An easy and short read, this sci-fi story tells the tale of a young girl equipped with a weapon that could bring destruction to an entire solar system.

I really liked the creativity with how the world was built usually the sci-fi that I know off surround the idea of inhabitation of certain planets like Mars or Venus. But in this world, people do not inhabit the planet. They inhabit the moons surrounding the planets. The scenery and imagery built by the author helps

The chosen one trope is one that, I believe, takes a lot of deliberate effort to be written well because of how many times it has and continues to be done, and unfortunately, I did not feel it with Glade. Though there was some development with her character she still made the plot predictable in how things were to come to an end.

The plot was bland. I was no were near the edge of my seat because there lacked suspense. My heart was not palpitating in anger or frustration or happiness. The action scenes left me with a sour taste of bored.

Though I was able to follow along well with what was going on, I would advise reading the first book before diving in this one because there were some things that were left unclarified.

Summary: if you're looking for a short but entertaining read then this book is for you.

A dystopian story set far into the future. Mankind has branched out from a poluted earth to do more damage. They have moved to some of the moons of the planets in our solar system. Our heroine, Glade Io is named after the moon she was born on, Io, which is one of Jupiter’s 67 moons. She is recruited by the evil factions in charge of policing the universe. Excellent story with wonderful characters! Thrilling adventure!

I received an e-ARC of this book from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest opinion. This is the second book in The Culling series. I strongly recommend reading The Culling which is first in series. The Authority can be read as a stand-alone but you lose a lot of the world-building. No spoilers - just intense and complicated decision making processes which science still has to answer. Great science fiction

When everything she’s ever known is a lie, one young woman will be forced to make a choice that could change the course of history. Glade Io is torn between two very different worlds. On the one hand, she is a trained killing machine. She is a Datapoint, a tech-enabled agent of the state who has been selected by the ruthless Authority to eliminate threats to the human colonies throughout the solar system in The Culling. But, on the other hand, the time she spent with the rogue group of colonists called the Ferrymen, opened her eyes to the atrocities on The Authority’s agenda, and she’s realizing that the justifications they’ve fed her are nothing but lies. Vowing to help The Ferrymen fight back against The Authority from the inside, Glade must figure out a way to sabotage a captured Ferrymen ship that The Authority is planning to use to attack the rebels’ stronghold. Glade is also torn between Kupier, the brave Ferrymen leader and her loyalties to her friend and mentor, fellow Datapoint, Dahm Enceladus. While Dahn is both charismatic and ambitious, and has always been Glade’s closest ally, she’s realizing that even though she cares for him, she’s no longer able to trust him. Her younger sisters are facing the possibility of Datapoint testing, and she’s been forced into a tech upgrade that she couldn’t refuse and is unable to fully control. Just when she thinks she’s in an impossible situation, Glade finds help from an unlikely ally, a ghost from her past.

This is the sequel to The Culling, and the second book in Ramona Finn’s The Culling trilogy. And it is honestly even better than its predecessor. There’s more action, more danger, more drama and suspense, and more intrigue. Glade is finding more and more that she isn’t the emotionless super soldier she has been trained to be. She’s desperate to protect her younger sisters, as well as her friends on the station, while also keeping The Authority from attacking The Ferrymen and their colony. She’s facing death as a traitor at every turn, but Glade sees no other choice but to do what she knows is right. In many trilogies, the second book just doesn’t live up to the first or even the final book, but that’s definitely not the case here. This was a real page turner of an adventure from the beginning all the way to the amazing end! And, in the midst of the action and suspense, Finn manages to incorporate a lot more character development. I really enjoyed getting to know both Glade and Dahn better, as well as the leader of the station, the ruthless Haven. I honestly can’t wait to read the next book because of the cliffhanger that The Authority ends on. I simply have to know how Glade protects everyone she cares about, while also preventing harm to the innocents across their solar system, and how she stands up to Haven. There’s just so much more I need to know!!

Publisher synopsis:
When everything she’s ever known is a lie, one young woman must make a choice that could change the course of history.

Glade Io is torn between two worlds. She’s a trained killing machine—selected by the ruthless Authority to be a Datapoint, a tech-enabled agent of the state who eliminates threats to the human colonies throughout the solar system in the Culling. But her time among rogue colonists called the Ferrymen has convinced her that The Authority has far more sinister plans in store, and all the justifications they fed to her are lies. Vowing to help the rebels fight The Authority from the inside, Glade must sabotage a captured Ferryman ship that The Authority is planning to use to attack the Ferrymen stronghold.

Though Glade is drawn to the brave leader of the Ferrymen, Kupier, she has older loyalties as well. Her friend and mentor Dahn Enceladus is charismatic and ambitious, but although Glade cares for him, she can no longer trust him. Her younger sisters are also in danger of facing Datapoint testing, and now she’s being forced into an upgrade she cannot refuse. But help is about to arrive in an unlikely form: a ghost from her distant past.

As good, if not better than the first. You get to see Glade grow and become her own person, someone she is afraid of now that she is more controllable (read it, you'll understand). It is an amazing feet of the author to write as a conscious controlled by another and the desire to listen and defy at the same time. Thrilling and enthralling!! Can't wait for the next book in the series!

I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.