This was a great story, but I think the author could have merged parts one and two into a full book. It was more like a short story, but it was great. I look forward to reading more in this series. The story demands your attention right away and doesn't let go.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book. Had I realised when I requested this title that it was only a third of a book I would have waited to read the entire thing.

This was just the first part of three and I don't really know why it is like that. The characters were really quite bland and I don't know how to feel about this.

I loved this story, but I think the author could have put part one and two together and made it feel like more of a complete book. This was more like a short story, but it was a good one. I look forward to reading the rest of the series. The story pulls you in immediately and holds your interest. Of course, if you hate cliffhangers, don't read part one until you own part two.

REVIEW
After reading a few contemporary books I felt ready to go back to one of my favoured genres of Post Apocalyptic or Dystopian. When I read the blurb of this book I decided this was what I wanted to read. I was ucky enough to have an e-copy from Netgalley, though I had forgotten I had it! and bought an e-copy of the book from Amazon UK. At the very end of the blurb there's a snippet that recommends this book for fans of Divergent, The Darkest Minds, and The Handmaid’s Tale saying it is story of twisted secrets, romance, and page-turning suspense. I loved Divergent when I read it so decided to read this book.

The background cover of the book is just a plain white and has an explosion on read on it. Upon reading I would say that the red represents the O-Negative series name as well as fitting well with they way blood is a large part of the plot/story of the book. The title and author name fonts are quite basic yet stand out well. I think the "explosion" of the red would certainly attract attention to the book when it is on a bookshelf in a store. The only thing I would be tempted to change about the cover is to add the first line of the blurb "The truth doesn’t always set you free."to the cover

After finishing my previous book I decided to read just a couple of pages of this book (as it was late at night) I felt pulled into this book almost immediately, and read more than just a few pages as originally planned! I finally forced myself to stop reading at around 26% I seriously didn't want to put it down In fact I ended up reading this book in just two reading sessions. This book certainly draws you in quickly and keeps a hold on you until the very end! I wanted to start the next part straight away so went on Amazon UK to buy that one and to pre-order the last part too!

The main background part of this book you need to know, is that a virus was caused by nuclear fallout and has become airborne which leads to a terminal sickness that has wiped out a lot of the population making it necessary for the government referred to as the NTA to take the steps of introducing an Institute for those orphaned to be brought up and prepared for being useful citizens when they reach working age. Each area has a few of these Institutes where those that live in them go through phases one and two, preparing them to leave and go onto phase three. Upon reaching maturity, at 17 almost 18 years old those at the Institute are taken to "phase 3" where they will be tested and helped to choose and train for their chosen job in society.

We meet the main character of the book, Joanna as she is dressing in her black, white and dull green uniform that marks her out as being part of zone 3. She looks around her room an exact copy of every other room in phase 2 at the Institute. Those living in the Institute are orphans'aspirants who have lost their families to the dreaded virus which is referred to as TEN. Its August which is Joanna's birth month, she is now considered an adult and will be leaving for phase 3 along with the other aspirants with the same birthday month. This leaving phase 2 and moving on to phase 3 is referred to as harvesting. Joanna first came to live at the Institute quite late in life at just three years old. Her parents died in an accident, leaving her an orphan so she was sent to the Institute. The others at the Institute such as Danny and Sophie have been there all their lives like the other aspirants at the Institute. Making friends is not really encouraged so it is unusual when Dianna, one of the Institute workers seems to take Joanna under her wing, allowing her to eat her meals with her in the kitchen instead of alone in her room. This friendship is the only reason Joanna can think of, when Dianna pulls her to one side in a desperate bid to hurriedly tell her something before she is actually transported to phase three. The information that strikes Joanna as odd, that she remembers Dianna telling her is that, Things are not as they seem. That they have been risen like a farmer raises pigs. Joanna doesn't get the opportunity to ask Dianna exactly what she means as guards appear to usher all the aspirants into an awaiting van. As the ten aspirants from Joanna's Institute get into the van, they are all pondering what will happen at phase 3. One girl says they will only be at phase 3 for a month before being sent out to specific areas to train for their future jobs. After her brief warning from Dianna Joanna is even more perplexed when the van guard berates the ten aspirants for not working "it" out. He actually tells them they have thirty days and they should make the most of them. Another character in the van who is even more suspicious about what is to come in phase 3 is Chase. We learn has escaped twice already, the first time out of pure curiosity, and the second time because of something he had seen that he shouldn't have! When their van stops they are told to leave the van in an orderly way and wait along with other aspirants from all the other Institutes in the different areas. Males and females are assigned their wings and room numbers and will only mix with each other in the shared communal spaces. Only for some strange reason Cash is assigned to the same room as Joanna, and two other female characters, Danny and Sophie.
Joanna's suspicions are raised even more when a guard whom seems strangely familiar to her hands her a piece of paper saying he needs to show her something. Should Joanna trust him? Is it some sort of trap or part of the training or even a test.
So I have decided at this point I cannot really tell you much more of the plot, as you should have things unfold and pique your individual curiosity as you read the book.

The character I instantly liked was Joanna, who has to try to piece together clues she is seeing to decide whom she can trust. Joanna also has to deal with Cash and his distrust of the establishment that runs the Institute and has brought them up. I think maybe Joanna would have just put her concerns aside but with Cash asking questions and then the guard Knox saying there is something she needs to see, she cannot just forget and go on blindly. I loved the description and character of Knox. When Joanna has her recurring nightmare of falling from a tree despite a hand from above trying to save her, and this time she see's the actual face belonging to the hand and it's Knox you realise there is much more to Knox that Joanna cannot remember.

I enjoyed the writing style and pace of the book. Lea managed to reveal things slowly but still hold enough back to make you so eager to read more, I really hated having to put this book down! There is so much going on in this part of the book I am really looking forward to part 2 & part 3. I think there is so much more to come about the NTA, why "they" are doing what they are, as well as probably meeting the talented scientist who is in exile who has come up with an alternative to the NTA harvesting. I want to know who Dianna really is, why she is working at the Institute if she is secretly opposed to what they are doing. Why did she risk so much to be a friend to Joannna? I do have some suspicions about who Dianna may be and am looking forward to that being revealed. I'm also eager to learn more about the guard Knox, how was he part of Joanna's past? I want to know if it was in fact Knox in Joanna's dream? And does he survive the ending of this book part? The ending of this part of the book is at such a crucial moment and creates a brilliant cliff hanger! Lea how could you stop it right there?

I have read some other reviews on this book upon finishing it where people complain that it is only part of the book rather than the whole book. . . I honestly didn't think of it as a problem book parts 1 & 3 are priced at just 99p, though bk part 2 is more expensive and had it been the first installment I probably wouldn't have been so eager to pay as much, not knowing if I would like it. Though at a total cost of under £5 I don't think its too overly expensive. Being totally truthful my usual limit is around at most £5 for an ebook, dependent on author and how much I want to read the book too!

My immediate thoughts upon finishing the book were, Oh wow I have found another series I have immediately fallen in love with! Just bought part 2 as soon as I finished this one! Will be starting to read the next part as soon as I have done my review of this part, which is gonna be super difficult to do without giving away too much! I hope I have told you enough in this review to encourage to read the book without giving away too many details and spoiling the flow of the book for you to read for yourself. What else can I say, I loved this book. Certain aspects in it reminded me of other titles I have read. There is a certain aspect within the book that seems to be an upcoming new sub genre. This book had me thinking of Body Parts by Jessica Kapp, The Body Institute by Carol Riggs, The Vampire Games by Stephanie Archer along with a few other titles I have read. I'd definitely recommend reading it, whether you read it in three separate parts or waiting until the whole book is released.

*I received this ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Okay I mean I liked this a lot but at the same time i felt that at 80 pages this was an extremely condensed version of every dystopian novel i've ever read. Almost as if the author had a good idea for a story but didn't have the capacity to write out a full blown novel- these 80 pages could have easily become 300 in the hands of a better story-teller.

Sounds harsh- it's not to say it was a bad read at all, just very underdeveloped

This Body Won’t Break by Lea Mckee is phenomenal and I enjoyed it so much more than I thought I would.

Mckee’s writing is gorgeous and atmospheric. It doesn’t take long before the mystery, intrigue, and tension had me completely hooked. I honestly could not stop reading and became more and more anxious by the minute… and I TOTALLY LOVED IT! I do have to admit that I initially gave this a 4 star rating since it was too short for my liking and there were so many unanswered questions… BUT the more I thought about it, the set-up is actually quite ingenious. I HONESTLY have not stopped thinking about this story and the characters since I finished it.

The world building so far is eerie and disturbing, but absolutely fascinated me. The plot is enigmatic, well-written and full of action. Mckee does such a wonderful job slowly building the tension and suspense that I was literally holding my breath. The characters are likeable and very interesting. I can’t wait to get to know them more and see how their stories unfold in the next 2 installments. There’s also a hint of a romance… and being a romance junkie, I’m so ready to swoon. As the story comes to an end, Mckee leads her characters to unknown and terrifying situations. I don’t want to say anymore, but if you’re looking for some fun thrills and chills, then you need to pick this up.

This Body Won’t Break may be short, but that was one of the most satisfying 2-3 hours of reading I’ve ever done. I’m definitely looking forward to reading the sequel when it comes out in October.

I loved this. Really well done. I can't wait to read book 2!

Joanna is turning 18 this month, which for her means that she’s moving from the facility she is into another. All the kids turning 18 are.
But when she’s about to go, her only friend who works in the kitchen tells her that none of what she thought she knew is true and that she’s in danger.

Well, I’ve just read a book last month which had pretty much the same plot. So this wasn’t all that riveting for me.
I found it extremely short and definitely not a full story. I mean I read this in less than two hours.
It really just felt like the very beginning of a book, none of the characters felt all that interesting yet... But I guess I’m still intrigued and I will be reading Part 2.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read the ARC copy of this novel. I am giving an honest review in exchange.
This Body Won't Break has lots of potential as a full book, but as a novella I was not impressed. It is not a full book. I like the concept and the idea of weekly copies of a full book, but not as an ARC. It just is missing something when it is chopped up into sections. It is a young adult dystopian novella that you will want to read. I liked to writing style and characters this author has a great voice, which is probably why I am so disappointed about the amount of pages. It does make me want to read the next installment I just wish that she had allowed readers to know the size of the content before you read it.

received a copy of this book to review from Netgalley.
Wow. This Body Won't Break had me tearing through the pages as the first chapter starts off with a bang and the pacing only gets faster. You won't be able to put this one down. Right from the start the book is intriguing and mysterious, it only takes a few pages before the author has you hooked for an intense ride. Lea McKee does a fantastic job setting a tense and anxious tone helping convey that something is clearly wrong with where the orphans are being sent. The brevity of this book is perfect for the pacing and leaves the reader anxious for the next installment in the series. I wanted more, but the length was good because it didn't bog down a fast paced novel with unnecessary details.

I loved this book! I need more! It was way too short....Johanna is a great character, strong, intuitive and she knows something is wrong and she needs to get out of her 'orphan imprisonment'. Cash is great too because he is smart and unpredictable and funny too. Knox is a mystery that I am looking to learn more about. This is definitely really great new series kind of like Divergent. Quick moving, great story and interesting characters. Can't wait to read more!!! Thanks NetGalley!!

"Hope is a cruel emotion. It makes you cling to it "

* * *
3 / 5

First of all, this is not a book. It is a third of a book. I'm not a fan of authors releasing their books in sections and if I had realised that this is what Lea McKee was choosing to do, I would have waited until I could read the whole book at once. But I didn't read the summary carefully, so that's my own fault, really! Otherwise, this book had such a strong voice! I loved Joanna, it's just a shame that the plot to This Body Won't Break was so incredibly similar to another book I read recently: Body Parts.

For those that haven't read Body Parts or "cough* my review of it, let me summarise. Both books feature a teenage girl, in This Body Won't Break this is Joanna, an orphan raised for something heinous, in both books this is blood and organs but for different reasons, but told something else. Both girls are broken out from aforementioned institution by a very attractive young man. This is as far as Part I of This Body Won't Break goes and, whilst I'm certain it will diverge drastically from the plot of Body Parts given the whole disease-in-the-air idea, I was a bit disappointed by how like Body Parts it was. Such a shame that I read them so close to offer, because This Body Won't Break has a fantastic writing style.

"The clock above my door has traded in its hands for knives. They cut and slice, shatter the minutes and seconds from existence"

Seriously, I loved it. A great first person female voice is, I feel - possibly unreasonably -, becoming quite rare; Lea McKee's writing was enveloping, folding me into her world. It conveyed information, so that I always knew what was going on, with being claustrophobic about it, smothering me with long paragraphs of details. Joanna's strong and vibrant personality was at the forefront, whilst keeping the plot quickly moving.

I really enjoyed Part I of this book and I'll certainly be reading the rest when it is published!

This book might be short, but it is an explosive start to the series. It is full of action, sprinkled with useful back stories and world building and ultimately feels a little like the pilot episode of a TV series - it gave me everything I needed to know and left me anxiously waiting for episode two.

A heavily dystopian story following some catastrophic events which left Joanna orphaned and in the care of the NTA - a company which promises to put people back into their world once it is ready for them. Joanna is a young girl eagerly awaiting her release into society. Except we all know how dystopian storylines work by now - Joanna is never getting out. She is part of a harvest. A harvest which slaughters people. But there is hope yet for Joanna in the handsome face of another.

I love the world building, and the writing is excellent. I just wish it was longer! A great first instalment which really packs a punch!