Review: Freak of Nature by Julia Crane

Freak of Nature

Author: Julia Crane
Series: IFICS #1
Publisher: Indie Inked
Genre: YA Science Fiction
Format: Ebook
Release Date: January 9, 2013
Source: Received eARC from publisher via NetGalley
Rating: 2 Stars
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 ***I received a free copy of this book from the publisher. This has in no way changed my opinion of the book. The review below is my open and honest opinion.***

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Donate body to science. Check.

When seventeen-year-old Kaitlyn checked the box, she never suspected she’d have her life–and her body–stolen from her. She awakens one day in a secret laboratory to discover that her body is now half-robot and is forced to hide her own secret: that she still has human emotions and a human mind. If the scientists who made her find out, they’ll erase what remains of who she was.

Kaitlyn finds an unlikely ally in Lucas, a handsome, brilliant scientist who can’t get over the guilt he feels knowing she was once a vibrant, beautiful young woman. He never expected a science project to affect him the way she does. As he tries to help her rediscover her past, he finds himself falling for the brave girl struggling to find her place and acceptance between the human and computer worlds.

My Review:

First of all, I love the cover of this book. It immediately drew me in and when I read that it was about a cyborg girl I jumped on it after loving Cinder so much. The main character, Kaitlyn, died in a tragic accident but before she did she marked the box on her license that said donate body to science. Scientists use her body, which wouldn’t have survived without them, and turned her into a cyborg. They wipe her memories and take away all her human emotions so they can use her as a weapon. Sounds awesome right? That’s what I thought, but unfortunately, I was pretty disappointed.

Kate, the main character, was kind of dull and boring. Perhaps that’s because most of her emotions have been eliminated, but I just couldn’t connect with her character at all. The whole book is Kate trying to discover her true identity and pining over Lucas. Worst case of insta-love ever. Granted, the characters had known each other long before the book began, but it just felt so cliché to me. Kate was obsessed with Lucas and of course he was with her as well and it just felt cheesy and unrealistic to me. There was zero relationship development. It went from barely acknowledging each other to making out all the time and talking about how they could never live without each other.

And the plot line wasn’t even that interesting. They are trying to figure out a way to stop their boss from selling Kate to the government as a weapon. Things just seemed to happen too easily in this book. Kate didn’t have to work for anything. I know that physically she’s beyond any human, but I think the author could have put some more obstacles in her way. Kate didn’t seem to develop all that much and that’s because she didn’t have many obstacles to overcome. She felt juvenile to me and it honestly made me feel sick when her and Lucas were together because she seemed so young and innocent.

And speaking of Lucas, he was awful. He does this horrible thing at the beginning of the book and Kate just forgives him for it. I couldn’t understand how she could just get over it so easily. It crossed the line and I would have kicked his butt to the curb for it.

I think the idea and premise of this book is really good. But I believe that it was poorly executed. It had a lot of potential, but just fell flat. The characters were bland and boring. The main character didn’t really develop. And there wasn’t even a clear antagonist. What’s a book without a good villain? I’m pretty bummed that I didn’t like this one more. Happy reading all! 

Have you guys read this one? What did you think of the relationship? And what were your thoughts on what Lucas did? Anyone know of any other cyborg books I should read?