Mundie Moms

Tuesday, October 4, 2016

DISRUPTION by Jessica Shirvington / Blog Tour: Book Review / Author Interview



By: Jessica Shirvington

Published by: Harper Collins
Released on: October 4th, 2016 (US edition)
SeriesDisruption #1
Purchase from: Amazon | B&N
Add it to Goodreads
Rating: 5 stars - I Loved It
I received an arc to review from the publisher, in exchange for my honest review 

The heart-stopping first chapter in bestselling author Jessica Shirvington's Disruption series.

What if a microchip could identify your perfect match?

What if it could be used against you and the ones you love?

Eight years ago, Mercer Corporation's M-Bands became mandatory. An evolution of the smartphone, the bracelets promised an easier life. Instead, they have come to control it.

Two years ago, Maggie Stevens watched helplessly as one of the people she loved most was taken from her, shattering her world as she knew it. Now, Maggie is ready. And Quentin Mercer - heir to the M-Corp empire - has become key to Maggie's plan.

But as the pieces of her dangerous design fall into place, could Quentin's involvement destroy everything she's fought for?

In a world full of broken promises, the ones Maggie must keep could be the most heartbreaking.


An action packed, heart pounding, swoon-worthy, suspenseful read! To sum it up, it's another fantastic Jessica Shirvington book. She knows how to write the perfect dose of action, romance, suspense, and danger. Paired with a strong, butt kicking heroine, and character relationships that make you feel every range of emotion possible, this book has everything I love about well written YA book. It's a little edgy, a little dark, and has the right amount of everything that keeps me hooked, and makes me devour a 300+ page book in a matter of a couple of hours. 


Set in a futuristic US setting, all citizens are required to be microchipped. In doing so, it leads to more technology, including an M-Band that analyzes the compatibility of it's citizens, to determine who's fit to be together. Those who aren't deemed compatible are labeled as a 'neg' and taken away. If you've read dystopian books before, you know that's not a good thing. Our feisty heroine, Maggie, has stopped at nothing to find her father, who was deemed a neg and taking away from her family. Leaving her family with little, and barely scrapping by. For the past two years she has planned and schemed for everything that's about to go down. What she wasn't prepared for though, was Quentin and the shocking secrets she uncovers.


I really liked Maggie's character. There's so much to her, and I loved the way Shirvington slowly peels back her layers, allowing me to seeing the vulnerable person she does such a great job at masking. Maggie is a physical fit, strong, and intelligent girl. She definitely has a no fear, does things her own way, has a matching attitude to boot. Combine all that with her street smarts, and she seems unstoppable in her quest to find her father. Her tactics are brutal, yet fit the dangerous world she risks going into to find him. For as tough as she is, she's also this beautifully broken, flawed character who only becomes stronger as the story goes on. She doesn't make excuses for what she does, but she ends up realizing some of the errors in her thinking. 


Quentin is not only the exact opposite of everything Maggie has, he is her opposite in everything else as well, or so Maggie thinks. Being the heir to a well known tech company is a lot to live up to. While Quentin may not be as feisty as Maggie is, he's not someone to underestimate. I love how much he surprised me in this story. Like Maggie, the more Quentin's layers are slowly pulled back, allowing me to really get to know him, the more I couldn't help but love him. He has this quiet, calculating strength I admired about him. 


Like all of Shirvington's books, the romance in this book is awesome! It's not only unexpected, it's perfectly developed. Their bantering is awesome. I love the way they best each other when it comes to trying to get their way when it comes to doing something dangerous, and wanting to protect the other person. I also love how they saw through each other's facade. There is so much more than meets the eye with these two. They're similar in more ways than they care to admit. I loved the way they ended up falling for each other. These two know how to ruffle each other's feathers, and it's hilarious! It also makes for some sparks between these two. 


Aside from Maggie and Quinton, are some great character developments. I really like Gus, and the relationship he and Maggie have. I also liked how unlikable some of the characters are. They're written in such a way it was so easy to despise them as much as Maggie does. What I wasn't prepared for was the huge twist that happens. That was awesome. I am really looking forward to seeing what happens next. 


My word this book is so good. From the plot twists, to the characters, the world building, and everything else that is apart of this story, is why I will devour any thing Shirvington writes. Her writing is so good! Normally I'm not a dystopian fan, but this is one dystopian I thoroughly enjoyed reading! I need book two like now! 


Favorite quote from the book:


"People should have the right to become whatever they're going to be before they are judged and sentenced."






Hi Jessica! Welcome to Mundie Moms. Congratulations to your new release. I am so excited about your book is finally out.

Hi Katie, thanks so much and thank you for having me as a guest on Mundie Moms.  

How would you describe Disruption in 3 words?

Scary new world!

I absolutely love your writing, and I'm so thrilled that readers get to meet Maggie and Quentin. How would you describe their relationship? 

Strained and calculated. Maggie needs Quentin and has been planning to set him up for a long time. Before they even speak to one another for the first time she has been watching and studying his every move for over a year. She thinks she knows everything about him but when she actually starts to talk to him, she finds herself conflicted. But Maggie is nothing if not determined. The problem is…you could say the same for Quentin.

Which came first for you; the storyline, a scene, a character or the title?

The concept for the technology came first. I couldn’t shake the idea of being able to walk by another person and get some kind of rating. A technological advancement that didn’t give us an application for something external, but actually started to directly dictate what we should think and feel. From there, the rest flowed pretty quickly.

In the beginning I planned on writing a whole lot of separate stories that overlapped at certain points. This new technology opened itself to so many fantastic scenarios and storylines – but once I discovered Maggie’s character, she was the only one I wanted to write. She was so strong and gentle at the same time. And her story came naturally.

I love the way you write your heroines. Maggie is one I think fans will love. Through the course of writing her story, what's one thing you've come to admire about her?

Thanks! She was a lot of fun to write. I love to write characters who have a lot of room to grow. After all, that’s what growing up is all about, right? Maggie is dealing with some heavy issues, she is making choices and though many of us could confidently say we would never make the same choices she does in the story – her set of circumstances are so unique, it is impossible to really know what any of us would do.

I respected her choices, or at least respected what was motivating her to be so single minded. The way she turns her back on others isn’t something she dismisses. It hurts her to make the choices she feels she has to and she knows she will never forgive herself, but she won’t – can’t – stop.
I suppose, in the end, I admired her flaws and her ability to recognize them as flaws even though she has no intention of changing her ways.

With the evolution of smartphones to bracelets in your book, what is an evaluation you wish we had beside our phones?

It would be really cool if there was a way to use technology to influence the weather. If we could use it to bring rain to lands that need it, and sun to others. I think that would be amazing for the world.

Do you have a favorite line from your book you can share with us?

At one point Maggie is attempting to explain her views of the world to Quentin. She is talking about ‘negs’ – those who rate as negatives with everyone and are removed from society and held in underground prisons. These people have been identified as the ones who are going to do terrible things in their futures. The people who will make the worst kind of decisions. But Maggie doesn’t believe in the system.

Maggie says: ‘Some of them are dangerous, the type you never want to run into in a dark alley. But others…I don’t know, maybe they are destined to do or become something horrible like they say but they haven’t become that yet. They seem normal. Lost. Desperate. People should have the right to become whatever they’re going to be before they are judged and sentenced.’
I loved this part, because it is further proof that no matter how different the world gets, the same fundamental problems exist.

What do you have the most fun creating; the characters, the romance, the world building, action or the suspense?

In disruption I was spoiled for choice. It was all fun! Probably the world building and characters. But it was all so fulfilling. I had so many different ways I could go with the content and I loved writing Maggie’s story.

Thank you Jessica! I hope you have a fabulous book release day celebration!

OUT TODAY- Tuesday 10/4/16 New YA Releases


Happy Book Birthday to today's new releases!
Check out this list of new YA releases hitting bookstore shelves TODAY!

 
 
Also releasing this week:

Which new releases will you be picking up?

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