Valda Bashan woke to the inexplicable—a biosphere where she and four others were the only occupants. She had a life before she woke, a life which seemed many years away and just like yesterday. A computerized voice welcomed her to Memoriam, the biosphere’s name and the job she’d accepted. The terms were clear, she and her companions had to make it work and only when they were complete would they … they be free to move on to the next task.
Andreas, Hatch, Oz, and Dirk couldn’t be more different, and each man seemed to be in the same boat as she. They didn’t remember agreeing to the project or what task it was they had to complete. If they can’t work together, they may never be able to escape. First, they have to learn to get a long, which might prove the most impossible task of all.
Their Memoriam is the first book in the Utopia Inc series. A slow-burn reverse harem romance
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I loved this incredibly unique take on the Reverse Harem genre. The world building is amazing. Five stars.
I was pretty much sold by the blurb but I was even more surprised that in no time, I already got this feeling that I would hurl myself to the pit to get to the bottom of this read. And hurl myself, I did. I devoured it in one sitting. Re-read it just to make sure it wasn’t surreal. Perhaps the second time would calm me down, like maybe I was just hyping it up inwardly. But no, I was even more in love. 13 days later, which was today, I went for another re-read. This time so I can deliver the most honest review I could do. Here’s to hoping I would do justice with this one.
Plot. If there was one thing I observed when reading scifi, it was that romance or any other genre would become a secondary thing. And for people whose preference had always been scifi, it wasn’t a problem. Sometimes, they even frown upon the sub-genres. But for me, I found this read the perfect balance of science fiction and romance. The buildup of the world, the settings in this biosphere, was seamless. And the physiotherapy student in me was thrilled whenever I came across the scifi-side of this read. On a hindsight, I admit that it was the subjective glitch in my review. But anyway, as I was saying, all the meanwhile, the development of romantic interests was also flawless. There was a medium burn in the romance as much as a medium pace to the story.
At first, it was a lull. It was serene and amazing, as if easing me up to what was coming up. Then it went a little chaotic when the characters encounter problem among themselves, figurative holes in the biosphere project and the overall conflict of not knowing anything else. Mainly from the heroine’s side. The thrill picked up when the conflict between the heroine and the guys became glaring. Even I personally felt the crack between them, dividing the group into heroine vs heroes. The suspense was rapidly progressing by the time the guys opened up with her. One by one, the background story between each hero with the heroine unraveled. The emotions and the bond of the heroine to each one of them slowly made sense. It was also one of the things I loved in this one-the little things or details had later on led to a greater reason. As if every point at the start/body of the story had another point in the end to be matched onto.
But no, that wasn’t the end of it. The guys saved the major plot twist in the end. I totally did not see that. You see, all throughout the read, I was conjuring up conspiracy theories. And sadly, but not too sadly, I wasn’t able to imagine this possibility. I was glad it took me by surprise, made the read more delighting. It was the most interesting thing of all-this plot twist. I couldn’t wait how the author would venture from then on. So excited (and was filled with a lot of inspiring ideas), tbvh.
Another thing I loved and was thankful for was how exceptional the writing was, which came well with the perfect buildup. The scenarios were written in great details, as if painting a vivid picture of each. But not so much as to overstimulate or not leave anything else up in the imagination. It was art and science at the same time. It was appreciating the science and understanding the art at the same time.
Valda. She’s a no-nonsense, meticulous and single-minded woman. Born into the most controversial union of two great minds from opposite fields, it was a no-brainer that she herself would be curious to follow the steps of her parents. She theorized a solution to the supposed problem that her parents had been accused of causing to breakout.
Although there were spotty memories from the past five years or so, she was able to take her tasks/missions in a stride. She’s a little detached, not able to express her emotions and herself, which went with being a doctor buried with her examinations and whatnot. It’s not rare that I adore heroines but it was indeed rare to find one that I was able to relate with in a lot of ways. Most of her strong points were also the very ones that could weaken her.
The most glaring point though was her martyr streak. Even though her kindness would sometimes come out in an efficient, clinical way, she’s truly got a big warm heart. Good thing then that the variety of her man helped to counterbalance her. And though their individual relationships with the heroine also varied, their love for her was nonetheless equally intense and genuine.
Andreas. The designated shrink in the project, but whose original profession was revealed later on. He was probably the one who opposed Valda the most. He’s the very opposite of Valda in personality and emotionally. He was the closest one to “being one” with his emotions. With that said, he’s also the most impulsive one in the group. Which made Valda struggle to connect with him the most. From her viewpoint, she’s easily aggravated by him. But again, he helped her with said difficulties of expressing her emotions.
Hatch. He’s the funny guy in the group. He contributed the light and joy in this rather intense group of serious-minded people. That wasn’t to say he held no substance during the complicated times.
Oz. He is the good doctor, the designated nurturer of this group. The soothing personality befitted him as a physician. Even the heroine herself was seemingly smitten at him first.
Dirk. He was the wild card, the enigmatic army jerk. Excluding the ‘first’ time Valda met him, he had been the protector of the heroine. Even now, I still marveled at his devotion to Valda. He was just….so might fine, I swear.
Overall, it was obvious that I more than love this read. I’m so honored that I was one of the people the author had trusted to send a complimentary copy of this book. Which in turn, I bought to show my support and love as well. God only knew this one deserve all of it. I could easily say that this is the very first arc review that I finished and knew the first time that I’d give my everything to.
Omg this book is completely positively awesome!! It was a freaking emotional roller coaster ride all throughout the whole book and the shocker at the end I definitely wasn’t expecting that, yes it definitely ended on a cliffhanger. Authors and their cliffhangers suck. Lol
Jazz Michaels definitely has skills when it comes to writing her stories. I loved how she transported me into the reality that she created she made it feel so real and when a author is able to do that to me they put themselves at the top of my list of favorite authors.
Anyway I definitely can not wait until the next book because I have to know what happens Valda, Dirk, Oz, Andreas and Hatch.
Where’s the button at that allows you to put more that five stars? Because this book to me needs more than five it deserves 100 or more!! I most definitely recommend this book to anyone who’s willing to give this author and this book a chance. Because their both fantastic!
I did not see that ending coming. Their Memoriam is fantastic. Validate is a great heroine, I liked her scientific and logical approach. The guys are great and I like how they all prioritize Valda. Their Memoriam is a great debut and I am looking forward to book 2!