In the post-apocalyptic wasteland that was once the US, a girl named Eve fights in the war-dome with her robot gladiator to raise enough cash to buy the meds that will keep her grandfather alive. In this harsh junkyard, her grandfather Silas, best friend, Lemon Fresh, and robot carer, Cricket, are all that stand between her and the traumatic memories of her life before.

When Eve and Lemon Fresh scavenge a lifelike android named Ezekiel from a scrap heap, the new life she and Silas have built begins to fall apart.

With the puritanical Brotherhood on her tail and memories of the tragedy of her past threatening to rip her apart, Eve and Lemon are forced out of the comfort of their home and across wastelands to find the truth.

Jay Kristoff ’s writing style is unique. The dark, difficult dystopian future that Kristoff constructs has this delightful sense of hybrid reality and, while the book had a very clear essence of a gritty, dirty new world, the sense of wonder and intrigue permeate the pages.

This is a fun and fast-paced read. Although the love story was a driving force of the book, it needed more substance, and the big reveals more originality. Despite the shortcomings, it was an enjoyable and easy read.

Reviewed by Anna Blackie