect genes. The narrative unfolds through three unique perspectives, shedding light on the dark side of a seemingly utopian reproductive solution.

Quinn, a career surrogate, Lily, an accidentally conceived child, and Ember, a bio-security guard, give you such diverse angles on the ethical dilemmas this world presents. The author brilliantly explores the consequences of a society obsessed with creating genetically superior offspring, and let me tell you, it's not all sunshine and rainbows.

What hit me hard was the realistic portrayal of parents choosing embryos based on specific talents, sacrificing their children's well-being for societal expectations. The author weaves these complex issues seamlessly into a plot filled with unexpected twists and turns.

As someone not big on sci-fi, I was hooked from the get-go. And that ending?! Totally blindsided me!

This book challenges you to ponder the ethical implications of advanced reproductive technology while serving up a gripping and thought-provoking storyline.

Honestly, I can't recommend BABY X enough! Can't wait to dive into more of Peikoff's work!

Kira Peikoff created a unique near future where any part of your DNA can be used to
create designer babies or exact revenge and expose your every secret. A thoughtful look at our own near future. Thought provoking.

I've not read anything in recent history as interesting as this one.

While I wasn't crazy about the writing, the story kept me turning the pages.

Recommended with an attached caveat emptor.



Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for the DRC

A book I didn't know I needed to read! This was captivating from the start. I always enjoy reading a book with various characters and their respective storyline (especially when they start to overlap and connect seamlessly). I thought it was very neat all the futuristic things mentioned in this book such as "selection" of your own child, DNA theft, and more. In our current time it wasn't too far fetch of an idea of how things could be by the year of 2050. Not sure what was more thrilling, the scientific advancements or the actual thriller of the book itself.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

“Your genes, your bloodline, it’s all pretty much irrelevant, unless you
inherit a serious illness. But aside from that, it’s not the big stuff. It doesn’t control what you do or think or care about, or how you treat others, or how fully you love. All that’s up to you.”

What would seem to be a utopian future solution to reproductive rights issues is pretty dark. When everyone is at the top of their game in the new society, who could possibly be advanced anymore? And,

The story centers around three points of view: Quinn, a career surrogate; Lily, a child who had been conceived accidentally instead of being “selected,” as most are now; and Ember, the fiancée of a famous musician whose DNA might have been sold to conceive a child.

The narrations show such different sides of the issue and the struggles everyone faces with a system that is meant to erase those difficulties.

The part that struck me as the most unfortunately plausible outcome of this technology is parents picking the embryos with insane aptitude in certain areas (athletic ability, scientific knowledge, musical aptitude) while having genes that would indicate serious mental health conditions or disease instead of picking the embryos that would be more average in most areas but otherwise healthy. To sacrifice their child’s long term well being for them to be “the best” at something is something that is already and has been prevalent.

The small touches of the setting were really fun to read too: smartphones are outdated and now only used by “old” people, all autonomous vehicles, 3D printed food replacing microwaveable dinners, novel treatments for previously untreatable conditions, etc.

This was a great read and I was pleasantly surprised as someone who doesn’t normally read sci-fi. Also that ending?! I absolutely did not see it coming. 4 awesome stars!

Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

I think this was truly my favorite read of 2023!!!! The world Kira Peikoff created was addicting and captivating. I always thought a jaw-dropping twist was just an expression but my jaw literally dropped at the twist. I absolutely loved this book and can't wait to read more by the author!

What an interesting read! Taking place in the future when any biologcial dna can be used to create life, celebrities are targeted by a company called The Vault who will pretty much stop at nothing to obtain what their clients are willing to pay large amounts for.

4.5 stars.
When I read the description of this book, I was incredibly intrigued by the concept - and this continued as I read the book. The idea of 'designer babies' does not seem too far fetched into todays age, which I think added to the almost creepiness of this book. I really enjoyed the different perspectives throughout the story and felt like we got to know each character really well. The twists and turns were unexpected and kept me hooked throughout. The only reason I didn't give it a full 5 was I felt like it was a little rushed towards the end, but I still enjoyed it thoroughly. If you like mystery/sci-fi books, this will definitely be for you.
Thank you NetGalley and The Quick Brown Fox & Co for the ARC.

Let me start by saying that sci-fi is not my typical genre, but wowza this one blew me away. I thought the futuristic aspects were so interesting and thought provoking. I think about how far we’ve already come with the use of DNA, that you do wonder where can we go next. I honestly can’t imagine being able to choose all of the characteristics of my future child down to the mannerisms and professions they may have. We are introduced to the Vault. Yes, it is as scandalous as it sounds. The Vault is a place where famous people’s DNA is stolen to be used to make eggs and sperm and is sold at a very high price for those who would like to choose where their child(ren) come from. Did someone say Brad Pitt? There are a few storylines to follow that keep you enthralled and invested in this novel. If you want a book that makes you think to yourself “Could this really happen?” Or “Would I do this if I had the chance?” This is the book for you. My mind is clearly changed on my view of sci-fi thanks to this book. I want to thank Netgalley, the Publisher, and Kira Peikoff for approving me for this book and changing my entire thought process around what books to read.