JL Spelbring

I received this book from Netgalley and Spencer Hill Press in exchange for my honest review.

This book takes Hitler's Aryan race and adds twist to it. Not only do they have blonde hair, blue eyes, and a strong body, they also have some mental ability that allows them to do special things. When Ellyssa no longer wants this life she escapes and adventure begins.

I enjoyed the second half of this book more than the first. The first part felt too slow. BUT since this is a first book in a series it is understandable. The first half of almost any first book in a series is a slow with all the world and character building.

I enjoyed the ways that Ellyssa used her mind reading talent. She could figure out how the intentions of people and events that they had witnessed and not just there active "verbal" thoughts.… (plus d'informations)

This dystopian novel takes place in the United States approximately a century after the Nazi's won the war. Ellyssa and her genetically engineered brothers and sister are Hitlers idea of perfection. Her father and her creator, Dr. George Hirch, Der Vater, has devoted his life's work to creating the perfect soldier formed in the image Hitler believed to superior - platinum hair, blue eyes, porcelain skin, having superior strength, intelligence, as well as "special abilities." She has lived inside the Center all her life and has done what her father has asked of her, masking her emotions, no questions asked. All of that changes when a dark haired imperfect stranger speaks into her mind and she discovers things about her father, his plans for her, and his plans for society that disturb her so much that she escapes. On the run from everything she knows, everyone and everything she has believed to be true, Ellyssa faces the most difficult tests of her life. She not only meets a groups of people, renegades as they were known, who she was always taught were a menace to society, impure, and barbaric, but she comes to know, love, and must learn to trust them, but will they trust her? Will the danger be too great? Will the Center and everything it stands for destroy any hope Ellyssa may have at freedom?

I enjoyed Perfection. It was a bit slow in the beginning and it took me a while to really get into it, but when I did, I was fully engrossed in what was going on. The novel is told in the third person, but you also get multiple POVs from the other characters in the story, which I found interesting. Ellyssa is the main character. I didn't connect with her immediately. She was robotic like and determined, masking her emotions, in her speech and actions. As Ellyssa began to come out of her shell, open herself up to people, learn to trust, and even to fall in love, I grew to really like her and enjoyed watching her character develop. Rein, the romantic interest in the story, I just loved, and I enjoyed watching their relationship develop. The other secondary characters all played important roles in the story as well. I especially like Matthew, Jordan, and Woody. They help her to see what truth really is in relation to what she has always been taught. Ellyssa's father, her brothers and sister, however, I did not like at all. They were really evil, as was the detective that pursued Ellyssa.

As the danger and threats the Center and what it stands for begin to close in on Ellyssa and those she is with, she sets forth on a course of action, determined to save the ones she loves, and is willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish it. Perfection has plenty of action, danger, conspiracy, evil villains, and romance, and takes place in postwar setting in which the Nazi's were the ones who won the war, instead of the way we know it. The ending was satisfying and I was pleased. It was also a little disturbing, especially the epilogue (in a good way), setting the stage for a sequel, which I will definitely check out. If you are a dystopian fan, Perfection is different from many of the dystopias out there, and is something you might want to check out.… (plus d'informations)

Perfection is a chilling picture of what life could be if selective genetics goes completely wrong. They are trying to make a perfect soldier, and as far as looks and strength and mind reading goes, they have it in Ellyssa. But they consider her emotions her weakness. She learns through her escape that those emotions can really be strength.
This is an alternate history I guess you would consider, because it is basically a dystopia where Hitler's ideals are realized and they are working to eradicate those who aren't of perfect race, and taking it even further with superior intelligence and strength.
She tries to run away from the place she was made/born because a strange for this world looking boy with dark hair being questioned broke through her mental shield and screamed a place at her. And she deletes and changes things in the database and goes on the run. It's so much fun to watch her learn to trust others, feel loss, sorrow, joy, laughter, and most of all, fall in love.
While I understood the choice for a third person pov, I connected most with Ellyssa and wanted to be from her point of view the most. I didn't connect with the other characters, but they gave valuable insight into what is going on while Ellyssa is running and when she finds unlikely allies.
There is plenty of action behind the character development to keep the story going. The ending is pretty good, but the epilogue makes me know there needs to be another book in this series. There are also ingeniously crafted villains that will make you want to wring out their brains.

Bottom Line: Action packed and chilling alternate history with a main character I grew to love.… (plus d'informations)