I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Capsule definitely gave me some Ready Player One vibes. In it, you will meet Jackie, Peter, and Kat. One day at school, Jackie and the rest of her classmates found out that Peter and Kat are now missing. Then she randomly found an app, named Capsule, on her phone. She didn't remember downloading it so she went to delete it. Later on that day, it's back and she doesn't know why. Whenever she shows her phone to people they don't even see it.

The app is constantly on her mind. Especially after the first message she receives which involves playing a game to save Peter and Kat. At this point, I'm very intrigued because now I'm getting Jumanji vibes now. Entering into a game to save people or the world. It didn't matter to me really because I was just really excited to dive into this adventure.

What I got was a lot of emotions throughout this book. Each level had it's own version of sadness.. which is kind of weird to say. It dives into Peter's and Kat's lives and each little puzzle piece shows how they are all somewhat connected. Oh man, so many emotions and feelings while reading this.

In the end, I'm still not over this. Especially before the last chapter came my way because damn - it was so good! I'm so glad that I got to meet these three and watch them grow. Plus seeing how things in their life changed how they are today and how their classmates see them. It was very eye opening and all I can say is that I dream that these three are happier in their lives.

This was a compelling and thoroughly enjoyable read from start to finish with a great storyline, interesting cast of characters and all capped off by skilful writing. It's well worth your time if you appreciate great storytellers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Library Resources for providing me with a copy of this publication! I really enjoyed this book!

I recieved this eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Where do I start. This books was amazing.
The characters were so well written, each one had a strongly defined personality and to be honest I just want to give each one of them a hug. A lot of them did really questionable thigs, yes, but at the end you really get to know them in depth. Mel was able to capture the character's feelings and make the readers feel them too, she made them realistic and relatable. The three main characters were all so different from each other, yet they all ended up caring a lot for the others.
The whole concept of the book is really creative and fun to read, it was hard for me to put down this book. It is fast-paced and written in a way that captures your attention.
Can't wait for it to come out and people to love it as I did!

Capsule is an awesome read for any fan of mystery, and science then this book is for you! I couldn’t stop reading I was dying to know what would happen next in this twisted game . I loved the ending hoping for a continued series !

Book title: Capsule
Author: Mel Torrefranca
Publisher: Lost Island Press
Publication Date: 10 July 2021
Review Date: 17 June 2021 on Goodreads

My thanks to Netgalley, Lost Island Press and Mel Torrefranca for an advance copy

The use of an electronic gaming app to solve the disappearance of two school children.

We meet Jackie, a student happy to spend her time gaming online rather than face to face relationships. Two fellow students go missing, one is the most popular at school and the other - the least popular.

The installation of a new game Capsule on Jackie's phone results in a real-world game supposedly controlled by Capsule which only Jackie can complete.

Are they eventually found?

The author has provided the following CONTENT warnings:
profanity | eating disorder | crime | drowning | car accident

Quick, fast paced.

There are two missing high school students. One is instagram popular, the other is disliked for his blog-criticisms of other students. A mysterious app that only Jackie can see appears on her phone. She can’t find any information online about it, but it seems to hold a clue to where the missing students might be. Can she save them by beating the game, or will she become another casualty.

For people who enjoyed the books/movies Ready Player One, Alice in Borderland, and the 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

I have received a copy of this book as an ebook arc from NetGalley

Spoiler free review from me. If you love books like Ready Player One by Ernest Cline and Warcross by Marie Lu then this book is for you. It's a SCI-FI Thriller but the SCI-FI isn't a major theme in the book if that's not for you its main theme is Thriller. Books like One Of Us Is Lying, Two Can Keep A Secret and The Cousins From Karen M. McManus are Thrillers I've read that are similar to this book in that once I pick them up I want to read in one sitting to find out what happens.

Can't recommend this book enough. Hope to buy a paperback copy when it comes out on July 10th.

Just think, what would have happened if you were struck in a game in the real life, like a magic and no one else can know about it, and the goal of the game is to save the lives of two kids, I.e your classmates. OMG!!! Right, this is all so crazy. Just thinking about it made me feel so crazy, just imagine reading it, what heights of craziness did I enjoy 😍🥳🤩
This story is filled with action, emotions, grief, sibling-bonding, thrill, and a tad bit of romance. The book is all about a game, and to save lives of two kids, but that is not it, it explores the past, behaviour of people, emotions they face, the grief they encounter, the amount of energy they put to understand life. In our present day life, with the technology advancing to the next level, and with the Internet, our lives are revolving inside a capsule of fake environment, fake friends, and fake security, we are all living our lives in a bubble, thinking we are connecting and getting close to people but the truth is we are distancing ourselves from the real world, the bliss of being in between the nature, the bliss of interacting with people face to face, playing games on a PC, rather than in the sun, living our lives in social media, rather than in our surroundings. We feel we are connected to people but the truth is some of us don’t even know the person sitting beside us in classes or in our work.

“I guess that the past has power over us, but it doesn’t change who we are”

The book teaches us the essence of friendship, essence of the effect the past has on us, the essence of nature around us, essence of calm we require outside the Internet bubble, essence of living the life in real, and all this in the form of thrill and action packed book. This book is truly a must read for everyone.

Now coming to my rating : out of 5 stars
Cover : beautiful and attractive ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Title : perfect and apt ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Plot : intriguing and wonderful ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Character development : impeccable ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Writing style : perfect and the words delivered the emotions and descriptions perfectly and imaginable ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Originality : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Overall : this is no doubt a 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ star book for me, and I would give more stars if possible. Wonderful book with a wonderful story, wonderful theme and a wonderful moral, only deserves a wonderful rating 😅😅😅.

Despite being in my early 40’s I’m still in my late teens in my mind. This book really grabbed my attention as it had a rather unique storyline which is a rare find. It certainly didn’t disappoint, I’d love to see it made into a movie or even a mini series?!?
Think a sci-fi version of Riverdale/13 Reasons Why, even though characters are teens the plot is mature enough to interest adults.
The only negative is.... I want more!!! Sequel please?

mind. blown. seriously!! this is such a fantastic sci fi book. super fast paced, the characters were so complex (asian rep!!), the plot itself was great, and the ending was perfect :0 you know those feelings you get when you finish a book and you know you’ll be thinking about it a lot? that’s 100% this book! overall a really thought out book i truly loved it! 5 ⭐️

This book is brilliant.

From the first page, it grabbed my interest and swept me away on a thrilling adventure. At first, I read the book simply for the ride - rather out of pure enjoyment of the suspense and action rather than the themes or characters.

But as I started to delve deeper into the pages, the interwoven themes started standing out to me. And goodness, there were so many.

Friendship, how we view others and life, technology, sacrifice, grief, mental illness - it's all in CAPSULE.

The characters were amazing - and while I didn't like most of them in the beginning, they all held so much depth that made them all relatable as the story progressed.

I think my favorite part of this novel is just how Torrefranca wove all those thought-provoking themes into an action-packed, suspenseful thriller novel.

The biggest thing I didn't like was the profanity. It just didn't seem necessary to me. There was quite a bit of it, too, and while that much usually would make me stop reading, I was too invested in the story and characters to do so.

Overall, this book managed to be both suspenseful and thought-provoking, with a touch of mystery. I'd recommend it to pretty much any YA reader who doesn't mind profanity. I would definitely be interested in reading Torrefranca's other works! :)

Jackie - A loner who used to have a close relationship with her older brother Jay but they have grown apart since she decided to ostracise herself from her family. She is addicted to gaming and the highlight of her day is the time she spends talking to and gaming with her only friend Eugene.

Peter - The most disliked student at Brookwood High due to his blog Moral Moon in which he writes nasty comments about his fellow students.

Kat - One of the popular students with a eclectic fashion sense and a love for combat boots, taking risks and has a bit of a attitude.

A trio of students whose paths have crossed countless times in the school corridors but who have never interacted until the day their lives become intertwined due to a game called Capsule that suddenly appears on Jackie's phone after Kat and Peter mysteriously disappear. After Jackie taps the countdown button, she finds herself transported back in time to before Kat and Peter disappeared. The trio find themselves caught up in a twisted and complex game and in a desperate race to save Peter and Kat's lives. Can Jackie convince the other two teens that despite how unbelievable the situation sounds, the three virtual stranger had to find a way to work together in order to complete the five levels of the game. The trio find themselves on a character changing, dangerous journey of secrets from the past and self discovery. But, by taking part in the game, was Jackie placing her own life in danger? What was Capsule's end game? Were they playing the game or was the game actually playing them? When they reached the end of the game, would it be game over in more ways than one?

The chapters predominantly rotated between the perspectives of the three main characters Jackie, Kay and Peter, three vivid, realistic individuals who each had their own unique personalities and character traits. From the very beginning of the book, I thought feisty Jackie was a very likeable character and was my favourite character but as the story unfolded and the truth behind Kat and Peter's actions and behaviour began to emerge, I began to regret judging them both so harshly and unfairly. It was heart warming witnessing how their relationships and characters developed as they spent time together working their way through the levels. I don't very often find that I am emotionally affected by a story but there was a scene towards the end of this book that caused a lump in my throat and left me close to tears.

There was chapters scattered throughout the book that featured letters that were addressed to Dear Stranger but who was the author of the letters, who was the recipient and how did these letters fit into Jackie, Kat and Peter's stories?

This is a intelligently written, character driven, thrilling blend of mystery, thriller with a large dash of sci-fi Y/A that is written at such a high level that it is also suitable for adults. The story isn't bogged down with incomprehensible scientific information and there is some scenes that are fast paced, intense and gripping. I really really enjoyed this enthralling read and would gladly read more of this author's books in the future. Very very highly recommended.

I’m always a bit nervous going into a book blind, but in this case, I shouldn’t have been. This is an amazingly unique and inventive book.

I’m a sucker for the developing/budding friendships and this book is a goldmine. People who know of each but don’t really *know* each other morphing into something more than acquaintances or strangers? Perfect.

Something else I love? Rude/jerkish characters revealing parts of themselves that show there’s more than meets the eye. Characters who feel real for their flaws and complexities. Again, this book did not let me down.

In case I my opinion isn’t already clear, I highly recommend this novel.