this was a very anticipated release of mine, and unfortunately i didn’t love it as much as i was hoping to. the world building was very confusing and the story lacked consistency and logic all throughout :(

Slow and confusing at times. This is sci fi but you would never guess that from the cover. I tried several times to read it and get into and it just couldn't. If you are a huge sci fi fan maybe it will be the right book for you.

[I didn't want to rate this book here, as I didn't do it anywhere else. But netgalley doesn't allow a review without a star rating, so here we are.]

As the title of this post says I didn’t finish reading The Ones We’re Meant To Find, I decided to stop reading it at 23%. I just wasn’t enjoying the book and one of my resolutions is to DNF books that I’m actively disliking. I’m very disappointed that it happened with a review book, but I just couldn’t force myself to get through it. I hoped to enjoy this book, but sadly that wasn’t the case – which makes me even sadder since the cover is gorgeous.

What did I not enjoy about this book? I found it confusing. I was reading the book but it felt like my brain retained no info, I just didn’t get what was going on – it felt like I couldn’t properly follow the plot. So that was rather frustrating. I also didn’t care about any of the characters, nothing drew me to them. I just didn’t care what was going to happen in this book, which is why I decided not to finish it. Especially since I know that, if I forced myself to finish it, it would get a low rating for me. So this was the better option. I don’t really know how to end this, since this is the first DNF review I have ever written, but I guess I’ll just leave it at this.

THIS BOOK OMG

It is so good!!! Not only is the cover gorgeous, the story is written out in perfection!

Joan He is an auto buy author for me. This was more science fiction based than I was expecting, which surprised me. This was quite a challenging read as actually overall this was a very sad story. This story was very mysterious and it was hard to link the chapters together and at times I was a bit confused.

I have repeatedly tried to get into this book but I keep setting it down. I truly believe it’s just my mood right now doesn’t work with the story. I look forward to reading future books by this author even though this was a dnf for me

𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐈 𝐀𝐑𝐂 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖
𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: The Ones We're Meant to Find
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: Joan He
𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Sci Fi Young Adult
𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

𝐆𝐔𝐒𝐇:
• An intriguing concept, love to read books exploring such themes.
• Loved the book cover! So gorgeous and captivating.

𝐆𝐑𝐈𝐏𝐄:
• My lack of brain cells found it hard to follow the story despite being a sci-fi fan. I can follow the story but neither the writing nor the characters capture me so unfortunately, I don't think this book is for me.
• The pacing in the first half is slow. Like, slower than the pace of moss kind of slow. The pacing affected my engagement and as a result I wasn’t investing in anything.
• The ending...

𝐈𝐧 𝐚 𝐧𝐮𝐭𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞:
✔ black mirror vibes


𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐬: climate change, existentialism, capitalism

𝐂𝐖: death, parental death, terminal illness, suicide, mass casualties and large scale natural disasters, drowning, vomiting


Thank you to @NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 𝐌𝐲 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐠: 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐣𝐨𝐲.𝐜𝐨𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐠 𝐮𝐩𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞

DNF - Did not finish. I did not connect with the writing style or plot and will not be finishing this title. Thank you, NetGalley and Publisher for the early copy!

This book is a masterpiece! I feel like I will never be able to forget this story and I honestly do not want to.

For the longest time, I was thoroughly confused about what was going on in this book and because of that, I never properly got into it and didn't enjoy it as much as I wish I had.

Wow, what an complex book! I could feel myself becomming bored around halfway through...the story was slow and kind of confusing, I'd almost given up when when it picked up again and completely hooked me!

This is definitely a book that the more you think about after finishing it the more you realise you enjoyed it. I would highly recommend!!

1. Wonderful characters:

Cee and Kasey are both very compelling characters. While Cee’s chapters are filled with mystery and secrets that slowly unravel over the course of the book, Kasey’s perspective gives us a closer look at the futuristic society she lives in, as well as the socio-political issues of this world. I found both characters endearing and relatable in different ways and I enjoyed switching back and forth between their chapters.

2. Beautiful and dreamlike prose:

The beautiful, lyrical prose, combined with the sci-fi elements of the book, gives it a deliciously dreamlike quality that I really enjoyed. And although the book is essentially a sci-fi, it’s not overly reliant on complex, technical lingo, which makes it perfect for readers who are either new to the genre or who don’t read sci-fi very often.

3. The near future and what it holds for us:

While the futuristic society depicted in the book is much more technologically advanced than ours, it’s similar enough that the global and societal issues discussed in the book eerily echo the ones from our world. The book does not only focus on climate change and its impact on the planet, but it also looks at what the future of mankind could look like in an increasingly polluted world. The book also offers an interesting conundrum to both the characters and the readers: To whom does the responsibility of ensuring a better world for future generations fall? And is our generation selfless enough to shoulder those responsibilities and make those sacrifices for the ones who will come after us?

4. Final thoughts:

This book is my favorite new release of the year so far and I cannot recommend it enough! The writing is beautiful, the atmosphere is both futuristic and very dreamlike and the characters are amazing. Definitely check it out!

"Cee has been trapped on an abandoned island for three years without any recollection of how she arrived, or memories from her life prior. All she knows is that somewhere out there, beyond the horizon, she has a sister named Kay, and it’s up to Cee to cross the ocean and find her."

When I first saw the cover of The Ones We're Meant to Find, I found it extremely gorgeous, and yes, I'm one of these girls that get interested with a book for the cover, sometimes! I'm only human, after all. So I was very excited when I got the ARC for this one.

But when I started reading it, I found it very difficult to get into the book at all. I thought it was extremely confusing, to begin with, and I didn't connect with the characters and the story itself. I really think this one wasn't for me.

I do think the author's writing has a lot of potential, though, so I'll try out the previous book she wrote to see if I like it.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange of an honest review!

I absolutely adored this book. Could not have loved it more!
I would have been perfectly content if the book had have finished halfway through but I love that Joan kept pushing the story, adding twists and turns and layers that just kept building to this beautiful masterpiece. The whole thing came together amazingly, looping forward, back, up and over like a patchwork quilt of stories, characters and emotions.
It was everything I want from a story and everything the blurb promised - it had heart, action, mystery and fun. It really was a cross-genre affair.
It might seem dark or despairing but I really enjoy climate disaster books. Maybe they are part of my brain coming to terms with what we are facing and what is to come? Or maybe they are feeling ever more realistic and give me a small sense of hope that I will survive? Either view is pretty nihilistic, but I love the stories anyway.
I would jump right back in and start reading again if my TBR wasn't staring at me so accusingly.

Wow, what an complex book! I could feel myself beginning to get a bit bored around halfway through...the story was slow and kind of confusing, I'd almost given up when when suddenly shit starts to go down and massive mysteries are uncovered one after the other and my mind is BLOWN! I was still confused but also riveted.

I think this will be one of those books that grow on me the more I think about it, it was unusual and thought provoking and I'm pleased I carried on with it. Already I can feel my appreciation growing and have moved it from a 3 to 4 stars within 10 minutes of reading the final pages!

Thank you NetGalley and Text Publishing for providing me with a free digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

Dnfed at 30%!
Really tried to get into this one but I couldn’t get on with the writing style and the story itself wasn’t gripping at all.

I loved the thematic parallels between Cee, Celia, beginning-of-the-book-Kasey, and end-of-the-book Kasey and how they all four ultimately came to a same overarching conclusion about the nature of choice, who deserves certain things, and consequences of actions but how they all applied this conclusion differently. The themes also echoed beyond the characters to reflect uncertainty and moral grappling that happens today with regards to the climate crisis. The way this theme was interpreted and shown in each of the POVs was the part that most impressed me about this book.

I was also impressed with the plot twist and how things were hinted but didn't become clear until after the reveal. I understood the openness of the ending even if I do wish I could know for sure what Cee decided. The way the timelines were set up was done well.

Kasey's uniqueness as a character shone, and even if she wasn't especially likable she was someone you could be sympathetic towards. In my case, I didn't agree with a lot of her logic and reasoning but understood where she was coming from, and combined with the nature of climate disaster and who deserves the blame

I have not read a lot of books about the climate crisis - I get enough of it in my day-to-day - but I recognized so much of the moral uncertainty and the projections for what the future would be like, the ripple effects from even the best of intentions, and the unavoidable inequities and exercise of privilege. It did not make me hopeful for the future, but even the depressing nature of the circumstances, the magnitude of the disasters, and how nothing was actually being solved in the fictional portrayal of a climate-ravaged future did not make me feel worse because honestly it's not surprising.

On a less depressing note, I was very impressed by this book! It was unique and poignant and sharp and thematically well-developed.

I received my own finished copy of this book, so will not be reviewing the arc due to formatting issues. I expect to read the finished copy in future.

This book was quite surprising, the pace is slow and it has a long set up. I usually prefer books that have a pace that picks up quite quickly and steadily. That being said I found myself enjoying this book, despite this. It won't be to everyone's taste but if you can appreciate what this books is trying to tell you you will love it.

This book touches upon what it means to be human and the responsibility that we hold to our selves while balancing our responsibilities to society. The concept was very intriguing and I would definitely recommend for anyone who wants to explore the consequences of human actions on the planet.

As someone who is trying to read more SF but doesn't tend to lean in this direction, I was very excited to start Joan He's novel as I love her other work. Overall, I did find the SF aspects really interesting and I did enjoy the way it evoked a sort of "Black Mirror" type sense of dread/perseverance. The explorations of grief and trauma are beautifully wrought and, as always, I am blown away by He's prose and beautiful world building. The mystery aspect was well done, and I found myself desperate to find out more.