I was first drawn to this book because of this cover, plot and having read the House of Night series she co-wrote. It really sounded like my cup of tea.

The Key to Fear is presented as a dystopian novel set in a world where touching is forbidden, books are banned and the power is in the hands of The Key, who are the ones in charge (consider the capitol in the Hunger Games)

Given the time we are living in, it made me really curious to see how this story panned out and the advanced technology around to help protect people from spreading the virus. This premise sounded extremely interesting to me also because I used to read a lot of YA dystopian novels so thought there might be another craze for them coming back.

I think this book was not bad per se, but it was not the right one for me. I didn't feel as much attachment to any of the characters and felt that a lot of details were missed out as I wanted to know more about the virus and more of a backstory, however if this is a series I get that books down the line may offer more explanation. I think younger readers would like the romance side to this book but it just wasn't for me.

No touching. That's the rule in the new world, where The Key is the ultimate authority. After a pandemic destroyed the world as we know it, The Key rose to power in order to protect. But Eloide and Aiden are about to discover that looks can be deceiving, and The Key might not be aiming to save then all.

YA dystopian had its hay day over ten years ago now, and believe me when I say I read a lot of dystopian coming of age novels around that time. Because of that, I'm not sure that The Key to Fear really brings anything new to the table. It reads like a lot of the same old stories, with no injection of anything new or exciting. Instead it falls back on expected tropes and tired protagonists. There are love triangles, naive protagonists who 'break the mold' and instalove. All on top of this futuristic dystopian world that seems perfect on the surface, but we all know isn't. It's just all very predictable and dull.

The world building itself also isn't that great. I could get on board with a typical dystopian world if it was explored and described properly, but I found I just had more questions than answers about how and why the world ended up this way. There are lots of dumps of information for the reader to take in too, which I found overwhelming and clunky in the text. Elodie also has passages included from her 'secrer book' which I disliked immensely. They were poorly written, added nothing to the plot and actually took me out of the story.

Unfortunately this didn't stand up for me in the vast sea of dystopian YA that's already out there.

Wasn’t for me, sadly it gave me pandemic anxiety. I thought I’d be ok with that but really wasn’t. Overall the writing style seemed ok but I was unable to finish it because of the anxiety.

After a slow start the last part of the book, when the action finally started, flew by. The premise of this book was good, living in a post-pandemic world where everyone is expected to tow the line as per the government rules, we find our central characters starting to question this way of living.
However, there were some strange parts to the book, namely the book within the book which I didn't feel really served any purpose & I didn't enjoy.

I felt this was missing something, rather than spending time describing the ELU & Aiden & Elodie's work they could have done flashbacks to the virus to give us some idea as to why everyone was so dependant on The Key. It also didn't really explore Aubrey, patient 92, & what the story there was. As well as having a few characters that were really surplus to the story & detracted from it. I don't know if this was a set up for further books or just unexplored threads?

The Key to Fear
Author: Kristen Cast
Genre: YA Sci-Fi
Rating: ⭐️ / 5
Reviewed: Maya

[Trigger Warning: fatphobia, fat shaming, pandemic, death of a parent, emotional abuse, suicide, human experimentation]

- PLEASE BE AWARE THAT I DID NOT FINISH THIS BOOK -
I only got through 7% of this book but I knew that I would be unable to handle the information dumps because they kept coming. The writing style was okay - nothing extraordinarily and needing some work, so it was unable to pull me into the novel. The characters were bland and I didn’t feel that I would be connecting with either of them as the book progressed, which always ruins the book even if there is amazing writing or plots (which this book did not have). Elodie’s secret book passages were confusing and very poorly written; I can’t see how they have any relation to the plot of the book. I could have probably pushed through and finished this book but after reading other reviews and glares from my extensive TBR, I’m going to accept that this book is not for me.

Huge thanks to Netgalley, Head of Zeus and of course Kristen Cast for providing me with a free e-ARC in exchange for my honest review. The publishing date was set for the 5th of November, 2020.

The Key to Fear is an incredibly engaging book, the writing style had me hooked from the first page and before I knew it I had devoured 50 pages just like that! It’s thought provoking to read this sort of book now when there are parallels with what is happening in my everyday life. Most books allow you to escape and this did that.. but at the same time how could I not draw comparisons with the post pandemic world and The Key with COVID and the current rules and restrictions we have now. The no touching one and giving people space are just examples. The world building, medical and technological advances were also so interesting and it makes you think when we’d start making advances like that, and I could have spent hours reading and thinking about that alone. Although could we have those without The Key? I don’t know how I’d feeI if the government became more like them...eek right? Finally before I go as I am trying not to give much away at all because I feel like everyone should give this book a try but damn it’s hard haha. I just want to take a minute to talk about Elodie and Aidan. I love these characters, even when I first met them I found myself connecting with them Elodie it was the books and the door (been there done that ouch!) 🙈 whereas Aidan it was that rebellious streak and some of his internal thoughts, just the way the thinks things! Yeah.... but I’ll leave it there for now. Who knows maybe I’ll cave and write a blog post about everything at some point as I might not be able to hold it all in! But for now it’s goodbye from me and this beautiful book.

One thing I think you need to do if you’re going to write a book set in an alternate world is offer some attempt to build it up and help us to understand how this came into being. Sadly, this was lacking. In spite of numerous references to the Key and how it controls the lives of its citizens, and mention of some kind of virus that has affected people beyond ways they might imagine, there was little to explain this world.
Our two main characters are Elodie and Aiden. They have a brief run-in and before you now it are falling in love and renouncing everything they believe in to be together. I know sometimes you can’t explain how you feel, but an attempt to rationalise it would be welcome.
There’s some focus on their families and how this impacts on other choices, but not enough to really make me care too much. The signs pointing to the big twist were pretty obvious.
Thanks to NetGalley for granting me access to this before publication. It sounded as if it would be better than it was. For me, Aiden and Elodie shall stay in Area Seven and I will remain none the wiser of the fate that befalls them.

Okay look this book isn’t going to set the world on fire, it’s not going to bring about a resurgence of YA dystopia BUT it is a good addition to the genre.

Books like The Key to Fear, Eve of Man, etc follow the same basic tenets-young “instant” love, a bad guy (usually the government), rebels, and jeopardy. But they do it because it works.
I enjoyed The Key to Fear because it’s easy to read, it doesn’t drag, and the ending comes with such a punch that you’re almost disappointed to see the acknowledgments instead of another chapter.

I’ll definitely be adding book 2 to my list when it comes out.

The ARC of this book was provided by the publisher Head of Zeus via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

2.25 stars

At first I was so drawn to this book because of this cover and its plot. It really sounded like my cup of tea. The Key to Fear is presented as a dystopian novel set in a world where touching is forbidden, books are banned and the power is in the hands of The Key, who are playing God instead of truly protecting the people.
We find ourselves in a future where touching is no longer allowed because of a pandemic that wiped away most od the population. Given the time we are living in, this gave me goosebumps but I was very curious to find out more about this story and futuristic setting.
This premise sounded extremely interesting to me also because I'm a sucker for dystopian novels and it reminded me of The Handmaid's Tale, Divergent, Hunger Games and Maze Runner.
I think this book was not bad per se, but it was not the right one for me. Even though the plot here created was interesting, I think it was too similar to other things I already read and I couldn't find something really innovative.As for the character, I wasn't the biggest fan of the protagonist, but I really liked Aiden. However, I guess a younger target might be able to appreciate it a lot.

I LOVED this book! It was so unique and yet so hauntingly fitting for the current world situation. A world where touching is forbidden, books are banned and the Key governs the people with tight rules, err yes please! We are given a story filled with drama, mystery, adventure and romance and @kcastauthor does not disappoint.

The characters were well written and fleshed out. I loved Elodie and Aiden so much! Elodie trusts the Key completely and yet when she meets Aiden everything takes a turn and the world isn’t quite what Elodie thought she knew. The mystery and intrigue they find themselves on are action packed and their dynamics with the other characters gives the story that extra depth.

The secondary characters build the tension and add extra levels, however I felt some of their storylines were a bit choppy. That said the world building is so unique and the intrigue is high! A world were there are monsters and contagion beyond where the government permits you to go. A world where you can’t touch. I cannot wait to read book two and see where these characters go!

Remember when YA dystopian was a massive craze? I've got to admit I fell straight into that trend. I loved reading about all the weird dystopian worlds, what kind of rules they'd have in place, and how people were treated. Sure, there usually wasn't a lot of depth, but they were fun! Sometimes we need fun. The Key to Fear makes me think, maybe YA dystopian still has a bit more life to it. Maybe it's time for a comeback.

The Key is the corporation that governs after a pandemic nearly wiped out the human race. It creates the rules. It keeps people safe. Elodie obeys the rules, at least, she used to. When she meets Aidan things begin to change, he's different, and she likes it. She's drawn deeper into the world of resistance, but there are consequences to every action.

What I look for in a good dystopian book is compelling worldbuilding, and this book pulled through! It's set fifty years after 75% of the population are wiped out by disease. The Key takes responsibility for saving the remaining people and keeping them safe in the present. That consists of creating a world with strict rules; no touching, ever. You've got bubbles that people walk around in to keep safe, soldiers burn the environment outside of the city to stop pathogens mutating in the wildlife, jobs are chosen based on aptitude, and harsh punishments face those who want to resist. Of course, the resistance is building, said to attack people with biological weapons their motivations are mysterious.

To introduce us to this world, the beginning of the book is a slow-paced build-up. That's not something I mind at all; I love immersing myself in a world before everything falls apart.

The Key to Fear is a fun, easy read, but it doesn't add much new to the dystopian genre. It's been a long time since I read anything like this book, so I was excited regardless, but if you don't like the genre this book won't convince you otherwise. It seems to be following the arch of the first book being heavily romance based until found to be breaking the rules and then things change. Some of the rules don't make too much sense to me other than being typical to the genre. Why are their jobs chosen? Why are there arranged marriages? Why are books banned? I'm sure the author could give answers to these questions, but they don't seem to fit with a post-pandemic world.

That being said, I did enjoy the romance. It has instalove elements, but it takes a long time for them to come together, so the dynamic worked well. They had a lot of chemistry, and I enjoyed reading about the couple. The people that surround Elodie don't treat her very well, namely her mother and her boyfriend. It was great to watch how her relationship with Aiden taught her that she wasn't wrong for wanting more.

This is very much a romance-forward book. It seems to be setting the stage for a larger overarching plot in later instalments, but The Key to Fear is highly character-driven. I loved seeing the hints at something more malevolent occurring in the background, and I can't wait to see what happens later in the series.

Overall, The Key to Fear was a fun read that I tore through, excitedly learning about the world and watching the characters grow. It isn't without faults, but it's very typical of the genre. If you were someone who liked YA dystopia you'd definitely enjoy this.

The Key to Fear is the first Kristin Cast book that I have read, and my first dystopian novel in a long time. I am not sure what I was expecting heading into this, but the plot didn't surprise me that much, as it seemed the same as every other dystopian that I have read. One thing that I did find unique about the plot and setting was that it was set post-pandemic rather than post-war/post-natural disaster. And a post-pandemic book seems very apt at this moment.

The Key to Fear switches between three different PoV's which made it initially hard to get attached towards any of the characters, but as the plot was developing, it was easier to connect to them. While I could see the point of both Elodie's and Aiden's PoV, Blair's felt a little unnecessary for this book, but I have a feeling she will become much more key later in the series, so it was good to understand her motivations before that plotline develops. In The Key to Fear there is a developing romantic relationship between Aiden and Elodie, but to me it felt like insta-love, which is not something that I like from my romances. Because as soon as they meet Elodie is in love with Aiden and he is all she can think about. But I can see the possible development of a more realistic romantic relationship in future books.

I did find part of the book hard to read, as Elodie's relationship with both her mother and her matched fiance are very toxic. Within the first chapter of the book, her mother is fat-shaming her, so please do be aware if that is a trigger for you. Later in the book, her mother is also verbally abusive towards her, just because she is not the perfect clone of herself like she wanted. Rhett, her fiance, is very misogynistic, blaming her emotions and not wanting to shoot a gun on her being a woman. I found this hard to read and a little bit unnecessary for the plot as it didn't add anything to it, so it didn't need to be there.

One issue that I did have with The Key to Fear was that there was a lot of missing information and context. As events would be mentioned in early chapters, and I thought everything was going to circle back round to them, yet they were never mentioned again. This left me with questions, which I probably will have forgotten by the time the second book in the series is released. I would have also loved to have got an explanation as to how the Key came about, and what actually happened during the pandemic as it is never addressed. This made it feel like necessary context was missing, making the book very confusing at certain points.

Overall, The Key to Fear was a solid start to a new dystopian series. I definitely feel that there is room for improvement within the plot and the relationships, but I have high hopes for the series. I will probably pick up the sequel when it is released.

It really is quite bizarre reading a story like this which centres around a virus that decimated the population when we are in the situation we are in now!

Alas though, this story differs quite a bit from our own.

Admittedly I did struggle initially with the characters and who’s who as it all seemed to blur into one. I would have perhaps liked more context to Cerberus and The Key but I imagine there’s room for this in book 2.

Elodie is a sweet young girl who you can tell by her reading of banned novels is yearning for a life outside of her own and one that is more exciting. Her betrothed, Rhett is vile. His attitude to Elodie, treating her like a weak, soft girl I found hard to read. Same with Elodies mother, her behaviour is manipulative and they were hard to read.

I did like Aiden, I suppose like Elodie, he too wanted to seek a life outside of the Key and found just that.

There was a nod to what the so called ‘terror’ organisation Eos is doing but we never really delve past the surface there.

Same with the doctor who was experimenting on children, it’s like a fleeting mention but nothing really sticks.

I enjoyed reading this book but felt that it needs some development, it’s a little bit flat and it would be good to give some depth to the stories and the characters a little more.

The ending leaves me hopeful for book two and hopefully the concerns I have will be alleviated there.

An enjoyable dystopian futuristic story. Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishers for this copy to read and review.

Before I begin my review for The Key to Fear (The Key book one) by Kristin Cast, I would personally like to thank the author, the publishers and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC and I have reviewed it honestly.

Dystopian tales have never been more possible. 50 years after a global pandemic wipes out a large percentage of human kind, The Key takes hold and governs a stringent society with rigid rules. Rule number one? No touching. Join a contrasting cast of characters as secrets are shared, rules are broken and hearts are destroyed.

The Key to Fear features, but is not limited to, the following themes:
○ YA fantasy
○ YA romance
○ Dystopian
○ Strict society
○ Futuristic technology
○ Post pandemic


My overall rating for The Key to Fear is…

4 Stars!

This book was such a crazy concept of a post pandemic world where people are not allowed to touch each other. I see touching another person as a basic need for human kind and the possibility of having that taken away is unimaginable! Cast creates an eerie world with relatable characters and shocking events that will leave you utterly devastated.

This post-pandemic dystopian was a really enjoyable read even if it did feel somewhat closr to home given the present times, a look into this possible future was at times terrifying, but the no touch laws were diffinitely believeable. The world was very initeresting to read about with the new technology, a very gripping story with a cliff hanger of an ending.

I really wanted to like this book - I really wanted dystopia to be on the rise again, but with a fresh new perspective. However, this mostly felt like a book that would have fit right into the tail end of the earlier dystopia surge with nothing really to distinguish it.

So here's my problem with dystopia - it has a lot of cliches and it's hard to find a way to put a new spin on it, given how many books there were out there. The main one is that the government lies is a big theme and it's supposed to be a shocking twist, but it just can't be anymore because it's expected. It's a genre I want to see resurgent, to get a new, fresh take, but everything just feels a poor copy cat of the originals.

I had to fight my way through the first 100 pages as there was nothing that grabbed me in the story. It was obvious where the story was going, and that the no touching rule meant that the world would be undone by love, which it did. It was not only predictable and so cliché, but also felt like it was missing out on the enormous potential of looking into what a world without touch means psychologically.

Plus the writing fell really flat for me as there was no emotion in it. It just sort of ambled along between events without evoking any chemistry between the characters. Given the whole "no touching will be broken by love" destination of the book, there really needed to be a strong romance, but I didn't find one. Instead, it felt like their "romance" was entirely being set up by the comparison to Elodie's betrothed - but any semi-decent man who bothered to hold a conversation with her would be made to look romantic by that comparison.

It did get easier to read as the story went on, because I'd got into the swing of it and could read quickly thanks to knowing where it was going. Plus it was a short book.

Reading a book about a post pandemic world given *gestures around* was a strange experience. Having the only thing being banned as touch felt rather unrealistic - because it left me with a lot of questions about how it was enforced, how they overcome love, and why they even had to match people to make families if the babies were grown in labs anyway.

Plus there were a few flaws in how the world now deals with avoiding transmission. Sure, people have walking shields that they can pop up around them, but it didn't all follow through. If you're going to say that touch is the main transmission vector, then sharing workspaces is impossible without a thorough sanitisation - and yet that happens. Giving people objects is also out, and yet that happens. Showers are apparently out of fashion as it's perceived unsanitary (so have a UV light bath instead - even though that kills germs it doesn't remove matter from your skin etc).

There are three POVs (plus maybe one or two chapters from someone else? I can't really recall), but the third - Blair - is one I'm still trying to work out why she was in there. She's an ambitious woman high up in the Key's structure, but the plot would be basically the same without her. She seems to be there to make Aiden's identity reveal a "big moment" (which was another cliché tick box moment, and also fell flat as I hadn't cared about Blair, so her information coming into Aiden's story was "eh, so what?" for me.)

Oh my god, this book had me hooked from the very beginning and I had so much trouble putting it down!

This post-apocalyptic, dystopian world that Cast has created is so believable during the time of Covid-19 where touching is a no-no! This book really makes you consider how things could turn out in the future, with your spouse being chosen for you with no intimacy involved and science being the only way for babies to be conceived. I really enjoyed the world building in this book and the use of technology to show us how much the world has changed

The Key to Fear is such an interesting and well thought out story with great characters that developed throughout. I liked reading this from different perspectives as it helped build on the plot and the actions taken. I really liked Elodie and Aiden and how the two become linked in this journey. I also liked reading as Elodie started to realise what The Key had become, even if it did happen quite suddenly.

The Key to Fear is such a brilliant book that shows how dangerous power can be and what people will do to obtain it. I feel like it's been so long since I read a captivating dystopian and this one ticked all the boxes for me! I cannot wait to read the next book in this series and to read more of Cast's work as this was the first book I've read of hers!

Thank you to NetGalley and Head of Zeus for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

How far should a government go to 'govern' us? When do we reach totalitarianism? Even using the excuse of our safety, where should the lines be drawn? "No touching today for a healthy tomorrow" The story is so relevant today, it makes it even scarier.

This is a technologically advanced society in the future, that due to a pandemic which wiped out a lot of the planet's population, became totalitarian under the supervision of The Key, a corporation that 'saved' them.

The protagonist Elodie, follows the rules to a T and is a stickler for punctuality, but also loves things of the past like water showers and unsanctioned books of fiction. She believes in the Key's purpose. But now she is discovering that she craves something different, and Aiden seems to fit the bill. Aiden who doesn't seem to fit into the system, or really care to. He doesn't like the 'emptiness' and wants to feel. He hopes to find others like him. I adore Aiden and Elodie's interactions as he keeps her on her toes and makes her think about things like never before.

What happens when you live in a world where touching is illegal and suddenly you want to touch someone? Can you live the life that was predetermined for you?

Captivating from the get go and highly addictive, this tickles my love of conspiracies in fiction. There is a power struggle going on between the powers that be and a shadowy organization that want to 'make things right'. In the midst of all the craziness that ensues and surprising scenes that 'shortcircuit' your breath, the protagonists fight for what they believe in, as they decide what to believe in.

With all encompassing 3rd person POVs that have brutally honest details, the author makes them so invitingly personal and simultaneously cinematic. Including descriptions that are comfortable in their originality. I do think the book needed to concentrate a little more on Eos and what they actually did. It would have given a little more oomph to some crucial scenes.

Humans have the capacity for such great things and the capacity for such terrible things. This book navigates through the consequences of the lust for power, the arrogance of forcing your will on others, plus questions of morality and humanity. Showcasing the undeniable power of love in a beyond shocking finale, this is a worthy beginning to a promising new obsession of a series.

Rating: 3.5

Trigger Warnings: sickness, death, fatphobia, emotional abuse, controlling relationship, human experimentation, virus, pandemic, suicide

The Key to Fear is a strong opener to a new series, a dystopian story that’s a little more familiar than anyone could have expected. I found it to be an interesting read, though admittedly I was expecting it to me mostly focused on the dystopian virus element whereas this book has a strong romance focus. Not a bad thing, by any measure, just not quite what I expected. The premise of The Key to Fear is, in 2020, particularly eerie. Fifty years prior to the book a virus struck the world and the resulting pandemic nearly wiped out humanity. Out of the disaster of the Cerberus virus, the Key rose. A conglomerate focused on controlling the spread of the virus and protecting humanity, the Key outlawed dangerous behaviours and took control, with everything from banning books, choosing relationship matches and identifying career paths to outlawing touch itself.

I found the first half of the book and the shady as hell mystery surrounding the Key, the Key’s behaviour and missing victims super super interesting. It’s rare that worldbuilding wins me over that simply but this was a realistic seeming version of a post pandemic world that never adjusted back to closeness and intimacy. The ongoing, intense fear of the virus was powerful and the technological steps that society has taken to avoid touch. There were moments where Elodie explained adaptions the world had made, like spacing out subway seats that a year ago would have seemed strange to me. Now, well. It was very, very eerie. The banned book aspect was a little strange, there wasn’t much in-text to explain why they were banned, other than the Key generally controlling things. I don’t mind that so much though, as this was the start of a series so there could be more information coming in later books, especially after the way this book ended. There’s a lot more to know about this world, particularly outside of the Zones the book starts in, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Despite not expecting it, I did think the romance was good, though not something I generally look for in a book, and I did like the way that Aiden and Elodie’s relationship was tied into the conflict in the story. It tied into several plot points (that I won’t spoil here) and there were several twists that I didn’t guess. One of them, in hindsight, was so obvious that I felt like an idiot, but it did surprise me very well. The end of the book built up into a complex ending that had my heart in my throat and I’m looking forward to finding out what happens in the next book.

"No touching today for a healthy tomorrow."

This is the motto the citizens of Kristen Cast's newest novel, The Key to Fear, live by. In this YA dystopian novel, based 50 years post pandemic the citizens of New America are governed by a corporation called The Key.

The Key controls everything. From selecting your perfect career and your ideal match, to policing human contact and creating babies in a lab. Most people live the majority of their life in VR and doing anything out in the real world is considered out of the ordinary.

Elodie is a stickler for the rules. She takes her job at the Long Term Care Unity seriously and being the sole nurse overseeing a few comatose patients is quite and suites her perfectly. Everything changes when one little girl wakes up, before later dissapearing completely.

With the help from Aiden, the strange boy working at The End Of Life Unit, Elodie will not stop until she has answers. She soon learns that everything she has always known is not as it seems and her whole world unravels around her.

The character development in this novel was amazing and I loved watching Elodie's character mature in such a short period of time. I also enjoyed the world building though I can't help but to feel like there is so much more for us to explore and I can't wait to see where this series goes in future novels.

While I did really enjoy the storyline in this book I found it to be quite slow for the first 75% and struggled to get through the pages. This is why I am only giving this book 3.5/5.

If you are looking for a new dystopian to help you get through our current pandemic this is the book for you!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Head of Zeus publishing for giving me an eARC of this novel in return for an honest review.