Bunny's Reviews: ReInception Review Spotlight

If you enjoyed the Divergent series or The Uglies, you are going to want to read ReInception by Sarena Straus! Read on for more info and a chance to win a fantastic giveaway!

ReInception is the first book in Sarena Straus’s new scifi novel that probes the potential future of free will, technology, and the creation of new castes within the population. The future has taken a twisted turn, and the truth is – no one is truly safe. Altering of the mind is that the government wishes to do, and if that means igniting a fear of the lower caste inorder to push forward their agenda then that is EXACTLY what they are prepared to do.

Lea and her friends are just looking to have a good time and then attend a rally. What they don’t expect is for things to get dangerous, violent and deadly. During a speech from someone against ReInception, an explosion goes off. Lives are lost, and many are injured. The government is quick to pin the blame on a particular group of dissenters. Is it really true? Or is there something more sinister at work here? Lea is about to be hit with trouble from all sides. It’s not bad enough that her relationship with her boyfriend is frowned upon by his family. Too bad she has no idea just HOW frowned on it is.

Things just keep getting bad for Lea after the tragedy at the rally. She's losing parts of her life that she used to be able to rely on. But, her eyes are also being opened to some inconvenient truths. What if the government is doing things that they shouldn't be doing? What if they are pushing an agenda to create a work-force that will not fight back against them?

Weird things are happening, and because Lea is different she might end up being swept up in it all. That and she keeps going to places she "shouldn't" be. Questions are being asked and she's going to have to be careful if she hopes to get out of it alive.

This book is definitely engaging and one aspect that you're going to appreciate is how the author ties the "past" and "present" (in the book) together. You get informative tidbits that will ignite your curiosity and have you digging deeper to find out what happens next. Where is Lea going to be lead? What truth will she uncover with help? Why is the government intent on pushing ReInception upon the masses? What are they hiding?

As the main character, Lea is...okay. The author places a strong emphasis on just how naive Lea is. How much of the world she has been sheltered from and the true reality of it all. Of course, in particular scene, you're going to know something before her. Part of me wants to be judgmental and say she was being intentionally dense, but it's more of she was slow to catch on. I would think that for most it would be an immediate knee-jerk thought/jump to conclusion, but it takes her a minute. I say that this is to build the drama on her end.

When it comes to the drama, there is definitely quite a bit throughout this story. It keeps you engaged and wondering what is going to happen next. The author keeps you page-turning as each chapter drops a little revelation, a small puzzle piece to the bigger picture.

This book is part of a series, there is a mild cliffhanger. Nothing too wild, but it is just enough to pique your interest for the next book to come. I'm curious to see what happens next with these characters, so hopefully we won't have to wait too long.

I'm rating this book 4.5 out of 5 stars

Thank you to the author, Sarena Straus, and R&R Book Tours for the opportunity to read and review this book!

ReInception

Publication Date: October 2022

Genre: NA Sci-Fi/ Dystopian

REINCEPTION WILL CHANGE YOUR MIND...whether you want it or not

A hundred years in the future, ReInception is used to modify the brain and eliminate unwanted behaviors--everything from overeating to the worst criminal impulses. Unmodified 20-year-old Leandrea Justus feels ordinary compared to her perfect friends who like living in a ReInception world.

Not everyone is in favor of modification--some remain quiet, while others are outwardly insubordinate. After a protest turns violent, a rogue member of the serving class known as The Prole saves Leandrea and exposes a new reality to her: The true purpose of ReInception may be far more nefarious than advertised. Now, her free will may be her greatest asset. But Leandrea's discoveries about ReInception are putting her life at stake. Can she save society or will the secrets she uncovers start a Civil War?

ReInception is a fiction-debut, the first in a new, action-filled sci-fi trilogy with surprising twists, and a story that may be closer to reality than we think.

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About the Author

I write novels for the curious and adventurous, for people who are intrigued by a “what happens if,” scenario, and who like to explore the outcomes. My characters are ordinary people who find out that they are capable of extraordinary things and discover that one person can truly make a difference.

After receiving a BA in art history and political science from Barnard, I graduated from Fordham University School of Law. I then worked for five years at the Bronx District Attorney’s Office (BXDA), where I prosecuted sex crimes and child abuse cases. After leaving BXDA, I published a true-crime memoir, Bronx DA: True Stories from the Sex Crimes and Domestic Violence unit (Barricade, 2006). In 2010, my book sold as a TV Pilot to CBS/Paramount.

I’ve gone on to publish numerous legal articles and works of poetry, and I was an editor for a legal magazine. For a few years, I was also a talking head, commenting on current criminal cases in the media on tv and radio.

Today, I live in the Hudson Valley, NY with my husband, our two children (also budding writers), two naughty Labrador retriever ladies, and two barn cat boys. I’m now working on sequels to my debut novel ReInception and will keep you posted about them on my site.

When not writing or lawyering, I love to scuba dive, take photographs, and travel off the beaten path. I’ll swap diving or courtroom stories with you all day long or happily talk to you about books–writing them or reading them!

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