

What a spectacular first book of 2026. I will do my best to review this without spoiling anything because the journey of this book warrants full and utter ignorance.
What I can say is that Iris Lake has done it yet again and FLOORED me in the amazingness of her writing and her in depth understanding of the human condition and social issues all encapsulated into a captivating and eerie novel.
This is a love story, but not in the way you would think. This isn't just love between two people, but the love we carry for ourselves and how far we may be willing to go in a world that is moving too quickly for us to get that love and feelings of contentment and peace. This book discusses the fine balance between showing up for yourself and showing up for others, as well as redefining what happiness can mean and the desperation in which we seek in even when we think we have it all.
If you're a dystopian/scifi book lover like me that is looking for a book that explores the social repercussions of society through this lens with a devastating love story with a maybe/maybe-not happy ending I highly recommend this book. It's new and different and very thought provoking where I have been sitting for days being like what did I read and wanting to re-read it so see all the hidden nuggets of the truth carefully placed into the novel.
What a spectacular first book of 2026. I will do my best to review this without spoiling anything because the journey of this book warrants full and utter ignorance.
What I can say is that Iris Lake has done it yet again and FLOORED me in the amazingness of her writing and her in depth understanding of the human condition and social issues all encapsulated into a captivating and eerie novel.
This is a love story, but not in the way you would think. This isn't just love between two people, but the love we carry for ourselves and how far we may be willing to go in a world that is moving too quickly for us to get that love and feelings of contentment and peace. This book discusses the fine balance between showing up for yourself and showing up for others, as well as redefining what happiness can mean and the desperation in which we seek in even when we think we have it all.
If you're a dystopian/scifi book lover like me that is looking for a book that explores the social repercussions of society through this lens with a devastating love story with a maybe/maybe-not happy ending I highly recommend this book. It's new and different and very thought provoking where I have been sitting for days being like what did I read and wanting to re-read it so see all the hidden nuggets of the truth carefully placed into the novel.