Wildcard (Warcross, #2) by Marie Lu Review

This is a spoiler-free review! You can read my review of Warcross on my blog, now!

I absolutely loved Warcross, and since science fiction is a genre that I am trying to get back into, I was excited to finally see this duology through and explore the consequences of the ending of the first installment. Hideo and Emika's relationship is put to the test through a number of obstacles and betrayals, and as Emika learns to navigate a world that is changing the NeuroLink algorithm, she must also discover the possible endgame of her decisions.

Hideo's actions now have unimaginable consequences for everyone using NeuroLink, and while the ethics of his decisions are certainly questionable, Lu writes his character in a way that you cannot help but feel for him and gain an understanding of why he did what he did. Complex characters are always a joy to read and experience, as not everyone is perfect or is going to be the hero in the story. Emika's admiration for him as a creator and feelings towards him as a possible romantic partner complicate her rationale in fixing what he has done, and her inner struggle was well established throughout this final installment.

Emika made some questionable decisions in my eyes - she somehow did not seem as collected as she was in Warcross, and I found myself growing slightly agitated with the decisions she was making throughout the book. I wanted to her to really lock into the tasks at hand, but she seemed a little aloof. She was also entirely too trusting this book, and considering how the first book ended, I would have expected her to have her guard up and be incredibly weary of any new people that inserted themselves into her life.

The fellow Phoenix Riders made great contributions to the story, and it was enjoyable to see their characterizations more fleshed out - while Emika's story is certainly intriguing, I loved getting to know these other characters more, in additional to seeing how their lives were affected by the NeuroLink change. Lu ahas always done a great job at incorporating side characters into her stories without overpowering the main leads, and Wildcard is not exception - I felt as though I had such a solid grasp of who everyone was, and as their motives changed throughout the story, you could see the pattern of their thought processes influence their actions.

Echoing my original sentiment included in my review of Warcross, I had such a fun time reading this book - there were times where I did feel as though the story was moving a little slower than I would have liked, but the overall vibe of this installment kept me drawn in and eager to see what happened next. It did take me longer to get though this book compared to the first, but I believe that was mostly due to it being about a year and a half since I read Warcross. There were a number of times where I was yelling at the pages, especially during moments where people were revealed to be more sinister than they wanted to be perceived as to others. 

You can add Wildcard on Goodreads now, and follow the author to stay up to date on releases and publications.

You can catch up with me and my current reads by friending me on Goodreads and following this blog, my Twitter (X), and my Instagram in order to stay up-to-date with any reviews, blog tours, and more!

Glass Sword (Red Queen, #2) by Victoria Aveyard Review

This review contains mild spoilers for Red Queen - please read with caution. You can read my review of Queen Song on Goodreads now!

It has been years since I read Red Queen, and I was somewhat hesitant to dive back into the series with so much time having passed, and the only major detail I could remember from the book was regarding Maven's little character arc that left Mare shocked. And to be completely honest, Maven was serving this entire book, he was funny and brandish despite being the villain, and provided an interesting perspective from Mare when it came to personal development. His iconic "No, I don't think so," line lives in my head rent free, and I have to hand it to him, it gagged everyone. I may not condone some of his actions, but I certainly can appreciate his flare for the dramatics.

I personally felt as though Mare was making herself seem a little too important throughout the book - yes, she is the lightening girl -- the Red Queen -- but she seemed to place herself above the common folk too often more my liking. Understanding that she is a seventeen-year-old girl who was thrust into an insane and unexpected circumstance, I can let it slide, since other characters tend to hold her higher than the masses. That being said, a lot of characters seemed to place an enormous amount of blame on Mare for things that were in no way her fault, or for events occurring that were inevitable the second Maven showed his true intentions.

The world-building was still a tad so-so for me, and I kept having to remind myself that this was a dystopia-fantasy world. At times it felt as though the world was medieval, and then you would be reminded that they have security cameras, guns, and jets. I wish it was more concise on the setting, but that may fall on me for not brushing up on the world before going back in. Cal was probably one of my favorite characters in this book - he was sassy, put people in their place when it was needed, and provided an internal conflict to Mare as she navigated a world in which the crown was now against her.

Shade's role in this book left me underwhelmed at times - his presence was endearing and provided hope for Mare, but I was not attached his development as the story unfolded. While he was not a major side character, his being was constantly on Mare's mind, so we received a lot of internal thoughts about his relationship with Mare and how he would aid in their cause. Kilorn had me stressed tenfold with any scene he was in, and I constantly had a feeling that he would not be the person we thought him to be.

The rest of the side characters were entertaining when they needed to be, and provided enough filler in between action scenes or emotional scenes that the story moved at a decent pace. It certainly picked up towards the end of the book, and definitely had me tuned in to see what would become of all these characters.

Glass Sword continues Mare's journey as she fights for a world without blood discrimination and to find reasoning behind the biggest betrayal by her closest friend. I have a feeling that I will return to this series in the future to see it to the end, but it may take another eight years for me to move on to the third installment.

You can add Glass Sword on Goodreads now, and follow the author to stay up to date with releases and publications.

You can catch up with me and my current reads by friending me on Goodreads and following this blog, my Twitter, and my Instagram in order to stay up-to-date with any reviews, blog tours, and more!

Warcross (Warcross, #1) by Marie Lu Review

This is a spoiler-free review! The version I am reading is an ARC -- any changes made for the final publication are not reflected in this review.

I have been a fan of Marie Lu's Legend series for a long time, and I finally decided that it was time to pick up Warcross from the spot on my shelf after years of starting at it. At first, I was not really vibing with the main character, and I will put the blame on myself since there is a six year age difference between us, and I have not been reading too much young adult books, especially science fiction or dystopian. But since I am in my young adult novel renaissance, I made my piece with Emika, our female lead. 

Lu does a very good job of expanding on Emika's backstory -- you will first feel as you do not know anything about her, but each piece of information you learn about Emika comes at the perfect time. I will admit that I felt frustrated when she was first introduced, but she definitely grows on you within the first 75 pages. Our 18-year-old lead is living in a beaten down apartment with a roommate who barely contributes to Emika's story. With being thousands of dollars in debt and behind in rent, Emika uses her Warcross skills as a bounty hunter catching criminals in order to get by.

By chance and total accident, Emika finds herself being propelled into an entirely new league of champions of Warcross after hacking into an international championship, and catches the eye of the game's creator, 21-year-old billionaire Hideo. From there, we follow Emika as she becomes a wild card in a game that captivates millions of players and audience members as she helps Hideo on a very important task working on a security issue. I will say that I guessed what the reveal was and still loved every second of Emika working her way toward it. I loved that from right off the bat, we could tell that Hideo and Emika were going to become much closer than anticipated as she becomes his personal spy inside the tournament.

Hideo's personality is very stoic in the beginning, which is expected as everyone around him seems to only want to be in his presence in order to get ahead or level up in Warcross. He also has so much rizz and really knows how to let Emika know what he wants, which had me doing cartwheels across the room. Lu allows Emika and Hideo's opposing personalities to compliment one another as they each let their guard down around each other, something they have not done for many years. Both with tragic pasts and hackers to track down, their romantic relationship was something so great to see. I absolutely loved the way that Lu was able to incorporate virtual reality and real life in their vulnerable states, and the way that Hideo opened up to Emika had my heart swooning.

The players on Emika's Warcross team were so much fun to read about, especially as readers are learning about them just as Emika meets them for the first time. Yes, she can look up their information, but there really is no better way to get to know your team members that actually learning their skills while in the game. Hammie had me cracking up because she was always so unhinged, and Asher's captain skills definitely came out to play in and out of the tournament. There is a ton of drama and scandal throughout the book, and coupled with the excitement of the Warcross games, it made for a very entertaining read.

I genuinely just had a great time reading this -- it is a super quick read and really captivates the reader once you get into the inner workings of Warcross and Emika acting as a spy for Hideo. There were so many times that I caught myself giggling and kicking my feet over Emika and Hideo's development, and I just loved how well they complimented each other without one overpowering the other in the relationship. Lu surprised me on just how much I enjoyed reading this, but it should have come at no surprise, considering how much I enjoyed Legend and the rest of the series. I will definitely be finishing the duology!

You can add Warcross on Goodreads now, and follow the author to stay up to date on releases and publications.

You can catch up with me and my current reads by friending me on Goodreads and following this blog, my Twitter, and my Instagram in order to stay up-to-date with any reviews, blog tours, and more!