Pearl In Deep

Pearl, Pearl, Pearl … what a mess you’ve gotten yourself into!

Pearl Blackwood is a server at a swanky restaurant called Sky when she’s chewed out by her boss in front of the customers one evening. One of those customers, Christopher, takes an interest in her poor treatment and makes sure her boss publicly apologizes to her for it.

Sounds like her knight in shining armor, huh? Well … not so much. This enigmatic stranger will woo Pearl’s heart, but at what cost?

Once again, Faith Gardner has put the reader in the world of Jolvix, a futuristic tech company, though it plays only a minor role here. Christopher is employed by them, though his exact role is unclear. His stories don’t always line up, you see.  We do know that he understands how to create “deepfakes”: AI-created videos so real that it’s difficult for the untrained eye to know when they’re fake. Unfortunately, he’s also a psychopath, so his idea of fair play when using them is not necessarily yours and mine.

As Pearl gets deeper into her relationship with Christopher and new factors come into play, the game they’re playing with each other gets more and more dangerous … for them and everyone else.

I’ll say this: I loved this story, but Pearl’s decision-making processes made me a bit crazy! I mean, c’mon girl: Christopher had so many red flags around him that I’m surprised he wasn’t being chased by angry bulls the whole story! Prudence wasn’t her strong point. 

All things said, this is another fantastic entry into the Jolvix series. These stories are standalones within the same universe, so there’s no need to read them in any particular order. I can’t wait to see what Gardner comes up with next!

★★★★ ½

Thanks to Mirror House Press, NetGalley and author Faith Gardner for this ARC to honestly review. It’s due to be published tomorrow, February 23rd!