Book Review: Progeny by Tosca Lee

Title: Progeny

Author: Tosca Lee

Publisher: Howard Books

Pages: 336

Rating: 5/5 stars

This is a spoiler free review. I received a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Before you read this review, I just want to say that the best way you can go into this book is without any expectations, because that is what I did and I was blown away.

Content Warnings: murder, descriptions of torture

Summary

Emily Jacobs is living in a small cabin on a lake in Maine. She has just undergone a procedure that erased all of her previous memories and she is trying to figure out how to navigate this new life. Suddenly, she encounters two people who tell her two different stories and are pulling her in two different directions, both saying that they are trying to protect her. This sets her on a journey to discover who she really is and who she was trying to protect by erasing her memory. She meets people who have known her for her entire life and she can’t remember their name. She is taken to an underground world where people are living without actually living. She must protect the people she loves while figuring out who she should trust to protect a whole world of people.

Review

This is one of the most original and complex stories that I have ever read. I had trouble summarizing it because so much happens, and I am glad I knew none of it when I started reading.  I was intrigued by the very first chapter. The action and drama started on the first page and did not end until the cliffhanger on the last page. This story has roots in the true story of Elizabeth Bathory, who was suspected of killing hundreds of people. I walked into this novel thinking I was getting historical fiction and I was wrong, in the best way possible. Although the story stems from history, there is so much more to it.

This was an incredibly fast read! The end of every chapter made me need more, and I ended up turning the page over and over again. There were many late nights when I knew I should be going to sleep but I stayed up reading by the light of my e-reader. This book definitely does not fit into a genre. I know a lot of authors and publishers will say this but it is true for this one. This story is a breed of its own. It is a fantasy, science-fiction, historical fiction, thriller, etc., and there is even some (well done) romance thrown in.

This story was completely unexpected, and that was my favorite thing about it. It created a mystery around the characters and situations and I was never sure who was good or evil or somewhere in between. The strong world-building and characterization lent itself to the complicated storyline. Whenever I was reading, I was completely immersed in the story, like I was sitting in the back seat of the car, searching for answers alongside the characters.

The author has woven together such an intricate and beautifully crafted story. I was entranced with every detail of the world, which had so many unexpected layers. It was like going on a life-threatening treasure hunt. This book was a journey for both the characters and the readers, from the first page to the last. I am looking forward to reading the second book in the duology, Firstborn, to see how this story concludes. This will definitely be a book that I reread over and over again.

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