Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Nemesis by Brendan Reichs! Today I have some info about the book (plus my super quick thoughts!), the author, and a guest post from Brendan, as well as an awesome giveaway! So.. let’s do this! 

Nemesis by Brendan Reichs
Series: Project Nemesis #1
Published by G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers on March 21st 2017
Pages: 464

Orphan Black meets Lord of the Flies in this riveting new thriller from the co-author of the Virals series.

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.

Just an FYI, I gobbled this book up. It was so good! It kind of mixes genres in a really unique way, and kept me on the edge of my seat throughout. I would think I knew where the story was going one minute and then the next… mind BLOWN. I adored Min so much, and the banter among the characters was fabulous. The atmosphere of the book was so on point too. I seriously cannot wait to see where this series goes next, because honestly, I feel like I have no idea- which is the BEST feeling as a reader, yes? Yes.

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Brendan’s Top Ten Memorable Moments While Working on Nemesis

1. The Day I Thought Of It. I was sitting on my couch flipping channels when I landed on the movie Highlander (which is an amazing movie that everyone needs to watch). For some reason, this sparked my brain down a very specific path, which ending up being a crazy book idea that, ironically, has almost nothing to do with Highlander. Later that month I watched a crazy documentary that sparked the other half of the story. For spoiler reasons, I can’t say which one it is, but suddenly everything was all just sitting there in my head, begging to be written.

2. The Day I Finished The Rough Draft. The original form of the book was almost a third longer than the finished draft. So, yeah, I knew even then that cuts would have to be made. Luckily I was prepared to kill my darlings, and had been training myself ruthlessly for over a year to lose words. When the time came, I was ready, and I cleared out a lot of fun passages that ultimately didn’t propel the plot forward. I wanted Nemesis to tear down the road like a race car, never stopping for a breath, and I think I got there in the end. It just took some tune-ups along the way.

3. The Day I Imagined Noah. Originally, Nemesis was solely the story of Min Wilder, a girl who, every two years on her birthday, is killed by the same black-suited man. But as the plot unfolded, I realized Min couldn’t be everywhere at once. Also, it occurred to me that the scope of what I was imagining required more than one person. Enter Noah, who is as different from Min as night is from day. Once I thought of him, he leapt fully formed onto the page. He’s not like any other character I’ve ever written and is every bit as integral to Nemesis as Min. The book is a true partnership of their stories.

4. The Day I Got Weird With The Format. Flashbacks. Documents. Strange ideas. I hope you like how I varied the point of view and the structure to make things more interesting, and deliver information at the right time.

5. The Day I Sold It. Enough said.

6. The Day I Almost Deleted The Manuscript Trying To Back It Up. Pretty straightforward, but I’m reply sure if I’d been unable to recover the document I’d have just slowly walked into the ocean until the waves covered my head. I’ve got to learn better ways of converting my documents from one platform to another. My heart can’t take the stress.

7. The Day I Realized My Story Was Two Books, Not One. And the strange part is that the core idea—the one that I had to start with—actually needed to be the second book. When I finally sat down and mapped the story out, I realized that a lot things had to happen before the idea I’d formed could exist. And those things were insanely creepy and fun to write, which is what became Nemesis.

8. The Day My Characters Just Started Talking To Themselves Without My Help. These are always the best moment when writing a book—when you’re so in sync with the story and characters that the dialogue simply becomes dictation. This may also be a sign that you’ve lost your mind.

9. The Day I Sold The First Copy. Nemesis took two years to write and edit. So it felt SWEET to finally send copies out into the world. I really hope people enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it.

10. TODAY! I’m really enjoying all the notes, art, and funny stories from fans who’ve already had a chance to read Nemesis. Keep it up! I truly hope everyone likes the book. All comments and questions are welcome through website www.brendanreichs.com, and thanks to It Starts at Midnight for hosting me. Come see me on the road!

Thanks so much, Brendan, for sharing with us! I am so excited for Book 2!! (Oh and to answer your question in #4- LOVED! It was a perfect blend! 😀 )

Enter for a chance to win one (1) of five (5) copies of Nemesis by Brendan Reichs (ARV: $17.99 each).

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Enter between 12:00 AM Eastern Time on March 20, 2017 and 12:00 AM on April 3, 2017. Open to residents of the fifty United States and the District of Columbia who are 13 and older. Winners will be selected at random on or about April 5, 2017. Odds of winning depend on number of eligible entries received. Void where prohibited or restricted by law.

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So, are you excited to read Nemesis? You probably should be. It has a little bit of everything– but in the best way, not an overwhelming way!

And if you have read it, hit me up because I want to talk spoilers with you!! 😉