Project Pandora by Aden Polydoros
Series: Assassin Fall #1
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Publication Date: August 1, 2017
Date Read: August 11, 2017
Length: 372 pages
Source: Publisher
★★★☆☆
Tyler Bennett trusts no one. Just another foster kid bounced from home to home, he’s learned that lesson the hard way. Cue world’s tiniest violin. But when strange things start happening—waking up with bloody knuckles and no memory of the night before or the burner phone he can’t let out of his sight— Tyler starts to wonder if he can even trust himself.
Even stranger, the girl he’s falling for has a burner phone just like his. Finding out what’s really happening only leads to more questions…questions that could get them both killed. It’s not like someone’s kidnapping teens lost in the system and brainwashing them to be assassins or anything, right? And what happens to rogue assets who defy control?
In a race against the clock, they’ll have to uncover the truth behind Project Pandora and take it down—before they’re reactivated. Good thing the program spent millions training them to kick ass..
I liked this book. I decided to read this book because I really liked the premise of the story. While there were parts of the book that were really exciting, this was never a book that was hard for me to put down. I did want to see how everything would work out but I just didn’t feel a rush to get there. In the end I thought that it was a pretty good story.
There were some things that I really liked about this book. I thought that the overall concept was very exciting. Teenage assassins? Yes, please! The backstory about how this organization started and how everything worked were some of my favorite parts of the book along with some of the sections of the book when the agents were on the job. I liked those parts of the book enough that I really wish that there had been more of them. I thought that the action scenes in the book were very exciting and really enjoyed all of them.
There were also some things about the book that I didn’t like quite as much. I think that there were probably too many points of view in this book. Some of the points of view were really quite similar. I don’t think that having four different points of view helped this book at all. I really preferred the parts of the story that gave us Hades point of view a lot more than any of the others. I think that it really slowed the book down to have so many different points of view. I had a few other issues with motivation and coincidences.
I would recommend this book to anyone who thinks the concept sounds interesting. This was an exciting story with quite a few interesting twists. I am a bit on the fence on whether I will continue this series or not at this point but I am definitely open to reading more of Aden Polydoros work in the future.
I received a review copy of this book from Entangled Teen.
About the AuthorAden Polydoros grew up in Long Grove, Illinois, and now lives in Arizona. He is a writer of young adult fiction. When he isn’t writing, he enjoys reading and going on hikes in the mountains. Aden Polydoros is 2015 Gold Medalist in the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards and has published two short stories in Best Arizona Teen Writing of 2015.
Hmmm, teenage assassins, that sounds pretty kickbutt. I'd not heard of this book before! I love exciting thrillers. I'm not sure about all of those POVs though. I'm glad you enjoyed the book overall, Carole!
Have a lovely week. =)
Alyssa @ The Eater of Books!
I don't mind a lot of different POVs if they have something unique to say. These were all too similar to really sound any different. It was a fun read.
Teenage assassins seems to be a thing these days
I have read about teenage assassins before so you may be right.
I do think the premise sounds interesting. Multiple points of view can be tricky, I think,and don't always work the way an author hopes.
I think these were just too similar for it to be effective.
It sounds like this was a good read, but it wasn't too stunning so that you could easily if you wanted to. I think it seems cool but not one for me…
It was a good story but it lacked that hook that would keep me reading no matter what.
Intriguing concept. The multiple POVs can be a problem if not properly done. I am sorry to hear it did not live up to your expectations.
I did like the book even if I didn't fall in love with it.
Interesting! I would be curious to see what you think of the sequel
Right now, I am still deciding if I would read more of this series.
I'm kind of on the fence with this one, I saw another review that kinda mentioned the same things, so I may get it but just not next? It does sound pretty good but yeah maybe too many POV's. Thanks for the review!
I don't really have a problem with multiple POVs if they all have something different to say. These were just too similar. I would say to give it a try.
I can see why you grabbed it. Bummer about the multiple povs. Sometimes if there are too many I cannot connect. Great review Carole!
I still enjoyed it and thought it was exciting. It did have a great premise.
Hmmm sounds like an interesting premise. And like one that would work during the holidays for me. I like ones then that I can put down easily when I need to get on other stuff 🙂
I found it pretty easy to take a break at all of the chapter breaks so this might work well for you.
Teenage assassin? This reminds me of Rurouni Kenshin hehe. Sounds wonderful Carole 🙂
It is an exciting read!
Awesome review, Carole. Yes, the premise was great. I don't usually enjoy many POVs in a story too. It's hard for me to connect with the characters. So I get why you didn't enjoy this book as much.
Thanks for sharing. 🙂
It was still a good read even with so many similar POVs.
Sorry you didn't enjoy this as much as you'd hoped. I do hate when too many unnecessary POVs are tossed into a book.
Great review. 🙂
I did enjoy the story but thought that some of the POVs weren't needed.
I love the idea of teenage assassins, but I'm extremely picky about YA. Not sure that this will be the right YA assassin novel for me. The things that bothered you would probably bother me as well. Great and honest review.
Melanie @ Hot Listens & Rabid Reads
Thanks, Melanie! I did enjoy the overall premise of the story but yeah, it wasn't perfect.
I've read books like that, ones that were enjoyable and well-written, but not really *gripping*. And I feel like a lot of books have unnecessary POVs :-/ But I'm glad you at least liked the action scenes and the premise and some of the things in the book!
Too many POVs can slow things down. This was just missing that something extra I guess.