Title: Enigma
Author: Tonya Kuper
Pages: 304
Genre: YA Science Fiction
Release Date: 03 July 2017
From Goodreads: "Escaping with Reid Wentworth should have been fun, but how can I enjoy it when I just (accidentally) killed someone, my mom and brother are in danger, and the Consortium is trying to enslave humanity? (Yeah, they aren’t fooling around.) So feeling something for Reid Wentworth was not part of the plan. Trying to help unite the Resistance against the Consortium means I can’t be distracted by hot boys. The Resistance secret hideout isn’t exactly the rebel base of my dreams. A traitor there wants me dead, but we have no idea who it is. And with both the Resistance and the Consortium trying to control me, the only one I can trust is Reid. If we’re going to have any chance of protecting my family, controlling my unstable powers, and surviving the clash between the Oculi factions, I’m going to have to catch this traitor. By using myself as bait."Thank you to Entangled Teen, Tonya Kuper, and Chapter by Chapter Tours for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for review! All opinions are my own.
I read Anomaly not too long ago and ended the book feeling excited and interested in the sequel, Enigma. I was ready for more cool Anomaly powers and sassy, nerdy Josie, and hopefully some more about her parents, which may sound weird but I really wanted to learn more about them! While reading Enigma, I couldn't help but feel like I was missing something and that I might have been the odd one out on that feeling. But by the final page, I think I enjoyed it more than I initially did and was satisfied with the ending!
Plot:
Three days have passed since Josie and Reid went into hiding. With Josie still dealing with the guilt about (accidentally) killing someone, not knowing where her mother and brother are, and being on the run from the Consortium that is actively trying to kill her, she's having a pretty rough time. On top of that, she has feelings for Reid. So not part of the plan. Josie has made the decision to help the Resistance by going to the Hub and finding the mole working for the Consortium, and with both Oculi factions trying their best to control her, the only one she can trust is Reid. But if she has any plans to survive, she's going to have to catch the traitor- using herself as bait.
I find myself conflicted on how I feel about Enigma. I didn't love it, I didn't hate it, I'm just somewhere in the middle. Plot wise, I kind of wish more happened. I liked the environment of the Hub and getting to meet some new characters, as well as Josie's cool new Force Push power. Outside of those things, I almost felt like things were just kind of not happening, if that makes sense. Josie and Reid were actively trying to find the mole (and simultaneously trying to shove their tongues down each others throats) and Josie was developing her powers more, but I just didn't feel like there was much progression. I did enjoy the last 20-ish percent of the book, which is where a lot of action and more plot came out which I had been eagerly awaiting. I think Tonya Kuper did a great job with writing the fighting scenes because I found myself wanting to read so much more of them when they were over. In general, I just didn't feel like anything really moved forward until the end, which is where things really picked up and had me turning pages to try and absorb more of the story! I do wish there had been more about Josie's parents because I was really interested in learning their backstory, but I did appreciate the relationship development between Josie and her mother. This book got me curious as to what Eli is going to turn out like, so maybe I can hope for another book about him! So, I feel pretty neutral about the first 80% of this book, but I really enjoyed the final 20% and how it all wrapped up with a cute, nerdy ending with Josie and Reid.
Characters:
What I enjoyed most about this book was Josie. She was so unapologetically her and she never felt ashamed or like she needed to change. She owned her nerd status and never acted like she wasn't the science loving super nerd that I've come to love. To have a character that I can relate to in that manner was so great and really made me connect with this book on a deeper level. I loved that she was proud and loud and it made me so happy to see a character like her and be able to watch her develop as the book went on. She definitely changed from book one to now, and I definitely like Enigma Josie a whole lot. I just got a much more grown up feeling from her, and I really enjoyed watching her learn more about her powers. Also, her Force Push power was fantastic. I loved that they all kind of caught on to her Star Wars naming of her new ability and just went with it. Just another instance of positive nerdiness!
Going into Enigma, I found myself conflicted over the relationship between Reid and Josie. On one hand, I wanted to call it insta-love, because it really felt like it to me as a reader. Even after getting the backstory and finding out their past, I still didn't really feel right not calling it insta-love. Especially because the two of them are acting like they can never be apart from each other after just two weeks. I know who Reid is to Josie, so I understood why they were like that, but it just never clicked with me, I suppose. What kind of brought the book down for me was the romance, unfortunately. I wanted more action, more Anomaly powers, more of literally anything else but Josie and Reid making out. I just couldn't help but feel that there were more important things that they needed to focus on besides how hot one thought the other was. Maybe...focus on finding the mole? Or keeping your family safe? This may just be a sign of me getting older and my reading tastes developing, but I wanted so much less of their romance and so much more of them kicking some Consortium butts! I was happy with the ending, however, and thought that the two of them in the final pages were pretty friggin cute.
Writing:
What may have saved this book for me (besides Josie) is the writing. Tonya Kuper does a great job of writing a book that's really easy to just sit down and fly through without even realizing it. The world is built up just enough that you can dive in and the Oculi powers are something that I could easily read about forever. It's such a unique and fun "superpower" and I really liked how Josie learned to navigate her powers more in this book. The fighting/action scenes are fast paced and exciting and reading about the Oculi using their powers during fights is really cool and you definitely find yourself wanting more of those scenes once you read them. Enigma progresses rapidly and unfolds effortlessly and I really think that Tonya Kuper is a writer that anyone can get into.
While I wasn't as crazy about this book as I wanted to be, I think Enigma is a book that will please fans of Anomaly and brings a satisfying ending to the duology. Josie shines as the strong and nerdy main character that can definitely stick up for herself and Tonya Kuper's writing is quick and fun to read. If you're a fan of all things nerdy and science-y, then be sure to pick up this fun YA duology and dive into the world of Anomalies and Oculi!
Get Enigma Here!
Tonya Kuper is the author of ANOMALY, the first in the Schrodinger's Consortium Series, a young adult science fiction trilogy, released November 4, 2014 by Entangled Teen. She fell for Young Adult lit while earning her Masters degree in Reading Education. She's a mom to two awesome boys, an alt music junkie, a Star Wars nerd, and in love with Sherlock.
