Title: Cleansing Rain
Author: Holly Ash
Genre: Science Fiction, Eco-Terrorism Thriller
Publisher: Cabin In the Woods
Format: e-Arc
ISBN: 9781732574076
Summary: Earth is dying and the only way to save it is to eliminate its biggest threat.
All Zoe Antos wanted was to make it home from work in time for date night with her fiancé Cole Wilborn, something her research had been preventing a lot recently. After managing to get out the door on time, all hope of making it home is lost when she is kidnapped by a man trying to steal files from her lab.
Zoe is thrown into a world of conspiracy theories as her kidnappers reveal that they are trying to stop The Arrow Equilibrium, a powerful eco-terrorism group Zoe has never heard of, from going through with their plan to restore balance to the environment. It doesn’t sound too bad until she realizes the only way to have a shot at doing that would be to eliminate the human factor from the scales. Zoe almost starts to believe them, until it’s revealed that her kidnappers believe the Wilborn family is the behind The Arrows, something she knows can’t be true.
Once rescued, Zoe starts to notice irregularities with her future father-in-law that makes her question if her kidnappers might have been right. Zoe must decide who to trust, her fiancé’s family or her kidnappers. Her life, and the fate of humanity, could depend on her making the right choice.
Content warnings : kidnapping, gun violence, genocide
I received an ARC from the author, Holly Ash, in exchange for a review. This kindness does not affect my opinions of this book, which are wholly my own.
My Review
Narrative style: third person | Perspective(s): dual (Zoe and Cole ) |
Tags: Dying Earth, Eco Terrorism, Sci-fi Thriller
First Impressions
When I saw Cleansing Rain by Holly Ash was a science fiction eco-thriller centered around a dying earth plot, I had to read it. I’ve always been a sucker for these type of high-tension, high stakes stories, and I loved the premise of a few underdogs going up against eco-terrorists in power. And though I’d never read anything by Ash before, I was ecstatic to receive an ARC and excited to delve into this new world.
What I Loved About
CLEANSING RAIN
Zoe Antos was everything I could ask for in a well-fleshed out main character: she’s an intelligent scientist, passionate about saving the oceans from human plastic waste. She’s also independent, capable, and practical. I love how she’s mindful of the kind of lifestyle she wants, and doesn’t let others railroad her into decisions. It makes her the best main character in this story because she cares about the state of the world. She’s driven to lessen the impact of humans on the planet, and, as a result, I felt myself rooting for her cause.
I also love the dynamic between her and Cole. They’re different personalities, with Cole being the more romantic and idealistic of the two. He is not a macho alpha dude, but that was actually a great thing! It gave Zoe the space to be the go-getter, a doer with a cause, but she always had Cole there to ground her, to slow her down and get her to appreciate the journey, not just the destination. And the fact that they’ve been together for over 10 years is reflected in how comfortable they are with each other. It also makes Zoe’s kidnapping near the beginning of the story all the more emotionally intense, and I found myself gripped by the story at that point.
Ian, Iris, and Blake were unexpectedly lovable side-characters. Despite kidnapping Zoe and holding her at gun point, their scenes swung between intense anxiety and casual dark humor. They’re criminals, of course, but they’re criminals with a noble cause, and I absolutely loved this about them. They’ve got balls and they’re out for blood, determined to stop the eco-terrorists trying to mass murder humans to restore balance. Their roles were kind of ironic, too, when you realize who is behind it all.
Another element of Cleansing Rain that was riveting was the environmental science aspect. The plot centered around the earth slowly dying due to human pollution, particularly to our impact on the oceans. And as many of us already know, that’s a real devastating environmental issue in our own world. I think the book does a good job at bringing the reader’s attention to this environmental issue without shoving it down our throats or coming off preachy. I found myself fully engaged, wanting to know the specifics of what Zoe was working on and how this might affect her world for generations to come. And I was thoroughly intrigued as, with each page, we came closer to understanding the larger picture: that this wasn’t just about a woman trying to save the oceans, but also about her journey towards confronting eco-terrorists, who seek to undo all her well-intended efforts.
Cleansing Rain takes its time to slowly unfolded this mystery, bit by bit. And then we’re left with several difficult decisions and one seriously heart-wrenching twist at the end.
What I Wish I Liked, But Didn't
While there was so much I absolutely loved about Cleansing Rain, there were a few things that kept me from being book drunk.
First, though the book opened up throwing the reader into the action, the pacing wasn’t consistent. It felt like the some chapters kept a fast pace and then several chapters in a row would slow to a lull. This didn’t follow the usual pattern of rising tension with short cool down sections; it was a little all over the place, sometimes with the action/pacing sustained, and other times, we’d abruptly plunge into a lull that lasted for several chapters. It’s not a huge issue and it definitely didn’t keep me from finishing the book, but it was one of those things that stuck out in my mind because it was so pronounced.
Second, the plot. Or rather, the finer details of the plot. Don’t get me wrong; as I stated, I loved the plot in Cleansing Rain. I loved the angle with the eco-terrorists and the whole conspiracy in Zoe’s lab. I practically devoured the book because the plot was good. But when I reached the end of the story, I realized we didn’t quite get all the answers. While the summary emphasize the earth dying being a hygge motivator for Zoe, we don’t really get this much in the book. There’s mention of plastic in the ocean and how humans have overpopulated the planet, slowly killing it. However, we don’t really see this in the book. There’s no mention of it in the news or in studies presented or specific examples given of just how drastic the situation is in Zoe’s world. I would have loved to see the actual environmental issues impacting the world she lives in.
The other little issue I had with the plot was that we eventually find out the WHO and WHY behind everything (and omg, it was shocking in the best way!!), but the book doesn’t fully explain or explore the science behind what’s happening. Of course, I wasn’t looking for a lecture or anything, but it felt like there was a gulf of distance between me and this information. It was glossed over at times and, other times, not much was shown or explained. For example, when Zoe is reading confidential emails that lead her to believe in what her kidnapper said…we aren’t privy to those emails. We don’t see most of the documents she’s reading, nor does she reveal much to the reader about what she’s reading. I don’t fully understand how she comes to believe in the whole conspiracy when the reader isn’t really shown the dots that supposodly connect here.
Is Worthy Of Bookish Valhalla?
Cleansing Rain is a thrilling yet down to earth story of environmental disaster, conspiracy theories, eco-terrorism, and one scientist’s race to expose the truth, even if it shatters her whole world. From Zoe Antos to Ian Sutton, every character is bound to a world spinning out of control, driven by fanatics hellbent on genocide to save a dying planet. What’s not to love about the book full of good intentions leading everyone straight into the pit of hell?
