Folami MorrisCritiques

Opening up The Exemeus was quite the experience. From page one, this story takes off at a manic pace. There is so much to absorb, so much to catch up on, that it all but left me breathless. This isn't like anything else that I've read lately, so it swept me up and made me want to figure things out. I'm just giving you a warning that this book doesn't stop to wait for you. It moves, and it moves quick.

The story follows Dephon as he slowly discovers who he is, and what he is meant to to do. As the heir to the one power that can save his society, Dephon is wanted man. We watch as his story ties up into Hyalee's over the course of the book, showing that these two are inexorably linked. The narration comes from both characters, but not quite the way you'd think. Dephon is our narrator, and he reads about Hyalee through a journal that is passed down to him. It's a very interesting perspective and done quite well. This story is all about cause and effect. If you change something, does it change the future?

In terms of plot, this book is fairly solid. There is a lot to learn about the people in Dephon's world and about the powers that they possess. The biggest problem comes in that you don't start to learn the majority of it until well into the book. I was fairly confused for a good five chapters or so. The saving grace was that I really liked Dephon, and I was willing to follow him wherever things might take him. He's brave, kind, and everything that a hero should be. While I never really felt he quite hit his full potential, I know there are more books coming around the corner.

Overall, I ended up enjoying this story. The Exemeus is a book that utilizes the "slow burn". You'll be scrambling to catch up but, once things start happening, the story sucks you in. Dephon and Hyalee's stories are intriguing. Especially in the way they link to one another. If you're looking for a different kind of read, and are willing to step outside the box, give this one a a shot.

The first thing you need to know is that this book is the beginning of a series. I wish I had known that, so I wouldn't have expected plot resolution at the end of this book. I did want to find out what happens to Hyalee and Dephon because they're interesting, likable characters facing exciting magical and personal obstacles.

However, I was frustrated while reading The Exemeus. The writers were very clumsy in choosing when to reveal aspects of this magical universe. I could understand withholding which powers a character will develop, but it was confusing that they didn't explain right away why anyone would get powers in the first place. I couldn't tell at first if everyone had magical abilities or if it was limited to the protagonists, though this was cleared up later. Then there are all the made up terms. For instance, the word "Demontros" was introduced 20% into the book but not defined until 94%.

I think the next book might be better because readers will understand the laws of the book's universe going into book 2. All the action was gearing up near the end and there is a lot of story left to be told. So read this book only if you're patient enough to figure things out as you go along and wait for resolution in future installments in the series.

I received a complimentary copy of this book in order to review it.

In a world where there is no diversity and you are not allowed to assemble ever, except for maybe on your designated shopping day, the Earth has become known as Trepton. The Treptonian government run the population through fear and students must attend school underground in the sewers. Dephon is your typical unpopular kid, harassed by the football team and just trying to get through life, when we discovers that his family has a lot of big secrets. Magic runs in his family history and it is strong and he must do everything he can to make sure he is prepared for an impending war.

Exemeus is really two tales in one. It is the story of Dephon coming to realize his heritage and power but also the history of his mother and her life before she died for a great cause. The story alternates with Dephon reading a book a book about his mother’s life while figuring out his own and that was an interesting way to get through the book. I found it a little confusing at first because I kept forgetting who I was reading about when I had to leave for something.

Dephon is a character that you grow with throughout the book though his revelations of his new gifts and his mothers story. I think that the magic was interesting and the world building was unique and fun.

In the beginning it was hard to understand some of the world building though because there are so many different components: Earth is completely changed as a post-apocalyptic setting, then there are other planets that are their own worlds and on top of all that existing cultures that we have learned about in history are recaptured with magic and lore that will blow the readers mind and make you think about the everything very differently and in a fun and exciting way. I have to say that while this wasn’t the fastest read I have picked up lately it was very fun and full of magical elements and plot that kept me interested and excited to read more.

Honestly going into this novel, I was expecting a middle grade book. Not so, this is definitely a Young Adult Fantasy complete with a romance (clean) and a dystopian/apocalyptic world though we don't see a lot of that. There are several worlds we see and it's interesting how the authors chose to narrate the novel.

I'll start with Dephon Johnson. He's a bit of a weakling. He's not exactly a "nerd" in that he's not especially smart. He likes to read, but that doesn't really make him a nerd. He's definitely the victim of the football team, their favorite target in fact. It's painful just reading about what they do to him and even more painful to watch him just take it. But Dephon finds out he is not meant to be a helpless weakling for long. He is tasked to read a book in nine days, a huge book, by a woman with supernatural powers that his dad seems to hate. He finds them arguing and some kind of earthquake shakes the sewers that the people of Earth now live in.
That is one part of the narration, Dephon in his present day reading the book and talking to an amazing girl who lives inside the book.

While he reads the book, he gets a 3D version of the past. His parents' past starting from the day his mother meets his father. The projection makes it feel like he's really there and he sees things as they happened, even his parents stealing the book he is now reading from another planet. This is the other type of narration. It isn't even flashback, because it isn't the actual characters going back in their memories. The book is projecting their lives, it has recorded their lives. It works really well with this type of book.

There is so much fantasy to understand that having a little bit in the past and a little in Dephon's world is easier to make sense of it. The two come together in one big clash towards the end of the book and you have some hope for the future of planet Earth. It really sucks the way it is in Dephon's time.

I won't even get started into the worlds but I would definitely call them very imaginative. Some of the missions I wish had gone into greater depth, but most I was glad they glossed over the technical stuff. There is a lot of romance, but very clean, and the romance strengthens the powers of the characters. It's a lot to take in and a lot to keep up with but so creative. I had such a great time reading it, I can't wait for the next novel due out early next year!!

I received a copy of this novel for review purposes for a blog tour.

The whole idea of this novel is extremely interesting to me. It's a very complex sort of setup with the tyrannical government, the horrific high school kids, and the magical powers that are bound to show up. Typically, I get to handle at least one of those problems at a time when tackling a novel for a review. So, of course the whole premise of the story caught me by surprise. I honestly couldn't wait to read it.

The Exemeus by Folami and Abeni Morris is the tale of two different people bound by the same fate. Thirteen years (and death) separate these characters and yet somewhere along the lines, the gap is bridged by a single document, the Exemeus. Hyalee Smith has been dead for a long time, leaving many to mourn the destruction and loss that she left behind. Dephon is just trying to survive through high school as people bully him constantly and his father does nothing more than sit in front of the television. It's hard to imagine those two ever having their fates entwined, right? He's a nobody and when Hyalee was alive, she most certainly was a somebody. But as the date of the appearance of his powers draws near, he must look into the past through Hyalee's eyes and understand what happened so many years before. Throughout this process, he learns more about not only himself but his parents as well -- the mother he never knew and the father who never left the couch. His only hope for a future is in the past.

I've already talked about the whole idea of the story previously so I think I'll talk about the way the story flowed together. It seems hard to have two separate stories going on at once in a story. Two separate and completely different characters to create and deal with while working out how the story should be in the end. Yeah, that just sounds like a whole lot of work. That is what is great about this story. The two separate, albeit entwined, stories seem to flow together seamlessly and the authors managed to make it appear easier than it probably was.

Dephon, who I am going to claim as the main character for the simple fact that he is the living one out of the two, comes off as weak and perhaps a little on the uncool side in the very beginning. He is used to having the jocks torment him for no reason or people just outright ignoring him. It seems like he is always late. He just can never catch a break. Struggling to keep his head above water as he suffers through high school, he can't even find solace in his own home because he performs the role of caregiver. I feel bad saying this but doesn't his life sound pitiful? The greatest quality I think he has during the beginning is the fact that he doesn't outright complain. He acts as though he is okay with being the punch line of every one of the jock's jokes and that he doesn't have any friends. Everything changes for him in a split second when he finds himself in possession of his mother's Exemeus. For all of his issues, you would think that there was nothing special about him but the truth is that he is very special indeed. I find myself liking the fact that he doesn't think that he is some great and powerful guy but somewhere underneath it all he knows he is different.

Hyalee survives in this story through The Exemeus, her every thought and word pressed into the pages of this book that fell in Dephon's hands. She was always moving it seemed like and she never stood out in any of the new places she went. Of course, it's hard to stand out when you only live in one place for a short amount of time but finally she makes a friend at her new high school. Then a new guy shows up, who seems to like her, and the air around seems to grow hotter when they are together. After several failed attempts to walk and drive her home one night after detention, she finds out just how different they really are. I loved her personality, it was very relatable and endearing. Some of her antics were funny and some of them were heartbreaking. She was a well developed character, who showed a great deal of strength in all the areas that it counts.

I think I kind of feel bad for his father once everything goes down and you learn more about his story. He's a headstrong type of guy who refuses to change his mind no matter what. Even when he knows that it might be dangerous. His character grew on me once the story really got going and I understood why he is the way he is. He once was a happy, go-lucky type of guy but there are moments in his life that drastically changed him and not for the better sadly. Jacqueline is the voice of reason during the story, she seems to have it all figured out and shares her little nuggets of wisdom with those she thinks need it most. You know what I mean. Anyway, I actually really liked her character from the moment she was introduced.

WELL! That's all folks. Go check it out and see whether this book is for you!