Disruption (Disruption, #1)

by Jessica Shirvington

What if a microchip could identify your perfect match?
What if it could be used against you and the ones you love?

Eight years ago, Mercer Corporation’s M-Bands became mandatory. An evolution of the smartphone, the bracelets promised an easier life. Instead, they have come to control it.

Two years ago, Maggie Stevens watched helplessly as one of the people she loved most was taken from her, shattering her world as she knew it.

Now, Maggie is ready. And Quentin Mercer – heir to the M-Corp empire – has become key to Maggie’s plan. But as the pieces of her dangerous design fall into place, could Quentin’s involvement destroy everything she’s fought for?

In a world full of broken promises, the ones Maggie must keep could be the most heartbreaking.

• ISBN10: 0732298105
• ISBN13: 9780732298104
• Publish Date: 20 June 2016 (first published 24 March 2014)
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 19 December 2023
• Publish Country: AU
• Imprint: HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 410
• Language: English
• URL: http://harpercollins.com.au/9780732298104

Reviews

[shannonmiz]

You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight
4.5*

You guys know I am a sucker for a good dystopian, right? Of course. But note the emphasis on good, please! Which this book is. On the surface, it does seem a bit... "typical". Maggie is trying to save her father from a really awful corporation who is basically repressing a bunch of people. So I can see your concerns, I can! But it isn't cookie cutter. In fact, Maggie knows how downright stupid (and probably futile) her goals of getting her father back are, she just doesn't care. Maggie isn't really having a great time of things, she doesn't have any friends, and her mom and brother just wish she'd move on with her life.

But alas, it would have been a really short book if Maggie shrugged, said "eh, okay" and they sat down and ate dinner or something. I don't even know what to say without spoiling stuff, so I am just going to tell you what I liked about the book (and then yes, my one teensy issue with it).

Things I Loved:

• Maggie is a great character. She's kind of mean, and snarky, and isn't so great at the "getting close" to people thing. But really, she's not as unfeeling as she'd like everyone-  and herself- to believe. She always thinks the worst about herself, and while she doesn't always make the best choices, she isn't an evil person.


• The secondary characters are fabulous. Maggie is great, but Gus and Quinten (and even the lesser characters) make the book so much more enjoyable. Maggie's head isn't the most fun place to be, so the banter and the jabs and the humor from the other characters lighten the book up in a really believable and appealing way.


• There were definitely a lot of twists I didn't see coming! I liked too that when I realized what was happening, it made total sense in the story- my mind just hadn't gone there yet! I am being vague, because spoilers, but I love when plot twists are super authentic to the story- and these were!


• There's romance, and my goodness, I shipped it! Like, so much shipping. It's a slower romance, but perfect. I like when a romance doesn't take over the characters' lives, but just builds them up to be better versions of themselves, and this was so swoon-worthy while doing just that!


• Mount Weather! As always, I love excuses to fangirl over The 100, and in this book... Mount Weather and the tunnels are a focus from like, Chapter 2. The funny thing is, these books both came out around the same time, so it is absolutely just a happy coincidence that I can relish in and provide you GIFs of.
  Anyway, I love the setting- it allows the book a perfect amount of shady business and "real world" society. The setting is in the future, but not overly so. The technology is slightly different from today, and of course more advanced, but it's based off of stuff we use today so it felt very believable.


• The story moved SO quickly! I was shocked at how fast I read it- and the sequel, even faster! I just couldn't put the book down, eager to find out what was happening next to Maggie and company!

And what didn't I? Well, a few parts were a bit predictable. Not many, mind you, but a few. It's really the only thing stopping me from giving it a full five stars, but it's close!

Bottom Line: This book was fast paced and enjoyable, with a cast of characters and romance that I adored. So much, in fact, that I had the next book shipped from freaking Australia. So if that doesn't say it all, I don't know what would.

[Cocktails and Books]

This review was originally posted on Cocktails and Books

Jessica Shirvington is one of those authors that I often trip over myself to get her books. She won me over (wholeheartedly) with the Violet Eden series and now she has me on pins and needles waiting to see what will happen in this Disruption series.

DISRUPTION takes something as simple as a microchip and turns it into one of those not too off in the future horrors that we all hope will never happen. On a disturbing level, the government has bought into a huge company's ideals about using microchips to control and monitor it's citizens. But there is one teenage girl who hasn't bought into what the rest of society seemingly has. She determined to find her father and piece back her family.

Maggie is hard. She doesn't show a lot of emotion. And she's willing to blackmail people to get them to help her however she needs them. But the sad thing is, she's alone. The stress of training, plotting and searching takes it toll on her. She doesn't want anyone to see it and she does well at hiding it. But the reader can sense it and knows at some point and time she's going to need to start leaning on someone. That someone ends up being a person she wants to use in her quest. The youngest son of the man who started the use of the microchip. Quin is so much more than Maggie ever planned on.

As Maggie discovers, Quin is perfect for her. He balances out her crazy, fly by the seat of your pants attitude. He listens to her, argues with her and takes care of her (even when she's not at her most lovable). Even when Quin discovers the circumstances of how and he Maggie ended up "together" he was still trying to protect her. That is what I loved about this couple. Maggie opened Quin's eyes to a lot. He knew what type of person she was and understood she'd done some less than stellar things, but he saw beneath all of that to who she really is. The toll of what she was doing. And Maggie saw the real Quin. He was more than the privileged, playboy youngest son of Garrett Mercer. He was someone she would risk everything for.

This was an absolutely thrilling read that left me on the edge of my seat. I look forward to seeing how Maggie and Quin fair when CORRUPTION comes out in January 2017.

[Sarah Says]

Disruption (#1) sucked me in hard and fast. I wanted Maggie to succeed in her mission, all the while wishing more for her and her family. This books gives us blackmail, bad guy bullshit and sassy bitch brilliance. Maggie is a strong young woman that is not to be messed with. Maggie has worked hard to build up the skills she needs to succeed and she radiates a powerful darkness, but as the reader we get to see past the mentally disconnecting and physical conditioning she has created as her Armor to the real Maggie underneath, the broken soul who just wants to put things right. This book delivers us all the big game players, even if it doesn’t reveal all their true field positions. There is a big plot twist late on and a cliff-hanger that will have you needing to get your hands on the next book.

[Ashley]

I liked it a lot!

* Cool, scary tech. It was really interesting to imagine it being real.
* Nice, forbidden romance.
* A girl who kicks ass (but also kind of uses and manipulates people lol).

Maggie ("Mags" :D) was one of my favourite parts of the book. She was such a driven, but flawed character. Her determination was insanely admirable. In some ways I wish I was like her. I hope I would be like her and dedicate every fibre of my being to saving someone I loved.

But I like how her plan to save her dad wasn't clean or innocent. There were casualties. She had to blackmail people and screw them over along the way. So yes, she loved her dad so much that she'd do anything to bring him back, but she was also kind of an "ends justify the means" kind of girl. I liked that about her because it made her interesting and gave her something to really struggle with.

I sort of wish it was a standalone, but oh well. Hopefully it's only a duology and not a trilogy. As much as I really enjoyed the book, I don't think I enjoyed it enough to want to spend three books on it.

I'm definitely disappointed I don't have the second book though. I definitely could have moved onto book two immediately! This one was a quick read.

[Kelly]

http://www.divabooknerd.com/2014/07/disruption-by-jessica-shirvington.html
Disruption was brilliant. Following the story of Maggie, who'll stop at nothing to free her father from injustice by bribing and blackmailing those around her, a mission she's been working towards since her father was taken two years prior. Quentin plays a pivotal role in gaining access to the Mercer run pods, where Maggie believes her father is being kept. The only way she can recruit Quentin, is to offer to manipulate the eighteen year old into believing he too is a Negative, which would all but destroy his life, his family and find himself being detained. Throughout the storyline, we see Maggie begin to struggle with her deception as she begins to see that there is more to the heir of the M Corporation.

Maggie is incredibly sassy, tough and street smart. I loved her interactions with Gus, a technical expert which she is also blackmailing. He loathes her and longs for her demise, but as non compliant as he claims to be, he's somewhat of a trusted friend. If only Maggie could see how important Gus is. Quentin is an incredibly likable character, down to earth, passionate and although he doesn't realise hes being manipulated, he's incredibly trusting considering he feels he has nothing left to fight for. As the two teens explore the world that Quentin's father has created, the horrors and unjust treatment of those who Quentin believe were once in his position, brings the two closer together, learning to lean on one another. That ending? When it seems all is lost, a glimmer of hope left me wanting, no needing, more.

Not only is Disruption superbly written, but the storyline is explosive, the characters engaging, underhanded but still incredibly charming. This is my first Jessica Shirvington read, and it was phenomenal. I love my dystopian young adult and Disruption is one of the best I've read.