The Key to Fear

The Key #1

by Kristin Cast

To Health.
To Life.
To the Future.

We are The Key.

'No touching today for a healthy tomorrow.'

Elodie obeys The Key. Elodie obeys the rules. Elodie trusts in the system. At least, Elodie used to...

Aidan is a rebel. Aidan doesn't do what he's told. Aidan just wants to be free. Aidan is on his last chance...

After a pandemic wiped out most of the human race, The Key took power. The Key dictates the rules. They govern in order to keep people safe. But as Elodie and Aidan begin to discover there is another side to The Key, they realise not everything is as it seems.

Rather than playing protector, The Key are playing God.

Genres: Young Adult, Dystopia, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Romance, Fiction, Audiobook

352 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 13, 2020

About the author

Kristin is a #1 New York Times and #1 USA Today bestselling author who was born on an Air Force base in Japan and grew up in Oklahoma where she explored everything from tattoo modeling to broadcast journalism. After battling addiction, Kristin made her way to the Pacific Northwest and landed in Portland. She rediscovered her passion for storytelling in the stacks at dusty bookstores and in rickety chairs in old coffeehouses. For as long as she can remember, Kristin’s been telling stories. Thankfully, she’s been writing them down since 2005.

Reviews

[Miranda Reads · Rating 1 out of 5]

February's Reading Vlog is out today!

The Written Review

No touching today for a healthy tomorrow.

The Key Corporation is the only thing standing between humanity and complete and utter destruction at the hands of a deadly virus (at least according to them).

Elodie has spent her entire life following the Key Corps rules - no kissing, no hugging, no touching.

She's training to be a nurse and she cannot be for fulfilled in that position...but then the unthinkable happens. A terminally ill patient disappears.

To put this in perspective - this patient cannot move. But they are gone.

During her search, Elodie meets Aidan - a mysterious boy who is actively throwing away his future.

And at first she rolls her eyes at him...but the more she talks with him, the more she starts to wonder if she's actually the one missing out...

SO...this one gets two stars for me for a few of reasons.

The characters felt boring & predictable.

Elodie is the straight-laced-rule-following-sweetheart, Aiden is the only-one-who-sees-through-the-corporations'-BS, Blair is the bland-evil-ruler-with-many-many-issues.

They just didn't have a uniqueness that would entice me to follow their stories. Even Elodie (the main character) felt as exciting as watching paint dry.

And the other thing that really tanked it for me was that the dystopian world just didn't feel new.

The more I think about it, the madder I get. Raise your hand if you've read a dystopian book with:

--An Evil Corporation that convinces the world it is good
--Crazy leaps in technology (i.e. literal personal bubbles) but otherwise society is stagnant (no fashion, language or religious changes)
--A handful of normal activities are purported as CRAZY WEIRD (i.e. hand-holding)
--ONLY a few of teenagers are able to notice that there's something wrong with this world DESPITE being raised in it.
--The resistance is held together by a hope and a prayer and dollar-store quality
tape
--The teenagers throw literally all of it away cause they just can't handle not kissing.

Maybe it is truly bad or maybe I'm just burned out from too much YA. I honestly don't know anymore.

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[Quill&Queer · Rating 1 out of 5]

[ARC Provided by NetGalley, my review is unbiased]
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📗 Hello and welcome to the review of the worst book I have read this 2020. Now you probably know how much I love YA Dystopia, I read so many in the early 2000s, both great and utterly terrible, and this book is even worse. This story is completely senseless, an insta-love romance using borrowed tropes from other Dystopia novels with seemingly no new ideas of it's own, before delivering a truly mediocre ending that I easily predicted.

📕 Elodie and Aiden are out main characters, plus Blair, who I'll talk about later. Elodie is the stand out main character, a very bland YA protagonist nurse, who doesn't seem to have many duties than sit and watch patients. She has an abusive mother, but the story never goes into depth about this. Aiden, the second, confusingly lacks chapters, getting very few compared to Elodie and Blair. Major events happen in his life off-page, on page seems to be dedicated to his thoughts about Elodie.

📘 The world itself... everything about this book is bland and this is no exception. It's a futuristic city with amazing technology that can keep it's world uncontaminated. There are holograms for every citizen, keeping a watchful eye and barring access to places citizens don't have access to. How was this amazing tech developed in 50 years? This is never explained. Meanwhile other things, like fashion, language and events stay pretty much exactly the same.

📙 Blair is the other POV, and mind-numbingly boring. She's older than Elodie and Aiden, with an office job, and aspirations to rule the city I guess. Her whole chapters are just her being shallow and scheming poorly. While these characters have these assigned jobs, one stated to have been working since 13, the actual education system is never explained, and young children (aside from one who is unconscious) never make an appearance.

📒 The resistance is a big part of a Dystopia, and we get to see Elodie as she doesn't join the Resistance because she never fully meets them, gasp as she breaks the mold and climbs a tree one time and be in a state of shock and wonder as she... eats corn. Katniss would bow to Elodie's fearlessness, it's just incredible. Aside from this, I can't actually say much of anything about Eos, because I didn't find out anything.

📓 Other gripes I had was Elodie's secret book, which we get sections of is so poorly written and annoying, I skim read that. There's a lot of chapters and they're all in roman numerals, so after a certain point I have no idea which chapter I was on. Blair spends most of the book trying to get her brother a job for some reason. Aiden's home life does not exist, we never see it. The VR games are never explained. I could go on! I won't be picking up the sequel.

[Emma · Rating 2 out of 5]

Despite being shockingly relevant to our pandemic lives, this YA novel fails to convince. Set in the years after a virus killed the most of the world's population, the characters live in fear of a new outbreak. This is a dystopian nightmare based on the safety of distance. How very modern.

No touching today for a healthy tomorrow

Except Elodie and Aiden want to do the touchy touchy. Of course, this causes any number of problems. Instalove plus a really slow pace means this didn't hit the spot. I'm not even sure I'd recommend it for the younger crowd- it doesn't have the emotional impact necessary to distract from the bittiness of the narrative and batshit crazy ending. Overall, an underwhelming read.

[Karen’s Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

No touching today for a healthy tomorrow.

These are the words that the inhabitants of this futuristic world live by. After a pandemic wipes out most of the world’s population, touch is no longer allowed. Babies are conceived using science, not by love. There is no touching, no kissing, no hugging, no anything. Spouses are basically chosen for you by the Key, the government.

This dystopian, post-apocalyptic world created by Kristin Cast was definitely an eerie look into a possible future, especially after we’re still reeling from 2020 and the coronavirus. The Key to Fear is 2020 x 1000 on steroids.

The world building and future tech was amazing and I loved reading about it. I wasn’t that enamored with Elodie and Aiden and wasn’t thrilled about the insta-love. I did, however, want to know what was going to happen next so kept being pulled back into this story.

The book ended on a cliffhanger so I do need to see how Elodie and Aiden fare on their next major adventure.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for the advance copy!*

[Toya (thereadingchemist) · Rating 4 out of 5]

There’s nothing more timely than reading a post-apocalyptic book that’s the result of a pandemic in 2020.

No touching today for a healthy tomorrow.

After a pandemic decimates most of the population, those who remain live by this mantra. Physical contact of any kind has been outlawed. Babies are now conceived by science. The ruling government, which is referred to as the Key, chooses your career and love interest (amongst other things). The freedoms that once seemed obvious have ceased to exist.

The story starts off as a bit of a slow burn as the author does a spectacular job of immersing you into this eerie and desolate environment that makes 2020 seem like child’s play. The intricate set up of the Key and how it controls its citizens was equal parts fascinating and frightening.

This book is told from multiple POVs, but Elodie and Aidan were by far my favorites. Elodie is wicked smart and lives and breathes the rules that have been set forth by the Key. Well, that is until she meets Aidan who is pretty set on doing the exact opposite. I really enjoyed the chemistry between Elodie and Aidan and watching them work together to take on the Key.

Overall, if you love a good character driven dystopian novel filled with lush world building, action, and a government that you can’t trust, this one will definitely be for you.

Thank you to MTMC for the tour invite. Thank you to Blackstone Audio for providing a review copy through NetGalley.

[Bookphenomena (Micky)]

DNF @20% after months

I started this before I caught COVID, then I was seriously ill and because of the pandemic type storyline, I couldn't, nor can I still cope with this story.

There's probably nothing wrong with it, but I can't see a time when the underlying issue doesn't give me such discomfort.

[Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Somewhat timely and a good dystopian. I thought the ending gathered far too much speed, and was beginning to think she didn't save anything for the next book, but she definitely did. It will be interesting to see what comes next.

[Sentranced Jem]

The blurb sucked me in..It IS 2020 after all...

[Jenn · Rating 2 out of 5]

No touching today for a healthy tomorrow

Yeah, so this book is very reminiscent of the Covid lockdown days but like the what could have been if taken to the extreme after the breakout. No one touches anyone - no hand holding, kissing, no procreating (babies are made in labs). The world is very clinical and very boring honestly. But that's all our MC Elodie knows so she just goes along with it - while reading her little banned book, the one moment of rebellion she allows herself.

Dystopian is hard to write. Because you're taking the world that we know and basically turning it into something different but also something that you could see happening - it has to be believable and you have to be able to see how we as a society got there. I was missing these elements here. We were just told a virus ripped through the world and now this Key corporation ruled and kept everyone "safe". But there was really no world building beyond that. Especially since this virus was what, only like 50 years old? It wasn't even that long ago but yet this new world was already functioning very smoothly. Was there a transition period at all? How was the Key corporation able to just come in and take over? We get zero back story to anything.

Aside from that, our MC's were so bland. Elodie had zero drive to do anything. To call her a nurse was laughable. She literally just watched comatose patients from a monitor. How much care can you give if you can't actually touch anyone? There was also no build up to her feeling for Aiden. I get that he was new and different from her "by the book" fiancé. But the instalove was crazy.

Blair could have been an interesting character but she needed more depth than just being the evil villain lady who would step on anyone to get what she wanted. And the two main reveals at the end were so easy to see coming that there was zero shock when they happened. I just wasn't that impressed with this one.

[Helena · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sigh. Yet another average book on the pile. That’s it. I’m done with dystopian romance rebel stuff. I read one too many in too short a time.

Ok, this book… was the most unsubtle thing I’ve ever read, and I read It Ends With Us.

It’s like… like when someone tells a joke, or has a dream and then explains it. Just let us experience it and feel and think whatever it deserves without having bias forced upon us.

Every metaphor, all the symbolism, irony and weather and character tells, they were good ideas! But if you believed that you wouldn’t have to tell us!

Also, too much plot happened in thought. I skimmed the action, true, but there was so much we didn’t see, we were constantly getting caught up by the mc with her own feelings and biases and opinions forced upon us

Ok, the romance? Didn’t care. Too climactic. They knew each other for about two days, had an awkward encounter or two and passed notes WHICH WE DIDN’T SEE and then suddenly we’re sobbing and collapsing against a wall because our one true love betrayed us. ??? 🤨

Characters! They had personalities! Ah! Reprieve! That was my big plus.

This book… I feel like this book could’ve been better than it was. It had such a great base plot of no touchey cos germs and ‘The Key’ is controlling people and playing God and all these people blindly following it. Very much The Giver-esque. But I wish the whole No touchey thing was more emphasised in the whole ‘romance’ thing - WHICH by the way could’ve been super cute and hot and beautiful but was just

‘I ate the corn he gave me. It was really good. I looked up and saw his moss green eyes and his dark skin and his curly Mohawk and his dirty shoes and his gaze. Can he feel the *need* like I do?’

What? Uh, no, no we don’t.

ALMOST dnf’ed it about 3/4 through. But then skimmed the last quarter.

Mm. Average and lost potential and - though this doesn’t really affect my enjoyment of a book, not original. not picking up the second. 2 stars.

[hollie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars!

I’ve been craving a dystopian read recently and this seemed to fit the bill. It was a mix between dystopian, romance and a bit of sci-fi and I enjoyed it.

- Well developed characters. Initially I didn’t like how we got multiple perspectives but this grew on me as the story developed. I think the best part of this was Elodie’s character development. She genuinely grew so much and I really liked her in the end.
- I really thought the plot was decent. I think there were some plot holes in some places and I had to double back a lot. I think more background info needed to be given for the reader to truly understand the world that’s created.
- The ending definitely led up well for a second book and I definitely would pick book two up.

Overall, a decent YA dystopian book with an interesting plot line and well developed characters.
I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Bertie (LuminosityLibrary) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Remember when YA dystopian was a massive craze? The Key to Fear makes me think, maybe the genre still has a bit more life to it. Maybe it's time for a comeback.

No touching today for a healthy tomorrow.

The Key is the corporation that governs after a pandemic nearly wiped out the human race. It creates the rules. It keeps people safe. Elodie obeys the rules, at least, she used to. When she meets Aidan things begin to change, he's different, and she likes it. She's drawn deeper into the world of resistance, but there are consequences to every action.

The scent of bleach tickled her nose. It was the way life would always smell, a fact Elodie found reassuring. Actually, she found it more than reassuring. Bleach was sterile. Bleach was safe. And, therefore, life was safe.

What I look for in a good dystopia is compelling worldbuilding, and this book pulled through. Set fifty years after 75% of the population are wiped out by disease. The Key takes responsibility for saving the remaining people. The world has strict rules, including, no touching, ever. It's slow-paced, but I love immersing myself in a world before everything falls apart. It's been a long time since I've read dystopia, so I was excited regardless, but if you don't like the genre, this book won't convince you otherwise. It doesn't do much new, but it's fun. I enjoyed the romance, it had instalove elements, but it takes a long time for them to come together, so the dynamic worked well. It's a romance-forward book, although that looks like it might change in future instalments. Overall, fun but not particularly deep read.

CW: fatphobia, emotional abuse, suicide, illness, death, human experimentation

(Thanks to NetGalley and Head of Zeus for providing an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.)

If you like sci-fi and fantasy check out my Blog! You could also follow me on Twitter or Instagram.

[Karen Barber · Rating 2 out of 5]

One thing I think you need to do if you’re going to write a book set in an alternate world is offer some attempt to build it up and help us to understand how this came into being. Sadly, this was lacking. In spite of numerous references to the Key and how it controls the lives of its citizens, and mention of some kind of virus that has affected people beyond ways they might imagine, there was little to explain this world.
Our two main characters are Elodie and Aiden. They have a brief run-in and before you now it are falling in love and renouncing everything they believe in to be together. I know sometimes you can’t explain how you feel, but an attempt to rationalise it would be welcome.
There’s some focus on their families and how this impacts on other choices, but not enough to really make me care too much. The signs pointing to the big twist were pretty obvious.
Thanks to NetGalley for granting me access to this before publication. It sounded as if it would be better than it was. For me, Aiden and Elodie shall stay in Area Seven and I will remain none the wiser of the fate that befalls them.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one made me uneasy. Reading a book in a future of a pandemic while you are in a pandemic is NOT a good idea 😅 But, I kept reading and glad I did. I kept making comparisons with what is going on in my province... The Key is like our government right now: Saying a truth, but not all the truth... And some people, like me, are paying for it. Ok, we're not dead, but we're sick because of it.

Still, all the tech exposed in the book is fascinating. The world building is realistic in a frightening way. It could really be our reality in 50 years, post-COVID. I really hope it won't be...

I can't wait to see what adventures Elodie and Aiden will live in the next book!

Many thanks to Blackstone Publishing for the complimentary e-copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

[Isabel (The Reader & The Chef) · Rating 4 out of 5]

*I received this book for free from MTMC Tours, Blackstone in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. You can also find this review at The Reader and the Chef *

It is chilling how The Key to Fear is so close to our current situation right now. In a post pandemic world, The Key was created to prevent any viruses that show any potential threat to humanity. No touching is allowed, no kissing, no hugging, no fiction books *gasps*, people walk around in protective pods, the Key chooses your career and love interest, among other life-changing decisions.

I really enjoyed reading this book, it has several POVs, but definitely my favorites were Elodie and Aidan. Elodie is a dedicated and smart young woman, she is a model resident, but as time passes she starts to question her everyday life and it all happens as soon as she meets Aidan, a funny, genuine and sweet guy to whom she instantly becomes friends with. Another character that I really liked was Tavia, she works with Adrian and constant banter between the two was hilarious, I only wish we could have read more of her!

Something that caught my attention was the VR. Humanity in this dystopic world cannot do every day life activities so in order to socialize or travel, they enter into a Virtual Reality program were they can choose to meet up with friends in any type of setting and it feels like if you were really there. I thought that was pretty cool even though it does not beat experiencing this in real life.

The Key to Fear was a great read for me and after that cliffhanger, I am looking forward to read what comes next!

[Kylie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley for an audio advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
3.5 stars
This book was ok. It had an interesting premise, but it didn't hold my attention well. I think part of it was the fact that it hit so close to home for all of us right now. There had been a pandemic that killed (I think?) 75% of the population? No one is supposed to touch. People get their careers chosen for them, their friends and partners chosen for them. I really was interested in the beginning listening to Elodie and Aidan work their separate jobs, but the middle kind of lost me. The ending picked back up and I did enjoy the end.
I didn't really connect with any of the characters, Aidan may have been my favorite. I think part of it was because I listened to the audiobook and there was one narrator for the whole thing, even though there were 3 POV's, one of which was male. It was a little bit hard to remember whose POV we were on at times. While I did like Elodie for the most part, I feel like her "revelation" was kind of too quick to be believable.
The ending was kind of the typical dystopian/sci-fi ending with a cliffhanger, so I can't wait to see how book 2 turns out!

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an advanced copy from the publisher via Netgalley for an honest review.

First, the novel seems SO applicable currently with the crazy pandemic going on! This novel is a futuristic novel where a virus has wiped out most of the human population and now so many safety precautions are in place. The biggest is all these rules that The Key corporation has in place that are safety measures to keep the population safe and healthy...right? Elodie has always followed the rules because the rules are meant to keep everyone safe, but is that all the rules are doing? And then Elodie meets Aiden. Aiden and his laissez-faire attitude, Aiden who doesn't seem to follow the rules, Aiden who Elodie wonders about...

I was quite excited for this novel and then overall story and concept was enjoyable, my biggest complaint (and reason for 3 stars) was it was wwwwwaaaaaaaayyyyyyy tttoooooooooo S L O W for most of the novel! Then it sped way up and finished with some bombshells! Mind you, the extremely slow pace wasn't enough to make me want to toss the novel aside, however, I would give that warning to others. I will definitely pick up the next novel and I sure hope it isn't the reverse where it's now going to be TOO busy and fast-paced. The story was neat and interesting, I just wish I had been given more substance throughout the novel instead of just the slow burn romance.

[Amy Burrows · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fairly fast read that interested me because of its pandemic plot-line. The book was mainly focused on the romance between Elodie and Aidan and I would have preferred more information on the virus that wiped out 90% of the population and the details of those that the virus took hold of (especially Zone Seven). It had Divergent feel to it and a lot of it I felt was predictable plot-wise nonetheless I enjoyed the story line but would have liked the author to have given me more detail.
A strong 3 of of 5 stars from me.

[Lydia (Readerofrivendell) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Huge thank you to @headofzeus for having me as part of the book tour and sending me a copy to review.

I LOVED this book! It was so unique and yet so hauntingly fitting for the current world situation. A world where touching is forbidden, books are banned and the Key governs the people with tight rules, err yes please! We are given a story filled with drama, mystery, adventure and romance and @kcastauthor does not disappoint.

The characters were well written and fleshed out. I loved Elodie and Aiden so much! Elodie trusts the Key completely and yet when she meets Aiden everything takes a turn and the world isn’t quite what Elodie thought she knew. The mystery and intrigue they find themselves on are action packed and their dynamics with the other characters gives the story that extra depth.

The secondary characters build the tension and add extra levels, however I felt some of their storylines were a bit choppy. That said the world building is so unique and the intrigue is high! A world were there are monsters and contagion beyond where the government permits you to go. A world where you can’t touch. I cannot wait to read book two and see where these characters go!

[Martina · Rating 2 out of 5]

The ARC of this book was provided by the publisher Head of Zeus via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

2.25 stars

At first I was so drawn to this book because of this cover and its plot. It really sounded like my cup of tea. The Key to Fear is presented as a dystopian novel set in a world where touching is forbidden, books are banned and the power is in the hands of The Key, who are playing God instead of truly protecting the people.
We find ourselves in a future where touching is no longer allowed because of a pandemic that wiped away most od the population. Given the time we are living in, this gave me goosebumps but I was very curious to find out more about this story and futuristic setting.
This premise sounded extremely interesting to me also because I'm a sucker for dystopian novels and it reminded me of The Handmaid's Tale, Divergent, Hunger Games and Maze Runner.
I think this book was not bad per se, but it was not the right one for me. Even though the plot here created was interesting, I think it was too similar to other things I already read and I couldn't find something really innovative.As for the character, I wasn't the biggest fan of the protagonist, but I really liked Aiden. However, I guess a younger target might be able to appreciate it a lot.

[Annarella · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to love this story as the blurb sound promising but, even if it's well written, it didn't keep my attention.
Not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

[Tiara · Rating 3 out of 5]

"No touching today for a healthy tomorrow."

This is the motto the citizens of Kristen Cast's newest novel, The Key to Fear, live by. In this YA dystopian novel, based 50 years post pandemic the citizens of New America are governed by a corporation called The Key.

The Key controls everything. From selecting your perfect career and your ideal match, to policing human contact and creating babies in a lab. Most people live the majority of their life in VR and doing anything out in the real world is considered out of the ordinary.

Elodie is a stickler for the rules. She takes her job at the Long Term Care Unity seriously and being the sole nurse overseeing a few comatose patients is quite and suites her perfectly. Everything changes when one little girl wakes up, before later dissapearing completely.

With the help from Aiden, the strange boy working at The End Of Life Unit, Elodie will not stop until she has answers. She soon learns that everything she has always known is not as it seems and her whole world unravels around her.

The character development in this novel was amazing and I loved watching Elodie's character mature in such a short period of time. I also enjoyed the world building though I can't help but to feel like there is so much more for us to explore and I can't wait to see where this series goes in future novels.

While I did really enjoy the storyline in this book I found it to be quite slow for the first 75% and struggled to get through the pages. This is why I am only giving this book 3.5/5.

If you are looking for a new dystopian to help you get through our current pandemic this is the book for you!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Head of Zeus publishing for giving me an eARC of this novel in return for an honest review.

[Art Hyrst · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reread as of March 2022: I liked this a lot less the second time, lmao. Original review kept below, new cawpile:

Character - 2
Atmosphere - 3
Writing - 3
Plot - 3
Intrigue - 2
Logic - 2
Enjoyment - 3

Rating: 2.57 / 2 stars

Full review on my blog 9th November: https://inkandplasma.com/2020/11/09/t...

Rating: 3.5

Trigger Warnings: sickness, death, fatphobia, emotional abuse, controlling relationship, human experimentation, virus, pandemic, suicide

Thanks to Head of Zeus for the review copy and the tour invite, it has not impacted my honest opinion.

The Key to Fear is a strong opener to a new series, a dystopian story that’s a little more familiar than anyone could have expected. I found it to be an interesting read, though admittedly I was expecting it to me mostly focused on the dystopian virus element whereas this book has a strong romance focus. Not a bad thing, by any measure, just not quite what I expected. The premise of The Key to Fear is, in 2020, particularly eerie. Fifty years prior to the book a virus struck the world and the resulting pandemic nearly wiped out humanity. Out of the disaster of the Cerberus virus, the Key rose. A conglomerate focused on controlling the spread of the virus and protecting humanity, the Key outlawed dangerous behaviours and took control, with everything from banning books, choosing relationship matches and identifying career paths to outlawing touch itself.

I found the first half of the book and the shady as hell mystery surrounding the Key, the Key’s behaviour and missing victims super super interesting. It’s rare that worldbuilding wins me over that simply but this was a realistic seeming version of a post pandemic world that never adjusted back to closeness and intimacy. The ongoing, intense fear of the virus was powerful and the technological steps that society has taken to avoid touch. There were moments where Elodie explained adaptions the world had made, like spacing out subway seats that a year ago would have seemed strange to me. Now, well. It was very, very eerie. The banned book aspect was a little strange, there wasn’t much in-text to explain why they were banned, other than the Key generally controlling things. I don’t mind that so much though, as this was the start of a series so there could be more information coming in later books, especially after the way this book ended. There’s a lot more to know about this world, particularly outside of the Zones the book starts in, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Despite not expecting it, I did think the romance was good, though not something I generally look for in a book, and I did like the way that Aiden and Elodie’s relationship was tied into the conflict in the story. It tied into several plot points (that I won’t spoil here) and there were several twists that I didn’t guess. One of them, in hindsight, was so obvious that I felt like an idiot, but it did surprise me very well. The end of the book built up into a complex ending that had my heart in my throat and I’m looking forward to finding out what happens in the next book.

[Michael Dodd · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

In post-pandemic America, life in the city of Westfall is entirely geared towards staying safe and healthy. Fifty years after the Cerberus virus wiped out 90% of the population, the Key Corporation ensures everyone’s safety through rigid adherence to the rules and a level of control that sees every citizen matched to the most appropriate job and partner. With a burgeoning power struggle within the hierarchy of the MediCenter, and the increasing threat of action from underground resistance group Eos, however, it’s a dangerous moment for the Key, while a chance meeting between two young citizens has the potential to signal a time of change.

If it all feels a little on the nose given the year in which this is published, thankfully the pandemic itself forms the backdrop rather than a key part of the narrative, so it doesn’t dominate proceedings, instead offering a worryingly believable extrapolation of what might happen should a virus get truly out of control.

An unusually slow-burn approach here may not appeal to everyone, but once the pace picks up it motors along to a powerful and satisfying – if perhaps a little obvious – conclusion. That being said, it’s clearly been written with one eye on a wider series so there are a fair few threads introduced specifically for later payoffs and which don’t all land effectively this time around, and likewise a few secondary characters who don’t feel fully developed. There’s more than enough to enjoy in both the core concept and these particular characters to warrant further stories, however.

Read the full review at https://www.grimdarkmagazine.com/revi...

[Katherine Paschal · Rating 3 out of 5]

The last 20% of the book was definitely the best, full of action, drama, angst, surprises, twists, action and a cliff hanger ending. It just took a really long drawn out time to get to that ending. I was moderately confused and not really engaged for most of the book, trying to make sense as multiple random character perspectives switched around and little snippets of story played out, being left for me like bread crumbs that I needed to collect to make my way through the plot. Well, some of the crumbs I don't think I picked up and others were a neon-lit full piece of bread I saw from a mile away, which at times made the story feel very disjointed and confusing.

This is the start to what could be a very interesting dystopian series now that most of the slow pacing of the world building seems to be out of the way. I am interested enough to pick up the next book to see what will be coming. The Key To Fear is perfect for anyone looking for a very real feeling dystopian about a virus that destroyed society, teens who are trying to do the right things, inconvenient feelings, science fiction like virtual reality and medical advances as well as an epic conspiracy.

[Cecilia Bigelow · Rating 1 out of 5]

Worst book I’ve read since I can’t even remember !

The writing style was very poor.

Main plot was basically coronavirus, except the virus was spread by touch. Which I still can’t understand how anyone can go through life without the interaction of touch with other people (hand shakes, hugs)!

The constant switch of the perspective of each character in each chapter got annoying especially cause the villain’s perspective came up in the 4th or 5th chapter and they gave away their evil plan to the reader. So then the reader knew what was going to happen while the other main characters did not.

2 main characters, but the male protagonist was only in the first part of the book, then seemed to disappear without any reason and didn’t show up until the end.

Not worth reading!

[Sifa Poulton · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received a review copy from the publisher as part of a tour in exchange for an honest review. It has not affected my opinions.

I really wanted to like this book - I really wanted dystopia to be on the rise again, but with a fresh new perspective. However, this mostly felt like a book that would have fit right into the tail end of the earlier dystopia surge with nothing really to distinguish it.

So here's my problem with dystopia - it has a lot of cliches and it's hard to find a way to put a new spin on it, given how many books there were out there. The main one is that the government lies is a big theme and it's supposed to be a shocking twist, but it just can't be anymore because it's expected. It's a genre I want to see resurgent, to get a new, fresh take, but everything just feels a poor copy cat of the originals.

I had to fight my way through the first 100 pages as there was nothing that grabbed me in the story. It was obvious where the story was going, and that the no touching rule meant that the world would be undone by love, which it did. It was not only predictable and so cliché, but also felt like it was missing out on the enormous potential of looking into what a world without touch means psychologically.

Plus the writing fell really flat for me as there was no emotion in it. It just sort of ambled along between events without evoking any chemistry between the characters. Given the whole "no touching will be broken by love" destination of the book, there really needed to be a strong romance, but I didn't find one. Instead, it felt like their "romance" was entirely being set up by the comparison to Elodie's betrothed - but any semi-decent man who bothered to hold a conversation with her would be made to look romantic by that comparison.

It did get easier to read as the story went on, because I'd got into the swing of it and could read quickly thanks to knowing where it was going. Plus it was a short book.

Reading a book about a post pandemic world given *gestures around* was a strange experience. Having the only thing being banned as touch felt rather unrealistic - because it left me with a lot of questions about how it was enforced, how they overcome love, and why they even had to match people to make families if the babies were grown in labs anyway.

Plus there were a few flaws in how the world now deals with avoiding transmission. Sure, people have walking shields that they can pop up around them, but it didn't all follow through. If you're going to say that touch is the main transmission vector, then sharing workspaces is impossible without a thorough sanitisation - and yet that happens. Giving people objects is also out, and yet that happens. Showers are apparently out of fashion as it's perceived unsanitary (so have a UV light bath instead - even though that kills germs it doesn't remove matter from your skin etc).

There are three POVs (plus maybe one or two chapters from someone else? I can't really recall), but the third - Blair - is one I'm still trying to work out why she was in there. She's an ambitious woman high up in the Key's structure, but the plot would be basically the same without her. She seems to be there to make Aiden's identity reveal a "big moment" (which was another cliché tick box moment, and also fell flat as I hadn't cared about Blair, so her information coming into Aiden's story was "eh, so what?" for me.)

[Rebecca (Bex the Bibliophile) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to the publisher Head of Zeus for providing me with an arc copy of this book via NetGalley.

The Key to Fear is the first Kristin Cast book that I have read, and my first dystopian novel in a long time. I am not sure what I was expecting heading into this, but the plot didn't surprise me that much, as it seemed the same as every other dystopian that I have read. One thing that I did find unique about the plot and setting was that it was set post-pandemic rather than post-war/post-natural disaster. And a post-pandemic book seems very apt at this moment.

The Key to Fear switches between three different PoV's which made it initially hard to get attached towards any of the characters, but as the plot was developing, it was easier to connect to them. While I could see the point of both Elodie's and Aiden's PoV, Blair's felt a little unnecessary for this book, but I have a feeling she will become much more key later in the series, so it was good to understand her motivations before that plotline develops. In The Key to Fear there is a developing romantic relationship between Aiden and Elodie, but to me it felt like insta-love, which is not something that I like from my romances. Because as soon as they meet Elodie is in love with Aiden and he is all she can think about. But I can see the possible development of a more realistic romantic relationship in future books.

I did find part of the book hard to read, as Elodie's relationship with both her mother and her matched fiance are very toxic. Within the first chapter of the book, her mother is fat-shaming her, so please do be aware if that is a trigger for you. Later in the book, her mother is also verbally abusive towards her, just because she is not the perfect clone of herself like she wanted. Rhett, her fiance, is very misogynistic, blaming her emotions and not wanting to shoot a gun on her being a woman. I found this hard to read and a little bit unnecessary for the plot as it didn't add anything to it, so it didn't need to be there.

One issue that I did have with The Key to Fear was that there was a lot of missing information and context. As events would be mentioned in early chapters, and I thought everything was going to circle back round to them, yet they were never mentioned again. This left me with questions, which I probably will have forgotten by the time the second book in the series is released. I would have also loved to have got an explanation as to how the Key came about, and what actually happened during the pandemic as it is never addressed. This made it feel like necessary context was missing, making the book very confusing at certain points.

Overall, The Key to Fear was a solid start to a new dystopian series. I definitely feel that there is room for improvement within the plot and the relationships, but I have high hopes for the series. I will probably pick up the sequel when it is released.

[Marcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book hooked me right away. Obviously from the description I was immediately feeling the tension of art impersonated reality. With the way the world is now, I’m often thinking about the loss of “touch”. Those quick hugs when greeting a friend. The longer embraces of comfort offered to a loved one in pain. The simple act of holding one’s hand while watching a movie or going for a walk. These are things I personally already miss and I can still do them occasionally. The description of a world years after a pandemic decimated the human race and those that survived living under the rule of a corporation know as the Key. Living by the strictest law of all no touching. Well it drew me in right off the bat. The main players in this story Elodie, Aiden, and Blaire, along with many interesting supporting characters did a great job of bringing this world to life. Elodie and Aiden seem at first to be so different from everyone they know. Why do they question? Why do they each engage in small acts of defiance almost daily? It seems only natural that they would find each other and feel connected immediately. But that very connection leads them down a path that they might not be able to return from. This book is clearly set up to be the start of a series. The pacing is fast and the reader races along just wanting to know what happens next? I would recommend this book to fans of the Hunger Games, Divergent or even the lesser known Matched trilogies for the similar dystopian settings, first person narratives as well as the underlying idea of free will vs. determinism.
For the narrator Descha Polanco was wonderful. Descha’s voice gave this story a slightly ethnic feel which I appreciated. I knew I had heard this voice a lot somewhere and I finally looked the name up on IMDB. Seeing Descha’s face OITNB immediately jumped to mind. Since this is a YA book I’m not sure how recognizable she will be to teens, but I really enjoyed the narration.

I will definitely be looking for the next in this series.

[Bo0kSLoth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story will creep up on you.

It has a relevant post-apocalyptic vibe that feels eerily like foreshadowing for real life. It's set in a world that has suffered catastrophic effects from a virus that has wiped out most of the world's population. The Key corporation was able to safe the few survivors with a vaccine and other safety measures (like a Violet personal bubble) because of this the Key pretty much now runs the remaining world cities (for the good of the people - of course!!). In the fifty years since the pandemic, there is no longer social touching, hand holding, kissing, ANY intimate contact of any kind. All child are made in vitro uteruses and delivered to the families with a nanny bot to care for them for the first 4 years of life. Jobs are selected for you; marriage are made up of the perfect scientific matches. Perfect society, right?!?

Elodie has been living the life she has been told to live, working the job she has been told to work; she is even engaged to merry the man the Key told her to marry. She should be happy, but she isn't. She is restless, but doesn't know why.

Aidan is a rebel within the rules. He tries the boundaries, but never breaks them. He knows the consequences; he just wants to know how far he can push. When he meets Elodie, he sees the the hidden rebel on her. He just needs to help her find her way. No problem. No one will find out or get hurt. It will stay a secret. But in Westfall, nothing stays a secret for long and soon this little rebellion will end up having unexpected consequences, consequences that change both of their lives forever.

This story had a lot of different POVs and can get confusing sometimes as the authors is weaving this story and pulling this plot together. Even now there are still strings of storyline hanging that, I as the reader, hope will be addressed in the following book. It is a story that in my head I think of like piece of art. It starts out slow and vague with the reader trying to get a feeling of what is going on. Then it starts to pickup as more detail and fine tuning is added to give definition and intrigue to the story. Finally, you get that clearer picture of a scene and see what is going on and start to understand the portion that the author was trying to convey. The story unfolded very well. I can't wait for the next book.

** I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review. **