Series: This Mortal Coil #1
Release Date: 2nd November 2017
Publisher: Penguin Books
Pages: 464
Find it on: Goodreads. BookDepository. Waterstones.
Source: I picked a copy of this up in my local bookshop.
Synopsis
Catarina Agatta is a hacker. She can cripple mainframes and crash through firewalls, but that’s not what makes her special. In Cat’s world, people are implanted with technology to recode their DNA, allowing them to change their bodies in any way they want. And Cat happens to be a gene-hacking genius.
That’s no surprise, since Cat’s father is Dr. Lachlan Agatta, a legendary geneticist who may be the last hope for defeating a plague that has brought humanity to the brink of extinction. But during the outbreak, Lachlan was kidnapped by a shadowy organization called Cartaxus, leaving Cat to survive the last two years on her own.
When a Cartaxus soldier, Cole, arrives with news that her father has been killed, Cat’s instincts tell her it’s just another Cartaxus lie. But Cole also brings a message: before Lachlan died, he managed to create a vaccine, and Cole needs Cat’s help to release it and save the human race.
Now Cat must decide who she can trust: The soldier with secrets of his own? The father who made her promise to hide from Cartaxus at all costs? In a world where nature itself can be rewritten, how much can she even trust herself?
Review
This book has been on my TBR for a while and I finally got around to picking it up. It was so fast-paced and exciting that I absolutely whizzed through it and I’m so glad I chose this one because I now cannot wait for book two.
The world building in this book is so superb. There’s so much technology and science woven into the story and it’s well thought out and explained. Although there’s plenty of tech and science speak it’s well explained to the reader and doesn’t take over the story. This was probably my favourite aspect of the book, learning more about the virus and the genetic enhancements people have made.
The book is a fair size – nearly five hundred pages – but it is so action packed that it feels like quite a quick read. The chapters are also quite short a lot of the time and that definitely made me say ‘oh just one more’ on more than a few occasions. There’s plenty of surprise twists that I absolutely did not see coming and definitely made my brain explode. I also really liked the characters in This Mortal Coil. Cat is an excellent protagonist, she’s incredibly smart, stubborn and brave.
A slight word of warning though that romance does feature quite heavily within the plot. I’m not a particularly big fan of romance books so this was the one aspect of the story I didn’t really enjoy, I wanted to skip the romance and head straight for the action and the saving the world-y situation. Despite that I really enjoyed this story, it was original exciting and I definitely need to know what happens next.



Finish your coursework: Finish the book you are currently reading
Visit the 3 broomsticks for mulled pixie wine: Read a book you can finish in a day or an evening
Sneak into the kitchen to gift dobby odd socks: read that has an item of clothing on the cover
Use your Invisibility Cloak to get to the Restricted Section of the Hogwarts Library: read a banned book




Read more than one tome:
1. Read the first book in a series:
this is one of my favourite new books. I loved everything about it and I’m desperate for more.

This is a really powerful and moving story and one that I think is really important. It’s easy to see why this quiet tale has won so many awards because they are very well deserved. The writing is beautiful and really explores what it means to belong as well as issues around race and identity. I found myself completely absorbed in this book and it is an absolutely stunning debut novel.

This week for Waiting on Wednesday I thought I would rant about how much I am dying to read The Wicked King by Holly Black. For those who aren’t familiar this is the second instalment of The Folk of the Air, the first book being The Cruel Prince. The Cruel Prince has had tons of buzz and pretty much every blogger and booktuber has said how much they love it. I read it in one sitting at the start of the year and it’s still definitely one my favourite books of 2018. I am simply dying to know what is going to happen next and so many people have received ARCS and have been given copies at events that I feel like I might be one of the few people who haven’t read it yet. This is definitely going to be one of the first books I pick up in 2019 and I’m hoping it is going to be worth the wait!
Release Date: 8th March 2018
This book is fun, clever and deals with a lot of important issues. (I mean what more could you really ask for?) Izzy is a teenager who is hoping to be a script writer when she’s older. She’s a comic and she’s hilariously funny. When a website surfaces claiming she is a ‘world class whore’ and highlights all the details of her sex life, Izzy is made to feel ashamed of her sex life and struggles to deal with the hateful comments. The book really delves into issues around slut shaming and the differing ways that men and women are treated regarding sex.
Release Date: 3rd May 2018
This book was so fun and exciting. It’s a quick read and I’d definitely recommend it for getting out of reading slumps. It’s that perfect light and fast paced story that’s perfect to while away a few hours or take on holiday with you. The concept was such a fascinating idea and Kim Curran does an excellent job of giving us the chance to get to know the five band members and Milly as they kick ass and save the world. It’s really interesting to see the characters develop, highlighting their friendships and their relationships with Milly as she joins them on the bus.
Series: The Shadow Game #1
Ace of Shades follows Enne Salta as she travels to the famous City of Sin in search of her mother. Enne is a proper young lady, well trained in etiquette and manners, but as she delves deeper into the underworld of New Reynes, she’s not sure how much of herself she’s willing to lose.

Harley Quinn: Mad Love – Paul Dini & Pat Cadigan
Dracula – Bram Stoker
Skyward – Brandon Sanderson
Glass Town Wars – Celia Rees
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald – J. K. Rowling
The Haunting of Hill House – Shirley Jackson
Girl Squads – Sam Maggs