I'm sorry I was not able to read and review this book before it was archived, due to serious health issues.

DNF at 25%. I couldn't get into this at all.

I received this ebook from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I requested this book from Netgalley because the blurb really intrigued me. I like sci-fi, especially one with a kickass heroine, and I thought the whole "rise of the machines" bit as well as the heroine being a clone of herself bit very interesting. The combination of those two was what got me really interested.

So I liked the premise of the story and the action scenes were good. I would have loved more character back stories or more details about the resistance, but I guess that would make the book too long or saturated with info. I also did not connect with the characters, but that could be due to the way I read this book a few pages at a time over a long period. I also wasn't into the romance or the romantic triangle. It just wasn't working for me for some reason. I thought - or maybe I hoped - a clone would have different feelings and thoughts even if she/he had some of the memories of the original.

Overall, this was not a bad read. It wasn't perfect, but it was entertaining.

I tried reading this book couple of times, and now I have to say it is just not for me. I couldn't get past 25% thorugh the book. I was never the biggest fan of post apocaliptic stories, but thought this one sounds interesting and I wanted to give it a try. I didn't like the romance which took majority of the story. And I felt no conection for the characters. Wanted more explaining about science of it all i guess. I am sorry that i didn't enjoy it, but I feel that many people will. Like I said it was just not for me. Maybe I will try to read it in future again, but for now I am DNFing it.

I thought the beginning was fantastic - very well written and strong. The base idea of this story is not a new one - the machines take over - nor is the reason - to stop endless wars. However, the author does manage to treat this in a different was from those I have read or seen before, and I found the story quite compelling.
I did, however, not give five stars as the writing and plot varied so much - sometimes really strong, like the beginning, and at times I found it slightly drawn out or unbelievable. Hopefully this will be remedied in the second book.

Machinations follows Rhonda, recently returned from the dead (she's a clone of her previous self) because her job, as a hallmark of the rebellion against the machines isn't over.

In this robot-apocalypse, where the bots have decided to fight 'the war to end all wars' by exterminating people, what drew me most was the struggles Rhonda had with coming to terms with one) dying and second) coming back.

It made a nice and interesting read and I certainly plan to read the sequel as well.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I didn't finish this book because I just couldn't connect with the main character.

Book Review: Machinations by Hayley Stone
Review by Dawn Thomas

343 Pages
Publisher Random House Publishing Group - Hydra

Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Dystopian

Commander Rhona Long is the leader of the rebellion against the machines. Until she is not… Rhona died during a rescue mission that went horribly wrong. The machines created to help humanity have learned and adapted. They decided since humans were going to war and killing each other, it would be best if the humans were removed from the equation. Now the machines are running the world and the humans are the rebels trying to fight them off and take back the planet. There are small pockets of humans living in bases underground.

Dr. Samuel Lewis is there when Rhona wakes up He tells her they need to leave in a hurry but she is groggy, out of sorts and does not know what is going on. She quickly learns the truth – she is a clone created using the original Rhona’s DNA. When she returns to McKinley base, the members on the Command Council are suspicious of her and believe she is a pawn of the machines. She must prove repeatedly she is the same Rhona as before, even though she is not.

I absolutely loved this book! Rhona is a strong woman and she does not take NO for an answer. This is her story written from her point of view. Her personality grows throughout the book as becomes comfortable in her own skin and with her role as the face of the rebellion. I found myself rooting for her and hoping she would not die again. This book would be a good read for anyone that likes The Terminator movies, The Hunger Games book series and other dystopian type stories. It has made me take a second look at my Amazon Alexa. This is the first book in the Machinations series.

Ingredients for teenage girl YA:

Teen girl protagonist - check.

A true love - check.

A death of someone close to teen girl protagonist - check.

No one understands teen girl protagonist, creating lots of angst - check.

Girl must fight hard for acceptance and no one can possibly understand girl - check.

It's all here, bit by bit, with a few twists to keep it fresh. The biggest twist? (Read no further if you want to be completely surprised [though it happens early in the book]...) The death of someone close...? It's the girl herself who dies.

It is the future. Machines have taken over, not because they have evil intent, but because they are programmed in such a way that they can no longer be manipulated by the imperfect human race and seek only peace and perfection (which of course humanity can not provide). And so some humans, including our protagonist Rhona Long, fight back against the machines in resistance groups. But on one outing, Rhona is killed. She wakes up in a hospital, all her memories intact, in a cloned body. But even though this is all on the up-and-up, most who knew her before are hesitant to trust her.

Given the genre and the stereotypical YA tropes, I managed to enjoy a lot of this book. Author Hayley Stone manages to move the story along quickly, never getting too caught up in the drama, the pathos, of the character, while still managing to provide all the necessary yearning and angst to keep the typical YA reader happy.

I think that if the book hadn't moved along as smoothly and as quickly as it did, it would have lost me as a reader. This book is really about Rhona and her relationships and her not being accepted - the war against the machines is just the backdrop. But that backdrop, and Stone's writing, is what will bring me back to the next book, despite the YA nature.

Looking for a good book? <em>Machinations</em> is a dystopian YA book by Hayley Stone, heavy on the YA sensibility, that is a quick read that will likely keep the reader entertained.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.