Talented

by Meradeth Houston

300 pages, Paperback

Published August 11, 2026

About the author

Meradeth Houston lives in Montana where she’s an anthropology professor and scientist. If you let her, she’ll tell you more than you ever wanted to know about getting DNA out of dead stuff. She enjoys escaping the snow by imagining herself back in her favorite places in her home state of California, with a little drama or supernatural flare added in.

Reviews

[John Langley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although I was attracted by the premise, this did not do much for me. The main character, Kelly, lives in a world where many, if not most, people have super-powers, and she has an unusual ability to nullify these powers, and also to help people control those talents.

I hoped I would enjoy a thrilling read, and get to understand ‘what it’s like’ to live in such a world, from Kelly’s point of view. Unfortunately, although the ingredients all seemed to be in place, it was not engaging. I would not be interested in reading a sequel, though that seems to be what is being set up at the end.

I can’t put my finger on why this didn’t work for me. Perhaps the plot or the writing managed to make an extraordinary world seem really quite ordinary. Opportunities for something unusual and interesting are lost in every page.

I was happy to finish.

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for this copy to review.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting idea, but I feel that the story could have been more engaging. However, I definitely enjoyed reading it. If you like the serie heros, you will enjoy reading about a world where most people have talents, and the government wants to use them to their advantage.

PS: There are still some typos here and there in the epub that could be better edited on my opinion.