A review by ristretto
Revelation: Poppet Cycle Book 1 by Donna J.W. Munro

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Ellie belongs to one of the most powerful families in the domes and is in line to inherit the business of manufacturing Poppets. Poppets are mindless reanimated recently dead and are programmed provide all labor. However Ellie has always had a suspicion that her personal poppet, Thom,  once acted on his own saving her from drowning as a child. Something that should have been impossible. After encountering a new student at her school she is introduced to new and dangerous ideas that cause her to question everything she thought she knew.

Revelation is adept at overlapping and combining the horrors of what is happening in this fictional world with the societal issues and horrors of our own world in a very chilling way. The contrast between the dark and disturbing moments against the glittering socialite world was well done and the escalation as we learn the full truth of what’s happening kept me reading late into the night. While Ellie may be a bit of a naive ingenue, I really enjoyed how her and the characters around her related to the world and each other. The world building was really interesting and I’m excited to explore it further in the next book. All in all a really interesting take on the ya zombie genre.

I received an advance review copy, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book.