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Nightshade
Friends are treacherous.
Enemies are lethal.
The Castra Project Begins.
North America has fractured and new nations must rely on each other for survival. Trade is essential—even if it’s human.
At the age of nineteen, Brie is forced to leave the comforts of home and sent to the secretive nation of Castra where her unskilled labor is exchanged for goods needed by her home country. But this is not a normal trade mission. In a turn of events beyond the imaginable, Brie becomes one of countless young women earmarked for the Project—coded, imprinted, and classified as a test subject.
Exposed to trials with dire consequences, the tension increases when Brie inexplicably comes under the scrutiny of a brutal and malicious lieutenant who has the power to bring her to her knees. And he does, every chance he gets.
With escalating uncertainty, Brie and her allies must navigate the maze of deception. Betrayal runs rampant and befriending the wrong people could cost them everything. Despite their best efforts, not everyone will survive the Castra Project….
From the author of Wakeless, Nightshade is the first book in the chilling Castra Project series by Lisa Johnston.
Content warning: violence, abuse and sexual assault.
Enemies are lethal.
The Castra Project Begins.
North America has fractured and new nations must rely on each other for survival. Trade is essential—even if it’s human.
At the age of nineteen, Brie is forced to leave the comforts of home and sent to the secretive nation of Castra where her unskilled labor is exchanged for goods needed by her home country. But this is not a normal trade mission. In a turn of events beyond the imaginable, Brie becomes one of countless young women earmarked for the Project—coded, imprinted, and classified as a test subject.
Exposed to trials with dire consequences, the tension increases when Brie inexplicably comes under the scrutiny of a brutal and malicious lieutenant who has the power to bring her to her knees. And he does, every chance he gets.
With escalating uncertainty, Brie and her allies must navigate the maze of deception. Betrayal runs rampant and befriending the wrong people could cost them everything. Despite their best efforts, not everyone will survive the Castra Project….
From the author of Wakeless, Nightshade is the first book in the chilling Castra Project series by Lisa Johnston.
Content warning: violence, abuse and sexual assault.
- GenresDystopia
266 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 1, 2023
76 people are currently reading
154 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
July 17, 2023
One of the better books I have read this year. Reminded me a lot of Octavia Butler's Parable series. Dystopian times, human guinea pigs, and a fight for survival. I am not usually a series person but I will most definitely be reading the rest of this series. The writing was phenomenal and the characters real and relatable. Highly recommend!
April 4, 2023
4.25 stars! There’s nothing as exciting as adding an author to your auto-buy list and that’s what happened after reading my second book from Lisa Johnston. She has a knack for creating characters to root for and very disturbing dystopian worlds. And I’m all in!!
In the first book of The Castra Project, Nightshade, North America is no more. Nations have sprung up and each relies on trade between them to survive. This trade includes humans who must give up 10 years of their lives as laborers so their home nation can receive the goods they need for their families to exist.
Brie is “traded” to the new nation of Castra which is so secretive, she has no idea what to expect. When Brie arrives, she finds out she’s now living in a nightmare as she and the women she arrives with become test subjects for the Project.
I loved Brie’s character along with Heidi, who becomes her best friend. Even Lola, Brie’s group-mate, is an “interesting” character.
Make no bones about it, Nightshade can be brutal at times and very hard to read. But I couldn’t stop thinking about this world that Johnston created and had to know more.
If you like adult dystopian thrillers, then you need to pick this book up. (Nightshade is available on Kindle Unlimited.) While reading I felt vibes of Hunger Games, but more so because of Brie’s character.
Nightshade’s ending sets up to continue Brie’s story in book two, Hemlock, and I can’t wait. I need more! Hemlock releases in May so thank goodness the wait is not long!
*Thank you so much to the author for providing a copy of this intriguing book!*
In the first book of The Castra Project, Nightshade, North America is no more. Nations have sprung up and each relies on trade between them to survive. This trade includes humans who must give up 10 years of their lives as laborers so their home nation can receive the goods they need for their families to exist.
Brie is “traded” to the new nation of Castra which is so secretive, she has no idea what to expect. When Brie arrives, she finds out she’s now living in a nightmare as she and the women she arrives with become test subjects for the Project.
I loved Brie’s character along with Heidi, who becomes her best friend. Even Lola, Brie’s group-mate, is an “interesting” character.
Make no bones about it, Nightshade can be brutal at times and very hard to read. But I couldn’t stop thinking about this world that Johnston created and had to know more.
If you like adult dystopian thrillers, then you need to pick this book up. (Nightshade is available on Kindle Unlimited.) While reading I felt vibes of Hunger Games, but more so because of Brie’s character.
Nightshade’s ending sets up to continue Brie’s story in book two, Hemlock, and I can’t wait. I need more! Hemlock releases in May so thank goodness the wait is not long!
*Thank you so much to the author for providing a copy of this intriguing book!*
March 2, 2023
The Castra Project by Lisa Johnston
I give this book 4.5 stars
Friends are treacherous.
Enemies are lethal.
The Castra Project Begins….
The authors writing had me picturing every aspect of this horrifying project and creating this scary dystopian world in my head.
I really connected to the main character Brie and how she has to decide who to trust and the inner strength she finds to survive the ordeal she finds herself in.l found the supporting characters (good and bad)well drawn.The storyline kept my attention throughout the entire book and the ending has me impatient to read the next in the series.
This book is available on Kindle Unlimited and I recommend you give it a read!
I give this book 4.5 stars
Friends are treacherous.
Enemies are lethal.
The Castra Project Begins….
The authors writing had me picturing every aspect of this horrifying project and creating this scary dystopian world in my head.
I really connected to the main character Brie and how she has to decide who to trust and the inner strength she finds to survive the ordeal she finds herself in.l found the supporting characters (good and bad)well drawn.The storyline kept my attention throughout the entire book and the ending has me impatient to read the next in the series.
This book is available on Kindle Unlimited and I recommend you give it a read!
June 28, 2023
TITLE: Nightshade - The Castra Project Book 1
AUTHOR: Lisa Johnston
PUB DATE: 02.25.2023 Now Available
GENRE: Dystopian Fiction
Nightshade is the first book in the Castra Project series by Lisa Johnston. I loved Wakeless when I read it last year, so I was excited to jump in to this series. Nightshade is set in a world where human trade between countries exist for survival. Brie is sent away from her family to a country called Castra - once she arrives, something is just wrong and a nightmare begins as she becomes one of the research subjects.
The writing was tremendously thrilling and immersive. with the description of the women’s living conditions and effects from the trial, being so well written that I felt I was there slipping and sliding among the chaos and bodily fluids. I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. The characters had my heart and I was completely immersed in their story line.
I have been meaning to read more dystopian novels and this certainly was one of the best I have read this year. I cannot wait to read Book Two Hemlock and Book Three, Bloodroot.
I encourage you to pick up this series to support an amazing talent in this genre. it was simply an entertaining read that read like a movie to me.
AUTHOR: Lisa Johnston
PUB DATE: 02.25.2023 Now Available
GENRE: Dystopian Fiction
Nightshade is the first book in the Castra Project series by Lisa Johnston. I loved Wakeless when I read it last year, so I was excited to jump in to this series. Nightshade is set in a world where human trade between countries exist for survival. Brie is sent away from her family to a country called Castra - once she arrives, something is just wrong and a nightmare begins as she becomes one of the research subjects.
The writing was tremendously thrilling and immersive. with the description of the women’s living conditions and effects from the trial, being so well written that I felt I was there slipping and sliding among the chaos and bodily fluids. I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. The characters had my heart and I was completely immersed in their story line.
I have been meaning to read more dystopian novels and this certainly was one of the best I have read this year. I cannot wait to read Book Two Hemlock and Book Three, Bloodroot.
I encourage you to pick up this series to support an amazing talent in this genre. it was simply an entertaining read that read like a movie to me.
March 2, 2023
From the get-go Nightshade draws you in. I couldn’t read it fast enough. Lisa Johnston has a knack for putting her characters in frustratingly dire circumstances. I was scared for Brie, frustrated and angry, but also left extremely curious to know more about some of the characters that were introduced. The Lieutenant for instance, really had me asking a lot of questions. The reader is provided with the perfect amount of tension throughout and yet also offered moments of relief to counteract the tension.
The ending is perfect for the first of a series. I have so many questions about what’s to come. I’m hooked and can’t wait for Book Two to arrive.
The ending is perfect for the first of a series. I have so many questions about what’s to come. I’m hooked and can’t wait for Book Two to arrive.
June 24, 2024
In this disturbing dystopian tale, the countries in North America (Canada, US and Mexico) no longer exist. They have fractured into smaller independent nations who have to rely on each other to survive. Some of these nations are rich in resources such as fuel, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, etc, while others have nothing. In order to obtain desperately needed goods and services, these poorer nations trade the only commodity they have: humans.
Once they turn nineteen, the unskilled citizens of these poor nations are forced to leave home to work in another nation for ten years. In exchange, their home nation will receive the agreed upon trade. Our main character, Brie McCormick, is one of these citizens.
Brie is shipped off to the new nation of Castra - known for developing pharmaceuticals from medications to makeup to anti-aging creams. What she doesn't realize until she arrives in what is essentially a squalid prison camp is that Castra tests all their new products on humans - and she will be a test subject.
Brie and her fellow guinea pigs are branded, electronically tagged and forced to participate in brutal medical experiments that have devastating and sometimes fatal side effects. When they are not participating in experiments, they are beaten, raped and partially starved. As the mandate for each trade mission is ten years, the prisoners know they will never go home because they will never last that long. The only thing that keeps Brie and the other women sane is the bond that they have formed with each other and their superhuman will to survive.
This book isn't as disturbing as you would think it is but it's still pretty fucking bleak. It reminds me of the horrific stories that came out of Auschwitz about Dr. Mengele and his barbaric experiments on Jewish twins. It puts you in a dark, hopeless mood that takes a while to shake, which sounds awful, I know - why would you want to read a book that puts you in a bad mood, right? But, as a reader, that's exactly what I look for in a story - something that can elicit an emotional reaction to what's going on and The Castra Project does exactly that.
But, despite the heaviness, is it a good book? Yeah, it is. Really good! It's a quick little read, clocking in at around 270 pages so you can power though it in an afternoon. It's well-written, well-paced and ends on a hell of a cliffhanger that makes you want to run out and buy the next book....which I'll probably do, right after I read some cheesy, fluffy chick lit to get the taste of depression out of my mouth. I'm actually surprised that this novel isn't more well-known. It's original and 100x better than most of the dumb shit on BookTok so it deserves to be discovered.
Would I recommend it? Absolutely, yes!
Once they turn nineteen, the unskilled citizens of these poor nations are forced to leave home to work in another nation for ten years. In exchange, their home nation will receive the agreed upon trade. Our main character, Brie McCormick, is one of these citizens.
Brie is shipped off to the new nation of Castra - known for developing pharmaceuticals from medications to makeup to anti-aging creams. What she doesn't realize until she arrives in what is essentially a squalid prison camp is that Castra tests all their new products on humans - and she will be a test subject.
Brie and her fellow guinea pigs are branded, electronically tagged and forced to participate in brutal medical experiments that have devastating and sometimes fatal side effects. When they are not participating in experiments, they are beaten, raped and partially starved. As the mandate for each trade mission is ten years, the prisoners know they will never go home because they will never last that long. The only thing that keeps Brie and the other women sane is the bond that they have formed with each other and their superhuman will to survive.
This book isn't as disturbing as you would think it is but it's still pretty fucking bleak. It reminds me of the horrific stories that came out of Auschwitz about Dr. Mengele and his barbaric experiments on Jewish twins. It puts you in a dark, hopeless mood that takes a while to shake, which sounds awful, I know - why would you want to read a book that puts you in a bad mood, right? But, as a reader, that's exactly what I look for in a story - something that can elicit an emotional reaction to what's going on and The Castra Project does exactly that.
But, despite the heaviness, is it a good book? Yeah, it is. Really good! It's a quick little read, clocking in at around 270 pages so you can power though it in an afternoon. It's well-written, well-paced and ends on a hell of a cliffhanger that makes you want to run out and buy the next book....which I'll probably do, right after I read some cheesy, fluffy chick lit to get the taste of depression out of my mouth. I'm actually surprised that this novel isn't more well-known. It's original and 100x better than most of the dumb shit on BookTok so it deserves to be discovered.
Would I recommend it? Absolutely, yes!
July 15, 2024
It’s always rewarding to read the first book in a series and know that you have more books available to complete the story, also knowing that they will be well-written and are sure to be worth your reading time. Nightshade is such a book. Well done!
March 18, 2025
This has to be one of the best dystopian novels I've ever read! You will have a difficult time putting it down as it is so riveting. There is definitely a parallel between what occurred in the concentration camps and the experiments of Dr. Mengele so be prepared if that is a trigger for you. With that said the human spirit and fragility is still present. The characters are wonderfully written and will get under your skin - some in a good way and some not. I can't wait to read the rest of the series and am excited to have discovered a new author.
April 24, 2023
As a fan of dystopian novels, I couldn't help but be drawn to Nightshade - Book 1 of the Castra Project. The story follows Brie, a naive 19-year-old who is traded to the horrific new nation of Castra. The plot is gripping and keeps you on the edge of your seat until the very end.What I enjoyed most about this book was the character development. Brie starts off as a sheltered and innocent young woman, but as she navigates through the horrors of Castra, she begins to develop a sense of strength and resilience. The friendships she forms along the way help sustain her and add an element of hope to the story.
The ending of the book was a cliffhanger that left me wanting more. I couldn't wait to get my hands on book 2 and find out what happens next! Overall, Nightshade is a fantastic start to the Castra Project series and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys dystopian novels.
The ending of the book was a cliffhanger that left me wanting more. I couldn't wait to get my hands on book 2 and find out what happens next! Overall, Nightshade is a fantastic start to the Castra Project series and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys dystopian novels.
July 19, 2025
Thrilling, suspenseful and fantastic!
Wow, what a fantastic ride, I read my first book from Lisa Johnston last year and fell in love with her writing, when I saw this new release I knew I had to read it and I loved it. It kept me at the edge of my seat from start to finish and can’t wait to keep reading this series.
Wow, what a fantastic ride, I read my first book from Lisa Johnston last year and fell in love with her writing, when I saw this new release I knew I had to read it and I loved it. It kept me at the edge of my seat from start to finish and can’t wait to keep reading this series.
April 13, 2023
Not your daughter's dystopia!
I loved this book. It's dark, bleak, and depicts internment camp life for Brie and her friends so well. If you like your dystopian books on the dark side, make sure you pick this up! But be warned, it isn't for the faint of heart and covers some tough topics.
I loved this book. It's dark, bleak, and depicts internment camp life for Brie and her friends so well. If you like your dystopian books on the dark side, make sure you pick this up! But be warned, it isn't for the faint of heart and covers some tough topics.
March 19, 2023
Awesome story that keeps you on your toes!!
October 22, 2025
Wow! This is a book that will stay with me.
North America as we know it no longer exists. The nation of Somalt has nothing to trade, except labor. Citizens, unless granted a rare exemption are all required to complete a labor assignment as a trade subject. Our main character, Brie, has been traded to a new nation, Castra, which is still fighting a war with the neighboring nation it broke from. Upon her arrival, Brie is transported to a camp where she learns that she had been assigned to be a test subject for Castra’s main export, pharmaceuticals. Life in the camp is brutal. Poor living conditions, threats of harm from their soldier guards, and distrust and violence among the other test subjects threaten Brie’s daily survival.
I am so invested in Brie and her struggle to survive. The author has written well-developed characters and a fascinating plot. The pace of this novel is perfect; it does not drag but is also not rushed. Although distinctly different, it has a feel that reminds me both of Handmaid’s Tale and also holocaust fiction.
North America as we know it no longer exists. The nation of Somalt has nothing to trade, except labor. Citizens, unless granted a rare exemption are all required to complete a labor assignment as a trade subject. Our main character, Brie, has been traded to a new nation, Castra, which is still fighting a war with the neighboring nation it broke from. Upon her arrival, Brie is transported to a camp where she learns that she had been assigned to be a test subject for Castra’s main export, pharmaceuticals. Life in the camp is brutal. Poor living conditions, threats of harm from their soldier guards, and distrust and violence among the other test subjects threaten Brie’s daily survival.
I am so invested in Brie and her struggle to survive. The author has written well-developed characters and a fascinating plot. The pace of this novel is perfect; it does not drag but is also not rushed. Although distinctly different, it has a feel that reminds me both of Handmaid’s Tale and also holocaust fiction.
March 11, 2023
Another page turner from Lisa Johnston!
Lisa lays out an amazing journey led by her main character Brie in this dystopian tale. I wonder if the Oxford definition of dystopian was crafter after Lisa's novel? It surely seems so - except in this case we are offered some ray of hope for the characters. I love her writing style; it doesn't get in the way of telling the story, which you will find compelling you onward to the next twists and turns of the plot. Guaranteed you will be hooked for the next in the series. Well done to the author!
Lisa lays out an amazing journey led by her main character Brie in this dystopian tale. I wonder if the Oxford definition of dystopian was crafter after Lisa's novel? It surely seems so - except in this case we are offered some ray of hope for the characters. I love her writing style; it doesn't get in the way of telling the story, which you will find compelling you onward to the next twists and turns of the plot. Guaranteed you will be hooked for the next in the series. Well done to the author!
February 24, 2023
I am grateful and honoured to have been a beta reader for this amazing author Lisa Johnston. Lisa is beautiful writer who keeps you engaged and wanting more from the very beginning. Her writing is fluent, easy reading and leaves you with the right amount of suspense leaving you anxious for the next book in the series. I enjoyed this book and am awed by the imagination, and just a heads up - the next book is even better!!
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January 26, 2025My opinion
Reminded me very much of those "Women in Prison" movies popular in the 70s and like the movies not much depth.
Reminded me very much of those "Women in Prison" movies popular in the 70s and like the movies not much depth.
July 29, 2025
I really enjoyed this book. The prose of it was fresh and not something I’d read about before. I did feel like parts of it drug on, but nonetheless I pushed through and thoroughly enjoyed it.
February 19, 2025
'Living the Dream' by 5 Fingers Death Punch
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