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A review by cece_rants_raves_reviews
The Next Step by Adrian Siska
2.0
**I was provided with an ARC for an honest review.**
What's the next step for humanity? fucking robots of course
Meet Adam Moore basically a college robot genuis
He's smart. He's kind. He has steel values that he is willing to fight for the people he loves. Yes its robots, we bringing out the puns
For a rich boi, he was pretty down to earth and not really in the futuristic party scene like i was expecting. Honestly.... he was pretty tame and didn’t have a really strong personality or dynamic characteristics to remember him by.
The worldbuilding was pretty unique but explained in a scatter. Robot fighting, technology company competitions, love interests reunited, hero learning to join the world his parents were part of, and yea
It was both totally realistic for the world while simultaneously creating dangerously awesome situations for Adam to get involved
But then… that fucking plot twist in the middle
Secondary characters
Zari the sassy and capable robot--mechanic--boxer who kinda an outlaw. I KNOW RIGHT HOW FUCKIGN COOL IS that backstory!! and then she gets soooo little screentime
To be honest, she was one of my favorite characters that I kept hoping would get more of a spotlight. I wanted her to have a little more spunk and bite that she can bring to the group dynamic. Her personality just could’ve been so much BIGGER and LOUD and DYNAMIC that I saw her potential wayyy more than Adam’s
And then there's Kim. oh sweet naive Ki Myung Kwon.
Okay I did think she was a cute character. It was the whole cliche childhood friends FINALLY reunited
but I gotta be honest... girl got on my nerves little bit
bitch say what? everyone makes mistakes, don't put him on a pedestal just to watch him fall down
Also, she wasn't really involved in ANYTHING with the plot. Seriously 80% of the time she had not a goddamn clue what was going out on outside her bubble of college classes and lovey dovey with Adam.
She was constantly like
the obligatory book best friend Derek
Some others include ... Ozzy, Nelly the companion android and Duke *who the fuck is this guy tho he only showed up for 2 chapters*
and my personal favorite, Uncle Gabriel. This is precisely why families shouldn't go into companies together. ain't nothing but DRAMA *insert photo of Kardasians*
My main critique with the characters is that I wanted more dialogue and banter between the characters to have a stronger bond with each other but also highlighting their own distinct personalities/goals/thoughts/motivation
The things I loved about this book was the creative worldbuilding and general plot
What kinda disconnected me was some of the writing style choices
It seemed to have the same pace throughout the entire thing. Whether we were at a college party, robot fighting, or working at the office -- it was. all written. with same. monotone. descriptive tone.
I wanted the action to get sped up and more intense.
There were some parts I was like why the fuck is the author being so SPECIFIC about this
And some ended being some cool easter eggs in the beginning
But I had to wait of that pay off. So during the buildup, I was just wondering why I was getting so much detail and wasn't sure which details were actually important
I kept checking the goddamn book synopsis like wait who is my main character, who are these other people, why do i care about them
Especially because of the constant POVS switch that seemed really unnecessary
Ch1 it Ki Myung Kwon then Maison Kwon POV
Ch 2 we get Maison then Kim
Ch 3 Christine More, sneak of Adams, then Peter and Gabriel AND Maison
Ch 4 was more Christine and Peter
Ch 5 now solidly in Adam's POV
Like christ thats a lot of bouncing around with POVs that sounded pretty alike and the whole time I’m just the reader wondering who is the main focus here and what is it all building up to. It wasn’t till ch 5 that I finally got a handle of OKAY !! This book is about Adam
Overall, I liked this book because it took risks. It had an interesting premise and twists that were clearly outside the normal scifi tropes. The characters were little lacking, with the antagonist having the strongest personality ! Whereas Adam was just kinda there. Authors~ I don’t want to be bored by your protagonist who acts like a game NPC. I don’t want a generic character just surviving through the complex events you created. I want to read a full-realized, dynamic protagonist. The plot was clearly building towards something, but my scifi expectations meant the whole time i was waiting for some hardcore robot smackdown that *finally* came at the end
Can’t wait to see what the next step for Adam is *see what I did there*
What's the next step for humanity? fucking robots of course
Meet Adam Moore basically a college robot genuis
He's smart. He's kind. He has steel values that he is willing to fight for the people he loves. Yes its robots, we bringing out the puns
For a rich boi, he was pretty down to earth and not really in the futuristic party scene like i was expecting. Honestly.... he was pretty tame and didn’t have a really strong personality or dynamic characteristics to remember him by.
The worldbuilding was pretty unique but explained in a scatter. Robot fighting, technology company competitions, love interests reunited, hero learning to join the world his parents were part of, and yea
It was both totally realistic for the world while simultaneously creating dangerously awesome situations for Adam to get involved
“I sent you, my elite team, and you couldn’t handle a nerd and a piece of machine. What kind of mercenaries are you?”Sad news this wasn’t *quite* as violent as I was expected, but focused on the intrigue and betrayal from ALL sides while in the company *yes thats a call out*
But then… that fucking plot twist in the middle
Secondary characters
Zari the sassy and capable robot--mechanic--boxer who kinda an outlaw. I KNOW RIGHT HOW FUCKIGN COOL IS that backstory!! and then she gets soooo little screentime
To be honest, she was one of my favorite characters that I kept hoping would get more of a spotlight. I wanted her to have a little more spunk and bite that she can bring to the group dynamic. Her personality just could’ve been so much BIGGER and LOUD and DYNAMIC that I saw her potential wayyy more than Adam’s
And then there's Kim. oh sweet naive Ki Myung Kwon.
Okay I did think she was a cute character. It was the whole cliche childhood friends FINALLY reunited
“I missed you too, I’m glad to be here again,” she replied as her gray eyes met Adam’s. That green Kim remembered so well.”
but I gotta be honest... girl got on my nerves little bit
“Oh, Adam, you will never be a jerk.”
bitch say what? everyone makes mistakes, don't put him on a pedestal just to watch him fall down
Also, she wasn't really involved in ANYTHING with the plot. Seriously 80% of the time she had not a goddamn clue what was going out on outside her bubble of college classes and lovey dovey with Adam.
She was constantly like
“No one is going to hurt you in any way.”
“Will we ever be on a date again?”it was almost.. 2 sweet ??
the obligatory book best friend Derek
Some others include ... Ozzy, Nelly the companion android and Duke *who the fuck is this guy tho he only showed up for 2 chapters*
and my personal favorite, Uncle Gabriel. This is precisely why families shouldn't go into companies together. ain't nothing but DRAMA *insert photo of Kardasians*
My main critique with the characters is that I wanted more dialogue and banter between the characters to have a stronger bond with each other but also highlighting their own distinct personalities/goals/thoughts/motivation
The things I loved about this book was the creative worldbuilding and general plot
What kinda disconnected me was some of the writing style choices
It seemed to have the same pace throughout the entire thing. Whether we were at a college party, robot fighting, or working at the office -- it was. all written. with same. monotone. descriptive tone.
I wanted the action to get sped up and more intense.
There were some parts I was like why the fuck is the author being so SPECIFIC about this
And some ended being some cool easter eggs in the beginning
But I had to wait of that pay off. So during the buildup, I was just wondering why I was getting so much detail and wasn't sure which details were actually important
I kept checking the goddamn book synopsis like wait who is my main character, who are these other people, why do i care about them
“I’m talking with the living descendants of Eminem”
Especially because of the constant POVS switch that seemed really unnecessary
Ch1 it Ki Myung Kwon then Maison Kwon POV
Ch 2 we get Maison then Kim
Ch 3 Christine More, sneak of Adams, then Peter and Gabriel AND Maison
Ch 4 was more Christine and Peter
Ch 5 now solidly in Adam's POV
Like christ thats a lot of bouncing around with POVs that sounded pretty alike and the whole time I’m just the reader wondering who is the main focus here and what is it all building up to. It wasn’t till ch 5 that I finally got a handle of OKAY !! This book is about Adam
Overall, I liked this book because it took risks. It had an interesting premise and twists that were clearly outside the normal scifi tropes. The characters were little lacking, with the antagonist having the strongest personality ! Whereas Adam was just kinda there. Authors~ I don’t want to be bored by your protagonist who acts like a game NPC. I don’t want a generic character just surviving through the complex events you created. I want to read a full-realized, dynamic protagonist. The plot was clearly building towards something, but my scifi expectations meant the whole time i was waiting for some hardcore robot smackdown that *finally* came at the end
Can’t wait to see what the next step for Adam is *see what I did there*