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Finding Paradise #1
Fate of Perfection
In a corporate-controlled future where the ruling conglomerates genetically engineer their employees, Millicent Foster is the best of the best.
Physically perfect and exceptionally intelligent, Millicent is granted the uncommon privilege of breeding. But her daughter inherits more than superior genetics…little Marie has a rare ability that the world has never seen, and her conglomerate, Moxidone, will stop at nothing to have sole possession of the child.
Teamed with Ryker, the formidable master of security, Millicent must risk everything in a life-and-death struggle to tear her daughter away from the ruling force who wants to own them all. The odds are stacked against them, but Moxidone will learn that the pursuit of perfection comes at a perilous cost—and that love can’t be bought at any price.
330 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2017
3507 people are currently reading
5779 people want to read
About the author
K.F. Breene
120 books14.4k followersFollow me!
K.F. Breene is a Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Washington Post, Amazon Most Sold Charts and #1 Kindle Store bestselling author of paranormal romance, urban fantasy and fantasy novels. With millions of books sold, when she's not penning stories about magic and what goes bump in the night, she's sipping wine and planning shenanigans. She lives in Northern California with her husband, two children, and out of work treadmill.
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Join her mailing list to receive BONUS CONTENT, free stories, and hear about the crazy goings-on of her life. Sign up here ➜ http://bit.ly/KFBContent
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K.F. Breene is a Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Washington Post, Amazon Most Sold Charts and #1 Kindle Store bestselling author of paranormal romance, urban fantasy and fantasy novels. With millions of books sold, when she's not penning stories about magic and what goes bump in the night, she's sipping wine and planning shenanigans. She lives in Northern California with her husband, two children, and out of work treadmill.
Click FOLLOW for notification of new releases.
Join her mailing list to receive BONUS CONTENT, free stories, and hear about the crazy goings-on of her life. Sign up here ➜ http://bit.ly/KFBContent
Check out her chat group on Goodreads!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 567 reviews
February 2, 2019
Two possibilities here
:
① You are considering reading this book because you think The Warrior Chronicles is a slightly awesome series and very logically expect the best from K.F. Breene. If such is the case, RUN. As fast as you can. As far away from this book as isbarnacly humanly possible. You can thank me later.
② You want to read this book because you are in the mood for some seriously subpar, boring, diet, clichéd SFromance story. If such is the case, do go ahead and spend your retirement money on this glorious masterpiece, I'm pretty sure you will absolutely love it. Especially if you are a fan of severely unlikable MCs who are so bloody chatty you wish you could rip their tongues out, if only to ensure they never make another failed, pathetic attempt at supposedly clever banter again. I predict that this book will also be an instant favorite among Page Count Effective Read (PCEF™) enthusiasts. I mean, isn't it wonderful when 330 pages feel like 700? Now that's what I call getting value for one's money! Satisfaction guaranteed and all that crap.
➽ And the moral of this Tiny Crappy Non Review (TCNR™) is: Shanti fans, please don't do this to your little selves. Clueless people who have no bloody shrimping idea who Shanti is and would rather read subpar SF Romance than find out, it's time to reassess yourlife reading choices. You're welcome.
P.S. My good friend Sarah of the Awesome Name (SotAN™) seems to think this book here is worth 4 stars. Don't mind her, she is slightly delusional and tends to read books wrong. Except when said books are written by either Ilona Andrews or Pippa DaCosta. Then she reads them right. Every single time. Fancy that.
[Pre-review nonsense]
Because Shanti's mom wrote it.
① You are considering reading this book because you think The Warrior Chronicles is a slightly awesome series and very logically expect the best from K.F. Breene. If such is the case, RUN. As fast as you can. As far away from this book as is
② You want to read this book because you are in the mood for some seriously subpar, boring, diet, clichéd SF
➽ And the moral of this Tiny Crappy Non Review (TCNR™) is: Shanti fans, please don't do this to your little selves. Clueless people who have no bloody shrimping idea who Shanti is and would rather read subpar SF Romance than find out, it's time to reassess your
P.S. My good friend Sarah of the Awesome Name (SotAN™) seems to think this book here is worth 4 stars. Don't mind her, she is slightly delusional and tends to read books wrong. Except when said books are written by either Ilona Andrews or Pippa DaCosta. Then she reads them right. Every single time. Fancy that.
[Pre-review nonsense]
Because Shanti's mom wrote it.
December 16, 2016
This was marketed to me by Kindle First as Science Fiction. It does have intriguing sci-fi elements but it's mostly an infuriatingly written sometimes immature romance crossed with some sort of weird family saga set against a soft sci-fi backdrop. The world building is why this gets two stars rather than one. The idea of big corporations taking over everything and engineering humanity for their own purposes has been done before but it's still an interesting idea. It's a shame it's just scene-setting for everything that I found wrong with this book.
I'm a hard sci-fi kind of girl more than romance with sci-fi wrapping paper so I'm simply not this book's target audience. I'm also not against romance in general but even then I couldn't get behind this one. It was like it was written by a horny inexperienced teenage girl in places. There's a near-constant fixation on the outline of and slapping of the main male character's penis that I would've been embarrassed to write even in my private diary in case anyone read it (I personally tended to keep those thoughts just in my head!) If a man insults me and undermines me I don't care how manly his manly big boulder shoulders are - I'm going to think he's a massive jerk. In my 20s I well and truly grew out of the idea that a man was essentially pulling my hair because he likes me. Having said that, this is a trope that has always bothered me even when I WAS a teenage girl. The genetic justifications for it just made me roll my eyes. As I said, just not for me.
The author isn't a bad writer by any means but I really found this a chore to get through as it wasn't what I was led to believe.
I'm a hard sci-fi kind of girl more than romance with sci-fi wrapping paper so I'm simply not this book's target audience. I'm also not against romance in general but even then I couldn't get behind this one. It was like it was written by a horny inexperienced teenage girl in places. There's a near-constant fixation on the outline of and slapping of the main male character's penis that I would've been embarrassed to write even in my private diary in case anyone read it (I personally tended to keep those thoughts just in my head!) If a man insults me and undermines me I don't care how manly his manly big boulder shoulders are - I'm going to think he's a massive jerk. In my 20s I well and truly grew out of the idea that a man was essentially pulling my hair because he likes me. Having said that, this is a trope that has always bothered me even when I WAS a teenage girl. The genetic justifications for it just made me roll my eyes. As I said, just not for me.
The author isn't a bad writer by any means but I really found this a chore to get through as it wasn't what I was led to believe.
December 5, 2016
Mary Sue meets Tarzan
Thank goodness this was free with Amazon Prime. Without spoilers, here we go:
-the heroine is the best at something in the world
-but she's laughably bad at that without the hero
-making disgusting, diminishing, patronizing remarks, over and over again to the heroine just proves your sexy dominance.
-there's nothing LIKABLE about the hero. seriously. Not one thing. The author uses world building as a way to explain away having personality or a basic history.
-as a mom of two, I had a real problem with the whole "let me override your treadmill bc you're pregnant, and I don't want you to run, even though it's better for you" subplot.
-the "toddler in tow" is more like a "useful plot device in tow" .... You can go through pages and pages of crashes and shooting and the most you get about the toddler is, "whee". That's not how toddlers are, and it doesn't treat the child as a PERSON.
I admit, I skipped about 30% in the middle, hoping it would get better. It did not.
Thank goodness this was free with Amazon Prime. Without spoilers, here we go:
-the heroine is the best at something in the world
-but she's laughably bad at that without the hero
-making disgusting, diminishing, patronizing remarks, over and over again to the heroine just proves your sexy dominance.
-there's nothing LIKABLE about the hero. seriously. Not one thing. The author uses world building as a way to explain away having personality or a basic history.
-as a mom of two, I had a real problem with the whole "let me override your treadmill bc you're pregnant, and I don't want you to run, even though it's better for you" subplot.
-the "toddler in tow" is more like a "useful plot device in tow" .... You can go through pages and pages of crashes and shooting and the most you get about the toddler is, "whee". That's not how toddlers are, and it doesn't treat the child as a PERSON.
I admit, I skipped about 30% in the middle, hoping it would get better. It did not.
December 1, 2016
As a huge fan of K.F. Breene's Warrior Chronicles I was thrilled to be offered an advance copy of the first book in her new science fiction series. Although the two series couldn't be more different they both contain brilliant world building and wonderful characters and I'm very excited to follow the journey this new series is going to take us on.
Fate of Perfection is set in a distant future where major corporations have overtaken the government and now control everything from who where people live, the jobs they are allowed to do and even whether their genes are used to create the next generation. Most people are actually sterile lab-made clones and there are very few humans born the natural way anymore. Millicent is one of the rare natural born humans and she's well known for her superior intelligence and her expertise at designing weapons. She is allowed the privilege of giving birth to a child of her own but she's only supposed to be involved in her child's life until the baby can be weaned. What they weren't banking on is the bond that she forms with her daughter and when Millicent realises what Moxidone has planned for Marie she is determined to protect her at all costs.
I'm not going to go into much more detail about the plot because it's always much more fun to discover the details by reading the book for yourself but what follows is a fast paced and action packed story that will have you on the edge of your seat. Millicent is a brilliant character, she initially comes across as a little cold but it doesn't take long to realise that she's playing a role to ensure her own survival. She knows that she would be in danger if Moxidone realised she was "emotionally unstable" so she keeps her normal human emotions hidden deeply. Once Marie comes along she finds it harder and harder to play the role society expects of her though and when her security guard Ryker offers her a glimmer of hope she knows she has to take the chance that offers her.
Fate of Perfection had everything I could want from a futuristic sci-fi - a completely believable (if more than a little scary!) world, fun technology, dangerous situations, great characters, amusing banter and a touch of romance - and I can't wait to get my hands on the sequel!
Source: Received from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
Fate of Perfection is set in a distant future where major corporations have overtaken the government and now control everything from who where people live, the jobs they are allowed to do and even whether their genes are used to create the next generation. Most people are actually sterile lab-made clones and there are very few humans born the natural way anymore. Millicent is one of the rare natural born humans and she's well known for her superior intelligence and her expertise at designing weapons. She is allowed the privilege of giving birth to a child of her own but she's only supposed to be involved in her child's life until the baby can be weaned. What they weren't banking on is the bond that she forms with her daughter and when Millicent realises what Moxidone has planned for Marie she is determined to protect her at all costs.
I'm not going to go into much more detail about the plot because it's always much more fun to discover the details by reading the book for yourself but what follows is a fast paced and action packed story that will have you on the edge of your seat. Millicent is a brilliant character, she initially comes across as a little cold but it doesn't take long to realise that she's playing a role to ensure her own survival. She knows that she would be in danger if Moxidone realised she was "emotionally unstable" so she keeps her normal human emotions hidden deeply. Once Marie comes along she finds it harder and harder to play the role society expects of her though and when her security guard Ryker offers her a glimmer of hope she knows she has to take the chance that offers her.
Fate of Perfection had everything I could want from a futuristic sci-fi - a completely believable (if more than a little scary!) world, fun technology, dangerous situations, great characters, amusing banter and a touch of romance - and I can't wait to get my hands on the sequel!
Source: Received from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
August 25, 2021
This is the first book I have read from this author and I have to say I liked it.
I was pulled in to this story right from the being by the strangeness of the characters, and the world they were living in.
And when the actions began before I knew it I had finished the whole book. Wow what a ride so why did I give this book four stars instead of five? The alpha male annoyed the crap out of me, you can't say that many stupid things, just because your hot, and protective, he really did not work for me.
That being said what made up for the alpha male in this book, was the interaction with Trent the lab guy, he just made me laugh because he was so different to the main characters and kept putting his foot in his mouth constantly.
On to the next book.
I was pulled in to this story right from the being by the strangeness of the characters, and the world they were living in.
And when the actions began before I knew it I had finished the whole book. Wow what a ride so why did I give this book four stars instead of five? The alpha male annoyed the crap out of me, you can't say that many stupid things, just because your hot, and protective, he really did not work for me.
That being said what made up for the alpha male in this book, was the interaction with Trent the lab guy, he just made me laugh because he was so different to the main characters and kept putting his foot in his mouth constantly.
On to the next book.
did-not-finish
December 8, 2016
Bit of a rant ahead.
This is not science fiction and should not be marketed as such. This is a science fiction romance. There is a difference. I very much enjoy reading science fiction. I do not like sci-fi romance, hence I am not this book's target audience. Fortunately, I got it free as a Kindle First book, because I would be mighty peeved otherwise. That is one strike.
Strike two:
Book, you and I are done. So done.
February 6, 2017
I picked up this book as a free selection as a part of my Prime account. I had not heard of this author before, but she was billed as a “bestselling author” and the synopsis sounded terrific. Had I realized that the author’s primary genre was romance I would have given it a pass. I am not a romance novel fan by any stretch. That’s not a knock against anyone who is – to each their own. It just makes me a bad reviewer for this particular work. Keep that in mind as you read my comments. They are no doubt colored by my preferences.
I found the characters unlikeable, particularly the lead male. The story takes place in a dystopian future wherein the production and raising of children is managed by the state. Sexual relationships are discouraged and even suppressed by the use of drugs. As a result, the lead female in the story is extremely naïve with regard to this topic. The lead male, conversely, is an absolute pig. He spends the majority of his dialog with the female essentially sexually harassing her with wildly offensive comments in an attempt to wear her down and claim her as a conquest. She is inexplicably OK with this outside of the occasional return volley of insults. The male’s physical characteristics are apparently enough for the female to overlook his inexcusable behavior toward her. This makes little sense because the female lead is depicted as extraordinarily gifted intellectually and physically. She may be naïve, but she is strong, independent and smart. Why she puts up with the pig is hard to fathom. Eventually, when the two consummate their extremely ugly relationship, it comes across very much like rape. The overbearing, physically dominating and constantly berating male takes advantage of the naivete of the female to get his way with her. Disgusting. I hope this kind of thing is not common in the Romance genre. It was disturbing.
There is also a small child present throughout much of the novel. She is about two years old. The characters spend the majority of the story in an ultra-violent series of fights and chases. There are encounters with teeming hordes of enemies, explosions, gunfire, hand to hand combat, and lots of blood and guts. The reader is forced to accept that a secondary character, kind of along for the ride, is able to simply bounce the baby on his knee and keep her safe and happy the whole time. This didn’t fly with me at all.
The book is riddled with profanity and sophomoric innuendo that kept me in a generally uncomfortable mood the whole time. I am generally turned off by this sort of thing. Again – that’s a preference. Others may find those things OK. I don’t. There are a huge number of bodies ripped and torn apart along the way. The depiction of these deaths is generally very graphic and will not appeal to more sensitive readers. I found at least one fight sequence to be very hard to believe due to the inconsistency in the description of the numbers and nature of the protagonists’ enemies. I was literally rolling my eyes in between paragraphs.
Editing is also an issue with this book. I was surprised that someone with “bestselling author” next to their name would produce a work with glaring errors. Self-published, emerging or struggling writers can sometimes be forgiven for the occasional typo, but there were too many problems in a book that is supposedly professionally published. Three specific goofs stand out in my memory. (1) The female lead’s computer is described as being in a diagnostic “mood” rather than “mode”. (2) A computer is described as displaying a “syntax error” on the screen. Anyone in IT will tell you that a syntax error is related to a malformed command or program instruction and is not something presented to an operator or end user as a warning or error condition during normal operation of software. (3) A sentence begins with the lead male gunning down enemies and ends with the shooter being the female. That one was really weird.
Some may like this book, but I did not. I almost didn’t write this review because I feel a little bit unqualified since I really don’t live in the romance genre at all. The sci-fi angle appealed to me so I dove in. I’m pretty stubborn about reading so if I start a book, by golly, I am going to finish it! I will not be following this series, however. It’s not my cup of tea. The author has a following and I can only assume that is for a good reason. Maybe this is an exception and the rest of her work is fine.
I found the characters unlikeable, particularly the lead male. The story takes place in a dystopian future wherein the production and raising of children is managed by the state. Sexual relationships are discouraged and even suppressed by the use of drugs. As a result, the lead female in the story is extremely naïve with regard to this topic. The lead male, conversely, is an absolute pig. He spends the majority of his dialog with the female essentially sexually harassing her with wildly offensive comments in an attempt to wear her down and claim her as a conquest. She is inexplicably OK with this outside of the occasional return volley of insults. The male’s physical characteristics are apparently enough for the female to overlook his inexcusable behavior toward her. This makes little sense because the female lead is depicted as extraordinarily gifted intellectually and physically. She may be naïve, but she is strong, independent and smart. Why she puts up with the pig is hard to fathom. Eventually, when the two consummate their extremely ugly relationship, it comes across very much like rape. The overbearing, physically dominating and constantly berating male takes advantage of the naivete of the female to get his way with her. Disgusting. I hope this kind of thing is not common in the Romance genre. It was disturbing.
There is also a small child present throughout much of the novel. She is about two years old. The characters spend the majority of the story in an ultra-violent series of fights and chases. There are encounters with teeming hordes of enemies, explosions, gunfire, hand to hand combat, and lots of blood and guts. The reader is forced to accept that a secondary character, kind of along for the ride, is able to simply bounce the baby on his knee and keep her safe and happy the whole time. This didn’t fly with me at all.
The book is riddled with profanity and sophomoric innuendo that kept me in a generally uncomfortable mood the whole time. I am generally turned off by this sort of thing. Again – that’s a preference. Others may find those things OK. I don’t. There are a huge number of bodies ripped and torn apart along the way. The depiction of these deaths is generally very graphic and will not appeal to more sensitive readers. I found at least one fight sequence to be very hard to believe due to the inconsistency in the description of the numbers and nature of the protagonists’ enemies. I was literally rolling my eyes in between paragraphs.
Editing is also an issue with this book. I was surprised that someone with “bestselling author” next to their name would produce a work with glaring errors. Self-published, emerging or struggling writers can sometimes be forgiven for the occasional typo, but there were too many problems in a book that is supposedly professionally published. Three specific goofs stand out in my memory. (1) The female lead’s computer is described as being in a diagnostic “mood” rather than “mode”. (2) A computer is described as displaying a “syntax error” on the screen. Anyone in IT will tell you that a syntax error is related to a malformed command or program instruction and is not something presented to an operator or end user as a warning or error condition during normal operation of software. (3) A sentence begins with the lead male gunning down enemies and ends with the shooter being the female. That one was really weird.
Some may like this book, but I did not. I almost didn’t write this review because I feel a little bit unqualified since I really don’t live in the romance genre at all. The sci-fi angle appealed to me so I dove in. I’m pretty stubborn about reading so if I start a book, by golly, I am going to finish it! I will not be following this series, however. It’s not my cup of tea. The author has a following and I can only assume that is for a good reason. Maybe this is an exception and the rest of her work is fine.
December 1, 2016
3.5 Conflicting Stars
First let me say that I love KF’s work. The Darkness Series is one of my all-time favorite and I frequently re-read them. Stephan and Sasha are one of my top Paranormal/Supernatural couples. KF has a way of creating an amazing universe for all of her character to live in that is not only fantastic but also realistic.
That being said I’m not sure what to think of the world that has been created in Fate of Perfection. It has a very cold feel to it and I’m not just talking about the temperature. There are not a lot of emotions in this world therefore it makes the connection between the H and h feel less believable. In fact, most emotions are nullified with drugs or are wiped out via an implant that all the humans have been issued. Actions are regulated and while people have free will it’s to a lesser extent. The normal in this world is to be unfeeling and solely focused on your profession.
In this book we follow Ryker, top level head of security, and Millicent, top level weapons developer, on their journey to save their daughter. Their daughter is somewhat of an experiment. Genetically she was tampered with to enhance her brain activity. Ryker and Millicent were selected as parents because of their higher level of function and aptitude. When the traits that Ryker and Millicent both had were added to the tampering their daughter became extremely powerful and coveted by the conglomerate that both Ryker and Millicent work for.
Stepping out of the society norm Millicent loves her daughter and wants to save her. She has a plan to get her daughter, Marie, off the planet but in order to succeed she requests the assistance of Ryker. Despite the fact that Ryker and Millicent have a daughter together they have no real feelings for each other, Millicent conceived medically..no sex. In fact, Millicent was unaware that Marie was Ryker’s daughter until she noticed specific characteristics.
Through the fight (and there are plenty of fights so there is no lack of action) to get Marie off the planet there are some emotions developed between Ryker and Millicent, however, due to how cold and unfeeling they both were I had a hard time really believing their affections for each other. Even their sex left me feeling unsatisfied.
However, despite the lack of emotion that I felt from the book and from the relationship between Ryker and Millicent I did enjoy the book . Yes, the world was very cold but it was so intricate that I just couldn’t help getting sucked into it. I will absolutely be reading the next book because I just “have” to know how it ends!! I also feel that we will get more emotions from the second book as it takes place 2 years out and all the characters have had time to learn to “feel” more.
I loved that Millicent was a strong character. She was able to stand on her own two feet and didn’t always require Ryker’s help. Many times she saved the day. I also loved how she was willing to go against the whole conglomerate to save her daughter.
As for Ryker, he took some warming up to but I did enjoy his character. He’s extremely alpha and a bred protector. Upon finding out that Marie is his daughter he includes her and Millicent in his protective bubble – he’s willing to do anything for them despite a lack of feelings.
Trent, a side character and the doctor that was kidnapped to help Ryker and Millicent with Marie, was by far my favorite character. He was the character that I felt the most emotions from and I absolutely adored him. He was more realistic to me because he wasn’t perfect.
For me this could have easily been a five star read if the following two things would have been included:
*A prologue revealing how the world ended up in the shape that it did. This was sorta explained later in the book but being thrown into it without any knowledge from the get go was a little disorienting.
*More feelings. I sometimes felt Millicent and Ryker’s love for Marie but it wasn’t nearly enough. Simply fighting for her does indicate a level of feelings and affection but we didn’t get much beyond that. Plus, I needed more feelings between Ryker and Millicent. They have the ability to be a very strong couple...I just want to feel that they love each other and that it extends beyond Rykers protective bubble.
First let me say that I love KF’s work. The Darkness Series is one of my all-time favorite and I frequently re-read them. Stephan and Sasha are one of my top Paranormal/Supernatural couples. KF has a way of creating an amazing universe for all of her character to live in that is not only fantastic but also realistic.
That being said I’m not sure what to think of the world that has been created in Fate of Perfection. It has a very cold feel to it and I’m not just talking about the temperature. There are not a lot of emotions in this world therefore it makes the connection between the H and h feel less believable. In fact, most emotions are nullified with drugs or are wiped out via an implant that all the humans have been issued. Actions are regulated and while people have free will it’s to a lesser extent. The normal in this world is to be unfeeling and solely focused on your profession.
In this book we follow Ryker, top level head of security, and Millicent, top level weapons developer, on their journey to save their daughter. Their daughter is somewhat of an experiment. Genetically she was tampered with to enhance her brain activity. Ryker and Millicent were selected as parents because of their higher level of function and aptitude. When the traits that Ryker and Millicent both had were added to the tampering their daughter became extremely powerful and coveted by the conglomerate that both Ryker and Millicent work for.
Stepping out of the society norm Millicent loves her daughter and wants to save her. She has a plan to get her daughter, Marie, off the planet but in order to succeed she requests the assistance of Ryker. Despite the fact that Ryker and Millicent have a daughter together they have no real feelings for each other, Millicent conceived medically..no sex. In fact, Millicent was unaware that Marie was Ryker’s daughter until she noticed specific characteristics.
Through the fight (and there are plenty of fights so there is no lack of action) to get Marie off the planet there are some emotions developed between Ryker and Millicent, however, due to how cold and unfeeling they both were I had a hard time really believing their affections for each other. Even their sex left me feeling unsatisfied.
However, despite the lack of emotion that I felt from the book and from the relationship between Ryker and Millicent I did enjoy the book . Yes, the world was very cold but it was so intricate that I just couldn’t help getting sucked into it. I will absolutely be reading the next book because I just “have” to know how it ends!! I also feel that we will get more emotions from the second book as it takes place 2 years out and all the characters have had time to learn to “feel” more.
I loved that Millicent was a strong character. She was able to stand on her own two feet and didn’t always require Ryker’s help. Many times she saved the day. I also loved how she was willing to go against the whole conglomerate to save her daughter.
As for Ryker, he took some warming up to but I did enjoy his character. He’s extremely alpha and a bred protector. Upon finding out that Marie is his daughter he includes her and Millicent in his protective bubble – he’s willing to do anything for them despite a lack of feelings.
Trent, a side character and the doctor that was kidnapped to help Ryker and Millicent with Marie, was by far my favorite character. He was the character that I felt the most emotions from and I absolutely adored him. He was more realistic to me because he wasn’t perfect.
For me this could have easily been a five star read if the following two things would have been included:
*A prologue revealing how the world ended up in the shape that it did. This was sorta explained later in the book but being thrown into it without any knowledge from the get go was a little disorienting.
*More feelings. I sometimes felt Millicent and Ryker’s love for Marie but it wasn’t nearly enough. Simply fighting for her does indicate a level of feelings and affection but we didn’t get much beyond that. Plus, I needed more feelings between Ryker and Millicent. They have the ability to be a very strong couple...I just want to feel that they love each other and that it extends beyond Rykers protective bubble.
February 6, 2017
This is a dystopian romance novel. It has the the typical high action plot pitting a small group against the all-powerful establishment. I enjoyed all the technology and world building. The tension and action builds up quickly and keeps building throughout the book. Never slowing down until the very end.
For romance we are given a smart, uber-alpha, big muscled, trained to fight hero with that hidden soft spot we all love to see our h bring out. She is a tough lady too. Very smart yet innocent. The role she is forced to play shows us a huge heart. She has to deal with new feelings that confuse her but never deter her. These two lock horns time after time and their one-upmanship and snarky dialogue is a lot of fun to read.
I think Amazon may have misrepresented this book as sci-fi. Even though dystopian is science fiction, it is a specialized sub-genre. Add to that a very strong romance theme and you end up with a novel that doesn't really fit into the sci-fi category.
In my opinion, anyone reading this book as a romance would enjoy it much more than anyone reading it as science fiction.
Me...I guess I got really lucky because I read sci-fi as well as romance. I even read the occasional sci-fi romance. But my very favorite is the dystopian sub-genre. Most of those are YA. This one is definitely NOT YA. It has it all. Violence, strong language, and sexual situations.
If you're looking for an adult dystopian with a strong helping of romance, give this one a try. I really enjoyed it. I listened to the Audible version which has excellent narration by Angela Dawe.
For romance we are given a smart, uber-alpha, big muscled, trained to fight hero with that hidden soft spot we all love to see our h bring out. She is a tough lady too. Very smart yet innocent. The role she is forced to play shows us a huge heart. She has to deal with new feelings that confuse her but never deter her. These two lock horns time after time and their one-upmanship and snarky dialogue is a lot of fun to read.
I think Amazon may have misrepresented this book as sci-fi. Even though dystopian is science fiction, it is a specialized sub-genre. Add to that a very strong romance theme and you end up with a novel that doesn't really fit into the sci-fi category.
In my opinion, anyone reading this book as a romance would enjoy it much more than anyone reading it as science fiction.
Me...I guess I got really lucky because I read sci-fi as well as romance. I even read the occasional sci-fi romance. But my very favorite is the dystopian sub-genre. Most of those are YA. This one is definitely NOT YA. It has it all. Violence, strong language, and sexual situations.
If you're looking for an adult dystopian with a strong helping of romance, give this one a try. I really enjoyed it. I listened to the Audible version which has excellent narration by Angela Dawe.
February 5, 2017
Glad i didnt pay for the book
I don't wish to be mean but this is a very interesting premise for a book it just simply hasn't been written yet. This felt like a screenplay or an overdeveloped treatment for a soon to be pitched SyFy channel movie. The "tech" was left vague at every turn as though the science fiction writer couldn't be bothered with the trivial details of researching future tech. No imagination either. The heroes are basically unstoppable or so it is drilled into the reader so early on in the book that the ending is basically ruined. They want to go to another planet. Okay great. What's the name of the planet? How far is it from earth? I don't know and apparently neither does the author. What year is it? You're led to believe that it takes place so far in the future that mankind no longer breeds normally, the technology of the time is accessible via thought, we have harness the power of antigravity, pollution has pretty much destroyed any life near the surface, and that man has the ability to leave the earth and colonize other planets. But there are still cars with combustion engines, guns with bullets, and why the hell would we still be here if we ruined the planet and have other options to live on? I'm done .
Great idea but the worst possible execution
I don't wish to be mean but this is a very interesting premise for a book it just simply hasn't been written yet. This felt like a screenplay or an overdeveloped treatment for a soon to be pitched SyFy channel movie. The "tech" was left vague at every turn as though the science fiction writer couldn't be bothered with the trivial details of researching future tech. No imagination either. The heroes are basically unstoppable or so it is drilled into the reader so early on in the book that the ending is basically ruined. They want to go to another planet. Okay great. What's the name of the planet? How far is it from earth? I don't know and apparently neither does the author. What year is it? You're led to believe that it takes place so far in the future that mankind no longer breeds normally, the technology of the time is accessible via thought, we have harness the power of antigravity, pollution has pretty much destroyed any life near the surface, and that man has the ability to leave the earth and colonize other planets. But there are still cars with combustion engines, guns with bullets, and why the hell would we still be here if we ruined the planet and have other options to live on? I'm done .
Great idea but the worst possible execution
December 9, 2016
A SIMPLE MAN'S REVIEW:
If you're going to write a book about the future, you have to go all in. You can't tell a typical story and then dress it up with flying cars and techno jargon. I don't want the characters using idioms that we use today or making pop culture references that would be 500 years out-of-date for them. Unfortunately this book does all of this.
The story is about a genetically-enhanced woman fighting to get her daughter back from the evil conglomerate that owns her. There are some interesting ideas about genetic sequencing and cloning. A little about the stratification of society when the wealthiest people can buy their health. But these ideas have already been done by so many other books/movies and the author doesn't really add anything new to it - other than a multitude of chase scenes.
This is the first book in a series but the characters and story are not captivating enough for me to continue. If I were you, I wouldn't even start.
Skip it!
If you're going to write a book about the future, you have to go all in. You can't tell a typical story and then dress it up with flying cars and techno jargon. I don't want the characters using idioms that we use today or making pop culture references that would be 500 years out-of-date for them. Unfortunately this book does all of this.
The story is about a genetically-enhanced woman fighting to get her daughter back from the evil conglomerate that owns her. There are some interesting ideas about genetic sequencing and cloning. A little about the stratification of society when the wealthiest people can buy their health. But these ideas have already been done by so many other books/movies and the author doesn't really add anything new to it - other than a multitude of chase scenes.
This is the first book in a series but the characters and story are not captivating enough for me to continue. If I were you, I wouldn't even start.
Skip it!
February 7, 2017
Good lord, this was only 330 pages? It felt like 500. Which is not a complaint at all.
So it took a while for things to get moving, like 10 chapters or so. But then WHAM! We were off to the races and didn't fuckin' stop until the very end. And it was quite an enjoyable race!
At first, I felt like Millicent was... emotionally stunted, but boy was I wrong. She's scary brilliant with the driest sense of humor I've ever witnessed. And Ryker was super alpha, crazy horny, and insanely confident. I loved them both to pieces. But the dark horse was Trent - I absolutely adored his inappropriate diarrhea of the mouth. He was a lovely injection of humor in a very tense and action-filled story. The child is almost a non-entity in this story - almost. She has her own role to play, but I expected a little more page time for her.
Wowzers, this was a fun ride! I dunno how this author has kept herself hidden from me, but I'm a believer! The world building, the characters, the plot - all winners. Breene has a new fan in me.
So it took a while for things to get moving, like 10 chapters or so. But then WHAM! We were off to the races and didn't fuckin' stop until the very end. And it was quite an enjoyable race!
At first, I felt like Millicent was... emotionally stunted, but boy was I wrong. She's scary brilliant with the driest sense of humor I've ever witnessed. And Ryker was super alpha, crazy horny, and insanely confident. I loved them both to pieces. But the dark horse was Trent - I absolutely adored his inappropriate diarrhea of the mouth. He was a lovely injection of humor in a very tense and action-filled story. The child is almost a non-entity in this story - almost. She has her own role to play, but I expected a little more page time for her.
Wowzers, this was a fun ride! I dunno how this author has kept herself hidden from me, but I'm a believer! The world building, the characters, the plot - all winners. Breene has a new fan in me.
January 1, 2017
With a hundred more pages of detail and character this could have really been something. Sigh.
What we have here is the skeleton of an action sci-fi dystopia. A few corporations rule the world and control human breeding. Most of it is done by labs but exceptional people get natural birthing opportunities... before the company reclaims the product at two years of age. Thus the set up is two exceptional people fighting to keep their child. In this scenario they have the option of escaping to an off world paradise. I pray for this option to manifest in my life daily as January 20th approaches.
It was the action scenes that needed the most work. I had no idea what anything looked like or sometimes even what was going on. In my mind I gave the whole thing a Blade Runner vibe with some Star Wars action thrown in. Still, that was me not the author.
I can't give this more than three stars. I may or may not read the subsequent books.
What we have here is the skeleton of an action sci-fi dystopia. A few corporations rule the world and control human breeding. Most of it is done by labs but exceptional people get natural birthing opportunities... before the company reclaims the product at two years of age. Thus the set up is two exceptional people fighting to keep their child. In this scenario they have the option of escaping to an off world paradise. I pray for this option to manifest in my life daily as January 20th approaches.
It was the action scenes that needed the most work. I had no idea what anything looked like or sometimes even what was going on. In my mind I gave the whole thing a Blade Runner vibe with some Star Wars action thrown in. Still, that was me not the author.
I can't give this more than three stars. I may or may not read the subsequent books.
December 21, 2016
All the macho alpha male bullshit, shitty romantic tension with super awkward constant sex talk, "I'm a strong independent woman until a man comes along", unrealistic emotional attachments and clunky writing with strange loopholes (wait, they live on the 80th? Level of the world but let the lower levels decay to nothing? How are their buildings staying up?) and very confusing action/fighting scenes ruined a potentially awesome story line.
December 28, 2016
Interesting idea, not well written, poor character development, wins my worst book read this year, sorry!
April 13, 2021
Extremely entertaining and well-written near-future sci fi adventure.
This was a fun read, one of those books I space out over time and read slowly so it doesn't go away too quickly. The concept is that not far in our future, mega corporations have essentially taken over and are running everything, using cloning, bioengineering, and eugenics to create super-people that they craft to specific tasks in their business.
Almost no children are born naturally, and both parents are selected carefully for genetic properties, then the fetus is carefully treated with chemicals and gene-splicing to enhance various characteristics. The parents rarely know who their child is. One set of parents decides they want to keep their child, and flee to an off-world colony.
Fate of Perfection focuses on the mother, a super-intelligent, highly skilled weapons designer and computer security expert and the world building and establishing character is well done, not slow or dense. She and the father (a killer physical security expert and also genius) flee together, and the rest of the book is their attempts to evade capture and escape.
The action sections are frequent and dense, with the pair barely escaping death dozens of times, and it gets a bit excessive after a while. There are a few breathers, but its a bit too intense and extreme action focused and sometimes its not exactly easy to follow what is going on. Also, not super fond of the semi-explicit sex in several scenes, even if its very much a part of the story and character development; that's why only 4 out of 5 stars.
But this was very entertaining and I recommend the book especially to sci fi and cyberpunk fans.
This was a fun read, one of those books I space out over time and read slowly so it doesn't go away too quickly. The concept is that not far in our future, mega corporations have essentially taken over and are running everything, using cloning, bioengineering, and eugenics to create super-people that they craft to specific tasks in their business.
Almost no children are born naturally, and both parents are selected carefully for genetic properties, then the fetus is carefully treated with chemicals and gene-splicing to enhance various characteristics. The parents rarely know who their child is. One set of parents decides they want to keep their child, and flee to an off-world colony.
Fate of Perfection focuses on the mother, a super-intelligent, highly skilled weapons designer and computer security expert and the world building and establishing character is well done, not slow or dense. She and the father (a killer physical security expert and also genius) flee together, and the rest of the book is their attempts to evade capture and escape.
The action sections are frequent and dense, with the pair barely escaping death dozens of times, and it gets a bit excessive after a while. There are a few breathers, but its a bit too intense and extreme action focused and sometimes its not exactly easy to follow what is going on. Also, not super fond of the semi-explicit sex in several scenes, even if its very much a part of the story and character development; that's why only 4 out of 5 stars.
But this was very entertaining and I recommend the book especially to sci fi and cyberpunk fans.
December 16, 2016
He-man insultingly refers to lady as "princess" and "cupcake." Refuses to *let* her run while pregnant, despite her doctor's advice, her own desire to run, and her extreme level of fitness prior to pregnancy. Nevertheless, her lady parts thrum when he is near, even in the midst of one of the 6 bajillion fight scenes, each of which goes on and on and on and on and on and on. She just cant resist his misogynistic, controlling ways because he is protective. Terrible dialogue, over the top action (not in a good way)...this book was terrible.
December 20, 2016
This was a Kindle freebie. The first 25% of the book was actually fairly interesting and I was hopeful the story would be worth it. Then the 2nd half of the book was just atrocious. It was insanely tedious and boring and ugh. Did not enjoy it. The dialogue was pretty terrible, and the weird romance felt forced and just yeah. Not good.
February 5, 2017
4.5 stars!
I love it! Non stop action with setting around 1000 years in the future.
This is a Sci Fi Romance, if you a Sci Fiction's hardcore readers, you probably won't like this book.
Oh, it's a romance not smut:)
Btw, some of the stars for Marie, she and the doors simply hilarious, lol:))
Guess what? I got the next book from NetGalley already, oh yes!:)
I love it! Non stop action with setting around 1000 years in the future.
This is a Sci Fi Romance, if you a Sci Fiction's hardcore readers, you probably won't like this book.
Oh, it's a romance not smut:)
Btw, some of the stars for Marie, she and the doors simply hilarious, lol:))
Guess what? I got the next book from NetGalley already, oh yes!:)
August 6, 2020
This was an unexpected find for me! It came on on kindle as a recommended read and I’m really glad I decided to pick it up. The story and the plot are brilliant and I really enjoyed this version of a potential future where natural breeding is a thing of the past and a word controlled by genetics and the conglomerate is the norm.
The banter between the main characters of Millicent and Ryker is fantastic and so funny. Had me laughing out loud at many moments and it was a very effortless and enjoyable listen! Glad I came across this.
The banter between the main characters of Millicent and Ryker is fantastic and so funny. Had me laughing out loud at many moments and it was a very effortless and enjoyable listen! Glad I came across this.
January 12, 2021
DNF. This is a poorly-written romance novel, covered by a veneer of science fiction. Any reader who swoons at the thought of a large manly-man with poor personal hygiene who uses insults and derision as foreplay will love this story. I did not.
Also, it suffers from poor editing. Cringe-worthy phraseology such as “being that” in place of “because” abounds.
Also, it suffers from poor editing. Cringe-worthy phraseology such as “being that” in place of “because” abounds.
January 2, 2017
I really REALLY like this author, so my review might be a little fan-girlish.
Purchased this one & cant recall if it's available via Kindle Unlimited.
It started off reminding me a lot of Silver Shark by Ilona Andrews.
Futuristic Earth controlled by three huge conglomerations. Millicent is the top-dog weapons developer & software engineer for her conglomerate.
She's definitely a butt-kicker because she is very into guns & fighting moves. Capable of defending herself.
The first half of the book is essentially her getting artificially-inseminated, pregnant and giving birth. Large amounts of time are skipped to not become tedious. During this time a security director is introduced as the male hero. He flirts with her and they have a contentious verbal-sparring type relationship.
Only after Millie has given birth & begun to bond with her baby girl that she begins to realize she is living in a gilded cage. The conglomerate will take her baby away from her after it has stopped nursing.
The second half of the book is Millie planning her escape with her baby .
Of course the male hero comes in to help her, and they realize it was his sperm used to help create their baby.
There is sex, but it's brief and not overly steamy.
HFN.
This is the third series I have started by K.F. Breene.
First book in the series.
Absolutely recommended.
Purchased this one & cant recall if it's available via Kindle Unlimited.
It started off reminding me a lot of Silver Shark by Ilona Andrews.
Futuristic Earth controlled by three huge conglomerations. Millicent is the top-dog weapons developer & software engineer for her conglomerate.
She's definitely a butt-kicker because she is very into guns & fighting moves. Capable of defending herself.
The first half of the book is essentially her getting artificially-inseminated, pregnant and giving birth. Large amounts of time are skipped to not become tedious. During this time a security director is introduced as the male hero. He flirts with her and they have a contentious verbal-sparring type relationship.
Only after Millie has given birth & begun to bond with her baby girl that she begins to realize she is living in a gilded cage. The conglomerate will take her baby away from her after it has stopped nursing.
The second half of the book is Millie planning her escape with her baby .
Of course the male hero comes in to help her, and they realize it was his sperm used to help create their baby.
There is sex, but it's brief and not overly steamy.
HFN.
This is the third series I have started by K.F. Breene.
First book in the series.
Absolutely recommended.
December 13, 2016
Trashy pulp, poorly written
I couldn't take more than a few chapters. Two-dimensional characters dressed up in a techie world that's a pale imitation of the movie version of Minority Report. Long story short, it's a middle-schooler's rewrite of Brave New World. At best.
I couldn't take more than a few chapters. Two-dimensional characters dressed up in a techie world that's a pale imitation of the movie version of Minority Report. Long story short, it's a middle-schooler's rewrite of Brave New World. At best.
Read
April 4, 2017Such awful writing... I couldn't finish it
Read
May 7, 2017did not get beyond the first few pages
July 18, 2017
In the ancient days of science fiction it was considered guy stuff, appealing only to men, especially younger men, who were interested only in geek science, adventure, and occasional planets of slave women. To enter the field women would write under pseudonyms (Andre Norton) or initial/pseudonyms (C.J. Cherryh). It wasn't until it became clear that these and a following slough of female writers were writing superior fiction with cutting-edge ideas that female writers began to have some power in the genre.
It's my appreciation for those women pioneers that influences my irritation with this book. Now to be fair, on one of my reviews I received a nice note from a reader asking: "This may seem like a girly question but does this book have a romance in it?" I'm clear that there's a market for softer sci-fi that reads like a futuristic bodice ripper. This book pretty much falls into that category.
The names the writer chose for characters is the first major hint. The main character, some thousand or so years in the future, is Millicent Foster. She will soon meet hunky nemesis/crush Gunnar Ryker. This is a world in which three corporations run the world and compete with each other. There are natural born humans who live as slaves that are specially bred for their characteristics and live a more luxurious life. Most notably they are allowed to actually breed through artificial insemination rather than the rest of the world filled with clones.
Is a highly intelligent and crafty hacker and designer of real and cyber-weapons. She is being allowed to have a baby, who she names Marie. But at age two Marie will be taken away for the purposes of the corporation. Can she work with hunk-man Ryker or will he be a barrier when she decides to take Marie to freedom somewhere?
The basic ideas are interesting and a lot could have been done with them. There are fights with rogue pirates during an attempted escape that are a good read. But nearly every adventure leads to a flesh-to-flesh mishap that leaves Millicent breathless and wondering just how those abs will feel to the touch. As a half-century fan of science fiction I state here clearly that this isn't what I signed up for. I welcome a science fiction world with more women writers, publishers, and characters. I revel in an evolved sci-fi consciousness that moved Star Trek from party animal Captain James Kirk to a leader like Captain Kathryn Janeway. I resent having the genre used as a way to freshen-up the romance genre.
It's my appreciation for those women pioneers that influences my irritation with this book. Now to be fair, on one of my reviews I received a nice note from a reader asking: "This may seem like a girly question but does this book have a romance in it?" I'm clear that there's a market for softer sci-fi that reads like a futuristic bodice ripper. This book pretty much falls into that category.
The names the writer chose for characters is the first major hint. The main character, some thousand or so years in the future, is Millicent Foster. She will soon meet hunky nemesis/crush Gunnar Ryker. This is a world in which three corporations run the world and compete with each other. There are natural born humans who live as slaves that are specially bred for their characteristics and live a more luxurious life. Most notably they are allowed to actually breed through artificial insemination rather than the rest of the world filled with clones.
Is a highly intelligent and crafty hacker and designer of real and cyber-weapons. She is being allowed to have a baby, who she names Marie. But at age two Marie will be taken away for the purposes of the corporation. Can she work with hunk-man Ryker or will he be a barrier when she decides to take Marie to freedom somewhere?
The basic ideas are interesting and a lot could have been done with them. There are fights with rogue pirates during an attempted escape that are a good read. But nearly every adventure leads to a flesh-to-flesh mishap that leaves Millicent breathless and wondering just how those abs will feel to the touch. As a half-century fan of science fiction I state here clearly that this isn't what I signed up for. I welcome a science fiction world with more women writers, publishers, and characters. I revel in an evolved sci-fi consciousness that moved Star Trek from party animal Captain James Kirk to a leader like Captain Kathryn Janeway. I resent having the genre used as a way to freshen-up the romance genre.
April 27, 2022
This was really good and the most action I’ve read in a long time. I really enjoyed it, despite some characterization and consistency issues.
It’s a pretty standard dystopian tale. The theme of the power of love and family is strong and you definitely root for the characters. The action is pretty constant once you hit about 35% in. However, I feel like there could have been more build up and deep dives into the personalities of Millicent and Ryker. The “instant switch” in Millicent and the paternal drive of Ryker felt too abrupt. The concept of family and parents is pretty non-existent in their world, so some more time letting that blossom more naturally than a simple hurdle to pass to bring on the action would’ve been nice.
A lot of action, likable characters, and an endearing theme: it’s a worthy read despite any flaws. I see a lot of mediocre reviews—if you approach this as you would any sci-fi action film with the gratuitous sex scene, you’ll be fine!
It’s a pretty standard dystopian tale. The theme of the power of love and family is strong and you definitely root for the characters. The action is pretty constant once you hit about 35% in. However, I feel like there could have been more build up and deep dives into the personalities of Millicent and Ryker. The “instant switch” in Millicent and the paternal drive of Ryker felt too abrupt. The concept of family and parents is pretty non-existent in their world, so some more time letting that blossom more naturally than a simple hurdle to pass to bring on the action would’ve been nice.
A lot of action, likable characters, and an endearing theme: it’s a worthy read despite any flaws. I see a lot of mediocre reviews—if you approach this as you would any sci-fi action film with the gratuitous sex scene, you’ll be fine!
April 27, 2019
Family Loyalty
This book is a prime example of why I don’t listen to critics or reviews overmuch. I make my own assumption of the book. If I don’t find it interesting enough then I just don’t finish it. I am so very glad I didn’t take some of the reviews to heart and miss out on Fate of Perfection. I loved the banter between Millie and Ryker. I loved her development of learning what love is and what family is. I loved Ryker’s character and his playfulness yet his strength and loyalty to his family.
This book is a prime example of why I don’t listen to critics or reviews overmuch. I make my own assumption of the book. If I don’t find it interesting enough then I just don’t finish it. I am so very glad I didn’t take some of the reviews to heart and miss out on Fate of Perfection. I loved the banter between Millie and Ryker. I loved her development of learning what love is and what family is. I loved Ryker’s character and his playfulness yet his strength and loyalty to his family.
October 9, 2025
It took a bit to get into the book but by the last 25% I was all in.
September 20, 2017
This book is sensational. It is equal parts hilarious, thrilling, and heart-warming. I want more!
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