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3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
I didn't really like the romance in this book. It was a bit too cringey and corny for me and that's why I can't give the book 5 stars. But I see why the book wouldn't work without the romance.
Everything else was perfect.
Everything else was perfect.
*I received a free copy from the publisher via Netgalley and chose to leave a voluntary review. Thank you!*
OMG ,what a wild ride this book was. J. Kristoff is becoming on of my favorite author for never know what to expect and shock value.
This book was a non-stop read of action, twist and turns and surprises and some romance in some semi unexpected ways that worked awesomely good in this book.
I loved the rich and colorful worldbuilding and characters we get.
Though I must say I was a bit confused in the beginning of the book with the new world and the new slang that came with it, but I got into it pretty fast and loved it.
The ending OMG …….. Yes we get a hell of a cliffhanger, that leaves us crying for more.
I’m not sure how much more to say without spoiling it, so I will leave it at this,
If you’re a fan of SiFi and J. Kristoff this book is a must read . You will not be disappointed.
I rate it a full 5★
Eve lives in a world where machines live side-by-side with humans, though they are second class citizens. The world is in turmoil after a catastrophic rebellion by "life-like" androids changed the way humans look at robots. When Eve manages to take down a mammoth logika with the power of her mind, all eyes turn to her, she has to run for cover. With the help of her friend Lemon Fresh, her dying grandfather Silas, her two pet logikas, and a salvaged life-like, Eve struggles to survive in a world where posses and gangs are hunting for her. This novel was unexpected and original in the character development and plot twists. The characters are multifaceted and genuine and I hope there is a sequel coming soon!
Lifelike is set in a post-nuclear-war world. Which is fitting since nuclear war seems imminent these days.
The story is set decades after the bombs fell and it follows Eve Carpenter, a girl who lives in a city that's not exactly developed. It's what's left of California and basically a culmination of all the crap people threw away. Eve is a dome fighter, meaning she fights robots who have corrupt programming. She earns money via bets and lives with her grandfather and her best friend, Lemon Fresh. And yeah, Lemon Fresh is her real name.
One day, during a fight, something goes very wrong. And the result is that Eve becomes the target of a lot of bad people and has to flee. She takes her "bestest" with her, and her little android friend Cricket, who has a lot of sass. But instead of her grandfather, who suffers a different fate, the three are joined by Ezekiel.
Ezekiel is a Lifelike. Because he's almost exactly like a human, with emotions and everything, just stronger and with healing and regenerative ability. Like Wolverine without the claws. The Lifelikes are not technically supposed to exist, since they went rogue, killed their creators and the program got shut down. But it seems they do exist after all. And one of them, one of the only good ones, is helping Eve with her on-the-run predicament.
It's a good story. Yeah, it takes a few chapters to become familiar with the world and everything in it, but that's to be expected. I really liked the world that the author created. I liked the little moments of humour that come from Cricket. I liked the ever-present sense of danger which kept me intrigued. The characters are a little more complicated...
I liked the protagonist. She could be a little irrational at times but given everything she was going through, it wouldn't make sense for her to be completely okay. Cricket was fun, if a tad frustrating at times. Ezekiel was likable but in need of more individuality, which is something that I think the author will work on as the series progresses. We did see glimpses of the person (or Lifelike) he could be and I want to see who he will become. Lemon Fresh was a character that I didn't like much. And it wasn't even her fault.
For the longest time, Lemon was just an unnecessary tag-along. And we were supposed to accept it because she's Eve's best friend. Except I couldn't buy into the friendship for a second. It felt so made-up. Which, in turn, made Lemon's presence forced and pointless. Honestly, the tentative friendship between her and Ezekiel felt more real than anything she had with Eve. Also, the romance between Eve and Ezekiel didn't work for me at all.
Funnily enough though, the end of the book solved almost all of the problems. I won't go into how, but it was a great ending that I'm very happy with.
Overall, this was a good read. Not only did it set up a great world and a (possibly) great series, it also set up a path for all the characters. It was well-paced, wasn't too long and, again, had a great ending. I'm very interested to see where the series will go next.
The story is set decades after the bombs fell and it follows Eve Carpenter, a girl who lives in a city that's not exactly developed. It's what's left of California and basically a culmination of all the crap people threw away. Eve is a dome fighter, meaning she fights robots who have corrupt programming. She earns money via bets and lives with her grandfather and her best friend, Lemon Fresh. And yeah, Lemon Fresh is her real name.
One day, during a fight, something goes very wrong. And the result is that Eve becomes the target of a lot of bad people and has to flee. She takes her "bestest" with her, and her little android friend Cricket, who has a lot of sass. But instead of her grandfather, who suffers a different fate, the three are joined by Ezekiel.
Ezekiel is a Lifelike. Because he's almost exactly like a human, with emotions and everything, just stronger and with healing and regenerative ability. Like Wolverine without the claws. The Lifelikes are not technically supposed to exist, since they went rogue, killed their creators and the program got shut down. But it seems they do exist after all. And one of them, one of the only good ones, is helping Eve with her on-the-run predicament.
It's a good story. Yeah, it takes a few chapters to become familiar with the world and everything in it, but that's to be expected. I really liked the world that the author created. I liked the little moments of humour that come from Cricket. I liked the ever-present sense of danger which kept me intrigued. The characters are a little more complicated...
I liked the protagonist. She could be a little irrational at times but given everything she was going through, it wouldn't make sense for her to be completely okay. Cricket was fun, if a tad frustrating at times. Ezekiel was likable but in need of more individuality, which is something that I think the author will work on as the series progresses. We did see glimpses of the person (or Lifelike) he could be and I want to see who he will become. Lemon Fresh was a character that I didn't like much. And it wasn't even her fault.
For the longest time, Lemon was just an unnecessary tag-along. And we were supposed to accept it because she's Eve's best friend. Except I couldn't buy into the friendship for a second. It felt so made-up. Which, in turn, made Lemon's presence forced and pointless. Honestly, the tentative friendship between her and Ezekiel felt more real than anything she had with Eve. Also, the romance between Eve and Ezekiel didn't work for me at all.
Funnily enough though, the end of the book solved almost all of the problems. I won't go into how, but it was a great ending that I'm very happy with.
Overall, this was a good read. Not only did it set up a great world and a (possibly) great series, it also set up a path for all the characters. It was well-paced, wasn't too long and, again, had a great ending. I'm very interested to see where the series will go next.
I just finished this moments ago and am in a whirl of Oh My's. Holy twisted crumpled tales of love, hate, and robotics. I LOVED IT. Mr. Kristoff, what was that ending ? Oh you are good, cruel but deliciously good. This is why I read all your books, you challange my expectations.
The beginning of the book was a slow start, the slang slowed me down. It was different enough that I couldn't flow through it. It was a short struggle, to maybe 15 % and I got it. The story never slows, never goes where you expect, it's an unknown path ahead in this book.
The story follows Eve, who as a young girl loses her everything in a violent event. She is a being raised by her grandfather, surrounded by her best friend, and robots. Everything is going as well as it can till a reviled being is found in a crash wreckage. This is a world or radiation, gangs, androids, love and hard core everything. It had moments that reminded me of many moves and TV series. It was Thunderdome, Mad Max, and Westworld. Speaking of Westworld, wait till you met The Preacher, and hold on when you do he's a...well you'll see.
Romance, it's there, unexpected in such a story but fits so well and twists the heartstrings in all the bleeding places. Rocky, filled with pain and sweetness, it's a hard one to walk away from when the book ended. I was so invested in these characters I was left feeling gutted at the ending. Mr. Kristoff, leaves us hanging off the side of a thousand foot cliff lined with broken bones and scrap metal.
I received this book from the publisher for a non biased review.
The beginning of the book was a slow start, the slang slowed me down. It was different enough that I couldn't flow through it. It was a short struggle, to maybe 15 % and I got it. The story never slows, never goes where you expect, it's an unknown path ahead in this book.
The story follows Eve, who as a young girl loses her everything in a violent event. She is a being raised by her grandfather, surrounded by her best friend, and robots. Everything is going as well as it can till a reviled being is found in a crash wreckage. This is a world or radiation, gangs, androids, love and hard core everything. It had moments that reminded me of many moves and TV series. It was Thunderdome, Mad Max, and Westworld. Speaking of Westworld, wait till you met The Preacher, and hold on when you do he's a...well you'll see.
Romance, it's there, unexpected in such a story but fits so well and twists the heartstrings in all the bleeding places. Rocky, filled with pain and sweetness, it's a hard one to walk away from when the book ended. I was so invested in these characters I was left feeling gutted at the ending. Mr. Kristoff, leaves us hanging off the side of a thousand foot cliff lined with broken bones and scrap metal.
I received this book from the publisher for a non biased review.
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I didn’t love it as much as his other books it’s not as memorable. I don’t think I would finish the series.
The blurb and first chapter promised me a bot-fighting mechanic with super powers. That girl showed up a couple of times, but the rest of the story didn't show her using any of that (no spoilers here). That gives it three stars. I took one more star away for the incestuous robot sex.
I finished it, but I can't recommend it.
I finished it, but I can't recommend it.
The ending saved this a bit. I wasn’t very into it and was going to give it two stars, but the end intrigued me enough that I might actually read the sequel.
Evie Carpenter's life has just turned upsidedown, going from a robot gladiator with eight straight wins, to on the run from crazy puritans who want to kill her for her newly-discovered power - the ability to stop machines in their tracks with just a thought. Accompanied by her best friend Lemon Fresh, Cricket the sidekick robot, her cyborg dog Kaiser, and Ezekiel, a "lifelike" android she salvaged from the scrap heaps. Together, they go on a perilous journey across Yousay where Evie learns the secrets of her bloody past buried within her mind, as well as the secrets of those around her that will shake the foundation of everything she thought she knew.
First, I want to talk about what I liked about this story. Because I did like this story. To an extent. The premise was interesting, the setting had some very interesting places that could be explored, and the writing was enjoyable. There were sections of this story that I truly enjoyed, and wished that I could see more of. However, most of what I liked was obscured by the things that I didn't like.
For example, the first thing that stood out to me as a problem was the slang. Many of them didn't make sense to me, and it even took me several contextual examples to figure out what some of them meant. Honestly, I'm still not sure what a couple of them mean. What bothered me the most about all the new slang was that they came off as very juvenile in nature, and while I understand they're probably appropriate for the age range of the main characters, for me, it took a lot of tension out of a serious moment when one of the characters says "We're in deep capital T!"
Another thing that bothered me was all the contrivances that occurred to make the plot happen a certain way, even if it didn't quite make sense. There were hints of it throughout the book, but I was able to ignore most of them until I hit around the 80% mark, which was also when the story disheartened me so much that I almost put it down. From there, the two biggest contrivances I had problems with took center stage. Warning, the specifics ahead are spoilers for the end of the book:
It's unfortunate that there was a lot that took away from the story for me, especially since there was also a lot that I liked. Will I read the sequel? We'll see. I want to give myself some time away from this world before jumping in again.
First, I want to talk about what I liked about this story. Because I did like this story. To an extent. The premise was interesting, the setting had some very interesting places that could be explored, and the writing was enjoyable. There were sections of this story that I truly enjoyed, and wished that I could see more of. However, most of what I liked was obscured by the things that I didn't like.
For example, the first thing that stood out to me as a problem was the slang. Many of them didn't make sense to me, and it even took me several contextual examples to figure out what some of them meant. Honestly, I'm still not sure what a couple of them mean. What bothered me the most about all the new slang was that they came off as very juvenile in nature, and while I understand they're probably appropriate for the age range of the main characters, for me, it took a lot of tension out of a serious moment when one of the characters says "We're in deep capital T!"
Another thing that bothered me was all the contrivances that occurred to make the plot happen a certain way, even if it didn't quite make sense. There were hints of it throughout the book, but I was able to ignore most of them until I hit around the 80% mark, which was also when the story disheartened me so much that I almost put it down. From there, the two biggest contrivances I had problems with took center stage. Warning, the specifics ahead are spoilers for the end of the book:
Spoiler
The first contrivance was the reveal of two major secrets from two of the side characters. One character was revealed to have been the one that shot Evie in the eye. The reveal was foreshadowed a little through the missing piece of her memory of something more important than her life was taken from her. However, she suddenly remembered this piece of her past in one of the most climactic parts of the book seemed a bit forced. The other reveal was that the other side character was the deviant in the group all along, and not Evie at all. I understand how the reveal was done, but Evie's reaction to this seemed a bit extreme to me - and a touch hypocritical - as she would probably do the same and hide it if she had the choice, since revealing it would mean zealots chasing for her head for the rest of her life.Spoiler
The second contrivance, and the most egregious one by far, was the ending of the story itself. I understand Evie would want some time to understand who she is after discovering that she herself was a lifelike of Ana Monrova and had no idea. It's a lot to take in, to discover that her life wasn't what she thought it was twice over. However, I don't think it makes any sense that she would decide to team up with the other lifelikes, who not only were torturing her for access to Myriad, but also saying they would kill her after they got everything they needed from her. How would you trust people like that from not trying to kill you again in the future? Would the fact that she's a lifelike and not human anymore just make everything okay between them?It's unfortunate that there was a lot that took away from the story for me, especially since there was also a lot that I liked. Will I read the sequel? We'll see. I want to give myself some time away from this world before jumping in again.