Book Review: Anticipation by Neil Taylor #TheWriteReads #BlogTour

My dear bookish friends,

Something I really love about blogtours is that they sometimes make me read books outside of my comfort zone. I don’t really read thrillers very often, or books that are very technology-heavy, and Anticipation by Neil Taylor is kind of a mix of both, and yet, here we are with a 4.5 star review! So, please keep on reading to find out what the book is about, and for my detailed review!

A huge thank you to TheWriteReads, Neem Tree Press and the author for my ebook as well as my spot on this tour (none of which influenced my review or rating in any way).

About the Book

You are being played.

Your every move is being watched by businesses hoping to manipulate your behaviour. Every picture, every post, every like, every follow, every purchase, every search.

When 17-year-old Riya Sudame inherits her father’s secret AI algorithm, she and a handful of carefully selected Keyholders hold the power to predict people’s future using their online data. But with great power comes great responsibility, and they must safeguard it from falling into the wrong hands.

Enter Jim Booker, a powerful social media tycoon, who will stop at nothing to steal the technology for himself. Soon Riya faces a critical choice. Fighting ruthless tech giants seems like an impossible task—wouldn’t it be easier to relinquish her father’s creation in exchange for a normal teenage life?

But if she does, she will have to live with the knowledge that she is the reason that, like everyone, you are being played.

Neil Taylor marks his debut in this dark, twisty AI YA thriller.

My Review

Anticipation is such a fast-paced and captivating book, I finished it in a day and got antsy when I had to put it aside for a bit – I only managed to do so for a few moments though because I just had to know what would happen next!

I really liked the writing style here. It’s simple but very easy to get into, which I really enjoyed. The subject matter, as we find out later on, is quite complex, so the way it is explained in such an accessible manner makes it much easier to wrap your head around it in my opinion. I also liked that the author is very good at using subtle little hints and gestures to show what a character is thinking or feeling without simply telling us.

I really have to mention how powerful the start of this book was. We see Riya and her father having a conversation on the phone (it took me a few moments to register where he was as it was taking place) and just know how much they mean to each other simply from the way they interact, even though Riya is actually a bit cross with him and tells him as much, but then…well…no spoilers, BUT AAAH! A very, very powerful way to start the book and really, from there it is just very difficult to put down.

The emotion we see Riya going through from early on just instantly invests us in the character. I found it hard to believe at first that she is still a teenager – not because she didn’t seem like a teenager but because she seemed to exude an emotional maturity that many adults have yet to master. Riya has gone through so much at her young age already, and over the course of the novel she is facing more and more difficult, if not seemingly impossible-to-overcome hurdles, learns of things that sound unbelievbale yet turn out to be very real (and very dangerous), and doesn’t know who is friend and who is foe anymore. One tough situation after the other to master!

I really felt for her from the first moment, and it must be so confusing to find out what she learns about her father’s work and not feel like she has been left out on purpose all her life. Underneath all that heavy blanket, Riya still is just a normal teenager though, with hopes and dreams and wishes and fears, and that combination made her a great and complex character.

When she is forced on the run and gets involved more and more with her father’s company, danger seems to be lurking everywhere. The book’s pace picks up even more at this point, and there is one fast-paced event happening after the other. I simply couldn’t put it down anymore!

I don’t read thrillers mixed with sci fi elements (though can AI like this be considered sci fi at this point anymore? Probably not! Real life elements? Tech elements?) very often, so I was surprised to find out how much I enjoyed reading Anticipation.

It is a fast-paced, captivating and exciting AI YA thriller that you won’t be able to put down. Highly recommended, to teenagers and adults alike! I also couldn’t believe that this book is a debut – well done to the author, and I can’t wait to find out what else will come after this!

4.5 stars from me!

Thank you all so much for reading, and do let me know if you will pick this one up!

xoxo