This is a spoiler-free review! The version I am reading is an ARC - any changes made for the final publication are not reflected in this review. This Mortal Coil is available to purchase as of November 7, 2017.
I have been holding onto this ARC for what feels like a lifetime, and have finally made good on my promise to myself to crack it open and see it through. The concept of biohacking DNA is certainly something that has come up. in scientific fields over the course of time and this concept of engineering vaccines through people's DNA in real time was intriguing. The author sets up this story in an intriguing way - we are exposed to this post-apocalyptic / dystopian world where a virus has run rampant through people and those not infected are fighting for their lives to stay alive. Flashing forward we are transported to a more controlled society in the sense that the main character is not actively in danger - or so we thought. Catarina Agatta is suddenly meets Cole, a soldier who has the regretful news that her father, Lachlan, is dead, and he needs her help in order to unlock the vaccine hidden away.
The introduction of Cole into story has the readers curious - who is this guy, where did he come from, and can Cat - and the readers - trust him at his word? He definitely comes across as the "dangerous" option for Cat to go along with as opposed to other romantic interests, as his little soldier qualities appear to be set to keep her safe as she works towards unlocking the vaccine. I am a sucker for when the male lead is basically tasked or in this case, programmed, to protect the female lead and would do anything to keep her safe. Considering they just met, I can understand why Cat was hesitant to trust Cole, but he also seemed to be just as cautious towards her when she would propose doing some less than anticipated work on him when it comes to his panel and genes.
Cat's initial characterization was not keeping me entertained - she was irritating to me and her internal monologue was not something I was immediately drawn towards. I can give her some slack considering she found out some pretty impactful news and is now on this epic run to save millions of people, but there was just something about her that was driving me up a wall. While this is a young adult novel, I feel as though it could have worked better as new adult with some aged up characters to be in their early twenties rather than late teens. Cat's development felt stagnant until the last one third of the book and I was growing tired of her having the same thoughts every chapter.
The plot as a whole was lacking - we see the eventual addition of a love triangle but it seemed to overtake the actual plot of the book once it was introduced until the last few chapters where actual plot devices came back. I wanted to really dive into a dystopian novel and this story was just not cutting it for me even though the summary really had my interest locked in. When the action finally started up, I had hope that the story was turning around and would draw me back in, and it did for awhile, until the love triangle seemed to take center stage once again. The shocking twist towards the end of the book definitely has me intrigued enough into considering continuing on with this series, but it will later rather than sooner. Once again, I did read an ARC version of this book, so if there were any changes from that version to the final version, I may not be aware.
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