Lucid Design

by Kate Tailor

What if the next big drug was you? Lucid is that next big drug. It gives its user the ability to sense and control other people’s bodies. Scientists and drug dealers seek its power. There’s just one catch. This drug can’t be made in a lab, only by the rare person’s body. Raleigh is an anomaly who makes an extraordinary amount of Lucid. Now she’s being hunted for the drug in her veins. She finds an unlikely ally in a boy named Rho, who also makes the drug, but he isn’t what he seems. His origins are unusual and his past tainted. Nothing is straightforward and no matter what she chooses someone will get hurt. Raleigh’s learning that Lucid isn’t the drug she thinks it is, nor is she the girl everyone expects.

258 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 18, 2020

About the author

I enjoy both reading and writing. Anything with an unusual story gets my attention.

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Engaging, thought-provoking, fast-paced. Kate Tailor is a master of story-telling. I loved this book. The characters are real people with vulnerabilities and flaws, and the chemistry and tension between Raleigh and Rho palpable on the page.

Raleigh Groves just wants to go to college and has given up on finding a cure for her blackouts when she finally learns why she’s been ill all her life. She makes a drug called Lucid in her blood that enables certain people to use it to sense and control other people’s bodies, to either heal them or hurt them. When she finds out that she’s being hunted for this drug, she sets off with Rho, a mysterious and handsome boy who also makes the drug and can use it. He’s not what he first seems and Raleigh is pulled into a life of hiding and running for her life from those that would try to use her--until she decides to fight back. She uses her newfound abilities to try and bring down those that would drain her and her new friends of their blood to get the drug. Making new friends and enemies along the way, she gets herself deeper and deeper into trouble and has to use her abilities and her ingenuity to dig her way out alive, though it means betraying those that have come to trust her.

The plot takes twists and turns I didn’t expect and Kate leaves the reader wanting more. This book takes a deep look at the lengths people will go to gain power, and the ends they’ll go to in order to keep that power, even if it means ruining other’s lives. Nothing is black and white in the world of Lucid and the power can be used for good or bad, it just depends on the person wielding it, and Raleigh intends to be the one calling the shots.

I can’t wait for book 2 to find out what’s next for Raleigh as she continues her quest to take down those who use Lucid for their own gain.

[Sepideh · Rating 5 out of 5]

The protagonist is a fiercely independent 18-year-old teen named Raleigh who suffers from blackouts. She wants to go to college, but she cannot go if she has random blackouts every day. In her search for a cure, she discovers that her body produces a chemical called Lucidin that helps her sense the physical presence of others. The over-production of Lucidin is causing her blackouts.

She soon finds herself traveling to Belgium to receive help from a doctor who will extract her Lucidin to reduce the blackouts. There, she also meets a group of handsome young men called the Designed who also produce Lucidin. As she learns more about Lucidin, it becomes harder to know who to trust and what her future may hold.

I enjoyed this book much more than I expected I would. The pacing is really is good.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the premise of the book from the first chapter until the last page. I felt the characters were well developed and the main character was one I was highly invested in from the minute I met her.
Raleigh is an 18 year old girl looking forward to the future....college, dorm rooms...boyfriends....
except for one small problem. She blacks out at the worst times. No warning. How can she leave home, drive a car, ride a bike, get to class? Raleigh can sense what is wrong with a person's body, such as when she walks into a hospital she is overwhelmed with all the problems, illnesses, traumas.
Where can she find answers to help her navigate through the mess of her life? Are there others like her? Follow Raleigh as she soon starts a journey that she hopes will bring her some answers. I can't wait for the rest of the series.

[Boarderjen06 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting and different idea

This story has some really interesting philosophical and ethical ideas to debate. And it was exciting. I felt like I was right there with Raleigh trying to decide which side was the right one. A page turner for sure! I hope we get to learn more about Agatha in the next book.

[Night Runner · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 Stars for me!

I enjoyed most of the story as well as the unique topic. Some of the drama was a bit over the top but I still liked the premise.

[Janet Schmidt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I ended up binging this entire series in a month this summer! The story kept you on your toes and as a medical lab scientist, kept me interested. I highly recommend for adults not just YA.

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

most underrated book series ever