Not sure if I would rate this 3.5 or 4 stars so I'll round up. I didn't go into it with high expectations, so what I got was a pleasant surprise. The cover is pretty and I think I assumed it would be fluffier than it actually is. 
 This is a retelling of Jane Austen's Persuasion set in a dystopian time frame. The only world any of the characters are aware of are their two islands, that sound a lot like New Zealand to me (mountains, a seafaring history, and glow worm caves). Centuries before, certain segments of humanity began to experiment with genetic enhancement that the human body ultimately did not take to well -the science here is pretty fuzzy and glossed over so don't feel too attached to the'why and how' of it all. 
 The end result being that those who did not take part remained fine, healthy, and developed a fanatical belief that what happened was punishment for playing the part of god. Society is split between healthy humans and those termed the 'Reduced' who for the most part cannot speak and function in a limited capacity. Time goes on and some of the children of the reduced have begun to be born healthy and high functioning. Kai, our stand in for Austen's Wentworth, is a post-reduction human who questions the validity of what society had come to believe of the Reduced, as many more will come to do over the course of the story. 
 While some retellings can be fairly loose, I think even if you had not been told this was inspired by Persuasion you'd be hard pressed to miss the fact as long you'd read the original. It follows much closer than I'd have guessed while feeling fresh via the simultaneously downtrodden yet futuristic feel. 
 I liked the main character Elliot a lot. She was hard working, tenacious, and felt a huge responsibility and love for the people on her estate. 
 Kai holds much of himself and his emotions back as a character, as the reader I really didn't get to know more about him then Elliot does. His bitterness is understandable even if his willingness to assume the worst of his former friend is not. This was much in the same vein as the original Captain Wentworth, but I think his predecessor managed to show more humor and charm earlier in the story than Kai does. Kai however has a darker back story. 
 Ultimately I thought this was a fun read. If you are a fan of dystopia, second-chance love stories, or Persuasion it's worth a try.