Title: Penance

Author: Missing_Puzzle_Piece

Genre: Sci-fi

Quick Summary: This is a land of confusion. 

Thoughts:

When I read the summary for this book, I was very concerned, because it looks very eerily similar to the plot of Resident Evil [the movie - the first one] and I thought I had my first case of plagiarized work on my hands.

Thankfully for everyone, the book and what the actual summary promise are two very different things... But that also means the summary needs to be fixed. It's like handing me a book with a summary that talks about cats and inside the plot has people being ripped apart by ravenous tigers. And also, just the fact that I read the summary and immediately recognized it as similar to a movie I've seen once and half-paid attention to is... bad. 

So, to recap, please fix the summary.

The actual book has its own share of problems.

There's some worldbuilding discrepancies. For example, we know this is on earth because there's the bible, modern technology, and Anne Frank. Yet the main character doesn't fully get what tanks are, even though tanks have been around since before World War One [which is before Anne Frank's time].

Speaking of time, whereabouts are we? I really can't tell.

All these points of view that change a lot make it hard to feel for any of these characters and also cause a sort of whiplash. The only real thing changing POVs really serves here is to remove the element of surprise from it all, and to serve as a convenient means to beat readers over the head with who Audra's love interest is. From the moment we meet him, it's painfully obvious who he is, but it gets even MORE obvious when we observe the two of them later from Sena's point of view. Please stop treating the romance like a brick, and please stop smashing us in the face with it.

In general, there's a logic problem. For example, Cass. Her father... runs the tower? I think? Which is a very secure area. But she can run around, I guess. And also, in their first on-screen conversation, Cass is able to get out of him all the information necessary to aid in the escape plot/rebellion. A lot of the information shared is classified and sensitive. I find it very hard to believe that much of any of this conversation would've happened - even with the general's daughter.

And Sena. Why is it the very first "Boom" she conducts the one she springs people free for? It doesn't make sense. I highly, highly doubt that The Alliance would trust her enough on her first mission to leave her by herself. She's a former Known. 

And when I'm not frustrated, I'm just confused. The general tone of this book is inconsistent. Like chapter ten [I think], when everyone steps into an active war zone and Cass and her dad have what reads like a nonchalant, if not very awkward, conversation in the middle of gun fire. 

There are some emotions and scenarios that should not mix. Humor and war is not one of them. I strongly advise to either pick a plot that better works for their writing style and tone, or to recognize what sort of tone this plot requires and fix the story accordingly.