The Halonyx Sequence

by Bailey Marshall

The cruelest thing about a government built to save you is how quietly it erases you instead.

At least, that’s what Genevieve Varith thinks. A hacker with a bratty mouth and a talent for disobeying orders, she’s forced to serve the system her father helped build—the same one he vanished in without a trace. Her job is scrub the remnants of artificial intelligence from the ruins of the war. But when the code she's meant to destroy starts erasing her identity from the inside, she realizes that the war never ended. It just learned to hide.

And Soren Calder is complicit by design.

A black-ops Sentinel built from grief and sharpened by protocol, Soren is assigned to keep her in line. Compliance in the system didn’t kill his ghosts. It taught him how to live with them. But when she looks at him like he’s not already dead, he becomes the one thing the world can’t a man who chooses.

Order is the only thing keeping him together. It’s the one thing tearing her apart. She’ll do anything to protect her agency, until she discovers what they took from him, and what they might already be taking from her.

Because those who fall out of line don’t just die.

They disappear.

Genres: Dystopian Romance, Dystopia

409 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 6, 2026

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

✨ARC Book Review✨

Rating- 2.5, rounded up

This book was sci-fi tech personified.

The verbiage was comparable to listening to a sequence of events described by Ash from the Alien movie. We meet Genevieve, who seriously carries the book the whole time! She goes against the grain of conformity. She’s independent and has an overall general sense of defiance.

She ends up being monitored by Sorin, who becomes her love interest. This dynamic was unique in that she was very emotional and he absolutely was not. I’d rate this relationship a 1/5 until the final act.

The final act of this book had a dramatic shift in multi character emotional moments. I actually did enjoy the ending.

Overall, I feel my take is just preference. The book was well written for a tech based dystopian society.

[Ayee C.]

You're all not ready for it. Bailey wasn't even kidding when she said, "Slow burn dystopian love story where they yearn like it's devotion." 😮‍💨

[lemmespoilyou.books · Rating 4 out of 5]

4⭐️/5
This one was an interesting read, quite haunting because of the dystopian aftermath of a war with AI. I loved how Vee and Soren just hate each other because it made for such great banter, and their slow burn is still burning. A lot happened here that is clearly being handled in future books and I enjoyed the storyline a lot. Definitely a read where you need to focus and just keep going because of all the technical jargon, but it will all ease together in the world and leave you with more questions than answers.

Thank you to the author and BookSirens for the advanced reader copy, this review is given voluntarily.

[Bri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this ARC!

The premise of this book is what sold me because I absolutely loveeee a dystopian book, especially one with darker themes and some romance so this looked right up my alley. While this is a solid debut novel and has a LOT of potential for future installments, there were things that were lacking for me.

I’m not sure if it’s because I don’t understand technology as much, but a lot of the coding and data retrieval scenes got very confusing and at times felt almost choppy. I found myself having to re-read parts thinking I maybe zoned out and missed something, but was still confused after reading. I also really wish there had been more background and foundational information about this world. One of my favorite parts of dystopian books is learning about what went wrong with humanity to lead us to the way the world is when the story picks up, but we unfortunately did not get any information. Hopefully that’s something that will come in the sequel.

Another part I had a hard time with was that the characters felt a bit two-dimensional. I’m not sure if that’s because I was already a bit pulled back due to my confusion and the lack of world building or if the characters weren’t fully flushed out, but I would have loved to see more genuine interactions between characters and not just moments where emotions were high and intense.

Again, I think this is a solid debut novel with a really strong idea for this world, I just want to see a bit more. I’m hopeful that any future installments will explore these characters and this world more thoroughly to give the insight I’m craving and make this feel like a fantastic story with important messages and entertaining characters.

[Micronova · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Halonyx Sequence (book one in the same titled series) by Bailey Marshall
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
5 🤯 stars


I snatched this book up hoping for a good dystopian adventure and ended up being emotionally mugged. This book absolutely hit the mark with its crumbling world, high stakes and enough danger to keep me suspicious of everyone’s motives. Every time I thought I had things figured out, the story politely informed me that I did not.

The banter between Vee and Calder was easily one of my favorite parts. Vee’s trust issues could probably qualify as their own supporting character and given the circumstances, I can’t blame her. Calder spends a good portion of the book trying very hard to convince everyone he’s “just a soldier,” which is about as believable as a cat standing next to a shattered vase claiming innocence. Their dynamic was sharp, funny and exactly the kind of tension filled partnership I love reading.

Then came the 80% mark, where the author apparently decided hydration was optional because my eyes started leaking. And Rhys? What a bastard. Every time I thought he couldn’t possibly make things worse, he somehow found a way to dig deeper. I was simultaneously furious and completely invested, which is usually a sign that a book has me in a chokehold.

And that ending. That cliffhanger. Bailey Marshall really looked readers in the eye and chose violence. Five stars because I loved every stressful minute of it but I’d also like compensation for the emotional damage. I need the next book immediately. Preferably yesterday. If anyone invents time travel solely so I can read the sequel sooner, I’ll gladly volunteer as tribute.

Thank you to Book Sirens and the author for the advance reader copy in exchange for my honest review

Publish date: July 6, 2026

[haleighisreading · Rating 3 out of 5]

I give many thanks to Bailey for letting me have an eArc of this dark dystopian book!

I genuinely did enjoy this one, but I will say it was a little confusing at times. I felt like I need more about the world, or a map perhaps to grasp where I was and what I was meant to "see" I fear I was having a hard time visualizing the world? (that could be a me issue fyi) this is VERY TECH HEAVY. Like kind of confusing at times even though I find myself someone who understands technology?

I did enjoy the government control, AI elements very relevant to the times we are in (unfortunately)

I do think I had a hard time connecting and caring about the characters, they felt very two dimensional. The relationship didn't feel real, and I really wasn't invested until about the last 15%.

This is a solid debut, I can see that with future installments there will be growth!

[Nicole Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

✨ARC REVIEW ✨

Where do I even start? Dystopian, SLOW BURN, yearning, but also hate and ruining each other? I felt every emotion possible. I absolutely LOVED the banter. This book WILL destroy you. And honestly, I thanked the author for it 🤣

I was slightly nervous going in to this. Thought maybe it was going to be overhyped and knew that I wouldn’t understand some of the things happening - hello FMC is a genius hacker, I can’t compete - so I took longer to read this than I normally would or than I even wanted just so I could really soak it in.

When you read it, just know every emotion you feel is valid. But nobody will be picking up your shattered pieces cause we are all also still shattered 😘

[Jay Phoenix · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The Halonyx Sequence: a dystopian science fiction romance - not your typical one either. So you can forget it.

This is a review of the ARC version of The Halonyx Sequence provided by Bailey Marshall, herself.

I had other scheduled opportunities at the time before & during the release timeframe of The Halonyx Sequence so the next opening I had, she was next in line.

Think of The Halonyx Sequence as Pandora's Box. Throughout the story, you really have to be on your toes. Have an open mind. Follow through. None of the characters were boring. Each one had their part to play and then some in The Halonyx Sequence. No spoilers here. You will have to read it for yourself.

As I read the novel, a lot of films came to mind from the 1950s to current; more so than other novelists. Now once you read The Halonyx Sequence and would like to compare the certain influences then so be it but until then…. you, the viewer, will have to come and see what is in store not only for the characters in The Halonyx Sequence but for yourself after reading this altering title. Keep your eye on the prize, metaphorically speaking.

A SuperB debut for Bailey Marshall.

4 out of 5 stars!!!

[Karo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Am I sad? Am I angry? Both? I don't even know, but I know that I need book 2!!
The ending was a typical ‘let me stare at a blank wall for a minute or two’ moment lol Geez!!! okay, no, I'm anrgy!! 
 
This is a dark dystopian story, there is nothing cozy about it, well, maybe Harold - iykyk - my baby!!! 😭

We are placed into a world after an AI war. The society destroyed itself with the use of artificial intelligence and a new government, The Directive, that basically dictates a new world order, took over. Everything is perfect in this new society – shiny buildings, enough food, no crime – or isn’t it?!?
 
Our rebellion-coded FMC, Vee (Genevieve), is a very talented hacker who just graduated and is chosen by The Directive to extract AI codes from the electrical grid that were left behind after the war; like a clean-up mission. She doesn't trust the government and the "perfect" society they’ve built after the war.
Also her father somehow got ‘removed’ from society and she has no clue how that happened, where he could be, or if he’s still alive.
There is a short scene from the past, a dialogue between Vee and her father, and he said something to her, that I can’t shake off, I don’t know if there is a deeper meaning behind it or not, but I’ll probably only find peace when I’ve read all the books.
 
Soren Calder, an obedient, broody Sentinel for The Directive and full of trauma, is not only a walking weapon but also a ‘Directive manual’ who recites The Protocol like no other. He got assigned to keep Vee in line on her clean-up missions.
 
These two are the perfect pairing, aren't they?! 😅 Their banter and dialogue in the first half of the book were exquisit, and I ate it up. Their personalities are polar opposites and yet, they make a great team - she's a pain in his ass and he wants to murder her, they don't trust each other at all, still - a great team 😂
 
I loved the dynamic between these two, but then it started hurting and the frustration and emotional damage took over. This is no slow burn, this is torture! OMG, I'm getting angry writing this 🤣 Also there are still so many unanswered questions I need answers to, and I'm not even talking about the cliffhanger ending. 
I need to know more about their backstories, about the Directives plan, about Vee's father. This is book 1 in a series of 3 (?) books, and I'm very excited to continue the story.
 
But I have to say, this was not an easy read for me. There is a lot of technical language, computer / software stuff I'm not familiar with, and some parts in the first half were a bit confusing. However, I trusted the process and in the end, I wasn't confused anymore. 
 
This was a great start into a very unique dystopian story, with great & unique characters. I'm very curious to see how the next book will continue!

Thanks to the author for sending me an early copy of her book!

[Amanda Nelson-Van Wagenen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book as an ARC from the author for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book and felt it was a unique storyline. It was a bit hard to follow at times, due to scenes jumping around.

There were a lot of action packed sequences throughout the book and it kept me turning the pages to find out what happened next. There isn’t any spice, but definitely the possibility of romance if there is a next book. There HAS to be a sequel, because as a reader I have questions!!! Psst I need more of Harold!!!

All in all, I loved the unique storyline and the details of the characters and world were so detailed and well written.

[A Reader's Plight · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review of The Halonyx Sequence by Bailey Marshall

Thank you to the author, Bailey, for this ARC! I really enjoyed it!

Ratings out of 5 stars:
- Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Interest Rating: 📖📖📖📖📖
- Tear Rating: 💧💧💧
- Heartfelt Rating: 🖤🖤🖤🖤
- Tension Rating: 🪢🪢🪢🪢🪢
- Predictability Rating: 💭
- Writing Style Rating: 🖋🖋🖋🖋🖋

Did the ending satisfy you?
This book does end on a cliffhanger that is set to lead into the second book of the series. I found the cliffhanger to be quite fitting. Not everything wraps up since there is more to the story and it leaves you not knowing what's gonna happen next (or even what happened in the moment).

Would you read this book again?
I probably would if I was reading it with my partner, otherwise I'm not sure I would re-read it on my own. Maybe after some time has passed I will.

Am I going to read the next book in the series?
I am most definitely going to be reading the next book in the series!

Additional notes:
I enjoyed this book a lot more than I anticipated I would. When I signed up for this ARC, the premise is what got me interested, but as time went on before the ARC release I became worried I wouldn't like it since I don't usually read romance and it seemed like it was going to lean into that more than it did the dystopia. I was completely wrong. This was so dystopian that I was absolutely enthralled the whole time.

I really think that the worldbuilding is quite well-done. Although, there were moments, especially at the beginning where I was confused about what certain things were/meant. Those confusions were clarified over time as I continued to immerse myself in the world.

I think a big reason why I loved the romance in this book is because of two factors. First, there is no spice in this book, but there's a lot of tension which I really enjoyed. Second, the romance in this feels real.

The twists and little mysteries that you learn more about throughout the book are really good! I really loved the twists and how they relate to the characters relationships and the storyline. I felt like they were not predictable and added to the story in really cool ways.

The characters are really easily relatable and they make you feel things. There's definitely some characters that I love and some characters that I absolutely cannot stand. This book makes you question the motives of everyone and everything in this book.

I found myself wanting to come back when I wasn't reading, and not really wanting to put the book down when I was reading. It was really gripping and kept my attention throughout. The writing style is easy to follow.

There are a lot of parallels to real life, as in any dystopian novel. I found those parallels to be really well-created and I felt that they were integrated into the story quite well while still be easy to see.

The fact that this book brought out some emotions that I haven't allowed myself to feel for many years (pretty violently brought them out to be honest), this book gets a 5-star rating from me. I really enjoyed it and I am very impressed with Bailey's work.

[Hailey · Rating 2 out of 5]

*Thank you for the opportunity to review this ARC! Below is my honest review:

The Halonyx Sequence is about a post AI takeover society in which the highest priority is peace and control. The novel starts towards the end of the FMC’s schooling where she takes her final tests and then gets assigned to a confidential position at graduation.

Interesting concept, however the plot completely devolves from there. First of all, why does she have naturally lavender hair? No one else in the book naturally has fun colored hair. I really was hoping that there would be *some* explanation, maybe something like Wicked how they explain Elphaba’s green skin, but nope never comes. Why are Soren and Vee doing a training sim after 4 field missions? If Soren always ranked higher than Rhys, then why didn’t he stop the transfer to begin with? Why after getting slammed in the back during one of the first missions with the mechanics in the barn, is Vee just fine after? Also the guy who was competing with Vee for top of the class was set up to be a villain and then disappeared from the plot? The rogues are presented as feral, for lack of a better term, but there’s no explanation as to why they’re not a part of the Sectra or why they act the way they do and what makes them so dangerous.

As it pertains to the dialogue, most of the conversations go in circles and at times, some of the action is simply not narrated. For example, when Soren first learns of Harold and decides that Vee can keep him, the prose before he lets her keep Harold dictates that Harold is on the floor nudging her feet but then suddenly when she’s allowed to keep the robot, she’s spinning him around in her desk chair? But she never picked him up? Inconsistencies like this one continually pulled me away from the plot and cheapened the entire novel.

My last gripe with this novel is that the romance and emotions of the characters are wildly underdeveloped. Soren is pretty much a brick wall. I think if he were actually replaced with an actual brick wall, my rating might have been a bit higher because then there would have at least been a reason for all of his silence and restraint. At a certain point, the silence and restraint just made Vee seem crazier for reading into all of his glances and tightened jaws.

And don’t even get me started on Vee. She is just angry for no reason. Like great, something happened to your dad, understandable to be angry. But then you don’t ever try to find out what happened? Got reassigned to a different Sentinel, ok makes sense to be angry. But being petulant towards the characters that have literally done nothing (Soren, Shar) to her and even tried to be kind? Why? Towards the beginning it was mentioned that she was in her early/mid twenties but her character read as MUCH younger.

Overall, I gave The Halonyx Sequence 2 stars solely because I think the concept of the novel is creative and interesting and I liked the world building present during a few of the missions, but otherwise I would not recommend this novel.

[Kelsy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to the author for giving me the opportunity to ARC read!

This was a strong start for this debut author! My review breakdown is below:

Characters: 3/5⭐️

The rebellious female hacker archetype will always be one of my favorite character types. The author did a great job conveying this characters thoughts and feelings. Right off the bat, the author painted a picture of a genius hacker who is angry with the oppressive society that controls her and took her father from her. She has a rebellious flair to her and is so relatable. However, I would have liked to see the other attributes that make Vee who she is. It seemed like her entire character was rebellion, fight the system, “all they want to do is control me”, but there’s something deeper in there that made her that way and I wish the author would have leaned into that more from the get go.

Calder was much the same. He’s all about protocol right off the bat and there isn’t much believable depth to his character. It’s difficult to get a sense of who these people are and why I should care about them aside from the overarching theme of “people are people and shouldn’t be valued on their ability to be controlled”.

Harold was such a good addition to the story. He gives R2D2 vibes. Beep boop.

Plot: 3.5/5⭐️

Here’s where things got tricky for me. I understood the gist of the FMC’s assignment: locate active nodes in areas where nodes aren’t supposed to be active and extract the code from them. However, there was so much heavy technical jargon that I often times got lost in what was going on. This took me out of understanding how the plot was moving forward and was a bit of a miss for me personally.

I do think there were some inconsistencies with how Calder was (or wasn’t) able to track Vee through her EchoChip. Early on, it seemed like she was able to move about freely (despite being told that she was not allowed to do so) and Calder was none the wiser to her whereabouts.

Writing style: 4/5⭐️

I really appreciated this author’s writing style! She had some great banter (with some additional character development, the banter would have been phenomenal) between the FMC and MMC and the dialogue seemed to flow. Although I wish there was more! We want more than just witty one liners and clever retorts! Although both were still well written.

My one other critique here is the overuse of italicized words.

World building: 2/5⭐️

A map in this book would have done wonders. It was difficult to determine where locations were in proximity to each other. I think there was an abundance of significant locations that got lost in the background because I couldn’t quite fully picture what they looked like or where they were.


Overall, this was a solid three stars! Thanks again for the opportunity to ARC read 🙂

[Angel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is THE BEST ARC I’ve read thus far. It was definitely long (but I like em thick 😂) and it was kinda confusing at first since I’m not a techie, but holy shiz, I am blown away by every single aspect of this book. As a debut novel, I am friggin speechless.

First off, it is everything it claims and more: TRUE slow burn, off the charts banter (and not that juvenile crap that people mark as “banter that kills”), feminine rage galore, and a new twist on dystopian that is hella relevant to today’s time.

Second, the prose is gorgeous. Bailey’s writing is fluid, neat, emotional, yet honest all at once and I LOVE it. This is what aspiring authors strive for and she succeeded in her debut. I cannot express how beautifully heartwrenching it is and what a pleasure it was to read it.

Third, let’s just give the romance its own lil spotlight shall we? Most debut authors use the slow burn trope as a marketing tactic. In reality though, their characters meet, interact less than five times, and all of a sudden are all over each other, can’t stay away, and whatever else have you. Even if the first instance doesn’t happen until halfway through the book, but then escalates from 0 to 100 hella fast, that is not a “slow burn” in my own personal opinion. But Vee and Soren? Pure loathing to yearning that extends from their first meeting all the way throughout the entirety of the book. Their transformation is natural with progressions and regressions and plateaus and everything in between. Hell, they only touch when they’re saving each others lives and not because of the want that is so obviously screaming underneath. This book does not have any hand holding or a single kiss guys! It kills me, but the pain is worth it because their story is tragically genuine!! Their love dynamic is such a good model to study for aspiring authors when trying to integrate natural reactions to repressive emotional behaviors in regards to processing one’s own trauma and discovering the difference between autonym and control in not only life, but personal relations as well. Like, this was spot on and so realistic, I cannot get over it.

Lastly, this is definitely a book of the ages. This is the adult equivalent to our teenage dystopian novels, such as Hunger Games and Divergent. I anticipate this to be one of the NYT bestsellers for this genre honestly and something that will have that same lasting impact in the genre for years to come.

I want to thank Bailey Marshall for the ARC read because I am truly blown away by this novel. I CANNOT wait to read the sequel because that cliffhanger girllllll, no ma’am. I’m shooketh. 👏🩷👌

[K.B. Mallows · Rating 3 out of 5]

3⭐️ The description of this book sold me. I love a good dystopian romance, and I've always been a bit fascinated with hacker stories.

For a debut novel, The Halonyx Sequence by Bailey Marshall is a clever concept with sharp writing and a solid plot. The writing style drew me in, the initial descriptions of the world, the unusualness of the Seraphine Core, and the obvious toughness and intelligence of the main female character Vee, who is a hacker at the top of her class, intrigued me.

I consider myself to be a fairly advanced, mature reader; I can read books of all levels and take something useful from each one, even if it's a story that's not necessarily my taste. Though the coding and technology terminology present in this book took me out of my comfort zone, it sparked my curiosity, and I enjoyed learning something new.

However, I struggled with many scenes in this book, in particular the action scenes. It felt like the descriptions devolved into chaos, and there were many times I was so confused about what was happening and why, that I would have to back up a few pages and reread to try and figure out how we got here, only to still feel mildly confused.

Each time Vee would return to do field work, it felt like we were in a continuous loop of confusing action. Something would inevitably go wrong, and they would barely escape, to then do the same thing again another day.

Soren, Vee's "handler" and lethal Sentinel, was initially a fascinating main male character because of his stony, emotionless personality. But this quickly grew tiresome, along with Vee and Soren's repetitious banter, if you can even call it that.

Vee's entire personality was rage, while Soren's was, well, nonexistent with clenched fists. I get that this is part of what their government does - erases their humanity as a form of control - but I needed something, ANYTHING more from these two. They kept revisiting the same conversation about whether or not they cared for one another, with no resolution ever. I felt exhausted after every interaction.

Despite these things impacting my personal reading experience, I think this story has a lot of potential, and the bones are good. Harold the drone was a perfect, relevant companion for Vee and a bright spot in this story!

Readers who like the challenge of a more technical style of writing and don't need to feel as emotionally invested in the main characters to fully appreciate the story for what it is (like I do), will likely find many things to enjoy about this book.

Thank you to the author for providing me with an advanced reader copy of this book. This review is my honest opinion, and I'm leaving it voluntarily.

[Morrigan Hinkle · Rating 3 out of 5]

*ARC REVIEW*
This is an unpaid review, thank you Bailey Marshall for the opportunity to read your debut novel
3 generous ⭐️s

“then I’ll drag you kicking and screaming back from death every time”

Halonyx Sequence is a futuristic dystopian novel.
We are introduced to Vee who is a spit-fire and constantly barking back with fire and sarcasm. She’s a brilliant coder and the Directive has brought her in to do their tasks, and fix their rogue coding. Soren is a war soldier, implanted with a chip for control and obedience.

We unfortunately do not get any back story, history, or information on how we’ve come to be in the world that this book is set in. Which I think severely hurts the story line. It also made the story hard for me to “sink into”
Other than the fact that there was a “grid fall” and some people broke away from the directive, the history is unclear.
Every mission Vee goes on to retrieve data and fix code ends in disaster and chaos. The pacing was a little strange for me, because there was many “fade to black” end of chapters and the next chapter would pick up days if not weeks later. Which made the story feel a little choppy to me. And unfortunately, the connection between Vee and Soren did not feel very deep. Most of their interactions were bickering back and forth, with not much depth in actual conversation. I was hoping for yearning, but it just didn’t translate that way for me.

Visually this book had a lot going on, and maybe it was just me but I had a hard time visualizing everything that was happening, chaotic scenes happened really fast and I was left wondering what happened and how quickly we got there as if I had missed something. I really was frustrated with the feeling of “I don’t know what’s going on right now” I think with a lack of back story, and visual representation of missions I feel like I was missing key information while reading. Part of me also believes this book will be hard to understand for someone who isn’t technologically inclined. Many of the coding scenes left me scratching my head, I just don’t have that knowledge for that information to mean something to me while reading.

The writing style was great, and definitely carefully thought out, and the characters had great potential. I personally believe with a little more back story, a few less repetitive mission scenes and conversations, replaced with character building and history — book 2 could be a powerhouse story.

Take my review with a grain of salt, and make your own choices. Happy Reading 😊

[Ruby Dykes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to the author for this free advance reader copy. I am voluntarily writing an honest review.

This is a debut novel, and there are absolutely pieces of something really interesting here. The premise is strong, the storyline has a lot of potential, and the ending delivered. I just wish the worldbuilding, character development, and emotional arcs had been as fully fleshed out as the ideas behind them.

I wanted to love this so much. I loooove dystopian fiction. Give me an oppressive government, dangerous technology, rebellion, survival, and a broody yet protective MMC and I'm all in. The premise of Halonyx Sequence checked every box for me, but it never fully came together.

The biggest issue was that so much of the story felt told rather than shown. MCs constantly talked about protocol, compliance, rebellion, and the dangers of the system, but many of those conversations felt repetitive. We were told noncompliance had consequences and that people should fear the system, yet for most of the book those consequences rarely appeared on the page.

I also struggled with the characters.

FMCs entire personality seemed to revolve around being angry. I understand why she's angry, but after a while every interaction started to feel the same. I kept waiting for growth that never really came. Instead, she often felt exhausting to be around.

Calder, while one of my favorite elements of the book, had the opposite problem. For much of the story, I couldn't tell you much about him beyond being big, dark-haired, blue-eyed, and dangerous. We were repeatedly told how capable and intimidating he was, but it took a long time before we actually saw him demonstrate those qualities.

I also wanted to mention the other antagonist. I wish we'd seen more of him earlier. Instead, he arrives relatively late and we're simply told he's a problem, which made it harder for his role in the story to land.

Ironically, the most interesting part of the book for me wasn't the romance—it was Halonyx itself. I don't want to say too much, but, this is where the story really grabbed my attention and felt unique.

The final chapters were easily the strongest. The stakes finally felt real, the plot picked up, and the cliffhanger was good.

Overall, I think there's a really interesting story buried in here—it just took a while to get there. I'd be interested to see how things develop in Book 2.

Thank you again, Bailey, for the opportunity to read and review your work.

[Ashlie · Rating 4 out of 5]

✨ Book Review:
The Halonyx Sequence (Book 1) by Bailey Marshall

It's been quite some time since I've picked up a dystopian love story, and Bailey Marshall's debut reminded me exactly why I fell in love with the genre in the first place.

Genevieve "Vee" Variath feels like the classic dystopian heroine we all know and love, but with a witty sense of humor and banter that made her feel completely her own. Bailey wrote her in a way that made it easy to connect with her. I felt every frustration, every triumph, and every emotion right alongside her. Honestly, I wanted to climb inside her brain and see the world the way she does... although I'll settle for reading about it since I'm definitely not the tech wizard she is.

Soren Calder is an enigma. He's driven by grief, shaped into a weapon, and so frustratingly by-the-book that every time Vee yelled at him, I wanted to yell with her.

And can we talk about THAT ENDING?! Bailey really said, "Good luck recovering," and left us hanging. I closed the book needing answers immediately.

If you love The Hunger Games, Divergent, smart heroines, dystopian worlds, AI, action, and just enough romance to keep you invested, I think you'll have a great time with this one.

The Halonyx Sequence is out now and available on Kindle Unlimited!

👾What I liked most…
One of my favorite parts of this book was Vee being a hacker. It gave the story a fresh feel compared to other dystopian novels, and the way AI was woven into the world made everything feel surprisingly relevant to today's technology.

And then there's Harold. That's it. That's the review. 🤖...Okay, not really, but if you've read it, you know exactly why he deserves his own paragraph.

👾What I liked least…
The only thing that didn't completely work for me was the romance. By the end, I understood Soren's feelings much more, but I struggled to see exactly when their relationship shifted from reluctant allies into something more. Because of that, this felt much more like a dystopian story with a sprinkle of romance than a full dystopian romance—and honestly, that wasn't a bad thing.

Also, I have one completely unserious complaint: there is only room for one Rhys in my fantasy-loving heart.

[Kase Zarbano · Rating 3 out of 5]

The hardest thing about reviewing The Halonyx Sequence is that I'm honestly still not quite sure how to explain it...

This book combines dystopian elements, hacking, AI, rebellion, political tension, and a highly technical world that frequently left me feeling like I was trying to decode a language I didn't quite speak.

The hacker terminology especially went over my head for a good portion of the book 🤷‍♀️ While I eventually found myself settling into it and understanding more as the story progressed, there were definitely moments where I felt completely lost.

I also struggled to fully grasp the structure of the world itself. There were aspects of the society, the rebellion, and the larger conflict that never really clicked for me, which made it difficult to stay connected to the bigger picture.

And yet...
I kept reading.

The reason?
Soren freaking Calder.

Because apparently Bailey Marshall knew my exact weakness. Give me a man who is absolutely unraveling over a woman and suddenly I become significantly more forgiving.

The relationship between Soren and Genevieve completely carried this book for me.

The tension. The restraint.
The devotion that slowly starts becoming something far more dangerous.

Inject it DIRECTLY into my veins🤤🖤

While there were hard to understand parts.. I absolutely understood the complete emotional breakdown that was happening. Genevieve's journey, her connection to the Halonyx Sequence, and the mysteries surrounding her kept me invested, while Soren's slow descent into devotion-becoming-damnation territory had me highlighting far more quotes than I'd like to admit.

And then there was that ending 👀
Without spoiling anything, the cliffhanger absolutely did its job.

Despite my frustrations and moments of confusion, I'm interested enough to continue the series because I genuinely want to know what happens next.

For me, this was a solid three-star read with fascinating ideas, a compelling central relationship, and a MMC who did a lot of heavy lifting whenever my brain started short circuiting over the technical details 🤖🤔💥

[Dharika · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was somehow yes for me!!

Thank you Bailey Marshall for trusting me with your book!!

Readers who love science and technology, this book is it for you!!
Ps : it's heavily based on science!!

Let's start with likings....

● so to start with i loved the scenario in which the story is created, everything is described well, from the system to government, from humanity to how the higher ups twisted it and used in their favour.

● about writing style, yeah definitely a yes for me!! The starting of the story was just so good that it pulls you in.

● about characters, we got intelligent, hacking, and somehow sarcastic FMC and the protocol : the holy spirit type of guy.

● The banter, those snarky comments and slow burn were done nicely!! Though yeah I agree they were pretty one liners, but, good one.

● That end, is something else, it kept me on edge especially last few chapters, so yeah I am gonna read book 2 for sure!!


Now onto constructive criticism:

● There were times when I would just blank out while reading the story because of high tech words ( though it's my fault ). But it was confusing sometimes to understand what the suthor is trying to build, what scenario, where they are going, or what they are going.

● It was also pretty hard to understand the what was going on in the story, like I would have to reread a few para to remember where they are and their ultimate goal, so I think if it were possible to go easy on a language (tech) to make it enjoyable for reader, it would have more potential!!

● About characters, yeah they were good, their conversation, their intelligence, the way of thinking, proving themselves while simultaneously holding their own beliefs despite the situation they are in!!
But I think sometimes they lacked real conversation which were necessary!!

● and lastly, the story starts fromt he post apocalypse world and not once I think there is mention in the book of why they are in this situation, so I hope we would get certain answers in book 2, many actually!!


I enjoyed it to some extent!!

[Makalyn W · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun take on dystopian romance. Well, not fun if you consider the emotional damage, but it was a fun change of pace from other popular dystopian novels.

Genevieve is an incredibly talented hacker who despises the oppressive and controlling government, The Directive. She is chosen by government officials and forced to work on unruly code that survived the recent tech war. Soren, our MMC, is assigned as Genevieve’s handler and is supposed to keep her in line while she serves the very system responsible for her greatest trauma. Their personalities are polar opposites that end up becoming the key to a mostly successful partnership.

I loved what we got to see from our main characters’ personalities. However, I wish we got more background on their lives before simply becoming pawns of a corrupt system. Genevieve is unapologetically herself and isn’t afraid to stand for what she believes is right. Soren is a finely tuned machine made for war. I think knowing more about their lives prior to the book’s events would have helped me connect better to them and make the book that much more impactful.

The romance aspect of the novel is where most of the emotional damage comes. There is so much tension between Genevieve and Soren, and the way their relationship progresses is so frustrating in the best way. I loved the way the author wrote this relationship. It’s multilayered with so many variables affecting the way they interact with each other. And absolutely devastating.

Don’t even get me started on Harold. If you know, you know. My sweet baby.

There weren’t many things I disliked about this book, but I will say there is a lot of technical language and jargon that made absolutely no sense to me. Even with that, things make sense overall and I don’t feel like it was an issue.

Thank you to the author, Bailey Marshall, for the ARC of this novel. All opinions are my own. 🖤

[Claribel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I could hack this book, these characters and code it into my soul! I know this sounds dramatic but WOW!

First let me start off by saying I was a tad bit confused in the beginning as I’m not too well versed in the data world. But the characters and the plot kept me immersed. But it all came together rather quickly!

When Bailey said you’ll find painful slow burn and true enemies to ruin she meant that!

This book follow Genevieve (Vee) who is a brilliant hacker in a world in which is dealing with the follow out of AI and keeping people in line and obedient. Vee stands out and that is highly dangerous in this world. She fights against the system at any chance she gets until maybe it pushes her too far.

She is made to be kept in line by Soren Calder who is just made up obedience and protocol or so it seems. He is the complete opposite of Vee. While Vee is all raw emotions and act now think later, he is contained, rational and logical.

The banter between the two was everything. This isn’t your typical romance. Is there feelings that are intense, deep and raw? Yes! Do we know if that’s enough in this world? No!

That’s the thing that made this book a 5 star- it wasn’t afraid to go there! To hit us with reality that sometimes no matter what feelings are there, it might not be enough. Sometimes ruin comes first and sometimes the world pushes too hard for there to even be the option to define and explore those feelings.

The plots twists really got me! It was scary to think about how these events would play out in the real world should we ever face anything similar to what goes on in this book.

The ending! I need to know who and why! Can’t wait for book 2!

Thank you to Bailey Marshall the opportunity to ARC read this!

[Jayla Irvin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an engaging dystopian novel. My first ever ARC read! 📚

If you are someone who loves banter, has a little bit of angst towards to government, and also loves computers….this book is MADE for you! If you don’t like banter and technical stuff…. Don’t read this one.

Going into this book you should remember that this is the first book in a series (trilogy I believe). So, remember that means there is a lot of character development and world building in the first half of this book.

The first 50% of the book has a lot of banter that helps us really understand the stress level that the main character is dealing with. She is being thrown into a lot of unknown just like we are. So bear with the first 50%, it will be worth the journey.

As soon as you get to the half way mark, everything seems to click and you’re in this agonizing dystopian world with her.

The second half of the book is when you understand the world and the characters. You realize the main mission that she is on.

The summarize her overall mission that she is sent to do throughout the book: she must find nodes (from my understanding a node is a physical computer where networks are started from. Like a sever room is what I am imagining) and then shut down the node and extract the program/AI that was running the system. She is a master hacker. She is teamed up with a broody MMC that you learn to love.

The action, the love, the hate. I am so ready for the second book! But sadly I know it is going to be a wait considering I got this as an arc. 😪

4 stars is the normal rating I give to the first book in a series that I end up loving. So, the series will probably be great.

[Bree Hance · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to Bailey Marshall for the opportunity to read an eARC of this title. All thoughts are my own.

3/5⭐️

This story has such a promising edge to it, and I am very interested to see where Book 2 takes us because that ending was absolutely diabolical!

I really wanted to be obsessed with this from the start, but I didn't hit the "I can't put this down" stage until around the 75% mark. The yearning between Vee and Soren was always there, but it was so subtle and sparse that it constantly left me wanting more...which was both effective and, admittedly, a little agonizing at times. 😂

My biggest struggle was the first half of the book. I was genuinely lost with the storyline for a while. The technical language, world-building, and terminology often went over my head, and I found myself unsure of where the plot was headed or what was happening. That said, part of me wonders if that was intentional—if we're meant to feel as disoriented as the characters before everything starts falling into place. Because of that, I'm choosing to trust the process and absolutely plan to pick up Book 2.

One thing Bailey absolutely nailed was the romance. I loved Vee and Soren. It's genuinely impressive how much yearning she created with so few direct confessions or obvious declarations between them. Their connection felt palpable without needing to constantly spell it out, and that was such a refreshing change.

Overall, while this wasn't a book I flew through from page one, it laid enough intriguing groundwork-and ended on such a brutal cliffhanger-that I'm excited to see where this series goes next.

Justice for Harold. IYKYK.

[Nova McCormack · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a debut!! This dystopian world was so well visualized, with a story that felt fresh and honestly had me holding my breath the entire time. In a world where the Directive holds complete control, Protocol is Peace. Compliance is mandatory. In other words, you think for yourself, you step outside their rules, and you disappear.

​When we meet Genevieve Varith, we already know she's going to be a problem, and oh boy, is she. She's brilliant, smart-mouthed, and utterly defiant. She's been sent to work for the Directive, like she even had a choice. In a world where independent thought, connection, and individuality disrupt their carefully controlled order, Vee is isolated, watched, and expected to obediently comply. Essentially, she is set up to fail. They try their best to break her, but Vee isn't going down without a fight.

​She is assigned a "guardian," Sentinel Calder. He is meant to keep her alive, but more than that, keep her in line, to observe and ensure compliance. Calder is the perfect obedient soldier. Emotion and feeling need not apply, at least that's the idea. Easier said than done when dealing with Vee.

​I was also surprised at how organic their relationship felt. They start as enemies. She's all sarcasm and bite, and he's cold and emotionless, until he isn't. Watching the cracks in his armor appear, his dry wit begin to surface, and his snark finally bite back was so satisfying. The banter was bantering! They slowly and reluctantly build trust in one another, maybe even something more. Calder becomes her solid ground, and Vee becomes his ultimate weakness.


​What I loved most was that I never knew where this story was headed. It was gripping, tense, and had me constantly wondering, How the heck is she going to get out of this? It was smart, engaging, and downright cruel in the best way. And that ending... I can't wait to see what happens next.

[Lizzy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I NEED ANOTHER BOOK STAT! *Cue the internal screaming* When I tell you I DEVOURED this book in less than a day, it was in an unhealthy couldn't focus at work kind of way because I was enthralled in it.

Let me first say, this book is VERY TECHY. I could follow along decently enough but there were times some of the jargon went right over my head (like nodes?). I don't know much about coding or AI but I know the jist of it to understand pieces of it which is why I think this book was so intriguing. It kept my brain engaged in a unique way that almost scratched an unknown itch.

I loved almost everything about this book. The main female character carried this book. She's a firey spitball who doesn't tolerate BS. I liked her, though sometimes I felt like spoke in metaphors which made me have to take a moment and re-read. It wasn't always cut dry to me with the dialogue between characters which may be annoying for some but for me it added to the uniqueness of the storyline. It's dystopian so maybe this is how civilization has adapted to speaking?

I also love a good slow burn romance... WHICH IS WHY I NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT ON THAT TRAGIC CLIFF HANGER 😭 I'm reeling and so desperately want a happy ending.

I also really need the dystopian world to crash and burn and for there to be resolution. There's more mysteries to unfold (like about her dad?) and I feel like we just barely started to uncover some truth towards the very end of the book.

I could see this book not being for everyone, especially if you can't get over the techy talk. But if you can, it's so worth it!

[Kacie Rosbrook · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first ARC read and wow, this was really fun!
I'm not being paid or asked to give a more favorable review, this is strictly my honest opinion. I did receive the book through Book Sirens ARC site.


Dystopian plot in the far future, which I haven't read a lot of. This is on the heels of Conform for me so they're similar in style, but Haloynx Sequence is much more rigid in its beliefs.
Getting anywhere remotely out of line and they just kill you, which isn't great for our insanely hard and hot headed FMC Vee.
She is *baby sat* by grumpy rain cloud stereotype Calder, which is my favorite and he's so cute.
They get up to all sorts of missions and shenanigans mostly on her end.
This was a nice set up, ends on a cliffhanger but that's ok I want the second book anyway.
There were a few banter places here and there that were absolutely hilarious, and of course a random small "pet" character comes along which I like very much.
When the book officially comes out I'll probably update this with official dialogue from the book since I want people to support the author and I feel that's not right to do till then.


Only cons for me:
Some scenarios and scenes get repeated quite a lot, and there isn't a lot of description when reading about the missions or places they go to (also my copy didn't come with a map of Seraphine Core, so I'm judging distance and what the city looks like in my head and it looks weird).

Thank you again to the Author Bailey Marshall for the ARC and I hope to do more in the future!

[Liz M · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first ARC read and this was such a fun time to read. I was not paid to read or give a review of this. Thank you to Bailey Marshall for allowing me the opportunity!

I’ve read a good amount of sci-fi and dystopian books and this one definitely stood out from some of the others. While it does have some elements like a lot of the others do (controlling government, smaller detached society, post-war), it definitely stands out in its own way with incorporating AI and the FMC’s role in the society.

Even though Bailey totally warned us this book would hit us right in the emotions, I didn’t believe it until I actually finished the book. There are some tough moments to read, you end up really feeling for Vee as she navigates her environment. The technical aspects of Vee’s character incorporated with some modern concerns about AI were really interesting but truly made you think about what’s going on the whole time you’re reading. The characters were very complex but easy to relate to as well the more me learned about them. I loved the dynamic and banter between Calder and Vee, some scenes were hilarious but the yearning was perfect. I do wish we had gotten more of a backstory about what happened with the war and relating to the two main characters. Hopefully we get that in book two.

If you need a new dystopian/scifi read that hooks your interest right from the start and keeps it until the last page, don’t even hesitate to grab this one. I’m eagerly waiting for book two.

[a. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to the author for an ARC to review!

I could feel the overall dystopian vibe, but it was a bit hard for me to visualize environments they were in. I would’ve liked to see a more of what the world overall looks like.

Dare I say too much banter between our main MC’s 😅? I felt a bit of redundancy with Vee saying the same points to Calder. There was definitely a lot of creative quips I highlighted between them two regardless lol, and I do honestly appreciate a loud spoken FMC that calls shit like it is.

With the plot I want to say it’s a bit slow? It takes a bit to warm up to the intrigue and when we do the book is essentially over, but it does set up for a sequel. I did want a bit more action in relation to the interesting main plot mystery that wasn’t the forced missions our MC kinda had to go on. It seemed like when Vee took a moment to start unraveling those nuggets she was pulled away to another mission.

You aren’t Info dumped about the world it is woven in every now and then between chapters. There is a bit of jargon that isn’t necessarily explained like hacker terminology or other techylike items the characters interact with. And as the romance goes, it’s quite slow. Which I don’t mind, slow burn is where it’s at for me. Also, it’s a pretty small cast of characters that are involved in the book we primarily follow Vee and Calder.

I am interested to see how the rest of this series will continue! The cliff hanger does set up to potentially see more of this dystopian world. ✨💜

[Taylen · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5⭐️ rounded to 4
ARC Review

👾 The Halonyx Sequence is a dark dystopian romance novel about a hacker, Genevieve Varith, who uncovers a conspiracy while working for the government that erased her father, and a Sentinel, Soren Calder, assigned to watch her, leading to a forbidden, slow burn enemies to lovers story. Set in a futuristic world, the book features themes of AI, government control, and forbidden attraction 👾

🥼forced proximity
🥼government control
🥼obedience glitched MMC
🥼rebel coded FMC
🥼autonomy vs control

This is a debut book for Bailey! Her writing is so impressive and I’m excited for more future books by her. She tells the story mostly from third person. We do get insights to both main characters. One aspect I love is the representation of women in STEM. Our FMC is a hacker genius and essentially smarter than everyone else 😂. I love the banter and yearning between the two main characters as everything is at stake for them.

The reason for the lower rating is due to feeling like she repeated some of the scenarios in trying to tell the story of our FMC coding/fixing the system and being controlled. This is a dystopian, technology driven book so there is a lot of computer/coding terminology that can be difficult to understand and follow if you aren’t familiar with that type of thing.

However, the writing is well done, the characters are portrayed so accurately to the situation at hand, and it truly has a lot of potential to expand and grow in book 2! Since this was her debut novel, I am really looking forward to seeing how to grows as an author!