Book Review: Beneath (Rebirth #1) by Ariel Sullivan

June 14, 2026April 14, 2026 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Dystopian Romance
Length: 464 pages
Author: Ariel Sullivan
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Release Date: March 24th, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Hundreds of years before the Illum ruled supreme, humanity risked everything to rebuild after a devastating war in this explosive dystopian romance and prequel to Conform.

Twenty-three-year-old Sasha Cadell knows time is running out in the underground city, filled with survivors of the nuclear fallout six years ago. She works in the Expansion Sector, trying to escape the memories of those she lost. Her bleak existence is upended when Tristian Hayes, a stunningly handsome, frustratingly determined commander of the Force, recruits her to join him and his elite team of soldiers as they embark on a secret mission to the surface.

Sasha is thrust into brutal training with stakes far beyond mere survival. The fate of the remaining humankind depends on their success—or failure. As she confronts her own demons, Sasha finds both allies and foes in the training program, as well as a sizzling attraction between her and Tristian that threatens the walls she’s built around her heart.

But under the surface, secrets and deception run as rampant as illnesses. And not everyone will survive the rise of a power more terrifying than anything they’ve ever known.

SO THIS WAS GOOD??

I liked this more than Conform y’all! It did not feel like a 16 hour audiobook. It flew by and was incredibly engaging.

The romance had a unique set up that I fell in love with. They are literally in each other’s orbit from the get-go and I think it allowed for all of this delicious push and pull tension and wondering when they were going to snap. I love these two and can’t wait for more of them.

And I’m hooked on the found family. The high action moments they go through together, trying to save each other, creating deep bonds. It’s all there and I love them all.

The twists and reveals were awesome. I was shocked in the best ways and I have many theories now. I had no idea there was a spin-off series coming and it was so worth it to pick it up!! I think you can get away with reading this book first before Conform as this is a prequel series starter and doesn’t involve those characters.

Overall audience notes:

Dystopian romance
Language: low-mild
Romance: 3-4ish open door
Violence: high
Content warnings: loss of life, blood/gore, injuries, physical altercations, weapons violence, mentions of war, epidemics

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Book Review: Upgrade by Blake Crouch

August 9, 2023August 16, 2022 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★
Audience: Sci-Fi
Length: 352 pages
Author: Blake Crouch
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Release Date: July 12th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

At first, Logan Ramsay isn’t sure if anything’s different. He just feels a little . . . sharper. Better able to concentrate. Better at multitasking. Reading a bit faster, memorizing better, needing less sleep.

But before long, he can’t deny it: Something’s happening to his brain. To his body. He’s starting to see the world, and those around him—even those he loves most—in whole new ways.

The truth is, Logan’s genome has been hacked. And there’s a reason he’s been targeted for this upgrade. A reason that goes back decades to the darkest part of his past, and a horrific family legacy.

Worse still, what’s happening to him is just the first step in a much larger plan, one that will inflict the same changes on humanity at large—at a terrifying cost.

Because of his new abilities, Logan’s the one person in the world capable of stopping what’s been set in motion. But to have a chance at winning this war, he’ll have to become something other than himself. Maybe even something other than human.

And even as he’s fighting, he can’t help wondering: what if humanity’s only hope for a future really does lie in engineering our own evolution?

Intimate in scale yet epic in scope, Upgrade is an intricately plotted, lightning-fast tale that charts one man’s thrilling transformation, even as it asks us to ponder the limits of our humanity—and our boundless potential.

NOTHING TO WRITE HOME ABOUT.

I like a good Crouch book. Dark Matter is still my absolute fav, and I did like this more than recursion. I think something is missing from the middle? The first half was intense and mysterious. I liked the main character diving in deep to what was happening to him and finding corrupted family is always a good twist. Then I thought with the time jump it left a gap in the middle of slowing down to build back up to the wild ending.

This is definitely an eery read. Which did play into my anxiety a lot (not the book’s fault, since I didn’t read the synopsis, but I mention it for others!). It’s very realistic future and wow that always makes me feel filled with dread. It did make for a very good setting though that I liked a lot in regards to all of the genetic mutation discussions.

The ending did bring some feels. I wasn’t expecting to feel that attached and while it had notes of sadness, I liked the acceptance and hopefulness of it all too. It wasn’t some knock out, why did I read this, kind of ending. It was a satisfying conclusion to this type of read and I liked that it was a quick audiobook.

Overall audience notes:

Sci-Fi
Language: some strong
Romance: kisses
Violence: high
Trigger/Content Warnings: genetic mutations without consent, gun violence, loss of a sibling, murder, quarantines

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Book Review: Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

November 4, 2022December 19, 2021 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆
Audience: Sci-Fi
Length: 476 pages
Author: Andy Weir
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Release Date: May 4th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission–and if he fails, humanity and the Earth itself will perish.

Except that right now, he doesn’t know that. He can’t even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it.

All he knows is that he’s been asleep for a very, very long time. And he’s just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company.

His crewmates dead, his memories fuzzily returning, he realizes that an impossible task now confronts him. Alone on this tiny ship that’s been cobbled together by every government and space agency on the planet and hurled into the depths of space, it’s up to him to conquer an extinction-level threat to our species.

And thanks to an unexpected ally, he just might have a chance.

Part scientific mystery, part dazzling interstellar journey, Project Hail Mary is a tale of discovery, speculation, and survival to rival The Martian–while taking us to places it never dreamed of going.

ONE OF MY 2021 FAVORITES.

I can’t believe I had to have multiple people tell me to read this book before I did because OH MY GOSH I LOVED IT SO MUCH.

SO DANG MUCH.

READ IT.

And if you can get your hands on the audio book, HIGHLY recommend that avenue. The audio was one of the best I’ve ever listened to.

I’m trying to stay purposely pretty vague because it’s more fun going in blind on this one.

This book starts off wild and doesn’t let up. I loved moving back and forth between the present and the moments that Ryland started to remember what was happening. It’s intensely scientific and at times I felt smarter and dumber all in the same sentence, and I loved that.

Not to mention how much I loved the progression of the story and THAT ENDING. Apparently some didn’t love it? I couldn’t see it ending any other way for multiple reasons and thought it gave Ryland the right kind of conclusion. I felt even a little teary about it because it just clicked that well.

This book is laugh out loud funny. I couldn’t help myself with the laughter, it is spot on. I loved how this balanced out the heavy topics and things happening around Ryland. It was the perfect juxtaposition and wow I can’t give this book enough stars.

If I keep going I might spoil things, so trust me, if you got this far, READ THIS BOOK.

Overall audience notes:

Science Fiction
Language: some
Violence: small depictions of blood
Trigger/Content Warnings: discussion of suicide methods, apocalyptic scenarios, near death experiences

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Book Review: Jingle All the Way by Debbie Macomber

July 9, 2021November 30, 2020 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ☆☆
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 272 pages
Author: Debbie Macomber
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Release Date: October 13th, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A young workaholic avoiding home for the holidays discovers that you can’t run away from who you are–a heartfelt Christmas novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber.

Everly Lancaster always dreamed of leaving her hometown in rural Illinois. Now she helps run a burgeoning startup in Chicago, where her professional goals leave little time for friends…or a vacation.

When a massive snowstorm hits, Everly’s mother urges her to come home for Christmas, but she hesitates to return to the life she’s worked so hard to escape. Searching for other holiday plans, Everly tasks her assistant with booking her a cruise–the perfect getaway. Embarking on a weeklong tour of the Amazon guided by charming naturalist Asher Adams, Everly slowly but surely begins to realize that relationships are more important than work–and just might decide to journey home just in time for Christmas Day.

Debbie Macomber’s signature wintry warmth shines in this holiday delight.

MISSED ITS CHANCE.

Not gonna lie, the more I sat on this review, the lower my rating went.

There was an incredible amount of potential here. I thought the premise was a fun take for a holiday romance, could have led to a lot of different avenues, and took me nowhere. Or more, took me everywhere at an intense speed I couldn’t keep up with.

Insta-love/connections can work. I have read many good ones, but I tend to struggle with them more quickly when it’s truly rushed. Before halfway our couple had already had the big “conflict fight” and went separate ways more the moment. But I realized that they had hardly spent time with each other, so I never formed a connection with them. The amount of telling vs. showing me feelings and moments ruined most of this for me.

I liked how it ended and the resolutions that were made on both sides. There was better communication and compromises on both sides that worked for the story. Just wish that was fleshed out a bit more and that there was more story and moments.

Overall audience notess: