NeverSea (Echoes of the Lost #1) by Jenetta Penner and David R. Bernstein
Expected Publication: December 12th 2017 by Torment Publishing
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
An eARC was provided free in exchange for an honest review
Goodreads Summary:
Can a pure, but broken heart fuel the war to control the NeverSea?
“The Little Mermaid & Peter Pan together in a sci-fi retelling.”
Forced under the sea, seventeen-year-old Arya fights, alongside her sisters, to take down the Syndicate—a group looking to genetically redesign humanity against their will. When a routine patrol goes horribly wrong, she reunites with Peter, the ousted former leader of the Lost Boys. Arya and Peter’s tortured past, filled with genetic experimentation, fuel their need for justice.
Years earlier, Peter left young Arya when she needed him the most, leaving her torn from James, the love of her life.
Now, Arya has no choice, but to trust Peter or risk losing everything.
In a future where a constantly rising sea has swallowed nearly all the land on Earth, Arya and Peter fight to regain control of Neverland, a massive floating settlement, now controlled by the Syndicate.
The abilities forced on them years ago, are now the weapons they need to fight back.
Fans of The Lunar Chronicles series will love this exciting and epic new, young adult series.
I love retellings, and this was a great start to a new series. This story was very fast paced and I probably could have read it in one sitting if I didn’t have to do adult things (like cleaning =/). The story starts off with Arya and Peter inside the Syndicate being tested on and altered “for the greater good”. They break out one day and then we jump forward a couple of years to where the main story takes place. Their sole mission in life is to take down the Syndicate. Albeit Peter and Arya both have different reasons for taking them down, but it boils down to revenge and making sure that what happened to them doesn’t happen to anyone else. The authors merged the two stories very well into one, and gave each one their own spin to it. Many of the elements from the original stories were very much evident in this one, and I liked how they were fitted into this dystopian world.
This story wasn’t without it’s flaws though. The plot is there and it moves fairly quickly to keep you entertained. However, I wish there was more backstory to the characters so that we can have a better connection to them other than their current situation. I wish there was also a little bit more of a world building. For instance, why is the Earth covered in water? What happened for the NeverSea to take shape?
Hopefully the next book will answer some of the questions for me!