ARC Review: The Enemy Within

Title: The Enemy Within

Author: Scott Burn

Genre & Age Group: Science fiction, dystopian, young adult

Goodreads Synopsis:

Seventeen-year-old Max has always felt like an outsider. When the agonizing apocalyptic visions begin, he decides suicide is his only escape. He soon finds himself in an institution under the guidance of a therapist who sees something exceptional in him. Just as he begins to leave the hallucinations behind, Max discovers the visions weren’t just in his head.

There are three others who have shared those same thoughts and they’ve been searching for Max. Like him, they are something more than human. Each of them possesses certain abilities, which they’re going to need when a covert military group begins hunting them down.

As the danger escalates, Max doesn’t know which side to trust. But in the end, his choice will decide the fate of both species.

Source: Thanks so much to author Scott Burn for providing me with an e-ARC of this book!

How I Found Out About It: Author request

I was a bit skeptical to read THE ENEMY WITHIN when I received Scott Burn’s request- I do enjoy sci-fi, but I haven’t read too many books within this area of the genre. Figuring that it wouldn’t hurt to give this a try, I nodded my head at the request.

Unfortunately, my gut feeling ended up being right. This book was definitely not the right one for me. As most of you know, action is not my favourite thing in books, thus I think that this book would appeal more to action fans.

Basically, this story revolves around a teenage boy named Max, who has strange visions that keep him up at night. To get rid of these creepy visions, he decides to commit suicide and ends up in an institution where he is valued for the special person that he is. There, he discovers he’s not alone- three other patients share the same condition as him… and it isn’t just inside their brains.

There were four main characters in this book, with Max being the one in the spotlight the most. I found that I wasn’t able to connect to any of the characters very well, nor easily keep track of their doings. The third-person POV with switching perspectives may have been the cause of the problem, as it really confused me!

The plot of this story was full of action, which can be great for some people- just not for me. I often find action to be bland, probably since it is hard for me to relate to. But basically, this book for me was simply a whole jumble of confusion.

The writing was the one thing that kept me reading this book until its end. Scott Burn really has a way with words and descriptions, and I just loved seeing how he decided to structure his words.

As you can probably tell, THE ENEMY WITHIN wasn’t my cup of tea. It was pretty bland and there were very few things about it that amused me, but that doesn’t stop me from recommending it to other types of readers. Hence, I believe that lovers of more action-packed, supernatural stories are going to enjoy this so much more. But if you are like me and tend to gravitate towards fluffy romances, then I’d say to give this one a pass.

*I received a digital ARC of this book from author Scott Burn in exchange for an honest review.*

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