“When sixteen-year-old Asha Kennedy discovers her older sister Maya’s dead body in their home, her world falls apart. Desperate for answers, and to stay out of the hands of the social services she grew up in, Asha turns to her hacker friends for help.

Her search leads her to Zu Tech, the hit games studio where Maya was a lead coder. As Asha begins to unravel the riddle of her death, she realises that the only way to uncover the truth is from the inside.

Asha ghosts her old life and infiltrates a Zu Tech eSport tournament as they launch ‘SHACKLE’, the revolutionary Virtual Reality video game Maya was working on – and which hides a monstrous secret…”

I didn’t know much about this book before I chose to read; I was immediately gripped by the title and dived straight in. Two train rides later, and I was finished. This is definitely the kind of book I enjoy – a Hunger Games style series with a strong female lead, and dystopian plot.

Asha Kennedy was a strong female lead, who wants to find out more about her sister’s death, believing there to be more to it than meets the eye. To do so, she needs to use all her wits and ingenuity to make it onto the inside – where else can you discover a companies secrets, than inside the company itself?

The action was fast-paced without leaving the reader behind – we made discoveries along with Asha and became emotionally invested in the outcome. Augie and Dark were both interesting characters alongside her (and I found myself definitely having a preference for one of them!) and added an interesting love triangle – which I am a sucker for in books!

One thing I am gutted about…having to wait so long to see what happens next! It has been left on such a cliffhanger and I absolutely need to know more about Zu Tech, Dark and the choices Asha will be left to make.

If you want a copy (out in February 2023) – you can buy it here.

Emily x

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