I didn’t expect to love this as much as I did, but I did. The characters were so well developed and add that to the fantastic world building, this book was a force to be reckoned with. I only wish there was more story and I will definitely read more by this author in the future.

Science has brought immortality to some, but the rest of humanity finds themselves in a constant fight for their lives.

Mila is a nomad in a world where immortals rule. She and her tribe move from place to place, doing everything to avoid detection and be killed. Her mother was taken some time before, leaving her father and sister as her only family...one she will protect with her life. When her sister is attacked and becomes ill, Mila's determined to take her to the medic, but it's a several day journey and more than a little dangerous. She can't expect any help from her father or other tribe members, as there's reason to believe that the immortals seem to have discovered their location. If the tribe doesn't relocate immediately, they will be dead. Refusing to give up on her sister, Mila heads out to take her on her own. But she doesn't realize the secrets she's about to uncover, and these threaten to overturn the entire world.

This is a quick-paced read with several unique twists. First, there are immortals, who have formed due to scientifical development (not the godly realm). This, however, didn't include all humans, leaving those who received the transformation at the mercy of people who can't be killed. Technology plays a large role in the immortals' lives, while the nomads and rest seem to be on the rustic end for the most part. The high-tech side offers interesting explanations, while also leaving some logical holes...but it's an intriguing direction, which leads to an interesting main thought: what happens when life looses the meaning of birth and death?

The characters are sympathetic and easy to connect with. Mila's desires and hopes are understandable, but then, she's a realistic character on many fronts. The dialogue, emotions, and decisions fit well to the her age and propel the plot forward. The world building happens bit by bit as the story flows, which did create a little uncertainty as to what was happening in the first chapters, but it doesn't take long for everything to set in and grab. While the writing keeps every page interesting, more than a few moments came in a little rushed or easy, but it never is enough to pull away from the plot. It was an exciting read from start to finish, and is sure to delight action and scifi fans.

A young woman leaves her community behind to save her sister in a dangerous city of immortal humans who cannot feel and do not have regard for mortal human lives. In the course of saving her sister, she uncovers history that could change the course of the world.

This was fairly typical dystopian YA fare. It had some interesting concepts at its core, but also had some logical inconsistency and plot holes that required more suspension of disbelief than I prefer. However, I do still think the interesting moral and ethical topics would make this a good read for some adolescents, and I would not hesitate to recommend it.

It's not typical for me to choose a dystopian book to read, but the moment I saw the cover, I was hooked. Something about those neon colors and sci-fi themed designs caught my eye and wouldn't let go. So, I plucked up the courage and started reading.

Oh, what emotions! I don't know where to begin—the content of the book or the reading experience itself. I'm proud to say that this is the first book in years that I could read while traveling without feeling sick. In the past, I've envied anyone who could read on the move without getting nauseous. But something miraculous happened this time—I devoured the book! It was nearly impossible to put down. I was eager to follow the main character, Mila, through every twist and turn. Each fight scene and adrenaline-pumping chapter had my heart racing. I thoroughly enjoyed the book!

Over five hundred years have passed, and humans have discovered a way to become Immortal. But this luxury is reserved for a select few who lived in the right states at the dawn of Immortality. Mila's family wasn't among them, so she lives with her older sister and father in constant fear, often having to move with their community. When an Immortal soldier wounds Mila's sister, creating a life-threatening situation, Mila faces a dire choice: let her sister die or take her to a doctor near IC-7, the metropolis of the Immortals. Despite the demands of their leaders and her father, Mila decides to do whatever it takes to save her sister and flees towards the forbidden zone. An unforgettable race against time, Mortals, and Immortals begins.

This captivating work surprises with its plot, unforgettable characters, and a utopian yet believable world that's hard to shake from your mind. Stevens' writing style is casual, fluent, and immensely enjoyable. The story flows smoothly and enchantingly. From the first chapter, the pace is relentless and doesn't let up until the end. You must be ready for a thrilling ride because, despite the speed, nothing is lacking. The book features fights, deadly games, dangerous journeys, collisions, and laboratories—scenes that usually require extensive description, which can be off-putting. But in this book, I savored every word. There were no redundant descriptions, just the right amount.

The book ends with a slight twist that, while somewhat expected, leaves you craving more. I sincerely hope this is the start of a series so we can continue to follow Mila's adventures. It would be a shame to leave the story "half-finished" (though the book is complete, the ending demands continuation). Immortality or mortality? What are their advantages? What is the price of life and the weight of death? Grab the book, dive into the enchanting world of the Immortals, and find out!

I highly recommend it!

Thank you so much, NetGallery and Splinter Press, for this wonderful reading experience!

Review in Estonian (will be published Aug 01, 2024): https://brixieblog.wordpress.com/2024/08/01/mere-mortal-a-j-stevens/

⭐️⭐️/ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️/🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ (Clean)

I enjoyed the idea of this book more then the actual book and I do apologise to the author for this, I know that they've worked hard to get a book to this position and I hate to critique. In saying this, I do believe this book has potential, but the execution it didn't hit home for me and it saddens me that I wasn't more excited reading this. The story and plot was good in places but patchy in others, which left me confused while reading and the romance subplot was unnecessary and if the author were to go down the route of a romance subplot that should be more developed, instead it feels like it's been yeeted in there and I love romance as much as the next girl. I feel like the author should've sticked to the main drive of the story instead of deviating. The world needed to be built more and the characters needed to be better developed. However, I did really enjoy the authors use of Poetry throughout the story, I love poetry myself and it was nice to look at the links and see what poem was where and which poems I knew, I wish this was better delved into, I found it interesting.

I really liked this book. I liked the lead character especially. Usually, it takes me a while to get into a book, but here it was pretty quickly. Despite that there was a lot of stuff that wasn't explained right away, I liked the worldbuilding.

I do wish it had been clearly stated beforehand that this is the first book in a series. I have a rule about starting unfinished series that I have now unintentionally broken.