CW: gore, medical experiments on children

Well book two continues on with incredible twists and turn in this futuristic world dominated by genetic engineering, genetic coding and a deadly virus. Quite a few 'what the heck' moments in this one and I enjoyed getting to delve deeper into the past to find out why the main characters are crucial to the survival of humanity. Totally engaging! ( )

And the stakes are higher!

Emily Suvada takes the dystopian future she introduced in This Mortal Coil and continues the story in a very interesting direction. In This Cruel Design we learn more about Caterina’s past, about the Origin code, and the capacities of Jun Bei.

This book is an improvement over the first one in terms of plot and overall execution. The new characters introduced are interesting and make for better allies and enemies than those in the previous book. ( )

[IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THIS MORTAL COIL,
I WOULD NOT SUGGEST READING THIS REVIEW]

Emily Suvada has blown me away, yet again. This Mortal Coil had been one of my favorite books of 2017, and This Cruel Design is quickly rising to the top of my 2018 favorites.

Throughout the book, it’s made apparent that Cat still doesn’t have access to the majority of Jun Bei’s memories. However, she does have a few “VR glitches,” as she tends to call them, where Jun Bei’s memories are inviting her in. But even while still navigating the glitches and memory gaps, Cat stays strong. She works with her team to the best of her abilities, and she doesn’t let anyone get in her way.

While I’d love to go on about Suvada’s strong, female protagonist, there are a lot of other things to go over. Such as the world building. Yet again, we are introduced to more locations with more people, and I can’t help but thank Suvada for including such an intricate and well thought out world. The locations she used in this novel couldn’t have been more perfect.

On top of that, Suvada also created a plot that grabbed and devoured my attention and drew off of This Mortal Coil’s plot as well. The one thing I am mad about though is that I have to wait for yet ANOTHER book. Emily, come on. Haven’t us readers been tortured enough? I’m just kidding. But seriously, I am so excited to see what these characters will have in store next.

I give This Cruel Design by Emily Suvada 5/5 stars. I do highly suggest reading this book if you haven’t already. ( )

Catarina Agatta, genannt Cat, ist es im Vorgängerband gelungen, einen Impfcode in Umlauf zu bringen, der die Menschen vor der schrecklichen Seuche retten sollte. Doch das Virus ist mutiert und alles ist nun noch viel schlimmer. Cat ist angeschlagen, aber gemeinsam mit Cole will sie alles tun, um die Menschheit zu retten. Dabei kann sie niemandem trauen, denn überall warten Lügen und Betrug. Besonders geschockt ist sie von den Plänen ihres Vaters, der ihr immer voraus ist.
Die Geschichte wird aus der Perspektive von Cat erzählt. Das Buch liest sich eigentlich sehr gut, aber auch dieses Mal hemmen viele technische Details schon mal den Lesefluss.
Cat ist eine sympathische und mutige junge Frau. Sie ist als Tochter eines genialen Vaters zu einer genialen Hackerin geworden. Aber sie hätte sich wohl nicht träumen lassen, welche Aufgaben auf sie zukommen. Sie geht diese entschlossen und mutig an. Auch Cole gefällt mir sehr gut. Er wirkt auf mich ein bisschen geheimnisvoll. Daneben gibt es noch eine ganze Reihe von Figuren und gegenüber dem Vorgängerband sind sogar noch einige hinzugekommen.
Es ist eine Geschichte, die einem Angst machen kann, denn diese technischen Manipulationen des Menschen, um ihn zu perfektionieren, sind schon erschreckend. Wieder gibt es einige Wendungen, die dazu beitragen, dass die Spannung immer da ist. Ein paar Gefühle sind natürlich auch im Spiel, aber sie kommen eher am Rande vor.
Ein spannendes und unterhaltsames Buch, da neugierig macht auf einen weiteren Band. ( )

Cat thought the Hydra epidemic was over, but when new cases pop up, Cat must team up with an enemy to fix the vaccine before the virus spirals out of control. The nightmare of the outbreak is finally over, but Cat's fight has only just begun. Exhausted, wounded, and reeling from revelations that have shaken her to her core, Cat is at a breaking point. Camped in the woods with Cole and Leoben, she's working day and night, desperate to find a way to stop Lachlan's plan to reprogram humanity. But she's failing-Cat can't even control her newly regrown panel, and try as she might to ignore them, she keeps seeing glitching visions from her past everywhere she turns. When news arrives that the Hydra virus might not be as dead as they'd thought, the group is pushed into an uneasy alliance with Cartaxus to hunt down Lachlan and fix the vaccine. Their search takes them to Entropia, a city of genehackers hidden deep in the desert that could also hold the answers about Cat's past that she's been searching for. But when confronted with lies and betrayals, Cat is forced to question everything she knows and everyone she trusts. And while Lachlan is always two steps ahead, the biggest threat to Cat may be the secrets buried in her own mind. ( )