This is a love story like no other. Chris Rockwell is an assassin for The Order. Most citizens are called Modifieds because their genes are manipulated and modified while they are still embryos. The rest of the citizens are called Purebreds because they were either born before The Ban Pure Breeding law went into effect or they were part of an extremist group that disagreed. When the extremist group started an anarchist organization, Chris is sent to take out the Robertson family. All five of the adult children in the family are eliminated one by one with no one the wiser they were assassinated. When it is realized there is a sixth child, she is investigated by Zaire, a coworker of Chris. When Chris meets Jenna, he is immediately attracted to her as she is to Chris. This is truly a wonderful romance set in unusual circumstances. Highly recommended.

Thank you netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review .
I wanted to truly like this sci-fi novel because it held many of the themes i enjoy: espionage, assassins, romance and an advanced tech world. Unfortunately it did not deliver. While the characterization was well developed and characters engaging it lacked real drama. The kind that has you eager to turn the page to see what will happen next. Overall, a decent story worth trying.

I enjoyed this book - a solid 3 stars.

This book follows the interlinked stories of Chris and Jenna, people that live in a Utopian/Dystopian land where you're either Purebred or Modified, as well as Inland or Coastal, Modified and Coastal being the best options. I enjoyed the interactions between the two of them - they were honest and open, and in a burgeoning romance this is always refreshing to read - I can't bear stories where people don't just say what they mean and play games with one another!

I would have liked to have seen a little more actual conflict - not between Chris and Jenna, but with some of the supplementary characters like Raul, who we know are nefarious but who do nothing. Or maybe that's just part of the world - it was very clinical, and almost written as though the inhabitants are drugged into sleepy submission.

I'd be interested to read more in this world, although possibly with focus on other characters.

Five things about this book:
1) Assassins
2) Family anarchist gangs
3) Genetic modification
4) Fade-to-black romance
5) Minimal number of action sequences

So, if any of those things are topics or classifications you look for in a book, I recommend checking it out! I like action and mystery books, but hate reading action scenes, so this book fit my tastes really well in that way. The worldbuilding was very intriguing and did a good job of discussing the role of the government, especially in terms of genetic modification.

The ending was kind of slow for me, but at 60-85% of the book, I was absolutely full of dread and anxiety for the characters.

Not sure how much I buy the romance, but I was rooting for them to work through the challenges they faced.

Overall, I fun and enthralling read that starts like James Bond and ends like a Hallmark movie.

More science fiction based than I thought it was going to be, the premise made me think of a globe-trotting espionage than a moralistic dystopia. It still works well for what it is, but my expectations were certainly adjusted!

The concept of this story is SO intriguing and is chock full of social commentary regarding the us versus them mentality, surveillance and tracking, and just plain human nature. I found the relationship between Jenna and Chris to be more the main focus of the story rather than any sci fi / action / page-turning action, which wasn’t bad, per say... but it left me cravinggggg more world development and plot driven aspects. I did like the fact that honesty and vulnerability was so foundational in their relationship and I totally resonated with the idea of being with someone with whom you can be fully and completely open and yourself. As for the ending, I felt it was abrupt? And I am not entirely sure what the second book will be focused on, since the ending of this one didn’t really leave any super pressing issues? I guess we will find out!

Set in a time of government control and compulsory genetic modification. Where you have to apply for a child license and where the sectors are homogenous, one culture, one people. In such a world, of course, not everything goes smoothly; there are those who are against genetic modification - called 'purebreds' who are shunned by society and only allowed to live in a community with their own kind, with low socioeconomic status. Except for a select few families. The rich are coastal and the poor are the Inlanders.

Chris Rockford is a government agent, an assassin. His job is to eliminate a purebred family of anarchists to maintain the order. While on a mission he meets an intriguing and mysterious woman called Jenna, a purebred inlander. They are instantly drawn to each other and she makes Chris feel for the first time. As he becomes more immersed in her life as an inlander he begins to see how differently they are treated, the inequalities they face and he starts to question things in his life. He also knows his job will scare her away. But Jenna has secrets of her own.

This is a very interesting and well-written story. To be honest, in the beginning, I was a bit confused with the whole purebred society, the modified people, and the people born before the ban on pure breeding. However, that is really the only con I have for this book. It was well-paced and well balanced in the plot, with Chris' life as an agent and the romance he and Jenna formed. The characters were layered and there was good character development and I enjoyed how inequality was highlighted and the questioning of the status quo. Chris had lived quite a privileged life working for the government so it was nice to see his eyes opened to the life of people who aren't as privileged and questioning whether life is fair after all.

this was a great start to a series, the characters were great and I really enjoyed going through this story. I'd be interested in seeing where this series goes.