3 ⭐️ I wanted to like this more

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to review.

I don’t think I fully connected with the story. I can definitely see the appeal for other readers in spaces where it didn’t land for me, so please give this book a fair shot despite my 3.

I picked this book because of the premise, which is really interesting! I love a dystopian setup. For me, though, it was a bit hard to get into at first. I felt somewhat confused about how the dome society functioned in the beginning, which made it harder to feel grounded in the world. The pacing also leaned slower than I usually prefer, so I struggled to fully connect with the story.

I’ve read a few debut novels, and sometimes the writing can feel undeveloped, but I actually liked this author’s style. It was smooth and didn’t pull me out of the story, which I appreciated. I just couldn’t really connect with the story and really wanted to like it more.

A Perfect Shell by R D Hilsdon is a delightful sci-fi novel taking place in the distant future. Mankind has had to retreat into CityDome, which is exactly as it sounds, after the Outside becomes unlivable. Living in a seemingly utopian society run by The Corporation - referred to as Uncle Sal, Brighton Eventide's life takes a strange turn when she stumbles across a dead woman's body on her morning run. This mystery woman, along with meeting an enigmatic stranger Tom, starts Brighton down a path that unravels the very fabric of Brighton's perfect life. Is Uncle Sal as benevolent as he seems? Who is the mystery woman and why isn't she in Uncle Sal's database? And where did Tom come from??

This book is an easy read and I was quickly pulled in. I finished the book last night and found myself still thinking on it even this morning. I loved the morality questions it poses, specifically as things become more and more clear to Brighton. Trying to avoid spoilers, but the answers to the questions may not be as clear cut as one might think.

I definitely enjoyed this one, and will likely recommend it to my sci-fi loving husband, specifically so we can discuss together. The fact that this one has stayed with me long enough to want to discuss with him is the sign of a good book!

I'm giving this one: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

**Thank you Troubador for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own**

Full of interesting and relevant concepts, such as what price we'd pay to live in a utopia, and the place of AI in saving the environment. These questions were the heart of the book, and the author skillfully drip-feeds information and clues, withholding just enough to build tension.

There isn't much tension in the rest of the story, though. It's very slow-moving, which I'm generally a fan of, but if this had been 10% shorter, I would have liked it more. It has a cosy vibe, uncommon in dystopian fiction, but perfectly suited to the story. I particularly appreciated the theme of reforming a system rather than tearing it down.

The writing has some lovely moments, but I did get annoyed by the unnecessary use of the pluperfect tense, which made every scene feel like it started with a flashback. Picky, I know, but it was done soooooo much!

3.5 ⭐⭐⭐

I was intrigued by the concept of this story and the title, and there are some interesting questions the book explores, particularly in relation to AI which I really enjoyed. I also liked discovering answers to questions along with the protagonist, Brighton, as well as other details about her world and experiences in Citydome as the story progressed.

In saying that, it did feel like there was something missing. Perhaps it was that some of the characters felt a little flat and I was wanting more from them. I also found the pace to be quite slow as well. This isn’t normally something I would mind but it wasn’t until at least a third of the way through that the story seemed to pick up the pace. That being said, I was interested enough to stick with it and I’m glad I did.

The way Brighton questions her world and Uncle Sal and how deeply entrenched AI is in her world, really reflects our own world and the increase of AI in everything and the difficulty in spotting and living with it. While it is a dystopian fiction set in the future, elements like this do hit close to home as it is something very real today. Even after finishing the book a few days ago, this has really stuck with me and I’m interested to see what R D Hilsdon writes and releases next!

Thank you to NetGalley and Troubador for the advanced reading copy.