[Review] The Similars - Rebecca Hanover

Summary: The Similars are all anyone can talk about at the elite Darkwood Academy. Who are these six clones? What are the odds that all of them would be Darkwood students? Who is the madman who broke the law to create them? Emma couldn't care less. Her best friend, Oliver, died over the summer and all she can think about is how to get through her junior year without him. Then she comes face-to-heartbreaking-face with Levi—Oliver's exact DNA replica and one of the Similars.

Emma wants nothing to do with the Similars, but she keeps getting pulled deeper and deeper into their clique, uncovering dark truths about the clones and her prestigious school along the way. But no one can be trusted…not even the boy she is falling for who has Oliver's face.  (Pub Date: Jan 1, 2019)

Honest review based on an ARC provided by Edelweiss. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.

I guess this is my first 2019 release!

Emma is going through a dark patch when the whole Similars thing surface. They're a group of clones created without authorization many years ago and who will now start to study in her boarding school, right with their originals. One of them is Oliver's, her best friend, and to make things worse, Oliver has just committed suicide and Emma is far from well. But the Similars isn't the only weird thing going at her school and it could lead Emma to understand what pushed Oliver toward suicide.

Although there is some romance, this book is more of a thriller with some elements of dystopia. Disclaimer? I'm not into dystopian fiction and wouldn't have picked up the book had I noticed it. On the other hand, it's not that strong an element in the story so far. And yes, this is the first in a series, although I felt satisfied enough with the ending I could just never read the rest—but I will, if given the chance.

While the cloning discussion was nice and well put, I think the book just started very well. It's not that the story was bad but the development turned out too superficial. And this made the whole climax as well as the great revelations sound silly. It's a pity because if I told you the summary of everything that happens you'd agree it was a good story. Then you read and it falls flat. It could be that Hanover didn't know this would become a series until the very end, so she had to rush or it would be too long for YA or maybe just inexperience? She does write well, her characters are interesting and considering the number of characters (and Similars) she had to present, she did a hell of a good job in helping us keep track of them. That's another reason I want to read #2, she'll probably be more prepared and take her time.

Now the plot is surely interesting, well thought of and makes you wonder a lot. I recommend to those who won't mind a not-so-good execution.

Rating: 3 out of 5.