Hello, friends! Welcome to my stop on the Blog Tour for Brendan Reichs’s Genesis, follow up to Nemesis (which, by the by, I adored and you can check out my thoughts on)!
Genesis by Brendan Reichs Series: Project Nemesis #2
Published by G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers on March 6th 2018
Pages: 512
Format:ARC
Source:Copy provided by publisher for review
Noah Livingston knows he is destined to survive.
The 64 members of Fire Lake's sophomore class are trapped in a place where morals have no meaning, and zero rules apply. But Noah's deaths have trained him--hardened him--to lead the strongest into the future . . . whatever that may be. And at any cost.
Min Wilder knows that survival alone isn't enough.Trapped in a violent world where brute force passes for leadership, it's tempting to lay back and let everyone else fight it out. But Min's instincts rebel against allowing others to decide who lives and who dies. She's ready to fight for what she believes in. And against whomever might stand in her way.
Well, this was a fun and addictive book! When it showed up at my door looking all giant, I was a little scared. Big books are scary. Sequels are scary. But neither was a problem here! So shall we chat about what made this a really good sequel whilst trying to be super vague because again, sequel? Great!
- It is so fast paced! For a book that’s over 500 pages, it never once felt long. That in itself is a feat. But it just flowed really well, with a great combination of action scenes and downtime for character growth and development.
- Speaking of, the characters went through a lot and they had to make some really tough decisions. Decisions about who to trust, what to believe, all kinds of unknowns. It was both interesting and thought provoking to see how different people handle difficult, sometimes life-threatening situations.
- We get a lot more information on characters who were introduced in the first book. While this book is still primarily Min and Noah’s story, I loved getting to know some of the other characters. I won’t even tell you which because that in itself could be spoilers, but wow, some of them were handled so well. Some were in a moral gray area, some we just got to hate, but it was all really intriguing and ties in with my above point of watching people handle these situations.
- Sometimes in sequels, it is really hard to get back into the world and story. Not the case here! The author did a phenomenal job of giving us little hints to what happened in the last book, but without it feeling at all info dumpy. It was just the perfect amount of reminder material to make me feel fully engaged in the story again.
- It was nice and twisty! A lot of stuff went down in this book, and a lot of it was shocking (and in some cases, downright brutal and dark which I am always here for.) I definitely was- and still am, for the next book- kept guessing as to where the story would go next!
- I daresay this was even better than the first book! Yes, one of those rare gems! The stakes just seem so, so high in this one. And I liked the direction the story took. The science fiction vibe is stronger with this one, and it fascinated me for sure.
- The end was so epic and I cannot wait for answers!!
The only thing that stopped me from giving this the full five stars was a twist near the end. It isn’t even that I didn’t like what happened it just… well view at your own discretion: View Spoiler »
Bottom Line: Such a stellar sequel. All sequels, take note, because this is how it’s done. I am basically giddy excited for book three, because wow, need it.
About Brendan Reichs
Brendan Reichs was born and raised in Charlotte, North Carolina. He graduated from Wake Forest University in 2000 and The George Washington University School of Law in 2006. After three long years working as a litigation attorney, he abandoned the trade to write full time. He is the author of Nemesis, and co-author of the Virals series, written with Kathy Reichs. Brendan lives in Charlotte with his wife, son, daughter, and a herd of animals that tear up everything.
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So I guess i should get around to reading Nemesis, huh? XD
YESSS you should! 😀
I remember thinking Nemesis sounded really unique, that premise had me thinking what is going on in THIS story? And then I never read it. So now it might be time. Shocking twists? Yes please. Plus the whole tough decisions thing, because those are fun. Clearly I need to fit Nemesis in somewhere…
There… is some stuff, especially toward the end of book 1, that will remind you of a certain plotline from The 100. So I mean, no wonder I liked it haha. But then it goes off and does its own thing, and the end of this book was insane. So yes, you should read it. It’s a fabulous blend of genres, and it’s very readable!
I am glad the size of the book worked out! I love when 500 pages is so fast paced you can’t tell how long the book is! Great review!!
YEP exactly! It only took me like, 3 evenings (of about an hour of reading I suppose) to finish, which is really good for such a long book! But most importantly, it didn’t feel long! Thanks so much!
Amazing review!!
I actually picked up the first book in the series on Saturday so now I’m even more excited to read it just to get to this book :p
Aw thanks! I hope you love it!! 😀
Gah, now you’re making me feel guilty for not starting this series yet, Shannon! And it’s definitely rare for a sequel not to suffer from second-book syndrome, so I’m so glad you ended up enjoying this even more than you did Nemesis! Awesome review, girl. Will have to look this up!
– Aimee @ Aimee, Always
Hahah no worries, there’s like 23984 series I haven’t started yet! And I think it’s because the plots are VERY different, so it feels super fresh- you definitely don’t feel like you’re in a filler book or anything! And thanks!
Ok so now I’m interested in both books, ITS nicer when you can read both in a row
I agree, I’d be jealous that you get to binge them! 😀
So I’m wondering how I completely missed Nemesis last year because it sounds fascinating. And Genesis sounds just as good. Not my usual kind of read, by far (where’s the roooo-mance? LOL), but I have total grabby hands just the same. The fact that you enjoyed this one even more than the first is definitely encouraging (no second book syndrome!).
So I clicked on the link for the cover, I stayed for the description, and now this series is on my TBR list because of your review! This sounds like a great read and I’m going to check out the first book now! To answer your question, I think I could do anything to ensure my family’s survival but I don’t think I could do it just for myself.
500+ pages of good pacing, a sequel that surpasses a great first book, AND interesting characters? Colour me intrigued! This is actually the first time I’ve heard about the series, but I’ll definitely be looking into the first book now. ?
It can be so hard to have a sequel being even better than the first book so it’s so cool that this one manages to achieve that! I have to try the first book now. I really am impressed that it never felt long even though it’s at over 500 pages. Now that is quite the feat. And the hints dropped and clues… my kind of read.
I won book one awhile back, and now you have convinced me that I HAVE to pick it up! Just the fact that you say you flew through the book is recommendation enough for me right now. I need books like that!