Jinxed by Amy McCulloch

Lacey Chu has one goal, to get into Profectus Academy so she can work for Moncha - the company that is the only place to work if you want to work on the next generation of baku.  It is a simple goal, one she has worked and studied towards for years - both officially and unofficially.  Officially she has worked hard at St Agnes to get the grades needed to get into Profectus, but she has also been unofficially preparing by repairing her mothers baku when things go wrong.  Lacey knows her father worked for Moncha before he disappeared, and dreams of proving herself as a companioneer.  

When she gets notification that she didn't make it into Profectus it is a bitter blow, but then she finds a badly damaged baku and it seems as though her fortunes are changing.  Jinx is unlike any other baku she has ever met before, although on the outside he appears to be like any other cat baku.  Baku are designed to replace smart phones, a creation that is part technology and part companion, something to keep you connected to the world but also to provide company.  As Lacey brings Jinx back to life and cleans him up it becomes clear that he is not your average baku, and when she is suddenly accepted into Profectus after all she finds that the world of baku is more complicated and twisted than she realised.  There is a dangerous secret hidden inside the world of Manchu and the baku, and uncovering the secret is just the start of a deadly game of cat and mouse.

Jinxed is a deftly written story that blends together some of the classic themes of science fiction and thrillers.  From the outside the world Lacey lives in is pretty much perfect, with a benevolent corporation that looks out for its clients and staff like a family, but that is just what is projected on the surface and Lacey is soon travelling down a twisted path learning the 'truth' about the world around her.  I connected with Lacey straight away, and her world spirals out in layers that make it easy to absorb what is happening in her life and in the world around her.  I loved the fact that McCullouch was not afraid to use elements of classic science fiction 'dystopian' worlds in her thriller, and that she didn't let her character development suffer to keep the story 'slick' and she didn't drift too much into cliché.  

This is a brilliant start to the series and I was very glad that I discovered this series after book two (Unleashed) had already been released because waiting too long for a sequel would have been torture!

If you like this book then try:

• The Jewel by Amy Ewing
• The Ones by Daniel Sweren-Becker
• Wither by Lauren DeStefano
• Honor among thieves by Rachel Caine & Ann Aguirre
• Red queen by Victoria Aveyard
• The girl of fire and thorns by Rae Carson
• The scorpion rules by Erin Bow
• Adaptation by Melinda Lo
• The forest of hands and teeth by Carrie Ryan
• XVI by Julia Karr
• The glass arrow by Kristen Simmons
• The 100 by Kass Morgan
• Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
• The testing by Joelle Charbonneau
• Proxy by Alex London
• ACID by Emma Pass
• Reboot by Amy Tintera
• XVI by Julia Karr
• In the after by Demitria Lunetta

Reviewed by Brilla