BOOK REVIEW | The Diabolic by S.J. Kincaid

Title: The Diabolic
Author: S.J. Kincaid
Series? Yes, a trilogy
Pages: 403
Publication Date: November 1, 2016
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Source: I got a physical ARC of The Diabolic by being a part of a teen advisory board for a local bookstore!

Nemesis is a Diabolic. Created to protect a galactic Senator's daughter, Sidonia. There's no one Nemesis wouldn't kill to keep her safe. But when the power-mad Emperor summons Sidonia to the galactic court as a hostage, there is only one way for Nemesis to protect Sidonia.

She must become her.

Now one of the galaxy's most dangerous weapons is masquerading in a world of corruption and Nemesis has to hide her true abilities or risk everything. As the Empire begins to fracture and rebellion looms closer, Nemesis learns that there is something stronger than her deadly force: the one thing she's been told she doesn't have - humanity. And, amidst all the danger, action and intrigue, her humanity might be the only thing that can save her, Sidonia and the entire Empire...

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When the Diabolic came out last year, I thought I would read it right away. All my friends were raving about it, and as a self proclaimed YA/sci fi lover, this sounded like the perfect book for me! But it wasn't until the Make Me Read It Readathon, where you guys literally made me read this book, did I pick it up. And let me tell you, I was not disappointed! Thank you so much for making me read this!

The beginning of The Diabolic was pretty tricky for me. Though I understood everything, it didn't really grab me. It took until around page 100 for the book to really draw me in. Considering that my copy was 403 pages, it's not too much for me to read until I was really interested. Do keep that in mind though if you plan to read this book! 

I'm a big fan of political intrigue (I could talk about US' politics a lot), and the fact that this book was basically a game of deception to thwart politicians and dictators was so thrilling. Once Nemesis really had a plan and starting to try and execute it, I was enthralled with the story. The story also didn't go like I thought it would, which was refreshing! Some books follow the same general plot over and over again, and this one took a few detours. 

Another quick comment - I loved the romance! For me, this has the right amount of miscommunication/angst and maturity. Nemesis and her love interest aren't pushing and pulling the whole entire book. I didn't want to rip out my hair in frustration, because as readers we get some pretty satisfying scenes between the two of them. 

I loved the ending as well. I think that it did a wonderful job of keeping it open enough to warrant a sequel if the book sold well (which it did, yay!) but tied up enough strings that I would be happy without one. There are still some problems to be solved, and I cannot wait to see what happens next with Nemesis.

The only thing that kept me loving this book were some of the characters. I didn't like Sidonia that much, even though she's an instrumental character. I felt like she was just a device to move on the story, and that was pretty much it. I didn't care for her that much. On the flip side, I did really like all the other side characters, especially Neveni. I hope to see her in the next book! Most of the characters are complex, which is why I think I didn't like Sidonia that much. She was a pretty simple character. 

After the world is set up, things really start picking up. It takes about 100 pages for Nemesis to be masked as Sidonia, and that bugged me a bit. But besides that and Sidonia as a character, I have no complaints. So while I didn't absolutely love it, it was pretty darn close. And to be honest, the more I think about it, the more I like it. The Diabolic isn't a favorite yet, but it's almost there! I have a feeling The Empress, the sequel, will blow me away even more! 

With that, I give this book

4.5 out of 5 Stars!