Book Review: A Thousand Pieces of You

Synopsis:

Cloud Atlas meets Orphan Black in this epic dimension-bending trilogy by New York Times bestselling author Claudia Gray about a girl who must chase her father's killer through multiple dimensions. Marguerite Caine's physicist parents are known for their groundbreaking achievements. Their most astonishing invention, called the Firebird, allows users to jump into multiple universes—and promises to revolutionize science forever. But then Marguerite's father is murdered, and the killer—her parent's handsome, enigmatic assistant Paul—escapes into another dimension before the law can touch him.Marguerite refuses to let the man who destroyed her family go free. So she races after Paul through different universes, always leaping into another version of herself. But she also meets alternate versions of the people she knows—including Paul, whose life entangles with hers in increasingly familiar ways. Before long she begins to question Paul's guilt—as well as her own heart. And soon she discovers the truth behind her father's death is far more sinister than she expected.A Thousand Pieces of You, the first book in the Firebird trilogy, explores an amazingly intricate multiverse where fate is unavoidable, the truth elusive, and love the greatest mystery of all.

 
I have been obsessed with the cover of this book ever since the cover reveal. I think it’s just absolutely striking and beautiful, and I love it SO MUCH. So I had incredibly high expectations for this book.

Was this book creative, entertaining, romantic, action-packed, and engaging?

Was this book everything I could have ever hoped and dreamed for?

The beginning of this book jumps right in, grabbing the reader and really not letting go for a good while. I was immediately intrigued by the sci-fi elements and dimensional travel. Our main heroine, Marguerite, is the artsy daughter of two genius physicists, who have cracked the code to traveling through different dimensions. But Paul, one of their assistants is accused of murdering Marguerite’s father, and then jumps to a different dimension. Marguerite and Theo do the only responsible thing: they jump after him.

What ensues if a fascinating journey through worlds that are similar yet completely unlike our own. Marguerite gets to see her life as it could have been, one in a futuristic London, another as the daughter of a Russian Tsar, among others. I loved this part of the book; reading the same character in such wildly different settings was really fun and one of my favorite things about Sci-Fi novels.

There was a bit of a love triangle, though it heavily favored a specific side, so it was Ramblings on Readings approved. I’m interested to see how this progresses as the series goes on; hopefully the triangle bit is behind us now, and we can focus on Marguerite and her main man.

Somewhere in the middle, this book slowed down for me, but I wouldn’t say I got bored. It picked up again a few chapters later; most of this time was spent on the romantic relationship, so it wasn’t bad or anything, it just wasn’t as engaging as the sci-fi stuff was (unusual for me, I know, since I’m such a romantic usually). It also took place in a less technologically advanced time period, and the plot didn’t move forward much, which is probably what caused my lessened interest.

In the end, I really enjoyed this romp through time and space; Claudia Gray has a lovely writing style, and plenty of interesting ideas and settings to keep the reader engaged and coming back for more.