Nyx

I have done quite a lot of reading since I got my Kindle and have downloaded an AWFUL lot of free and cheap books. This ranks right up there in the top 5. Quite similar to the style of Neil Gaiman, the dialogue is witty and irreverent compared to other fantasy books on the market. You will come to love but also be irritated by the title character, while each of the witches quickly develops her own personality and skill set. The story is quite inventive and I liked the usage of different cultures gods, goddesses and legends. I liked the relationship which developed between Nyx and each of the witches, but I would have liked to see a little more development between the witches. Having said that, it wasn't enough to lose a star. All the characters have their own personal challenges and drawbacks and its perfectly set up for a sequel, but equally it's nicely wrapped up into a story. I couldn't put this down until it was finished hence the 5 stars, very very enjoyable and definitely worth the download.

Only half way through, but a great read so far. I'm not normally in to SciFi but really enjoying this, the characters are really fun and the writing is superb

I was totally captured by this story and all its characters. I loved the how you never knew where they were going to end up next or what they would have to do. My favourite thing about this book is the magic! A wonderful blend of mythology, faeries, witches and laughter the whole way through!

I wasn't sure what to expect when I first started reading Nyx, but I really enjoyed it. I am a keen reader but I have to say I have never read anything like it and this uniqueness is really refreshing when so many books out there are just the same! I love how the story is told from Nyx's point of view and it mixes a great story line with a bit of humour which made it very entertaining. Definitely worth a read if you like your fantasy and mythological books! Not enough people know about this book!

(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review). (This review may contain spoilers). I found this book to be a really entertaining read, with more serious, intense scenes than I was expecting when I originally read the blurb of this book. I actually quite liked Nyx as a character. Some of the comments she came out with were really quite amusing and I enjoyed her interactions with the witches. It was also nice to see the relationships that formed between them as the book went on, rather than there just being hostility between them. I really liked the similarities between the different myths and legends, such as Merlin. It was also interesting to see the different types of magic that the different characters could do. I liked the evolution that Nyx's character underwent throughout the book. I felt that the author did a good job of capturing the kind of personality that the fae tend to have, but still made Nyx an entertaining character. I also found the other characters to be really interesting as well. There was a good mixture of different personalities and powers... and it was good to see them have to put their differences aside to work together. The bit about the Tithe was pretty interesting, too... especially the YTNS part. I did, however, find the footnotes a bit distracting. I felt that they could have been easily put into the story itself and that the footnotes detracted from the plot quite a bit. It was nice to learn more about Nyx's past and I would have liked to learn more about the other characters', too. There were bits and pieces revealed, but I would have liked to see more of their pasts and everything. I also would have liked to know more about the different mythologies and sources of their powers. Although this book did come to an actual, proper ending, I felt that there was more that could be done and explored with the characters. I really liked the fact that the characters faced real consequences and the danger they were in felt real. I would definitely read a sequel to this book and I'd also check out more books by this author in the future. This was a good, entertaining read that made me laugh as well as kept me reading because of how intense it was. It's probably a book I would read again.

I do not understand the positive reviews I have read about this book, as they differ completely from my experience. By the end of the first chapter I wanted to throw the it in the garbage due to its many errors and (what I perceived as a) lack of humour. But it was easy to read so I stuck with it, and it gradually improved. Or maybe I just lowered my expectations. That said, It is one of the worst books I have ever read, which means that while the book is bad, I did in fact also manage to finish it, which is more than I can say about some other books. If the points below do not bother you and you enjoy the type of humour presented in the book, don't let my personal experience put you off. ***GOOD*** * Very easy and quick to read. * The cover do look gorgeous. * Things escalated a lot, and stuff happened. * Little to no romance, and thus a nice change from some common YA novels. If this YA, not sure about that, see below. * I was at times entertained. * The end was the best part. * There actually is a tiny bit of character growth. ***BAD*** This paragraph will be long, and is therefore divided into subtopics below. TARGET AUDIENCE Who is it written for? * The POV main character is written as if she's 12. The cover looks like it is aimed at a younger audience. The many references to mythology/pop culture (although at times wrong) makes little sense unless you've actually been either interested in it or is old enough to have heard of a lot of it anyway (for instance the many Dante's inferno references, biblical references, mythology etc). * The book is at times relatively violent and contains heavy topics, see spoiler below. * [SPOILER] -- For instance Cain implies he wants to planning brutally murder (and/or rape) one of the girls, and there are descriptions of how one character is displayed after being flayed. -- [END OF SPOILER] * These topics are not exactly what I'd expect the average 12 year old wants to read about. I simply have no idea who it is aimed at. If it is aimed at an older audience which I'd expect given the topics, he is severely underestimating the readers. If not, he is introducing themes they should probably be introduced to in a better way than through a poorly researched novel. HUMOUR * It was supposed to be funny. I did not laugh. I did not smile. I did not find any of the so-called humour to be even remotely funny. It was a complete mismatch with my humour. That said, as the book escalated, the humour aspect was either toned down a bit or I'd grown accustomed to it, and it stopped bothering me as much. CHARACTERS * I found all characters to be completely unrelateable and unlikeable. This is not a problem if it is decently written, but this book was not. * The main character is supposed to be more than a century old, and yet I feel like she acts like a 12 year old schoolgirl as imagined by a person who has never been a 12 year old schoolgirl. This is only explained as her being a fae, but that in itself does not explain how someone that old could have such little insight into anything. * Which age is the other characters? One is later revealed to be a mother, so they are at least not as young as they act. It looks as if the author's main reference to female behaviour is stereotypic high school-tv series, although even those often come with deeper characters than this book. Especially the way the main character swoons unreasonably and blindly for a handsome face without even slightly second guessing his intentions make absolutely no sense after just escaping hell. * The reasoning behind character actions is at times completely absent. The book at times reads as a parody of itself. MAGIC SYSTEM * For a book relying on a bunch of magic and mythology, the system was severely flawed. What they could and could not do often changed without any given explanation. * What is the magic system in itself? Who are the gods? There apparently is several intermixed religions, but no explanation how it all goes together. Some of the powers seemed quite interesting, and it could be nice if he'd tried to explain a little bit how it actually worked. THE LANGUAGE * The language errors. Let's start with the first chapter. Here we are introduced to witches from several different areas of the world speaking in their native tongues. Or, that is, they would have if the author had bothered doing a simple spell-check or Google search. As a Norwegian, it is painful to read what was clearly an attempt at our language, but completely wrong. For instance, the words were mashed together in the wrong order, the content was clearly wrong (partly nonsensical), and he even introduced words we do not have. If it was an attempt at Norse or Icelandic, or any other of the Scandinavian languages, it would have been even more off. * He even managed to give a female witch a very common male name, which in itself isn't the biggest error but looks very wrong to a native Norwegian. That said the name was in itself a pun (Asbjørn which translates to god-bear. The witch transformed into a bear), but that does not excuse it, ending a name with bear almost exclusively implies it's a male name in our culture. A simple Google search would have been enough to avoid this. * Now, seeing how many mistakes he made with the language only in the first chapter and my native language where even Google translate does it better, I am lead to assume the other languages he attempts to use are also in part incorrect. * Even ignoring the errors in the language, I don't like how he uses it. In the middle of a conversation in which they are supposed to be infused with some translating magic, they all throw in words and phrases in their own language. This brings up four main problems for me: 1) Why are the random phrases not translated like the rest? 2) We are lead to believe most of this is swear words or bad talk, but if that is the case, why repeat long sentences of it? 3) Why do they only understand each other if it's a general translation that can apparently translate the many different languages they speak? It appears to be linked somehow to Nyx's essence, but it is not explained and this should make them understand the content despite the words used. Which they clearly do not. 4) Why are we not being told what is said? If it is that irrelevant, and he didn't research the spelling in those languages, why include it at all? MYTHOLOGY * He incorrectly quoted some Norse mythology aspects, which lead me to believe he did no research at all into at least this part of the tale. * It is a complete mess of mythology. I'm a big fan of mythologies and mashing up stories, but this reads more like poorly researched fanfiction than an actual published book. Which is not bad in itself, but I would have expected an editor to spot at least the biggest, or at least bother to check what is presented as facts. PLOT * We never get an explanation on why the witches were in Hell to begin with. And why so much time had passed.This is a relatively important aspect of the story which is just.. ignored.

Um es in Netspeak auszudrücken: OMG! Das ist ein sehr, sehr witziges und verrücktes Buch. Nyx, eine Fee, die selbst bei ihrer eigenen Art nicht sehr beliebt ist, wurde in die Hölle geworfen. Als Tribut, der alle 7 Jahre vom Feenvolk geleistet wird. Klar, dass sie ziemlich sauer ist. Und dann ziemlich verwirrt, denn irgendwie stimmt etwas nicht. Die Hölle ist voll mit menschlichen Hexen aller Arten und Sorten, die selbst keine Ahnung haben, wie sie dahin gekommen sind. Dafür ist von Luzifer keine Spur zu finden. Nyx schließt sich also einer kleinen Gruppe Hexen an, in der Hoffnung a) aus der Hölle rauszukommen und b) vielleicht eine von ihnen als Tribut zurückzulassen. Aber es kommt anders als man denkt und sie müssen alle am Schluss - trotz sehr unterschiedlicher Charaktere - zusammenhalten. Super Lesespaß.

Who knew that taking a fast-paced journey through hell and beyond with a smart aleck fairy and a gaggle of novice witches could be so fun? With delightful sarcasm, and more than a touch of irreverence, Livingston weaves an inspired adventure tale peppered with fascinating tangents that bring depth to his characters, and intense (and at times frightening!) imagery that will keep you turning the pages into the wee hours of morning. This book oozes creativity and imagination, and Livingston's casual style and off-the-cuff comments in the footnotes make it even more entertaining. A fantastic read, chock-full of surprises - I can hardly wait for the sequel! Write, Livingston, write!!

a fae that meets four witches in hell..soooo funny..really good...for fantasy lovers who love a great sense of humour-a must read!!i more than like it!!

When Nyx arrived in my mailbox, I was curious to see what the author had sent me. A story featuring a mouthy fairy set during the end times. Add to the fact that Hell's gates are wide open and has left the fairy stuck with a group of young witches that all have different feelings towards the fae. The witches are also very engrossing. My minor complain with the witches are that every ethnicity is represented as if it were an old World War II movie. For example: We have an Chinese witch, an African witch and an Irish witch. While it was a little bit much, they did grow on me and they are all very much their own character. They also represent a part of Nyx that she herself has yet to fully develop. Each witch makes the group stronger as a whole. So my initial reaction really was unwarranted once they had established themselves. Practically from the get-go I liked the character of Nyx. She has an interesting background which is filled in through the use of footnotes scattered throughout the book. She doesn't really think before she speaks or acts and as the story progresses we learn how she came to be in Hell and her plan to get out of there before the Devil finds her. Nyx is feisty and really only out for herself, which normally makes for a very two dimensional and unlikeable character but in her case it makes for someone you really want to know more about and will keep you reading for far longer than you planned. The world-building is rather quick and to the point. A few footnotes are provided but the gist is that Hell's doors have been opened up and every demon is now on earth hunting down every last creature on Earth. While humans have managed to hide and have found a way to eek out a meager society. I would have liked to have seen a few more chapters featuring the human camp, I felt that the scene was too short. I would have loved to have learned more about the human society and the people who lived there. Nyx is a well-written novel that will leave readers surprised. It is fairly quick-paced, with some enthralling characters. While Nyx isn't my typical read, it is a lot of fun and should leave a lasting impression on readers. The footnotes add to the story; both as background and additional humor. I was sent the physical book and ended up purchasing the Kindle edition just to see how the footnotes work on the Kindle and while it is easy to switch back and forth between the story and the notes in the eBook, if I had to pick between the two, the physical book is the better way to go. Regardless of which version you ultimately end up with Nyx is recommended.

Yes, I gave Nyx 5 stars & I don't run around, Willy Nilly givin out 5 stars. This is the authors 1st book & I hope it won't be the last. This was the most funny, wrong on so many levels, creative, vivid, entertainin, violent book that was a pleasure to read. No, I do not know the author. No, I'm not gettin paid for this review. This book had everything I look for, when I'm lookin for a book. U've read the description, so I'm not gonna regurgitate it. When u think it's goin 1 way, it goes another. When u think u know what's gonna happen this time, no u don't. I can't praise this book enough or the talent of the author. I actually highlighted parts in this book. If I took the time to highlight parts, u know it's really good. Oh & the fact that it's interactive was great. I was ctfu & readin parts to my husband, who said Nyx sounded like me. LOL!! I did recognize that she sounded a lot like me. If u've already read the book & u're readin this review, u've gotta be thinkin I must be a lot of trouble. Well yes, I am. If u're readin this review & haven't read the book, u've gotta read it, by hook or by crook, come Hell or High Water.