Weekend Reads #95 – Project Pandora by Aden Polydoros

Posted August 5, 2017 by Lillian in Reviews / 0 Comments

Happy Saturday y’all! I have a question for you all today. Have you ever been excited for a book and then start reading only to be massively disappointed? Is it just me?! Today I’m going to share with you one of those books. I don’t typically review books I don’t finish. For that matter, I rarely stop reading a book, but sometimes the book just isn’t a good fit and it’s better for me if I just set it down. Project Pandora by Aden Polydoros was that kind of book for me.


I received this book via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of this review.

Weekend Reads #95 – Project Pandora by Aden PolydorosProject Pandora by Aden Polydoros
Series: Assassin Fall #1
Published by Entangled: Teen on 2017-08-01
Length: 372 pages
Reviewing eARC from Netgalley
Rating:
Reading Challenges: #NGEW2017, 2017 New Release Challenge

Tyler Bennett trusts no one. Just another foster kid bounced from home to home, he’s learned that lesson the hard way. Cue world’s tiniest violin. But when strange things start happening—waking up with bloody knuckles and no memory of the night before or the burner phone he can’t let out of his sight— Tyler starts to wonder if he can even trust himself.

Even stranger, the girl he’s falling for has a burner phone just like his. Finding out what’s really happening only leads to more questions…questions that could get them both killed. It’s not like someone’s kidnapping teens lost in the system and brainwashing them to be assassins or anything, right? And what happens to rogue assets who defy control?

In a race against the clock, they’ll have to uncover the truth behind Project Pandora and take it down—before they’re reactivated. Good thing the program spent millions training them to kick ass...

I really, really, REALLY wanted to like Project Pandora by Aden Polydoros. First off, did you see that cover?! It’s drool worthy! Plus assassins, government experiments, the whole cloak and dagger feel of the blurb….yeah I was super excited to read it. However, it just didn’t live up to my expectations, and after reading to just pass the halfway mark I set it down, unfinished 🙁 Where do I even start?

Please note that since I technically didn’t finish the book, this review is my opinion and reasons why I didn’t finish, not a reflection of the author’s writing. 

What Worked

The format for Project Pandora was really interesting. In fact it was the book’s saving grace for me. As the reader, you are dropped into the middle of the story with not much background on the characters, what they are doing or even how they are doing what they are doing. It helps to build the suspense. Between the chapters though are case notes about the characters which give insight into what they’ve been trained to do. While I didn’t finished the book, I did skim through to read all the case notes. I found them more interesting than the actual story.

Hades 😀 This kid is supposed to be the dark horse of the book, the creep. However I fell in love with him. He’s a very dark character, twisted, and the only one who seems to remember and be immune to the directives.

What Didn’t Work

The head hopping!!!! Oh my goodness, y’all I had no clue whose POV I was in half the time I was reading. The characters blurred together as their voices (aside from Hades’s) just weren’t distinct enough for me. I lost count of the times I had to go back to the beginning of the chapter to figure out who was narrating at the time. For me this was a big problem. There were too many characters to try to keep them straight, not to mention how each character had two separate lives (the normal teen and the assassin).

The whole two people in one body thing was weird for me. Technically they were the same person, but whenever a specific sentence was said that would trigger them to become an assassin and know things/people they didn’t know before. It was all very strange and not well explained….granted I didn’t finish the story. Maybe it’s explained later on?

The plot was nonexistent. At least I never picked up on it. AND I was pass the midway point of the book! I should have at least known what the assassins were doing at this point, right?!

Underage drinking and drugs. Look I get it, you think I’m a prude and you’re right. I know 16 and 17 year olds drink and some get their hands on marijuana, but I don’t like to see it in books geared towards the young adult crowds, ESPECIALLY when peer pressure is involved. Big turn off for me. I nearly set the book down at that point.

My Conclusion

Overall, Project Pandora isn’t a bad read. The author’s writing is decent and the characters were intriguing, even if I never really picked up on the plot. However, it just wasn’t my kind of book. I enjoy science fiction, but I lean more towards robots, aliens, and dystopia 😉 If you enjoy thrillers and suspense with a dash of sci-fi, I recommend you give it try.

About Aden Polydoros

Aden Polydoros grew up in Long Grove, Illinois, and now lives in Arizona. He is a writer of young adult fiction. When he isn’t writing, he enjoys reading and going on hikes in the mountains. Aden Polydoros is a 2015 Gold Medalist in the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards and has published two short stories in Best Arizona Teen Writing of 2015. PROJECT PANDORA (Entangled, 2017) is his debut novel.

 

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