A fast-paced young adult novel that blends sci-fi (without being too heavy), near future dystopia (without being too stark and depressing) and soulmate romance. The truth doesn’t always set you free… Like the rest of the Gaian race, Alana’s life is ruled by the Avalon, the superior race who once created Earth and returned to reclaim it after humanity brought it to the brink of destruction. … after humanity brought it to the brink of destruction. Because of the Avalon, every Gaian faces the risk of being moved from Region to Region, over and over, with no warning. Alana has no place to call home.
Fearing that she may be resigned to this life of control forever, the opportunity to explore the world outside of her Region is literally dropped into Alana’s pocket in the form of a small silver device.
Taking a leap of faith and teleporting to the unknown, Alana must discover who is pulling the strings in her life and why. But in her quest for answers and freedom, she’s thrown headfirst into a hidden battle for humanity alongside a boy whose life was destined to be entwined with hers from the start.
With the secret of who she really is starting to unravel and abilities she didn’t know she had rising to the surface, she becomes a commodity to whatever faction can keep her in one place.
But others around her are carrying secrets, too, and Alana must decide who to trust before she can change the fate of all the races.
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The Mirror Souls is a story steeped in the best kind of unknown. Alana wants to live a different kind of life but when the possibility is presented, nothing is as it seems. There are so many twists and turns in this story, you have no choice but to hang on and enjoy the exhilarating ride. The build up is perfect because you see everything from Alana’s point of view. She knows what you know and when the answers are revealed, you don’t see them coming. So excited for Alana’s story to continue in Book 2!
A well written, fast-paced and interesting story of Alana, a teenager living on Gaia, under the control of the Avalon, who begins to question the strict rules, divided society, compliance and conformity she has grown up with.
When her life is flipped upside down, the questions multiply and she finds herself in more strife than she’s sure she can handle. Gaining the attention of not just one, but two young men only adds to the complications. One of them happens to be her Mirror Soul, but she has little idea of what it means and the effects it will have on her young life.
With a dystopian world set on Earth in the hopefully distant future, the story races headlong towards increasing danger and so many twists and turns the reader has to watch out for whiplash.
It is well-crafted with strong characters whose personalities stand out and have real depth. The world building is complex with teleportation devices, space ships, and a strict class system, which creates a new existence while remembering the old with references to well known places (The Poisoned Apple — New York). If you have any interest in sci-fi, then it’s a future not too hard to imagine.
Although YA, it is an easy and engaging read for any age. At no point did it become too young or too farfetched. Everything is thought out to take you from what we know to what we can imagine will be in the future.
From a personal point of view, although I enjoyed the story, it didn’t quite leave me immediately wanting more. It is not a criticism, just my personal opinion, but it is why I haven’t given it five stars. Will I read the next instalment? Possibly, but maybe not just yet. Regardless, it is well written with a rich language and vivid settings, and I’d recommend it to anyone who enjoys both sci-fi and dystopian worlds. Don’t let the YA rating put you off, it is in no way ‘dumbed down’ for younger readers.
A dystopian story set in the distant future on earth after it has nearly been decimated by human kind, an alien race called the Avalon have stepped in to save the planet and humanity but it is at a cost: freedom. Humans are forcibly moved from region to region, assigned jobs, and their very lives controlled by the Avalon, and Alana has reached a breaking point. When forbidden Avalon tech – a transportation device that allows the user to jump from one place to the next – mysteriously ends up in Alana’s pocket, she doesn’t question how it got there (too much) more intrigued with the temptation to see where it will take her. She presses the button.
Transported to another region, Alana meets Aiden, who’s waiting for her as though he knew she was coming. The thing is, he did. Someone in his region gave him a heads up to be on the lookout. What’s even weirder, the instant emotional connection they share as strangers that neither of them can seem to deny. But the clock is ticking. They are only able to meet for a two hour window. Why? (If I disclose this, an Avalon will come after me for processing which sounded awful – so I’ll hold onto this spoiler and allow you to discover it for yourself).
I enjoyed the creativity of this story. The intriguing world that Scott has built, the interesting races with different roles and functions, the history of a planet on the brink (which reads less like fiction and eerily close to reality) as well as the unique premise. She did a great job of helping me keep things straight and unfolding things so that I could keep up. A plot-driven story, I would have appreciated added development of these diverse and fascinating characters to help me connect with them a bit more, but this is a very minute point in a story of this caliber. MIRROR SOULS was action packed and layered with tension which I think is something readers of this genre appreciate and crave.
The Mirror Souls is a story steeped in the best kind of unknown. Alana wants to live a different kind of life but when the possibility is presented, nothing is as it seems. There are so many twists and turns in this story, you have no choice but to hang on and enjoy the exhilarating ride. The build up is perfect because you see everything from Alana’s point of view. She knows what you know and when the answers are revealed, you don’t see them coming. So excited for Alana’s story to continue in Book 2!
What a fab start to this series! Well written this YA dystopian style story is well paced and intriguing with great characters and world building with some twists and turns to keep you hooked and I would really like to read the next book ASAP please!