This one was an easy read. Not a masterpiece but wasn't mediocre either. Just the perfect balance if you're in the mood for that type of stories.

The cover initially drew me to this as it's so beautiful! This was a really good YA novel, introducing Blake Wilder and the idea of the Nine abilities that certain people have. I thought it was going to be a bit Harry Potter-esque with a magic school system, but we didn't get to see that at all since the school is in England and this novel is set in America. Nevertheless, it was an enjoyable read with likeable characters and an easy to follow plot that kept me interested and keen to read the next one!

2.5 stars

The Nine: Origins feels like a lower-stakes, non dark academia version of The Atlas Six.

Blake has had the 'power' to see premonitions since she was little. And while some might see this as a superpower, you are bound to be bullied for being 'different' in school. So she and her best friend flee to the other side of the state to get a new start, where she hopes to just ignore her powers.

But that turns out to be impossible, because incredibly hot and incredibly British Nicholas shows up, asking her to join The Nine, a secret society for people like her, with powers.

The Nine is basically a murder mystery but with people with powers. It follows a bland main character and an 'it-boy' that falls for her, with lots of mentions of how it seems unlikely that 'a guy like Nicholas' falls for 'a girl like [Blake]'.

The pacing was incredibly slow because Trester keeps describing the Tesla Nicholas rented in detail, the main characters were unremarkable while supporting characters read like stereotypes of ´the theatre kid´ and the ´the rich real estate developer´ et cetera. This all kept pulling me out of the story, which is a shame because the mystery was set up well, just like the conclusion was.

All in all not the absolute worst or DNF worthy, but definitely not the best book out there either. If Trester continues this series, I don´t think I will read the sequel sadly.

**Thank you to Netgalley and Owl Hollow Press for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review

This book had a lot of potential for me. I really loved the synopsis and the beautiful cover. However, it really struggled to keep my attention. I did not finish this book, I kept picking it up really trying to finish it. Because as I said, I love the concept of this book. But I stopped about fifty percent in, it just wasn't holding my attention. I liked the characters and wanted to see how the book would end. I think one day I will come back to this book and give it another go.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for a review.

Firstly it was the lovely cover that caught my eye whilst browsing, it is a really nice design and definitely gives off the fantasy vibes that the book delivers on!

I found it a well paced and easy to read book that retained my interest throughout and kept me wanting to see where things lead!

It is a pretty intriguing world with enough questions left unanswered to keep you guessing and wanting to discover more.

I like the idea of the 9 different powers and the whole hidden magical society that has it's own set of rules and traditions, but still overlaps with the real world significantly.

Blake is a likeable main character with a power that lends itself to clever storytelling! I also find the collection of side characters quite enjoyable, from her colleagues at the cafe to the collection of interesting people found at the Lower 8.

The book also leaves itself with enough loose threads to make me want to read a sequel!

I had to dnf for awhile, but the premise is intriguing enough that I will pick it back up. I love books with abilities, they’re my favourite.

Okay, I am a fan of fantasy, horror, murder and mystery, and this book blended all these things so well!!
I absolutely adored this gem of a book, and cannot wait to read more from Kes Trester.

Thank you so much NetGalley for the arc.

I give 4.5/5 stars, I loved it so much!

DNF @ 31%

Such a cool concept but I was just a little bored.

Thank you to NetGalley and Owl Hollow Press for the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I found this book to be so fun and engaging. It was a unique universe that was easy to understand as the author presented characters and their special "features". I can't wait for the next book to come out!

I overall enjoyed this book. I feel like the characters are likeable and it was easy to follow the plot. I also really like the premise of the story, but feel as if it could have been executed better. I am hopeful for the continuation of the story and look forward to where it may go next.

I liked this book better in theory than in execution. The pacing was slow and the characters fell a little flat for me.

Not particularly my cup of tea.

The concept is really interesting and definitely have potential, but the characters are terrible and triangle thing just didn't work at all. Nothing really worked for me in this book, not the characters, romance, neither did the pace or the develpment of the story.

Maybe will suit better a younger audience. But I still think you should read and take your on conclusions, since experiencies and opinions on books can be really different for different people.

This book was great! I loved the storyline and felt connected to the characters! I couldn’t put it down. Definitely waiting for book two!

I really liked the idea of this book, however, I felt like it wasn't written very well and I found myself skimming through a lot of it because I was bored and the character didn't appeal to me. I think it had a lot of potential, but alas, I don't think it pulled it off.

I am not a fan of love triangles, and I hate how that has become a prerequisite for every young adult fantasy. Aside from that, I loved the world building and the cliffhanger, and I am excited for Part 2 of this series.
Thank you, NetGalley and Owl Hollow Press, for this eARC!

3.75 stars!

I was so drawn in by the cover of this book! I liked the magic system and "X-Men" vibes. I enjoyed the main character and (surprisingly) the featured love triangle. I think, however, the idea of endeavoring on a 9 book series is a little too much for me and so I wanted a more complete story.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I am definitely interested in reading more in this series! I wanted a little more character development, but I’m hoping the author will grow the characters over the next few books.


I received an advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.

18-year-old Blake Wilder as a child could see the future, which she has kept hidden. With the exception of her BFF Scarlett and now Nicholas Thorne. He contends this makes her elite and a member of a old society and she can utilize this to save lives and prevent war.
Great concept but not the best execution. I imagined it to be more of the Shatter Me series and with more character developed it could easily become this.
A solid 3 stars. More character development would make it a 4.
Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ -- LOVE the cover on this one!

I have been putting off reading this one for some reason, but finally decided to dive into it. And I am glad I did because I ended up loving it! A secret society. Young adults with enhanced "abilities". Some romance. Some murder. A lot of intrigue and who is to be trusted...I can't wait for the next book!

**ARC Via NetGalley**

Blake is used to being abnormal as she often gets unexpected visions of people’s pasts and futures. She moved to California to go to college and start anew. But when a mysterious boy appears and encourages her to act on her vision to save a classmate’s life, she’s drawn into a whole new world. There are many others with powerful abilities different to hers, and she finds herself attempting to navigate a world of political intrigue and ever-changing alliances while trying not to fall in love with two different hot boys.

I loved the concept of this work and with a cover like that, I had high hopes for this read. The magic and its manifestations were interesting, and the way the author chose to make different “greats” throughout history wielders of different magical abilities was a fun addition. Adding these abilities to a power struggle that would have ramifications for the whole world, and I should have been hooked. Especially as the plot revolved around a murder mystery, which was written decently. However, the rest of the book fell quite flat.

The characters were awful. They were essentially cardboard cutouts of caricatures that could be thrown into any poorly written YA book (MC who’s different, crazy powerful, misunderstood, quirky, and so good looking but won’t believe she is; a rich British boy who is delicious to look at and absolutely noble and who really loves Earl Grey tea [the amount of times we’re told this is absurd]; the ripped and sexy “bad boy” who’s really good but wants to show the MC the more wild side of things; etc.). But despite Blake being misunderstood and ostracized, she was often quite judgmental of people she was introduced to and saw, which made her difficult to like. The other secondary characters simply existed to showcase Blake and introduce some more drama at the end of the book.

I’m not going to get much into the romance, other than that insta-love love triangles featuring a “good” polished boy and a “bad” tough boy who are both supermodel hot are not interesting and add nothing positive to the plot. The relationship between Nicholas and Blake felt forced and he was basically wearing a cape made of red flags. There were also several traumatic things that happened, especially near the start of the work, but they didn’t continue to affect the characters past a page or two of them happening, making the work feel disjointed and underdeveloped.

While this work started off okay, it quickly lost its shine for me and I don’t recommend this read. My thanks to NetGalley and Owl Hollow Press for allowing me to read this work. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.