I really like Madeline Ashby's books and was hooked on this one from the first page.

For some reason, I thought this one was a sequel to [b:vN|13033939|vN (The Machine Dynasty, #1)|Madeline Ashby|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327673811s/13033939.jpg|18197447] and [b:iD|16127258|iD (The Machine Dynasty, #2)|Madeline Ashby|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1362599589s/16127258.jpg|21951359], but it is not.

There are no talking rodents, but how much I liked the main character made up for that.

Oh, and bonus, it has Newfoundlanders. I don't think I've ever read a sci-fi with Newfs.