Natilie ‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡🪐༘⋆ (returning)'s Reviews > Baby X

4.2/5 .𖥔 ݁ 🪐˖

GIRL what a banger of a read. This is crazy to me, I was on the phone telling my mum all about this world Peikoff has created. That's how you know it's good.

Plot જ⁀➴
As a future geneticist - this premise was everything to me. I absolutely loved the premise, and how the plot unraveled. You get multiple points of view from women who each have their own struggle in this dystopian society, where designer babies are very much the norm.

I can't even phathom myself living in this world - it was just so believable that I was nervous throughout the chapters frequently. The idea that someone could steal your DNA, bring your child into the world, and you may not be able to do anything about it? That's a massive ethical / legal dilemma that I was not even prepared to think about and truly, I don't know where I sit.

If you want a Black Mirror thought provoking plot, this is for you.

And yes, this is a thriller - and reads like one as well. I really should have seen the big plot twist coming, but I was fooled.

Characters જ⁀➴

Ember is badass. She's a biochemist (like myself), a business woman, a survivor, problem solver - all bundled into a firey personality suited to her name. I'd like to say I'd enjoyed her chapters the most, but (view spoiler)[ her romance with Thorne killed it for me (hide spoiler)], but I was always second guessing what she was up to. She's a girls girl through and through. Iconic

Quinn, is also badass in her own way. I felt like she had the most personality, and was certainly the most relatable. I felt nothing for sympathy for Quinn.

Lily, I was initially frustrated with. All I can say to that is, trust the process. She's so loving and has such a big heart.

World/Setting જ⁀➴
This is set post oh god I'll have to go back in look - but in what I would consider a dystopian future. It was creepy, it was thought provoking. The writing style was great, I could imagine the scenery perfectly and each image delivered the appropriate emotional punch.

Pacing જ⁀➴
I was hooked. Always. Always wanting to turn the page. Everything was relevant. I devoured this in like a day. Every character's POV was well paced. I have genuinely zero complaints.

would I recommend this? Yes. 1 million percent. Yes. Even if you don't like thrillers.

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⋆˙⟡♡ score card:

plot: 3.5/5
characters: 3.5/5
world/setting: 4/5
pacing: 5/5
enjoyment: 5/5

total: 4.2 /5ੈ✩‧₊˚
➳ i have revised these scores after thinking about it a bit more, can't be in the 5 star shelf im sorry

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reading log ‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.

hours of reading: 4
avg. minutes per session: 20
avg. pagers per minute: 3.2

10/04 4:19pm

we are 54% of the way through, and i'm just so concerned for all the different female characters. this is a dystopia that seems very real and i'm very scared

10/04 1:02pm

oh BROTHER i did not see this coming all i keep saying out loud is oh no oh no oh no

10/04 8:49am

this feels like george orwell mixed with black mirror mixed with orphan black

09/04 7:38pm

oooohh the big ethical debate around designer babies. have we taken science too far? is this a comment on darwinism? we shall soon see

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pre-reading ˚˖𓍢ִ໋🌷͙֒✧˚.🎀༘

as a biochemist myself the premise of this is absolutely so intriguing! i'm going to be critical of the science, and it feels very black mirror-ish? a recipe for addicting.