Thanks to Netgalley and Boldstrokes Books for this ARC in exchange for a review.

The story follows Amara Rodriguez, an artist living with her single mom Maria in the Freelands. Society has been slit into two groups: Old Bloods who are immortals after scientists discovered The Fountain of Youth, or "the Remedy", and the New Bloods, those who haven't taken "the Remedy" and have been shunted to the Freelands to struggle to survive.
When her mother goes missing Amara signs herself up to be a servant for the Old Bloods to try and find her. What follows is Amara becoming a spy, falling for one of the "enemy" and events that discuss the morality of immortality and human test subjects. I loved the world building and premise and while a couple spots in the story lagged and the word choice pulled me out a bit because there are a few spots where its goes from young adult to a higher level, overall this was a really good book.

This is a dystopian story taking place 200 years in the future. Scientists have discovered the Fountain of Youth called the “Remedy”. However only certain people have access to it, those with money or connections. The people who have taken the Remedy are called “Old Bloods” and live inside a walled community called Hydra. The lead scientist is Rebecca and she’s brilliant. Her daughter, Stella, is a dress designer and interior decorator. Rebecca has always wanted Stella to follow her into becoming a scientist but Stella has zero interest and she and her mother have become estranged.

The “New Bloods” are regular people who live outside of Hydra in the Freelands. Rebels have formed a terrorist group called Defiance. Defiance is working to get information on Hydra by inserting spies inside the city. They want access to the Remedy for everyone. And they want to find out what new research is being done and what has happened to people who have disappeared.

Amara Rodriguez is the main character who has grown up with a single mom, Maria. And a best friend Rake. Amara is an artist and very empathetic with all the people in her neighborhood. She’s a very easy going person living her life day to day and not worrying about politics or the future. Rake is a charming, can do person. She’s always discussing politics with Maria. Rake is always teasing and flirting with Amara, and she doesn’t know how to handle that.

Then one day Maria disappears leaving a note and money behind. Amara is devastated. So Amara sets out to find her mother by signing up to be a BabyDoll (a servant) to the Hydra elite. Before she leaves, Rake recruits her into the Defiance. Amara has no idea what she’s doing or what to expect.

From this point on, the story gets really good with lots of action and adventure. Amara is scared to death bring a spy, but finds she’s very good at it. She meets Stella and finds herself falling for this beautiful young woman.

Throughout the book there is a lot of thought and discussion on the morality of immortality and of lab testing on humans.

I really enjoyed all the aspects of this book - the action, the romance and the philosophy
I hope to read many more stories by Melissa Sky. Congrats to Melissa for a very entertaining read.

ARC received from NetGalley for an honest and voluntary review.

This wasn't a bad read but I did not have the connection I hope I would based on the description. However, I think this will appeal to a younger audience.


Thank you NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books.

What first drew me to the book was its dystopian premise, which, while uncomplicated, was very promising. Melissa Sky delivered on that promise, though not without a hiccup here and there.
The world described was well constructed and coherent, and the plot didn’t bore or snag too much. The prose will definitely find some fans among teenage and young adult readers, but at times it was too pompous for more mature audiences.

it began wonderfully, then the story started to be missy then dull, there's a great potential specially the mom story and that got me disappointed.

I would have liked this better if there had been more spying and less description of the Hydra complex. Also not impressed by Amara’s ability to be in love with one person before she leaves to find her mother then falling in love with someone else more or less immediately. The story was Ok but personally I found it a bit long winded.

Humankind has searched for the Fountain of Youth since the 5th century BC. In 1513, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon set sail to discover this mythical place. He stumbled upon Florida where the Indigenous further directed him to Bimini in the Bahama region where he found paradise but alas no fountain. In modern times, the search continues with magical lotions and creams, face peels and botox. But what if a scientist studying the fresh water aquatic animal of the class Hydrozoa, discovered their regenerative abilities and the fact that they don’t grow old, at all. 

Melissa Sky has taken this obscure scientific fact and looked into the future. Her imagination places the reader almost two hundred years after The Remedy was created by the Asenescence corporation. With scientific foresight, the corporation limited the number of people who would be given their elixir to stymie population growth and create a sustainable balance for the planet. The Old Bloods, the remedy enhanced peoples, have sequestered themselves from The New Bloods in their secure and prosperous enclave named Hydra. Surrounding Hydra is Freelands, an area filled with poverty, starvation, mutterings of defiance and the New Bloods.

Amara and Rake grew up in the Freelands making do with what they can barter or buy. Maria, Amara’s mother disappears one day leaving behind only a note and a little money. Amara pursues her mother into Hydra by becoming one of the Old Blood’s servants. Amara’s sense of self and life will forever be changed by what she discovers in Hydra.

I am usually not this long winded when writing a plot synopsis. However, I believe that in showing the length and depth humans have been looking for everlasting life, it will highlight the pure genius of Sky manipulating known scientific facts to create The Remedy. Add in the extreme divide between the chosen and the ones not and you have a disturbing story of ugly possibilities lying beneath a young adult adventure romance. 

Outside The Lines is a wonderfully complex and entertaining adventure that I thoroughly enjoyed.

I received a free advance review copy from Bold Strokes Books through NetGalley. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is a bit of a sci fi romance where a young girl, Amara goes looking for her mother who has disappeared. Amara’s best friend is in love with her and tries to help her by getting her outside the border to look for her mom. But Amara isn’t ready to give herself to Rake.
This has to do with secrets her mom holds and how life inside and out of the borders were different classes of people live.
Unfortunately I found this to be hard to follow because there wasn’t a lot of explanation about how this came about until near the end.
Still this might be interesting to hard core sci fi readers.