Nyxia unleashed is the perfect second book of the Nyxia trilogy! The first book already swept me off my feet but the second.. it was amazing and I read it withing two days!
Finally, our favorite characters have made it to the new alien planet and discover some pretty shocking stuff and try to survive in such hostile situations. It's inspiring and amazing to follow them on their journeys. I love how friendship and companionship is emphasized in the story as the main reason for survival.
The writing improves, if that is at all possible from the first to the second book and even though the pace is rather fast, we still get a lot of insight on characters, their thoughts and feelings and also a lot of info about the new alien race, culture, the planet, plants and new animals.
I really can't wait for the grand finale!

My only disappointment with Nyxia was that we never actually got to see the Genesis kids make it down to Eden, which is why I think I enjoyed this so much better! I was worried that it would suffer from the dreaded Second Book Syndrome, but thankfully Nyxia Unleashed was just as action-packed and fast-paced as the first book. Nyxia Unleashed picked up right where Nyxia ended, and it never slowed down once.

The world-building was expanded in this book: Scott Reintgen did a great job with the introduction and descriptions of the alien planet and the different kinds of creatures Emmett and the others encountered. I also really loved how the characters and their relationships changed and grew. The characters in Nyxia Unleashed go from a competitive environment to landing on a completely different world. It was wonderful to see them adapt to the circumstances: rivalries evolved into friendships and friendships grew stronger as they all understood the need to stick together in order to survive and achieve their common goal.

If you enjoyed Nyxia, I would highly recommend continuing the series with Nyxia Unleashed! I'm very excited for the final book in the trilogy!

4.5 stars

Ok, I really enjoyed Nyxia, even though there were a few things I wasn’t into, but HOLY SHIT WOW THIS WAS SO MUCH BETTER.

Even though my star rating is only half a star higher (yeah, crazy), Nyxia Unleased was far superior to book one. Props to Reintgen for that.

The things I didn’t like in Nyxia were all fixed, and then Reintgen even added a few more things that I had no idea I wanted, and I’m so glad I got a chance to read this!

There were two things I didn’t like in Nyxia: how high-octane it was, and how trope-dependent it was.
This is a weird complaint, but Nyxia was too high-octane for me. There was a lot of action going on and like Warcross, I was just a little overwhelmed by the amount of plot in comparison to everything else. It was super entertaining and thrilling and in a way, it was just too fast-paced for me.

But Nyxia Unleased had a much better pacing, and I just love the rise and fall of the storyline. The buildup was great, more and more things were happening and it was culminating into something that was going to burst and then BAM! It burst and everything went to hell. (And we’re not back from hell yet because those PLOT TWISTS OH MY GOD).

Seriously. Reintgen really pulled out all the stops on the plot twists. THE LAST LINE WAS JUST PLAIN CRUEL OK. I loved the twists and found them to be fitting with the story line, but still twisty enough that we’re all trying to figure out what the hell just happened.

The only thing I can complain about in this aspect is that I wish the plot twists were a little more dramatic. And I don’t say this often, but sometimes I felt like the writing and the emotional weight around the plot twists was a little off and it didn’t have the effect that it could have had. Good, but not great.

Still, the pacing was straight fire and I really like seeing how Reintgen improved on creating a buildup that really sucks the reader in.

As for the trope dependency, ALL OF THAT FLEW OUT THE AIRLOCK WOW. I’m serious–there was so much creativity involved in this book I was blown away.

I felt like book 1 was trying a little too hard to be competition-centric, which I know is a popular trope but not something I’m super into, but book 2 was so original I couldn’t help but love it.

And it wasn’t just in a “oh people exploring an alien planet whoop de doo” sort of way because Reintgen did this really amazing thing: he looked at the side of the colonized as well as the colonists.

There’s a really large level of awareness of his own fictional world, which I really loved, and Reintgen takes note of things. He talks about how the Imago (who you know as the Adamites) call themselves something besides “Adamite” and he talks about how the Imago call the planet “Magnia” not “Eden” and he is just very aware of all the differences between how the colonizers see the world and how the natives see it.

I found this to be very refreshing based on just how much he understood his own world and really gave the voice to the group that normally wouldn’t get a voice. This was really nice to see and it was amazing how Reintgen didn’t make the Imago barbarians.

I love how creative Reintgen was with this novel, and it was just the icing on the cake. Plus, there’s all sorts of amazing cultural items (i.e. FOOD) on Magnia that I loved reading about, and I think Reintgen did an amazing job of thinking things through and also setting up the plot.

The reason this isn’t a full five is just because of the romance. I didn’t really remember Morning and Emmett’s romance from book 1 (thanks Mia @ Pens and Parchment for reminding me) but I wasn’t really into it in this book. I just didn’t really care about their relationship, which happens a lot for me in sci-fi, so this just ended up as a kind of dull point for me. It didn’t make them do anything life-threateningly-dumb, but it wasn’t engaging either.

But one of the really big highs of this story that I loved was how Emmett wasn’t the best, most amazing person in the group. You know who the best fighter is? Morning. That’s right. The non-main character female character is actually the star of the group. High five to Scott Reintgen for showing off powerful females even with a male narrator, and for making a male narrator who is respectful and acknowledges said female’s prowess.

Overall, Nyxia Unleashed blew Nyxia out of the water, even though it’s only a half star ahead of the game. Pick up the series just so you can read this book. Seriously.

Whew! That was quite the ride. Let's ignore the fact that I raged and screamed and threw my kindle when the book ended. Instead, let's talk about what made this novel so irresistible.

This is the second book in the Nyxia series and it's just as addictive as the first. In this installment, we go down to Eden with the teens as they get situated for mining Nyxia. Of course, nothing is quite what it seems (we are dealing with Babel, after all) and things start looking awfully suspicious.

Being the inquisitive and upstart type of kids they are, the group of teens forms plans, alliances, and enemies.

And when it all goes down, it's incredible.

Explosive.

I raced through the pages of this novel. I couldn't get enough and I had to know what happened next. This series is SO addictive. I can't believe more people aren't talking about it because it has so much potential to explode in popularity.

Do you ever have a book or series that you wish you could shove into people's hands and scream READ THIS!? This is one of those books for me.

The pages are loaded with action, twists, turns, and a HUGE wildcard tossed in near the end. And that ending?! It destroyed me. I literally threw my hands in the air and screamed! I can't remember the last time a book got that reaction out of me.

Needless to say, I'm dealing with one Texas-sized case of book hangover. How do I even move on from this? I don't think I can. I'll be dwelling on it for weeks to come.

If you're not reading this series yet, you should be!

Content: Some language, violence, war, and non-descriptive something (male/female). I honestly don't know if it's sex or just serious make-out sessions. I can't tell. That's how non-descriptive it is.

Source: NetGalley.

This is the second book of a trilogy. The combined remaining crews of Genesis 11 and 12 have landed on the new planet as treasured guests of the residents of the planet. Their goal is to mine the incredibly valuable nyxia and ship it off to Babel for use on Earth. That is why this group of poor kids was recruited. They can take care of their families on Earth and earn huge amounts of money too. The only problem is that Babel has been lying to them the whole time they were going through their training and they aren't at all sure if they can trust the Imago who live on the planet.

This story is mostly told by Emmett as they mine, travel through the dangerous planet, meet the locals and learn many things that Babel never told them. They are invited to Sevenset which is the largest settlement on the planet where they learn things about the Imago that Babel doesn't know. They also learn things about the culture and the rebels when Emmett is kidnapped by on of the outlaw Imago.

I liked the action. I liked the twisty plotting. I liked the relationships between the kids who are parts of Genesis 11 and 12. I especially liked the partnership between Emmett and Morning. Because this is the middle book of a trilogy, the ending is a cliffhanger. I can't wait for the third book to find out how all the issues resolve.

I loved this sequel!! Full review to come but I loved that we finally got to see this planet they kept talking about. Learn more about my fave gang and to see how they inevitably get themselves in to and out of trouble. Also my heart is broken into 1,000,000 tiny pieces.

please read this!! if you loved the first book , you will love this one !! so much happens and it all happens in a alien environment so that adds to the ambiance !! if you love sci-fi You need to read this!

I'm convinced that most readers are crazy for not being as into this series as I've become.

From the perfect main character to the adorable romance, I seriously cannot get enough. Reintgen writes a brilliant series that includes diverse characters and important themes; yet it's one of the most underrated ones in recent years.

It truly has so much to offer on the ways of our world. I loved this installment despite some heartbreaking pieces. And I cannot wait for book 3!

If you didn’t notice in my review of Nyxia by Scott Reintgen, I really enjoyed the beginning of this series. So much so that when I discovered Nyxia Unleashed on NetGalley I practically fumbled my phone in my rush to request it. I tried not to let myself stay too excited, just in case I wasn’t approved and didn’t get to read the book until it’s released on July 17th. However, when I got the email that I was approved for this copy, I literally screamed, covered my mouth in shock, and then immediately began reading. (Thank you, thank you, thank you!!) I honestly can not remember any TW/CWs that might be needed at this exact moment so I’m just going to dive into the review!

I was really excited to be reunited with Emmett and his crew, but I was equally excited to be able to meet quite a few new characters. Each character received their own level of development and I really feel like, for the most part, they all got what they deserved. I do feel like a couple of the characters might have done well with a little more development, but I was really happy with what is there so this might just be me needing more for my faves. Nearly every character in Nyxia Unleashed is a full-fledged and three dimensional person, regardless of their species. Yes, that’s right. We do finally meet the native species of the alien planet and WOW. I was definitely not disappointed with how Scott Reintgen handled that versus the way he could have handled it, which would likely have been the easy way since it seems like that’s how it tends to go in most novels of this sort.

At least 95% of the story in Nyxia Unleashed takes place on the alien planet, which I am intentionally not naming. No, I didn’t forget, but that is part of the story so you’ll have to read the novel to understand! 😉 The other 5-ish% takes place on the space station that orbits the alien planet. While I felt like the planet was relatively immersive and I understood how everything worked there rules-wise, I wasn’t quite as clear on the space station going off just this novel. You’d definitely need to have read the first book, Nyxia, to have that built up a bit and have a grasp of it before going into this series.

The story picks up moments after where Nyxia left off, really hammering home that reading Nyxia first would be best before picking up this sequel. The story flows relatively well from beginning to end. I can’t lie on this one… I read the book in a single day so obviously there is nothing wrong with the flow of the plot. There was a lot of action and holy hells the feelings. Scott Reintgen shamelessly played with my emotions throughout the entirety of Nyxia Unleashed and I am good with that. More please. The one thing that bugged me enough to require mentioning was, of course, the cliffhanger ending. Now I find myself in need of the final book in the series, like, yesterday.

I really enjoy the world Scott Reintgen has created in a not-so-distant future and the characters he has created to live there. I am completely in love with the story and 120% invested in finding out what happens next buT I NEED FOR MY FAVES TO BE OKAY! I am okay. This is fine. Please send chocolate. This book will hurt all your feels in the best way.

OMG, this book had twists and turns and loved reading the different chapters in a different POV. I can't wait to see what happens next with the group. Who is playing who?

Wow I was so bored and just didn't care about anything in this book?! I don't know what happened because I loved Nyxia so so much! But this one just wasn't cutting it for me. I think maybe reading it during the stress of finals and finishing up school made me not so engaged in it?? Not too sure, I just know that I was majorly bored. But the writing is so fantastic though, that's really what pulled me through is that I really love the writing a lot and just thank God for good writing.

“The kind of men who wear imaginary crowns always enjoy a stage . . . [and] kings aren’t innocent in war. When you put on the crown and order troops to kill, you invite the judgement of the enemy’s sword.”

I absolutely loved Scott Reintgen’s debut, Nyxia, last year, and I was stoked this year to get an ARC of his second installment to the Nyxia Triad with Nyxia Unleashed. I devoured this book, and it has everything I look for in good science fiction.

The first thing that sets Nyxia Unleashed (NU)–and this series so far–a part from most in YA science fiction is the fact that this book doesn’t suffer from “second book syndrome” at all. Where most second installments lack the intensity, fast-paced plot, or eagerness of their beginning volumes, Reintgen avoids those pitfalls completely. This takes some considerable know-how and experience with creative writing techniques. Reintgen has this in spades. I didn’t expect some of the turns and reveals that come in this segment of the trilogy. Some I did, but what drives the tension is each character, their growth, connections to each other, and their own unique voices and histories. Their realism and humanity keeps the pages turning.

Reintgen continues to deeply develop the characterization and world-building in NU far beyond the first book. Relationships between characters like Emmett and Longwei or Emmett and Morning have changed drastically. Their experiences aboard the Genesis ships have hardened them, destroyed some emotionally, and set them each apart as competition and sometimes enemies. These experiences, however, have brought them closer together when the veil is lifted on Babel’s dark underbelly and how the company sees the teens as expendable pawns. The kids realize they’re stronger together. There’s a stronger sense of group cohesion and family. They have to stick together or risk not surviving the dangers that the planet and Babel may hold for them. This proves more true than they expected, and we get to watch these kids grow stronger and smarter. They also learn to think critically about everything Babel Corp has told them up to this point in their journey. As they get to know the Adamites (Imago), they learn to identify and empathize with an alien race, and they begin to learn that a corporation doesn’t have their best interests at heart, especially when those interests are counter to corporate goals. And they deftly learn to navigate interplanetary politics to favor themselves and the Imago and work to bring Babel down.

This brings me to the next element of NU that I loved: the examination and criticism of foreign conquest, colonialism, and corporate greed. The themes in this novel are deeply relevant to current social, cultural, and economic climates in the US and abroad, and the focus is put on the vulnerable victims of these systems that sit on the lowest tiers of global society. The teens all represent the under-served and underprivileged areas of society–some are from developing countries, some from the poor, working-class populations of the US, and so forth. Each teen brings a life and past of hardship, struggle, injustice, and defeat to the table, and this fuels them to distrust and be critical of a corporation run on lies and greed. Babel’s goal is not the betterment of society on earth through the promises mining the element nyxia can bring; it’s not a working relationship and harmonious existence or cooperation with the Imago; it’s the systematic genocide of a planet and its people for its own profit, as Emmett discovers in the final third of the book (chapter 42). The theme of colonization becomes apparent early on, as Reintgen writes: “It doesn’t surprise me that Babel’s out here playing the role of colonizer, slapping labels on the originals and pretending they created it all in the first place” (chapter 5). This is a classic move in colonization and systemic suppression of native races; the colonizing power renames to erase, to fashion what is Other to its image of civilization. The Imago try to combat this through re-education when they and the teens get to know each other. The teens resist Babel’s colonization efforts and use the Imago’s language for its places, ideas, and so forth. So here, Babel loses ground.

I also love how Reintgen draws a contrast between our tendency to idealize the meaning of “humanity” and our belief in our inherent “goodness” (or the colonizer’s belief in its inherent “manifest destiny”), and the Imago’s clear rightness and innocence–that sometimes humanity isn’t “on the side of God” at all. Anton realizes in a cloud of grief and regret that war is our penchant and “we’ve brought our taste for destruction across the galaxy. I eye the wreckage, thinking about how familiar it all looks. I’ve seen buildings like these before, billions of kilometers away” (chapter 46). We watch an innocent people suffer injustice and brutality as the teens have witnessed at home their entire lives, and Babel is just another socio-political force that keeps the oppression alive. Through the battle they are drawn into, they finally have the chance to end it and regain their freedom, voice, power, and can help the Imago do the same.

Through all of this, the lesson and realization that freedom, our lives, our voices, justice, wealth, and power are incompatible with corporate greed–their power and wealth come at the expense of stealing and destroying the people in their wake. It’s a powerful message that burns through this novel and kept me tense and on the edge of my seat hoping the teens will succeed and that the Imago will triumph.

The only thing I thought Reintgen could have done better in this novel is not create the Imago to be so similar to humans. It’s a bit contrary to scientific understanding of how sentient life might be like from a planet outside of our solar system, particularly because most planetary systems are likely not to have conditions exactly like ours. Therefore, we can’t expect an alien race to be like us–and the Imago were to0 human-like. This kind of runs parallel to humanity’s expectation that we’re the center of the universe, created in the “image of a god” where we really create gods in our image and we shape other worlds and societies into our image. So, I would have liked to see a vastly different representation of a society that illustrates the ultimate “other”. Otherwise, I know that the Imago’s world illustrates an ideal “earth-like” planet that we definitely try to search for to this day–but it’s a bit unrealistic considering the precise conditions required for our planet to sustain life as we know it. Moreover, the Imago and their world were a little too similar to those portrayed in the movie Avatar. I wanted something more unique.

And alas, this book ends on a MASSIVE cliffhanger, but it’s a powerful ending that has me gasping for the final book in this trilogy. I usually don’t read science-fiction, but I make an exception for the Nyxia Triad–it’s one of my favorite series ever now. I highly recommend picking this up.

This book is amazing. Once again, Reintgen delivers amazingly rich and complex characters, a suspenseful plot, and some last minute events that will stab you through all the feels. The pacing of this book is wonderful, and it's the kind of book that will keep you up all night because you NEED TO KNOW what happens next. Speaking of- I need to know what happens next! I'm so excited for Book 3.

I highly recommend this book. It's a fast paced, sci-fi adventure that will keep you guessing, and will keep you hooked! There's also not a super clear bad vs good guys thing happenings here. There's more like "horrible" vs "a little less horrible maybe because I kinda get their motives" guys. I mean, we obviously love our main group, but the rest of them...? Well, it makes it hard to know who to root for, or even just how hard to root for them, although there are some main characters that you'll definitely fall in love with and will want them to get through this whole thing. But even then, those characters also do some pretty shady stuff.

But I guess something this book really asks you to consider is: How far will you go to survive? I think we'd all be surprised at our own answers. As are, I believe, the characters in this book.

As a rule, I don't like middle books. You don't get the pleasure of getting to know the characters or the satisfaction of finding out the conclusion to the story. But, Nyxia Unleashed is an adventure in itself. As Nyxia (book 1) concluded, our characters were leaving Babel for the great unknown of Eden. As Nyxia Unleashed begins, we find our characters grounded on an alien planet. Everything here is dangerous. No one is quite who they seem to be. Exploring Eden with the Genesis crew is exciting. I can't wait to read the next (and final?) installment of the series. We would be very lucky to see this one brought to the big screen, too. As fun as it is to read Reintgen's descriptions, I am dying to see what the Adamites/Imago look like.

*As an aside, I'm finding that a lot of these names (Requin, Imago, etc.) are actual, not invented, words. I'm wondering if they somehow relate to the story in a meaningful way. Especially since Reintgen has already used names with meaningful context in the story (Eden and Babel). Hm.

This is an excellent addition to an already solid science fiction series. I actually enjoyed this book better than, Nyxia, the first title in this triad. The alien planet setting was very interesting and the world-building was effortlessly done. I was left with stunning visuals of another world. I also enjoyed getting to see deeper into the characters and explore their relationships with one another. Lots of twists and turns and new surprises. Can't wait to read the finale.

Nyxia Unleashed was probably my most anticipated books for 2018! I loved Nyxia so much and couldn't wait to experience more of Emmett and the gang.

And, yowza!! Scott Reintgen did not disappoint! This second book follows Emmett and his surviving crewmates to the planet Eden where they mine Nyxia for the Babel Corporation. There they encounter the alien Adamites (well, actually, the humans are the aliens in Eden!)

The action and world building are just as impressive in this second book as in Nyxia and I loved every minute! Scott gives us two brilliant characters in Emmett and Morning and I couldn't get enough. I loved all the teens in this, but especially Morning who is such a great kick-ass heroine and leader. Paired with Emmett, the kid from the streets of Detroit, they make a formidable pair!

And that ending!! I need book 3 NOW!!! Ack! I highly recommend this series to all sci-fi lovers!! Well done, Scott!!

*Thanks to NetGalley and Crown Books for the advance copy!*

I read Nyxia a few months ago and was excited to be granted an ARC from Netgalley for NYXIA UNLEASHED.
My only complaint was that I finished it too fast and now have to wait for however long for the third book! I don't want to say too much since it's not officially "out" yet.
Sequels are hard. Sequals to books that people love and ship are even harder. NU NAILED IT!! They took everything I adored about the first book and expanded on it in the second. It went in a direction I would have never expected but oddly enough, it made sense. It was one of those "WTF are you doing" books.
I was beyond excited when I got an ARC from Net Galley and the Publisher! Thank you so much!

** This review will be published on my blog, www.adventuresandreading.wordpress.com, goodreads, and instagram on July, 3 and links will be uploaded here **
I received this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
If you haven’t read Nyxia, I HIGHLY recommend it. I also reviewed it last year, here. After reading the first book back in November, I needed the next one immediately. Reintgen knows how to cliffhangers and he does them WELL. I have so many emotions about the first one and I could talk about it forever, but I digress. The second book, Nyxia UNleashed, is just as great, just as action-packed, just as moving, just as heartbreaking, and just as much a cliffhanger as the first one. This book destroyed me. It was exactly what I hoped for in continuing the series and Reintgen didn’t disappoint.
The premise of Nyxia Unleashed is that it follows Emmett Atwater’s journey working for Babel Communications. A fictional company that intends on mining the substance Nyxia which has developed into a tool that Babel solely owns and distributes. In Nyxia, Babel picked teenagers who were broken, poor, and in need of something that could drastically change their futures and offered them fortunes, fame, and the chance to roam the stars until they reached Eden, the planet where the nyxia is made, to work. On the way there, the teens are put through many challenges and tests to strengthen them and to help them develop skills that they’ll need once they’re on the ground. But the catch is that not all of them will make it down to the ground. Where we find Emmett at the start of this book is right after he launches to head down to the surface. Once he lands, the action starts. The Adamites are helpful, welcoming and keeping secrets. The control stations on the ground and Babel run and keeping secrets. The Tower station in space is planning things and keeping secrets. The mining grounds are dangerous. The conflicts abound, the resolutions are few, but the cliffhangers are many and it all concludes in a way that you can’t even image. But you’ll want to keep reading because you’ll need to know what happens next.
Reintgen has created and developed such a unique world in Eden. The Adamites or the Imago’s are the natives and we get to meet a few, how they live, see some of their customs. The animals described are things out of dreams, or nightmares, depending on your perspective. One thing that I loved was the development that we got to see of the teenagers growing knowledge of the Imago’s culture and customs. Too many times we get to see the culture and customs of others and disregard them because they’re different from our own. The beauty of each and every single one of us is that we ARE different. To celebrate those differences and understand where others are coming from is something we all should hold on to and this book, from the beginning, did that. Not only is the cast so diverse already, but it brings in a completely other species and we get to see how that translates. I LOVE that about this series.
Another thing that I love about this book is the character development that we get to see. We see character relationships growing from the first book. There are characters that wouldn’t think would become favorites, but they do! There are characters that you may hate, but you can understand their reasoning for acting in the way they do. I’m trying to do this in a way that isn’t spoilery, but... Y’all. The character development is high-key one of the best I’ve ever read. And I’m not saying that because I love this series. It’s because Reitgen has taken the liberty and made these character super relatable and some of the most conscious characters I’ve seen.
Again, I really loved the incorporation of biblical themes throughout the book. Maybe, I'm overreaching again, but Babel Communications, ships named Genesis, planet that was referenced to as Eden, people referred to as the Adamites, said people's self-referenced as Imago, etc. I grew up in church, backed by a Christian belief, attended a Christian university, and currently work for a Christian organization. For me, this book was, again, really refreshing because it used things and terms that I had prior knowledge of. It also continued to play on the idea and integration of the Tower of Babel.
**BUT. This is in no way a Christian book or a book specifically for Christians. I feel the need to write this because even though it has Christian themes and references, it is not Christian Fiction. It is Science Fiction, pure and simple. And that is why I love it.**
This book was a fantastic addition to the Nyxia Triad. I cannot stress it enough of how great this book and this series is. It is a fast-paced, relentless heck of an emotional tornado that will leave you wanting more. The twists and turns throughout make it unpredictable and an attention-grabber. Reintgen has once again written something that I hated to put down or finish. I wanted more. Check this series out. You definitely won’t regret it.

*HUGE thanks to Crown Books for Young Readers and Scott Reintgen for the early review copy in exchange for my honest opinion

Last year I won a Twitter giveaway for Nyxia & I didn't really know much about the book other than it was Sci-fi & I dig sci-fi so it couldn't hurt throwing my hat in the ring. I also attended Bookcon last year & remember standing right in front of Scott Reintgen's table as he set up for a signing & again, I had no idea what for...hadn't won the contest just yet. Well *sigh* I did read the book & I also gently kicked myself afterwards for not having read it sooner & missing my grand opportunity to talk Scott's ear off about book 2!

Nyxia remains one of my favorite YA Sci-Fi books & you can check out my spoiler free GUSH review (here) but Nyxia Unleashed has definitely taken over the mantle, Scott Reintgen delivered & I couldn't be happier with this sequel! well...I could but I'm reserving that for book 3! Now onto this GUSH review...

We start off right where we left off and that means there's a ton of hurt and pain to last a lifetime. The events from Nyxia have left Emmett and his friends rattled and looking over their shoulders. The corporation known as Babel who they've basically signed their lives away to in exchange for financial stability for themselves and each of their families, has many secrets. They've all been through the ringer Hunger Games style in the first book & are now realizing that "Space Exploration" and mining of the Nyxia substance found on the planet they've been shipped off too, isn't Babels real agenda. They're also realizing that for all the rigorous training Babel put them through, it's not quite enough when faced with the actual dangers and species on the foreign planet Eden.

“I’m always surprised when people expect me to not notice the little details. So many lies are like badly buried bodies, just waiting for a little rain to unearth them.”

We meet the "Adamites" who inhabit Eden and have a working relationship with Babel. In exchange for access to the Nyxia naturally grown in Eden, the Adamites asked for Babel to send them only their youth. Teens like Emmett and his friends, the reason given is that their planet has no youth left. Females are almost all extinct and therefore no children have been born in recent years. If you're raising an eyebrow at this...you are NOT alone! I was suspicious of them all the way til' the very end! you just never know with these Sci-Fi books if they're trying to steal your organs #jussayin haha! with the introduction of the Adamites we get layers of world building & Adamite culture from the foods they eat to their social class construct. I am a sucker for world building, details, and just about anything that can make a world come alive on the page & transport me right into its midst. Reintgen not only continued to deliver on some of the BEST character development to hit the page, he also expanded the world tenfold and in the process hooked me in once more. We also get discussion on colonization, corporal punishment, the broken prison system here on Earth, and structural racism.   Food for thought is always welcome especially when it mirrors much of our current day lives. Emmett has trained himself to observe as opposed to reacting right away & so we get to follow his train of thought as he realizes the similarities between Eden and Earth.

“It doesn’t surprise me that Babel’s out here playing the role of colonizer, slapping labels on the originals and pretending they created it all in the first place. It’s pretty standard procedure for folks like them.”

One of the things I love the most about this trilogy is the dialogue. From the author bio we get that some of the research for these characters came from Reintgen's experience in the classrooms he teaches in. The language is authentic and flows very easily with a ton of personality infused in each and every one of the characters. This is a big cast & yet I always knew who was saying what just by how well fleshed out they all are. Our MC Emmett shares the leadership spotlight with his love interest Morning who is a take charge Alpha personality not really waiting to be given the reigns. I LOVED seeing these two in action & just how respectful Emmett is of Morning, he admires her strengths and bravado. Morning in turn takes a very protective role over  Emmett. It wasn't made to be Emmett coming to her rescue, Morning got him out of quite a few jams. Each has different strengths in character but both bring out the best in those they cross paths with. There's a recurrent theme all throughout this sequel of a sense of shedding their innocence. They aren't doing "normal" teen things and Emmett is very much aware of this when he self reflects. The humility is still very much there, kept alive through flashbacks of conversations with his father who sort of plays a side characters in the shadows. For the most part all of these characters have a past heavy with burden and pain, injustice and poverty. It's their desire to want more for those they love that keep them in the game...

“My whole life’s been rough, but somewhere I picked up the idea that it wasn’t supposed to be that way. I don’t know where I learned about justice, when I started thinking I deserved something more. There’s a part of me that knows, beyond the shadow of any doubt, that the world is supposed to be better, more.”

One thing is for certain, these characters are much stronger together than apart. I am so ready to see how certain relationships play out in the next book and whether they will endure whatever comes their way. This was such a fun read, these characters feel so familiar and alive that it really does feel like seeing old friends again after some time has passed. I am more than looking forward to returning to this cast of characters but for now I'll just live vicariously through my hubby who will be starting Nyxia next :)

“We walk together, shoulders touching, like we’re walking home from school on a normal day. But that’s not reality. Reality is a new world. Reality is two moons hanging in the sky, bright and beckoning. Reality is what we’re leaving behind as we move through an empty forest and out into a world that feels full of ghosts.”

*Quotes have been taken from ARC and may differ from the final publication.

Nyxia Unleashed the sequel to Nyxia by Scott Reintgen will hit the shelves July 17th!!! & your girl has already pre-ordered a copy. All I need now is some fan art, bookmarks, candles, the works inspired by this trilogy fathom?!?! ;)

---------->THIS REVIEW WILL GO LIVE ON JUNE 1ST 2018 7AM EST, LINKS WILL BE ADDED TO THIS SITE AFTERWARDS. THANKS AGAIN FOR ACCESS TO THIS ARC, IT WAS EVERYTHING I COULD'VE HOPED FOR & MORE! :)

“As the descent begins, I hold on to one truth: I am more than what they would make of me.”

This is such an amazing YA Sci-Fi series that is so beautifully inclusive with some very important themes and discussions. The writing is amazing, I pulled around thirty quotes for this review alone. The characters have completely stolen my heart and soul, and they are a tier above most in all of literature. This series is amazing, and this second installment was everything that I wanted and more.

Nyxia Unleashed follows a crew of kids from all over the world that have been tested extensively during their journey to another planet. A company named Babel gave contracts to kids from needy homes, whether that be love, money, or even health care. Babel picked kids that they believed they could mold and shape into whatever they wanted, but Nyxia Unleashed shows that Babel might have completely underestimated the power of teens. And this book picks right back up after the final events in Nyxia, where they have landed on a brand new planet, Magnia.

“They made us into weapons. It will be their downfall.”

This series also has the best main protagonist in YA, I swear it. Emmett is a black boy from Detroit, who joined this space program because it was the only way his mother could get the medical treatment she needed. He constantly is filing stuff away mentally with a system his grandma taught him, and he is never embarrassed or shamed for showing emotion. Music also plays a big role in Emmett’s life, and it’s displayed so very beautifully. Emmett is just an amazing main character, and one that I’ve been searching for

Morning is my new favorite character of all-time, I swear. She is so strong, so powerful, so amazing of a leader. She’s a Latinx girl from Cali who has completely stolen my heart. She (and her doors) blew me away. Like, the fight scenes with Morning are legit some of the best fight scenes I’ve ever read in YA. And seeing her be so hard, and so soft, and so everything in between, is something I don’t even have words for.

And the romance in this book? Lord, I can’t. So perfect, so pure, so everything. It makes me want to scream “OTP forever” at the top of my lungs, off the rooftops. And the moments that these two share, whether its fighting back to back, comforting each other over past pain, or just cuddling and being there for one another. I love it all, and I ship Emmett and Morning so hard, it’s unreal.

Magnia is a planet that has two moons and, depending on the years, the planet changes not only names (Magnia and Glacius) but natural disasters and weather. The kids that landed are supposed to be mining Nyxia, a new super resource and is a substance that can create anything, and Babel has created a treaty with the indigenous people on Magnia, the Imago. Basically, their planet is slowly dying from lack of females, so they promise to allow these kids to mine so that they can instill hope back to a planet that no longer has children. Well, at least that’s what Babel is saying, and Magnia is agreeing to.

“It doesn’t surprise me that Babel’s out here playing the role of colonizer, slapping labels on the originals and pretending they created it all in the first place. It’s pretty standard procedure for folks like them.”

This book heavily talks about colonization, and how disgusting people can be, while also taking everything from natives of the land they are about to steal. Babel even made up a name to call the Imago people, which the crew doesn’t even realize until they get to know the indigenous people. And these kids all see, first hand, what this new planet and its inhabitants are like, and it’s not so much different than any of them. And the crew also see how Babel has something much larger than anyone else expect in store.

This story also puts a heavy emphasis on social hierarchy and systemic oppression and what that means for the individuals that the world will deem as lesser. How some people are just born into the right last name, with the right money, with the right looks, and with all the privileges that these things give.

“Is this how people talked about me when I lived in Detroit? Am I like the beggars? Don’t give me too much of a handout or I’ll be encouraged, I think darkly.”

But Nyxia is just such a gift of a series to the literary world. That crew I kept talking about above? I already said that Emmett is black, and Morning is Latinx, but the rest of the crew? So much beautiful diversity. This crew has queer (gay and/or bi) side characters, side characters wearing hijabs, a pregnant teen crew member, Asian crew members, and so much of the characters talking about their experiences outside of The United States. So many of these characters are all dealing with grief, trauma, PTSD, and abandonment. This book is on another level, I’m telling you all.

Trigger and content warnings for murder, death, gore, blood, violence, depiction of PTSD, abandonment, kidnapping, torture, animal death, talk of past outing, talk of past homophobia, genocide, colonization, loss of a loved one, loss of a friend, and war themes.

My favorite aspect of this book was the constant spotlight on found family and unconditional love, trust, and support. These kids, from all different backgrounds, upbringings, ethnicities, religions, come together and create this bond that is so believable and so amazing to read. Like, this book just feels so real, that I’m wondering if there is an organization like Babel out there and if these kids came together and (hopefully) really saved a world!

“I sit there long after she falls asleep, thinking about the family we’ve forged, not through blood, but through steel and chaos. I never asked for any of this. At the beginning, I fought hard against it. But now that they’re mine, now that I’m theirs, I’d do anything to keep them from being taken.”

Overall, I loved this. The wait for the third book is going to be so hard, but this second installment was everything I wanted and more. I mean, Scott Reintgen still ripped out my heart, but in the best way possible. This is easily my favorite YA Sci-Fi out there, and I hope you all give this series a try, because it’s so worth it.