This book had some interesting elements - namely the worldbuilding and different types of psychic abilities - but I struggled to connect to Neila, the main character. There were lots of cool ideas and specific terminology, but I thought some of that needed more explanation and description to really let me get to grip with what was going on.

Thank you for the opportunities to read this book. I have attempted it on a number of occasions but unfortunately I haven’t been able to get into it.

A quick YA read about an underground government facility where psychics, shapeshifters and pyrokinesis abilities are tested. The ending was a bit lacking, but overall was an enjoyable book.

I was glad to see the main character is asexual along with two gender fluid secondary characters.

I guess this goes to show that I shouldn't jump on every book with an asexual protagonist, although the complete lack of any romance in this book was one of the more refreshing aspects. The plot was ...an interesting concept but just generally all over the place, and Neila was unfortunately one of the most annoying main characters I can remember reading about in recent memory.

"Raised by a doomsday-prepper father, Neila is unusually prepared for the possibility of being whisked away to a secret lab somewhere." Is she? Is she really? Because if you asked me to describe her in one sentence it would be 'too stupid to live'. Look she just ...she gets kidnapped by a super shady government agency and goes 'okay yeah I'd love to work for you and allow you to take away all of my autonomy as long as you pay me because finding a job is haaard!' Like, I would honestly rather work at McDonalds for minimum wage than be trapped in an underground government bunker but sure, that's totally believable.

She's also 10 times more powerful than anyone else in the book with powers, has multiple powers when they all only have one, was Nikola Tesla in a past life, and is smarter than all the government scientists. Like ...I HATE to use the term Mary Sue because honestly it is generally at its root a term men use to whine about female characters just existing in general but ...she is kind of a Mary Sue by the strictest definition so I feel like it's actually applicable here. #Sorry

Then the plot itself is just all over the place. You've got the super shady government lab and the people with powers and also her being Tesla apparently and then one character is a spy for another agency or something but that never really goes anywhere...I don't know, it was just a lot going on and I didn't feel like it all fit together very well - especially the Tesla stuff, which is disappointing.

It had a solid base and could probably turn into a decent story with some extensive re-writes, but as it is I just could not get into it. It was great to see an asexual protagonist though, and one of the other characters was ace as well and another one was trans, so I definitely appreciate that.

I was really interested by the premise for this book as it seemed be part mystery and part sci-fi. The main female character had a lot of coincidences happening to her but the way that Elkin's writes make her seem more likeable and i was able to forgive that. The way the story and the characters developed was interesting too and i enjoyed seeing multiple lgbt+ characters and the fact that there were two ace characters.

3.25 Stars. An interesting read that was entertaining at times, but it did have some issues. This is the first book in a series. The premise is there, but the execution needs some work. It was entertaining enough that I would probably read book two.

Since I mostly read lesfic, I do want to mention I would not put this in the lesfic category. The main character is asexual, and I honestly don’t remember if she even mentioned what gender she is attracted to. There is no romance at all in this book. “The Facility” really isn’t the ideal place for a romance, so I understand that choice. This book has a YA feel, but with most of the characters in their 20’s or older, it felt more like a New Adult book instead.

Neila is psychic and telekinetic. When she finds herself in the middle of a terrorist attack, she uses her abilities to help save lives. The military sees what she can do, and she wakes up in an underground government facility. In the facility she is surrounded by other psychics, telekinesis’s, pyro’s and shapeshifters. Neila is special because of the multiple abilities she has. Will she be able to survive the facility?

The biggest issue for me was the characters. I liked Neila, but at times she was almost too perfect. She has the cool abilities and all the answers no one else has. The character needed to come back down to earth a little bit. The other issue with Neila and really all the other characters, they were too flat. I could barely remember who was who with the secondary characters because they had such little substance. I’m hoping now that the premise has been established, the next book will work on character development. I need more of a connection to everyone.

My other main complain, there were some confusing parts, and things not really explained very well. I still don’t understand the box and everything with Tesla. If this was a one and done book, I would be really unhappy. But again with this being a series, I hope questions will be answered soon.

What I did like is the last 1/3 of the book was packed full of excitement. There are some real bad guys that made for some exciting action scenes. I thought the action was well described and I could see everything playing out like a little movie in my mind.

This book was a little better than okay. I’m in between recommending it or not. It has its issues but also provided some good reading entertainment. Hopefully the next book will be better.

The premise of this book was interesting. It's the story of a woman, Neila, who has psychic abilities. She is discovered by the government and taken to 'the Facility' to be tested. There are various other people there with psychic abilities - some of them friendly; some not so much.

Neila also has strange dreams connected to a delusional obsession she has about a past life. This definitely makes the book more interesting, and seems to hint at further development of this storyline in future books of the series. This is book one.

I enjoyed the references to the different psychic abilities of the characters, the descriptions of how they are used and the effect of their use on the users themselves. The author had obviously given this a lot of thought and done some research. I found it refreshing to have some detail on this subject rather than characters haphazardly throwing things around without a care.

The other aspect I enjoyed about the book was the inclusion of asexual and non-gender specific characters. This is something rarely seen in fiction, but it is becoming more common in modern society and I feel it should likewise be more prevalent in novels. Especially as this is a teen/YA book I was very happy to see these characters included and happily accepted by the other characters in the book.

The plot was interesting enough, and did progress well. There were secrets and things left unexplained for the next book, which I found to be somewhat compelling. There was a lot more mystery than thrills, however, and I did not feel much tension or building excitement at any point, which I found a little disappointing.

I acknowledge that this is a YA/teen novel, and so may be forgiven for lacking somewhat in depth and I would expect it to be easier to read than an adult novel. I have to say, though, that I didn't really like the character of Neila. Her speech seemed odd to me; she answers every question with a questioning inflection, which I found to be annoying, and she seemed very mentally young considering she was meant to be in her late 20s. There was not much about her to relate to, other than her being quite poor and a little bitchy. I found that none of the characters were very well developed, and it was hard to invest properly in any of them.

I didn't care much for the ending. Without spoilers, it just all seemed a little bit too easy and amicable for my liking.

All in all, the book was just okay. Although there were some things I liked about it, it didn't grab my attention enough for me to say I really enjoyed it.

There’s more than what meets the eye with Neila Roddenberry. She’s a psychic, thinks she may have had a past life as Nikola Tesla, Asexual and ends up being in the wrong place at the wrong time, exposing her abilities and gaining the attention of a shady governmental facility. Not everyone at the facility had the choice of being there though.
What attracted me to The Facility wasn’t the fact that there was shady government going-ons and psychic powers, but the fact that Neila is Ace. It’s hard to find books featuring an Ace character and one with a plot like this? Yeah, I didn’t expect to come across it but so excited that I did. There was a lot of diversity in this book there is an ace character and transgender character and they stand up to anyone who tries says anything hurtful about this.
Neila is smart. When she wakes up in an underground facility, she figures things out quick and makes sure she makes a few demands that offers her a better standing and is considered an agent rather than just a resident.
The only reason this didn’t get five stars was how much set up there was and then when I got to the end it wasn’t enough. Then I find out it’s the first in a series so I’m excited about that. I liked the action, how much I wanted Neila and the others to overcome the Blues. I needed to know more about Henry and the organization he was part of. There’s still something picking at the back of my brain about Henry and I need to know more.
I do think that Elkins represented and Ace character well. I’m looking forward to reading more by her and hope to read more books with more Ace characters in them!
I would definitely give this a read.

**I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review**

Honestly, this was a DNF for me at about 20%. I tried to get into this book multiple times--I stopped, read another book, came back, took another break, dove into it again, but to no avail. Maybe military-style dramas aren't my cup of tea, or maybe I just wasn't in the mood for this style of book? Who knows!

I'm disappointed because I was really looking forward to an ace protagonist who didn't let romance get in the way of her kicking some bad guy butt. I do fully intend on giving this book another go after the release date. You can tell that the author did a lot of research for the novel; within the first few pages she's talking about military-style vehicles and guns, and military maneuvers.

I'm giving this book 2.5 stars but rounding up to 3--I can't truly judge a book I haven't fully read, after all. I'll be back at a later date with another review and another rating once I actually finish the book.

I really wanted to like The Facility. It had the whole diversity thing going for it, with a main character that is ace, another that is transgender. Plus there's the whole secret underground facility with a Firestarter type feel. And the main character initially seemed pretty awesome. I was desperately hoping this book would blow me away. It didn't quite work out the way I hoped.

Ulltimately the main character annoyed the bejesus out of me. Niela Roddenberry is the Mary Sue everyone warns people to try to avoid writing for most of the book. She is telepathic, telekinetic, etc, where most people are only one or the other. She instantly stands up to the bad guys, gets accepted by the good guys, knows how to react in almost all situations, and is, of course, insanely knowledgeable about certain things. Oh, and of course there's the whole thing involving Tesla. The other characters need work as well. Everything felt so blatantly on the surface that I felt like I was watching a bad Syfy movie without the cheesy goodness that makes them so enjoyable. The first two thirds of The Facility were painful to read.

But then we hit the final third of The Facility, and it was suddenly interesting. There was a lot of action, the main character actually faced true difficulties, and I was curious as to how things were going to work out. I could see what was going on clearly in my head. When the inevitable clash between the good guys and the bad guys happened, I found myself involved enough to actively root for Niela and team.  So, there's definitely something there.

I loved the fact that there was no romance between Niela and the male protagonist in The Facility. I hate it when hormones get in the way of the story. It was also nice to see bigotry not be tolerated at all. I would be more than happy to read a lot more books featuring ace main characters.

Overall, while I think The Facility had the potential to be a really interesting read - something that I glimpsed at the end - it just wasn't a good read. Two-thirds of it making me want to cringe means that no matter how good the final third was, I can't recommend it. It's a great idea, though, and I would love to see the author revisit it in the future.

This a bloody good book. From start to finish its entertaining with little surprises peppered around. The main character is incredibly strong and along with the other well written and enjoyable characters, the identity crisis and the plot itself, I would say this is probably one of the best books I’ve read this year so far.