Larissa Kenders is having a hard time accepting that Andrew is dead; he's her soulmate and her everything. The circumstances surrounding Andrew's apparent demise are also more than suspicious. And when she starts to have visits from Andrew in Nirvana, a virtual reality world, she feels even more confident that he's still alive--and he has a mission for her. It's a mission that she won't be able to complete alone, and it won't be easy.

This is an interesting and engaging dystopian novel with all of the psychological elements that one might expect. In many ways, it reminded me of Armada by Ernest Cline without the young adult aspect/elements. There is some predictability to some of the turns in the story, but I certainly wouldn't say it is boring by any means. And the character of Larissa is strong, tenacious, and not willing to give up. She's someone readers definitely will want to root for over and over again.

If you're looking for science fiction dystopia that doesn't fit the mold of the past several years, this is one to take a look at.

[Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.] ( )

Another story set in a dystopian, post-apocalyptic world - but this one, I had hopes for. I loved the summary. I loved the cover. The basis sounded good - the bees are extinct, life as we knew it is gone and big business - Hexagon - is controlling everything. For most people, life is about surviving and they can find an escape in a world of virtual reality - Nirvana.

What happened with this great start? I'm not so sure. I WANTED to love this story, but for me, the characters weren't fleshed out enough. While I'm usually good not figuring out until the end who is really the good guy and who is the bad...yeah, here, not so much.

Part of my problem was with the main character, Kenders - to me, I'm just never sure what really drives her, and what she is about. Her husband does research for Hexagon; a project he is working on puts him at risk, and he goes missing. Hexagon tries to convince Kenders that he is dead, but she gets messages from him in Nirvana. But for what? Because in the end...well, you'll see.

Would I read the second book in the trilogy? Perhaps, because I was left with a LOT more unanswered questions than answers at the end of this first book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Blue Moon Publishers for the opportunity to read and review this story. ( )

DNF.
Just couldn't get into it. The virtual reality stuff was just too much. ( )

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I was really looking forward to this book. It sounded absolutely fascinating. Ever since reading The Hunger Games I have fallen in love with the dystopian genre. Almost right off the bat I did not get along with the main character of this story. She seemed to rebel almost just to rebel. The whole animal activist/punk rocker felt a little ridiculous. And the world building didn’t really make a lot of sense. Yes, it is a dystopian but the world is now without plants of any kind because all of the bees die. I don’t claim to know a lot about pollination but I know that there are other ways to pollinate plants than by bees alone. It just didn’t seem feasible. Unfortunately I just had too many issues with this book to enjoy the action. ( )

Review of ARC copy at end, hidden by spoiler tag. This is new review on updated copy.
Received via NetGalley and Blue Moon Publishing in exchange for an completely unbiased review.

I'm pretty sure Nirvana was rewritten to fit with a middle grade audience or YA focus on the second go around. I'm not a reader of middle grade fiction, so my review probably doesn't really fit with the intended audience..

To be fair, in such a short amount of time the author rewrote Nirvana better than I ever could.

Uhh..okay. So, the release copy of Nirvana is a completely different book from the ARC copy. I kind of really enjoyed the ARC copy. I don't know if liking the first copy ruined the completely altered version of Nirvana for me, but I didn't really enjoy it as much. It felt like a different novel with a completely different story and tone..

First off, I didn't really click with Kenders. She's kind of strange and the whole punk rock star thing turned me off immediately. Originally I hated how weak her character was, but now its over compensated by a fanatical "save everyone" version of Kenders who still makes really selfish decisions.

I felt like most of the book was sensationalized to pander to reviewers who called the first copy boring. The characters were dramatic, over-embellished instead of mysterious. There was a scene about a coyote/fox/something that was run over multiple times to show how evil a particular character was that really bothered me..

Mostly, I was sad that the science portion of the novel was cut and the novel became predominantly middle grade focused (except there's a sexual element that makes it YA?). I still stand by my comment that Nirvana did a great job separating itself from the current speculative fiction genre, but I also mourn the disappearance of a the aspects of the book that really hooked me the first time.

I wouldn't be opposed to reading an NA or Adult spin off of Nirvana with all the aspects of the first novel: conspiracy, dysoptian, mystery. Maybe a pre-fall novel surrounding the creators of Hexagon?


Received via NetGalley and Blue Moon Publishing in exchange for an completely unbiased review.
Also posted on Silk & Serif

I’m not usually a fan of fiction that features virtual worlds in any form. I really love the idea of Virtual Reality in real life, but on paper it tends to lose my interest. I like my fiction and VR separate, I guess. Nirvana did a great job in separating itself from the current speculative fiction genre. The VR aspects are super important to the story which readers learn later on, but it isn’t the VR mysteries that kept my interest.

The world struggles to go on after a mysterious illness kills all the bees which caused ecological devastation. No one knows why the bees disappeared. The elite are the only members of society who can afford real food and the safety of living in luxury laden glass domes. The majority of the population lives outside the domes in trenches and barracks awaiting attacks from the outside while escaping into Nirvana, a virtual reality where everything is possible.

Larissa Kenders loves her husband Andrew more than anything or anyone in the world. When he dies her whole world falls apart, but is Andrew really gone? With the government pressuring Larissa to move on and sign Andrew’s death certificate Larissa finds an escape in Nirvana, a virtual world, where she can be with Andrew again. Larissa struggles to discern fact from fiction, real from virtual, while unknowingly threatening to expose Hexagon’s deepest secrets.
One part apocalyptic dystopia, one part conspiracy theory, Nirvana is a unique novel with romantic overtones.

Larissa spends a lot of time proclaiming her love for Andrew and being completely blind to her childhood best friend’s love for her. I found that Larissa was often extremely selfish and cruel to Serge who was only trying to help her come to grips to her situation. Sadly, I didn’t really understand why Serge continued to be her friend after everything she says and does to him. Larissa leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to intelligence and altruism which actually makes her extremely unlikeabe for a main character.

I loved that Stewart enmeshed giant conspiracy theories, secret fraternities and evil corporations into the virtual reality and romance mix! The development of a failing world, dark secrets and unrivaled corporations is a chilling and realistic premonition of our society’s future. I will definitely continue on with the series to learn more about the world, conspiracy and Hexagon’s role in everything. I really would love to have more world building and action in book two..with less Larissa being a depressed and selfish brat..fortunately where Stewart struggles in character development he more than makes up for in world building.

Nirvana is written for what appears adults, but its probably better suited for young adults. The characters and world had many elements you’d find in new adult novels with a love story that feels very “young”. I don’t know how this will affect sales, but the novel doesn’t really fit with New Adult or Young Adult pigeon holes, which is interesting.

This book would appeal to readers who enjoy dystopia, science ficiton, romance, societies with class systems based on technology, young adult and new adult literature. ( )