To me this audiobook was fantastic. Sci-fi with a lot of new concepts is usually not the easiest for me on audio. And this was a chaotic story! I loved Christel Mutombo's narration in this one though and loved how she captured the emotion and the action in the novel.
The story itself had a few flaws for me however. There were a lot of concepts that I would have loved being explored more in depth and explained in a more concise manner. I also just did not understand the main characters motivations and desires. Tlotlo Tsamaase builds a unique dystopia however and as with most dystopias it was quite anger inducing.
Thank you so much to Recorded Books for the ALC of this one.

While this is a 2 star for me - I cannot say it will be a 2 star for others. This book has a very cool premise, with consciousness able to live longer than one's body by "body swapping." The sci fi is strong in this one, and I do not recommend for a light sci fi reader. Tsamaase clearly thought through this world a LOT, and that is what really made this book not-for-me. Tsamaase has thought through so much of the complexities of this world - the politics, the social dynamics, etc. - but the more I learned the more I could not suspend my disbelief. I was just asking more questions about the world and not about the story itself, and it really drew me away from the characters.

The writing is great, and the concept is THERE. I was really disappointed that this didn't work for me.
I highly recommend the audio in comparison to text for this one, as the author uses a lot of slang and sounds that make sense auditorily but were a bit confusing to me on the page.

Thank you to RB Media and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you netgalley for the ARC!

Oh my gosh! This book was sooooo good. The way they treated women made me cringe but the way the FMC was still living her best way regardless was giving what it was supposed to give. Her husband was urking my nervous but the side dude.. ya know what I n we you to get this book... NEOEWWWW AND LET'S CHAT LATER!

-Anniee bee

I have heard so much about this book. It is on more than one of the "Books to Look For in 2024" type lists. When it came to it, I had to force myself through it. The world building was confusing and forced. The characters were boring to me. I really thought I would love this book. The execution, not the subject, was awkward.

I was SO excited to receive an ARC of this book, but it didn't work for me. I feel like there were some major pacing problems in addition to some very poorly done world building. The entire body hopper system was so confusing and Tsamaase's descriptions left me MORE muddled and confused than less so. I liked the main character and felt for her plight, but the world building was so circuitous and convoluted that I lost so much of what was brilliant about this story. The story itself is remarkable and unique and wonderful. I hope that some of the issues can be resolved before publishing. With another round of editing to clean up the pacing and world building, this book could be brilliant, but as it is, it was a total miss for me.

3.25 stars. This had some really great parts and some parts that dragged or went so fast that I had a hard time following.

The world and technology found on this world was very creative and I enjoyed how technology was an added layer to the patriarchy. However, the world building was largely done through info dumps (made less effective by the frequency of them) and odd interjections (e.g. flying car). This structure made it a bit hard for me to get into the story and invest in Nelah. Once I got into it the later half was much more fun. There were some great twists and revelations that were probably my favorite part. I didn’t care for the ending and was left a little confused, but it makes sense with the overall story arc.

Overall, this had really great sci-fi horror elements that showed just how much more oppressive society can be through technology but could have used some editing to let those portions shine.

4 stars

This is one of the best dystopian pieces I've read in a long time, and while it feels wrong to say I enjoyed it (since it is brutal and filled with difficult material as the genre requires), I really appreciated the read.

Prospective readers need to understand that this is an investment. It's not a short novel, and the world building IS character building here. These characters have the capacity to live in a different way than we're used to: for a very long time and in multiple vessels (i.e., an individual's conscious can be moved into multiple bodies over the course of multiple centuries). There are also some technological components that dramatically impact their outcomes. Because of these major distinctions, questions about meaningfulness, family, memory, feeling, gender, sexuality, and general connectedness all come up repeatedly. What does it mean to be yourself when you are constantly changing, can be left at any moment, can have your memory wiped, will be moved into the body of a person who used to be someone else's child/sibling/partner and are now in that body but with a completely different interior life...? The list goes on.

The narration of the audiobook is excellent, and it really brought me into various characters' emotions. It also gave me some space to think more about the aforementioned complex issues.

Another noteworthy element is that this takes place in a futuristic version of Botswana. I read a fair amount of literature set in Africa, and this was my first piece (in recent memory) set here. I enjoyed this variation, too.

Tsamaase is one to watch. The material is gritty, to say the least, but I love how much this made me think both during and after the read. I'll absolutely be seeking out anything I can read from this author.

Well written with a great premise and narrator! This was a touch long for my tastes but I really enjoyed the plot and main character fighting for body autonomy in a dystopian sci-fi world. Will definitely keep my eye out for more by this author! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

This book was on my radar and I preordered months ago. It was quite the ride. Part ghost story, part sci-fi, part dystopian/political, and part thriller. I listened to the full book in one afternoon, I just couldn’t stop. This book is definitely worth reading.

Wow! This book is sci-fi and paranormal mixed into one. It is our world, however, bodies are used over again and transplanted with the consciousness of those waiting to live again. Most women, according to the government, are criminals and need a microchip with a more deserving consciousness in it. This book was absolutely amazing! I loved the concepts and ideas presented: classism, sexism, and even racism. We follow a woman who is navigating through this world when she commits a crime, which the microchip shouldn't have allowed her to do. There are extreme consequences for this and that is when the paranormal aspect is also introduced. I loved the ideas this book generated as well as the fast pace and action throughout.

First, thank you to NetGalley and Erewhon Books for this ARC.
I am becoming a huge sci-fi reader and this was really good. It was way more than what I thought. Oh the patriarchy, and the way women weren’t treated as being worthy of anything but incubators. Nelah went through literal hell and back, only to realize that it wasn’t real…or was it? I love conspiracy theories, so this was up my alley. This was a highly anticipated read, and it didn’t disappoint.

My Twitter thread of thoughts as I read:
https://x.com/itsjustmoniqua/status/1748462579301634289?s=46