Book Review: Nil Unlocked by Lynne Matson

Title: Nil Unlocked Series: Nil #2 Author: Lynne Matson Published: May 12, 2015 by Henry Holt (Macmillan) (Amazon / Goodreads) Synopsis: On the island of Nil, the rules are set. You have exactly 365 days to escape—or you die. Rives is now the undisputed Leader of Nil City, but keeping the City united is tougher than ever.  Raiders have grown bolder, supplies are dwindling, and non-human inhabitants have taken a turn toward the deadly. New arrivals cause rifts within the City, putting the Search system at risk, and calling everything Rives knows into question. Desperate for answers, he teams up with the only other person searching for them: Skye, a new arrival with a mysterious past of her own. Soon the duo find themselves locked in a desperate race to save all the residents of Nil—and possibly destroy the island forever. But at what cost? And who will pay the price?

It's always amazing when a standalone book you loved gets a sequel you didn't know it would have. That was Nil Unlocked for me, an unexpected and absolutely appreciated sequel to a book that I loved. But the thing with sequels is they can be tricky, especially unexpected ones. Do they capture the magic of the first book? Do they continue the story in an intentional and interesting way? I'm happy to say that Nil Unlocked was just as good, if not better than Nil with amazing characters and fantastic plot development.

One of the things that I have always loved about this book is the setting. The island of Nil is a picturesque tropical island and Lynne is able to create a visually stunning place full of beaches, volcanic lava fields, and lush jungles that you can perfectly visualize. It seems like the kind of place that you want to visit on vacation but this island is more than meets the eye. The book walks a fine line between the beauty and terror of the island. It's a place where you have to expect the unexpected. A place where nothing is what you thought and nothing and no one is safe. This makes for a really atmospheric and action-packed kind of read. It had me on the edge of my seat waiting to hear what was going to happen next and where the book would lead us.

And where it led us was attempting to understand the mystery surrounding the island. In the first book I loved how mysterious the island of Nil was and how it was a character unto itself. The island was basically the antagonist of the story. The main characters were trying to figure it out and outsmart it so that could escape and get home. In Nil Unlocked the island stayed a character but my feelings toward it shifted a little bit. This time the island wasn't so antagonistic but it wasn't benevolent either. The island of Nil became much more of an odious type character which I always love. The more we learned about Nil, the more complex she became. Of course as the title informs us, this was all about unlocking the secrets to Nil and we definitely did that in this book. And Nil's secrets are just as complex as she is. It's part science and part faith. The first book always felt like a YA version of the TV show Lost and this really solidified it. I loved learned all the Nil truths and it's history and mythology. It made for such a compelling story.

But Nil wasn't the only complex and interesting character in this book. Nil Unlocked is sort of a companion novel to the first book. In Nil we met Charley and Thad and followed them on their journey to escape Nil but this book we get two new main characters. That's often a hard thing but I have to say that Lynne did a great job making the characters interesting and empathetic. In Nil Unlocked our main characters are Skye and Rives. We met Rives in book one, as Thad's second and future leader of Nil City. I loved seeing Rives lead. H puts others before himself. Even though his days on Nil are numbered (everyone's are though, amiright) he would rather see everyone else get off the island before him. He has this quite confidence and inner strength that make him a great leader. But he's not perfect and makes a lot stupid mistakes because he's not really thinking about how they will affect him. His selflessness is his fatal flaw. Skye however is completely new and completely fantastic. She had this amazing sense of curiosity and sense of adventure that we as the reader have about the island. Whereas Rives is selfless, Skye's fatal flaw is that she's selfish. She doesn't always think about others and isn't really a team player but she still has other people's best interest in mind. She's ready for Nil in a way that no other new arrival has been and her desire to take it all on is empowering and fun to watch. It didn't take long for me to fall in love with Skye and Rives and by the end I may have liked them more than Thad and Charley. They're just all such fantastic characters.

Part of what I loved so much about this book is the plot development. For one thing this has always been a really action-packed kind of series. It's about survival and that is a concept that I always love. Here Lynne really brought the suspense and had me on the edge of my seat. As the book drew closer to the end I was so nervous about what was going to happen I had to take a break to collect my thoughts. Plus you guys probably know I'm much more of a fan of second books in a series than I think a lot of people are and Nil Unlocked was a good example as why. The first book in a trilogy always introduces you to the world, the characters, and the conflict. Nil did a fantastic job of doing that. Then the second book we get the mystery and questions are answered. When Nil ended I was satisfied but I wanted to know more. In Nil Unlocked we start to get some answers. Things from the first book come back into play and they started leading us to a new and different conclusion. And yes, it did reach an actual conclusion. No cliffhanger, no unresolved ending, a clear and compelling climax that was interesting and left you wanting more. I really love when second books don't end with a big question mark. But that doesn't mean that I don't desperately want the final book, because I do. I want it, I need it.

Nil Unlocked was a fantastic read full of adventure and mystery. I was on the edge of my seat nervous to see where things were going to lead. The characters were complex and interesting , especially the island itself whose dubiousness makes for an interesting setting, and main characters who are flawed but likeable.

I give Nil Unlocked by Lynne Matson 9.5 out of 10

Buy/Borrow/Bypass: Buy. If you are a fan of Lost you must read this book. Even if you are not check this book out. It has something for everyone: action and adventure, mystery and intrigue, characters who are complex and likeable, and an interesting setting. Read it and report back!

Have you read Nil Unlocked? What did you think? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!

Realease Day ARC Review: NIL by Lynne Matson

Title: NIL Author: Lynne Matson Published: Macmillan, March 4, 2014 Amazon Goodreads Synopsis: On the mysterious island of Nil, the rules are set. You have exactly 365 days to escape—or you die. Seventeen-year-old Charley doesn’t know the rules. She doesn’t even know where she is. The last thing she remembers is blacking out, and when she wakes up, she’s naked in an empty rock field. Lost and alone, Charley finds no sign of other people until she meets Thad, the gorgeous leader of a clan of teenage refugees. Soon Charley learns that leaving the island is harder than she thought . . . and so is falling in love. With Thad’s time running out, Charley realizes that she has to find a way to beat the clock, and quickly, in this thrilling debut novel by Lynne Matson.

My self-imposed wait is over and so is the world's... Happy Book Birthday, NIL!

 I was immediately drawn into NIL for its concept. Waking up naked on a mysterious island that you only have a year to escape from or you die. I was always a huge fan of the TV show Lost and was excited to read a book that was similar to the show. I won an ARC of this book in the first #NILtribe giveaway back in December but I do monthly themes on my blog so I couldn't read it right away. I wanted to wait until closer to release day and decided to do a whole theme around island adventures and escapes. And boy is that exactly what NIL was, an island adventure and escape (I mean escape in every sense of the word). 

What this book does a great job of doing is setting the tone of being trapped on a (mostly) deserted island. The world-building was great and didn't at all feel overwhelming. I really felt like I could visualize this beautiful and terrible island and the society the kids had created.  It is part fear, part confusion, and part pleasure. There were moments of pure elation followed by moments of gut wrenching sadness. Lynne's writing and the plot really does a great job of helping the reader feel that dichotomy. The writing and the island lulls you into a false sense of security and then rips your heart out. It's a fickle beast who loves to remind you that life and time is precious. The island is as much a character as anyone else in this book. It is the real villain of the story. The other characters refer to the island as a she and speak about her with a sense of fearful respect and that's exactly what it deserves.

And besides the mysterious island, there was a host of interesting and diverse secondary characters that I was totally intrigued by and loved reading about. But I also loved our main characters and narrators Charley and Thad. I immediately connected with Charley and wanted her succeed. She is 6 feet tall and loves maps, I mean that's me! But she's also resourceful, intelligent, and strong in a subtle kind of way. What I liked most about her is that she has these critical thinking skills that no one else seems to have. She really wants to try and figure out the island and how to escape from it. We are constantly reminded that there is no luck on the island, but Charley doesn't look at escape as fate. She views it as a problem with a solution and tries to find the solution scientifically. Then there was Thad. He is an amazing leader, funny, and kind. He thinks about others before he thinks about himself. He also really feels the contradictory nature of the island and treats her as the one in control. I loved the romance between the two of them. I have heard a lot of people refer to it as insta-love but I didn't really feel that way. There was an instant attraction but their love seemed to grow over time and I totally see why Charley likes him. Their relationship was so sweet and it made me swoon and gush many times.

The plot and pacing was great as the book seemed to flow in a consistent and interesting way. Everything built to an amazing conclusion that totally surprised me. But what interested me the most was that even though the island is mysterious and I had so many questions and wanted explanations for what was going on, I never really seemed to try and solve or predict these answers. I do wish we had received a lot more answers about the island. The characters bring up a lot of questions about what the island is, where it came from, why they were there, and whether or not it is all for a reason but very few of these questions are really answered. I have so many unanswered questions! But despite this fact when everything was all said and done I was so satisfied by how thrilling and wonderful this book was, I had no regrets!

I give NIL by Lynne Matson a 9.5 out of 10

 

I definitely recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of YA Thrillers, the TV shows Lost of Survivor, or is looking for something different to read. If you ask me NIL is a must read and one of my favorite books so far this year. Have you read NIL? What were your thoughts? Leave me a comment and of course Happy Reading!

Waiting on Wednesday - NIL by Lynne Matson

A weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine

This is my first time taking part in this meme but I wanted to communicate my excitement for an upcoming debut that I've been looking forward to reading for the past few months, ever since I learned about the book.

The Book 

Nil by Lynne Matson 

Published: March 4, 2014 by Henry Holt

Amazon Goodreads 

Synopsis: On the mysterious island of Nil, the rules are set. You have exactly 365 days to escape—or you die. Seventeen-year-old Charley doesn’t know the rules. She doesn’t even know where she is. The last thing she remembers is blacking out, and when she wakes up, she’s naked in an empty rock field. Lost and alone, Charley finds no sign of other people until she meets Thad, the gorgeous leader of a clan of teenage refugees. Soon Charley learns that leaving the island is harder than she thought . . . and so is falling in love. With Thad’s time running out, Charley realizes that she has to find a way to beat the clock, and quickly, in this thrilling debut novel by Lynne Matson 

Why I'm Excited 

I am a huge fan of the TV show Lost. I it was the only show that I would never miss and all my friends and family knew when Lost was on don't bother talking to me because I will either ignore you or yell at you. When I saw the first season I felt like I had never seen anything like it before. The mysterious island, the odious characters with intriguing backstories, the connectedness with one another and the island. I have heard not only from the description but from reviews I've seen of the book that it is a lot like Lost, so already I'm hooked. 

But much like my feelings of the TV show, I feel like this book is unlike anything I have ever heard in literature. Teens abandoned on an abandoned island, one year to escape, and mysterious happening on the island. I'm really excited about experiencing this isalnd. I'm also really excited because of all the intriguing teasers the author Lynne Matson has been posting. Lynne and I have been following one another on twitter since December and from time to time she will have giveaways, post island secrets, and offer up information about the book that gets me more and more excited. The book sounds like it is full of action and adventure, romance, and a lot of personal struggle. This is a book that I cannot wait to read. 

I won a signed ARC in December from the first #NILtribe giveaway and I've been waiting to read it ever since. If you follow my blog you know that I do themes for each month. So I planning the month of March around NIL. The month will be full of books about island adventure and escape. I cannot wait! It's taken so much self-control to wait this long, but I know it'll be worth it! 

So... what are you waiting to read? Have you read NIL? What did you think? Leave mea comment and of course, HAPPY READING!