The Phoenix Project

The Phoenix Project marked my very first foray into the world of indie authors and self-published novels. The author, M. R. Pritchard, is someone I know in person. When I heard she had written a book, I was quick to get my hands on a copy and read up. The Phoenix Project has since developed into a series, with three books currently available and a total of six books planned. (Book 4 is due out this winter!) Pritchard has also published a young adult paranormal romance, Saratoga, and has a dark fantasy titled Sparrow man due out this August.

My reviews of Pritchard's novels will be a bit different than others. I think the fact that I know the author and have done beta reading for some of these books would make it difficult for me to come up with a truly objective and unbiased review. I'll probably just transfer the initial impressions I documented on Goodreads and Amazon.com here.

So, ladies and gentlemen, for my virgin book review post, I give you The Phoenix Project by M. R. Pritchard.

THE BLURB: 

Andie Somers has finally found a perfectly balanced life. After leaving her high pressure position in a genetic research lab, she’s now found solace in nursing. Too bad the balance doesn’t last long. One night Andie’s life is thrown off kilter when a suspected seismic event occurs.

Now, Andie is going home to find her family, even if that means escaping a hospital on lockdown and abandoning some of the city’s most critical patients. She may never work as a nurse again but she doesn’t dwell on that thought for long when she can’t reach her husband and daughter. There is one thing on her mind and that is to get home.

Fleeing a city that’s been thrust into chaos isn’t easy, and since it seems most things electronic no longer work, including every vehicle around her, Andie makes the decision to walk the forty miles north to her home. She meets Adam on the highway. Running into a Phoenix local wasn’t in her plan, but two heads are better than one and with the havoc surrounding them, what better partner to have at her side than one with a military background?

If only she had forewarning to the secrets Adam harbors. Andie’s life is about to change forever. She thought making it home was the hard part, but getting there is just the beginning.

MY THOUGHTS:

The Phoenix Project begins with the world as we know it, before events shatter it into a contemporary dystopia. It brings together behavioral sciences, hard sciences such as genetics, and paternalism - a mix that leads to a morally questionable new world order. In the middle of the drastic changes is Andie, a woman who only wants to keep her family safe.

My initial review of this book on Goodreads mentioned some spelling and grammar issues, but the book has since been updated to a newly edited version.

It did take me about 50 pages or so to get into the story, but then I was hooked and it reeled me in completely. None of the other books in the series (or any of Pritchard's other novels) presented this problem for me. Once I got past that point, I could hardly put the thing down before finishing it. I found the plot line to be original, and the pacing was spot-on.

The story is told as a first person present tense narrative. We only learn things as Andie does, which adds to the intrigue.

MY RATING:

3.5 booksies

Want to know more?

Author's website: http://mrpritchard.com/

Find The Phoenix Project on Amazon

Find it through Barnes & Noble
paperback only