Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. *********

This was my first Natasha Pulley book and I can honestly say she will be an author I look forward to reading in the future. She is able to tell a unique story that has you gripped from the beginning and she creates very developed, likable characters.

This historical fiction is set in 1960’s Soviet Russia and has some suspenseful qualities to it. There is a lot of science speak in this as well so be prepared to learn while you read.

I enjoyed the setting of this book. It felt very well researched and the author was able to describe in detail every new scene and it’s characteristics. The science was also very well researched because it didn’t feel made up and it actually made sense. Each character had their own understanding of it and we get to learn alongside some of them. I do enjoy books where the characters are likable and almost every character in this book had likable features. It may have been “too likable” at points, but I don’t think it ever passed the line into annoying.

I do think this book could have used some fine tuning though. There were moments throughout reading where I felt like I was reading a novel set in modern day and not 1960’s Soviet Russia. Some of the language used seemed too “modern” and there were phrases that I think those characters just wouldn’t say. As much as I really enjoyed this book, I found myself highlighting many small inconsistencies and scenes where characters acted ‘out of character’. I could see that things were added into the story for the story’s sake so I don’t really blame the author.

Overall, I thought this book was good. I liked the story, the characters, and I got to learn some more about a topic I’ve always found interesting. I would recommend this to people who like historical fiction and chemical science.