Nyxia Unleashed by Scott Reintgen Series: The Nyxia Triad #2
Also in this series: , Nyxia
Published by Crown Books for Young Readers on July 17, 2018
Genres: Young Adult, Science Fiction
Pages: 400
Source: Blog Tour, NetGalley
My content rating: YA (Nothing more than kissing shown---possibly more mildly implied?; Some violence)
My rating:
Getting to Eden brought Emmett and his crewmates one step closer to their promised fortune. But surviving Eden may be the biggest reward of all. Discover book two in the trilogy Marie Lu called, “a high-octance thriller.”
Emmett Atwater thought Babel’s game sounded easy. Get points. Get paid. Go home. But it didn’t take long for him to learn that Babel’s competition was full of broken promises, none darker or more damaging than the last one.
Now Emmett and the rest of the Genesis survivors must rally and forge their own path through a new world. Their mission from Babel is simple: extract nyxia, the most valuable material in the universe, and play nice with the indigenous Adamite population.
But Emmett and the others quickly realize they are caught between two powerful forces—Babel and the Adamites—with clashing desires. Will the Genesis team make it out alive before it’s too late?
This sequel was actually a whole lot different than the first book, and I was happy about that (even though I really loved Nyxia). It felt less like a continuation and more like a whole new story—which made sense since the Genesis kids were now on a whole new planet. Read on to find out why I loved it…
What Fed My Addiction:
- A family. The competition aspect of the first book was completely gone in book two, and I was very happy about that since it was my least favorite part of book one. Not only was there no more direct competition (with points and such), but the whole group came together as one. Emmett talks about Genesis as his family, and that’s truly how they feel. With one minor exception, the group comes together and bonds in an extraordinary way. I found myself loving each and every character.
- Emmett. Once again, Emmett’s voice shines in this book. I love that he’s the MC, but he’s actually not the star of the show—he’s constantly overshadowed by Morning. She’s the real leader of the group, and he knows it. And he’s not threatened by it, which is pretty awesome. Morning and Emmett’s romance was a definite positive for me in this book, and I loved that we got to see Morning’s incredible strengths through Emmett’s eyes (he’s sort of in awe of her—and rightfully so).
- The Adamites. We get a lot of new information about the Adamites in this book, and we see Emmett trying to process what he’s been told about them versus the reality. I love that Emmett’s assumptions and beliefs about them are all challenged. The tone is set right from the beginning when the kids of Genesis learn that “Adamites” aren’t even the natives’ proper name—it’s just something Babel has called them. Emmett (and the others) start to appreciate how misdirected they’ve been about the culture of the people on this new planet.
- Some interesting twists. The story didn’t end up going where I expected it to, and there were quite a few twists along the way!
What Left Me Hungry for More:
- Missed opportunity? In book one Emmett and friends spent so much time preparing for dangerous creatures and more on Eden—I was expecting the planet to be incredibly dangerous. And, granted, people talked like that was the case, but we saw very little actual evidence of that. There were a few minor run-ins with the local wildlife, but that was it. I kept waiting for something big to happen with that, but it never did. The book dealt a lot more with the political machinations than the dangers of the planet itself. I couldn’t help but think that this was a bit of a missed opportunity. But this was a pretty minor thing.
Overall, I thought this was a very solid sequel that left me eager for book three. I’m excited to see where Reintgen takes us next!!
***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher via Rockstar Book Tours and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***
About The Author
Scott Reintgen was always a back-row dreamer. As early as kindergarten, teachers noticed his tendency to stare out of classroom windows and disappear to more interesting elsewheres. In high school, he began laboring away on the opening chapter of his first fantasy novel. One of his favorite English teachers agreed to read the pages and the very next day she switched him (illegally) out of Spanish and into a Creative Writing class. The story got tossed eventually, but he never lost the confidence he was given by that single act of empowering faith.
Convinced he would one day be a writer, Scott spent most of college and graduate school investing in the world of literature. This eventually led to a career teaching English and Creative Writing in North Carolina. He strongly believes that every student who steps into his classroom has the right to see themselves, vibrant and victorious and on the page. It’s his hope to encourage a future full of diverse writers. As he’s fond of reminding his students, “You have a story to tell and you’re the only one who can tell it.”
As for his own writing, Scott continues to follow in the footsteps of his favorite authors. It was Tolkien who once wrote, “The fairy gold (too often) turns to withered leaves when it is brought away. All I can ask is that you, knowing all these things, will receive my withered leaves, as a token at least that my hand once held a little of the gold.” And Scott hopes his books are a trail of withered leaves that might lead readers to the bright elsewheres through which he constantly finds himself wandering.
He currently lives in North Carolina with his wife, Katie, and family.
Note: I went with the www.itspronouncedrankin.com website domain instead of www.scottreintgen.com because, let’s be honest, my name’s really hard to pronounce. Rather than make people suffer through trying to spell it every time, I thought this would be easier!
3 winners will win a finished copy of NYXIA UNLEASHED, US Only.
Tour Schedule:
Week One:
7/2/2018- Jena Brown Writes– Review
7/3/2018- Paws and Paperbacks – Review
7/4/2018- Pacific Northwest Bookworm– Review
7/5/2018- Here’s to Happy Endings– Review
7/6/2018- MNBernard Books– Review
Week Two:
7/9/2018- Flyleaf Chronicles– Review
7/10/2018- Life of a Literary Nerd– Review
7/11/2018- Overflowing Bookshelves– Review
7/12/2018- RhythmicBooktrovert– Review
7/13/2018- Adventures and Reading– Review
Week Three:
7/16/2018- Feed Your Fiction Addiction– Review
7/17/2018- Crazy4Books– Review
7/18/2018- JustAddAWord– Review
7/19/2018- Book-Keeping– Review
7/20/2018- The Layaway Dragon– Review
Week Four:
7/23/2018- Book Dragon Lair– Review
7/24/2018- The Desert Bibliophile– Review
7/25/2018- The Clever Reader– Review
7/26/2018- Smada’s Book Smack– Review
7/27/2018- Nerdophiles– Review
Week Five:
7/30/2018- lori’s Little House of Reviews– Review
7/31/2018- A Gingerly Review– Review
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14 responses to “Nyxia Unleashed by Scott Reintgen: Review & Giveaway”
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I just bought the first book in this series after asking for YA Sci-fi recommendations on FB and my blog. I can’t wait to read it since it looks like you loved the first book!
I really did. The only thing that I got a little hung up on was that the competition aspect felt a little cliche to me—but I’d read a few of them at around that time.
I haven’t read a lot of SF books set on an actual other planet, I realized recently, which kinda surprised me! This series sounds pretty good. Two things from your review that stand out for me are the emphasis on family- how they all come together- and the sense that the Adamites are different from what they’ve been told about. Always nice to see perceptions challenged like that.
Nice review, sounds like a good book!
The first book isn’t set on the planet—it’s in space. But I think I liked this one even better than the first.
I kind of skimmed your review in case of spoilers since I have Nyxia but haven’t read it yet. Glad to see you’re enjoying the series though! I’ve heard a lot of good things and am looking forward to reading it! Emmett sounds great.
Yeah, I usually put a note at the top of my book two reviews to warn against spoilers, but I forgot this time! Skimming is always safer.
Personally, I liked the competition among Genesis, so I missed it in the sequel! Like you said, though, seeing all of the survivors becoming a family was heartwarming. I love that Emmett isn’t the best out of the group. So often we see YA protagonists being “the chosen one” and I like that Emmett isn’t that. Yes, he’s a good leader, but Morning is really the shining star when it comes to manipulating Nyxia and leading everyone. Here’s hoping we both devour the next book as well! 😀
The competition aspect of the first book was my least favorite part, but it might have been because I’d read a few books with similar competitions close to reading that one. That always makes it hard.
Great review! ♥️ I didn’t like it as much as you but I loved the Adamites and their culture!
I loved the Adamites too. I thought that Reintgen did a great job exploring the topic of colonialism.
I love when I adore a second book in a series! And I’m so glad you loved this book so much! I have the first book on my tbr, because it sounds like something I would love, so here’s hoping the 3rd book is beyond fabulous next year!
I love it when book two lives up to the first!
Interesting to see that this book was so different from the first one but you still managed to love both if even for different reasons! I really like the sound of the family aspect. Also, I like the new ratings you have decided to include in your posts lately! I don’t think I’ve seen them before but they’re a nice change 😉
Yes, the rating system is new. I’m really glad you like it!! I agree that it was great that I liked both books even though they were so different.