Book Review: The Hive

Summary: ON THE RUN TO SAVE HER BABY
A pregnant cyborg and a teenage boy fight against intergalactic governments to protect the unborn in this novel from a Christy Award-nominated author. Why is Zain pregnant? She belongs to the Hive, a collective of cyborgs who choose to live apart from the rest of human society. At times, the Hive rent out some of their females to produce tailor-made children for paying couples. But Zain is an engineer, not a breeder. When she finds herself separated from the Hive, she decides to find the person who she thinks ordered the baby. Surely they’ll help her find her way home.
Matthew “Scorn” Nelson has spent the better part of his teenage years cracking computer systems, causing mischief and havoc wherever he can. But the night of his greatest triumph turned into a painful memory, one he wants to erase. But that night was also his first step on a road to faith. When Zain arrives on his doorstep, Scorn is horrified. What’s he supposed to do with a pregnant teenage cyborg?
Unfortunately, he’ll have to answer that question on the run. Zain’s people want to reclaim her and terminate her pregnancy. And both the Ministrix and the Praesidium, two intergalactic governments in a constant state of cold war, want Zain’s baby for their own reasons. Will their enemies run them down? Or will Zain find a new Hive for both her and her child?

Thoughts: To be honest, I don't read a lot of sci-fi...I'm not sure why, I just don't. This book, among other things, convinced me that I ought to be reading more.  The setting was amazing! Detailed but in such a pass-by way that you felt more like you were walking the streets of a new city than traversing a universe of foreign technology! And the characters were easy to understand and follow along with. Each emotion and thought added to who they were and defined them each uniquely. The pacing never lagged, at times, it was calm but never boring; between each action packed scene of narrow escapes and deadly hacking, The Hive manages to keep readers on the edge of their seats and characters on their toes!
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Content: As far as language goes there was one C*** and that was about it. Violence is what you would expect from stories like this and not much of a problem. On the other hand, there was at least three near-rape situations and SPOILER Zain is nearly sold to a brothel at one point. There is another scene where Zain becomes confused in human traditions and ends up undressing in front of a boy. While it doesn't escalate into anything, its still there. And of course, Zain is pregnant and certain situations and discussions regarding her pregnancy may make certain readers uncomfortable. Overall I would say this is a great read for more mature readers.