Showing posts with label Meradeth Houston. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Meradeth Houston. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 7, 2019

Someone Else's Soul Release Day Blitz & Review


Title: Someone Else’s Soul
Author: Meradeth Houston
Genre: SciFi/Suspense
Publisher: Bleeding Ink Publishing
Publication Date: May 7th, 2019
Hosted by: Lady Amber's PR

Blurb:
There are 14 strangers who share her face, and one company is determined to erase them all.
Everyone has secrets, and it's Diana Kane's job to know them. It's a talent--being able to see into someone's life from the scuffs on their shoes to the way they hold their hands--a talent that sets her apart from everyone. When a mysterious stranger drops into her life dangling the possibility of something she's longed for, a real connection with someone who might actually understand her, she's too intrigued to refuse.
But when David Addington shows up to their date knowing too much about her, and the top secret agency she works for, Diana realizes their meeting was anything but coincidence. David has more than his share of surprises, including an impossible claim about Diana's past and photos of an inexplicable woman who shares her face.
When her life begins to unravel around her, Diana has no choice but to put her faith in the mysterious David and the man he claims is his father. As she struggles to piece together the truth about where she came from, she's forced to face the reality that her entire life has been manufactured, along with fourteen other women who share her exact same DNA. Confronted with the troubling reality that she's nothing more than a research experiment that's pushed the boundaries of science and ethics, Diana must rescue the others like her before the company can erase them as mistakes, putting all her skills to the test in the ultimate game of survival...

My review:
Diana Kane has a way of knowing everyone's secrets which makes her a fantastic spy. Nothing can distract her from her job. Yet when a handsome stranger shows her photos of another woman with a face identical to her own, she must discover what's going on. Through unraveling secret after secret, it could bring her to her own death.

I'm a huge fan of the sci-fi thriller, Orphan Black, and this has a similar bend to it, but tugs in something more spiritual. Diana is a clone made from the DNA of an incredibly gifted scientist from a company that thinks the clones no more than products. Products which now have to be eliminated since they've perfected the vessels they need to start selling them to the rich. She's not the only clone. The handsome David is also one, but he was raised by his DNA donor and has known all along what he was. Diana struggles with trust on all levels, and I loved reading how she wrestled with everything that was going on. It's a fast paced plot with lots of action, and plenty to make you think of where science is taking us and the spiritual implications.



Meradeth Houston lives in Montana where she's an anthropology professor and scientist. If you let her, she'll tell you more than you ever wanted to know about getting DNA out of dead bodies and old poop. She specializes in degraded DNA (translation: really old DNA that's decayed), and runs two laboratories filled with students, interns, and maybe a few shenanigans. Her research seeks to better understand the dynamic of past migration on human populations. Her goal is to someday clone herself because that's probably the only way she'll ever get through her to-do list. Though, who knows, maybe that'll mean she's donating to someone else's soul?
Other than teaching, research, and writing, Meradeth enjoys the lakes and ski slopes of Western Montana. It's not uncommon to find her haunting the cafes of Missoula. She is also a proud dog mom and represented by Cristi Marchetti.
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Monday, January 25, 2016

Review for Travelers


Blurb:
Sienna Crenshaw knows the rules: 1) no time traveling beyond your natural lifetime, 2) no screwing with death, and 3) no changing the past. Ever. Sienna doesn’t love being stuck in the present, but she’s not the type to to break the rules. That is, she wasn’t the type until her best friend broke every one of those rules to keep Henry, her twin brother and Sienna’s ex-boyfriend, alive.

Suddenly, Sienna is caught in an unfamiliar reality. The upside? Henry is still alive. The downside? Sienna’s old life, including the people in it, has been erased. Now, Sienna and Henry must untangle the giant knot in time, or her parents and all the rest of the Travelers, will be lost forever. One problem: the only way to be successful is for Henry to die...
 
My review:
Sienna Crenshaw isn't happy about the rules. What fun is it to be a time traveler if you can't go beyond your natural lifetime or change your own death? She especially hates the rules because she couldn't change the fact her boyfriend, Henry died. Yet Sienna's best friend, Joan who is also Henry's twin sister dares to break all the rules and creates what she believes to be a better reality with Henry still alive. And this might be good with Sienna except the fact all her family is gone. Will Sienna be able to right the timeline even if that means going against her best friend and losing the love of her life again?

What a wonderful fast-paced and action packed YA read. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was happily surprised by the twists and turns and the complexity of time traveling in this story. Every action echoes over time. It certainly did make me think what I'd do if I were in Sienna's position with my heart pulled in several directions.

Sienna transformed from a typical complaining teen into a brave heroine who must make immensely tough choices. I sympathized with her, and hurt with her when I guessed what she might have to do. I also really liked she wasn't perfect. I can see how she fell for Henry. And oh how I fretted over wondering who he was really helping!

4.5 stars for Travelers. Highly recommended YA time travel romance.
 
 
Find out more about Meradeth Houston on her site.