R E V I E W

Things I loved about this one:

✅ multiple POV
✅ dual timelines
✅ moral dilemma
✅ social commentary around male violence
✅ fast paced

Another BANGING dystopian from Jayne here! This one focuses on testing young men for male violence and whether it can be tested for and the implications of testing! It didn't shy away from tough topics around discrimination and oppression.

It gets straight down to the story, and doesn't let up until the end. Oh and the ending is nicely tied up, no loose ends, which you know we love around here 😂🤷🏼‍♀️

I've got no criticism of this one, AT ALL! Loved it, would recommend to everyone 😍

This will be published at www.instagram.com/kayleyisreading in October 😍

Antonia and Bea are sisters who both have sons. They live in a world where boys can be tested for the M gene which can predict whether the child will grow up to be violent. Boys with the M gene are treated differently. It is still the parents choice whether to let their boy take the test. One sister has had her boy tested and he is negative, the other hasn’t been tested, which causes a lot of tension between the sisters.

The book tells their story of the struggles on both sides and what happens when the boys get to adulthood and can make their own decision about being tested, will it cause more problems than not knowing? Few twist at the the ends which I didn’t guess, one that I did.

Not my usual genre of book but I did enjoy it.

This book was really thought provoking as well as being a really good page turner.
I can imagine this book being turned into a film.
I will look out for other books by this author

If you could test your son for a gene that predicts violence, would you do it?

I was intrigued by the storyline and was so excited to read this book. It did not disappoint. It is utterly gripping with a killer twist. I couldn't put it down and read it in one sitting.

If there was a test available on the NHS that could predict if a baby boy would develop violent tendencies later in life, would you have your son tested?
Bea & Antonia are sisters who both have sons around the same age, one tested negative at birth for the 'M' gene, and the other is untested.
M- boys are treated well in life, whilst M+ boys are shunned in society. They aren't given the same opportunities, and their movements are restricted. they are regarded with suspicion at all times, and have few friends.
The M- boy leads a priviledged life, whilst the untested boy leads a life of poverty.
Events unravel and a dead occurs, but which boy is responsible?
This was a great idea for a story, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is a frightening thought that this could one day, be a reality, and boys could find themselves divided into the good and the bad.
Well written, and it kept you guessing the outcome until the very end.

Bea & Antonia are sisters but are very different. Antonia is married to a rich doctor & has a lovely home. Bea struggles along with her partner just about making ends meet. At this time a gene has been discovered showed males with aggressive tendencies, following studies that revealed 97% of violent criminals were in possession of this gene. Antonia happily gets her son, Jack, tested but Bea refuses to get Simon tested. As the years go on the attention given to this gene increases. Antonia & her husband do well out of it, starting a clinic & foundation for M+ boys. Bea finds that options for an untested or M+ boys are a lot different. Acceptance in good nurseries & schools depends on that negative test, those who do not have such standards are poorly funded & have less facilities. As the years go on things do not improve. The differences between the two sisters lives widen until Bea is forced to ask Antonia to help.

This was a thought provoking read with some twists. I felt for Bea & thought Antonia was far too smothering of Jack. Thanks to Netgalley to & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.

What if you could test your son for the gene the causes violence? Would you do it?
I Did It For You is a fascinating speculative thriller following two sisters, each with a son...but that's where the similarities end. One sister makes her career and fortune through testing and treating boys who have the gene for violence. The other refuses to have her son tested.
I was equal parts fascinated and horrified by the world the book was set in, and the ripple effects of the decision whether to test your son on not. Though I guessed the plot twist, the book still made for compulsive reading. It was a really thought provoking and interesting read surrounding the issues of nature vs nurture. It was chilling in how believable and possible the fictional world was.
I'd definitely recommend it to fans of speculative fiction, thrillers and plots involving a moral dilemma.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

This is such an amazing idea for a book! The premise really excited me.
The book itself was brilliant, and I really enjoyed it!
I was hooked from the beginning, I kinda guessed the plot twist/s - but that didn't hinder my enjoyment. Jayne Cowie is an excellent writer, and got me gripped from the first page!

I can really imagine this as a television drama series! Think it would be perfect! And Cowie's writing is so visual too so I was picturing it all in my head while reading!

Definitely recommend!

An unusual storyline I found intriguing. All boys who tested positive for a gene they have found causes the owner to be violent are straight away disadvantaged without having actually done anything. It was interesting to see how different parents coped with a positive outcome.
A lot of the characters are flawed which just to make them more interesting.
A compelling read

This is a wonderful and yet eerily realistic feeling book to read. The basics of it are that newborn male children are being offered the M test, which will determine if they have a predisposition towards violence. This test has the aim to cut down violence in society and also make it safer for women or those who live with a more violent person. Now initially this sounded like a good idea, but my goodness the author has twisted it into an amazing story as it gave me a perspective from both sides of the M gene. Those having it are shunned and those without it are able to live a more care-free existence. What an eye-opener this was and one that would make for great reading for a book club.

Antonia and Bea are sisters but they could not be more different. Their lifestyles, choices, decisions, parenting and appearance, well they are the polar opposite. The author hints at troubles in the past but this is not fully explained until much later in the story. By then you will be starting to add things together and wondering who is who and who is being completely honest.

This is a dystopian story and it is one that has been done so well, it could be present day or the not-to-distant future. We are all aware of DNA tests for certain conditions so having the choice of what you would do for your newborn child to give them the best life possible, what would you do? The author took the sisters and gave them differences and that made it easier to see things from each of their perspectives. Oh my goodness it definitely made me think and at times it was an almost impossible dilemma to work out who was right as they both had valid reasons. Apologies if this is vague, but I don't want to give anything away!

The story does flit back and forth in time and between characters, this fills in gaps at key points of the story and literally had me flipping the pages. The further I read the more tense the story got and yes I did guess at a couple of the answers and get them right, but from the outset, I had no idea how things would pan out.

If you like tense and susp[suspense-filled stories that have an eerie and realistic slant to them then this is one for you. An excellent read and one that was a one-sitting book for me. I could not put it down and I would definitely recommend it.

I really dont know where to start with this review - this was such a thought provoking book and a great addition to the nature v nurture debate. Yes it was about the consequences of testing or not testing boys for a certain gene but it could have been any gene which had this impact. Then adding in what would a mother do to protect her child especially if it has been such a difficult journey to have that child.

It was a real thinking story and raised so many questions.

I was given an advance copy by netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely my own.

How far would you go to protect your son?

I loved the originality of this novel. It's unlike anything I've ever read before.

Imagine a world where men are tested for a violence 'M' gene at Birth?

How their lives will turn out is pre-determined from the moment their parents receive the test results.

What schools they'll go to, what sort of friends they'll have...

Sounds like something from a move right? But what happens when it's reality?

Antonia and Bea are sisters, each devoted Mothers to their sons. But that's where their similarities end. Antonia has had her son tested for the M gene, and Bea hasn't.

We pick up the story with one of the sisters in jail visiting the other. It's clear that they've protected their son from something that they've done, but at this stage we don't know who, where or what.

We're then transported back in time to years before when Bea gave birth to her beloved son and refused to get him tested. Determined he should live his life without the judgement of society. Though that was easier said than done.

Testing was in it's infancy back then, but as Bea's son has gotten older, testing has become more and more common, and those who are not tested are judged almost as harshly as those that have tested positive.

Antonia had her son tested immediately and has been a staunch advocate of the testing programme. She has never understood her sisters reluctance to get her son tested.

But which one of them is right?

The way that this novel is written, forces your thoughts to go down a specific path, and then something happens that you don't expect, and you start wondering if what you thought you knew is correct (my favourite type of twisty/turny novel!)

I Did It For You is a thriller with an enjoyable twist, and I look forward to reading this author's next.

💭 ᴍʏ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛꜱ:
I went into this one blind and I absolutely loved it. I was sucked into the story from page one and it was such an intriguing storyline I couldn’t get enough of it. It’s so unique and also gave me a bit “the hunger games” vibe, even though these stories are nothing alike. It’s thrilling and an incredibly quick read.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🤓 ʀᴇᴀᴅ ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪᴋᴇ:
An unique storyline
Sister bonds
Character built
Multiple POVs
Continuous suspense

ꜱʏɴᴏᴘꜱɪꜱ:
𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝘃𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲, 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼 𝗶𝘁?
𝘈𝘯𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘉𝘦𝘢 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘥.

𝘈𝘯𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 "𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵" 𝘔 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦.
𝘉𝘦𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵. 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘢 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵.

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴.
𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳.

𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺....

I enjoyed this dystopian thriller about a society that tests boys for a violence gene. Written from the perspective of two very different sisters and their motherhood management, I was swept along by the narrative. Although I guessed partway one of the twists, it did not spoil the satisfying denouement.

Told from the various perspectives of the main characters across the 18 years Bea and Antonia have been mothers, I Did It For You is the story of an extended family in a world where males are under great scrutiny following the development of genetic testing for gene M. Bea and Antonia had the same upbringing but life has dealt them very different cards when it comes to men with Antonia leading a privileged life and Bea struggling to make ends meet. The big difference is Antonia had her son Jack tested and Bea didn’t with Simon.

Hearing the story told by the different characters let me get into the heads of these siblings and their nearest and dearest. I saw how they treated those with the positive and negative test results in such a different way. I saw what the sisters would do for their sons to protect them, and as the book went on, their actions became more extreme to show their love for their sons.

Cowie has crafted an additive tense read which at the centre was the question whether Simon had the M gene or not. It may not seem much but his lack of result through his upbringing causes waves both between the sisters and further afield. The whole concept of a gene causing an aggressive streak in a human isnt as far fetched as you’d think and the way science is moving, is it something that could be explored? If not gneetics, could it be something that is more cerebral.

I Did It For You puts a modern twist on the nature/nurture discussion by adding in a scientific angle of there being a violent gene in people and how it can affect the sexes differently. As well as being a very tense domestic thriller, it has a thought provoking angle – how far would you go for your child? Would you get them tested for a gene, the result of which could discriminate them forever or indeed give them the advantage in life?

When Bea decides not to get her son Simon tested for the M gene she has no idea of the impact it will have on their lives, untested boys are treated as badly as m+ boys, in a world where being an M+ boy means you are violent and aggressive Simons chances as he gets older are made smaller and smaller. Antonia is Beas sister and she lives in a fancy house with her doctor husband and M- son Jack but not everything is as it seems. This book really made me think and I enjoyed the story.

This book is well written. It has interesting characters and storyline. It is a real page turner. Overall a very enjoyable read.

A Mother knows best…doesn’t she?

Sisters Bea and Antonia have very different ideas of motherhood. A genetic test can tell them how their sons will experience life but should they have them tested or not? The both have different opinions on it and if they should have them tested but the one thing they have in common is that they will stop at nothing to protect their sons.

I panicked slightly when I realised the @netgalley review date had crept up but I was worried for nothing. I flew through this book, I was gripped from the start and couldn’t put it down. It has you thinking and I really enjoyed it. Thank you @netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Publication Date - 31/08/2023

#IDidItForYou
#JaneCowie
#NetGalley

I Did it For You is a thought provoking read which I found to be a well written and captivating story.

I enjoyed the book immensely, it raised a lot of interesting questions around consent/discrimination/a two tiered society. I read it pretty much all in one go, I thoroughly recommend it.

I really really enjoyed this story - and it's something you could actually believe could happen in the future. It taps into all of our fears and shows how quickly and easily prejudice can take hold - and how sometimes it comes down to money, and how people and organisations can make money from promoting ideals such as these. Definitely worth reading and kept me hooked to the end.