Review: Revived by Cat Patrick
Revived by Cat Patrick
As a little girl, Daisy Appleby was killed in a school bus crash. Moments after the accident, she was brought back to life.
A secret government agency has developed a drug called Revive that can bring people back from the dead, and Daisy Appleby, a test subject, has been Revived five times in fifteen years. Daisy takes extraordinary risks, knowing that she can beat death, but each new death also means a new name, a new city, and a new life. When she meets Matt McKean, Daisy begins to question the moral implications of Revive, and as she discovers the agency’s true goals, she realizes she’s at the center of something much larger—and more sinister—than she ever imagined.
A secret government agency has developed a drug called Revive that can bring people back from the dead, and Daisy Appleby, a test subject, has been Revived five times in fifteen years. Daisy takes extraordinary risks, knowing that she can beat death, but each new death also means a new name, a new city, and a new life. When she meets Matt McKean, Daisy begins to question the moral implications of Revive, and as she discovers the agency’s true goals, she realizes she’s at the center of something much larger—and more sinister—than she ever imagined.
Daisy's life has been nothing but normal since she died in a bus crash as a small child. She and several others on that fatal bus were brought back to live by a new secret drug called Revive. Since then, she's lived her life on a razor's edge knowing that she can be brought back each time, starting over in a new city with a new name. In fact in her fifteen years of life, she's been revived five times. However, everything changes after her fifth revival lands her in Omaha and she meets the McKean siblings who cause her to start to question everything she has ever known. Life isn't meant to be taken for granted, and she will quickly learn the harsh truths of life and death.
By far the best thing about Revived was the incredible character driven story. As I read mostly paranormal novels, the paranormal aspects and other outside forces typically hold most of the attention. However, in Revived, the reverse is true as the outside elements took a back seat to the characters and their story. There are so many different incredible dynamics in Revived. The bond between Daisy and Mason is quite profound as even though he is her handler he also is her father figure. There is this mutual respect and admiration between them that is as strong as any blood ties could have given them. Then you have Megan who isn't your typical character in that she is transgender, and I really loved her addition to the story. Of course, I can't forget about Aubrey and Matt, two siblings that taught Daisy so much about herself, love, and life itself.
Revived had an interesting premise, but one that required some suspension of disbelief. I know that we are talking about a drug that brings people back to life, so that should be somewhat expected. However, the whole idea that this type of super drug would have been handled the way it was rather than extremely locked down was almost too far of a stretch. Seriously, do you really think our government or military would let a drug that could bring people back from the dead be handled by the FDA? I guess I was expecting a whole lot more control, and the rather lax circumstances controlling the revived members of the program was baffling. I mean yes, they swore to never reveal their secrets, but there never seemed to be any threat if they did. Even if you put all that aside, the whole "God" thing about the head of the department was quite ridiculous, and frankly turned me off a good deal.
Unfortunately, in the end, Revived was only a mediocre read for me, which really is a shame because there was a whole lot of potential behind it. The concept was intriguing and I loved the characters. Granted, I had to decide to overlook some glaring realism issues early on, but the good still outweighed the bad, especially since it was a very character driven story. However, the ending left me extremely unsatisfied, as it seemed like there was no point to the book. Perhaps I'm being too harsh, but when I finish a stand alone book, I expect to feel a sense of satisfaction or completion. I just wanted more out of Revived than what was given. So, in the end I'd still probably recommend Revived if for nothing but the incredible character driven story.
(Received a copy from the publisher)
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