My husband and I don't often agree on books, so this month we're attempting our first recommendation-switching read. He's reading Ancillary Justice on my recommendation, and I read this on his. I hope he likes my book as much as I liked his! 
 Reading this gave me two primary emotional reactions - fascination, and dread. There's obviously something very wrong in Area X, and the further the biologist descends into its study, the more the dread grows. But at the same time, neither she nor I could look away. Area X is both malevolent and beautiful, and I loved the setting for every moment it unsettled me. 
 The only thing keeping this from being 5 stars is that I wanted more. This is such a short book - less than 200 pages - and we saw only a small bit of Area X. Things start to go pear-shaped almost as soon as the expedition crosses the border. I would've loved a longer build-up, with more opportunity to explore Area X, before the book descends (and/or ascends) to its muted crescendo.