Nadia was born the heiress to a corporate empire, destined for a life of wealth and privilege in what used to be America. But she would rather spend her time committing high-tech heists, aided and abetted by her oldest friend, Tess. Tess is a technical genius, a snarky hacker who designed and built her own right arm, and together, they pull off a series of daring crimes.
Jackson was raised in the slums. Now sheâs a cop, finally living on the right side of the old sea walls. Sheâs supposed to be hunting Cheshire, a reclusive hacktivist stirring up unrest, but the nightly news is full of a woman breaking the law and getting away with it, blowing kisses as she escapes. Jackson hates every minute of it.
When Nadia uncovers a plot that could change the very nature of humanity, she is forced to confront the powers that rule her home. And Jackson has to question who, exactly, her badge serves.
In a doomed city on the edge of the future, both women are caught fighting to survive. But an unlikely romance, and an even unlikelier partnership, might be the only thing that saves Nadia.
Nadia was born the heiress to a corporate empire, destined for a life of wealth and privilege in what used to be America. But she would rather spend her time committing high-tech heists, aided and abetted by her oldest friend, Tess. Tess is a technical genius, a snarky hacker who designed and built her own right arm, and together, they pull off a series of daring crimes.
Jackson was raised in the slums. Now sheâs a cop, finally living on the right side of the old sea walls. Sheâs supposed to be hunting Cheshire, a reclusive hacktivist stirring up unrest, but the nightly news is full of a woman breaking the law and getting away with it, blowing kisses as she escapes. Jackson hates every minute of it.
When Nadia uncovers a plot that could change the very nature of humanity, she is forced to confront the powers that rule her home. And Jackson has to question who, exactly, her badge serves.
In a doomed city on the edge of the future, both women are caught fighting to survive. But an unlikely romance, and an even unlikelier partnership, might be the only thing that saves Nadia.
It was ugly, really.
Horrid.
She stared at herself in a small mirror, the gem around her neck barely catching her eye.
âStunning,â the salesman said. âThat color is perfect for you.â
She ignored him. He didnât know what he was talking about. The gem on this necklace was too big and tawdry. Not at all like the simple, elegant silver thing a few inches farther down the display, with diamonds so small and clear they looked like pinpricks of light running down the chain.
It had caught her eye the moment sheâd walked in. She hadnât once looked at it since.
âIâll take it,â she said, eyes still on the mirror and showing the salesman a perfectly forged smile.
âIâll get the case then.â He stepped away. He didnât seem to suspect a thing.
She rested her purse on the display case, just so, her hand fast and precise. When the man returned, nothing appeared out of place.
The glass lit up, a bill and scanner appearing over the more expensive pieces locked up below.
That much? she thought. For this garbage?
She didnât shake her head or roll her eyes or betray any hint of what she was thinking. Instead she dug a card out of her bag and pushed it across the glass display case.
It was important to buy something. No one was ever suspicious of a paying customer. Most customers paid using a tiny chip in their wrist, invisible under the skin. She had a small scar instead.
âThank you, MissâŚNadia,â the salesman said. Still smiling but his eyes were hollow. Customer service eyes. Or maybe it was just the retinal implants.
With practiced nonchalance, Nadia took off the ugly necklace and let the man case it up for her. A few long, agonizing moments later, she stepped outside into the city.
Her city. Her home.
A healthy stream of people flowed down the stark pavement of the sidewalk. Nadia melded into them, just another fashionably dressed young woman shopping downtown. One of many wearing this season's latest, hers being a slim white trench coat with a sweeping scarlet âAâ spiraling down one sleeve. This was the fashion district, after all.
Stretching up the glass-paneled side of a skyscraper, an ad reminded her that she was in an urban redevelopment zone owned by Auktoris Global Funds, Inc. Celebrating twenty years of their reclaimed city. The ad flickered, replaced by a cartoon catâs face with a smile full of sinister teeth, grinning over the words TWENTY YEARS OF SLAVERY LOL.
Nadia ignored itâas did everyone elseâignored it as steadily as she ignored the small drone hovering a few feet over them, clicking dozens of times a second as it collected face scans.
Her own face was calm. Nothing to see there at all, no reason for anyone to look at her tiny pleased smirk. In her bag, her fingers curled around the simple, elegant silver necklace, with tiny brilliant diamonds running down its length.
*Â Â Â Â *Â Â Â Â *
Home was among an endless row of office buildings nearby. The neighborhood had nothing to draw anyone who didnât work there. No landmarks, no common spaces, no name. Only nearly identical skyscrapers as far as the eye could see, plastered in moving advertisements.
Nadia also owned an apartment downtown, of course. But this was home.
Her beloved white scooter hovered a foot over the pavement, leaving a V-shaped wake of dust fluttering after her. It was one of the few things she owned that she actually had affection for: elegant white with clean classic curves, modeled after the old Vespas back when they had wheels. Most people didnât own one. It was too easy to rent one or call on one of the many hardware-as-a-service apps and have one arrive for you.
But this one was hers. Paid in full, up front.
She swooped into a wide, lazy curve. The streets were nearly empty this late, plenty of space between the rideshares traveling home on their own accord, full of office serfs still typing away. A short ramp led down into a garage that opened for the chip on the handlebars of her ride. It was rare to find a garage like thisâa private garage, with a private elevator leading to a private office that was sufficient as private living space in a pinch.
In such a nondescript building, too. It was perfect.
She left her helmet on the scooterâs seat and tried very hard to think of nothing on her short elevator trip. Normally sheâd be giddy, running her fingers over her latest catch and sneaking peeks at it now that they were alone together. One last little bit of fun should have been just the thing to calm her nerves. Instead she gripped the necklace tightly in her coat pocket, staring at nothing.
The elevator doors opened. A visitor, approaching from the main elevator, would be greeted with a plain, locked door and a placard next to it reading Functional Fashions. Coming in through her private elevator, however, led into what had been built to be a cubicle farm.
Nadiaâs one and only employeeâand she fought a sly smile whenever she thought of the word, because they were partners in all but nameâwas sitting at a desk dominated by multiple screens. No reaction, no greeting.
âGood to see you too,â Nadia said, walking past her with barely a glance. âPlease donât get up. Dinner is ready, Iâm sure?â
That got her a dry snort. Neither of them could be trusted to cook. The office had a kitchenette, but it was part of a break room that served as little more than storage. Nadia wove her way through her personal workspace, a chaotic set of tables and mannequins covered in projects at various stages of abandonment.Â
She stopped at a set of drawers and opened one. Piles of jewelry glittered up at her, mostly necklaces, tangled up with bracelets and rings in a dazzling variety of cuts and colors. Tens of thousands of dollarsâ worth of gems. Some of it she had even paid for.
She fished the small case out of her purse, letting her fingers caress the black velvet for a moment. The case cracked open easily, unceremoniously dumping the ugly necklace in with the rest. The stolen necklace took its place.
âDid you happen to get the blueprints, Tess?â Nadia called out.
âAny minute now.â
A heavy sigh from Nadia. A theatrical roll of the eyes. For no oneâs benefit but her own, of course. Tess was still absorbed in whatever nonsense she was up to now.
âTonight,â Nadia said, stalking over to the girl who was currently, against all odds, failing her utterly. âItâs supposed to be tonight.â
No response. Nadia hovered at the back of Tessâs chair, her eyes running over the screens piled up on the desk. Six of them, two rows of three, scrolling too quickly to read through news feeds and lines of code and social media posts, a testament to how useless technology could be. Nadia couldnât begin to make sense of it.Â
She knew it didnât matter, though; Tess was probably only paying attention to the displays built into her eyes.
âI said tonight,â Nadia repeated. âAs in a few short hours.â
âI heard you,â Tess said. She wore thick-framed glasses without lenses. Nadia could see the flicker in her pupils where retinal implants painted a picture just for her. The nanoengineered irises were expanding and contracting rapidly, completely shielded from the real world.
Nadia didnât bump Tessâs chair or wave a hand in her face. She merely stuck out an index finger and pressed it against the side of her partnerâs head.
Tess jumped in place, her brow pinching.
âDonât tell me youâre gaming again?â Nadia said.
âNo. Yes. Maybe.â Tess slapped the finger away and turned her chair to face Nadia. The flicker in her pupils died down to a spark. âThe download is going on right now. What else do you want me to do?â she said, sniffing loudly and wiping her nose on the sleeve of her hoodie.
Nadia said nothing as she frowned at the lack of manners. She stared instead, distracted. Her friend had chosen a beautiful deep purple for her new eye color when the implants had gone in. Although Nadia hated what retinal implants did to pupilsâmade them look hollow, faraway, glazed overâshe couldnât argue with the color change. Tessâs eyes were gorgeous now, stunning in a way that clashed entirely with her unkempt brown ponytail.
âYou stole something, didnât you?â Tess said.
âExcuse me?â
âYou always get that stupid smug little smile.â Tess tried to mimic it, pouting awkwardly instead.
Nadia planted her nose high in the air, preparing her finest haughty tone. âI shanât dignify these base accusations with an argument. I did, however, get something for you.â
âFor me?â
Nadia held out the black case, which was accepted gingerly and with a show of great trepidation.
âDo try to contain yourself,â Nadia said.
âUhâŚwhat is it?â
Open it, you dolt.
Nadia didnât reply; she simply raised an eyebrow.
Tess opened the case and managed to look even less excited somehow. âItâsâŚbeautiful, actually. Kind of more your style though, isnât it?â
âI already have one just like it,â Nadia said. âArenât you going to put it on?â
âThis would be really sweet of you,â Tess said, âif I didnât know you had a whole box full of stolen necklaces around here somewhere.â
So she hadnât found the drawer yet. âI spent money.â
âMmm.â Tess side eyed her, clearly not buying it.
âGet up, will you?â Nadia said, pulling Tess out of the chair and turning her around. âIâm going to put it on you, and youâre going to say, âMy goodness, this is absolutely stunning!â and Iâm going to give you a look because I was right all along.â
Tess grunted in reply, purposefully slouching and slumping her shoulders and making this difficult. She passed the necklace back, and for one fleeting moment Nadiaâs fingers met the metal tips of Tessâs right hand, a full prosthetic replacement that went all the way up to Tessâs shoulder. Nadia suppressed a shudder. It wasnât cold; that would have been better somehow. It didnât feel particularly warm either. It was strangely skeletal, exposed polymer strands shrinking and pulling to move the fingers in an eerie reproduction of a real human hand.
She brushed Tessâs ponytail to the side and fought to fasten the necklace. âYouâve seen the newer models, correct? With the shape-molded shell?â
Tess didnât even bother to throw a heavy sigh. âI thought you didnât keep up on the latest in prosthetic trends.â
âThey look very real. Very natural.â
âI built this,â Tess said, and Nadia felt the tension in her friendâs body, the walls strengthening. âItâs as much mine as the original was.â
âYes, dear, I know,â Nadia said, with no empathy whatsoever. âThere! Turn around. Letâs see it!â
Tess did so. It wasâŚnot absolutely stunning. Something about jeans and a purple hoodie with âMy Other Car Runs on Linuxâ across the front had that effect on a silver-and-diamond necklace. The fact that Tess once again was sniffing loudly and using her sleeve as a tissue didnât help.
âRight all along, huh?â Tess said, shaking her head.
âWe have to dress you up nicely sometime,â Nadia said, for what had to have been the thousandth time in all the years theyâd known each other.
âIâm not taking fashion advice from someone wearing a piece of corporate propaganda.â
Nadia opened her mouth to say how much she hated this coat, but caught the words before they escaped. âYou went to prom in a pantsuit, for goodnessâ sake,â she said instead.
âOoh, look,â Tessâs pupils lit up again, no doubt an alert appearing in her vision. âYour download is finished.â
âSuch a masculine cut too. You couldâve at least worn a jacket with a peplum.â
âOoh, look at these important blueprints I downloaded for you,â Tess said, swinging her hand at the displays on her desk. The monitors acted as one, each sharing part of a blown-up image of building schematics. âI heard we needed these right away for some incredibly important and not at all stupid reason.â
âUgh, sarcasm.â Nadia tsked at her. âSo unattractive.â
âUnless youâre the one doing it?â
âThatâs called wit,â she said, although her heart wasnât in it. The screens had caught her eyes now, leading them in a quick and calculating scan.Â
âWasnât easy to get these,â Tess said. âAuktoris is getting more serious about their database security.â
âWell, itâs about time. WeâŚthey only own most of the city. Overlay electrical?â Nadia asked.
Tess didnât move. âAh, Iâm sorry. Were you asking me?â
Nadia gave her a withering look.
âOf course. Right,â Tess said, making a colored overlay appear with a quick gesture of her hand. âBecause someone still doesnât have interactivity implants.â
Nadia ignored her as she followed the lines on the map.
âYouâve seen the newer models, correct?â Tess said, matching Nadiaâs meter perfectly. âTheyâre completely invisible to the naked eye, exactly like the last generation. And the one before, come to think of it.â
Still ignored. âData lines as well,â she asked, pausing for a moment, then adding, âPlease.â
New colors appeared. âWhat does that look like to you?â Nadia said.
âLike a complete mess. The office above the store is piggybacking off the same connection the store has.â
âSame parent company.â
âAnd minimum effort,â Tess said.
âIâve found people can be relied upon for that much.â
A long moment passed, Nadia slowly biting her tongue the whole time.
âAll right, fine, go ahead and say it,â Tess said.
âTold you so,â Nadia said.
âIâm still skeptical we can get anything good out of this.â
âYou were the one who said all you needed was a strong, physically dominant connection.â
âDomain. A physical domain connection,â Tess said, averting her eyes and suddenly taking an intense interest in adjusting her bangs. âStill doesnât guarantee Iâll get anything valuable.â
âOnly one way to find out.â
Nadia drifted toward her workspace, to the nearest mannequin. It was wearing a black turtleneck with a slim band on one sleeve hiding a built-in touch console. The fabric was layered with enough wire to stretch back and forth across the office a few times. She knew this because sheâd painstakingly woven every inch of it into the fabric so that it was all but invisible.
âAre you sure youâre ready for this?â Tess asked.
This was some of Nadiaâs finer work, the cut slim and tight in a particularly flattering way. But the technology hidden inside was the valuable part, and all of that had come from Tess.
âAre you ready?â Nadia said. âIâm not doing this without you, and Iâm not doing it unless youâre absolutely certain you want this.â
Tess seemed to gather herself, standing up straight and meeting Nadia head on. âOh, Iâm in. Donât worry about me. I meanâŚyou know, youâre the one putting yourself out there.â
âThis isnât like when you hack or mine or whatever you call it now,â Nadia said, ignoring the glare the comment earned her. âYouâre certain nothing in the sweatshirt can be traced back to you?â
âIâm clean. Unless you flip on me.â
No chance of that. Nadia ran a hand down the slick, soft fabric of the turtleneck, light but strong. She knew it was synthetic, and hated that fact a bit, but there really was no other proper choice for the job. She couldnât even feel the wires.
âI wanted to thank you,â Nadia said, settling her eyes on the necklace.
âHuh?â
âYouâve put an incredible amount of work into my silly idea.â
âPssh. Nothing to it,â Tess said, waving her artificial hand. It was completely fluid in motion, as lifelike as could be. âItâs not like we donât stand to make a ton of money.â
Nadia was quiet.
âI meanâŚif we get something good,â Tess said. âAnd if you donât wind up in jail.â
Very large ifs. Nadia crossed her arms and put a thoughtful finger to her lips. âIâm going to rest up a bit. Do we need anything else?â
âYouâre going to what?â Tess said.
âRest. Sleep. Recuperate from my trying day,â Nadia said, ignoring the scoff Tess made, âin preparation for our long, exciting night ahead.â
âI donât know how you can sleep like you do.â
âBeauty rest, my dear. Very important. We are ready, yes?â
Tess nodded. âGood to go.â
âMmm.â Still staring at her handiwork, Nadia returned the nod absentmindedly. âIâll be back out in a bit.â
The corner office called to her. It was supposed to have been for an executiveâpractically an apartment unto itself, a set of large rooms with a private bathroom attached. Instead of a desk, it had a bed and the bare essentials: a few spare pieces of hotel furniture as soulless as the building they resided in.
She and Tess called it the âPass out from Exhaustion Suite.â Nadia used it on a more or less permanent basis, although she was a far cry from exhausted right now. The moment she closed the door behind her, the tension in her chest returnedâa wire strung tightly and still being pulled.
She sat on the edge of the bed and stared at a mirror across from her. There was no reason to be nervous. This would not be her first time breaking the law.
It would, however, be her first time involving an accomplice.
The mirror showed her something she very much did not like. Her face was still stunning, of course, high cheekbones and a slender jaw arranged in perfect symmetry, framed by elegant black tresses. But there were shadows in her eyes, flickers of doubt and guilt that looked as bad as a retinal implant. She flopped back onto the bed before her face fell into an ugly scowl.
Sleep. Still in her clothes, she lay back, running over their plan in her mind.
There was nothing left to do but wait.
The Sapphire Shadow is a thrilling, apocalyptic tale that felt a little too close to reality at times! Set in a glamorous walled-in city (measures to combat the rising sea level), Nadia and her partner in crime/high school friend Tess enjoy going on heists. These small, rebellious acts of jewel and digital information thievery against the unstoppable force in charge, Auktoris Global Funds, bring joy to Nadia and bring money to Tess. Little does Nadia know how much of an impact she can have on the people of the city.
From the beginning of the book, I connected with Nadia, the Sapphire Shadow herself. Her petty crimes of stealing jewels, just to spite her mother and the powers of the city, felt like a normal reaction to feeling helpless, to being treated like a puppet. Anything to show the authorities (and the universe) that they canât control you is an attitude a lot of us can understand.
Nadiaâs motivation in the beginning does feel petty, but the longer sheâs the badass Sapphire Shadow, the more her motivation expands to include caring for other people. Part of this is undoubtedly because her knowledge of the dangers of Auktoris grows, another terrifying part of this book that feels like it could actually happen in the near future. But the other part is that she does slowly overcome her past.
Tess, the tech genius behind the Sapphire Shadow and much more (spoilers!), remains shrouded in mystery for almost the entire book. Itâs something that bothered me a lot because it almost felt like she was a placeholder (or a...shadow), but once you get to the end, itâs clear that this was an intentional choice by Wake. Tess deliberately hides who she is from everyone, and once she finally gets to share that with the people close to her, she lights up.
This is the best part about the cliffhanger. The book ends with us finally, finally seeing Tess, and it makes us want more, and oh my goodness I cannot wait for the next book. I am so there for more of Tess.
Wakeâs strengths in The Sapphire Shadow include compelling action scenes that keep you reading long after you meant to put the book down and go to bed as well as innovative (and just really cool) technology. Believable world-building and an ever-building plot kept me hooked.
Although the âdictatorshipâ government could be viewed as a caricature and perhaps even a commentary on the state of the world right now, it was surreal reading about the walls around the city, the way the private police (the âDomesâ) treated citizens both innocent and guilty, and how the higher ups just swept everything under the rug. I donât know that Wake is trying to incite a rebellion in the real world today, but this story is at least a good reminder that when people are held in ignorance and want, they will band together and do something about it.
The other major strength worth mention in this book is the diversity of the cast. Not only is there racial diversity, there itâs also exciting that the three main characters are part of the LGBTQIA+ community. As a straight, cis person, I canât truly comment on what this means, but I can say that it is exciting to see new books including diverse characters, ones who are exploring their identities throughout the course of the book. And that they arenât defined solely by one facet of their identities.
The only weakness â or place for improvement, rather, as it didnât take away from my experience as a reader â is in character development. From the beginning, we know that Nadia grew up rich and that she snubbed Tess when they were in high school. Nadia still has this snobby attitude, albeit slightly less so, by the chronological beginning of the book, but itâs difficult to see her growth within the scope of the book itself.
Tess, less so. That doesnât mean either of these characters didnât grow in this book, but we donât get to see it. I wouldâve loved to see more flashbacks as a way of comparing who they were in the past to who they are at different points throughout the story.
There is a really artfully done parallel flashback at the end of the novel revolving around Nadiaâs father; the story wouldâve benefitted greatly from more of that.
We see perhaps the most growth in Officer Jackson, who moves from seeing the system and the law as a force of good to by the end, after the horrors sheâs witnessed, opening herself up to being wrong and to dedicating herself to right. In a literal sense, she still is the same person who fights for what she believes is right, so her growth focuses on becoming more open to questioning the status quo.
Who would enjoy this book?
People who love superhero stories. The Sapphire Shadow is a mixture of Batman (rich hero with no powers but lots of just really cool tech) and Spiderman all wrapped up in a sassy fashionista.
People who enjoy scifi, post-apocalyptic, social commentaries, and diverse stories.
My final warning is to be ready to want the second book, as The Sapphire Shadow ends on a wonderful cliffhanger!
Hope this review gave you a good idea of what to expect from the story. Happy reading!