This Cruel Design (Mortal Coil, #2)

by Emily Suvada

Where can you hide if you're running from yourself?

In bunkers and strongholds across the world, people are celebrating. There's a vaccine to the virus that has ravaged the planet for years.

But the celebrations won't last for long.

The vaccine isn't working. The virus is evolving. Catarina - genehacker, reluctant warrior - must find the one person who can help her. A man who is guilty of unimaginable crimes.

Time is ticking, she only has three days before shadowy gentech corporation Cartaxus will use lethal code to wipe out every person on the planet's surface.

Kill the hosts, kill the virus.

Forced to question everything she knows and everyone she trusts, Cat discovers that the biggest threat of all may be buried in her own mind.

The end of the world is approaching. Can she stop it?
__________

'With a backdrop of amazing science and technology, This Mortal Coil is a smart, page-turning thriller that gave me chills. I couldn't put this book down.' - Laini Taylor, bestselling author of Daughter of Smoke and Bone.

'I can't remember the last time I was so hooked by a book. Relentlessly paced, expertly plotted, and with a romance as tense and as captivating as her wicked twists, Emily Suvada has crafted an unputdownable story. I loved every terrifying page.' - Stephanie Garber, bestselling author of Caraval.

'This Mortal Coil redefines "unputdownable." A thrilling, exhilarating read that's crackling with intelligence. Compelling characters and and incredible twists come together perfectly - I loved this book.' - Amie Kaufman, bestselling author of Illuminae.

• ISBN10: 0141379286
• ISBN13: 9780141379289
• Publish Date: 1 November 2018 (first published 30 October 2018)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Penguin Books Ltd
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 448
• Language: English

Reviews

I remember really enjoying This Mortal Coil when I read it a few years ago, I kept meaning to pick up the next book, but life happened, and I spent a few years not reading at all. Now that I'm back in a reading a phase, I want to catch up on the book series' I've started but never finished.

This Cruel Design starts off immediately after the first book left off, and starts with a bang. The first 25% is all action, plans changing, meeting new characters, new objectives. I liked it, it was interesting. Until we hit about the 30% mark, it slowed down a lot in my opinion. The character's objective was to do this one task (don't want to mention it in case someone thinks it's a spoiler), but I felt like it kept getting delayed because other things started happening.

Usually you would think this would be propelling the story forward because there's so much action, but for me, it felt like it slowed it right down to snail's pace because the characters weren't able to complete their original goal. So over the whole book, they keep trying to do this one thing, but other things keep getting in the way of that.

It made the pacing feel real slow, and I actually got a bit bored, I was worried I was going to DNF it at one stage, but I managed to push through. I think this happened because the whole book was only set over a period of a few days or a week, and I usually really dis-like it when the timeframe is so short like that. It's never enough time to feel satisfied with the events that take place in the story, in my opinion.

The pacing felt slow until 80% in, then all of a sudden everything ramped up and SO much happened in that last 20%. It was crazy. If only it had all happened at the 50% mark. I remember thinking this about This Mortal Coil too, that a lot happened in the last section of the story and had a slow middle.

This book ends on a freaking cliffhanger. And it is such a great cliffhanger. So great in fact that I'm really glad that the last book has already been published because I am definitely starting that book immediately. I can't think of anything else right now except needing to know what happens next. I need to know. There's no way I'm going to be able to read and focus on another book!

I've rated This Cruel Design 3 stars however as the middle of this book was really dull for me, and to be honest, a few other things frustrated me. One was how naive Cat was, and also how good she was. You know how some characters are just really frustrating in a story because they act all high and mighty and must always do what's right and refuse to accept anything other than that outcome? I felt like that was what Cat did. It was frustrating because she never listened to anyone else and never tried to see any other people's point of views. She also just seemed really… slow? I felt like I was connecting the dots way faster than she was and wasn't really surprised by quite a few reveals. But perhaps that just means the red herrings in the book were far too obvious.

I also found it frustrating that a key point of the conflict in this story was a lack of communication and honesty. Cole feels like he's been relegated to a character that's just there in this story to be the conflict. I never felt any real connection between him and Cat, and maybe that's because he doesn't really play a part in this story to be honest. Lack of communication is the most annoying thing when it comes to conflict. If the communication had been there, Cat wouldn't have made so many of the decisions that she did which drove the story forward, so it was frustrating that the story relied on the lack of communication to drive it forward.

The ending of This Cruel Design really did save it for me. I thought I would finish this book and never pick up the last book, but now I'm reading the last book immediately, and I have a feeling I will fly through it.

This Cruel Design was okay! The technology was still really cool. The outbreak and the virus were fascinating to read, and a lot of the discussions about it felt very relevant to the current pandemic happening in the world. So it was interesting comparing the story to real life to be honest (without the military ruling the country, that is). I definitely think it suffered second-book-syndrome, though. Fingers crossed the last book will finish the series off on a high.

[Kelly]

Mind. Blown.
Review to come.

[kalventure]

"If there is a design that underpins us, Catarina,then it is cold, it is violent, and it is cruel."

One of the biggest surprises that I read in 2018 was Emily Suvada's debut novel This Mortal Coil. I've shouted about this book countless times and shoved it in the hands of many of my friends so they too could have their hearts broken experience this amazing book for themselves. My Twitter mentions are full of people screaming at me, and it brings me immense joy like the Slytherin that I am. Suffice to say that I was anxious & terrified to see what is in store next for the characters that I have come to love would be a drastic understatement.

Just when you thought everything was over, the story seems to have only just begun. The plot thickens for our group: this is a solid continuation of the series and the story is plotted intricately well. Reading the overarching storyline of the series is like a play broken down into three acts, and Suvada plotted it very well.

For those of you that have already read This Mortal Coil, you already know what to expect from Suvada's writing. The stakes have been raised and I was on the edge of my seat while reading, devouring every word as I tried to piece together what the heck was going on. I didn't know who to trust and honestly my heart couldn't take it.

I will admit that this book took a bit of time for me to settle into. I first tried to read this one shortly after publication as a This Mortal Squad buddy read, but I fell behind on the first day and waited a couple of months for my expectations to calm tf down. I picked it up again for another group read in January with Sam & Soph because I forced the series on them and now they wanted to read it with me. Huzzah! Same thing kind of happened... we all just kind of didn't prioritize reading it for about a month. But once we did find the time to all sit and read together through the first few chapters we were hooked. Even though this book has a bit slower of a start, it still brings the chapterly (is that a word? it is now) revelations and WTF bombs and the slower pacing at the beginning is worth it.

My favorite part of this installment in the trilogy is the exploration of the relationship between Leoben and Cat. Suvada is masterful with character development, and she does an excellent job in this book to bring more life and mystery to each of the characters. Everyone's shrouded in mystery and secrets. Everyone's past is a bit blurry. And I trust no one. (But I really want a t-shirt with a squid on it.)

At its core, This Cruel Design lies at a crossroads where Cat tries to figure out what makes her her and where the ethical line to genehacking and modifications lie. I love the ethical and moral dilemma of technology and science, so I really appreciated how this kind of takes center stage in the book.

"You are not your face, Catarina. You are not this body, either. I could take either of them from you, theoretically, and you would still exist. You don't have blood in your hair or broken fingernails. You don't have any hair at all. The entirety of you weighs a little over four pounds."

"If you drive a car, you don't become a car. You're always just the driver. Don't buy into the vehicle of your own flesh."

Cat is very much torn between who she believes herself to be and the person of her past that she cannot remember, and the plot is centered on that uncertainty. On whether or not the ends ever justify the means.

Overall, while the pacing of This Cruel Design was a bit slower for me to get into this was an amazing read that lived up to the glory of the first book. The stakes have been raised and our characters are all trying to do what they feel is right; right or wrong are both justified here and makes the reader question their loyalties. I absolutely love this series and will continue to shove it at everyone who will listen to me. THIS WILL BE MY LEGACY!

[bookishzelda]

Wow...so wow. This Cruel Design is an amazing sequel to This Mortal Coil but I almost wish I had written my review while reading. So much happens!!!!! So much!!!! Again Emily Suavada takes on a journey that is fast paced and interesting.

Crap...okay. There is no good way to talk about the book without giving away too much so I’m not going to delve into the plot too much. We pick up right where This Mortal Coil leaves off and Cat is trying to reconcile all that she has learned with all that she knows. Yet she knows there are still so many more mysteries about herself and Lachlan that she has to uncover. As well as, understanding where Jun Bei fits into everything. When it looks like the virus might not be as dead as they thought. The characters are once again on a course to save humanity as they know it.

So we do meet some new characters that bring some perspective on the past lives of the experimental children. As well as fill in some missing pieces for Cat. Again I really like how these stories explore different ideologies about merging tech into our lives. From one spectrum to the other. How far are you willing to be modified? I liked nothing was forced on you as being wrong but let you see why people chose the different ways to live. It was super interesting.

Again I love how Suavada makes what could be confusing topics, coding and DNA, and makes them easy to understand. I never felt like I was lost or confused. I could follow the thought pattern to what each person was trying to accomplish.

I love the writing and I love the story. I don’t know how I’m supposed to wait for the next book. Not after everything that has happened. I felt a little thunderstruck at the end, but in a good way. Like, wait, what?? I’m so excited to continue on.

[shannonmiz]

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

You know that super rare feeling where a sequel is as awesome as the first book in a series? Where it doesn't suffer from that "second book slump"? Such a unicorn, right? WELL. It happens here, friends! After the amazing twistiness that was This Mortal Coil, I was kiiiind of unsure if the author could replicate such amazing plot twists and surprises. Could she keep the characters developing and still likable? She sure could, and she did!

Sequel reviews are hard, because you don't want to give away anything about the sequel of course, but nor do you want to give anything away about its predecessors. So I am going to talk, in the vaguest of terms, about the junk I loved:

• •More information on the post- (and pre-) virus world. Lots of details that I was yearning for in the last book have come to light- and I know there are more to come. The author manages to give just enough information to satisfy, while still leaving you excited for whatever she throws at you next. And I love it.



• •Not only is there character growth, but relationship growth. Cat has to redefine a lot of how she sees herself after the events in the last book. But she also has to transform, grow, rebuild (and in some cases, begin) lots of relationships. I loved watching how the characters navigated all the changes, and all the new things they themselves learned about their world and the people around them.



• •Incredibly high stakes. It's the sort of series where no one and nothing feels safe. At any moment, the rug can be pulled out from under any character it seems, and so I was always on the edge of my seat, hoping for a good outcome, but terrified for the worst. Definitely tons of good tension.



• •Again, I was so shocked by so many things in this book! Honestly, I am hard to shock at this point. So when the author somehow manages to do it over and over, and in really quality ways that make sense in the story... it's impressive, to say the least.

Bottom Line: Someone give me book 3 immediately. Please? Waiting is hard.

[Beth C.]

Well...now that I've recovered (somewhat) from my book hangover, I can say - WOW. This book is awesome. There will be a longer, more complete review coming from vampirebookclub.net!