My first impression of this book was, wow this would be a good movie. I really love this kind of adrenaline pumping suspense that comes with a reading something like this. Tracey Deebs made me think…. a lot. Sometimes I will read too many dystopia novels and find myself telling my husband that we would be totally unprepared for a zombie apocalypse. This was one of those kinds of books. I read so many Dystopia novels that are about the aftermath of the world going haywire and you really don’t have a clear explanation about how things got to be that way. It was a plague or something along those lines. This book has us experience the world falling apart in a completely plausible way. Which is what became so unnerving about it to me. I grew up with only land lines and no internet; I had to use a phone book and pay phone to make calls. Yet if the internet went out today, I don’t know if I would know what to do. It’s become such a habit and something we’ve come to rely on heavily without even realizing it. Doomed really focuses on that I think. The funny thing about this book is that I work in IT and I can tell you when the technology stops working, people honestly go crazy and claim they can’t work without it, even though they had done their jobs fine before technology.


The main character doesn’t fit into the normal role of having long hair and being so pretty she doesn’t know kind of thing. Pandora has a nose piercing and purple streaks in her red short hair. It makes it so that people judge her on her looks for a completely different reason. Like they think she might steal their wallet. She’s strong but also has a lot of weak moments where she has to slap herself out of it. She does slap herself out of it though, which makes me respect her.


Pandora ends up getting help from her neighbors, two stepbrothers name Eli and Theo. I was okay with Theo but Eli had a tendency to annoy me. I think the two brothers really balanced each other though as far as their personalities. I’m glad that Tracy explains why Theo is so skilled at so many things that a normal teenager wouldn’t be. I also really like Pandora’s best friend. I wish there was more with her character but I also think it wouldn’t have made sense.


There are some side characters that I wasn’t sure I got enough from. I would have like to have known more about Pandora’s mother and their strained relationship. Also why she told Pandora her father was evil. I also thought the FBI part of it was a little strange but I’ve never tangled with the FBI so I’m not sure how things work.


The romance was natural. No real insta-love here, we find the characters thrown into an impossible situation and they have their up and downs with each other. I thought the progression was perfect, and even though there was sort of a love triangle it wasn’t the kind where you felt like a character was getting lead on. It was like how normal high school would be if you started to like one of your friends.


I would have liked a little more in the ending. I did like how some things were left to the imagination and there are many possible things that could happen to the characters in the future. I just felt like it was slightly anti-climactic on how they end up dealing with the worm and Pandora’s father.


The plot had me hooked and I found myself speeding through this book wondering what would happen next. I like the mix of thriller and mystery that was involved in it too. We have to search for clues to solve the game and of course, save the world.


On a final note, it was great to see the 1981 version of Clash of the Titans referenced. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen the movie a million times myself, you can’t beat those special effects.

Best Bits: This book was a thriller! The book begins on Pandora's birthday, and the rest of the story spans the country, and two realities (the second being the virtual world of Zero Day). I wasn't sure whether it was going to work to have a portion of the story take place in-game, but it did. Not only did the game emphasize the ultimate message behind the virus, but it also helps her understand exactly who is behind it. Although I knew there would be some tension regarding a love triangle, I was glad that it wasn't too long into the book where the reader is clear on who Pandora will choose (see my nit pick below). As many readers of this blog know, I'm a bit tired with this trope. It was nice to have a simple, non-dramatic conclusion to it. The end of the world does take precedence over dating, after all. Deebs also does a good job showing the severity of the worm. Sure, at first it didn't seem like much was wrong. As chaos and fear begin to take over, so does violence and crime. It put urgency behind Pandora's quest, and that kept me flipping pages.

Nit Picks: My nit pick for Doomed is related to one of the stepbrothers who end up helping Pandora navigate Zero Day (called Pandora's Box in my galley edition). Eli, although very useful throughout the story, also seemed to invade Pandora's personal space. Now, this doesn't happen all the time, and Pandora does struggle at the beginning of the book about whether she's attracted to him...but in one scene at a motel he is supposed to be keeping watch and ends up falling asleep in bed with her.

This book just wasn't for me. DNF so no review is currently posted.

Thank you for providing me the review copy.

I didn't get a chance to read this before it expired on my nook. I'm sorry! I did buy it and hope to someday review. I DO recommend it a lot at Barnes and Noble when I'm working and someone wants a video-game themed book!