It was decent. Lemire set up some interesting concepts and character premises from Storm dealing with the stress of providing a safe refuge for rescued mutants to Illyana establishing an unlikely mentor role for a young mutant girl. The major storyline before the Inhuman crossover concerned the team trying to recover viable mutant embryos after they had been stolen and transported to the far future of a decimated Earth governed by the remnants of Apocalypse.

But I consider EXM to be the weakest of the three main X titles of that time. It was dependable but hardly noteworthy. Uncanny X-Men by Bunn offered more Machiavellian undertones as it focused on Psylocke working in tandem with Magneto (along with Monet and Sabretooth) in defending and protecting mutants from harm. Bunn made good use of M's past with an appearance by her brother Emplate which led to a literal deal with the devil that affected Monet and altered her relationship with Creed. Meanwhile, Betsy gradually learns that she is less a trusted partner but more another pawn of Mangeto's ongoing schemes.

The best book was All-New X-Men by Dennis Hopeless and Mark Bagley. Featuring 4 of the original 5 X-Men, Hopeless combines teen uncertainty about the future, youthful optimism, humor, and drama with good old fashioned superhero action to create a great teen hero book. The different paths and relationships that he sets the O5 upon are daring and refreshing, they are almost brand-new versions of themselves. Highly recommended.