This book was ok but just ok.
I could walk away from it and I did.

I mainly wanted to read Assassins: Nemesis because it was going to be told from Blake’s point of view, and I really liked the chapter/s that were from Blake’s perspective in Assassins: Discord. So to have a whole book about Blake was something I really looked forward to.

Blake is “mixed race, multiethnic, allergic to more things than I want to name, intersex because of partial androgen sensitivity syndrome, expressively genderfluid but mentally agender, and panromantic graysexual”. That quote is actually from Blake when Daelan (Blake’s love interest, I guess) asks how Blake identifies. And, to be honest, I loved this. I loved the fact that Daelan asked because he genuinely wanted to know, and I loved that because Blake gave this answer I knew I didn’t have to try and guess how Blake identifies (which does happen sometimes in LGBTQIA+ books without explicit labels).

I absolutely loved being inside Blake’s head, and I was always rooting for Blake because I wanted Blake to have a happily ever after – the things that happened in Blake’s life in both this book and the previous were shit and this precious character deserved happiness at the end.

Blake’s genderfluidity was written into the book in a really lovely way, and I adored how accepting the Calvers were of Blake’s changing gender expression and pronouns. The fact that they asked about Blake’s pronouns, and then used the correct ones from there on in was just great. This is how everyone (fictional and not) should be. The way Blake’s grey-asexuality was presented in this book felt pretty authentic, and it’s clear that the author didn’t dump queer identities on characters without knowing what they meant. For example, it’s clear quite early on that Blake has romantic feelings for Daelan, but only wants cuddles and closeness with him, and not much else.

I mainly liked this book because of the characters, which is how I felt about the previous book, as well. The plot just didn’t engage with me entirely, and I was more invested in the characters and their relationships than the importance of taking down the person behind all of the evil stuff. But that isn’t to say that the plot isn’t intriguing. I really take my hat off to the author for creating such an intricate and detailed world. I was constantly in awe of how all the little and big things fit together in this massive mastermind plan. The thought and time and effort that must have gone into creating a plot like this must have been something else.

Spoilers in this paragraph. When I came to the end of Assassins: Nemesis, I was happy with how everything panned out. Although, a little thought came into my head that decided it wanted a book about Blake and Daelan after the end of this one. Just the two of them being teenagers and adorable together and not fighting for their lives. I want a contemporary novel about them after Assassins: Nemesis!

All in all, Assassins: Nemesis was a pretty good conclusion to this one-of-a-kind series that is filled to the brim with diverse characters.

© 2017, Chiara @ Books for a Delicate Eternity. All rights reserved.

Plot-heavy, espionage YA thriller. I particularly loved that the main character identifies as intersex, genderfluid, and graysexual. Great to see diversity among other characters as well. The book could have benefited from better pacing as well as character and relationship development, but overall a fun read.

This book is perfect if what you want is spy, thriller, espionage with assassins and vigilantes running around, trying to stop a woman who promises world domination through a series of explosions and a virus.

I had no idea what I was getting into, but I'd heard enough good things about this that I was definitely interested.

The first chapter is incredibly fast paced, throwing you into the deep end without so much as a paddle, and so many names that it's difficult to keep track of them. It isn't until the second chapter that the smoke clears (a little bit) and we start to see a little bit more clearly the characters who are going to be the mains for this part of the series.

Blake is an intersex character, who is saved from an assassination in the first part of the novel and acts as the character who doesn't understand everything that is going on immediately but definitely wants to put him/herself in danger if it helps. S/he also change pronouns for the entirety of this book, as well as explaining why it is that s/he doesn't identify with 'they' pronouns (which is also the reason why I'm not defaulting to 'they' pronouns for this review).

Although the author is neither intersex or multigender, it's clear that she has done her own research for this very complex character. Not only that, though, but she's clearly a strong ally and I particularly loved the scenes where the companion character of Daelan never made a big deal of the pronouns Blake slipped into at any part of the novel. Actually, Daelan's reactions were a big part of what I loved throughout this story.

My biggest complaint is that it was too fast paced plot wise to allow for much character interaction or depth, beyond what was given to Blake's gender identity. I felt I got a taste of Kindra and Dru in this one (although they have their own novel separately so maybe that doesn't matter as much), as well as enough of Sera, Amett and Adila to know I wanted more. However, this isn't a genre I read a lot of so maybe that's more standard than I think it is.

The only part where I really found difficulty with identifying with Blake's character was the gender change that occurred towards the end of the book, in the midst of a life-or-death situation for this character. In my experience, at least, being in the midst intense life situations doesn't allow for a lot of time for philosophical assessment over what gender I would prefer to express as at the same time.

Definitely not something I would recommend against because of. I don't think I've ever read a book with a character like Blake and I'm so happy to be able to say otherwise now.