Goose Reads 2023! (Closed)

Week 20 - Hardwired

Week Twenty - May 14th - May 20th

Title: Hardwired

Author: marsaumell

Genre: Science Fiction

Number of Chapters: 13 (As of reading)

Completed? No

Link (Added as an in-line comment):

Blurb:

When in 2035 Penelope Stone learns that her longtime boyfriend has been having an affair with her best friend, all she craves is vengeance. Helping his adversary in the ring, Noah Roberts, might just be it. But a hot, passionate relationship wasn't in the cards, as much as the secret behind a recent injury that has kept him off the ring - and it involves ground-breaking technology. The dawn of cyborgs. 

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It's 2035. Penelope Stone couldn't ask for more. She's got a reliable source of income working at the neighbourhood gym. Her best friend since kindergarten is her roommate. Her love life is flawless. However, when she finds out that her dear Liam Jones has been having an affair with her best friend and roommate, her dream life shatters. 

Penelope's soul darkens with the thought of getting revenge on her ex-boyfriend in the fighting ring. His arch-enemy, Noah Roberts, national ex-champion in mixed martial arts, wishes to face off against him once and for all after a severe injury - and he might just be the means to get her revenge. 

The interactions between Penelope and Noah result in an undeniable passion that sparks up their lives, yet it makes everything complicated. Besides, finding out Noah's stunning secret behind his injury after a snowboarding accident puts an extra strain on their routines. It's got something to do with the military and ethically-questionable tests in a remote facility called Baskerville. They did something to him that can't be undone, and now he owes them. 

Will their emotions stand in the way of their respective goals? Will Noah's secret threaten their relationship and his future?

Goose's Thoughts:

As we approach the half-way mark of this challenge, we plunge into the not so distant future and a world of MMA fighting, and strange military going's on...

From the very beginning, the stakes in this story are raised. Immediately we are thrown into the chaos that us Penelope's life as she uncovers her boyfriend and her friend together and from there, the tension and chaos just grows. Penelope skips numbers one through ten and turns the chaos dial up to eleven almost immediately, vowing to get revenge. It was a fun change of pace to see her immediately want revenge for what had happened rather than falling to pieces.

Penelope is a very interesting character. She's very sure of herself and what she wants, has a cold and calculating sense of determination, and is more than willing to fight you if you get on her bad side. Seeing her work alongside Noah and have their relationship form before us was an interesting dynamic from that chaos energy we get from her at the very beginning. There is a softness to her when it comes to Noah which we don't see at first.

Our other main character, the lovable Noah, is an interesting contrast to Penelope. Even though he is a champion MMA fighter, he doesn't immediately jump to using his fists and doubts whether Penelope's plan is a good one or if it will lead to more danger. Noah also has a secret (no spoilers from me) and I loved seeing inside his head as he tried to navigate his feelings for Penelope whilst trying to keep this secret from her.

Mar does a great job at creating a world that isn't all that different from our own, but there is this strange addition of the military and advanced technology hanging in the background. It allows for this small sense of foreboding to form against the rest of the narrative and the revenge that Penelope wants to get on her ex.

If you're looking for a romance-centric sci-fi read, then this is definitely the story for you. The descriptions are incredible, the world-building is awesome, and these first chapters will have you hooked for what's to come. Definitely go and check this one out!

Thank you for writing such an amazing story, Mar!

-Goose