I borrowed this from my library based on two things: the cover and the claim of being a futuristic dystopia. Well, it certainly was a dystopia but it was found lacking. It was a weird hodgepodge of genres that I’m not really sure what it was.
Short recap: Regan (pronounced REE-gan) is known as an Elusion Insider, her father created the Virtual Reality that is sweeping the nation. But sadly her father has mysteriously died and the program he created is being accused of becoming addictive. Regan wants to get to the bottom of the awful rumors and find out what is really going on.
Uh… sure. Okay. I am all about dystopias where a VR is involved. Who wouldn’t be?! A possible future where all we have to do is put on a visor, earplugs, and a wristband and be swept away to a place where none of the daily stressors can bother us? Sounds awesome to me. Sadly this dystopia lacked one major thing – a backstory. Now I know what you may be thinking…. who needs a backstory with a dystopia? Me, that’s who, and any other reader that may need that missing piece that answers the “Why is this story happening? What brought about this type of a future?” questions. This was a never a reason given as to why so many environmental protections were needed. Every single human in this story needed special umbrellas to protect against constant acid rain and O2 masks to filter against the toxic air polluting Detroit. Plus, all humans work a 7-7 shift, 7am to 7pm, then go home and plug into the Elusion app and drift off to lala land. I wanted to know why the environment was the way it was but that answer never came. Sorry, but I’m not the type of reader to just buy something is the way it is because an author tells me.
The characters felt like recycled characters from other contemps/dystopias. There is the unachieving daughter that knows just enough about certain things because her father (or parent) created them – enter Regan (and make sure to pronounce her name correctly, she’ll get mad if you don’t); the mysterious guy with pewter eyes and a buzz cut that screams trouble – enter Josh; and the nerdy guy who is BFF with the protagonist female but wants to be more than friends – enter Patrick. Not only do you have the most predictable trope ever, but you have the most pointless and unromantic love triangle ever. Not to mention the instalove between the not too smart but smart enough girl and the newly introduced for the sake of this story bad guy. Yawn There is never any real tension between Regan-Josh-Patrick. They all play their predictable roles and there never any guesses as to who will win. I promise I won’t spoil it for you but I bet you already know….
Don’t forget, the premise of the story was supposed to be about Regan trying to figure out what happened to her dad, at the same time trying to figure out what was really going on with the Elusion app. That’s an awful lot for one teenager to take on but never fear! Regan is here! With just the right amount of “boy, that worked out in our favor!” and “Gosh, I didn’t realize I could do that” Regan and her friends always have the answer and always has the ability to make something happen. Are you rolling your eyes yet? You should be. There was so much that happens in their favor for no reason. A friend just so happens to know the right person to create an access card that just so happens to work everywhere. Or they always know just enough to get them through a complicated firewall and they know just enough to hack into a high tech research facility. Give me a break.
Did I finish the story? Why yes, yes I did. Did I enjoy all of it? Eh…. not all of it but the VR parts of it. Did I like the characters? Not one bit. I don’t jive with instalove or love triangles. Will I continue with book 2 to end the series? Probably, just to satisfy my own curiosity to see how the story ends. Would I recommend? I don’t believe I would. There are just too many unbelievable events and predictable characters for this to really be an enjoyable read.
