Review: Nobody by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Title: Nobody

Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Publication Date: January 22, 2013

Rating: 4 Stars

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Book Blurb

There are people in this world who are Nobody. No one sees them. No one notices them. They live their lives under the radar, forgotten as soon as you turn away. 

That’s why they make the perfect assassins.

The Institute finds these people when they’re young and takes them away for training. But an untrained Nobody is a threat to their organization. And threats must be eliminated.

Sixteen-year-old Claire has been invisible her whole life, missed by the Institute’s monitoring. But now they’ve ID’ed her and send seventeen-year-old Nix to remove her. Yet the moment he lays eyes on her, he can’t make the hit. It’s as if Claire and Nix are the only people in the world for each other. And they are—because no one else ever notices them.

My Thoughts

*If you are looking for a book about assassins/ninjas this is not it! If you enjoy a more psychological kind of book then this is definitely for you*

Ok, so this book had a few issues. Like why didn't Nix ever think about his parents? Even after he met Claire, he never once thought about them. Yeah, he finds out who his mom is and why he was there, but the point is he NEVER once questioned anyone about his parents, and his dad is still a mystery. 

Then there's Claire's and Nix's connection. I get why they felt slightly connected and their kind of obsession with each other since no one ever actually saw them nor touched them but it still seemed bit extreme to me. This incredible connection that they had. I'm guessing it's unique to them up to a point, but then the question is WHY. Why them? What's the whole deal, how does it work? I would have even been ok if I was told it's cause they are soul mates or whatever but I would have liked this to be addressed more fully at some point.

Seen a couple of reviews where they talked about the writing being average and just eh. But in my opinion this just gave it a unique atmosphere to it. Claire is only 15 while being ignored by her parents, who have to use a post it note on their door with her name so they remember that they left with her and to get her back to the house and Nix has been brainwashed throughout his whole life. The writing managed to portray their messed up minds.

Now with that out of the way, I loved this book! I can see some people not liking the way the romance was going, but for me, in this case it just worked for them. One a broken assassin, the other a meek girl always searching for some kind of connection with someone. And it's not like they were professing their love to each other right away, that came much later, which is why it made it ok with me. Plus the way Nix kept trying to make it up to Claire and Claire kept trying to help me heal. It was beautiful.

I hadn't expected this book to be quite so dark, but I didn't mind. There was a lot of just messed up crap going on and all the stuff they did to Nix, I'm surprised he hadn't gone completely psycho by then. Loved how we had both of their PoVs, so we could see what was really going on inside their heads all the time. The development of both Nix and Claire was well done, loved how Claire finally took a stand for her and stopped waiting for things to happen and made them happen instead, and how Nix started coming to terms with what he had done.

Really liked how they explained everything, the energies, how they worked, why it happened (although this cause have used a bit more fleshing out). How the Nulls and the Nobodies energy interacted with each other, the faded and the disassociation.

With that ending I'm not sure if there is going to be a second one or Barnes just meant it as an open ending. I am hoping she will revisit this world, cause I for one was fascinated.

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