BLOG TOUR Review: Hive by D.L. Orton

Hi everyone! I’m delighted to join the tour organised by TheWriteReads for Jump, the second book in the Madders of Time series. Today I’ll be sharing my review for book #1, Hive. Read on to find out more!

I received a review copy of this book for free from the author as part of the blog tour organised by TheWriteReads. This did not affect my opinion of the book in any way.

Published: May 2025
Pages: 350

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Blurb

What if saving the future meant rewriting the past?

In a dying world overrun by microdrones, humanity’s last survivors cling to life inside the Eden-17 biodome. Isabelle Sanborn knows her time is running out, but one desperate plan might give humanity a second chance. With the help of Madders, an enigmatic AI built from the memories of a brilliant physicist, Isabelle sends Diego Nadales—the love of her life—35 years into the past. His mission? To change the course of history and prevent their world’s collapse.

When Diego arrives in the vibrant yet fragile Main Timeline, he’s forced to confront ghosts of the past, including a younger, ambitious version of Isabelle. As he battles to shape a better future, Diego must navigate a delicate web of relationships and events without destroying the very fabric of time.

Brimming with suspense, heart-pounding action, and a poignant love story that transcends time, Madders of Time – Book One is a breathtaking science fiction adventure. Award-winning author DL Orton weaves a tale that explores sacrifice, resilience, and the timeless power of love.

Fans of The Time Traveler’s Wife and Dark Matter will find themselves captivated by this unforgettable journey through parallel worlds and intertwining destinies.

The clock is ticking. Can love survive the collapse of time itself?

Prepare to lose yourself in the first instalment of the Madders of Time series—a story that will keep you turning pages and leave you hungry for more.

My Thoughts…

I don’t usually gravitate towards sci-fi or dystopian novels. Nothing wrong with them, but I tend to prefer picking up books in other genres. Yet, there was something about Hive that caught my attention, and I’m glad I joined the blog tour! I whizzed through this book, utterly captivated by Diego, Isabel, Matt and the rest of the cast.

I always worry a bit when a story employs time travel and/or multiverses, as things can get very messy very quickly. I’m happy to say, this wasn’t the case here. Aside from a couple of instances, I found it incredibly easy to follow what was happening, and it didn’t feel as though the science jargon ever took over. I hear that this book is connected to the author’s previous trilogy, but it’s not necessary to have read that in order to enjoy Hive. I hadn’t, and I don’t think I missed any significant pieces to connect with the characters and follow the plot.

Speaking of characters, I really enjoyed the multiple POV narration. We follow Isabel, Diego and Matt at different points in the timeline, and it was great to see everything that was happening from multiple perspectives. The log entries at the beginning of each chapter always made it clear whose POV we were about to read and when in time the events being narrated occurred, ensuring no confusion. I also loved having a small illustration of the character at the beginning of each chapter – it made it so much easier to visualise them!

Diego and Isabel’s relationship was truly lovely, a kind of second-chance romance that develops very naturally, although I found Matt to be a far more interesting character. His relationship with his daughter Cassie was particularly heartwarming and it was fascinating to see the lengths he would go to in order to protect her. The secondary characters definitely added some interesting dynamics, although a few of them felt slightly too stereotypical for my liking and fell flat. Although I will say, given that this is only the first book in the series, I’m expecting them to be further developed in the following books, if the development of the main characters is any indication!

The plot is gripping, even though at times it hit a bit too close to home for comfort. The race against time to attempt to change the outcome of global tragedies of enormous scale – maybe even preventing the end of humanity as a whole – works extremely well, although I would have liked to see more of the Diego who travelled to this universe as well as the original one. The pacing was mostly great, although the book seemed to lose a bit of steam towards the middle, where there was a lot of sitting and talking and a few scenes that felt somewhat repetitive. This isn’t a major flaw though, as it was still a very entertaining read overall. With that ending, I couldn’t wait to pick up the second book! (And lucky for you, you won’t have to wait long to hear my thoughts on the second book as it will publish tomorrow as part of the blog tour!)