This book is truly in the list of my top YA science fiction books! Evren has waited her whole life for the symbol on her neck to change. She needs to show that she has “matured” so that she can join the rest of the Paladins who are going to be vessels for the Leviathans. Her mother has trained her since birth for this moment, never giving her a moment’s rest. She’s embarrassed to have her child be the one holding the entire group up from fulfilling their duties. When Evren’s sign finally changes, she is thrown into the world of the Nexum, a world her mother was very secretive about. She knows nothing about the truth of her world compared to the other Paladins who have been living in the Nexum since elementary school and has a lot to catch up on. Nevertheless, the ceremony must go on. The Leviathans must come back to Earth into the vessels of the Paladins and help the humans to find peace. When things start to go wrong, the truth about the world of the Nexum and Paladins slowly reveals its ugly head.
I wasn’t sure quite what to expect when I first picked up this book. I’ve slowly been leaning away from YA fiction and trying to read more adult fiction as I felt drained by YA recently. I’m so happy that I gave in to read this book, it truly threw me out of my slight reading slump. Instead of feeling like this was a dumbed-down version of an adult science fiction book, I fellt like I was thrown into a fully gritty dystopian world. Definitely a note, this isn’t a book for the faint-hearted. Things get a bit gory at times!
Evren was such a compelling character. Kept in the dark by her overprotective mother, she struggles with being one of the oldest Paladins who doesn’t even really understand what being a Paladin is. She fights hard to catch up with the others, and when the others are in danger, she fights hard to save them. I loved how this book’s world was set up, even though much was clearly being kept from public view. You see everything from Evren’s eyes, so if she doesn’t know something, you don’t know the answer either. I can’t wait to see how the world expands in future installments of the series now that some of the secrets of the Paladins and Leviathans have been revealed.
The one thing that took this book down a little bit for me was the ending. I feel like it was a little bit rushed, but it didn’t ruin my whole experience. Now I just can’t wait until the next book releases!
The pacing of this book was excellent and I flew through the whole thing over the course of less than 12 hours between reading at night and reading on my morning commute. I just couldn’t put it down. I was enjoying the idea of Evren going to a magic/Paladin training school, and then the suspense/drama just kicked my excitement up a notch.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a new YA science fiction series to enjoy.
Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5 books.
