Intermix Nation

by M.P. Attardo

[Angie]

4.5 Stars!

That was, in a word, intense. I really had no expectations going into Intermix Nation. It’s New Adult and Dystopian so I expected to like it, but I didn’t anticipate loving it as much as I did! It got off to a rocky start though. It’s written in third person present tense, which is always annoying to read, but once I got into Nazirah’s story, I didn’t even notice anymore. There’s also huge info-dumps at the beginning. World building is extremely important, especially in Dystopian novels, but it was too much all at once. The pacing was extremely slow and bogged down by information, but once you get past those first few chapters, Intermix Nation is amazing!

First, let’s the discuss the bad stuff. The info-dumping is pretty heavy in the opening chapters. It’s mostly a lot of names and places, and I found it confusing. A lot of city and territory names are used, but without context. I have no clue where any of these places are suppose to be. The book description says North America, but honestly, it sounded most like Eurasia to me. Intermix Nation is set several hundred years into the future, so this is not the world we know at all. I just would have like more specific references to what these places use to be. That’s the only negative thing I can think to say about this book. And honestly, it wasn’t a huge deal once the actual story picked up.

Intermix Nation follows eighteen-year-old Nazirah Nation, born of parents of different races, and thus dubbed an outcast. Biracial, or intermix, people are not accepted in this new world and mainly live in poverty in any area that will allow them. Nazirah was lucky that her parents weren’t too poor and her mother was a teacher so she grew up educated, not like a lot of others. Four months ago, both of her parents were murdered for being rebels, and now Nazirah is in training to join the upcoming war. However, her first mission sends her to a prison offering amnesty to the man who shot her parents — Adamek– in exchange for aid in the war. Needless to say, Nazirah is not happy about this. It gets worse when her brother, who happens to be their commander, declares her official mission to be the face of the rebellion. She’s to travel around with Adamek and show how she’s forgiven him and things can get better if others only join in their battle. Nazirah is not a good actress, so a rumor is started that they’re lovers. News travels fast and people are too eager to believe gossip, and take Nazirah’s silence as confirmation.

Don’t worry, there is no insta-love here! Nazirah hates Adamek with every fiber of her being, and he can’t really stand her “holier than thou” attitude. They’re constantly at odds, but Adamek is actually the only person who was able to crack Nazirah’s emotional armor. She keeps everyone out so that she can’t be hurt again. She also has trouble with the battle aspect of the war due to her guilt over not being there when her parents are murdered. Adamek pushes all of her buttons, and while she is thankful for that, she still wants to see him dead…at her own hand. I loved seeing their relationship develop. It goes from complete loathing to tolerance, and then to something else entirely that winds up in a super steamy scene near the end. There’s still no declarations of undying love though, thank goodness. It’s just two people learning how to forgive themselves, allow themselves to be happy, and move on with life.

While the plot of Intermix Nation is very war focused, we actually don’t see much of the physical aspect of war. We more get the strategic side as Nazirah and Adamek are on the campaign. That’s not to say that there is no action, because there is. There are plenty of attempts on Nazirah’s life from those in charge who want to keep the intermix beaten down. Nazirah and Adamek also fight with each other several times. The plot does drag in some places, and the book felt a lot longer than it is, but I was still interested the entire time. I never had a clue where the story was going, and I found myself super nervous close to the end.

Intermix Nation actually gets 4.5 stars from me. Only losing half of a star because I had a difficult time getting into it. I know self-published books aren’t always looked at in the most positive light, especially when it’s a debut, but honestly, you wouldn’t even know this was self-published debut novel if you weren’t told. It is simply awesome! The story is interesting, engaging, exciting, heartbreaking, sexy, frustrating, and disturbing at times. It’s almost everything I want out of a book. I highly recommend Intermix Nation to everyone, especially those who enjoy a good war focused Dystopian, with a little bit of sexy times!

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.