Thank you to NetGalley and Mariner Books for the digital review copy and the opportunity to be an early reader. Happy publication day to this riveting debut!

In this dystopian future, population is out of control, resources are slim, and a private company has found a solution. Combine has created a process where two compatible people can be merged. One serves as the Host and one as the Transfer. Consciousness, memories, everything is united in one body. The UK government has embraced the process, incentivizing it with tax breaks, housing, etc. The story centers on Laurie, in her mid-60s, living with Alzheimer’s and her daughter, Amelia, an activist who surprises everyone around them by signing them up to be merged. The Merge has never been tried on someone with Alzheimer’s before; will this be a cure?

Candace Chen is a survivor at the end of the world. The Shen Fever has ravaged the United States, leaving much of the population dead or dead-like, stuck in the repetitive movements of everyday life, patterns and habits. Those struck with the fever will set the table, sit down to “eat,” and then clear it, only to do so again 30 minutes later. Candace stayed in New York City until it felt like she was the only person remaining. Now she’s headed west with a small, cultlike group intent on starting a new society of survivors at the Facility near Chicago.

I read Here Beside the Rising Tide by this author earlier this year. It was like a fever dream and I really liked it despite having a few elements that didn’t work so well for me. When Hyperion Avenue reached out with an early copy of this book, I thought, “why not?”

This was twisty and genre-bending and I had so much fun with it.

We open with a woman awakening in a bus. She’s disoriented. She doesn’t know who she is, where she is, or when she is.

This was strange and beautiful and left me feeling like I might have overlooked something. I immediately thought I should probably start it over again to dig at its true meaning, and the thing is, I actually would do it.

Four strangers get the chance to go back in time for one hour and revisit a moment at random with Aeon Expeditions, or so they think. Once their sixty minutes begin, they realize they’re revisiting the week each of their lives changed forever. When the hour is up and they find themselves stuck in the past, they start to interact in the past and see their paths have been intertwined in more ways than one all along.