This Mortal Coil (This Mortal Coil, #1) by Emily Suvada ARC 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. This Mortal Coil is available to purchase as of November 7, 2017.

I have been holding onto this ARC for what feels like a lifetime, and have finally made good on my promise to myself to crack it open and see it through. The concept of biohacking DNA is certainly something that has come up. in scientific fields over the course of time and this concept of engineering vaccines through people's DNA in real time was intriguing. The author sets up this story in an intriguing way - we are exposed to this post-apocalyptic / dystopian world where a virus has run rampant through people and those not infected are fighting for their lives to stay alive. Flashing forward we are transported to a more controlled society in the sense that the main character is not actively in danger - or so we thought. Catarina Agatta is suddenly meets Cole, a soldier who has the regretful news that her father, Lachlan, is dead, and he needs her help in order to unlock the vaccine hidden away.

The introduction of Cole into story has the readers curious - who is this guy, where did he come from, and can Cat - and the readers - trust him at his word? He definitely comes across as the "dangerous" option for Cat to go along with as opposed to other romantic interests, as his little soldier qualities appear to be set to keep her safe as she works towards unlocking the vaccine. I am a sucker for when the male lead is basically tasked or in this case, programmed, to protect the female lead and would do anything to keep her safe. Considering they just met, I can understand why Cat was hesitant to trust Cole, but he also seemed to be just as cautious towards her when she would propose doing some less than anticipated work on him when it comes to his panel and genes.

Cat's initial characterization was not keeping me entertained - she was irritating to me and her internal monologue was not something I was immediately drawn towards. I can give her some slack considering she found out some pretty impactful news and is now on this epic run to save millions of people, but there was just something about her that was driving me up a wall. While this is a young adult novel, I feel as though it could have worked better as new adult with some aged up characters to be in their early twenties rather than late teens. Cat's development felt stagnant until the last one third of the book and I was growing tired of her having the same thoughts every chapter.

The plot as a whole was lacking - we see the eventual addition of a love triangle but it seemed to overtake the actual plot of the book once it was introduced until the last few chapters where actual plot devices came back. I wanted to really dive into a dystopian novel and this story was just not cutting it for me even though the summary really had my interest locked in. When the action finally started up, I had hope that the story was turning around and would draw me back in, and it did for awhile, until the love triangle seemed to take center stage once again. The shocking twist towards the end of the book definitely has me intrigued enough into considering continuing on with this series, but it will later rather than sooner. Once again, I did read an ARC version of this book, so if there were any changes from that version to the final version, I may not be aware.

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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. 

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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!

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