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Thursday, August 27, 2015

Friday 56 and Book Beginnings: The Heartless City by Andrea Berthot

This is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice


These are the rules:
1. Grab a book, any book.
2. Turn to page 56, or 56% on your eReader.
3. Find any sentence (or a few, just don't spoil it) that grabs you.
4. Post it.
5. Add the URL to your post in the link on Freda's most recent Friday 56 post.

Please join us over at RoseCityReader every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author’s name.


Synopsis:
     Henry Jekyll was a brilliant doctor, a passionate idealist who aimed to free mankind of selfishness and vice. He’s also the man who carelessly created a race of monsters.
     Once shared secretly among the good doctor's inner circle, the Hyde drug was smuggled into mass-production - but in pill form, it corrupted its users at the genetic level, leaving them liable to transform without warning. A quarter of the population are now clandestine killers – ticking bombs that could detonate at any given moment.
     It's 1903, and London has been quarantined for thirteen years.
     Son of the city's most prominent physician and cure-seeker, seventeen-year-old Elliot Morrissey has had his own devastating brush with science, downing a potion meant to remove his human weaknesses and strengthen him against the Hydes - and finding instead he's become an empath, leveled by the emotions of a dying city.
     He finds an unlikely ally in Iris Faye, a waitress at one of the city's rowdier music halls, whose emotions nearly blind him; her fearlessness is a beacon in a city rife with terror. Iris, however, is more than what she seems, and reveals a mission to bring down the establishment that has crippled the people of London.
     Together, they aim to discover who's really pulling the strings in Jekyll's wake, and why citizens are waking up in the street infected, with no memory of ever having taken the Hyde drug...
     Heart-eating monsters, it turns out, are not the greatest evil they must face.





Book Beginning:
     Virginia shivered but didn't dare reach up to gather her damp, wool cloak around her throat. She didn't dare breathe, though she doubted the sound would be heard over the heavy rain pelting the canvas above her, or the churning waters of the wide mighty Thames.


Thoughts:
     The synopsis was what really drew me to the story. But this opening really paints a picture that quickly captured my interest in the story.


56% on Tablet:
     Elliot tightened his grip on the bottle and lowered it to his lap, closing his eyes as the alcohol seared his throat and swarmed his stomach. "It's just... too much," he murmured in replay. "Too much feeling."
     Iris studied his face then scooted a little closer. "What if you shared it with me?"
     "Shared it with you? You mean share what.... everyone is feeling?"
     "It might lessen the impact for you, make it easier to bear."
     "I don't even know if I can."


14 comments:

  1. I'm not sure about the cover, but the description sounds amazing! Jekyll and a Hyde drug that's transformed a quarter of the city into killers? I need it.

    Check out my Friday 56 (With Book Beginnings).

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    Replies
    1. Yeah the title and the description really drew me in, the cover is kind of "meh".

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  2. The quotes are actually quite intriguing. I may take a look around for this book.

    My Friday Quotes

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  3. The synopsis caught my attention, too. Like Lauren, I'm not sure about the cover, but she looks like she has some kind of problem and if fits with the opening, so maybe after reading it would fit.
    sherry @ fundinmental Friday Memes

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    Replies
    1. Im a little bit further into the story from the 56% spot. This book has many tense moments, and I am nervous and excited to find out what this possible larger danger is besides the Hydes. Even though I have a theory, I look forward to finding out.

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  4. The beginning is most interesting. Right away the reader is wondering where she is that she feels she cannot move or even breath. I sense her fear of her situation.
    @dino0726 from 
    FictionZeal - Impartial, Straightforward Fiction Book Reviews

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  5. Well, you caught my attention! I'm fascinated!

    Here's my 56 - http://fuonlyknew.com/2015/08/28/the-friday-56-75-pokergeist/

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    Replies
    1. So far, there isn't a single boring moment in this book. I am really happy about this book.

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  6. This sounds really good to me. I hadn't heard of the book before. I'm finishing up an urban fantasy series this week with Total Eclipse by Rachel Caine. Happy reading!

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  7. Interesting and unusual premise. The opening makes me wonder what she's doing out in the rain, afraid to breathe. I'd keep reading to find out.
    My Friday post features Taming Jenna.

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  8. Sometimes I absolutely love adaptations and I've read a very good one of the Jekyll & Hyde story so I'd love to read another adaptation of it! I really like the idea of the Hyde drug spreading, so consider me intrigued! Thanks for sharing :) I hope you have a great week!

    My Friday post

    Juli @ Universe in Words

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  9. That opening is so atmospheric and intriguing! It sounds like a great read.
    http://dualreads.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/friday-reads-and-friday-56-with-book_28.html

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  10. The beginning is definitely intriguing and I certainly enjoyed that quote! Sounds like a promising read. Happy weekend!

    Here's my Friday 56!

    Lillie @LittleLillieReads

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  11. I giggled at the 56. He sounds like a bit of an oaf to me.
    I love the cover.
    Happy weekend!

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