Invincible by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Invincible is the second book in the Chronicles of Nick series by Sherrilyn Kenyon. As such, there may be spoilers in this review for the first book Infinity.

So after saving the world from the nerd-induced, zombie-apocalypse Nick Gautier was really hoping that his life could go back to normal. Or, at least, as normal as a mostly human teenager's life can be. With all the new abilities he's learning, Nick is finding it harder & harder to determine who to trust. His mysterious Uncle Ambrose is a little too close for comfort, his life-defending demon Caleb has a nasty temper & even Death himself is teaching Nick new tricks, at a cost unknown to Nick.

Despite all these new preternatural events going on in his life, including the discovery of just how many of his classmates are "unique", Nick still has his real life mess to deal with. His overly-protective mother just started a new job at the local preternatural bar Sanctuary & decides to move them out of their crummy condo & into a nicer place. Also, Nick finally gets to go on a date with new girl Kody. The most mundane thing that happens to Nick is the new football coach picks him to rejoin the team. Or at least, Nick thought it was mundane. The new coach is weird in a different way. He wants Nick to steal personal items for him or else. And with teenage boys from his school dying left & right, Nick is tempted to do as he's told. But this Cajun's got a fightin' streak in him that a UFC fighter would envy.

This book picks up exactly where Infinity left off & hits the ground running. Since there isn't much back story to rehash, we can step right back into the action with Nick. He's learning to harness his powers & rein them in because they seem to be getting him in trouble everywhere he goes. I have to say that I liked watching Nick grow in both his human & preternatural forms. He got to experience some very human firsts (first date, first kiss, first torn-between-to-things, etc) that I think are key in teenage development. I would have worried had he gone much longer without those experiences. He is also learning to channel his powers & control them rather than the other way around. He also learns a lot about himself, like his potentials & his weaknesses, that I think will become a greater part of the story as we move forward.

The writing style continues to be very fluid & amusing with just the right amount of humor & wit. While it seemed a bit predictable (not in what necessarily was going to happen, but in how it would all play out) I still enjoyed the ride & I think that is what makes this such a wonderfully pleasant read.

Pick it up & take a peak (after you read Infinity of course) & let me know your thoughts!