Name: Nemesis
ISBN: 9781250070173

Anna Banks

"A futuristic fantasy in which the fate of the world's energy source is in the hands of a prince and princess who are rivals"--

Nemesis

raia – inactive

But I do not have that freedom. I can never return.

But curse or no, I have to cross the valley to get to the Theorian desert—which, in my opinion, might be considered cursed itself.

I watch after her for a long time as she glissades through the air, leaving me behind. I watch until I can’t see her any longer. 

“If I had a daughter who was irretrievably stupid, I would hide her from the world, too.”

"I find it rather unamusing that the brightest stars in the kingdom have come up with nothing but creative ways to insult one another.”

Sepora. The irritatingly persistent one who does nothing but send him letters scrawled with terrible penmanship and broken Theorian.

“Are you a spy, Mistress Sepora? Sent here by King Eron himself?”

At this she smiles. He tries to recall seeing anything so beautiful and he cannot.

“Name one thing!” she says accusingly. “Name one thing of which you can appreciate the beauty without dissecting it into fragments.”

“You will never kiss Sethos the way you kissed me.”

always "i love you" but never this monologue 😩😩

“Having you on this balcony with me makes the sun shine brighter. Your laugh is a cool breeze on a scorching day. The throne room, full of its problems and complaints and inquiries and stifling etiquette—your presence seems to hush all of that. You have taken a bleak existence, a life of duty, and made me eager to wake up to it each and every morning. Your kiss, mistress, is like taking possession of something that has always been mine."

“Would you rather I be rude?” But her bluster falls flat. She won’t quite meet his eyes.

The princess didn't expect to fall in love--with her nemesis. Princess Sepora of Serubel is the last Forger in all the five kingdoms. The spectorium she creates provides energy for all, but now her father has found a way to weaponize it, and his intentions to incite war force her to flee from his grasp. She escapes across enemy lines into the kingdom of Theoria, but her plans to hide are thwarted when she is captured and placed in the young king's servitude. Tarik has just taken over rulership of Theoria, and must now face a new plague sweeping through his kingdom and killing his citizens. The last thing he needs is a troublesome servant vying for his attention. But mistress Sepora will not be ignored. When the two finally meet face-to-face, they form an unlikely bond that complicates life in ways neither of them could have imagined. Sepora's gift could save Tarik's kingdom from the Quiet Plague. But should she trust her growing feelings for her nemesis, or should she hide her gifts at all costs? A thrilling futuristic fantasy in which the fate of the world's energy source is in the hands of a prince and princess who are rivals, by the New York Times-bestselling author of the Syrena Legacy.

I’m using this book as a review for Nemesis Mine since it won’t come up here. 

This book definitely grew on me. I think it was veryyy slow to start and really only going going when I was about 1/3 of the way in, but once I did I enjoyed it. A bit too silly and obnoxious at the beginning - it definitely feels like the author was trying to hard to make parts quirky and funny when to me it came of tacky. But I did really enjoy Max and Cyrus’ relationship and the few twists that were there. 

Katie Allard

I’m using this book as a review for Nemesis Mine since it won’t come up here. 

This book definitely grew on me. I think it was veryyy slow to start and really only going going when I was about 1/3 of the way in, but once I did I enjoyed it. A bit too silly and obnoxious at the beginning - it definitely feels like the author was trying to hard to make parts quirky and funny when to me it came of tacky. But I did really enjoy Max and Cyrus’ relationship and the few twists that were there. 

Jolie

This book has been in my TBR pile since I heard that it was going to be published and when I got an ARC from NetGalley, I was beyond pumped. I couldn’t wait to sit down and read it and when I did, I was completely absorbed in the story.

I absolutely loved Sepora. She was definitely ballsy. I mean, who would fake their own death, trudge across a desert, take on slave traders, save a half-fish/half girl cannibal (that she thought was myth) and then escape from the royal harem? She would. She also had to hide the fact that she is a Forger of spectorium, a rare metal that all the kingdoms need. Not an easy task since she produces it like sweat but she has her ways.

I liked Tarik and felt a little bad for him. He had just lost his father to a mystery and incurable illness called the Quiet Plague that is running rampant through his people and, at the age of 18, is responsible of running the kingdom of Theoria. Which is a huge take but he has a hidden ace up his sleeve. He is a Lingot. A Lingot is someone who is able to tell if someone is lying just by listening to them. A very useful trait to have for a Pharaoh.

Which brings me to this. I was thrilled that the Theorians were modeled after the Egyptians. I have a strange fascination with Egyptian mythology and love it when any type is used in a book. I am still trying to figure out what Sepora’s people, the Serbulians, are modeled after. I want to say Vikings but I am not too sure.

Sepora and Tarik’s romance was a slow burn. There was attraction but neither one of them did anything until almost the end of the book. Which worked for me because they were able to work on other aspects of their relationship. Like being friends.

Sethos has to be my favorite secondary character followed by Rashidi and Cy the Master Healer. Sethos was the epitome of a 15-year-old and I loved it. From wanting into the pharaoh’s harem to just being the annoying younger brother, it was awesome….lol. I liked Rashidi because he was older and gave Tarik some sound advice and Cy the Master Healer because not only because he was a 13-year-old prodigy but he was willing to everything and anything to stop the Quiet Plague.

The ending of the book, I didn’t really like. While I understand what happened had to happen, doesn’t mean that I like it. Nothing was resolved and that meant everything in Book 1 will be carried over into Book 2. Which, for everyone’s information, I am very about.

Oh and I want to add that I absolutely LOVE the cover of the book!!!

How many stars will I give Nemesis? 4

Why? I loved the plot and the characters. The only thing I really didn’t like was the ending (see above)

Will I reread? Yes

Will I recommend to family and friends? Yes

Age Range: Teen

Why: Very clean. No sex (just one kissing scene), no violence, no offensive language. Just some pretty descriptive scenes of the Quiet Plague

**I received a free copy of this book and volunteered to review it**

Émilie 

Je ne m'attendais pas grand chose en me lançant dans cette lecture. Le début de l'histoire ne m'inspirait pas tellement, mais j'ai rapidement changé d'avis en rencontrant Tarik !

Ce roman en double perspective suit la princesse Sepora, en fuite de son royaume pour prévenir une guerre, et le prince-jeune-roi du royaume voisin, Tarik, qui fait face à la mort soudaine de son père et doit reprendre les reines du Kingdom. Sepora et Tarik vont inévitablement se rencontrer pour former un duo plutôt détonant. 


J'ai beaucoup aimé ces deux personnages, la fougue de Sepora qui ne respecte pas les étiquettes et le calme et le discernement de Tarik qui essaie d'imposer sa patte dans cette royauté faite de traditions désuètes.

L'auteure nous propose plusieurs intrigues, ce qui rend le tout complexe et intéressant à souhait. Entre guerre à venir, amour impossible, épidémie mortelle, manœuvres politiques et lutte des classes : il y a de quoi séduire un grand nombre de lecteurs.


   “I would rather hide in desolation and poverty, whether it be in the Baseborn Quarters or the Tenantless, than be the cause of thousands of deaths in all the five kingdoms.” 


Certes, Tarik représente légèrement le cliché du roi qui gouverne avec cœur et raison et Sépora la princesse rebelle et martyre, mais cela ne m'a pas tant dérangé. Nos personnages sont bien plus que cela grâce à cette double perspective et s'est rafraîchissant.

La construction de l'univers était un peu lourde en début de roman, critère imposé par le genre YA, mais nous continuons de découvrir des informations tout au long de la lecture. Le tout est finalement cohérent, avec des éléments intéressant. (Je suis en pâmoison devant les chats géants domestiques!)

La fin était vraiment prenante, je n'ai pas pu reposer le livre avant le point final. Et même aujourd'hui je retourne encore les évènements dans ma tête en attendant de mettre la main sur le second volume - que je me suis empressée de commander, cela va sans dire.


   “Bravery comes in all forms, mistress. You are very brave in your own right, jumping from the Half Bridge as you did. But sometimes facing the death of a child makes us all cowards. And perhaps it should.” 


A conseiller vivement à tous les lecteurs de fantaisie young-adult qui aiment les héroïnes à fort caractère, les jeunes rois craquants, de légères intrigues politiques et un univers magique peu conventionnel.

Jessica 

Blog | Twitter | Instagram | DNF @ 15% 

That cover... is not it. I mean, it's just not and I am not sure why anyone would allow it to go to press. I'm not trying to be rude about it, but the cover totally turned me off from the start. I gave it a try, though, because I've heard nothing but good things about Anna Banks as an author and while a cover can be off-putting, and Nemesis certainly leads the pack on bad covers in modern YA, it wouldn't be fair to judge it based only on one bad decision. 

Nemesis had a lot going for it that could have been brilliant. At the end of the day, it fell very flat for me and I honestly couldn't make it past the 15% point in the copy I purchased on my Kindle. I just felt very unconnected with the story and the writing. This isn't to say that Banks' writing is bad and it isn't, it's just that Nemesis was not for me. At. All. 

As always, taste is subjective and I'm not hating on the book. It merely wasn't my cup of tea and I encourage you guys to give it a try, because it could very well be a fun ride for you.

Nemesis

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