Book Review: Scythe by Christina Bauer

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Title: Scythe
Series: Dimension Drift Worlds Prequel #1
Author: Christina Bauer
Publication Dates: April 24, 2018 and November 27, 2018
Genres: Science Fiction, Dystopian, Young Adult

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Purchase Links:
Barnes & Noble // Kobo // iBooks
Indiebound // Amazon

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Scythe
Dimension Drift Worlds Prequel #1
Christina Bauer
Monster House Books
ISBN 978-1945723049
Ebook April 2018
ISBN 978-1945723582
Trade Paperback November 2018

From the publisher—

Truth time. I go to a Learning Squirrel High School. Don’t judge.

On second thought, judge away. Learning Squirrel is one step above attending class in a junkyard. But what do you expect? Everything’s made out of garbage these days. At least, I have my freelance work to keep Mom and me housed, clothed, and fed. How? I’m your regular high school science geek for hire, except my work manipulates space-time. The good news is that these gigs pay really well; the bad news is that the government likes to kill people like me. Whatever. I’m not worried; hiding from their detection systems is easy for me.

Then I screw up one of my illegal projects. Badly.

In fact, things go so sideways that my house slips into two-dimensional space-time. The shift only lasts for a few seconds, but that’s long enough to set off a dozen government alarms. If those goons track me down, Mom and I are as good as dead. Long story short, I need to pay someone off, hide the evidence, and keep us safe.

Unfortunately, that means asking the Scythe for help. He runs the local underground crime scene and has absolutely no conscience…Or at least, I’m pretty sure he doesn’t. It’s hard to think straight when a guy’s that hot in an ‘evil Mafioso kingpin’ kind of way. Most importantly, the Scythe is a crime lord who can conceal my slip-up with a few clicks on his minion’s computer keyboards. But the man has his price. In this case, the Scythe wants me to finish a certain dimensional prototype for him in twenty-four hours. I can do it, but it might mean Learning Squirrel High gets blown up in the process. Oh yes, and there’s also my new hot classmate who may or may not be an alien…and he says he’ll do anything to help me.

This job won’t be easy, but I’ve gotten out of worse scrapes. Maybe.

Wow. Just wow. If Scythe is any indication, the Dimension Drift series is going to be a corker, hands down.

Meimi is only 16 years old but she’s much older than the usual teenager, having lost her father and sister, acting as caretaker for her emotionally and mentally fragile mother and living in a world where monstrous beasts are created to “dispose” of undesirables as defined by the Authority. Meimi supports herself and her mother by doing freelance scientific work for the local crime lord, Scythe, and becoming beholden to him for their very survival is not a choice she would have willingly made, had she actually had a choice.

From the first few words, I was completely hooked on this story and its characters. The plot is full of nonstop action and tension while the characters, Meimi as well as others, are vividly drawn, even the exceedingly dangerous Lacerator, the newest of those killer monsters. Beyond all that, though, Ms. Bauer is a master craftsman of worldbuilding and that alone would have kept me fascinated.

There is only one thing wrong with Scythe—it’s a prequel and by the very nature of the beast (so to speak) that means the story ends way too quickly and leaves you hanging, swinging in the breeze. I really hope the next prequel, Umbra, will be out soon, followed by the first full-length novel, Alien Minds 😉

Reviewed by Lelia Taylor, November 2018.

About the Author

Christina Bauer knows how to tell stories about kick-ass women. In her best selling Angelbound series, the heroine is a part-demon girl who loves to fight in Purgatory’s Arena and falls in love with a part-angel prince. This young adult best seller has driven more than 500,000 ebook downloads and 9,000 reviews on Goodreads and retailers. The first three books in the series are now available as audiobooks on Audible and iTunes.

Bauer has also told the story of the Women’s March on Washington by leading PR efforts for the Massachusetts Chapter. Her pre-event press release—the only one sent out on a major wire service—resulted in more than 19,000 global impressions and redistribution by over 350 different media entities including the Associated Press.

Christina graduated from Syracuse University’s Newhouse School with BA’s in English along with Television, Radio, and Film Production. She lives in Newton, MA with her husband, son, and semi-insane golden retriever, Ruby.

Stalk Christina On Social Media – She Loves It!
Blog: http://monsterhousebooks.com/blog/category/christina
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorBauer/
Twitter: @CB_Bauer
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christina_cb_bauer/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christina-bauer-481b12139/
Web site: http://monsterhousebooks.com/authors/cbauer

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