i really enjoyed reading this book, the characters were great and I really enjoyed the scifi element. I would like to see more in this series.

The adventures of the young, enhanced and beautiful "St. Augustina" will appeal to fans of superhero movies. There is a vibe of Manga and magic given an extra dimension by her struggles both with her own churning mental state and a very real necessity to stay alive. The twists and turns of the plot are both confusing and entertaining since the reader can never anticipate what happens next. The fact that the characters can draw on futuristic physical abilities within a world were magic, benign or deadly, is a part of daily life makes this a very rich canvass for the author to create her alternative world.

I want to start off by saying I really, REALLY wanted to LOVE this book. Blade Runner is one of my favorite movies of all time and I listen to Synth music on a regular basis so when I saw the cover and read the blurb for this book, it was kismet. I also want to say before starting- that this is the first book I have read from this author, and upon reading this book and doing some research about her- I will go out and read more from her in the future.

I thought the first 2/3 of this book was almost perfect. The action scenes were wonderful, fast-paced, and exciting. The descriptions were well crafted and the dialogue was compelling. The writing flowed well and the world was easy to get lost into.

I really enjoyed St. Augustina's character. She was interesting and strong - with a no BS attitude that I absolutely adored and had a mysterious past I was interested in finding out more about.

I liked the introduction of the side characters; the Orange Lady, St. Benedict, and St. Rachel. They were all compelling and mysterious...and clearly part of St. Augustina's past we were trying to unravel. The interactions between them and the MC were all interesting and entertaining.

I loved the setting. It felt like an amazing futuristic neon city with some really innovative technological advancements. I liked all the "jack-in" scenes - and I really loved the cybernetic augmentations and how they were utilized in the story.

SPOILERS BELOW ******
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The main issue I had in the final 1/3 of the book was how confused I was. When she "woke up" it was hard to understand the new world she was in. Some new magic world? Did the Databowl exist at all? Who were the people that had her box? Who the eff was Rune? I had to re-read multiple times to try to get at what was going on, and even then it was all pretty vague with what felt like huge gaps missing. After looking into it on Goodreads, I found out this is a sort of "prequel" or novella to her Lucky Devil Series. After reading the Excerpt at the end of the ARC for Saint of Liars and reading the blurbs for the other books I'm guessing this one would fall between the two.

Am I still interested in the start of the series? Yes. The great writing and interesting characters make me want to read more from Mackie. Did it hurt my view on this book? Yes. I went into this thinking it was a stand-alone or the start of a new series. I felt like there was an inside joke I wasn't privy to or like I joined a conversation without hearing the beginning.

As a novice reader of cyberpunk (Burning Chrome and Snow Crash being my largest forays into the genre), I had a difficult time getting into Saint Code: The Lost. Slang and descriptions flowed over me, slowly offering insight into the world crafted by Mackie. Well written and poignant, my review is likely shaded by my difficulty with this subgenre. Mackie does have an eye for action, with violent scenes well played out amongst the dystopian setting she has crafted, and I plan on trying to re-read the novel, as well as the rest of the Lucky Devil series, of which this is book 4.