Review: Fracture by Melanie Bokstad Horev

January 4, 2026

Synopsis:

She erased her grief. Now it has a body—and it remembers everything.

In a world where grief is illegal, Dr. Mara Lior makes a fatal mistake: she tries to cut her daughter out of her mind.

The procedure was supposed to erase four years of mourning. Instead, it rips those memories free as Echo—a separate consciousness with Mara’s grief, her rage, and her daughter’s face.

Now Mara is a prisoner, forced to hunt the anomaly she created. Echo is a fugitive who becomes the resistance’s most dangerous weapon. Two halves of one shattered soul, on opposite sides of a war neither wanted.

But their enemies have discovered something terrifying: the only way to destroy Echo is to reclaim her. And the only way to save Echo is to let Mara die.

Review:

In a world where grief and other emotional spikes are considered dangerous (and controlled by the government), constantly being reminded of the loss of her daughter is not only painful for Mara, but also makes her an outlier and is putting her in danger.

She wants to separate / hide these feeling out and decides to separate them from herself. Sending these to a synthetic body is not only raising unwanted attention but puts her in danger also. Her fractured side face unique struggles and at the end of the day the important part is asking the question is separating out part of ourselves can be a good thing or if we are only complete if we are allowed to feel all of it (good and bad).

The concept of this book was very promising and challenged my perception of *what makes us complete* The plot of the book is something, that doesn’t sound completely unrealistic to happen in the future. In parts it was a bit too technical for me to follow all nuances (Coding, AI etc.), but overall, it fast paced and provides a complex environment, that I enjoyed emerging in.

🌙 Recension: Fracture by Melanie Bokstad Horev
📚 Genre: Sci-Fi, Thriller, Dystopia
📅 Release Date: December 1, 2025
📗 included in Kindle Unlimited
📱 Read as: Kindle
💸 I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
🗣️ Language: English
📆 Pages: 396
⭐️ 4/5