Not enjoyable for any fan of sci-fi, this was comical at times. I'm sur eit will have an audience but I don't think it will be the sci-fi crowd.

Baby X is one of my favorite thrillers of 2024. It's a character-focused and twisty thriller with science-fiction elements that had me fully absorbed in the world and the characters' lives after a few short chapters.

The blurb compares Baby X to Black Mirror, which is a very good comparison. Reading Baby X felt like watching one of the best episodes of Black Mirror.

The story follows three main POV characters: Ember, Quinn, and Lily. Ember is working as a new kind of security guard whose job is to protect her clients' DNA. Quinn is a professional surrogate. Lily is a new journalist who is digging into an old case for a story. All three women's stories show how the technology of the era has impacted the world in both good, complicated, and horrifying ways.

Baby X has some great twists and turns! It's also full of great characters and is set in a truly fascinating world that feels disturbingly possible.

This book is an entertaining read that has become widely popular across book subscription services. It allows for good interpersonal relationship discussions and book review questions. Excellent building of characters.

In Baby X, the near-future United States is a place where advanced reproductive technology has given rise to a new kind of nightmare—celebrities being confronted by biological children they never conceived. Against this unsettling backdrop, readers are introduced to Trace Thorne, a famous singer who has become a prime target for the Vault, a black market organization that thrives on stealing DNA. Tired of paying ransoms to secure his own genetic material, Thorne hires Ember Ryan, a no-nonsense bio-security guard, to protect him from the relentless threat of DNA theft.

Ember is a seasoned professional, well-versed in the Vault’s tactics. Whether it's discarded tissues or used straws, she knows how to ensure her clients' biological safety. However, her ironclad focus is tested when she begins to develop feelings for Thorne, creating a tension that adds an emotional layer to the plot. Just when it seems like Ember has everything under control, a pregnant woman named Quinn claims that Thorne is the father of her baby, throwing everything into chaos.

Pros:

One of the novel’s strengths lies in its accessibility. Despite the scientific elements woven into the narrative, the writing remains clear and easy to follow. The author skillfully balances complex concepts with a straightforward storytelling style, making the book a quick and engaging read. The premise itself is intriguing, hooking readers with the potential consequences of technological advancements that are both exciting and terrifying.

Cons:

However, the story is not without its flaws. It takes time for the characters, particularly Lily, to fully connect with the larger narrative. This slow development might make it difficult for readers to form an emotional attachment to them early on. Additionally, some plot points are a bit too predictable, which can detract from the overall suspense and impact of the story.

Conclusion:

Baby X offers a compelling look at the ethical dilemmas posed by future technology, wrapped in a mix of sci-fi thriller and romance. While the story is easy to get into and has moments of genuine tension, it lacks the depth and unpredictability needed to truly stand out. Fans of near-future speculative fiction and light romantic suspense may find it enjoyable, but those looking for a more complex and innovative narrative might be left wanting more.

Absolutely loved it! I found myself a new author to follow! Baby X is a story set in a dystopian world (my fave!) and it follows 3 characters around while peeling off layers of secrets and deceit in their lives. The story flows naturally and the revealing secrets keep you turning the pages to figure out what's going on.

Highly recommend it if you love a good speculative story...with a lot of "what if this was true" as a near future for our society. If you enjoy John Marrs's speculative books, you'll find Kira's story could belong to the same Metaverse :)

Huge thanks to the author and Netgalley for an advanced copy for an honest review. I am looking forward to reading more of Kira's work.

This one was inconsistent for me, sometimes thrilling, sometimes... Not. I wanted to be interested in each character equally, but it just didn't play out that way. However, the end truly threw me for a loop and also made perfect sense.

Was amazing once I started could not put it down! I highly recommend this book! I loved the research aspect and the suspense throughout!

This was such an enjoyable read for me! It was so unique and unlike anything I've ever read before. It's part literary, part sci-fi, part thriller. I absolutely loved the genre-blend. I was totally hooked and invested. I loved the intertwining stories and how they come together in the end. I also liked how thought-provoking it was about autonomy and parenthood, not only in today's world, but looking forward to the future and the ways that these things could be affected by technology. I can't believe this one isn't more popular - highly recommend this hidden gem!

I highly recommend "Baby X" to fans of speculative thrillers and anyone interested in the ethical dimensions of biotechnology. While it started off slow, it turned out to be a gripping and thought-provoking read. It's perfect for readers who appreciate a well-plotted, fast-paced narrative with complex characters and a futuristic twist.

thank you to the publisher for the e-arc of this!
i often pick up sci-fi books because of them having interesting concepts and i am often left with disappointment. happy to announce that this book was also fun as well and it even had some interesting things to say about humanity, children and parenting. i think some things were a bit more on the nose and some things definitely could have been expanded on, but it did not make me enjoy the book less.
i would put this thriller in more of a "i had fun category" than shocking and twisty or life-changing category though, as i was able to call some things before they happened. it was not the most surprising thriller, but regardless, i had a great time reading and i think most people will too, if you go in with the right expectations.
i think if you like "dark matter" by blake crouch, black mirror or you are into books that sorta feel like a 3.5 average on letterboxd, mid-budget movie (and i mean that with the most love in my heart), you should pick this up. i would love for it to be adapted in some way, as i think the story is very easy to visualize.
excited to check this authors catalogue, as well as to keep using the read now section on netgalley to find random books!

When I read the synopsis for this book I was so excited! It seemed right up my alley and I couldn’t wait to read it! I thought the concept was fantastic and really held a great parallel to issues in our world today.

The world building for this book was great. I could clearly picture exactly what this future looked and felt like.

I thought the plot was interesting and I enjoyed reading the book, but there were just a few things that really disappointed me about it:

All three of the female characters felt interchangeable. I kept getting super confused about whose perspective I was in even when the chapters had their names at the beginning. All of their defining personalities traits seemed to be exactly the same and they just seemed very blah and forgettable to me.

I also struggled with for the majority of the book not knowing when in time we were. By the end I understood partly why that was, but I just wish it would have been made more clear earlier on at least in one perspective what year it was supposed to be.

I also was able to figure out all the twists pretty quickly just because of the way the book was formatted. It made it pretty obvious that the one perspective had some big twist coming.

I don’t think I would recommend this one to anyone that loves sci-fi. Maybe if you’re just dabbling in sci-fi or don’t read a ton you might enjoy it, but for anyone that is a super sci-fi nerd or reads a ton I just don’t think this one is going to do it for you.

I received a a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and statements are my own.

Thanks to Netgalley, Meryl Moss Media Group and Kira Peikoff for the chance to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. Baby X was an action-packed read full of suspense. I was intrigued from the first chapter and I just couldn't put it down.

I love a good speculative thriller and Baby X didn't disappoint. Fans of End of Story by Louise Swanson and John Marrs will love this.

The characters were interesting, complex and likable. The writing was excellent and the twists were crazy good.

I highly recommend. 4.5 stars from me.

A solid scifi thriller!
While the book did get off to a bit of a slow start, it picked up for me at Part 2. I thought the characters were done well overall but I wouldn't have minded them having a little more development. I liked Quinn early on and Ember was fine but I had a hard time connecting with Lily's story for a while. By the end though, I cared about each of them and the resolutions to their stories.
The plot was engaging once things got rolling and I found the reveals to be interesting and well executed.
The scientific elements were ok. As a scifi reader, I wish we had gone into the details of the engineering process and the implications on a larger scale. We were mostly focused on the impact of this technology on a few individuals rather than society at large. Though we didn't get much on these larger implications, my favorite thing about the book was the questions it posed with regards to bodily autonomy, personal rights, ethics, and legislation. It definitely made me think about these things in a new way.
I also grabbed the audiobook from my library and I enjoyed all the narrators!

3.5 stars

🧠 My thoughts
The book’s premise was very interesting to read. It was not a heavy sci-fi book, therefore, it was pretty easy to follow the storyline. The world-building was good enough for me to have enough information to continue reading. The book started to hook me more when I got past the first 20%. I started to be able to guess what was going on around 50% of the book but I couldn’t be sure the whole time. I would say this was a quite nice debut!

However, the book was very slow until 20% or 30%. The writing style put me off sometimes but the book was pretty easy to read so I kept going on. The ending was okay but felt rushy and nothing was spectacular.

Thanks NetGalley, The Quick Brown Fox & CO, and the authors for a great advance copy of the book in exchange for my honest review!

Baby X by Keira Peikoff is a speculative fiction set in the near future. In a time where you can 3-D print your food ( though its supposedly far less tasty than real food), phones and laptops are replaced by smart lenses and any biological cell that belongs to a person can also be used to create eggs or sperm, eliminating the need for traditional reproduction. Because of this, celebrity DNA is often stolen and sold on the black market to the highest bidder. Additionally, prospective parents can go through the meticulous "selection" process to cherry-pick desirable traits for their embryos before conception.

The story is told through the perspectives of three women. Ember, who runs a security firm safeguarding celebrity clients from cell theft by The Vault, and is hired by a famous singer. Quinn, a young surrogate betrayed by someone she trusted, now pregnant with a child and unsure of who the parents are. And Lily, nearing the end of her post-graduate fellowship at Vanguard, competing for a full-time position against Radia, who unlike her, was genetically selected as an optimal embryo.

Peikoff ambitiously explores the societal and ethical consequences of embryo selection. Should parents have the authority to determine their child's physical and intellectual attributes? Is it justified by the potential to prevent genetic disorders and predisposed illnesses? The novel also delves into the possible discrimination based on characteristics like race, religion, and sexual orientation, alongside the regulation and transparency of the IVG (In-Vitro Gametogenesis) clinics that offer this opportunity to parents.

Although the premise is intriguing, the book fails in execution. At just around 300 pages, the book juggles too many concepts and characters without exploring any of it deeply. I also found some of the plot developments and technological advancements hard to believe.. My other issue with the characters' narrative voices, which, despite their supposed differences in characteristics, life stages, and experiences, eventually blend together, making them feel indistinguishable at times.

For fans of speculative fiction and 'Black Mirror', looking for a fast-paced narrative that keeps you guessing until the very end, with a touch of improbable, Baby X is the book for you. However, for people like me, looking for a more nuanced, satisfying read that is both well-written and well-rounded, this book may leave something to be desired.

2.5 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley and Crooked Lane for an Advance Reader's Copy.

I was intrigued when I heard “for fans of Blake Crouch and John Marrs”. I don’t read a lot of speculative fiction but I love these authors so why not…

What if any two people could have a baby no matter their age, biological sex, or infertility status? Immediately this premise just gets your mind reeling! Set in the nearish future and told from 3 different POVs this kept me totally engaged. Sci-fi without being too sciencey. Addictive and felt weirdly prescient.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this for this free copy.

Set in the 2050s, "Baby X" takes us into a world where almost all pregnancies start in a lab thanks to IVG (in vitro gametogenesis). Designer babies are the new norm, but there's a dark side. The Vault is notorious for stealing the DNA of famous people and selling it to the highest bidder.

This book has everything you want in a sci-fi thriller: morally grey heroines, total psychopaths, engineered babies, stolen DNA, kidnappings, celebrity stalking, and juicy family secrets. The idea is so fresh and intriguing that I couldn't stop obsessively trying to figure out the next plot twist at every turn.

"Baby X" also dives deep into the ethical concerns about genetic engineering and the use of DNA and technology. The storyline is super captivating, and I'd absolutely recommend it.

Overall, I really liked the book, and the plot twists were mind-blowing!

quite entertaining but easily predictable. cool premise, kind of horrifying with a satisfying resolution, all things considered... though it really could have been much shorter as i guessed rest of the book by the end of part 1 (except maybe for one detail—which gets revealed by part 2). also i didn't care about any of the characters.

I rarely read anything that would be classified as sci-fi, so this book somewhat qualifies as that, although it's more futuristic, with it being our world, just in the future about 50 years. I loved the departure from my typical thriller and romance reads...though I found both of these within this genre as well! There was definitely a romance story arc, as well as an edge-of-your seat race to the end to see what would happen. 

Here's the setup: Can you imagine a world where almost no one gets pregnant the old-fashioned way, but only through a process where they pick a lab-made embryo in which you already know all of the good and bad attributes about them, thus choosing your child before they are even born??

I loved that this story was told from multiple perspectives, and that you were never quite sure the timeline of each of those characters, nor how they all related to each other until the very end. This was a super fun read, that will leave you questioning a lot of things about what you might do in a similar situation, and if the future technology will progress to being able to do some of the things that occur in this book. If you're intrigued at all by all of this, I'd highly recommend picking this one up for its unique plot!

This book was so interesting, I found myself completely sucked in. I loved the three different storylines going on between Quinn, Ember and Lily.

I did figure out pretty early on that there was going to be a big twist going on, and as the book played out I figured out what the twist was going to be but that didn't mean I didn't still appreciate it when it was revealed.

I loved the author's idea on how the future could play out, it all seemed so realistic yet slightly terrifying at the same time.

I look forward to reading more of Kira Peikoff's book and seeing what else she can come up with.