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3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I finished this in one sitting.
When Jay Kristoff said this was Mad Max meets X Men meets Romeo and Juliet with Blade Runner cheering from the sidelines he was not wrong.
But at first I wasn't sold.
I know right he's like my all time favorite author but something wasn't right.
I felt disconnected from characters like they were hiding something from me (spoiler alert they were)
Goes to show don't try to outsmart your favorite author.
When Jay Kristoff said this was Mad Max meets X Men meets Romeo and Juliet with Blade Runner cheering from the sidelines he was not wrong.
But at first I wasn't sold.
I know right he's like my all time favorite author but something wasn't right.
I felt disconnected from characters like they were hiding something from me (spoiler alert they were)
Goes to show don't try to outsmart your favorite author.
adventurous
dark
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Post-apocalyptic sci-fi is not one of my favorite genres, but occasionally a book will just reach out and grab me and hold onto me and I won’t be able to put it down. This was not one of those books. The slang was annoying, the storylines were predictable, and I found the protagonist unlikable.
This was really well done science fiction. It was fast paced, but not at the sacrifice of character development or world building. It will take readers a little bit to get used to the slang and jargon, but it's not overused and Kristoff uses good context clues to help the reader adapt quickly to their meanings and to the world.
Eve is a strong female lead, who doesn't become helpless when a guy shows up (pg 158 "Truth was, she could curl up and cry her little heart out or stand up and fight..."Okay. Enough of the pity party."" pg. 169 "That's real sugar-sweet of you...but I'm not a fair maiden trapped in a tower..When I want your help, I'll ask for it")
There is a bit of romance, but it's it has a sensible grounded purpose and is done in a non-insta love way.
I will say, it wasn't until it was clearly revealed that this seems to be a science fiction retelling of the Romanovs, however, even if readers never pick up on it, it won't effect the reading or enjoyment of the story.
This has kind of flown under the radar of a lot of readers at my library (and I have many looking for science fiction), and I think that's due to the jacket copy and the cover. It doesn't emphasize the epic robot fight scenes and the questions of AI, what makes a human vs. robot themes. Recently I was reading Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful, which also focuses on human vs. robot and genetics, and when I mentioned it to teens, they were fascinated by the subject, so there is a teen audience out there for this.
Eve is a strong female lead, who doesn't become helpless when a guy shows up (pg 158 "Truth was, she could curl up and cry her little heart out or stand up and fight..."Okay. Enough of the pity party."" pg. 169 "That's real sugar-sweet of you...but I'm not a fair maiden trapped in a tower..When I want your help, I'll ask for it")
There is a bit of romance, but it's it has a sensible grounded purpose and is done in a non-insta love way.
I will say, it wasn't until it was clearly revealed that this seems to be a science fiction retelling of the Romanovs, however, even if readers never pick up on it, it won't effect the reading or enjoyment of the story.
This has kind of flown under the radar of a lot of readers at my library (and I have many looking for science fiction), and I think that's due to the jacket copy and the cover. It doesn't emphasize the epic robot fight scenes and the questions of AI, what makes a human vs. robot themes. Recently I was reading Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful, which also focuses on human vs. robot and genetics, and when I mentioned it to teens, they were fascinated by the subject, so there is a teen audience out there for this.
Actually, more 3 1/2 stars. Fascinating concept and the story started out strong but bogged down around 2/3 through.
And I could have done without the language (really don’t care for God’s name used as a curse—be more creative for goshness sake).
And I could have done without the language (really don’t care for God’s name used as a curse—be more creative for goshness sake).
I'm starting to realize that I don't think Jay Kristoff YA is for me. I feel like it's missing all of what makes him such a great author with his adult series. Nothing about this is particularly not good, but it's just missing something.
Libby/audio
Not my usual genre. The slang was a bit much, especially in the beginning. A lot of characters, so a little confusing at first. After a while i got used to both.
It was really good, but the ending is a little disappointing, sadly. At least for me.
Not my usual genre. The slang was a bit much, especially in the beginning. A lot of characters, so a little confusing at first. After a while i got used to both.
It was really good, but the ending is a little disappointing, sadly. At least for me.
In the spirit of continuing my quarantine Jay Kristoff binge read, Lifel1k3 was the next book I picked up. Aaaaand it felt like I was still reading about Auri trying to figure out who she was, what was going on, who she was becoming, etc. but with Eve/Ana/Evie instead. I liked this a little less than Aurora Rising perhaps because I felt like too much information was crammed into one book when it could have been properly flushed out? I felt like with every epiphany our main character had, it was just an attempt to make the book more interesting and stand out? I don't know, maybe I'm just being really critical and this just isn't my cup of tea. But Jay Kristoff still does good work. On to the next!