shannonmiz
I have enjoyed all the books I have read by Trisha Leaver and Lindsay Currie. I was thoroughly creeped out by Creed, had tons of feels from The Secrets We Keep, and freaking loved Sweet Madness. Please keep those in mind, because those are great.
Hardwired and I... well, I don't think we connected. Maybe we didn't have a lot in common, maybe I just wasn't stimulated by its dinner conversation. We didn't have chemistry, and while I didn't hate it or anything, but we won't be going on a second date.
In fairness, it may make someone else very happy.
The concept is really quite intriguing. The thought that there was a way to predict violent and aggressive behavior is definitely an issue that would be polarizing, and I loved that I was able to really think about my thoughts on it. I enjoyed the main character Lucas and his roommate/friend Chris. I loved that in spite of this awful situation, they were able to really be there for each other. It was a solid male friendship in a genre that is sorely lacking solid male friendships. And, even though none of the characters were physically with their families (as you'd expect being locked away in a "treatment" facility), they still thought about their loved ones and the families became sort of "off-screen" characters, if you will.
The book is definitely fast-paced, with a lot of action throughout. The end was particularly exciting, and I was unsure of how it all would end, so that was a plus. And the action was a good amount, never overwhelming. I was interested, but not lost.
So this is all good, right? What was my problem? This is the hard part. A lot of why it didn't work for me was simply that it didn't, which I know is an awful reason, and I am sorry I can't explain it better.
But I can explain some of the things. First, the whole accident scene (not a spoiler, it's in the synopsis) seemed so unlikely and convenient. The synopsis is also a bit misleading in one part: Where it says "forced off the road by a group of radicals intent on accessing the facility and exposing it's dehumanizing practices", what it really means is "one random girl and a ragtag bunch of people she kind of knows are going to try to get her brother out". Which may not seem like a huge difference, but when I think a "group of radicals", I am thinking that they are trying to overthrow the entire process, maybe with some social commentary and poignant reasons why none of this is okay. But nope. Just that one dude. I'm not saying they thought it was okay, far from it, but they were certainly not making that their mission.
And when Carly and company entered the picture... well, frankly, I didn't care about her. I empathized for her situation, but her character did nothing for me. On the rare moments I wasn't completely apathetic about her, I was irked by her. I wanted more Lucas and Chris, and less Lucas and Carly. Carly was also young (younger than Lucas and Chris, at least) and her "plans" were rudimentary at best, yet all these people (including some actual adult people) were willing to just blindly follow her? And Lucas and Chris, who'd finally escaped the horrors of that place, barely hesitated in jumping right back in. Obviously, because that one random guy they never met? I mean, I guess it shows that they are good people and not the monsters that this genetic test makes them out to be. But, after that kind of experience, it would take some pretty selfless people to voluntarily throw themselves back in.
Bottom Line: I think if you like a fast paced book with exciting action sequences, this could really work for you. But I was hoping for more of the morality piece, world building, and character connections, which I didn't quite get. I will say that these authors are still going to remain auto buys for me, this book just wasn't for me.