Nemesis

Nemesis

My Rating: Twisty-turvy and Awesome!

ASIN: B01F2WPPVO
Pages: 443
Series: Project Nemesis #1

He killed me. He killed me not. He killed me.


It’s been happening since Min was eight. Every two years, on her birthday, a strange man finds her and murders her in cold blood. But hours later, she wakes up in a clearing just outside her tiny Idaho hometown—alone, unhurt, and with all evidence of the horrifying crime erased.


Across the valley, Noah just wants to be like everyone else. But he’s not. Nightmares of murder and death plague him, though he does his best to hide the signs. But when the world around him begins to spiral toward panic and destruction, Noah discovers that people have been lying to him his whole life. Everything changes in an eye blink.


For the planet has a bigger problem. The Anvil, an enormous asteroid threatening all life on Earth, leaves little room for two troubled teens. Yet on her sixteenth birthday, as she cowers in her bedroom, hoping not to die for the fifth time, Min has had enough. She vows to discover what is happening in Fire Lake and uncovers a lifetime of lies: a vast conspiracy involving the sixty-four students of her sophomore class, one that may be even more sinister than the murders.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Nemesis was a complete mind bender. I have to be honest, I requested the book at my library by mistake. I thought I was requesting a different book by the same title… I’ll let you figure out which one. So, when I saw Reichs’ Nemesis, I thought, eh, the cover is different, but the title is right, and put it on hold. And I’m so glad my brain was addled that day and confused the two books, because Nemesis might just be one of my favorite books of the year!

First line: I swore to myself I wouldn’t die that day.

Writing a review is going to be tough. There are so many twists in the story and just about anything I say could be a potential spoiler… and I hate spoilers, especially in a book like Nemesis where twists and turns abound and keep the reader guessing to the very end. Seriously, I’m really good at figuring out the big “reveal” of most books. And, at about the halfway point, I thought I had Nemesis figured out. Ten pages later I realized I knew nothing.

I read a few more chapters and was sure I had it all figured out. This time I KNEW I had it. Yeah… nope. Chapter 47… I had it. For sure this time. Chapter 48… what the heck is going on? Nemesis kept me guessing all the way to the end. And I loved that! I think I knew what was going down around chapter 50 or 51, but that was because the big reveal had happened. The author did a great job of keeping me guessing to the very end—when he wanted to share the secrets of the story. And what secrets they are!

I liked Min, the main character a lot. I’ll admit, I wasn’t sure about her at first. But it didn’t take long for me to connect with her. I really liked that Reichs made her strong and independent. She was a take-charge person who wasn’t afraid to speak up when she felt something or someone wasn’t right. Of the two main characters, Noah and Min, she was the stronger, bolder personality. And I liked that. Overall, Min’s character is developed well. The reader gets a good sense of who she is and what made her an in-your-face type of person.

Noah, the male main character and the second POV the story is narrated from, is the opposite of Min. Where she is abrasive, he’s meek. Min speaks her mind, Noah hesitates in the background. He’s a follower. Doesn’t stand up for what he knows is right, or step in when he knows something is wrong. But, he’s not a bad character. In fact, I really liked Noah. And once readers learn his background, they’ll understand and forgive his flaws (which aren’t really flaws at all.) Noah’s character, like Min, is developed well. I found him very relatable and likable, and sometimes felt bad for him.

There was a third character that was a semi-main character. Technically, I guess he’d be classified as a secondary character—I’m not sure. Tack, aka Thumbtack, is Min’s best friend. And he’s freakin’ hilarious. I really liked Tack. The reader isn’t given much information about him, but what we do find out is enough to make Tack relatable and real. And I looked forward to his snarky comments.

The mechanics of the book are spot on. Pacing is good. The story kept me engaged and immersed in the world Reichs created. The characters are fully developed. Even secondary characters are fleshed out fairly well. The story is unique and I would have plowed through the book in one sitting if I didn’t, you know, have to be an adult and do adult things… like, make sure my kids were dressed before they left for school and feed them when they got home.

But that ending! I hated it. But it was an awesome way to end the book. But, still, I hated it. Because I thought I was getting a different book by the same name, I did know anything about Reichs’ Nemesis. So, I didn’t know it was the first in a series. And, be forewarned, like most series beginners, there is a cliffhanger. And it made me want to throw the book across the room. But I didn’t. Because we don’t hurt books. But I did close it really, really hard.

Bottom line: Twisty and turvy, Nemesis will keep you guessing to the very end. The story is original and unique and has characters you’ll love. It’s is definitely one of my favorite books of 2017 and Brendan Reichs is an author I’ll keep on my TBR list. I totally recommend you grab a copy of Nemesis and block off a few hours to read because once you start, you won’t want to stop!

Read it. Like, right now!

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Michelle

I'm an award-winning YA and NA author... but, really? I'm the wife of an amazing man, mom of four awesome kids, a reader of words, and writer of stories. I love candles and books, think garden gnomes are creepy and M&Ms are the perfect food (especially peanut butter). I live and write in Texas, but was raised in Flint, Michigan and will always think of the Great Lakes state as home.

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