Hello, reader!

It’s time for another tour run by the wonderful The Write Reads! Today, I’ll be reviewing an ambitious sci-fi that has a fascinating premise: Unanimity by Alexandra Almeida. This was such an interesting read that speaks to a lot of social issues as you flip through the pages, while also pulling you into a digital world that will blow your mind.

But, before I get to my review, I have people to thank. First, thank you to Dave @ The Write Reads and all of the crew for giving me a spot on this tour! Second, thank you to the author for providing me with a free copy of the book so that I could participate in this tour. It is, as always, appreciated!

Now, let’s get the post!

Title: Unanimity
Author: Alexandra Almeida
Publication date: October 18th, 2022
Genre: Science Fiction
Age group: Adult
Content/Trigger Warnings: Suicide, suicidal ideation, blood, violence, murder, substance abuse, torture, physical abuse

Book Links

Bookshop::TBD::B&N::Amazon::
Goodreads

The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

Shadow is a reluctant god with a broken mind and a death wish. He used to be Thomas Astley-Byron, an affluent young screenwriter whose creativity and idealism saved a world from the brink of collapse. Together with Henry Nowak, an AI expert, Tom created heaven on earth by inventing a Jungian simulated reality that helps humans confront their dark sides. The benevolent manipulation platform turned the two unelected leaders into beloved gods, but now everything is failing. The worlds suffer as a sentimental Tom descends into his own personal hell, becoming the embodiment of everything he despises and a shadow of his former self.

His journey from an optimistic, joyful Tom to a gloomy Shadow is paved with heartache and sinister interference from emerging technology. Humans and bots fight for his heart, but their aims differ: some want to own it, some to dissect it, and others to end its foolish beat. Still, the biggest threat comes from within—none of the sticky stories that steer Tom’s life end well.

Who’s pulling on Shadow’s heartstrings? Are their intentions malign or benign? It’s all a matter of perspective, and Shadow has none left.

Now, a young goddess—Estelle Ngoie—has been appointed to replace him, and unlike Shadow, Stella takes no prisoners, and her heart bleeds for no one.

First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines? If you want to make your own post, feel free to use or edit the banner above, and follow the rules below:

Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first (I cheat a little bit here *cough*)
Finally… reveal the book!

If you’re using Twitter, don’t forget to use #FirstLinesFridays!

Hello, reader!

Welcome to my first First Lines Friday post of 2023! Today, I’m featuring a book that I’m reading for a tour hosted by The Write Reads. The synopsis sounds like it’s going to be intense, so I’m excited to get into it!

But first, let’s see if the first few lines can capture my attention.

The Line(s):

“No one should live past hope, and he was ready to die. The girl screamed as he walked away, death struggling to cull so much life, and so her agony lingered, and so did her screams.”