I found so many of the obnoxious recruitment, employment, monitoring, branding, incentivising practices and other elements of the story so recognizable in everyday life that it was for me a very disturbing read. Is this what we have to look forward to? I read it on holiday, and was so weirded out coming home to find McDs has rebranded it's playground to "PlayPlace", and Temu has inserted its tentacles into nearly everything. It's happening! Don't eat the burgers!!!

Paxton didn’t want to work for Cloud. The superstore ruined his life and put him out of business. But he needs a job and Cloud is hiring. Zinnia is on a mission. She needs to infiltrate Cloud, and she can’t get caught. She meets Paxton, who has been selected to work for security. Soon, Paxton and Zinnia become embroiled in a scheme that will shake Cloud to its very foundation. When I started reading The Warehouse, I was expecting it to be a book that explored how an online business ran with a dash of mystery thrown in. I was not expecting this book to suck me in from the first page. I finished this book within 2 hours. So yeah, it is a fast read. It also had a well-written plotline with almost no lag. There was a tiny bit of lag when Paxton and Zinnia took their trip, but the author was able to bring plotline back. I liked Paxton. He seemed resigned to the fact that he was going to work for Cloud. He didn’t hold any resentment towards Cloud for making his business to go under. I thought that he was blind to Zinnia’s schemes. How could he not pick up that something wasn’t quite right with her? I mean, he walked in on her using the hospital computer after her accident!! That drove me nuts. I didn’t quite like Zinnia, but I also didn’t dislike her either. Her reasons for infiltrating Cloud weren’t clear at first. I wasn’t happy that she was using Paxton, but if I were in her situation, I would have done the same thing. She was a strong individual, though. The beatdown that she gave that one guy was epic. The mystery angle of the book was well written. While the middle of the book did Zinnia’s first part of her mission, there was a second part to it. The twist to that took me by surprise. I wasn’t expecting who it was!! The dystopian angle of the book, I had no problem believing. I can picture what happened to the world in this book (climate change, gun violence, unemployment) happening in real life. I also have no issue seeing an online company (who I will not name) taking over the world. I do want to add that I was grossed out about the burgers. I threw up a little in my mouth when it was revealed what they were made of. Talk about gross!! The end of The Warehouse was pretty standard. There were no dropped storylines. But, I did wonder what happened to Zinnia. I was also thrilled for Paxton and a little mad. What happened to him was not right. I would have flipped my lid if that happened to me. I would give The Warehouse an Adult rating. There is sex. There is language. There is violence. I would recommend that no one under the age of 21 read this book. I would reread The Warehouse. I would recommend it to family and friends. **I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**

I thought this book was pretty good. It was a quick read that had a lot of things to think about in terms of the future of stores and what it means to control everything. I thought the book had a few loose ends, but nothing major and the story was decent. I did think Paxton wasn't the greatest character in terms of boldness, but he did redeem himself near the end.