Book Review | How Icasia Bloom Touched Happiness

In the 22nd century, a person’s goal in life is to find a job, success, and happiness. In fact, their parents’ immortal souls depend on it. If a child achieves their Life Goal before the age of 40, their parents’ souls move onto their Second Life Phase where they spend their afterlife in harmony. However, should the child fail, they parents’ souls are obliterated.

Icasia Bloom doesn’t have much ambition in life and works at Selma’s Sweets & Savories selling food. However, when she hears that the shop owner’s son is unable to find happiness and Selma’s soul is at stake, she decides to try and help them.

How Icasia Bloom Touched Happiness by Jessica Bell is a dystopian tale that questions our happiness and purpose in life. It has a really interesting premise, but the story falls apart from poor execution.

First off, the second point of view in this book really didn’t work for me here. The story is told by Icasia Bloom who is addressing a woman named Eve. However, at times, Icasia is vividly accounting other characters actions and conversations for events she wasn’t physically present for like she’s an omniscient narrator. This would have made more sense for a story with an unreliable narrator who’s a storyteller that embellishes the truth (like in The Kingkiller Chronicle or The Pariah), but in the context of this novel and her character … it’s just odd.

Also, the worldbuilding in this book is extremely thin and leaves so many questions unanswered. For instance, teenage girls are required to be inseminated at the age of 15, but why that age? Why so young? This isn't the Middle Ages where people have a very short life expectancy around 30 due to disease. Also, the explanation for how the entire world became ruled by a single philanthropist because they bailed world leaders out of gambling debt feels laughably implausible and flimsy.

Overall, I found myself questioning was going on in this book so much that I found it difficult to enjoy.

Thank you, NetGalley and Vine Leaves Press, for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Book Details:

Publication Date : September 21, 2021

Publisher : Vine Leaves Press

ISBN : 1925965600

Pages : 236

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