Reviews

Rising: A State of the Union Novel by Nelle Nikole

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planreadrepeat's review

adventurous challenging reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

I picked this up after joining an alpha read for this author. The book has a large cast of characters and the prequels do help. An interesting mix of post apocalyptic dystopian with some magic. I don’t have a good grasp of all the powers. Some seem to be big fighters, some engineering geniuses, and other mind reading.

The trip across half the US while battling mutants, fellow humans, and elements was well done. The author did a good job of keeping it suspenseful. The ending was a little abrupt but definitely makes me want to read the next one to see what happens.

pageturner3000's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

The last of us meets Legend of Korra with some resident evil sprinkled in!

Rising is a gripping and non-stop adrenaline rush! The world-building of this sci-fi fantasy is so unique and creative. I never knew I needed an apocalypse that created both zombie-like creatures and elemental magic wielders. This book lowkey had me at the edge of my seat and jumping outta my skin at every little bump and noise (I'm such a scary cat lol) Rising is a mesmerizing and authentic adventure I won't soon forget!

Tropes and Stuff:

true enemies to lovers, like they hate each other.
found family
"you're not alone"
post-apocalyptic and dystopian
strong FMC lead
lgbtqia characters
slow burn (no spice but angst and tension)
morally grey love interest
plot twists

How this book impacted me:
I love love love Amaia! Amaia's character is so relatable to me. She's the strong friend in the friend group though, something I have had to work on not being over the years, but I still remember that journey well. After all she has lost it makes sense that she is so hyper-vigilant or that she feels guilty for everything she has had to do or become to survive. And not only survive but protect the found family she has left in the world. There's a quote from Rising that really struck me right in the feels, "Because to keep the people we loved safe, we could not kill our beast, only embrace it." I think this message is so important. I think it is important for us to remember that our beasts are still a part of ourselves. So to reject it is to reject ourselves. After all that she's been through, that quote is the beginning of Amaia's healing journey. Self-acceptance has to come before self-love to keep our empathy for ourselves and others intact, otherwise our love becomes performance bases. This quote about embracing our beasts from Amaia is such a full-circle moment for her character. Knowing that she has her own beast allows her to see the good or hope for the best in others. Embracing your own flaws will always lead you down a road of compassion for others. And this is why when her whole compound only sees the pansies as beasts and creatures she still see the human within. Amaia supremacy!

hdickson2016's review

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adventurous tense slow-paced

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

4.0

mbt_20's review

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adventurous mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

“Hey Siri, play Traitor by Olivia Rodrigo.”

Me as soon as I finished the book^^^

“You betrayed me

And I know that you'll never feel sorry

For the way I hurt, yeah”

“God, I wish that you had thought this through

Before I went and fell in love with you”

My heart is absolutely broke, and I feel so betrayed😫This book had everything you could want in a good story. I loved the characters, like they felt like they were apart of my family! I fell in love with Alexiares and Seth. I loved Amaia, Tomoe, and Reina. Normally when I read, I’m very judgmental on every characters arc and I loved the character arcs in this story. This book kept me interested the whole entire time, and I loved how this book portrayed the zombie apocalypse. Much to my broken heart/dismay, I loved the betrayal…. Most authors are scared of really shaking the core characters up in a series, and I feel like with shaking things up it leads to better character arcs and overall a better story! I loved the illustrated aspects that were included in this book from the maps to the artwork on the chapter pages. The illustrated aspects made the story come to life. Also the writing style was perfect, vivid details were included and it was easy to follow along with. Overall,If you want a very good zombie apocalypse story, then go order this ASAP!

p.s- Justice for Suckerpunch and Harley👊🏼

probablyreading_hush's review

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5.0

Nelle Nikole writing is wonderful and her world-building even better. She did a good job making her character diverse. This post-apocalyptic dystopia with magic had me on the edge of my seat. The plot twist at the end left me needing to know what happens next. I’m looking forward to the next book.

We hit the ground running from the beginning seeing the main character just trying to survive a world with Pansies (zombies) attacks and magic. This book has multi-POV, suspense, betrayal, and action pack scenes. I am hoping to read more on a specific couple that has enemies to lovers vibe in the next book. We didn’t get much but the slow burn between them leaves you wanting more.

Overall, this was a fun and quick read. Congratulations Nelle Nikole on your debut.

b_ham_reads's review against another edition

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4.0

Rising is adventurous and gritty. I really enjoyed this world of post apocalyptic America, people with powers, and Pansies (think zombies). Sometimes I’m like “oooo okay it’s giving The Last of Us” but it’s also unique. The characters and found family were my favorite part. Nikole does really well with developing her characters and depicting their before and after lives.

Here’s what stuck out to me: (not really a spoiler I think) There’s a character that passes in the beginning of the book and the reader watches another character try to process the grief of it. Although this takes up about 15%-20% of the beginning, I think it was written perfectly. I’m sitting here like this author knows the massive pain of loss and it hits.

This story has a few plot twists and then…just ENDS! So I’m ready for the next one.

I would highly recommend this to anyone

amckinley92's review

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

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

3.5

Okay so this was an interesting take on the post apocalyptic world building. I don’t usually reach for this kind of content but I was pleasantly surprised at the ease of reading and how captivating the characters were. There were times when it was confusing who was talking to whom in the dialogue but that didn’t take away from the story progression. Im interested to see how the second book plays out!