Ebook received for free through Netgalley

I wanted to like the book and love the premise but I just couldn't get into it. I got 32% through the ebook before finding the audiobook and hoping that would let me continue the story. It stalled out at 50%. I like it but just keep putting it down and forgetting about it.... though I do hope to finish the story but can't keep holding the review hostage.

Tlotlo Tsamaase’s Womb City is a dark dive into dystopian science fiction, drenched in horror elements that unsettle and disturb. Set in a future where women are reduced to mere vessels for reproduction, the novel explores themes of infertility and societal acceptance of various fertilization methods. Fans of Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale will find echoes of its grim vision here, as Tsamaase paints a world where autonomy is a distant memory, and humanity is a concept twisted beyond recognition.

The science in Womb City isn't grounded in reality as we know it, but that’s not the point. This isn’t hard science fiction. Instead, Tsamaase uses a blend of speculative concepts to craft a narrative that’s more concerned with the implications of its world than the mechanics. The speculative technology and biology serve as a backdrop to a story that’s more about control, power, and the crushing weight of a dystopian regime.

However, the story’s pacing is an issue. It takes until almost halfway through the book for the narrative to truly take off. The world-building, while rich and immersive, dominates the first half to such an extent that it often feels like not much is happening. This slow burn might turn off some readers, as the plot takes a backseat to the detailed but sometimes overwhelming setting. Additionally, much of the world-building is conveyed through character dialogue, which can become tedious and disrupt the flow of the story.

The main character is another contentious point. She’s not designed to be likable, and many readers might find her difficult to connect with. But that seems intentional—Tsamaase doesn’t want us to admire her protagonist; she wants us to understand the crushing reality of her existence. This choice, while bold, may leave readers divided.

In conclusion, Womb City is a harrowing exploration of a dystopian future that will resonate with readers who appreciate dark, thought-provoking narratives. However, the slow start and heavy reliance on dialogue for world-building might make it a challenging read for some. Despite its flaws, it’s a novel that lingers in the mind long after the final page is turned, a chilling reminder of what could be.

Really neat concept, but I could not really follow the plot. So many different themes came up and it felt like the story switched every 1/4 of the book. I unfortunately spent a lot of time generally confused. I did appreciate the diversity in characters, but also felt that so many of the themes about racism, classism, misogyny, etc were so bluntly and repeatedly stated it felt like it took away from dialogue or plot.

Womb City is a dystopian horror about a woman being haunted by the woman she killed.
Trying to prevent her family from being hunted and killed, she must first determine why and how this is happening.

This was a creepy read. It had the potential of being really good, but the pacing was off for me.
I found the beginning slow and a little boring, then a lot started happening all at once, and then the ending slowed right down again.
There were some twists that redeemed it a bit, but in the end I didn't think this was an amazing read.

Thank you for the copy of this title. This one was a hard one for me to finish only because I am not a fan of domestic issues I should have thought of that before. I can appreciate this book for its uniqueness and the concepts. If your wanting a book different from anything you read this is a great book to pick up.

In recent years I dnfed very few books. Unfortunately this storyline wasn't just for me. The pace, the non linear narrative everything I just didn't enjoyed from the very first. As i haven't finished the book, I am not giving it lower than three but I wished so. Whatever. But there was promise in the beginning. Maybe it could be better for other readers.

This book was sadly not as I had hoped it would be based on the amazing cover art. The book started of very very slow, where we were just bombarded with lots of world-building for the first 20-30% I wanna say. Then once we got more into it and certain things happened it got more interesting. However, at about 60% in I felt like it was starting to drag a bit too much.

The author also started throwing so much different things and stories and plots into the book after dragging us through all the world-building. It was as if the author wanted to tell us so many different things and instead of narrowing it down, it was just all thrown in there.

A lot of the writing was unnecessarily convoluted and felt dense in a way. I’d say a lot of the writing was not that reader friendly. If this book was 100 pages shorter, and instead of having long convoluted passages this could’ve been a really interesting dystopian book that would have me sitting by the edge of my seat. Unfortunately, that was not the case.

The ending was also very rushed in my opinion and just absolutely insane but not in a good way. Had it not been as rushed and maybe a bit more “realistic” it would have been more satisfactory.

DNF, but I am rating based on what I read.

The premise of this book was fantastic, but ultimately what I read did not live up to it. There were too many things going on and it was hard to keep track of. It felt disjointed and, as much as I tried to get into it, I had to give up.

3.75

I've read several of Tlotlo Tsamaase's short stories so I thought I knew what to expect with this debut novel but wow did it still take me by surprise. The book starts slowly, dropping the reader into this dystopian futuristic Botswana and then transitions into a thriller-esque paced story where Nelah (and the reader) are constantly questioning what's real and what's not.

This is a fascinating world where people can pay to move their consciousness into new bodies, and I loved how this technology highlighted the colorism and classism that still exists in this future world. Nelah is also micro-chipped to record her every thought and interaction, which her husband can review, and there is interesting commentary on family through Nelah's relationship's with her host body's biological family. There is a lot going on here, and to be completely honest, I think I need to reread to fully digest everything I read because there are so many interconnected concepts in this world but I loved the imagination.

The writing is beautiful, which contrasts with the dystopian nature of the world in a really interesting way. This definitely won't be a book for everyone, and I have mixed feelings on it, but I think it'll be a book that really strikes a chord with certain readers.

I wanted to like this book so much more than I did. The concept of body hopping by use of microchips and body monitoring was really interesting and made me want to read it. But the plot got very convoluted at times and I found myself skimming through a lot of the book.

Three stars for the intriguing synopsis. I may try to reread this in the future.

Female Rage. It was so satisfying at the end, and for the inner turmoil this book put me through from monitoring a woman's body, to fertility issues, to abusive relationships, that ending had to be satisfying to make the suffering worth it. Blood and rage.

I was disappointed in this book and I think that says more about me than it does about the book. I try over and over to read and love sci-fi. Theoretically, it should be a home run for me. I love technology and politics and epic stories.... but I can never get into it. This book was no different. It felt almost too complicated and maybe would've been better as a series or even a series of graphic novels.

A very fascinating concept that was not executed well. The rules of this world was very confusing, even though they kept be constantly explained.

I enjoyed reading this book but I have to say it is a lot. This book is science fiction with some horror elements and takes place in futuristic Botswana. It is a place where a person's consciousness can body hop to extend that their life and some are controlled with microchips to eliminate crime. The story follows Nelah, a successful woman living in a new body and controlled by a microchip because the body had previously committed a crime. Nelah and her husband have not been able to have a child and opt to buy an artificial womb. Nelah is not happy in her marriage and has an affair, a choice that will change her life forever.

I like that the book dealt with gender roles, classism, racism, motherhood and women's issues while navigating this future world. There were many twists in the story that surprised me and worked well. I did think that there was a lot of information especially about the rules of body hopping and microchipping. A few times I was rather confused. Definitely check out this book if you are looking for a sci-fi/horror read.

I would like to thank Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest opinion. Although the premise and cover of this book initially grabbed my attention, I have made the confident decision to discontinue reading it after several attempts. I acknowledge that this book is not to my taste. I appreciated the chance to have read it and I am confident that other readers with different preferences may find this book enjoyable.

The concept of this book was super interesting to me; a world where people can body hop and live hundreds of years while simultaneously, everything women do is controlled, even down to pregnancy. But unfortunately, I think most of it went right over my head. Things were a lot deeper than they originally seemed and it just confused me every time new information was given to the reader. I did enjoy the social conversations this book had throughout about wealth, race, sex vs. gender, and the overall struggles of being a woman, and I think that's what saved this book for me. I was super excited about this novel and I'm only slightly disappointed that I didn't love it.

I was very confused throughout most of the story, so how i managed to still be entertained is beyond me. I guess i enjoyed the parts I could understand what was going on. I think it was just a lot of informational plot stuffed into the story, probably could have benefited from a longer book or split into series.

That was one insanely macabre book. I think the author tried to put too many things, from AI to supernaturals and critiques to racism, capitalism, classims, etc etc. It was rather too much for me.

One thing I can say about this book is that it’s full of creativity. But, despite having high hopes due to its promising premise, I found this book to be quite disappointing and I ultimately decided to stop reading at 43% for the following reasons:

1. The plot seemed scattered and lacked coherence. Most of the time I was bored and confused.
2. There were too many contradictions, especially concerning the main character. I didn’t understand her motivation, or who she was, and definitely not her actions. It was tedious to read.
3. I understand the book was about feminism and patriarchy, but it keep going back to the same conversations again, and again and again, it got tiresome and prevented me from forming my own opinions.
4. The world-building felt unnecessarily complex. Certain elements seemed forced and didn't contribute to the immediate plot development. Instead, they distracted from the protagonist's journey and made the story feel overly ambitious and convoluted.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-arc of this book!

Final rating is 3.75 stars, rounded up. Warnings for body horror and discussions of rape throughout the novel.

Womb City is an afro-futurist sci-fi that follows Nelah, an architect stuck in a controlling marriage. Nelah lives in a futuristic Botswana where lifetimes are now extended to over two hundred years, and people are able to body-hop after they die to live for hundreds of years. Nelah herself is living in a "criminal body," which is due to a prior host of her body committing a crime, so she is microchipped and monitored by the authorities and her husband to ensure she doesn't commit a crime herself. In a last-ditch effort to save her marriage and create the family she's struggled to achieve due to fertility issues, Nelah and her husband Elifasi commission a wombcubator to have a child. However, Nelah has also been having an affair with a professional acquaintance, Jan, and one night the two of them get into a car accident while high that results in the death of a young woman. Together they have to handle the situation and the spiral of consequences that follow.

When I first received this book, I struggled to get through it because the first half is very dense. This isn't necessarily a criticism, but there is a lot of worldbuilding and detailed explanations of the body-hopping system that were difficult for me to keep up with. I reread the book once it was published, and having a physical copy helped me a lot in terms of keeping the details straight. The worldbuilding is very intricate and I liked the attention to detail and culture that went into this. The book is interesting in the first half, but the plot doesn't really ramp up until about the halfway point, and from there it is pretty much non-stop until the end. It was a little slow getting through the first half, but I really enjoyed the second half. The messy relationships between the whole cast felt real and fleshed-out, and the myriad of twists near the end had me hooked. The ending was a bit of a deus ex machina, and probably would have made more sense if it wasn't so sudden. Overall, I did enjoy this book, and I would definitely read Tsamaase again in the future. Not sure how widely I could recommend it, as the body horror aspects can be a turn-off, but if these are your genres, I'd definitely give it a try.