Book Review...Niko (The Outsider Chronicles Book 1) by Kayti Nika Raet

One can live for several weeks without food but only a few days without water, a fact that seventeen year old Niko is only too aware of as she struggles to provide for her two younger brothers in a post-apocalyptic landscape where the rain burns like acid, food grows scarce, and any Slither that crosses her path is laid low before it can sink its teeth into her. Then one night everything she's ever worked for, everything she's ever loved is consumed by a raging fire, leaving her with one brother dead, the other missing and herself gravely injured. She's rescued by the Rose Circle, a rogue group of Slither hunters. They sneak her into Amaryllis City, a decadent metropolis where those able to afford the exorbitant entrance fee live a life of relative ease. But for Niko, Amaryllis City is not the haven she grew up believing it would be, the deeper she delves the nastier it gets and when her unique abilities as a Slither hunter are discovered things get positively filthy. All Niko ever wanted to do was find her baby brother but that's proving to be harder than she ever would have expected.

*4.5*

The pace of the book was great right throughout, there weren't moments I felt the story was lingering or that there were fillers added to gain more pages. The novel's tempo felt like it wasn't a second thought that you sometimes get with author's first novels, instead it felt as if Raet knew from the beginning exactly what and how she wanted everything to be and no second guessing was done. Another great, less obvious trait, that goes hand-in-hand with a theme I found in the book; Independent stubbornness that gets it done, was clear in Raet's writing style. All the characters are well-written and well-rounded, even if they weren't main characters, you can see they weren't just added without purpose. Niko is the...(I may not say the word, so?) H-Balls amazingly coolest chick ever! If I could be her friend - even in this setting - Hell yeah, bring it! With such a bad-A by your side, you'll never worry about anything! And she is damn HOT! (I'm not a pedo, but come on, she is the girl you disliked in high school for being epic without needing to impress everyone.) I absolutely love her. Ben is just great; I can't wait to read more of him. He's not like the average guys and girls you fall in love with in books. He feels very real with imperfect perfection that weren't created by false ideas of what most people do and say is 'normal'. He reminded me of my partner and the way we act, and that made me want to punch, kiss and let him be my forever crush. I loved his odd chemistry with Niko, even if I wished she could just see it! I need to add this, but Mabel reminded me of the old lady from Brave...just because she is weird. I know the comparison is odd, but got that vibe and I think she was a cute little character to add some whimsicality in this godforsaken world, where I most likely would've been killed in on day one, because I'm a huge wussy. My second favourite scene was the first encounter with the bathroom (toilet)! Best thing ever! I choked on my Oreo when I read it and keep chuckling at the memory. Great comic relief throughout the book is subtle enough to not defer from the main tone and setting of the book. My favourite scene was Niko's attempt to remove a particular character's eyes...I'm weird like that. As a gamer I think this would be amazing as a survival strategy game. Fighting Slithers, surviving the rain, getting supplies and kicking A as Niko would be amazing! Just imagine it for a moment? Good, I have goosebumps just with the thought of that! Raet is a great author with a strong voice and I got pulled in right away. I can't wait to read the rest of the series and see where Raet will be taking us next. But seriously, I really want this as a game. *puppy eyes* Please make it happen?