This book was not for me; don't get me wrong it was a good book, but I just was not the right audience for it, but I'm sure with the right audience it is a great book.

I was very excited for this book when I requested it but unfortunately it just wasn’t for me. I still may give it another try in the future.

The changing perspectives didn't bother me as much as the going from 1st to 3rd person did! Small quibble, but it threw me off every time. Overall it was pretty filled with tropes, but sometimes that's okay?

Anna Banks is a bit hit or miss author for me as far as her books go (I loved Of Poseidon, but not the rest of the series, and I loved Degrees of Wrong, which is not YA). I consider her to be a friend, though, and think she's great. Unfortunately, Nemesis was a bit of a "meh" read for me. I felt like I needed more dialogue. I really need the characters to talk and interact or I start to lose focus. I did enjoy all the romantic tension, though, which comes as no surprise. My books need romance! The world building was very well done, and I loved all the different and distinct kingdoms. The Egypt-like setting was super neat. I thought the body painting concept was unique and cool. The book started off with a bang, and then the pacing fell into a lagging drag of desert travel and planning that took forever. It took about half the book for the love interests to even meet, which is a long time in my opinion. Like I said, the tension was pretty great once it got started but it took so long to get there that I grew a bit bored. I won't be continuing on with this series, but I am excited for Anna's next project!

YA MINI REVIEWS 4
DECEMBER 29, 2019 LEAVE A COMMENT
I received this book for free from Library, Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

You Were Here by Cori McCarthy
on March 1, 2016
Genres: Young Adult Fiction, Social Themes, Friendship, Action & Adventure, Death & Dying
Pages: 400
Format: Hardcover, eARC
Source: Library, Publisher
Buy on Amazon
ISBN: 9781492617051
Goodreads
two-stars
Cori McCarthy delivers an emotionally taut page-turner perfect for fans of E. Lockhart, Jennifer Niven, and Jandy Nelson.
Jaycee is about to accomplish what her older brother Jake couldn't: live past graduation.
Jaycee is dealing with her brother's death the only way she can by re-creating Jake's daredevil stunts. The ones that got him killed. She's not crazy, okay? She just doesn't have a whole lot of respect for staying alive.
Jaycee doesn't expect to have help on her insane quest to remember Jake. But she's joined by a group of unlikely friends all with their own reasons for completing the dares and their own brand of dysfunction: the uptight, ex-best friend, the heartbroken poet, the slacker with Peter Pan syndrome, and... Mik. He doesn't talk, but somehow still challenges Jayce to do the unthinkable-reveal the parts of herself that she buried with her brother.
Cori McCarthy's gripping narrative defies expectation, moving seamlessly from prose to graphic novel panels and word art poetry. From the petrifying ruins of an insane asylum to the skeletal remains of the world's largest amusement park, You Were Here takes you on an unforgettable journey of friendship, heartbreak, and inevitable change.
"You Were Here is wrenchingly beautiful in its honest and achingly accurate portrayal of grief and how it breaks us-and the way unconditional friendship puts us back together."?Jo Knowles, award-winning author of See You At Harry's and Read Between the Lines
"The urban explorers of You Were Here dive deep into the forgotten man-made spaces all around them?and their own feelings of loss, love, and fear. McCarthy deftly intertwines the characters' stories, filling them with authentic pain and heartache as well as soaring moments of grace and humor. I dare you to read it!" ?Maggie Lehrman, author of The Cost of All Things

I really enjoy young adult contemporary books that deal with grief. I think it is because of the emotions involved while reading. You just get so invested and really end up feeling something for the characters. You Were Here by Cori McCarthy centers the grief of main character Jaycee, who is almost in stasis for the years after her daredevil brother Jake died. McCarthy’s book explores the impact this has not only on Jaycee, but on her childhood friends Mik and Natalie. Rounding out the case is Natalie’s boyfriend Zach and Zach’s friend Bishop.

You Were Here is told in chapters that alternate between Jaycee, Natalie, and Zach. Interspersed are manga chapters for Mik and street art for Bishop. While I did not connect with any particular character, I did think this story was uniquely told. I enjoyed the different forms the story took. Also, moving between characters kept the story from getting stale.

I would not say this is my favorite book. However, it’s an okay read. It also is a relatively fast read as well. I think if you want to read a book that doesn’t pull punches and that is different, pick up You Were Here. It is a great book for the actual audience that it is aimed at. As someone who is actually not a part of the intended audience, it wasn’t quite for me, and that is just fine.


I received this book for free from Library, Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

YA Mini Reviews 4Nemesis by Anna Banks
Also by this author: Joyride
Series: Nemesis #1
Published by Feiwel & Friends on October 4, 2016
Genres: Young Adult Fiction, Fantasy, Romance
Pages: 368
Format: eARC, Hardcover
Source: Library, Publisher
Buy on Amazon
ISBN: 9781250106094
Goodreads
four-stars
The princess didn't expect to fall in love--with her nemesis.
Princess Sepora of Serubel is the last Forger in all the five kingdoms. The spectorium she creates provides energy for all, but now her father has found a way to weaponize it, and his intentions to incite war force her to flee from his grasp. She escapes across enemy lines into the kingdom of Theoria, but her plans to hide are thwarted when she is captured and placed in the young king's servitude.
Tarik has just taken over rulership of Theoria, and must now face a new plague sweeping through his kingdom and killing his citizens. The last thing he needs is a troublesome servant vying for his attention. But mistress Sepora will not be ignored. When the two finally meet face-to-face, they form an unlikely bond that complicates life in ways neither of them could have imagined.
Sepora's gift could save Tarik's kingdom from the Quiet Plague. But should she trust her growing feelings for her nemesis, or should she hide her gifts at all costs?
A thrilling futuristic fantasy in which the fate of the world's energy source is in the hands of a prince and princess who are rivals, by the New York Times-bestselling author of the Syrena Legacy.

I am so pleasantly surprised by how much I liked Nemesis by Anna Banks. You see, I wasn’t a big fan of Of Poseidon but I really liked Joyride. So, Nemesis was a book that could honestly go either way. It ended up really working for me. And now I absolutely want to check out the sequel, at some point, once I get through all my Netgalley queue books.

Nemesis follows two main characters – Sepora and Tarik. Sepora is princess of Serubel and also a prisoner. She’s a forger meaning she naturally produces spectorium which is this rare element I guess. So, anyways she runs away to Theoria. It’s not an easy journey but somehow she ends up in the employ of Tarik who is now king of Theoria. He does not know Sepora’s real identity.

Of course, there’s a romance that blooms. Beyond that though, there’s also some really interesting world building. Also, there’s a plague. I liked learning about the different kingdoms. It’s fascinating – the contrast between Serubel and Theoria and the ruling styles.

This book goes by really fast. It’s not one where I felt myself getting bored. Both Sepora and Tarik are decent characters with different motivations but kind of the same goal. Granted, they’re both prioritizing their own kingdoms, but that’s to be expected. Give this book a shot, it’s a quick fantasy read without a ton of sequels so you get a complete story in just two books.

This book has been out for a while at this point. I have finally gotten around to actually reading this book and I must say that I am disappointed. I really wanted to like this book because I am a fan of Anna Bank’s other books. I loved her Of Poseidon series. But this book took so long for me to get into that I almost DNF’d it. I give this book a 3.0 star-rating.

We follow our main character Princess Sepora, who is a Forger, leaves her home in Serubel because she refuses to be used as a weapon by her father, so she escapes to Theoria, the rival kingdom. Along the way, she is kidnapped and human trafficked. Sepora becomes a slave for Tarik but he sees something special in her and decides to use her for something else. Sepora then becomes an assistant to a trusted advisor. Sepora gives advice about how to protect Theorian people. Then we have Tarik who is the newest ruler of Theoria and has to deal with a plague that is sweeping through the kingdom and killing the citizens. Tarik is a kind and empathetic king that does not want to see anything bad happen his kingdom.

I honestly was not vested in this story because it took so long to into the story. Yes, in the story was decent but it just took way to long to get there. But the idea of the story was intriguing which is why I wanted to read it, to begin with. The way the book is written is weird because Sepora’s side of the story is told in the first person and Tarik’s is written in the third person. The world-building was nicely done. I liked how Banks differentiated the countries and the way each of the 5 kingdoms was different from one another, and that individuals could have abilities. In the story, Sepora is kind of obnoxious certain she is supposed to be a slave. This behavior does not really make sense considering she is a slave.

Unfortunately, NEMESIS is not the book for me at this time. I might try it again in the future. Fans of fantasy and romance will enjoy it.

Princess Sepora wanted to prevent a war. As the last forger in Serubel she escapes to her enemies land Theoria in hopes to go unnoticed. Yet as luck would have it she finds herself in servitude to the Tarik the newly crowned King. He must not how who she is and what she can do in order to prevent a war. Sepora can be the salvation to Theoria and the deadly illness that has struck it but at what cost. Tarik and Sepora finds themselves falling for each other but duty to the kingdom comes before all else. What will happen when all is discovered?

FYI this book ends in a cliff hanger so if you got caught up in the drama of kingdoms you will definitely want to read book 2 to figure out what happens. I found myself enjoying this book and trying to figure out what took me so long to get to it.

This was one heck of a nice surprise! The surprise being two-fold: 1) that this is almost more of a romance novel than a fantasy story, and 2) that I liked it as much as I did!

Sepora is the daughter of the king of Serubel. She is a Forger - she has the ability to create an element known as spectorium which provides a unique source of energy for people. But her father has found a way to make spectorium into a weapon and now he wants to attack some of the neighboring kingdoms. But Sepora doesn't want her gift to be used to kill to she abandons her father and her home (so that he can't force her to make more spectorium). But as she wanders, she is grabbed by some men of the kingdom of Theoria and sold on a slaver's market where she is purchased to be a part of the harem for Tarik - the young, new ruler of Theoria.

Theoria isn't exactly mild-mannered and she speaks her mind to Tarik, who takes a real interest in her. He finds her intelligent, impetuous, and very attractive. She finds Tarik more kind-hearted than she expected and hopes that with her help and knowledge about her father's plans, she can prevent a war that would kill many.

She doesn't admit to Tarik her full abilities or lineage - only that she has knowledge of an impending war. Despite her attempts to stay impartial in regards to Tarik, she finds herself falling in love with him. But when he admits that he is about to marry the daughter of another king of another kingdom in order to bring their kingdoms together, she refuses to be Tarik's secret lover or concubine and she leaves ... only to be captured by her father's men.

I found this to be a really well-written story.

I was immediately caught up in the presentation of the characters, particularly Sepora who stands out to me, among YA sf/fantasy heroines because of the balance of characteristics. Too often a character in her position is either very head-strong and changes the people around her, or too shy and learns to come out of her shell. But Sepora is a smart character who understands her role, challenges it, and is truly motivated to find a way to peace above all else.

Tarik is also presented as a well-balanced character who steps into a role he wasn't quite prepared for, understands the people he looks after, and rules with a strong hand and strong heart. It is possible, just possible, that we go a little too far with the 'soft heart' routine, but that's quibbling.

The romance.... As I was reading, I found myself caught up in Sepora's story and at some point I realized that the two main characters were destined to get together and so I watched as author Banks developed this story-line and marveled at the pace and gentility in which the romance was revealed.

The trick here is that Banks <em>shows</em> us everything. She never tells us that Sepora is strong or that Tarik is kind or that their relationship is blossoming ... she shows it to us. This is one of the first lessons beginning writers are taught and yet is one of the hardest to accomplish. Banks does it sublimely.

The book doesn't entirely end because it holds on to a bit of a cliff-hanger for the next book. This is a tactic I do not appreciate (as readers of my blog may know). This always feels like a cheap trick by the publisher to get me to buy another book. A story needs to have a beginning, middle and an end to be a story. If there's no end, we've been cheated of a story. For this, we lose some points.

I also had a little problem with the 'ending' because character actions and reactions didn't seem to fit with what we had read through the previous 300+ pages. While I predicted what was going to happen, I did not predict the reactions to it because they felt so out of character.

Still, I really want to read more of this story because I so enjoyed Banks' character, world-building, and story-telling.

Looking for a good book? <em>Nemesis</em> by Anna Banks is a well-told, exciting YA fantasy/romance that should be on the 'must read' list for all fans of the genres.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

I received a copy of this book via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of this review.

Nemesis by Anna Banks is a fantastic, fast-paced fantasy where politics and magic reign. Told in alternating points of view, the story opens with Sepora running away from her dictator father and into the enemy kingdom where Tarik is preparing to take his father’s role as emperor when his father succumbs to the plague crippling his people. When their paths cross, lies are told to hide Sepora’s true identity and an uneasy friendship begins.

Sepora & Tarik ♥︎
Sepora is an easy character to like. She’s a trained fighter, a princess, and the last known Forger. It is the last ability that is the catalyst for her running away. Her father wants to use her as a weapon, forging Spectorium (a magical metal like substance that has multiple uses) and keeping it from the other kingdoms who rely on it.

Tarik however is who won my heart. Tarik is the loving son of the king of Theoria. He is grieving for his father at the onset of the book, and yet he pushes that aside in a desperate attempt to find a cure for his people. A wasting type plague has infected them, and almost all infected succumb as his father did.

When an Enemy Becomes an Ally
While fleeing her kingdom, Sepora is captured and sold into the new king Tarik’s harem. This I thought was an interesting twist. With Sepora’s silvery eyes, it is likely she will be found out. However no one has seen the princess of Spectoria in many years, even Tarik. So she hides in plain sight.

Tarik is like a human lie detector and detects that Sepora is lying about something but doesn’t know what. As a result, he keeps her close to him, even admitting her into his council. Yet he never fully trusts her, and as a result this creates a whole lot of lies with the truth sprinkled in.

Underwhelming with a Strong Conclusion
Nemesis is a hard one to decide if I loved or just liked it. The majority of the book is spent with world-building, introducing the different characters, species, and countries, AND the abilities that some are born with (like Sepora’s Forging ability). There’s some light romance, NOT INSTA-LOVE (yay!) but enemy to friends to lovers trope. But the ending!!!! GAH! I loved it. It fit the story and had me purchasing book 2 and immediately reading it. If you enjoy YA fantasy with a light dose of romance, I recommend it.

This was a very solid and enjoyable read for me. I loved the characters, the conflicts, and especially the worldbuilding and Egyptian influences. This was my first time reading Anna Banks and I look forward to reading more from her.

I read a lot of YA fantasy so I can be quite hard to please, this was good though! Likeable characters who I'd like to hear more from!

I tried and tried to get into this book, but I have given up recently. It's just tough to get into but I like the idea of the connection between the main character and her dragon creature.

Opted not to read this after hearing about some problematic content, some of which lined up with my experiences with Anna Banks' previous series.

I have to admit that I read this book several times!! I can't wait to read it again!!

3.5 stars. A pretty good YA fantasy. Not super original: princess with special powers escapes her evil father and goes to the enemy land where she and the prince meet and...well you can guess what happens. I liked the world-building, with the history of multiple cultures and even some different species. In addition, the plot was good and there were some good characters. However, the basic premise wasn't very original and I thought the main characters were inconsistent. They were supposed to be young adults and they sometimes spoke and acted too maturely for their ages and other times the opposite--beyond what you'd expect from young adults! Sepora seemed especially erratic and annoying (as was some of the dialogue/narration). There are a lot of interesting plot elements here and they weren't all explored very well, so I am hoping the next in the series develops them further.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me an e-ARC of this book for review.

(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).
(This review may contain spoilers).
I thought the cover of this book was really appealing. It really drew my attention and, along with the blurb, made me want to read this book. And despite the fact that it kept switching between first and third person, which meant I couldn’t easily get drawn into either character’s head, I did find this book an entertaining and fairly easy read.
I found both Sepora and Tarik interesting characters and it was good to see the problems both had to deal with… though I didn’t really think much of Tarik’s attitude during his original dealings with Sepora.
I liked being able to see something of the differences in the kingdoms… at least in the two main ones… but it was good to see how the characters viewed each other. I liked seeing something of the other characters in Tarik’s kingdom, but I would have liked to see some more of the secondary characters in Sepora’s history, rather than just her perceptions of them.
I thought that the idea of the Forgers was quite a unique one and it was good to see that Sepora still got herself in danger. I liked the fact that she was strong and spirited, but couldn’t just get away with doing what she wanted.
I would have liked a bit more time spent on the romance, as even by the end of the book, I didn’t find it all that believable. And although I found Sethos an intriguing character, I felt he didn’t really have a lot of depth outside of crushing on Sepora.
I liked Tarik’s ability to tell when someone was lying. I thought there were some really interesting weaknesses involved in that. I liked seeing his interactions with his adviser, but I would have liked to see some more details with the other people in his home. I was a bit disappointed that not much was done with the different girls in the harem.
I thought there were a lot of good elements of tension in this book and it was nice to see that the main characters had goals to work towards, along with strengths and weaknesses. While I did think it could have been improved upon… I would be interested in reading the next book/s in this series.

I was a bit underwhelmed by this one!

While I think the overall concept was cool and there was a solid amount of worldbuilding, I hoped for more.
I wanted to delve deeper into the magic system because I thought it seemed interesting.
I appreciated that the story just dropped the reader right into the midst of things and we had to recover and try to figure out how everything works in this place.
But, I didn't find most of the characters very likeable.
While this story had many of the general elements that I enjoy in fantasy novels (magic, political intrigue, hidden identities, royalty, courts, etc.), I think the execution of these ideas feel mostly flat for me :/

Comparable Titles:
The Blazing Star
The Valiant
Ruined

***I received an e-ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

I think I was trying to read outside my usual when I selected this, and this novel is exactly what it says it is. Which is why I am done reading it.

My download never went through, and now it's not available. Sorry.