Emily Suvada has created a beautiful and unique world, with amazing and strong characters. Filled with twists, this book is a Rollercoaster of emotions. Amazing world building and high stakes.

The first book was interesting enough but I wasn't interested in where this story went. I wasn't absorbing anything and was bored. Part of it is probably my fault as I waited too long to read the sequel and it took me forever to remember the first book. DNFed at 50%
I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

First Thought After Finishing: I’d like the third book now please!

Some books take you on an emotional journey; some books raise philosophical questions; and some books keep you frantically turning pages to see what happens next. This Cruel Design does all three.

This Cruel Design starts just where This Mortal Coil ended. Cat’s work fighting the Hydra vaccine and saving the world is nowhere near done, but at least she does not have to do it alone. Armed with new knowledge, she goes in search of the one person who can help her fix the problem—but is she prepared to find him?

Second books in a trilogy can have a tendency to be slow and feel unnecessary, but that is certainly not the case here. The pacing was on par with the first book, keeping me engaged page after page. And Emily Suvada has no shortage of surprises. The fate of the world once again hangs in the balance, which would create enough tension on its own, but Suvada skillfully weaves in past memories and revelations that serve to up the ante.

We meet new characters in this installment, and once again, they are fascinating and complex. Knowing who to trust is never easy in this world, and the shifting loyalties and heroism only adds to the air of mystery pervading this book. There were so many other aspects that I appreciated—subjects like sexuality and gender were explored in a way that felt authentic, and the moral/ethical dilemmas presented here by technology are good food for thought.

Writing a spoiler-free review—especially for a second book, and one like this—is nearly impossible. As with the first book, I want to say so much about the characters, but why deprive you of experiencing Cat’s emotions and discoveries firsthand? This is definitely a book that should be on TBR piles, so go forth and read it!

Most Memorable Aspect: The roller coaster of plot and emotions.

This novel feels so close to home with everything going on in the world lately, but I am a glutton for punishment, and can't seem to get enough about viruses infecting society these days. I loved the first novel in this series, so when the coronavirus outbreak happened I knew I finally needed to pick up the sequel, and it was everything I wanted, and more.

This Cruel Design picks up right where This Mortal Coil had ended. We get to give deeper into Catarina's character. I really liked getting to discover all of her secrets. I felt that book two was so much better than book one. You can tell that Suvada really stepped up her game in this book and was able to improve her writing skills.

This second book in the This Mortal Coil series was absolutely amazing. This has got to be one of my favorite books series out there. I always enjoy a good gritty, post apocalyptic novel.

Cat’s story is incredible. She has been surviving for so long and her journey just got even more intense in this book. We get to finally see where she came from and why she is the way she is.

I am fascinated with this world and all of the quirks it has. Some may be a bit gruesome but it makes it all the more realistic. I can’t wait for the next book in this series.

I firstly want to applaud the author's work on the science in the book. The best science fiction happens when the science fiction could potentially be the technology of tomorrow. A lot of the concepts related to genes in the book are based on areas of active research in the science community So I'm definitely impressed by the author's development of science concepts in the book.

The writing was pretty solid, the only issue I really had with the book is the fact that the first 20 or so pages completely invalidates all of the work of the first book. There were also a few decisions that the author made in terms of characters and development that just didn't quite resonate with me.

Overall though, it was a fun follow up to a strong scifi. It does suffer a bit from second book syndrome, but I have hopes for the third.

This Mortal Coil was a wild ride of a book so I was a bit nervous before starting This Cruel Design because I wasn’t sure how it could possibly measure up. Somehow Emily Suvada completely knocked it out of the park with this sequel.

I absolutely love how Suvada deftly handles the idea of genetic modification and introduces both sides of the issue. Plus I love how she really delves into the ethics surrounding scientific advancement. Her books have a pretty strong scientific base, which I love. Plus there are also female characters excelling in STEM roles!

I’m intentionally staying vague about the plot because it’s best to go in knowing absolutely nothing. But it’s fantastic. I’m going to be eagerly awaiting the next installment in this series, which hopefully will be coming out later this year! (Aka you have time to catch up on the first two books!)

*Disclaimer: I received this book for free from the publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I was so excited to read the sequel to This Mortal Coil! I loved the first one and I had high hopes for the sequel. I was not disappointed! I did not want to put this book down! This was just as action packed and fast paced as This Mortal Coil. There are plenty of twists and turns that you don't see coming! This was an amazing read! You need to add this to your tbr!

Intriguing sci-fi and the best science fiction series I’ve read!
Thanks to NetGalley, Edelweiss and Simon Pulse for the opportunity to read and review This Cruel Design by Emily Suvada!
Cat, Cole and Leoben are hiding while resting and waiting for Cole to heal from the explosion. Cat is also waiting for her tech to start working again. She is with Cole in the forest when they both see Virtual Reality videos replaying from her past. She realizes that she’s missing six months of her life with no recollection or records of where she was or what happened to her. Cat is discussing this with Cole when Leoben’s Jeep is hit and explodes. Cat finally meets Anna and together the group works with Mato, another coder, to find Lachlan’s hideout. Changes keep occurring to the virus and it seems to be mutating too quickly for a vaccine to work or be adjusted. Every time I think that Cat can’t have any more surprises, the author proves me wrong. Another twisting book in the This Mortal Coil series and I’m looking forward to the next and third installment, 5 stars!

Cat (Catherine) has helped bring the vaccine for the Hydra virus to the people. But in this sequel to This Mortal Coil, a new strain is threatening to destroy humanity. And if the virus doesn’t kill people, the powrful Cartaxus may wipe you out. Cat is teamed up with Cole and Leoben in a desperate attempt to stop the death of millions. The threesome are looking for Lachlan and one wonder’s who is worse – Lachlan or Cartaxus?

This book is nonstop action with danger at every turn. Cat is a technological wonder with circuitry in her body that gives her added connectivity. She will ally with her enemies if that’s what it takes to save innocent lives. Alliances made out of desperation bring more complications while new characters add more interesting elements.

There are numerous twists and shocks in this dystopian adventure. A nail biter that should please those who enjoyed the first installment.

An amazing sequel to the first book! I am surprised that I haven't been hearing as much hype for this book as I did for the second one but I love the story and the mix of real science. This series is definitely a must to anyone interested in women in STEM. If you loved the first book you will love this one as well! Thank you for approving me for this ARC!

Unlike This Mortal Coil, this one had a rather slow start. I struggled a lot in the first half, but the second half more than made up for it! The sh*t really hit the fan in the second half. I wish the first half would have been as intense and explosive! There were bombs dropped left and right – the shock and awe factor was insane!

The concept of this series is really astounding, and unlike anything I’ve ever read before. I love the idea of coding your DNA! And the virus was just disturbing. The books also take a close look at humanity – what it means to be human and what we would do to survive. It’s quite chilling!

Also, that ending was crazy! For some reason I thought this was only a duology, and that ending left it very much open for another book. I can’t wait to see what happens next!

[spoilers removed, you can see the full review on Novel Heartbeat]

*FOR THE PURPOSE OF A BLOG TOUR, I HAVE BEEN SENT AN E-ARC BY THE PUBLISHER; THIS DOES NOT AFFECT MY HONEST REVIEW*

Emily Suvada has blown me away, yet again. This Mortal Coil had been one of my favorite books of 2017, and This Cruel Design is quickly rising to the top of my 2018 favorites.

Throughout the book, it’s made apparent that Cat still doesn’t have access to the majority of Jun Bei’s memories. However, she does have a few “VR glitches,” as she tends to call them, where Jun Bei’s memories are inviting her in. But even while still navigating the glitches and memory gaps, Cat stays strong. She works with her team to the best of her abilities, and she doesn’t let anyone get in her way.

While I’d love to go on about Suvada’s strong, female protagonist, there are a lot of other things to go over. Such as the world building. Yet again, we are introduced to more locations with more people, and I can’t help but thank Suvada for including such an intricate and well thought out world. The locations she used in this novel couldn’t have been more perfect.

On top of that, Suvada also created a plot that grabbed and devoured my attention and drew off of This Mortal Coil’s plot as well. The one thing I am mad about though is that I have to wait for yet ANOTHER book. Emily, come on. Haven’t us readers been tortured enough? I’m just kidding. But seriously, I am so excited to see what these characters will have in store next.

I give This Cruel Design by Emily Suvada 5/5 stars. I do highly suggest reading this book if you haven’t already.

I think this is a 4.25 close to a 4.5. I really enjoyed it, but not as much as the first one.
I loved the old characters coming back and I loved the new characters like Anna and Mato. Throughout the whole book you never knew who to trust and who was telling the truth or lying. It kept me on my toes the whole time.
I really enjoyed watching Catarina and Jun Bei grow throughout this book. There are definitely some crazy things going on!
The only thing I didn't really care for was that the ending was so drawn out. The entire book is so action packed, and then we get to the end and it's full of drawn out explanations of everything. I do feel it was needed, but maybe not at the very end which in my opinion should be the most action packed part of the book.
The ending led up to the next book so perfectly and I seriously can't wait to get my hands on it!

Rating 5/5

This books picks up immediately after the vaccine is stripped from Cat's DNA and extrapolated. But it had an undesirable effect and is no longer working. So the virus is spreading at an even more exponential rate and has even jumped species.

Cat is struggling with her identity especially when memories keep surfacing of Jun Bei who she discovers occupies half of her mind. Cole has distanced himself from her and she feels more alone than ever. Now in Entropia ruled by Regina, Cat and her group are trying to locate Lachlan again. Mato, a coder like Cat, is trying to get them in to see Regina to ally with in their search. But Regina wants Cat as a trade so when an attack on Entropia ensues by Cartaxus and Mato nearly dies, Cat agrees to the trade and turns herself in. She gets more than she bargains for, however, and learns that not only was she and Mato together, but that Regina is her mom, Lachlan is her dad and she is just a body double who was supposed to die in order for Jun Bei to be released.

Talk about a whirlwhind! This second book was so much better than the first - even though it mainly occurs in Entropia now, it was full of non-stop action and thrilling secrets! I devoured this and developed even more empathy for Cat! She already went through so much in book 1 and then to go through all the secrets in book 2, its amazing how she still sacrifices herself in order to save the world.

The introduction of Anna, Mato, Regina, Brink and Jun Bei (officially) definitely answered some questions from book 1. I always knew Cartaxus had a face and Brink was most assuredly that - his arrogance and selfish desires are typical of a government official in an apocalyptic society. Regina was very interesting and illustrated all of the horrifyingly beautiful aspects of being able to incorporate technology into our DNA to change your appearance. Mato was a shocker - I expected him to be a total Cartaxus scientist but he surprised me with his ties to Entropia and Jun Bei. And his intelligence was superb for being so young! I hated Anna - not because of her character but because of how she treats Cat and of how close she is with Cole. I guess you could say Cat's jealousy of her rubbed off on me too and I didn't shed a tear for her when she got shot! LOL!

Jun Bei. Well she was a total knockout for me. She definitely takes the academy award for brilliance and strength. Her being is so pivotal in this story that it is impossible for me to imagine this series being written the way it was without her in it. I loved her so much and am desperately wondering what's going to happen in the next book with her.

Cat has lots of growth in this book. She does amazingly with everything that's thrown at her and if I was her I'd have used the scythe a long time ago. I am astounded at how calm and collected she has stayed after learning all that she discovers. I expected her to be angry like Jun Bei - but she is her own unique person and nothing like Jun Bei who would have used that scythe. Props to you Cat!

It it not often the second book of a series is better than the first but this far exceeded a 5 star rating. Emily has done yet another fantastic job with such an original concept. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND reading this series as things just keep getting better and better.

I stumbled upon This Mortal Coil during the summer and wasn't expecting to fall in love with it as much as I did, something that hasn't really happened in a while! I was so impressed with how well constructed its premise was, that I basically screamed my head off when I got the chance to participate in the official Blog Tour for its sequel! I never doubted that this book would exceed my expectations, because the first book had such a powerful ending that, I was basically sure for the perfection that would follow its magnificent plot twist. The most fascinating part is that, it happened in multiple occasions and had several stages of excitement before it reached that climactic moment, which managed to blow my mind and leave me speechless for a while after I finished reading it!

I'm well aware of how important sequels are and how difficult it is to add even more dimension to a story that surprised you with its brilliance through them, believe me! Many of them have disappointed me in the past, even though I immensely enjoyed their predecessors and could not wai to get my hands on them! This Cruel Design though, did not suffer from the ''sequel syndrome'' because it became its own legacy, in a way, for me as a reader and left my soul in shambles, to say the least! I know that I might sound dramatic to some of you but, this series has quickly become an all time favorite, which is an even more important achievement, if you consider the fact that I'm not actually the biggest fan of Science Fiction! So, in case you haven't noticed, we' re not here to talk about the actual plot because, that would certainly defeat the purpose of you going into it without having any idea of its plot and being forever changed by the discovery of how unique and brilliantly written it actually is!

I usually avoid writing reviews on sequels, for the reason mentioned above and the fact that, it's even harder to remain vague in your words and not reveal anything of importance in them, which is what we're trying to avoid in this one! That's why I'm going to elaborate on what made me fall in love with these books and why you should pick them up as soon as you can!

First of all, the character development is insane! The characters progress throughout both novels is loud and clear, which makes the novel even more three dimensional than it originally started out being. They're so intricate in their complexity that, you can actually envision them clearly while the story is being narrated! There's an abundance of details where they and the virus ridden world they live in is concerned, which was such a breath of fresh air! Nothing was overdone it terms of how well it was constructed and the author did a wonderful job at creating this terrifyingly realistic world where, every action had an immediate consequence and adapting to its changes meant survival! And of course, I appreciated the fact that, everything was described in a way that didn't negatively affect the pacing of the story or slow it down. On the contrary, it made it even more engrossing and impossible to put down, since it never got boring or repetitive!

Second of all, the shocking plot twist continue on to This Cruel Design and are delivered in a way that keeps you on the edge of a cliff you have no idea whether you should leave behind or brave through! Cat grows so much through them and I absolutely love how well thought out she is as a character! Her character reflects on the parts of society that failed to deliver and have flaws but, will never stop striving towards a better future! She doesn't pretend to be perfect, neither does she try to suppress her true self in order to become one with the crowd, in a weird way! She's intelligent, brave, loyal and real, which makes it so much easier to connect with her and forget the fact that, she actually lives in this futuristic world that sounds incredibly real, as well as terrifying to live in!

Overall, I absolutely fell in love with the characters for the hundredth time and immensely enjoyed experiencing the development of the story firsthand, through the author's incredible writing style and vivid descriptions! I cannot recommend this series enough and I'm desperately crossing my fingers for it to become a movie adaptation as soon as possible!!! I'm not sure whether anyone could even touch the high stakes the novels have set where the possibility of a movie is concerned but, a girl can hope, right?

A great sequel to one of my favorite books of last year! There were a couple times when I wasn't sure where the novel seemed to lack direction. There are a ton of twists, which are great for keeping me on my toes. But there were so many and so many revelations that the book was a little all over the place. Like the last book, the ending was superb. It's a pretty massive cliff hanger, and I'm eagerly anticipating the next book. My head is spinning with what just happened, and I'm not sure there's a way to get a certain character back. Like, did she just kill that person?? Honestly I have no clue and I'm enjoying being along for the ride.

4 out of 5 Stars!

Holy hell! This was actually ten times better than the first book. This was action packed, drama filled and had so many plot twists that I just was not expecting at all. That ending left me excited for a third book if there will be one.

Catrina is still bad ass as she tries to figure out who she really is. I loved her, but finding out the reason for her being killed me! Cat is a strong girl who survived on her own and looks to always do right. Cat is amazing out of all the characters!

Jun Bei blew my mind. I didn't expect to see much of her, but I'm so glad I did. Jun Bei isn't the killer everyone thinks she is. She is just a girl that was mistreated and experimented on. Jun Bei had such a beautiful heart, but she didn't know how to express herself.

Cole...where do I begin, I loved Cole and still do, but towards the middle of the book he started to piss me off with his secrets and plans. He was too overprotective. I will say as a protector he did his job phenomenally well.

The romance was adorable between Cole and Cat as usual, but you could feel tension between especially with the addition of a third love interest. What I didn't expect however was the cute romance between Dax and Leo ... OMG I sort of fan-girled a bit for them.

Leoben is still the guy that makes me laugh, especially with his hand jokes about Cat (you got to read the story to understand). I loved seeing his more vulnerable side when it came to love as well. Anna was a major bitch, but I enjoyed how she sort of completed the group. Her banter with Cat was also funny. Dax annoyed me, but I felt bad for him with how Cartaxus treated him. Mato was a dick...obsessively in love with Jun Bei -- plan crazy!

Lachlan and Regina are two characters that I didn't expect to have had a major dealing in Jun Bei or Cat. I didn't expect all the revelations and secrets to be revealed. Blew my mind, but I will say it was all sort of heartwarming. Brink and Cartaxus are some assholes who enjoy power. I can't stand them and let alone Lachlan for how they treated people. I mean seriously, I need them all to die...by the virus nonetheless. Agnes was such a surprise! I am so happy she wasn't dead, but who exactly is she? I need more of yaya!

Such a great sci-fi dystopian. It's one of those that gets better as you read a long. Totally recommend it. I'm patiently waiting for the third book....

I seriously hope someone makes this series into a TV show because it would be SO GOOD!!! Emily Suvada is bringing game to YA sci-fi with technology that feels feasible and based loosely on the real science of today. For those who are not familiar with This Mortal Coil, it takes place in the wake of a pretty horrific plague that has decimated much of humanity, in a world where genetic technology is commonplace. There is action, romance, drama, intrigue, basically all the things you want in a book like this!

A second novel can be tricky to write after such a strong debut, but This Cruel Design delivers another action-packed book full of unexpected twists, complex characters, and a very compelling story. I had moments reading Cat's story where I literally spoke out loud "What?! Oh my god!!!" etc. I won't say too much more since this is a sequel, but I will definitely be picking up book 3 when it is eventually released! This is one of the best YA science-fiction series out there.