by Cathy McCrumb
publisher’s synopsis
The Consortium is All. But Recorder Can No Longer Obey.
Recorder has no family, no friends, and no name. Donated to the Consortium before birth, her sole purpose is to maintain and verify the records. A neural implant and drone ensure compliance, punishing for displays of bias.
Suddenly cut off from controlling technology, Recorder tastes what it means to be human. But if the Consortium discovers her feelings, everyone she knows will be in danger.
With no name, no resources, and only an infinitesimal possibility of escape, Recorder’s time is running out.
This book was awesome.
To be completely honest, I wasn’t sure how much I was going to like Recorder before I started reading it. But once I started it, I was completely sucked in. It was actually hard for me to put the book down at times.
The characters were amazing. I loved the crew and their dynamics. They were all different from each other and well-rounded. They also played off of each other fantastically. I love all of them and can’t wait to know what happens next to them in the series. Seriously, the characters were fantastic. McCrumb also did a wonderful job of revealing the characters’ backstories through dialogue and their interaction with other characters and then finally through a signal chapter from that character’s POV.
The worldbuilding was great. While most of the story actually takes place in one location, you could tell that McCrumb had developed the entire world and knows so much about it. You know that there is more to explore, and hopefully we’ll get to see and learn more about the rest of the world in the rest of the series.
The plot was well-paced and layered nicely. It had me sucked in and kept me flipping pages.
Recorder is a fantastic start to the Children of the Corsortium series, and I’m excited to see what happens next.
Cautions: mild/moderate romance; two kisses; one forced kiss; mention of an unmarried couple living together*; non-graphic violence; two “bleeped” out instances of swearing **
*Marriage has been changed in this world so that it doesn’t really exist, and instead there are “contracts” that last for a certain amount of time.
**It’s been a while since I finished Recorder, so I may have forgotten a caution.
Hailey Huntington 