The book has an intriguing introduction and the flow of the writing is really good throughout all I've read.
The author tried to portray the MC as this incredibly driven, highly gifted person with a keen interest in all the sciences but as soon as she enters the academy she instead just is an oblivious and hormone-driven mess with no self-control and the IQ of a housefly.
This case of stupidity and obliviousness is not limited to the MC though. It affects all the protagonists. It's just particularly annoying and intrusive with the MC because of the first-person perspective.

The story is as subtle as a bull in a china shop in general. Everything is painfully blunt and obvious. The time it takes for the MC to make connections and draw conclusions is ridiculously long and makes me think she should go into a school for mentally challenged people instead of the most prestigious academy in the US and I am not saying this to be hurtful. Really, I am not. This is truly how low her mental capabilities appear even when making concessions for the circumstances.

The author has the frustrating habit of making a good case for the MC to act upon but then needs her to double back because that was never where she actually wanted the plot to go but she can't find a good reason that supersedes the initial cause for the MC's actions.
The author basically repeatedly manoeuvres herself into dead ends and then has to bullshit herself out afterwards to get back on track. The way she does it is usually "but feelings and love and stuff so just forget about all that okeeey". I can't even put into words how absurd these conflict resolutions are. She does it to get a bit of extra drama out of these detours but imo the general absurdity and stupidity outweighs the gained tension.

I dropped at around 80-90% somewhere.

So, the verdict basically is very good and flowing writing and emotional investment that had the potential to really affect me but the abysmal plot construction and planning drives it all into the wall. I think this author could be hugely successful if someone else planned out the entire plot for her in reasonable detail and she just applied her very enjoyable writing to follow the guiding thread.

I have a very hard time comprehending how this book managed to stay on a 4.3 star average with almost 6k ratings. ( )

Honestly I was pleasantly surprised. It's a really good book. However there are some questions that I still have and they're not addressing them. But I guess we'll get into that soon right? ( )

WOW! What a thrill ride!!!

I could NOT put this book down. Christmas day and I devoured it in two hours flat. Of course now I'm left empty, wanting more 😊 This book was full of intrigue, secrets, secrets and more secrets, action, mystery, paranormal fun all wrapped up with one fierce, sassy, and shall I say bada$$ , independent female named Evie ( depending on the day that is). For as long as she can recall, on our around her birthday Evie's mother uproots them, changes their names/info and moves them somewhere else in the world. She's NO CLUE who is after them, but her mother is definitely fearful. Over time Evie learned through watching her mother how to fake identities, hack and change info, use the dark web, and oh so much more. She'd finally felt like she fit in a wee bit as she had a guy that liked her. Big mistake....her mother always warned never trust anyone and don't get close. The night her Mum learned of him they were packed and out the door to their brand new lives. It was just the two of them, since Evie has no clue who her father was or anything about him. She was still stewing in her anger on the plane.....and then IT HAPPENED. The plane ripped to shreds and fell from the sky into the icy waters below. Next thing she knew, Evie heard a chopper above and voices proclaim only two survivors: Evie and the pilot. But that meant her Mum didn't make it? She kept pushing out and coming too....the voice that spoke to her on the chopper was in her hospital room too. When she finally came truly awake b she thought she might have imagined that honey voices man that stayed by her in a chair the entire time. Turns out not so crazy.....he existed and it was now her mission to find him. In a world where some people are Variables who have abilities, and humans the world was deciding to point fingers at those they find different. At least Evie know her bloodwork results thanks to her hospital stay! Ever since that time though, she's occasionally overwhelmed with intense itching that drives her mad and is far beyond normal. What the heck is going on with her!! Super energy reserves, crazy itching.....was she imagining it all? Her birthday arrives once more while in Foster care. Imagine her shock at the invite to an exclusive school for both Variant and human alike....but WHAT did they want her??? All she knew was she was determined to find out.....and so begins her truly spectacular, intriguing and exciting life....along the way maybe she will discover more of who she is. Warning: does she learn more about who she is?! Highly addicting and fun read....I'd fully recommend this to anyone who wants a rollicking Good time with crazy secrets, oodles of paranormal, super secret govt stuff and more. Take the plunge and have fun!! Looking fwd to book two!!! ( )

The main characters last name is Maynard, my last name is Maynard, why wouldn't I read this series?

I had pretty high expectations going in due to the shared last name and VARIANT LOST did not disappoint. I found Eve to be a bit naive and juvenile at times, but she was also persistent and loyal. I had no trouble liking her even through her faults.

All of the guys in VARIANT LOST intrigued me. Alec was extremely frustrating, but the more you learn about him the more he grows on you. I really enjoyed all the different gifts that were represented as well as learning about how each gift works.

There was plenty of action in book 1 of the Evelyn Maynard series and I never found myself bored. The romance is a bit slow, but not too slow that it's frustrating. The world was interesting and kept me guessing. I had book two on my wishlist before I even finished the book and had it read within 24 hours of release. Now I have to wait for book three. ( )