Series: Sanctuary #1
Published by Simon Pulse (7.24.2018)
Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult
Format: eARC, 480 pages
Source: NetGalley
Kenzie holds one truth above all: the company is everything.
As a citizen of Omnistellar Concepts, the most powerful corporation in the solar system, Kenzie has trained her entire life for one goal: to become an elite guard on Sanctuary, Omnistellar’s space prison for superpowered teens too dangerous for Earth. As a junior guard, she’s excited to prove herself to her company—and that means sacrificing anything that won’t propel her forward.
But then a routine drill goes sideways and Kenzie is taken hostage by rioting prisoners.
At first, she’s confident her commanding officer—who also happens to be her mother—will stop at nothing to secure her freedom. Yet it soon becomes clear that her mother is more concerned with sticking to Omnistellar protocol than she is with getting Kenzie out safely.
As Kenzie forms her own plan to escape, she doesn’t realize there’s a more sinister threat looming, something ancient and evil that has clawed its way into Sanctuary from the vacuum of space. And Kenzie might have to team up with her captors to survive—all while beginning to suspect there’s a darker side to the Omnistellar she knows.
My thoughts
Fall down seven times. Get up eight.
Holy crap, this book was awesome!! To be honest I didn’t know what to expect going in – I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it or not, and after seeing it pitched as compared to the Darkest Minds, I was skeptical. Surprisingly, I was blown away!!
I wasn’t too sure in the beginning, though – I wasn’t a huge fan of the writing for some reason that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. But the premise was super intriguing – a prison for teens with superpowers?! It had a very X-Men feel to it and I wanted to know more. However, I didn’t get super hooked until THINGS started happening. And let me tell you, it was SO CREEPY!! I loved it so much! When the breach happened it had an amazingly disturbing Alien feel to it, and I was HOOKED! After that I was 100% engrossed in this book. There were certain scenes where I was all
and I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN! I had to stop 100 pages from the end because um, sleep, and it killed me a little bit. This book was hella intense! Some of the scenes were super freaky and bone chilling and I was totally white knuckling it, you guys. It was give-you-goosebumps eerie!! Fair warning, though: This book is gory. Delightfully so (to me, heh).
I really liked the characters! I loved Rune and Alexei, and even stabby Mia (um, okay maybe her most of all). And I was surprised by how much I connected to Kenzie. She was a good blend of weakness and strength – she was a badass, but had her moments where she kind of broke down; but given the circumstances it was pretty realistic! I love that she stuck to her guns and always tried to do what was right against all odds. She was fierce and resilient! I loved Cage, too! He was steadfast and a great match for Kenzie.
Oh and did I mention there was some great diversity in the main cast? Rune and Cage were Chinese, Alexei was Russian, and Mia was Irish! There were some POC minor characters too!
I don’t want to say much else without spoilers because I don’t want to ruin anything! View Spoiler »
This book was so cinematic! I had no problem picturing everything in my head, and it was all so convincing and vivid. Kudos to Lix for bringing the world of Sanctuary to life! It felt like a blend of Alien and Gemina with a pinch of the Flash (the show) and Contagion. Highly recommend!
Overall Assessment
Plot: 4/5
Premise: 5/5
Writing style: 4/5
Originality: 4/5
Characters: 4/5
World-building: 4.5/5
Pace: 4.5/5
Feels: 2.5/5
Cover: 4/5
Overall rating: 4.5/5
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