ARC #Review: THE DIABOLIC by S.J. Kincaid

THE DIABOLIC

Author: S.J. Kincaid
Source: ARC via Publisher
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Books For Young Readers
Publication Date: November 1, 2016
Rating: 2.5/5 stars

Summary:
A Diabolic is ruthless. A Diabolic is powerful. A Diabolic has a single task: Kill in order to protect the person you’ve been created for. 

Nemesis is a Diabolic, a humanoid teenager created to protect a galactic senator’s daughter, Sidonia. The two have grown up side by side, but are in no way sisters. Nemesis is expected to give her life for Sidonia, and she would do so gladly. She would also take as many lives as necessary to keep Sidonia safe.

When the power-mad Emperor learns Sidonia’s father is participating in a rebellion, he summons Sidonia to the Galactic court. She is to serve as a hostage. Now, there is only one way for Nemesis to protect Sidonia. She must become her. Nemesis travels to the court disguised as Sidonia—a killing machine masquerading in a world of corrupt politicians and two-faced senators’ children. It’s a nest of vipers with threats on every side, but Nemesis must keep her true abilities a secret or risk everything.


As the Empire begins to fracture and rebellion looms closer, Nemesis learns there is something more to her than just deadly force. She finds a humanity truer than what she encounters from most humans. Amidst all the danger, action, and intrigue, her humanity just might be the thing that saves her life—and the empire.

Purchase:

Amazon | Chapters | TBD

Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I thought this one had it's ups and downs: it started off really strong but then tapered off, got strong again, and then I just stopped caring. I felt as though the plot was a little too all over the place and didn't really seem to have a direct path from A to B, we had to detour through A.A, A.B, A.C, etc. until we got there.

This one started off strong with the idea that Nemesis was going to pretend to be Donia and learning the ropes of etiquette was great. I also liked that she was really ruthless, which was a highlight throughout the entire novel. However, the action seemed to taper off and Nemesis made some strange decisions that were supposed to show her "humanity" but just seemed really off balance for the narrative of the story. I felt like trying to show Nemesis's humanity was what killed this story in general: it was really forced, it always came up at an awkward time, and it really wasn't needed. I would have been 100% more okay with Nemesis just being a ruthless killer and not understanding the nuances of humanity. She didn't need to grow as a "human" because she wasn't one.

The one thing that really worked for this one was the idea that humans are just as ruthless as the Diabolics that they created. I loved seeing the power play between all the elties and how they ensured the safety of themselves and those they loved and trusted. I very much like Tyrius and his quest for power. I didn't, however, like that there was so much of "this person is responsible for this -- no what actually this other person is" because it was so obvious that someone else was responsible and it was weird to me that Nemesis didn't immediately catch on considering she could so easily read other people.

I honestly feel like if this story had just been about revenge, I would have liked it so much more. But alas. And I was really disappointed with the dancing scene that we got. I live for those and it was so boring. I would recommend checking this one out from the library rather than purchasing a copy for yourself.