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iDENTITY
Twenty years after the great drought of 2020, citizens in California and across the United States live under the government's watchful eye. In this age of intrusion, competition for resources and jobs is fierce. One mistake can be disastrous.Maggie, Jasmine, Sydney, and Lena are strangers with one thing in they each have nothing left to live for. All these women need is a fresh start, but they'll find the cost is more than they could ever have imagined. A secretive biogenetics company offers them a mysterious serum that promises to change their identities, giving them great fortune and power. Is such a serum too good to be true?The women find that their new success draws them into a world of rivalry and blackmail, and by the time they discover the truth about the serum, it's too late. The evil scientist who created it only cares about money, regardless of how many people get hurt.After reuniting for follow-up testing, the four women realize their only choice is banding together to stop testing of the serum. They're watched from every side, but they must try to salvage what little is left of the humanity of Earth.
232 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 1, 2017
38 people are currently reading
381 people want to read
About the author
Cynthia Kumanchik
6 books45 followersCynthia Kumanchik writes young adult and women’s novels. She is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) and the Independent Book Publishers Association (ibpa). Cynthia is a Top Reviewer on NetGalley.
Visit her at www.cynthiakumanchik.com or @Ckumanchik.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
May 3, 2019
I received a copy from Story Cartel, in exchange for an honest review.
Actual Rating: 2.75
Thank you Cynthia Kumanchik for the opportunity to read your book. This was an alright read. I thought the story had a lot of potential. However, the writing style and the different characters in the story made the book a bit hard to follow. Hence, it started to get less interesting as the story progressed. I feel like the story would have been better if the book focused on one MC instead of multiple MCs because the journey of that MC would have been more impactful to the readers. I thought the characters were okay. I did not relate to them that much and it made the story also a bit difficult to read. I hope to read more Cynthia Kumanchik books in the future because I think she has real potential as an author. Overall, an okay read.
Actual Rating: 2.75
Thank you Cynthia Kumanchik for the opportunity to read your book. This was an alright read. I thought the story had a lot of potential. However, the writing style and the different characters in the story made the book a bit hard to follow. Hence, it started to get less interesting as the story progressed. I feel like the story would have been better if the book focused on one MC instead of multiple MCs because the journey of that MC would have been more impactful to the readers. I thought the characters were okay. I did not relate to them that much and it made the story also a bit difficult to read. I hope to read more Cynthia Kumanchik books in the future because I think she has real potential as an author. Overall, an okay read.
October 23, 2017
I didn't really enjoy reading this book. The content/ideas/plot were sound but the writing style and language didn't sit well with me. The book also introduced many characters all at once that it quickly got lost on me as to who is who. The language used wasn't that great too because the book used old slang, then new slang and it was all over the place; slang being common terms and phrases. The language wasn't matching up and it felt like the book was being written by two different people. This book has the potential of being better which is why I didn't give it a 1-star rating. It was sort of OK but can become better and significantly improve! The content was good in the sense that it was a good story but the writing didn't do it justice.
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February 14, 2018This book had an interesting premise of wanting a better life, while maintaining a sense of hope. The story takes place in the future, where a serum changes the lives of four women. This plot line is similar to the popular condundrum of “one red pill and one blue pill;” one pill gives you true love and the other one gives you fame and fortune. Of course you’re never told the costs associated with either choice. The same goes for this story. All four women take the serum and later learn the consequences of their actions, while attempting to stop the serum from affecting anyone else’s life.
October 17, 2017
What a great idea! A little green pill that takes away everything loathsome in your life and replaces it with everything your dreams want you to be. All you have to do is volunteer - and that’s what the author’s four main women characters do. It works for them. They leave behind their old unhappy states and – fuelled by green-pills – achieve exactly what they want: fame, for one; beauty for another; wealth for the third; and revenge for the last. You just know it can’t be that easy. After all, they are not alone. Other people start throwing up problems, some maliciously. What should be a road to paradise become increasingly tainted and the foursome find themselves far less free than they had imagined. An evil influence is at work. Someone with a frightening agenda who wants everything their own way no matter whose life gets destroyed in the process.
The story dips into the lives of the four women as they achieve their dreams. It gives us a peep into their fears and determination – and, for one at least, it also shows selfish ruthlessness.
In the context of an unnervingly realistic future world, privacy is non-existent and system abuses inevitable. This all feeds into a heady mix that is bound to explode. When it does, some die and some disappear. That should be the end, but the author hasn’t quite finished. The evil ‘someone’ powerfully survives and they know all about the four women.
This is an imaginative book that makes intriguing reading. Thoroughly recommended.
The story dips into the lives of the four women as they achieve their dreams. It gives us a peep into their fears and determination – and, for one at least, it also shows selfish ruthlessness.
In the context of an unnervingly realistic future world, privacy is non-existent and system abuses inevitable. This all feeds into a heady mix that is bound to explode. When it does, some die and some disappear. That should be the end, but the author hasn’t quite finished. The evil ‘someone’ powerfully survives and they know all about the four women.
This is an imaginative book that makes intriguing reading. Thoroughly recommended.
December 4, 2017
As I reading this book , sound like I am in the future. The way the author make you feel as you are inside the book and very details is amazing. I like that it make you feel as you are the main character and how she has to make a decisions that was already made for her but its on her. To lose everything is hard and rough to experiences. Seeing her pain and seeing how she corping with it shows a lot. I am still reading it.. I won't spoiled the book but will she changes her identity ..Umm the answer is in the book.
February 19, 2018
Good sci-fi thriller!
The book proposes the question...who are we really? Are we are job? How we look? Our ambitions? Or is it something more? And what if a pill could change everything and turn everything around? Of course, nothing is what it seems. Identity introduces us to a handful of characters, the first being Maggie who is living a life she couldn't have envisioned for herself. And it's downright awful. When she gets a message that she's been invited to an opportunity that changes all that, she can't help but be a little curious. It isn't long before she realizes it's all a little too good to be true.
The rest of the cast of characters get swept up into their fantasies come to life. Jasmine is now Jaz and is living the life of an upcoming super model, Lena is a successful stockbroker and even Maggie is dazzled by the life as a famous author. The plot quickens as the characters embrace their life. I liked the characterization a lot and especially enjoyed Maggie's character and how she steps in to solve the puzzle and the mystery of the pills their all given. The only small thing I had trouble with was how easy everything came and so fast. But I figure that's the magic of this mystery pill right?
The setting is enjoyably futuristic and I liked seeing how the author envisioned the world changing. The science behind the pill isn't explained too much. I would have liked an idea about how it all worked. One thing I liked was how the hybrid animals were used in the story and even how those relationships evolved.
There are no quick and easy answers in life and this book speaks to that. At least when there are, there tend to be consequences.
If you like science fiction and futuristic possibilities, you'll want to read this book.
The book proposes the question...who are we really? Are we are job? How we look? Our ambitions? Or is it something more? And what if a pill could change everything and turn everything around? Of course, nothing is what it seems. Identity introduces us to a handful of characters, the first being Maggie who is living a life she couldn't have envisioned for herself. And it's downright awful. When she gets a message that she's been invited to an opportunity that changes all that, she can't help but be a little curious. It isn't long before she realizes it's all a little too good to be true.
The rest of the cast of characters get swept up into their fantasies come to life. Jasmine is now Jaz and is living the life of an upcoming super model, Lena is a successful stockbroker and even Maggie is dazzled by the life as a famous author. The plot quickens as the characters embrace their life. I liked the characterization a lot and especially enjoyed Maggie's character and how she steps in to solve the puzzle and the mystery of the pills their all given. The only small thing I had trouble with was how easy everything came and so fast. But I figure that's the magic of this mystery pill right?
The setting is enjoyably futuristic and I liked seeing how the author envisioned the world changing. The science behind the pill isn't explained too much. I would have liked an idea about how it all worked. One thing I liked was how the hybrid animals were used in the story and even how those relationships evolved.
There are no quick and easy answers in life and this book speaks to that. At least when there are, there tend to be consequences.
If you like science fiction and futuristic possibilities, you'll want to read this book.
February 8, 2018
I chose to read this book after receiving a free copy. All opinions in this review are my ooewn and completely unbiased.
Identity is about the near future and what could easily happen, but hopefully not. Resources are low, jobs are difficult to keep, and the government knows everything about everyone. Optimal offers a new identity to people who have hit bottom. They have a drug that helps transform people into what they want to be and it gives them more confidence at the same time.
The current group is Maggie, Jasmine, Sydney, and Lena. Things dramatically change for them but they eventually learn that something that seems so good comes at a price. Will they be able to save themselves and everyone else from an evil man who will do anything for money and power?
It was a little difficult to follow at times because of the multiple characters. With so many characters, they weren't as well developed as I would have liked.
Identity has a good premise and was a pretty good read. It would be much better with a good edit.
Identity is about the near future and what could easily happen, but hopefully not. Resources are low, jobs are difficult to keep, and the government knows everything about everyone. Optimal offers a new identity to people who have hit bottom. They have a drug that helps transform people into what they want to be and it gives them more confidence at the same time.
The current group is Maggie, Jasmine, Sydney, and Lena. Things dramatically change for them but they eventually learn that something that seems so good comes at a price. Will they be able to save themselves and everyone else from an evil man who will do anything for money and power?
It was a little difficult to follow at times because of the multiple characters. With so many characters, they weren't as well developed as I would have liked.
Identity has a good premise and was a pretty good read. It would be much better with a good edit.
February 9, 2018
I was very intrigued by the premise of this book. When I first started reading it, I found myself having to re-read a few parts because it did not seem to stick with me. You could say that it was slow going in the beginning for me. Yet, as the story progressed, I started to stick with the story better. Although, I felt like the story never really peaked for me.
I didn't really know much about the four women. The details would have been helpful. This way I would have gained a better insight into their prior lives before their new ones. Additionally, the story seemed rushed. Each voice was coming at me quickly but in short spurts. Another detail that I wanted to know more about was the world that the story took place in. There was not enough details or intrigue for me to embrace this book fully.
I didn't really know much about the four women. The details would have been helpful. This way I would have gained a better insight into their prior lives before their new ones. Additionally, the story seemed rushed. Each voice was coming at me quickly but in short spurts. Another detail that I wanted to know more about was the world that the story took place in. There was not enough details or intrigue for me to embrace this book fully.
March 9, 2018
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to ditch your identity, and reform yourself into a whole new life, just because you assumed a new identity? A fantasy for many, to be sure, and this exciting novel by Cynthia Kumanchik explains what could happen if such technology really existed. Moving, dramatic, and capable of running chills down your spine with this tale of volunteers for a radical new science of identity engineering. Some found the world of their dreams, some discovered a darker dimension of themselves that they never knew existed, but all of them did what they could to accept and control their new, amazing worlds, and survive. A book that will keep you turning the pages, as it employs a classic literature strategy: what happens next. A definite winner!
February 10, 2018
The premise of this story is definitely interesting. Many people would find it enticing to be offered a pill that can magically transform their lives, making their wildest dreams come true despite the possibility of unknown side effects. I can see why the four main characters, or test subjects, accepted that offer.
The book is fast paced and full of action. At times, it goes a bit too rapidly and some details get glossed over. The reader does not really have a chance to connect with any of the protagonists. Not all of the characters seem fully developed beyond the drive to escape their past selves.
The book is fast paced and full of action. At times, it goes a bit too rapidly and some details get glossed over. The reader does not really have a chance to connect with any of the protagonists. Not all of the characters seem fully developed beyond the drive to escape their past selves.
December 17, 2017
I have to say that I was honestly surprised by how much I liked not only the story itself, but also Maggie, Jasmine, Sydney, and Lena. This author took these characters and made them feel like real people in an impossible situation that I felt like I could relate to. I really liked that the story was set in 2020 instead of hundred of years in the future as it allowed the author to keep the environment of the book feeling like it could really happen!
November 10, 2017
I feel like this book gives a glimpse into the future. I enjoyed all of the plot twists until the end. Look forward to reading more by Cynthia.
November 27, 2017
good book. this was a goodreads giveaway for me.
August 4, 2018
Amazing story
The characters were easy to connect with and the story grips you from the beginning.
Truly wonderful to reaf
😉
The characters were easy to connect with and the story grips you from the beginning.
Truly wonderful to reaf
😉
August 17, 2018
Futuristic book
Well I've read a lot of books and this is a breath of fresh air. I truly enjoyed it. Thank you
Well I've read a lot of books and this is a breath of fresh air. I truly enjoyed it. Thank you
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews