Nexus by Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanagan, & Deborah Biancotti

Summary:
The Zeroes are in disarray.
One of them has vanished. One of them is in prison. The rest are on the most wanted list. And something big is brewing.
Accused of murdering Swarm, Bellweather is in a high security prison, isolated and unable to use his powers of influence. Flickers, Crash, Mob, and Scam are on the run as suspected domestic terrorists. And Agent Phan of the FBI has a secret weapon up his sleeve—a teenager with a superpower that the Zeroes haven’t encountered yet.
After a daring breakout, the group is drawn to New Orleans, where celebrating Mardi Gras crowds promise enormous power to anyone who can channel it. There, an army of Zeroes is gathering around a charismatic leader—whose plans are nothing short of cataclysmic.
Time is running out for the Zeroes, but they must learn to trust one another again to avert the looming disaster, in this action-packed conclusion to the NYT bestselling trilogy.
Review:
I just finished this book and I can’t help but say that I am deeply unsatisfied with the last ten pages or so. But I will get to that at the end of this review. This story starts pretty much right where book two left off. It starts right in the thick of things which I really enjoyed. It was fast-paced almost the whole way through right up until the ending. Which I will talk about at the end.
My feelings toward the characters are mostly the same as they were for book two. Though I think I like Scam a bit more. He seems to have gotten over being whiney and complaining so much. I think that’s due to the girl he likes, which is a relationship I’m totally here for. Bellweather seems to lose his way in this conclusion but then brings himself back in the final chapters. I don’t really feel too strongly one way or the other about him. I’m glad he didn’t turn evil, but aside from that I just don’t care that much about him. I’m still obsessed with my two favorites, Flicker and Anonymous. Crash really had an interesting storyline. She meets others with her ability and learns just how far she can push her powers. I thought she was really interesting. Mob is still fighting the battle to not become Swarm. Which was alright, but could have been more interesting. I liked her for her desire to stay good. I also enjoyed her trying to find her mother. That was interesting.
I really enjoyed the representation in this series. There was a female/female romance. There are characters of all the different races. There is a character that is blind. I think there was a pretty well-rounded group of characters in this series.
Now, the ending. I can understand why it was done this way. But I wanted more. I wanted more from the last 50 pages or so. The ending seemed a little too rushed to me. I think there could have been another book in the series or at least add another 100 pages to this conclusion. I think things were wrapped up too quickly. And the final two chapters were infuriating. We barely get a blip from each character after the big to-do that happens. Then the final chapter was just not enough for me.
Overall, despite not liking the ending, I really enjoy this book and the series as a whole. I will definitely reread it in the future. I’d also definitely recommend it to anyone that enjoys books with superpowers and superheroes of any sort.

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

Swarm by Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanagan, & Deborah Biancotti

GoodReads Summary:
They thought they’d already faced their toughest fight. But there’s no relaxing for the reunited Zeroes.
These six teens with unique abilities have taken on bank robbers, drug dealers, and mobsters. Now they’re trying to lay low so they can get their new illegal nightclub off the ground.
But the quiet doesn’t last long when two strangers come to town, bringing with them a whole different kind of crowd-based chaos. And hot on their tails is a crowd-power even more dangerous and sinister.
Up against these new enemies, every Zero is under threat. Mob is crippled by the killing-crowd buzz—is she really evil at her core? Flicker is forced to watch the worst things a crowd can do. Crash’s conscience—and her heart—get a workout. Anon and Scam must both put family loyalties on the line for the sake of survival. And Bellwether’s glorious-leader mojo deserts him.
Who’s left to lead the Zeroes into battle against a new, murderous army?
Review:
What a wild ride this was. Swarm was not at all what I expected. I thought I was going into a story similar to Zeroes and in some ways it was, but this one was much darker.
We follow the group of friends that call themselves the Zeroes while they try to learn more about their powers and how best to use them. They’ve created their own nightclub to practice with groups of people. I liked seeing them all come together to try to learn how to better control their abilities. Right up until the group finds more Zeroes, a couple who tells them of Swarm and how he is coming to kill them all.
Ethan, or Scam, has this other voice that always knows exactly what to say to get what Scam wants. Except when there’s nothing to be done. I think he was interesting but a little whiney. He’s trying to be better and not let his voice hurt the people he cares about. But it still happens. I think he’s the most interesting because his power is the only one that doesn’t work better with six or more people.
Nate, or Bellweather, or Glorious Leader, seemed to lose his footing in this story. I really like the ending and how he managed to use his power in a different way. That was really interesting. He’s the one that motivates everyone and hypes them up. He connects them all to one another. I also think he’s the one with the least development. We finally see him in a situation that he doesn’t know how to get out of, which was interesting.
Riley, or Flicker, is my favorite. She is blind, but her ability lets her see through the eyes of others. She’s frustrated at constantly being underestimated and I can understand that. I really like her romance with another Zero and my heart was a little broken in the final pages.
Chizara, or Crash, has the most inner turmoil. She wants to be good and not to cause any damage, but her power is all about damage. Though she’s learning that she can fix things too. I think there were more opportunities to explore with Crash’s character and her development but I really liked her complexity.
Kelsie, or Mob, has lost her father and she’s trying to figure out where she fits in a world without her dad. She struggles with the moral ramifications of her abilities. She’s able to manipulate emotions within a crowd. So when she finds out she could potentially become another Swarm, she’s understandably scared. She’s also one half of a female/female relationship that is a part of the story.
Finally, there’s Thibault, or Anonymous, who is my second favorite. He’s been through so many hard things in his life and is just trying to make his loved ones remember him. So the way this story ends for him was a little devastating. I’m dying to know what’s going to happen for him in the next book. And maybe he can figure out how to change his abilities like Nate did.
Overall, Swarm was a wild ride and I’m dying to jump into the conclusion. I really cannot wait to find out what’s going to happen in the end. This book was fast-paced but also full of so many different plot lines. These Zeroes always manage to get themselves into all kinds of trouble and I can’t wait to see how they escape it in the final book.

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

Amanda’s Top Ten Tuesday – Hidden Gems

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Each week we talk about our top ten with a different topic provided by Jana. This week’s topic is top ten – Hidden Gems books that haven’t been talked about as much or haven’t been marketed as strongly that I think deserve some recognition.
1. Flamecaster (The Shattered Realms series) by Cinda Williams Chima – I love this series and this author. I just feel like I don’t really see her books advertised anywhere. I don’t see other bloggers talking about her books like I do. I definitely think she should be a more widely read author with the incredible worlds shes built full of diverse and loveable characters.
2. Bloodlines by Richelle Mead – This one I feel is always overlooked in favor of Vampire Academy. Because they’re part of the same world everyone turns to VA instead of talking about these books.
3. A Shade of Vampire by Bella Forrest – I found this series on my Kindle but it’s definitely one that I think more readers should try. The reviews vary but I think Forrest has built quite the reading adventure with this 50+ book series.
4. Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum – Buxbaum’s debut novel was so excellent. I thought I would hear more about it from my fellow bloggers. It makes me sad that I don’t hear more about it.
5. Sleeping Giants (Themis Files) by Sylvain Neuvel – I listened to this audiobook at the recommendation of a BookTuber (Thoughts on Tomes) but aside from the brief mention as one of her top audiobooks I haven’t hear others talk about this series. This is a mistake because Sleeping Giants was insane and amazing.
6. Moon Chosen (Tales of a New World) by P.C. Cast – I found this series outside of the blogging world. I haven’t heard a single blogger talk or write about this book/series. It’s a shame because they’re super interesting books with unique storylines and great character development. I can’t wait for the third to be released later this year.
7. Incarceron by Catherine Fisher – An older book, but still great. Creative and full of mystery. I don’t know why more people don’t talk about this story.
8. Talon by Julie Kagawa – While I see that her other series, The Iron Fey, get attention I never see bloggers reading this series.
9. The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa – See above comment.
10. Zeroes by Scott Westerfeld, Deborah Biancotti, and Margo Lanagan – With the superhero obsession that’s been going on the last few years I’m unsure how this series hasn’t made a bigger splash in the reading world.

What books do you love that you think deserve more attention?

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

Amanda’s Top Ten Tuesday – Bookish Mash Ups

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Every week there’s a new topic where we get to choose our top ten and write about it. This week’s topic is top ten books I would mash together. I think this is a wicked interesting topic. I’m not sure how I’m going to go about it, so in no particular order, here goes!

1. Rose Gardner Investigations by Denise Grover Swank & Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich – These are books about an aspiring private investigator and books about a bond enforcement officer. I think Rose and Stephanie would make one hell of a hilarious pair.
2. Renegades by Marissa Meyer & Zeroes by Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanagan, and Deborah Biancotti – Two different types of superhero books. Both with similar abilities, sort of. But the worlds they take place in are pretty different. I think it would be interesting to see these two worlds collide.
3. Meant to be Broken by Brandy Woods Snow & One Small Thing by Erin Watt – Both are novels involving girls who are struggling with their feelings about a guy. Both thinking that their feelings are wrong and should be stifled and ignored. I think the two female main characters would be great friends and would be able to help one another immensely by sharing their experiences.
4. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson & The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith – These are both murder mystery sort of books but with a ton of different subplots along the way. I think they would be interesting to see together. Seeing the characters with their hugely different personalities would be funny.
5. Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson & Confessions of a Murder Suspect by James Patterson – This is a choice for similar reasons to above except these are young adult murder mysteries. Again, the personalities in these stories would make for an interesting read.
6. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas & Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch – If the Sara(h)’s wrote a book together I would be able to die happy as soon as I finished it. These specific books would be so cool to see together. In ACOTAR, there’s Fae with seasonal courts and magical abilities and in Snow Like Ashes there are different kingdoms for the seasons with different sorts of magical abilities. I think they would mesh well together with the similarities in the stories.
7. The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare & A Shade of Vampire by Bella Forrest – Both of these series have a great variety of supernatural characters like vampires and werewolves and others unique to their books. Their also both full of headstrong characters that strive to do the ‘right’ thing at all costs. I would love to see these characters and worlds collide.
8. The Young Elites by Marie Lu & Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo – These two came together in my head because of their magic systems. Both books have people with abilities that are not accepted in their worlds. Both have fantastic villains. Now that I’m typing this, I would LOVE to see the Darkling and Adelina join forces and run the world.
9. Impulse by Ellen Hopkins & Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow – I really think that Charlie could have been another character in Impulse. She for sure could have been a fourth perspective in that story. These characters could all relate for sure.
10. The Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead & A Quick Bite by Lynsay Sands – I obviously had to throw my two favorite vampire worlds together. I think these worlds would be awesome to see together because of the different ways that vampires are created and the similarities that are already there.

This week’s topic was a hard one for me! I had a ton of fun looking at my shelves and thinking about all the different worlds I love colliding. I tried to pick bookish worlds that already had a little bit in common. I wanted my mashups to mostly make sense. Which bookish worlds would you want to see collide?

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

WWW Wednesday

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Should Be Reading. To play along, answer the following three questions and share a link to your post in the comments on her page. Enjoy!

What are you currently reading?

Amanda- Technically I’m not currently reading anything. I haven’t started it yet, but I’m going to start Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith tomorrow. It’s the third in the Cormoran Strike series. I loved the first two, so I have high hopes for the third.

Antonia- I’m currently in the middle of two books. Beastly by Alex Flinn is one of my all time favorites. I can’t even count how many times I’ve read it and I never get sick of it. It’s an amazing modern adaptation of Beauty and the Beast and if you haven’t read it yet, I highly recommend it. You can read my review of it here. The other book I’m reading is Soundless by Richelle Mead. Mead is one of my favorite authors and her newest book is unlike any of her others. I fully expect this one to be a new favorite of mine.

What did you recently finish reading?

Amanda- I recently read Zeroes co written by Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanagan and Deborah Biancotti. You can read my review HERE. I really enjoyed this book. I’m still very upset I have to wait until September for the next to be released.

Antonia- I just finished reading A Kiss in Time by Alex Flinn for the second or third time. As you can tell, she’s one of my favorite authors. This one is an adorable, unique retelling of Sleeping Beauty.

What do you think you’ll read next?

Amanda- Honestly, I haven’t thought that far ahead. I keep looking at my shelf trying to decide. Im torn between a few different choices; The newest Stephanie Plum, Tricky Twenty Two, by Janet Evanovich, The Heir by Kiera Cass, or rereading one of my favorites, The Rescue by Nicholas Sparks.

Antonia- I’m not sure yet because I never really decide until I pick one up and start reading it. But I recently read the first book in J.D. Robb’s In Death series and I can’t wait to find out what happens to the characters next.

What are your answers?

Zeroes – Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanagan, & Deborah Biancotti

Summary:

Don’t call them heroes. But these six California teens have powers that set them apart. They can do stuff ordinary people can’t.

Take Ethan, a.k.a. Scam. He’s got a voice inside him that’ll say whatever you want to hear, whether it’s true or not. Which is handy, except when it isn’t-like when the voice starts gabbing in the middle of a bank robbery and lands him in deep. The only people who can help are the Zeroes, who aren’t exactly best friends these days.

Enter Nate, a.k.a. Bellwether, the group’s “glorious leader.” After Scam’s SOS, he pulls the scattered Zeroes back together. But when the rescue blows up in their faces, the Zeroes find themselves propelled into whirlwind encounters with ever more dangerous criminals across the city. And at the heart of the chaos they find Kelsie, who can take a crowd in the palm of her hand and tame it or let it loose as she pleases.

Filled with high-stakes action and drama Zeroes unites three powerhouse authors for the opening installment of a thrilling new series.

Review:

So I have to admit that I haven’t been reading as much as I usually do. It’s been two months since I’ve actually finished a book. This book has been sitting on my shelf since Christmas, just staring at me, waiting for me to pick it up. Zeroes got me back into my constant need to read. I just wish the sequel, Swarm, would be out before September! Once I started this book I just could not put it down. I bought it because I’ve liked everything I’ve ever read by Scott Westerfeld. I actually didn’t realize it was co-written until about halfway through it when a coworker asked what I was reading. I will definitely be looking into other books by Margo Lanagan and Deborah Biancotti.

Zeroes was beyond good. I was hooked from the first chapter. Who wouldn’t be hooked when it comes to books about superpowers? The story starts following a boy who has two voices. His every day voice and one that when used is always unpredictable. Ethan is one of six we meet in this story. His power is the most unique of the six. The more you read the more you see how Ethan feels alone, like nobody understands his lack of control over his power. There were many self realizations with the characters, but I think Ethan’s was the most profound. He went through so much craziness and chaos all caused by his voice. I really enjoyed seeing Ethan learn when not to use his power even though he very well could have. Part of this lesson comes from Kelsie and his determination to help her.

Kelsie is the newest Zero on the team. She, like Ethan, feels very alone through most of the book. Her dad, Jerry, keeps getting into trouble and that trouble has found its way to Kelsie, partly because of her father and partially because of her determination to rescue her father from his latest antics. Kelsie is a take no shit kind of girl. Someone I would definitely get along with in real life. She does what she needs to for the people she cares about. She goes through the biggest struggles compared to her newfound friends. Her dad robbed a bank and went to jail. Then got out of jail and got hooked on the drugs he was supposed to sell for a very dangerous family. And while all of this is happening his daughter is trying to figure out how to help him, which is how she meets the rest of the Zeroes. They show her that she isn’t alone with her powers and that they will always be there by her side when she needs them.

That was another one of my favorite parts of this book, the protectiveness the Zeroes felt for one another. Even though most of them hadn’t spoken in over a year when Ethan’s voice said some things Ethan couldn’t take back, they still come to his rescue when he calls for help. Nate or Bellwether or Glorious Leader, the ring leader of the Zeroes always has a plan. He always knows exactly what to say to motivate the team. His ability to lead large groups, to give them a focus, is his superpower. Its way too complicated to fully explain (you’ll just have to read it!) Nate is the one that keeps this odd group together, always getting everyone together, always the one with the plan for what to do next. I’m excited to see more of him in the next book.

Thibault or Anonymous is without a doubt my favorite character. He has the power of forgetfulness.  He is a very forgetful person. So much so that for the first half of the book all five of the other characters continuously forgot he was in the room, and struggle to remember his name or what he looks like after he leaves the room. His power would be the most difficult to deal with in my opinion. To be completely forgotten by anyone and everyone as soon as you left the room. Thibault was the most hurt by Ethan’s voice a year ago. So when he was the only one that could hide Ethan from the trouble he got himself into it was very interesting to follow his thoughts while he decided whether or not to forgive Ethan and the relationship that the two developed after he did.

Thibault also very slowly developed a relationship with Riley or Flicker as she likes to be called. Flicker is blind, but her superpower is to see through the eyes of others. She can flit from one pair of eyes to another to another to see what they see. Flicker always wants to help. She likes being a part of the Zeroes, a part of something that can do good. She decides that she needs to know this Anonymous character so she has her sister make up stories laced with facts so that she will not forget him. She goes so far as to figure out where he lives, which ends up saving him and Ethan. Flicker, after Nate, is the most confident of the group. She is just so enthusiastic and adorable and all around loveable.

The last of the six is Crash. I think she grows the most after Ethan. She struggles as much as him, if not more, with her power. She was raised to ‘do no harm.’ Her power of crashing technology doesn’t always help with that. As we read we see her try to give up on the Zeroes more than once, but in the end realizes that she is a part of them whether she likes it or not.  Her power changes a bit at one point and she realizes it’s not all bad. She struggles more than anyone with her power, controlling what she can do and the effects of what she has done after she loses control. She’s very hard on herself and her mistakes. And that drives her to be better, to learn more control over her ability. Crash realizes, like Kelsie, that the Zeroes are here for her whether she wants them or not.

Zeroes was such a good read. It was fast paced. The authors left you wanting more on each page, only giving bits and pieces of the story at a time. I finished this book in less than a day. The story is out of the box. Maybe not the superhero part, but their powers are all very different and unique. The story of these six kids is a crazy one, but definitely worth the read. There are many relatable thoughts and feelings from each character and we get to see them overcome their fears and worries. This book was super motivational. It’s a great young adult novel. There are always others that feel the same as you, and there is always a way to overcome it. I really enjoyed reading Zeroes, so go to the book store or library or wherever you get your books and read this!

 

Keep on reading lovelys, Amanda.