The Heart Between Us stole mine

I am so glad I ended up signing up for this ARC from the unbelievably lovely M.M. Price. Romantisci, with an epic feel and yet so near and dear to your heart, with the air of classic scifi but the casualness of today, constitutes the wonderful mix of this incredible new book coming out tomorrow.

As a child, Kamryn saw her mother murdered by a monster, a mimic. Now, all grown up, she will have her vengeance. Locate the Heart and destroy it to kill all the mimics. Partner in her mission, and best friend is Dax. Stumbling upon the dark truth regarding Kam's connection to the Heart he tries to change the inevitable, and that brings them at odds. More than dangerous odds.

Whispers of more going on than we can see are evident from the prologue's first sentences. Subsequently, the scene absolutely blazes and the story crashes into our heart, seizing it. Then properly ignites the humanity-against-monster, save-the-planet, thrilling premise. The creatures and the shadows feel as if they were birthed in a South Korean supernatural show, and believe me that is high praise cause no one does simultaneously horrific & mesmerizing like they do. The action felt like it was caging my heart and shrieking its brilliance.

I really enjoyed the dual POV. The internalization they exhibit enables us to experience their thoughts, along with the characters' observations of their world. Even so, the author still succeeds in giving us a full picture of what is going on. If you are a give-me-the-little-details person, you will doubly appreciate the descriptions. Hints of things that have passed and are to come nurture the intrigue and our need to formulate theories (mine were quite wild) about our main characters and Felix.

The fact that our main characters are best friends draws you in. They grew up together, due to extenuating circumstances, and are now having feelings but they act like they don't. Their relationship makes me smile; their quips chuckle, even guffaw. I almost spit my coffee with one incredible line. Adding to the tension is something unknown to us holding them back, almost as if it's forbidden for them to be together and it makes the situation even yummier. The tug-of-war that often presents heart-squeezing. I screamed at the book a lot and enjoyed it. I loved how the author showed the characters' emotions and personalities through their movement, actions and quirks. The intimate feeling of the narrative showcases the wild tangle of those emotions and the growing intensity of their predicament with an excellent buildup to the heart-in-throat finale.

Strength isn't always what we think it is, having many forms, appearing in unexpected places. Another theme examined here is the perplexity of secrets. Secrets can protect, connect, or destroy. We ponder the known question of "How far should science go?" and the ethicacy of humanity.

In my humble opinion, some scenes or dream sequences lasted much longer than needed, making them lose some of their impact and throwing me out of my pleasant immersion. Just a bit of tweaking to run smoother would have made them reach perfection. There was also a bit of repetitiveness regarding some things. The different ways to mention eyebrows were legendary, though often creative.

Can today's scifi have the adventurous & high-stakes-feelings air of classic scifi. In this case, it can. This forced family, best friends inevitably wanting to be lovers, exceptional romantisci with epic betrayals and sabotage, squirmed into my heart, and I am now a permanent M.M. Price fan.