Such a unique story!! If the synopsis interested you at all you’ll be hooked like I was!! It was definitely different & eye opening & my only real complaint is I would have loved more time in the library since that’s what really drew my interest to the book. I’ve already recommended this one far and wide!!

1.5 stars.

This was one of those books where it is populated with females only because all men became extinct due to a virus buuuuuut the main character, Athena, wants to falls in love with a man. She wants to be embraces by a "strong muscular and hairy man"! *eye roll*
I honestly thought it would be more intricate and all but sadly it wasn't and I didn't enjoy it.

So somehow, Athena gets entangled in this heist that stole the only male DNA with a nonsense reasoning to kick the story going and it just went downhill from there for me. Secrets are thrown here and there in the end which saved the book a bit for me but not so much.

The world building and technology was very interesting and I loved every news chapter but I disliked everything else really, especially Athena and her decisions. The only character I loved dies which made me enjoy the book less. The ending was open-ended and I didn't really care whichever choice she makes because it's easy to imagine how things were going to be in either route.

Overall, if it wasn't for the audiobook, I think I would have hated the book. The narrator was amazing and I loved her voice. The sypnosis actually summarizes the entire book which thinking about that made me feel like I wasted my time. I hate when books spoil the entire thing like that.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with the digital copy for an honest review.

Athena's Choice seems like a very interesting idea, but it failed to grab me as I hoped it would. The idea of a world in which men no longer exists is intriguing, with a wealth of possibilities. However, the author's execution of such a world failed to excite my interest. Others may disagree, and certainly it will be someone else's 'cup of tea', but it just wasn't mine.

I listened to this one on audiobook but had to give up on it because it really just didn't hold my interest. I didn't want to listen to the rest of it so didn't. It was a really intriguing idea and could have been done really well but I've recently read Eve of Man and in comparison to that book, this one really flopped. The parts of the book I read just felt off and I'm not entirely sure why but I'll do my best to explain it.

The writing was often clunky and there was a lot of infodumping disguised as reports and articles. The characters in this book were also really one dimensional and completely unrelatable.

The other thing that really bothered me was that the book was entirely focussed on men being evil and that women are the savours of Earth. Now normally this would be an interesting take on the future but this just seemed off. The women in the book that wanted men in their lives were portrayed as crazy and critized heavily. It seemed a little to close to a male fantasy of lesbian relationships without anything actually being explicitly said.

This doesn't quite cover my issues with the book but I'm also not sure what else I can say apart from it just felt wrong.

This had such a promising start and was based on this new world set in the future, in which only women survived.
It was ok - great in parts and meh in others.
Only really worth a read if you are really into science fiction.

Great narrator that really made this audio book flow for me! With a virus that wiped away men before her time Athena wonders what it would be like if men were around life would be very different. In this book based in the future this teen finds courage and hidden secrets that she must somehow make right. Though it was a slow build it did not disappoint! Thank you NetGalley for the chance to listen to this audio book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Athena's Choice is to me the epitome of science fiction, a genre I'm not always as fond of. While I enjoyed the story and the conversation regarding genetic modifications and that as a means to control society, components were harder for me to accept. Alex Ford does a wonderful job reading the narrating the title and I certainly don't regret having listened, I would only recommend this title to the hardest of hardcore scifi readers (a few of which I have sent it along to).

The year is 2099 – 50 years after a pandemic wiped the male species from the face of the earth, leaving women alone to rule their futuristic paradise. Crime has been eradicated, peace reigns supreme and digital algorithms create perfection for everyone. You can carefully curate your appearance, recall memories instantly and worldwide knowledge is accessible everywhere. But even within this Utopian paradise – do they really have it all? According to Athena and her fellow ‘Lonely Hearts’ – no, they miss men; physically, sexually and mentally. This longing for the male form brings about a campaign to bring men back… although not everyone agrees.

I loved the premise of this story and was really excited when I first started listening to this futuristic based audiobook but it fell flat for me extremely fast. The introduction to Athena and the world around her held some really interesting concepts – I loved the way Adam Boostrom set the scene and acclimated you into the world before diving into the action. But moving throughout the narrative I just found myself bored and uninterested. The writing style for me was quite childish – almost feeling like a story dreamt up and executed by a school child rather than an accomplished author. Each encounter felt almost cartoonish and silly, as well as quite repetitive at times. I even had to check I hadn’t accidentally downloaded a young adult novel, as I felt this fell more into a category for a teenager or someone slightly newer to sci-fi/futuristic concepts. As the book dragged on I felt myself switching off more & more – but wanted to power through in the hope of an exciting ending – but unfortunately was disappointed there also. There was no resolution; it felt so rushed and so uninspiring that it left me feeling even more frustrated that I’d stuck it out!

I wish I had more positive things to say about Alex Ford – the narrator, but I think this added to my overall frustration with trying to get into this book! I found the narration really annoying, the intonation grated on me; each word being delivered with zero emotion, passion or excitement. At first I thought the robotic element to the narration was down to it being a sci-fi book, but I slowly realised that each character had near enough the same voices, which made it near impossible to enjoy. The story was definitely stronger than the narration, so I did wonder quite frequently whether I’d have enjoyed this book more if I had just read it as opposed to listening to it – I definitely would try and avoid listening to this narrator in the future unfortunately.

Overall, this book clearly wasn’t for me – I came in wanting to enter into a ‘Black Mirror’ style world, but felt like I’d landed in an episode of ‘Scooby Doo’ instead. I still think the premise was a really unique idea, so although this book wasn’t for me – it was at least something different to anything else I’ve read previously.

Thanks to NetGalley and ThinkerBooks for my advanced reader copy! 💕

This was a great audio, one that I enjoyed listening to but an odd subject. Or maybe, not an odd subject but it felt odd how it was told. But the story did hold my attention and I did enjoy it.

I DNF'd this title. I could not get into the story, and I wish I had been able to. The audiobook narration was done well, though, and I wouldn't be opposed to listening to another book they've read.

In a dystopian future where all the men are gone, women lead with peace and prosperity, eradicating poverty and hunger. A generation previous, a deadly virus was released with the intention of only killing the 'bad men' (this is flawed already, as who can say where the bad/good line is - criminals? politicians?) and instead it killed them all.⁠
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Opinions are divided on whether men should be revived, given all the damage, violence and ego they left in their wake. The new society is successful, peaceful and scientific - they've even cracked the key to happiness through algorithms. ⁠
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With twists and turns surrounding the theft of a key to bringing men back, it was engaging, sure. But the world the author created, specifically, it's technology, was the most interesting part of it. The characters, all female, felt like stereotypes given names. ⁠
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The Afterword made all my simmering issues make sense. The author asks you: would you bring men back, knowing all the destruction, war and violence they inflict upon the world? Would you restore balance to humanity?⁠
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It's an interesting query and one that doesn't really have an answer. Ultimately, I think that power has the potential to corrupt us, no matter your gender. ⁠
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But in the context of the story, what I think the author was getting at is that men will always have a streak of violence, an instinct to be power-hungry and egotistical. It acted like it is an unchangeable fact of humanity that we can't change, and shouldn't try to. I don't believe in this statement AT ALL, it's so defeatist & insulting. ⁠
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It's like he sat down to write what he believed was a feminist's utopia, all the men gone, but most still yearning for masculine arms to hold them at night. The overall message seemed to be "Yes, men can be bad, but that's the way they are, don't blame them for it. C'est la vie" with a shrug of the shoulders. ⁠

This book takes place in an apocalyptic world in which men no longer exist because a virus of their own making killed them all. Now the world is inhabited only by women and they are trying to find a cure for the virus. I loved the narrator of the audiobook but the writing was a bit slow for me. I love action packed dystopian books so I didn't enjoy the book as much as I hoped, but if you love an enjoyable dystopian novel that makes you think, I would recomend it!

I enjoyed the narrator of the book. A bit slow but I do like to listen at higher speeds. The story was okay but it was strange as it was a male author writing about an all female world. All around decent story.

Post-apocalyptic/dystopian novels are my jam and this one was a fun read. The only reason I can't give this book 5 stars is the fact that it was sometimes a bit hard to jump from one timeline to the next. There was a lot of "flashback" info and sometimes the switch was so fast that I didn't quite get if we were still in the past or back in the present. Overall, Adam Boostrom did a great job!

Post-apocalyptic/dystopian novels are my jam and this one was a fun read. The only reason I can't give this book 5 stars is the fact that it was sometimes a bit hard to jump from one timeline to the next. There was a lot of "flashback" info and sometimes the switch was so fast that I didn't quite get if we were still in the past or back in the present. Overall, Adam Boostrom did a great job!

I was a bit torn about this book. The author paints a picture of a utopian future where men don't exist. And then he starts to show the kinks in the armor. All of that was fine. Very dystopian. But the whole time I'm listening to the audio I keep wondering what the women who are hetero do about romance? Do they just spend their lives lonely? I mean, I'll grant that a great majority of the world's ills are led by the male gender, but we are who we are. We love who we love. If you are attracted to a particular gender you should be allowed to pursue it with consent from the other party. Anyway, I felt bad for the hetero girls in this book. But that is one of the marks of a well written and thought provoking book, isn't it? To give us subjects to think about.

What an interesting premise. (And beautiful cover) I don't typically pick up books by authors completely new to me unless they come highly recommended by other readers I know and enjoy, so this was a big leap for me. And I'm not entirely sure it paid off. I don't know exactly how I feel now that the book is over....I mean, I hated the ending, but I'll get to that in a bit.

The book takes place in a world where men have basically gone extinct because of a virus, and now the world of women are trying to find the vaccine. I sort of expected the book to take a few turns that I'm very glad it didn't. But of course, there was some man-bashing, feminist crap included (even though it's written by a man, hmm) but I can overlook that. I mean of course I expect some of that.

The writing wasn't all bad, although it was a little slow for me. I enjoy a faster paced dystopian book, with a bit more action. I knew pretty early on it wouldn't be that way, so maybe that's why I didn't enjoy it as much. But also it could have been because we are currently in our own world crisis, also looking to whether or not to use a vaccine.....that could be why I didn't connect with the book so much.

But the ending....that ending was really a non-ending. This book--like many dystopian books--really made me think. What would I do were I in the position of our character--determining whether or not to use the vaccine? That's what I do as a reader with any character. But to title the book "Athena's Choice" and then not give us the promise that the entire book--and title--gives. Oh dear me. That leaves a bad taste for me. I'm all about leaving ending somewhat ambiguous for the reading, but this one leaves the entire climax and resolution out! That just makes for an incomplete and troubling end.

With thanks to Netgalley for an audio arc of Athena’s Choice by Adam Boostrom all opinions expressed here are my own.

While the blurb sounded fascinating with a virus having killed off all men and the scientists working on bringing them back, unfortunately this book fell flat for me. Overall I was left very confused.

A two star read for me.

I picked this book up because it had a similar premise to something I had kind of wanted to write a couple of years ago (and then never got around to, because plot bunnies are plentiful but time is not).

Athena Vosh lives in a world where men have been basically extinct for about 50 years. There was a virus that only hit the male chromosomes. That's kind of ancient history, except that there are people now who are trying to bring men back with a vaccine.

The way that Athena comes into this is through a wildly intelligent computer who says that she is the key to unlocking the mystery of who ended up stealing this vaccine so it couldn't be used.

I found this really interestingly written. Mainly, because it was written by a man. There were some parts in here that could have come across as really man hating and were kind of uncomfortable to read. However, they would have been *outright* uncomfortable to read had it been a woman who wrote this.

Secondly, I found it interesting that, although women were shown to have sexual relationships with each other, there wasn't a romantic relationship between women to be seen. Instead, the focus was mainly on those women who were Lonely Hearts; that is, straight women who have no one to love romantically now that men are no longer in the world.

This story was told alternately between Athena's point of view and some political or news item from the last 50 years in every chapter. All the same, the pacing didn't suffer for that, and we had a view of a much wider world than we would have been given if it all came from one girl's point of view alone.

This was such an interesting book. Men were supposed to be stopped from a virus, but it ends up killing all men. Fast forward to the beginning of the story, it’s 2099 and Athena is in many ways a typical teenager, with a believably updated technical life. Robots take care of tasks and read her moods. Assistance is given by machines. It’s believable that this would be the case.

Athena starts to have dreams. Suddenly, she is called in and at first is thought to be working on a genome to bring men back into the world. She is clearly not, but her dreams are not random. Much of the future lies with her. Some women think life is better without men and some wish that men would renter the world.

So, this was quite a creative novel. It is Sci-Fi at it’s best, different and well thought out story line. Addresses questions of gender and living together or not, but not in a prechy way. I am not a huge fan of Science Fiction, yet I really liked this book. It makes you think about the implications if 1/2 the population was to be gone. Then, if you could change that, would you and why.

Excellent Read and recommend it to anyone who wants read an enjoyable futuristic book that really makes you think.

Thanks you NetGalley for an advance release copy of this novel. I thoroughly enjoyed it.