First, I want to say thank you to Xpresso Book Tours for allowing me to read a copy of this title. I am a fan of science fiction stories, and this was a pretty good SciFi story.
The main character is Raleigh. She is just about to graduate high school, and wants nothing more to go away to college like any other girl her age. But Raleigh has dealt with some health issue her whole life. Sometimes when she is around a lot of people she will faint. Lucky for her though, her uncle who is a doctor, has heard of someone who might know what is going on with her health. Dr. Henry has been researching something called Lucidin, a chemical that Raleigh's body makes. And her body makes a lot of it. That is why she faints. This chemical causes her to be able to sense things about people around her. It is because she has been able to help others get diagnosed with things that brought her case to Henry's attention. He has a machine that they can use to distract the Lucidin from her blood. This chemical, and people who can make it, or even use it like she does, are very rare. In fact, most scientists don't even believe that it is anything real. While Raleigh's mother didn't want her to go away to school because of her health issues, they are able to convince her to let Raleigh go to Europe to work with Henry and get her health back in order.
There is another main character, and his name is Rho. Rho's body also makes Lucidin. Only he didn't come about it naturally like Raleigh. He was "designed" by scientists who wanted to make the drug. We meet Rho as he is being held and drained slowly of his Lucidin. He escapes and ends up back at Henry's, where the Lucidin being drained from Raleigh helps him recover. Soon Raleigh is learning about the shady past of Rho and his 11 brothers who were all designed just like him. The scientists who created them were using them in a way that they felt wasn't fair, and they escaped. Now they are on the run, and hiding out. To make money they may sell their Lucidin to drug dealers who then sell it as the drug Lucid. Raleigh feels like she may be in trouble of being kidnapped herself after hearing of the dangers, and decides to go with Rho and his group. This leads into finding that two of his brothers have been kidnapped, Mu and Tau I think, and she tries to figure out how she can help them escape.
It's a great story. I had a few issues with the way it was third person omniscient, at times it was too much to know everyone's thoughts. While nice, you didn't know everyone's really. And the people you didn't know, are probably the ones that we need to watch out for in the story, which made that a little suggestive. And sometimes the dialogue was a little stilted, something I know that when I write I've been told needs to be worked on. Probably why I notice it now. But the story really makes up for it, and those are such minor issues, that they probably only bother me. It's a very interesting science idea, and I'm glad to know there is a sequel, because we're left a big hanging at the end.
The Designed by Kate Tailor
(The Designed Series #1)
Publication date: January 26th 2015
Genres: New Adult, Science Fiction
Synopsis:
What if the next new drug was you? Raleigh’s body produces a drug that could define the future of medicine if the dangerous world surrounding it doesn’t kill her first.
Eighteen-year old Raleigh Groves can sense disease in others and is suffering from her own unexplained illness as well. After years and dozens of doctor visits, she has given up hope of ever finding a cure, let alone a diagnosis. Then she meets a man who explains that her talent and curse are linked. Her body produces a drug, Lucidin, which allows her to sense others. She’s rare, and the drug she makes is coveted.
Rho has spent the last few years on the run. The Lucidin that is racing through his system makes him a target. Surrounded by addicts and dealers on one side and scientists and doctors on the other, he has to rely on his wits and his team to stay one step ahead. So far he has stayed afloat, but some of his brothers haven’t been as lucky.
As Rho and Raleigh collide they must face the perilous world of Lucidin together. Nothing is black-and-white and Raleigh must decide where her alliances lie. Sometimes the hardest heart to sense is your own.
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24602715-the-designed?ac=1
Purchase:
Amazon: http://amzn.com/B00STY2I2W
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-designed-kate-tailor/1121099897?ean=9781483548838
Kate Tailor lives in Boulder, Colorado. She has a background in molecular biology and pharmacology. Writing has been a passion of hers since she was young.
Author links:
http://www.katetailor.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KateTailorAuthor
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13038008.Kate_Tailor
Tour-wide giveaway (INTL):
- $50 Amazon gift card
Tour Schedule: http://xpressobooktours.com/2015/03/18/tour-sign-up-the-designed-by-kate-tailor/
