Reviews with content warning for Death - Nyxia

I really enjoyed this book; it’s been awhile since I’ve felt so emotionally invested in a book. There were so many twists I didn’t see coming and the suspense / mystery was really well done. I also loved the many different characters.
There were a couple of things that made me not give it 5 stars (one being a bit of instalove near the later half) but overall super enjoyable and would recommend.

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megsslibrary's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

'A part of me wants to tell him we're not friends, that as long as he is above me on the scoreboard, he's my enemy. But thankfully, that part is really tired. I take the offered hand.'

If you've read Hunger Games, Red Rising or any other battle royale type book you might think to skip this book but I think Nyxia stands out from the crowd.

The premise is a group of teenagers competing on a spaceship to secure a place on a lucrative mission to the planet Eden. But it is not a blood bath.10 competitors and 8 get to go to Eden. Characters are not supposed to die. It is a battle of wills, perseverance and strategy. Characters might get hurt but it is usually accidental and not the purpose of the challenges. This means when there is injury or blood it seems more brutal because it is unexpected or unplanned.

Characters are very relatable not in their experiences necessarily but in their humanity. They are stuck together through many months of training. They can't help but develop a bond even though they are competitive against each other. The close quarters forces an intensity and intimacy into their relationships with each other. Although they never lose sight of the end game goal. Winning.

Violence and injury have consequences. If a character gets injured they have to heal. While it is faster than an injury would heal in our time (thanks Sci fi tech) it still takes time and rehabilitation afterwards. Emotional injuries aren't magically forgotten either. Everything that happens is felt by the characters and stays with them.

At its core this is a character driven book. There are twists and turns in both the competion and the overall plot of the series but the characters are what keeps you turning the pages.

This does not feel like a complete story and is very much part 1 of a larger narrative. I'm really looking forward to diving into book 2. Most of the questions that have been raised so far have not been answered.

I can't fault this book in any way.

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sugaroverflow's review against another edition

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dark emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

“You can’t expect to always feel like yourself. Just don’t lose who you are. Are you a bad person? Of course not. Does that mean you’ll always do the right thing? Of course not. No one’s perfect.”
― Scott Reintgen, Nyxia

🔍 ↳ first impressions
- the cast of Nyxia is a set of recruits from all over the world, their personalities are interesting, and their dynamics with each other are believable and well-developed.
- the book starts off fast-paced, but starts to get lost somewhere in the competition, the action starts dwindling, and you start to feel like you're in the middle of Divergent for a second where all the kids are competing on the wrestling mat, and then you're back trying to figure out what Nyxia is and what Babel's purpose is.
- my one regret is that we never really get to Eden. And that Emmet isn't the greatest narrative, but that's cool - sometimes our main characters are flawed.

📚 ↳ plot 3/5
- We explain away a lot of things like Nyxia, the aliens, and Babel as we often do in YA-based science fiction books. Kinda disappointing because I'd love to know the details.

🎭 ↳ characters 5/5
- The characters were fantastic - each of them had their own personalities, they were well developed, and their interactions with each other were believable. I kept reading, despite the wonky plot at times, just to see their friendships and disagreements play out. I was primarily invested in the characters.

⏱️ ↳ overall pacing 3/5
- The book starts off great with the competition, the early dynamics with the crew, the mysterious around Nyxia and Eden. However, the pacing gets lost somewhere in the middle where we get stuck in this repetetive cycle of making the scoreboard and Emmet berating himself.

✒️ ↳ writing style 4/5
- Compelling writing style, well written characters.

💡 ↳ insights 2/5
- The book had a lot of potential, but 75% in, I was only invested in a few of the characters and reading for the sake of finishing. There were a lot of plot twists, but none of them unexpected.
- I didn't find that any of my questions were answered, so I might need to read the second book for some closure.
- Nyxia was an interesting concept.

🌟 ↳ impression 3/5
- Not a super memorable book, though an enjoyable read overall - definitely for a more YA audience.

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olivia9024's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional inspiring tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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tinyy's review against another edition

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adventurous funny tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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