BOOK REVIEW: The Nexis Secret

I had the wonderful opportunity to read an advanced copy of Barbara Hartzler’s debut novel, The Nexis Secret. As a lover of christian paranormal (and a writer of it 🙂 ) I was thrilled to dive into this book! It did not disappoint.

Check out the full Goodreads review below!

The Nexis Secret by Barbara Hartzler
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Just finished reading this and I figured it was well past time for a review!

The Nexis Secret takes a few commonplace, familiar things and wraps them up in excitement and intrigue. The story follows Lucy, a teen who has just moved into the esteemed Montrose Academy–a school complete with snobby teachers and blond-haired-blue-eyed boys to make her heart go pitter patter.

But, not all is right in perfectville. Lucy begins to realize that the school is teaching far more that reading, writing, and arithmetic…and that is just the beginning. Montrose is a veritable battleground for two raging groups–the Guardians and Nexis. Both belong to an eternity-old battle that has been raging around the peoples of Earth without them ever knowing. The battle between light and dark. Good and evil. Angels. Demons.

And Lucy is trapped right in the middle of it.

This girl must choose which side she is on, before the repercussions break not only her heart, but her world.

For a debut novel, Barbara has woven in all of the trademarks of a strong beginning. Her characters are lively and memorable. The setting is a delightful paranormal spin on a prep school. The plot really begins to pick up as the story progresses…book two is certain to hold even more impact.

However, there were a few things I wasn’t overly keen on. First off, I am very picky when it comes to romance…especially love triangles. It seemed like with this story, her two main guy characters were very similar, and almost petty at times. They would stand on either side of the girl, stare at the other guy, puff out their chests and have at it.

I was hoping for a relationship portrayed that was a little more mature. Less descriptive. With a real sense of companionship and knowing each other so well, that the next step was natural. In some ways, I felt like Lucy’s whole world revolved around these two guys. I don’t want my relationships to be that way, and so I always sort of flinch when characters do it.

Don’t get me wrong. I love Bryan. Just sort of felt like he could have been a bit…more.

Overall, Hartzler’s snappy prose and witty characters sucked me right in! Her writing style is perfect for YA and very fun to read.

If you are into the paranormal, this is a light, fun read you should definitely check out!