The formatting of the e-arc made it difficult to tell when there were scene changes in the book as the text all runs together. This made for an unnecessarily confusing experience. The first half of the book is really strong, particularly scenes set in the nursing home, but the plot turns madcap in the second half. I was totally confused by the ending and wondered if it was a misprint given how abrupt it was. Unfortunately the last few pages knocked a star off the rating.

The premise of this novel sounded excellent and right up my alley, but all the characters felt two dimensional.

I received this from Netgalley.com.

Set in a nursing home, the residents play a computer VR game which is built around their lives in their little world of Pondside.

An okay read, but the characters blended together and felt more unreal than the characters in the VR game.

2.75☆

Well, this was interesting. The residents of a nursing home are addicted to a virtual reality game where they can relive the best moments of their lives. The game’s creator is found dead and the hunt is one to solve the mystery and to get the game back up and running. We learn about the residents and employees at the nursing home so this novel is not just about the mystery.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. This book was a decent read, I enjoyed the setting, and I liked most of the main characters. I did feel like some parts of the book dragged a bit which would cause me to lose interest for a while.

This was a charming, interesting read! The premise is unique -- a murder mystery meets tech thriller, all the languishing backdrop of a nursing home. This has a sense of irreverence to it, similar to the movie "I Care a Lot" released on Netflix in 2021. The characters all have a real presence on the page, and are complicated to think about as a reader, each in their own way. The cast is all very gray, which is to say they feel like real people. I think at this moment in time especially, this is a book that would resonate with a lot of people. The desire to find solace in comforting tech, specifically in a video game, is one that really rings true after the Animal Crossing craze of the early pandemic, as well as with the popularity of other games that allow the player to live an alternate life, like The Sims. This is a unique book, and I really think there are a lot of people out there who would love it too!

A tender and deeply realized novel. It took a while for me to warm up to the book, but I loved its focus: the lives of nursing-home patients and their caregivers, coupled with the possibilities brought on by computers and virtual reality. The author creates a memorable and enduring cast of characters, each with their own quiet tragedy. But this novel gives them all a chance to speak, and we as readers give them attention. I also loved the conceit that the elderly and the young CNAs at Pondside bond over learning about computers -- that was a really interesting move that made me stop and think. This novel was touching, not just because of its content, but because of its genuine portrayal of nursing home patients' lives, the history of how they ended up at Pondside, and how they spend their final days.

I’m not sure exactly what I was expecting, but this was more than I bargained for. So many layers to this: murder mystery, family dynamics, tragedy, physical/mental decline…at times outlandish, but the heartaches within the care facility were all too realistic.

This began for me as a fun and quirky novel with some interesting characters. But, somewhere along the way, it became a bit too complex and didn’t finish as strong as it started.

The World of Pondside is almost like a nursing home version of Ready Player One. In World of Pondside, nursing home worker Foster is racing against the clock to get World of Pondside functional after the game go down.

My biggest take away from the World of Pondside is that we do want we can for the people that we love. Foster loved Robert and enjoyed working with and learning from him. When Roberts greatest work was at risk of being lost, Foster takes risks he never considered before in his life. And, sometimes, that's what we do for the people we love.

The question I ask myself is, would I read this book again. The answer is maybe. This book was less about the in-game experience and more about the characters lives outside of the game. The nursing home situation was interesting, but at times it took a long time to learn about each character.

Astutely Drawn…
Welcome to the world of Pondside Manor where things are about to get dark. With a wonderful array of astutely drawn characters and with a sharp pen the author draws the reader effortlessly into this often bizarre world. A keenly observed, empathetic and well crafted work.

I made it through about half of this, but I just lost interest. I didn't have any interest in finishing, so I didn't.

This was quite a change from my usual reading fare, but I thoroughly enjoyed it! The general concept reminded me a little of Sword Art Online, with elderly residents of a nursing home reliving the highlights of their lives through an interactive computer game. However, there's a lot more to the situation than meets the eye.

My favorite part of this book was the characters for sure, especially Foster. He was so clueless and down-to-earth and relatable. I loved the wide cast of characters and how they all interacted. They each had a distinctive personality without descending into stereotypes. The way the game was presented was very interesting and different. The story in its entirety was different and original.

I was given a free copy of this ebook by Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Full of unexpected twists and unreliable narrators, what seemingly begins as a mystery becomes a complicated morass of confused purposes. The set up: at a nursing facility, computer scientist Robert, dying of ALS, creates an online game that replicates--to tiny detail--places and memories of the other patients, allowing them to spend time with late spouses, far away children, and in places cemented in their memories. But when Robert dies, his friend Foster, a facility employee, is supposed to recover Robert's laptop and give it to Robert's mother. But the laptop is missing, and thus begins a wild goose chase for it, various passwords, secret levels of the game, and more. What has the game really been about? Smuggling drugs in from China, where Robert has a connection to a lab making experimental medicines for ALS. There are layers upon layers here, dreams that seem real and memories that are subject to dementia, making for an ultimately less than satisfying conclusion, albeit a noble effort to clean up what had become a big mess in the middle.

The World of Pondside, much to its credit, isn't very much like any other book I've encountered this year (or any year, really; I don't think there are very many other techno-thrillers set in nursing homes). Its balance of tense action and touching character relationships, balanced with a healthy dose of quirkiness and whimsy, builds up a world both entertaining and engrossing.

One thing I particularly like about this novel is the complexity with which it portrays both the lives of nursing home residents and the lives of the people whose work is to care for the residents. No character is written to be either heroic or villainous, either purely nice or completely nasty; the messy, complicated reality of being human is always on display in their stories. As every character is written to have more than a few facets, all those angles make for truly captivating storytelling. While I felt the ending was a little bit rushed, the buildup was so intricate and interesting that ultimately I found the book immensely enjoyable.

I'd recommend this one to any reader looking for something a little different, particularly if they like their funny stories tempered with poignancy and their sad stories leavened with humour.

I received a free e-ARC of this title from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my review.

This was a very hard read. Rambling, with an unedited feel. Just a lot of filler and nonsense to confuse the reader. The story premise sounded good but the execution was terrible. Was this even read or edited prior to considering publication?

Got an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Not quite sure what to say about this. It was engaging until the end, which was abrupt and very unsatisfying.

The World of Pondside was an intriguing madcap, read. I enjoyed the premise, a video game that allows residents the opportunity to relive the best moments of their lives.
The video game, creator, Robert is found dead. The mystery draws all the residents in, to determine, how he ended up strapped in his wheelchair, left to die in a pond.
The video game world ends with his demise.
Robert's friend Foster is up for the challenge to determine the fate of his friend. The residents all embark on a Sherlock Holmes journey to solve the mystery,
I enjoyed the characters, the storyline and the mystery that unravels, involving the interplay of the virtual and the 'real' world.
Thank you NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Ms. Stefaniak delivers a highly entertaining and cleverly satirical look at modern reality. I love hese types of stories because they provide humor and entertainment; I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Her realistic characters and storyline quickly engage and hold the reader. Her portrayal of the absurdity of modern life makes for worthy contemplation while provoking analysis and increased empathy, hopefully. I loved this story, had trouble leaving the book, and obviously recommend it to all readers.

Sigh. I had to DNF the book. I know it's still quite early and the book is only scheduled to be released early next year but there were some problems with the book which I just couldn't over look.

For starters, I found it frequently insensitive and the usage of certain words and phrases were downright politically incorrect. Hopefully, the book undergoes a few more rounds of edits which will really help to cull out some parts that might be offensive to some people.

The book can also be way shorter. Some scenes and ideas keep going on and on and honestly it would have been such a better and intriguing text if it was shorter.

I couldn't really find anything likeable about any character and it had less to do with the characters and more to do with how they have been written. All the characters are essentially the same with not a lot of unique traits to help them stand out. And all you are left with is bland characters.