Thank you NetGalley and Rocky Mountain Press for the ARC.

I wasn’t certain what to expect from this book. The premise was intriguing but in a vein that has been done before. Also, having not read DL Orton before I truly did not know what to expect.

The character development was there but I truly struggled to connect with most of the characters in a meaningful way. I don’t feel like they were poorly written, I simply did not connect with them personally. I am very particular when it comes to character names as well, I found these to be very plain. The plain-feeling names to me are much preferred to overly cringey, typecast names so it wasn’t an issue, but it added to my lack of connection with them.

The story and the science behind it were much more to my liking than the individual characters. Although the concepts in general have been touched on in novels many times before, the author did bring some viewpoints and ideas that were new and interesting. Another area I failed to connect with was the naming of certain scientific items or machines and their coined jargon. It felt a little flat similar to the characters but only in certain instances.

The switching back and forth between character viewpoints was done well in my opinion and had a flow to it, although I think I would have preferred it to have been split into a couple of volumes or “parts” of the book. There was enough story here to have been two novels in my opinion. One item I thought could be done better was the log entries at the beginning of the chapters, they felt like they were trying too hard and at times did not seem to be congruent with each other.

In general, I liked this book. However, I feel like it could have been so much better. I believe the story and the character’s foundation were great. I believe the framework around the foundations was great. I feel like the top of the pyramid or the crowning of the story fell flat. I tried to not allow my lack of connection with the characters to affect my feelings on this and I still feel like it could have been significantly better. I have read many good books like this that could be amazing books, where it seems like the finishing touches could push them so much further.

This novel reminds me of the Boundary novels by Ryk Spoor and Eric Flint, books I very much enjoy but could be so much better regarding dialogue, character development, avoidance of tropes and developing at the least main scientific points 100% even if they can’t be proven.

◛⑅·˚ ༘ ♡ hive (madders of time #1).


ੈ♡˳ final rating: 4/5 🐝
thank you to netgalley and rocky mountain press for this arc! all opinions expressed in this review are my own.

as an avid fan of dystopian sci-fi, this book spoke to me the moment i locked eyes with that gorgeous cover. <3 while this book was a bit too technical for me, and was slightly confusing in the beginning, it turned out to be such a page-turner!! can’t wait for the next book!

I’m a big fan of dystopian literature, though I admit stories with time travel are not my thing. For me, all novels, including fantasy and sci-fi, need to be believable. And because I’m a social scientist that relies on evidence-based research, most of the novels that I’ve read dealing with time travel usually fall well below par. However, I’ve been on the prowl lately for a really good sweep-me-off-my-feet novel, so I decided to give D.L. Orton’s “Hive”—the first book in her Madders of Time series—a try. Up to this point, I’ve never read anything written by the author, but the title and the description really piqued my interest—not to mention the beyond-cool cover.

The very first paragraph gave me the instant rush that I needed:

“…The sodden earth makes a wretched sucking sound each time Diego’s shovel cuts into it. As I watch, he forces the blade deeper and muscles out the lifeless muck. Behind him, a massive wave crashes against the outside wall and, for a few precious seconds, the incessant tapping of the swarm is washed away…”

As the first paragraph reveals, Orton is a really talented writer. This story has a lot of potential, and, if I’m going to be honest, this novel could easily be turned either into a movie or into a long-running series on a streaming platform. However, there are a few issues that the author should consider if she wants this work to go mainstream with **millions** of readers worldwide.

Even though this is an adult novel, it’s extremely heavy on F-bombs and other cuss words. Not content with doing so only in English, Orton also incorporates cuss words in Spanish. Once again, I do NOT have virgin ears; I cuss like a sailor. But that doesn’t mean that it’s okay to litter a novel with them. The same can be said for, “Omigod,” and “Blimey.” The author should try to steer away from base words and instead use her literary skills to find other ways to portray character emotions. Why? Because while it’s easy to say F@$&—anyone can say it—it’s harder to portray those same emotions in alternative words.

A more serious issue for me is the merry-go-round of character POV’s. In both the prologue and in Chapter 1, I quickly became emotionally invested in Isabel Sanborn and her partner Diego using Isabel’s first person POV. Then in Chapter 2, we meet Matthew Hudson, and the chapter is written in his first person POV. Okay. Great. But then in Chapter 3, the author uses the POV of Diego Nadales, the one who travels back in time—which brings us back full circle.

In the first twenty chapters, as the example below illustrates, the author continues to shift POV’s. At first, I thought that there was some consistency in the pattern (e.g., Isabel, Matthew, Diego), but in Chapter 10, that consistency was thrown out of the window.

Prologue: Isabel Sanborn POV
Chapter 1: Isabel Sanborn POV
Chapter 2: Matthew Hudson POV
Chapter 3: Diego Nadales POV
Chapter 4: Isabel Sanborn POV
Chapter 5: Matthew Hudson POV
Chapter 6: Diego Nadales POV
Chapter 7: Isabel Sanborn POV
Chapter 8: Matthew Hudson POV
Chapter 9: Diego Nadales POV
Chapter 10: Matthew Hudson POV
Chapter 11: Isabel Sanborn POV
Chapter 12: Matthew Hudson POV
Chapter 13: Isabel Sanborn POV
Chapter 14: Diego Nadales POV
Chapter 15: Matthew Hudson POV
Chapter 16: Isabel Sanborn POV
Chapter 17: Diego Nadales POV
Chapter 18: Isabel Sanborn POV
Chapter 19: Matthew Hudson POV
Chapter 20: Diego Nadales POV

Although the reader can see links in the text between the prologue and all three chapters, overall it seems discombobulated; there was just too much movement between all of the different POV’s. It would have been more concise if, perhaps, if the first person POV remained with the MC Isabel who had time traveled instead AND if she had retained her previous memories. However, I realized that this would have necessitated some changes in the system breaking down. The author could have done this easily—and raised the stakes—by providing life support for the future Diego for an **extremely limited** amount of time. And the author could have ensured this by instead of “giving up” as an already-disabled-and-ready-to-die-and save-the-love-of-her-life MC, Orton could have made Isabel the ONLY one—the heroine—who could,

“…Go back and start the dominoes falling in another direction, a direction away from building microdrones and hiding in biodomes…”

For me, this is what it boils down to in the first three chapters: Who’s the hero? Is it the severely altruistic Isabel or is it the manly Diego? Personally, I want a brilliant, strong heroine who’s not willing to allow herself to die so that her sweetheart can save humanity. I want Isabel—from the prologue to the final chapter—on a mission to save humanity (with ALL chapters using her first person POV) because she’s the ONLY one who can do it.

Instead of Madders’ Log Entries appearing at the beginning of each chapter, why can’t Isabel have log entries? And instead of just plopping the entries down at the top of the chapter, Orton could have had Isabel take her log back in time with her and talk about it in the text, thereby providing much-needed context. The log entries at the beginning of the chapters need to be part of the text rather than as stand-alone items.

Make no mistake about it, Orton is a talented writer. And as far as creativity is concerned, she blows the roof off of the house. However, how the author executed her ideas in this book rattled me to my core. To be honest, the constantly changing POV’s interfered with my reading—and enjoyment of—this manuscript and left me with a persistent nagging question: Who’s the hero?

I received an ARC of “Hive,” by D.L. Orton from NetGalley and Rocky Mountain Press in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

A different and more detailed view of "Between Two Evils" - time travel implied, world dissolving, government agents and military bullying everyone, at least Lucky and Tolstoy are still happy!

This book was a wild ride that was difficult to put down. As soon as I was done, I realized I was going to have to wait a year for the sequel. The microdrones are supposed to save the earth, but the best-laid plans of scientists and entrepreneurs go very wrong. The final act of the survivors leads to an unexpected consequence with a timeline shift. I am anxious to see the direction the author takes the characters in the next book. One thing is very clear, this book should be adapted for television.

That was such a good time read. I could not have enjoyed that book more. Maybe it was just my multiverse loving self, but it had me hooked right from the beginning. If I could give over 5 stars I absolutely would.