Book Title: Goddess in the Machine (Goddess in the Machine #1)
Author: Lora Beth Johnson
Purchase: Amazon
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Description from Goodreads:

When Andra wakes up, she's drowning.

Not only that, but she's in a hot, dirty cave, it's the year 3102, and everyone keeps calling her Goddess. When Andra went into a cryonic sleep for a trip across the galaxy, she expected to wake up in a hundred years, not a thousand. Worst of all, the rest of the colonists—including her family and friends—are dead. They died centuries ago, and for some reason, their descendants think Andra's a deity. She knows she's nothing special, but she'll play along if it means she can figure out why she was left in stasis and how to get back to Earth.

Zhade, the exiled bastard prince of Eerensed, has other plans. Four years ago, the sleeping Goddess's glass coffin disappeared from the palace, and Zhade devoted himself to finding it. Now he's hoping the Goddess will be the key to taking his rightful place on the throne—if he can get her to play her part, that is. Because if his people realize she doesn't actually have the power to save their dying planet, they'll kill her.

With a vicious monarch on the throne and a city tearing apart at the seams, Zhade and Andra might never be able to unlock the mystery of her fate, let alone find a way to unseat the king, especially since Zhade hasn't exactly been forthcoming with Andra. And a thousand years from home, is there any way of knowing that Earth is better than the planet she's woken to?

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars 

I absolutely adore this book and everything about it—it’s unlike any book I’ve ever read. I’d even go so far as to say Goddess in the Machine is full bars brill, marah? The story is gripping from the very beginning. I didn’t want to put it down at all—I just wanted answers and couldn’t get them fast enough.

Welcome to Eerensed, where English is not quite English because it’s High Goddess in the year 3102. From the start, I feel like I am actually in Eerensed. The language contributes to a surround-sound atmosphere and world; it fully immerses the reader in the world and allows us to empathize with our protagonist Andra as she wakes up in this confusing time and place. As Andra ventures out into the world, I want to know more more more about the technology that Eerensedians consider magic, what daily life is like with advanced bots and AIs and sims. I’m fascinated by Andra’s life on Earth and how it impacts her life in Eerensed.

Andra is everything I want in a protagonist: she’s so refreshingly smart. She doesn’t have all the answers, she isn’t a master fighter or schemer or genius. She’s simply a relatable young woman and our avatar in this strange world. I love that she’s self-described as fat—I feel like I never see girls with tummy rolls clearly described as such. Even authors who try to write fat characters tend to write around their body type, opting for vague descriptions of curviness where you’re left wondering if you’re interpreting things correctly. And of course, you can imagine any character however you’d like, but actual representation of varied body types is powerful and relatable.

Johnson creates a diverse cast of rootable and intriguing characters. I love the inclusion of a deaf character, plus a protagonist who questions society’s caste system, especially her place in it and the privileges she’s afforded. As far as villains go, Mharet is a perfectly gray character who instills real fear, thanks in part to his alliance with his formidable, bloodthirsty mother, who acts as his closest advisor.

The plot is full of twists and turns with little clues leading up to some of the major reveals. I already can’t wait to go back and reread, looking out for all the subtle foreshadowing. Every scene, every chapter adds value and progresses the plot. Goddess in the Machine is a non-stop thrill ride packed with political intrigue, a snarky prince, advanced technology, high stakes rescue missions, and above all, a story about finding your place and knowing yourself. Perfect for fans of The 100 series and Natalie Mae’s The Kinder Poison.