Review: Archetype by M.D. Waters

April 14, 2014 4.5 stars, Book Review, Science Fiction 26 ★★★★½

Review: Archetype by M.D. WatersArchetype by M.D. Waters
Series: Archetype #1
Published by Dutton on FEbruary 6, 2014
Genres: Romance, Science fiction
Pages: 384
Format: eBook
Source: Publisher, Purchased
Goodreads
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My Reviews in this series: Prototype

Introducing a breathtakingly inventive futuristic suspense novel about one woman who rebels against everything she is told to believe.

Emma wakes in a hospital, with no memory of what came before. Her husband, Declan, a powerful, seductive man, provides her with new memories, but her dreams contradict his stories, showing her a past life she can’t believe possible: memories of war, of a camp where girls are trained to be wives, of love for another man. Something inside her tells her not to speak of this, but she does not know why. She only knows she is at war with herself.

Suppressing those dreams during daylight hours, Emma lets Declan mold her into a happily married woman and begins to fall in love with him. But the day Noah stands before her, the line between her reality and dreams shatters.

In a future where women are a rare commodity, Emma fights for freedom but is held captive by the love of two men—one her husband, the other her worst enemy. If only she could remember which is which. . . .

The first novel in a two-part series, Archetype heralds the arrival of a truly memorable character—and the talented author who created her.

four-half-stars

Forget everything you’ve known
Archetype introduces us to Emma and her situation is just that, she knows almost nothing about where she is, who she is, and what events brought her to this place. Basically, all she does know is what’s told and taught to her by the people in the hospital she woke up in. A man named Declan claims to be her husband and that she has had a terrible accident. One that has taken all of her memories and practically set her knowledge of life and mundane things back considerably. She is having to learn the simplest things that we might take for granted every day. Because of this we get a unique perspective on how she thinks and feels while going through such an odd situation. This immediately enabled me as a reader to connect and sympathize with Emma. Given the weak state she was in, she was by no means a weakling. You can tell right away Emma has a fighter’s spirit.

Sleeping with the enemy
Due to the environment Emma is in for the first portion of the book, the pace is slower while we learn things with her and are introduced to the state of the world. Declan and the Doctor are really overly protective about telling her anything or letting her experience new things. So information at times seems to take its sweet darn time being revealed. I for one still ate up the first half of the book and was well rewarded for my patience with an action packed second half. Emma doesn’t know who to trust let alone believe. And on top of her dreams and the voice in her head, she has Declan, her husband and a strangely familiar man Noah, telling her absolutely different things confusing her even further. All she does know is that she is drawn to both of them, and only one of them is the true enemy.

Lock up your daughters
This is a futuristic Earth in which medical technology has literally allowed humanity to dig a grave for itself. Women are a tiny minority and most of them are infertile. Those few that can conceive children can only do so for a handful of years.  So how does society react to this? Why, lock up all the women and sell them to the highest bidder of course. Cynical, I know, but I could totally envision this happening. History teaches us a harsh lesson about the depths of cruelty we as a species are capable of, thus it is not far fetched to picture this future as being a possible reality instead of just science fiction. These women are definitely not treated well, growing up in training centers and sold as wives to men. If they are fertile, at the age of 18 they are sold off and become that man’s property having no real life of their own. Not too rosy sounding is it?

I’ll be back
With an emotionally charged ending such as the one Archetype delivers, there is no way I can imagine someone reading this book and not feeling compelled to pick up the next. There was a specific aspect of the end I saw coming but I think will only add to Emma’s struggles to come. I will gladly gobble down any further of her misery because everything I have seen her go through thus far has only made her a stronger and more sympathetic character. Bring it Waters.

Archetype (#1)

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*gasp* This book was provided by the publisher! No worries though it’s an honest review and all opinions expressed are my own. This post might also contain affiliate links. To view my full Blog Policy, click here.

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Tabitha (Pabkins)

When I'm in the zone I can flip book pages faster than the eye can see - screaming "More Input!" I'm a book, yarn, & art supply hoarding goblin who loves to draw, make toys and craft all sorts of creepy cute things. My current habit is to listen to audio books while I'm arting it up!
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26 Responses to “Review: Archetype by M.D. Waters”

  3. Kirsty-Marie

    The first time I saw this I thought it was YA, and when I saw it wasn’t I didn’t request it. I don’t usually read/review Adult unless it sounds exceptionally good. 🙁 Now I feel sad because it sounds amazing. I mean, it does sound cruel and all that, but amazing and believable, which you’d think would be a stretch, but like you said, history. You can actually see that type of thing happening. Kind of scary to think about. Glad you enjoyed it so much, let’s see if Prototype gets a 5 from you. 🙂
    Kirsty-Marie recently posted…Review: The Eighth DayMy Profile

    • Tabitha (Pabkins)

      I think I would go bonkers if I only read YA books! I definitely love them but sometimes I feel like the bulk of them all follow the same route/pattern you know? So I’m trying to be more and more choosy on the ones I pickup.

      If you ever need adult recs just let me know! This one is seriously worth reading. Also another one I ADORED last year was Love Minus Eighty by Will McIntosh. (frozen bridesicle dating farms!)
      Tabitha (Pabkins) recently posted…Review: Archetype by M.D. WatersMy Profile

    • Tabitha (Pabkins)

      I hope you can – this is going to be so worth it and hey the new one is coming out in a few months!

      I know exactly what you mean. I have a few non review books that are like that. I’m making a big point to read my own books as well from now on because otherwise all we’d be reading are new releases! And there is just too much good stuff out there to not read some older stuff as well.
      Tabitha (Pabkins) recently posted…Review: Archetype by M.D. WatersMy Profile

  6. Mogsy

    Seriously, I got worried when you told me this was slow going…but I’m glad that didn’t translate to “bad book”. I’m so glad you thought it was amazing, in fact! I picked up this book when it was on sale for Kindle, so I’m definitely looking forward to it now!
    Mogsy recently posted…Book Review: The Lascar’s Dagger by Glenda LarkeMy Profile

    • Tabitha (Pabkins)

      Oh yes the slow going was totally necessary and very very interesting. I guess maybe slow is the wrong word to describe it. I still ate through that first half really quick! I’m excited to hear you’ll read it someday – I think you’ll like this one alot!
      Tabitha (Pabkins) recently posted…Review: Archetype by M.D. WatersMy Profile

    • Tabitha (Pabkins)

      Me too! Lately I’ve just really been in the mood for science fiction. I’m still utterly in love with fantasy and urban fantasy of course but the SF is totally calling to me.

      Did you read The Ophelia Prophecy or Earth Girl? Heck I notice in my recent reviews I have a ton of SF I’ve read just the past 2 months.

      You got any others you’re hot to trot about? I already read and loved the Paradox books also I noticed you’d read those.
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      • Cat @ Addicted 2 Heroines

        Yes, Paradox is amazing. I haven’t finished The Ophelia Prophecy yet and haven’t read Earth Girl. I recently read The Forever Watch and it was pretty good. If you don’t mind a bunch of tech talk about programming and data manipulation, then I would definitely suggest you read it. Parasite by Mira Grant was great on audio. I also loved Genesis by Bernard Beckett but that’s one I picked up a few years ago. The Sirantha Jax series is my favorite, but you’ve probably already read that. That’s all I can think of at the moment 😉
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