Invincible: The Chronicles of Nick [Paperback]

The book is definitely better than the first in the series. However, if you are like me and have followed the series from the beginning, this just falls flat. I'm tired of buying books from Kenyon that don't move us into a different direction. I've been waiting for years for another "Acheron" to move us into a new direction-instead of creating new characters and new problems.

I want to know more about adult Nick, Simi, Acheron, Kyrian, Amanda, Tabby, etc.

This ends in a cliff hanger. I wish I would have known that before reading. I would have waited to read it.

If you read the first and loved it, then you will probably enjoy the book. If you were like me and frustrated with the lack of progression, the book will irritate you like it did me.

The fate of the world is at stake, and the deciding factor between good and evil rest upon the shoulders of a teenager. Sherrilyn Kenyon's foray into the popular YA genre hits it's stride with the sophomoric release of The Chronicles of Nick series, Invincible. This second effort is definitely better than the first. We pick up where the last book left off, right after Nick and his friends defeat the zombies, and the mortents. Oh, and then there's Kyrian's flashing some fang. But who and what his so called friends and allies are, are not the only obstacles Nick will be facing. The pressure is on for Nick to start mastering his powers, because there's a bounty on his head, and no shortage of demons trying to collect. His love life has gone from not to hot, trying to decide between the girl he's pined for in the past and the one who saw him when no one else did. Nick can't seem to catch a break with a new principal who's even worst than the last one. Gautier can't even put a W in the win column when the new football coach wants him back on the team, since he also has even more devious extra curricular activities to add to Nick's roster. In Nick's world everyone's a player and surrounding yourself with the right people is the key to being a pawn or a king, and by the end someone close to him will be on evil's payroll. His soul is constantly teetering in the balance, as we watch on pins and needles whether the choices he makes now will sway the future.

I found the writing as witty as some of the characters. Kenyon approached this book with a sense of humor and satire that I think really fits her leading man. She really captures an innocence, curiosity, and attitude with Nick that make you want him to succeed. At the same time Invincible was a lot of fun bringing back old characters like Bubba and Mark and adding some new dimensions to them, while introducing new and interesting characters like Grim, Pain, and Suffering. Even when we were in the build up stage at the beginning of the book Kenyon kept us occupied with interesting places and people like the Sanctuary. It's a great vibrant world set in an equally lively and tragic city, that mirrors Nick's character. There isn't a dull moment in the life of Nick and by the end we'll all be rooting for the underdog.

I opted for the audiobook for Invincible, which was excellent. The narrator Holter Graham was wonderful.Graham made the words come to life. He doesn't sound too old, and he captures Nick's personality. I highly recommend the audio version if you get the chance. If not, well you can't go wrong with a great world, wonderful characters, and interesting storylines. The ending will have you wondering what's next and how Nick's going to deal with the relentless revelations.

I wanted to like this book. I read the first in this YA series that takes an alternate universe perspective on Nick Gautier the character Kenyon has been teasing us as the nemesis to Acheron for several books. I'm fully on board with this branching off into the YA genre. I've found you can often get an even more satisfying story when the author has to stretch themselves and not use hot sex or coarse language to add an edgy/exciting element. (Don't get me wrong I like steamy sex and an f- Bomb or two, but I also appreciate more youth friendly writing as well). So, I was prepared to love this series. I really like the idea of an alternate universe / timeline because the device allows Kenyon to split this story from her adult dark hunter universe without compromising the world vew she has developed there. It gives us new and interesting stories about beloved characters back when they were younger and often sillier. This is what this book should have done. It didn't. I gave the first book a pass because I love the author and these characters, and figured she needed a beginner book to set up the YA shift and the premise behind how this series is separating from what has gone on before in the adult dark hunter series. The problem isn't with her plot devices, although admittedly this is flimsy stuff and pushes even my suspension of disbelief to it's limits. It's with her writing itself. Lately the quality of her adult dark hunter series has been deteriorating. The snarky voices of her characters witty banter has become one dimensional and almost indecipherable from her other characters. No where is this more apparent than in any stories involving, even peripherally, the bear quads. The fact that they're almost indistinguishable highlights the fact that if you scratch below the surface their voices are essentially the same. Ok we get it. They're grouchy bears who would sooner bite you than look at you. The only recent exception was with her epic book giving us Acheron's story. The love and care she gave the story was apparent in every word and lifted my spirits from the filler drivel she's been giving with most of her shifter DH stories lately. I think because of the genre shift and the fact that the mythology behind nick goes back to the heart of the struggle with pure darkness and naturally destructive forces and the ultimate fate of the world,I expected a corresponding freshness in kenyon's storytelling. Itvjust didn't happen. Without the sex and the curse words the plodding nature of her writing is even more evident. What were once examples of sharp dialogue with humor and wit are now just snarky and juvenile. Which might be acceptable if limited to the 14 year old protagonists but not his mother or even worse millennia's old god like characters. At this point I get the feeling that Kenyon is tired of her dark hunters or is somehow holding back to milk the franchise. If either is the case I really wish she'd just ended the story with Acheron. Even if it meant never finding out what happens with Nick. This whimpering along of both series the adult DH immediately preceding and following Acheron as well as this lukewarm YA series involving Nick, is really cheapening the excellent stories that made the DH series so great. To write good YA stories a quality of storytelling must be present that owes nothing to sex and gritty language. Kenyon just doesn't deliver. The story is insulting to younger readers and complete drivel from an older audience's perspective. You have no idea how sad I am to be writing these things in this review. I wanted this to be so good.