Saturday 18 November 2017

REVIEW - ENIGMA - SCHRODINGERS CONSORTIUM BY TONYA KUPER

Title: Enigma
Series: Schrodingers Consortium
Author: Tonya Kuper
Genre: YA, Supernatural, Paranormal, Sci-Fi
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Release Date: 3rd July 2017

BLURB from Goodreads

Worst. Road Trip. Ever.

Escaping with Reid Wentworth should have been fun, but how can I enjoy it when I just (accidentally) killed someone, my mom and brother are in danger, and the Consortium is trying to enslave humanity? (Yeah, they aren’t fooling around.) So feeling something for Reid Wentworth was not part of the plan. Trying to help unite the Resistance against the Consortium means I can’t be distracted by hot boys.

The Resistance secret hideout isn’t exactly the rebel base of my dreams. A traitor there wants me dead, but we have no idea who it is. And with both the Resistance and the Consortium trying to control me, the only one I can trust is Reid. If we’re going to have any chance of protecting my family, controlling my unstable powers, and surviving the clash between the Oculi factions, I’m going to have to catch this traitor. By using myself as bait.


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REVIEW
After reading Anomaly I was really looking forward to being able to read Enigma. I had some other titles to read and then finally got around to reading Enigma, and it felt like time and the book flew past whilst reading it. I was looking forward to catching up with the great characters of Josie and Reid, as well as finding out how Josie is coping with an awful act she had no choice but to commit in book one!

Josie is once again the main feature of this cover, though the background colour of the book is grey so lighter than the murky blue of book one. Is that an indication of things being easier and a lighter time for Josie? I love the byline of "Anomalies are the target. She's the bullseye" 

So approaching reading Enigma we know that Josie's father is working deep undercover at the Consortium, though as they haven't heard from him for quite a while they do not know if his true identity has been discovered and resulted in him being killed. Josie's mum and dad were founder members of the Resistance who invented the enhancement serum that increases the Oculi powers. We know that there are three types of Oculi, Pushers, Retractors and Anomalies. The full true power of the serum is not totally known, however Josie risked her life to hand a vial of this serum to Vice President Brown. In reference to the byline, the consortium is seeking out all anomalies to destroy them, and the ultimate anomaly is of course Josie! Can Reid protect Josie? And if he manages to protect her, who will be there to watch over Meg, Josie's mother and younger brother Eli? As being closely related could put them at risk of being used to get to Josie.

Enigma picks up just three days after the ending of Anomaly. Josie is struggling with the fact she had to kill someone she had come to think of as a friend. Josie's relationship with Reid is still in the very early stages where she is embarrassed when he catches sight of her packing away one of her bras. It has been practical for safety purposes that they share a room. Josie and Reid have accepted that they are girlfriend/boyfriend but they will need to be discreet about this fact with other people. It's been decided by others at the hub that Reid and Josie should head over to a safe house. When they receive unexpected message from Meg. It says that she and Eli are heading to the Hub as 3 founders need to be present to make executive decisions for for the entirety of the Resistance. As Meg is a founder it is her duty to be at the hub for such decision making. The message also tells them that the council is unaware of a mole at the hub and that Josie & Reid should remain cautious. Naturally Josie's reaction is to be worried about the safety of her mother and little brother Eli. Josie and Reid argue as to whether they should go to the safe house or just go to the hub in an attempt to draw out the mole. Josie wins the argument by saying the mole may attempt to hurt her mother or brother as a way to get to her. 
They make the long trip to the rather well hidden hub. The area is very sparse, in fact it looks as if there is nothing at all for miles around. After seeing one lone sign claiming they are on "Private Land". Josie breaks the mounting tension by laughing at remarking "Please tell me the next sign will say Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters". It works when they both laugh.
They discuss that when they get to within sight of the security cameras for the hub that they should act more as trainer and trainee. As relationships between trainers and trainees are banned and Reid could end up losing his job and all the status within the hub that he has earnt. It is difficult and its clear to some of the other trainees in the hub that Reid is prepared to die to protect Josie and her family. 
There's lots of strange things that happen as if the mole wishes to make Josie think she is going into some downward spiral similar to the one her older brother Nick had. Certain members of the council do not seem to even want to acknowledge the possibility of a mole in the hub. Then Reid's father Harrison turns up, apparently he has been undercover all this time and he has a contact at the Consortium that is giving him insider intelligence on a regular basis. Reid is obviously shocked and even initially suspicious of Harrison as he had thought his father dead for some time. Reid eventually gathers a few people whom he trusts enough to allow them help to keep Josie safe. Josie and Reid become more suspicious about who could possibly be the mole when the council is not concerned about the fact that Meg Harper and Eli are late getting to the hub. In fact the mole pulls his/her stunt to scare Josie.
Reid and Josie are told Meg and Eli have finally arrived and head to the room for a reunion and to check they are all okay. When they get into the corridor they find Eli wandering about. Eli rushes up to hug Josie, holding her tight and explains that he needs the toilet but doesn't want to go with Josie, and insists that Reid take him. So Reid shows Eli the way whilst Josie rushes into the room to her mother Meg. Its as she enters the room that Eli rushes up to hug her! Josie hugs him but then asks him whats going on, as she explains about "Eli" being at the toilet with Reid, a rather panicked Reid rushes into the room saying Eli has disappeared. This incident certainly upsets everyone, and makes Reid re-think who he can trust to help him keep the Harper family safe. In the end its a small group made up of, Harrison - Reids father, Cohen - Reid fellow trainer at the hub, Kat - another trainee learning the ways of the Oculi alongside of Josie, the last member of the team is Zac Brown - son of the Vice President Brown.

In Enigma, Josie really does go on a roller-coaster of emotions. First she has to hide her true feelings for Reid. The council suggest she may have a breakdown or episode like her brother Nick. Then they speak about her in terms of her being a weapon when a new Oculi trait becomes apparent when Josie is being tested at the hub in front of the council members. Then she is contending with the mole playing little tricks on her as well as her being worried that the mole may hurt her family to get to her. Josie does sometimes miss her quieter life before she came into her Oculi abilities. She actually longs for some normality. . . be careful what you wish for Josie!

I truly loved reading this book. I felt I sped through Anomaly but wow! Enigma is so much more action packed. Get ready to sit and read, and read and read, because seriously you will not want to put this brilliant book down! This book is still from the points of view of the two main characters Josie and Reid. This book really grabs you and holds you it becomes a compulsive, addictive read! I could literally go on and on about this book and series. I have tried my best not to give away too many details about either book. I highly recommend reading Anomaly and Enigma.

We meet more new characters in this book. I admit I really wasn't at all keen of Zac - son of Vice President Brown at all but I think he really redeemed himself towards the last pages of the book. I was very suspicious about who the mole could be and had my own little list of possible suspects. I adored the character of Eli, and would love to have more of Eli in the book or hopefully books to come. I'd also like to see more of Reid and Josie, maybe they can be the council in a hub or the trainers for new Oculi. I would also be interested in Jared who at one point was near the very top of my "possible moles" list, as well as more on the remaining council members. There has to be much more from this series to come? . . . please?

My initial thoughts/feelings on finishing reading Enigma were Wow! .... just wow! brilliant, action packed, hope there's more to come?

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