I really thought I was going to love this one, but alas it fell sadly short of the mark for me. It sounded so awesome at first glance; a secret scientific research laboratory set against the humid backdrop of the Amazon rainforest, undoubtedly illegal eugenics experimentation and the mysterious origins of an immortal race of super-humans. 
 Yes please, sign me up! 
 I picked this book up expecting a strong science fiction novel and was honestly quite disappointed. There are so many different ways this book could have gone, so many massive ideas that could have been explored with this backdrop to really elevate the story to higher thematic level, so much intriguing potential and so many interesting concepts that could have made this book something amazing. 
 So, naturally, the author went with teen romance, because why not? Sigh. 
 In reality, rather than belonging in the science fiction genre this is a young adult romance novel with a slight science fiction mystery element. If that's what you want, then I think you're golden. If not, I'd probably avoid this one. 
 For me, the sci-fi elements in this book were littered with gaping plot holes and scientific inaccuracies (not to mention the cold and borderline sociopathic representation of the scientific field which had me seeing red at times). I found the overall concept of immortality as presented by Khoury just wildly unbelievable, and unfortunately a lot of the book rides on you being intrigued by the way this plays out (but of course, this is going to differ depending on your tastes so I think some readers will really enjoy this aspect). Personally I just couldn't buy into it. Not to mention, there honestly seemed to me to be no real reason for the scientists involved to WANT to be part of this research. It's not going to benefit them in any way (after all, they personally will never achieve immortality), it's not going to benefit society in any discernible way, it's not even going to make them craploads of money... so why are they so invested in it? I just didn't get it. 
 I also felt like the mystery elements of the story line, upon which all of the tension in the plot rides, takes a back seat to the romance. I really struggled with the intense instalove in this book, which felt so over the top ridiculous that I couldn't stop rolling my eyes. Lust does NOT equal love and I'm so sick of this trope in young adult. Literally, I'm not even kidding, the protagonist had known her male love interest for LESS THAN A WEEK and they were already declaring their never ending love for each other and claiming that life was not worth living without the other. Seriously? Are you kidding me? I get that Pia is very sheltered, but just no. No. 
 Pia herself is also a frustrating main character. For an immortal human with enhanced physical attributes and intelligence she is incredibly bland, a surprisingly passive and naive individual focused almost exclusively on romance rather than the bigger, more relevant, issues at hand. I find it hard to believe that she so willingly accepted her own captivity for so long, content never to question her world and the actions of the people around her. I found her really difficult to sympathise with and she just wasn't relatable to me. 
 I almost marked this as a DNF at the halfway mark but made it to the end in the hopes of a somewhat satisfying conclusion. Unfortunately for me this was just not a win on any level, although the actual quality of the writing was fairly solid.