Mind-Blown!

Eila is in  the running to represent a global marketing campaign for a new virtual reality skinsuit. But now a fierce battle is raging for control of her mind.
Secrets and deceptions abound. Activists reveal a murderous plot. Then someone fills her head with a stranger's thoughts.
Who are Eila's true allies? And how far will she go to protect innocent lives?

Mindcull by K.H Canobi

Hello Everybody and welcome back! The holidays are over and I spent a lot of time reading! Specifically, rereading many series I like (Fablehaven, The Threshold Series etc, I might tell you the details later 😁), but I did enjoy one new book!
Mindcull is by an awesome new Aussie author I know and this is her first book! It's not my typical genre but by the end I was pumped up and ready for more!
Right from the start I knew that it was really well written, I could see it in each sentence.
Eila is a street-smart, conscientious and considerate girl who gets dragged into a world of lies and ulterior motives when she is shortlisted for an international competition involving VR. I enjoyed hearing her realistic voice and the plot twists excited and surprised me much more than I expected! The themes of reality vs fantasy, truth vs deception and right vs wrong (plus all the grey in between!) were explored in a really refreshing way.
The way relationships were characterised, in particular Eila's guardian Malcom and her friend Mei, were exceptional. From scavenging popcorn and cookies to just talking to each other, Mei was very genuine and true to how a real friend is. Although it was implied that Eila was basically an orphan, Malcom was not your typical guardian in that he didn't hate her neither did he not care as in many YA orphan tropes. Malcom cared about the stuff any reasonable parent cares about when their kid is forced to go overseas alone for a competition! I cannot express my relief at the real characters and real relationships that I see in Mindcull, so different from a lot of other works in the YA genre. Speaking of refreshing differences, I loved the wholesome lack of swearing and Insta-love!
The only thing I wasn't sure about (apart from how to pronounce Eila's name 😜) was just personal preference. The distopic undertones made it hard for me to engage at the beginning but by then end I was still completely sold! Like I said, this isn't the sort of thing I'd normally pick up in the bookstore, but I'm glad I got to read it through a friend's generosity!
Wrapping up, I reckon because of the themes I'd recommend it for 12+, but otherwise an awesome read! Like I said, no swearing (unless you count 'crap'...I don't), and no sexual content. I really enjoyed this one and was left with a great after-book feeling! All in all I'll give five stars to a great debut novel from a great Aussie author! I'm looking forward to reading more of her work (maybe a sequel...wink wink nudge nudge 😉)!
StoryGirl

Seriously guys, it can be tough starting out as an author and I really recommend you check out K.H Canobi's website:(https://www.khcanobi.com/)
​or the book (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44675227-mindcull?from_search=true).
If you do, don't forget to rate or review it!