K.C. Neal

Full review can be found at Mother/Gamer/Writer
ARC was provided by the author for my honest review

K.C. Neal has written a book that is a great reflection of herself; unique, charming, and simply fantastic!


Pyxis is a novel that stole my heart from the first sentence. I was immediately sucked into a compelling world of magic, myths, and mystery. Honestly I had no idea what to expect when I decided to read this book. I mean what the heck is a Pyxis anyway and why should I care about it? Finding show more the hidden truths to this mystery is what kept me both interested and excited in the story of Corinne, Angeline, and Mason, family secrets, and the journey that one small box led them all on. It was a quick, surprising, thrill ride and I can't wait to do it all over again with book two.

Neal does an amazing job of building relatable YA characters. The main characters are typical teenagers with a little (not much) angst and high school drama. Corinne was a wonderful protagonist and enjoyable to read. She's smart, sassy, stubborn, pretty much all the fun `S' words. She never came across as annoying or bratty which is great considering she is only 16 years old. I loved riding her emotional roller coaster as she tried to uncover the secrets of the Pyxis box and the mysteries surrounding her grandmother and aunt. Her highs and lows soon became mine, and I found myself wishing that she would soon get the answers she so desperately desired.

Angeline was another great character I enjoyed getting to know. Out of the two, she was more levelheaded and often times the voice of reason for Corinne. Their banter was delightful and portrayed a genuine best friend relationship. Likewise, Mason was also a fabulous character. In the next installment, I can definitely see him talking an `Alpha Male' role with Corinne because of certain circumstances (which I won't spoil) that takes place in the book. He's a loveable, dependable protector and I wouldn't mind having him in my corner should I run across my own Pyxis box! :-)

Overall, Pyxis is one of those books that will take you by surprise. As a debut novel, Neal had outdone herself with her unique storytelling. The book blurb doesn't really do it justice because it is so much more than what it describes. With the twists and turns and family drama, Pyxis will keep you guessing until the very end. I am patiently waiting for Alight, book two in the Pyxis series, because...the journey has just begun!

5 out of 5 Controllers! show less

Pyxis is a novel that stole my heart from the first sentence. I was immediately sucked into a compelling world of magic, myths, and mystery. Honestly I had no idea what to expect when I decided to read this book. I mean what the heck is a Pyxis anyway and why should I care about it? Finding the hidden truths to this mystery is what kept me both interested and excited in the story of Corinne, Angeline, and Mason, family secrets, and the journey that one small box led them all on. It was a show more quick, surprising, thrill ride and I can’t wait to do it all over again with book two.

Neal does an amazing job of building relatable YA characters. The main characters are typical teenagers with a little (not much) angst and high school drama. Corinne was a wonderful protagonist and enjoyable to read. She’s smart, sassy, stubborn, pretty much all the fun ‘S’ words. She never came across as annoying or bratty which is great considering she is only 16 years old. I loved riding her emotional roller coaster as she tried to uncover the secrets of the Pyxis box and the mysteries surrounding her grandmother and aunt. Her highs and lows soon became mine, and I found myself wishing that she would soon get the answers she so desperately desired.

Angeline was another great character I enjoyed getting to know. Out of the two, she was more levelheaded and often times the voice of reason for Corinne. Their banter was delightful and portrayed a genuine best friend relationship. Likewise, Mason was also a fabulous character. In the next installment, I can definitely see him talking an ‘Alpha Male’ role with Corinne because of certain circumstances (which I won’t spoil) that takes place in the book. He’s a loveable, dependable protector and I wouldn’t mind having him in my corner should I run across my own Pyxis box!

Overall, Pyxis is one of those books that will take you by surprise. As a debut novel, Neal had outdone herself with her unique storytelling. The book blurb doesn’t really do it justice because it is so much more than what it describes. With the twists and turns and family drama, Pyxis will keep you guessing until the very end. I am patiently waiting for Alight, book two in the Pyxis series, because…the journey has just begun!

Originally Reviewed On: MotherGamerWriter.com show less

Coinkidink, one of the main characters' name was also Corinne in the book I read just before this one, never happened to me before so I couldn't help sharing that.

Still can't believe the author was able to write an entire book without revealing too much. What is Pyxis? Don't have clue. It's kinda like the movie where no one once mentioned "He's Just Not That Into You". Okay, maybe not exactly like that but you get a hint that Pyxis is something or someone magical.

Corinne's grandmother left show more her a box with the word Pyxis written on it, assuming that it's baking ingredients Corinne uses some of the food dyes in the box in her baked goods. This shows Corinne's immaturity, who would be so brazen to use unlabeled ingredients to feed people and not worry they might kill someone? Corinne comes across a bit young but she was not annoying thankfully, I felt her love for baking adds a bit of a maturity layer to her personality. Corinne has a best friend Angeline, who came across just as young, but a little more responsible, maybe. I found myself squealing like a teenager along with the best friends when things went their way.

Mason was part of the story in spirit for about half of it but when he finally appeared I was very happy about that. He brought some testosterone with him and of course the swoon, definitely needed the swoon. You could tell right away how he felt about Corinne. He was stoic and strong for Corinne and his emotions seem to surface only in his feelings for Corinne, most of time he seems emotionless. I think he was really trying to not freak out along with Corinne.

I would describe this story as, cute? Yeah it was very cute and sweet, yeah. On the cover of the book it's reads PYXIS The Discovery, so I guess it's more of an introduction to the series. For most of the book there was no one or at least anyone trustworthy to give Corinne and her friends information on what Pyxis is. A lot of the story has Corinne and her friends searching for information and trying to find anyone they could trust for help. The one person who could fill in the blanks was not readily available till the tail end of the book, but of course K.C. Neal was very adroit at elusion. We did get some more info about the Pyxis world on what to expect in the series, for me the explanation was a little rushed and hope things will be fine tuned later.

Yes there was a lot of avoidance from informing the reader what is Corinne's supernatural alter ego, I really liked it anyway. Will definitely read the next book, I'm hooked and REALLY want to find out what the heck is a Pyxis. I could make some educated guesses but I'm sure I would be completely off the mark.

So how many times did write the word Pyxis, this one counts too? show less

I received this book in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed the action and suspense in this sci fi thriller. Aliens have landed and in the guise of offering help have moved into a position of power and now the real deal behind the reason for their "saving" earth comes to light. Helia is in a fight to save her family and the rest of survivors. Lots of twist and turns and so much more. Great read. Can't wait to see what happens next.