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thea's review against another edition
5.0
rating: 4.5 stars! why didn’t i read this book sooner?
this review will be short and sweet — i’m restraining myself from reading the next book because i want to write a review for this epic, action-packed, well-crafted, and aesthetically beautiful book.
if you didn’t read the synopsis, emika chen is our protagonist and i admired her from the first chapters. she understood the struggles of being a poor bitch and yeah, she feels that familiar sadness that’s easy to lose oneself in, but she doesn’t let herself — at least not anymore. i admired her tenacity, her diligence, her carefree, adaptive nature and i’m so excited to see her again in next book to see what she’s up to because she’s such a driven character.
as she gets pulled from her cheap apartment in manhattan to the luxurious and exhilarating tokyo because she glitched herself into a warcross tournament, the readers are right by her side, awestruck at the power and creativity of neurolink and get caught up in the feverish rush and excitement of the warcross championship tournaments. i was gasping along with her, crying with her, and nervous for her as she met the creator of neurolink and warcross himself, mister hideo tanaka.
hideo is on my simp list: a clean, fashionable, and polite genius that’s actually really passionate about the things he has a keen interest in (*cough* like emika *cough*). i severely enjoyed his scenes with emika — but maybe too much since i went to sleep at 5am, staying up just so i can read more and more. but don’t worry! i got 4 hours of sleep (which is better than nothing).
overall, here are some reasons to read this underrated book (don’t be like me!! just read it!! you don’t regret it):
anyways, hoist this book up higher on your tbr because i sincerely say this with truth: it’ll be a book you won’t forget.
Everyone has a price. Name yours.
this review will be short and sweet — i’m restraining myself from reading the next book because i want to write a review for this epic, action-packed, well-crafted, and aesthetically beautiful book.
if you didn’t read the synopsis, emika chen is our protagonist and i admired her from the first chapters. she understood the struggles of being a poor bitch and yeah, she feels that familiar sadness that’s easy to lose oneself in, but she doesn’t let herself — at least not anymore. i admired her tenacity, her diligence, her carefree, adaptive nature and i’m so excited to see her again in next book to see what she’s up to because she’s such a driven character.
But sometimes, you find yourself standing in exactly the right position, wielding exactly the right weapon to hit back. So I hit. I hit fast and hard and furious. I hit with nothing but the language whispered between circuits and wire, the language that can bring people to their knees.
And in spite of everything, I’d do it all over again.
as she gets pulled from her cheap apartment in manhattan to the luxurious and exhilarating tokyo because she glitched herself into a warcross tournament, the readers are right by her side, awestruck at the power and creativity of neurolink and get caught up in the feverish rush and excitement of the warcross championship tournaments. i was gasping along with her, crying with her, and nervous for her as she met the creator of neurolink and warcross himself, mister hideo tanaka.
Hideo is quiet. His attention is now completely locked on me.
“I suppose chivalry isn’t dead,” he finally says.
hideo is on my simp list: a clean, fashionable, and polite genius that’s actually really passionate about the things he has a keen interest in (*cough* like emika *cough*). i severely enjoyed his scenes with emika — but maybe too much since i went to sleep at 5am, staying up just so i can read more and more. but don’t worry! i got 4 hours of sleep (which is better than nothing).
overall, here are some reasons to read this underrated book (don’t be like me!! just read it!! you don’t regret it):
1) emika chen has rainbow colored hair
2) the world of warcross is so exciting and it makes you yearn to be a part of this thrilling, competitive world
3) the plot is astounding. even when you’ve guessed some plot twists right, there’s another one sneaking up behind you, knowing you would go for the easier plot twists, and you’re left shocked and dazed but admiring the plot even more so
4) hideo tanaka. one of the most unique male characters i’ve ever read about. he’s a very interesting character and that’s all i have to say about him because you should just read it yourself!!
5) the romance. if you’re a big romance reader like me, then trust me, my fellow comrade, you won’t be disappointed. their relationship development isn’t instalove (thank goodness) but is naturally built up and blossoms into its own. also — not gonna lie — their romance is passionate and hot (IT’S STILL YA, DON’T WORRY) but phew. wow.
anyways, hoist this book up higher on your tbr because i sincerely say this with truth: it’ll be a book you won’t forget.
mslelouch's review against another edition
4.0
First of all! Why is hideo evil?! WTH?! Noo!
Then again, it's actually sexy. A man with a revolutionary idea.
the building of this world is intense and fast and you can't help but love it. It's the kind of world you believe the future is going to be something. 4.45 stars I give you.
Then again, it's actually sexy. A man with a revolutionary idea.
the building of this world is intense and fast and you can't help but love it. It's the kind of world you believe the future is going to be something. 4.45 stars I give you.
mglady2's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
pirateyoho's review against another edition
4.0
My neighborhood book club’s pick for August! Warcross follows a precocious computer hacker who gets recruited by a young Japanese billionaire to go undercover in a high-stakes virtual reality competition. It was fun and fast paced, if a bit formulaic, and succeeded in keeping me anxious to know what was going to happen next. I predicted one of the ending twists, but there was still a big one that did surprise me.
My biggest gripe: the “hacking” might as well have been a magic system, because the explanations and descriptions of it made no sense lol. I also wish we’d gotten to know the side characters a bit more.
Overall I enjoyed this enough that I’ll most likely be picking up the sequel.
My biggest gripe: the “hacking” might as well have been a magic system, because the explanations and descriptions of it made no sense lol. I also wish we’d gotten to know the side characters a bit more.
Overall I enjoyed this enough that I’ll most likely be picking up the sequel.
roseduni's review against another edition
3.0
marie lu never pulls her punches, does she?
also i knew it i knew i knew it!!
also i knew it i knew i knew it!!
acheng's review against another edition
5.0
okay what the so good I mean parts of it were kindaaa predictable but still so good excuse me
reread 2023: just as good as the first time I read it
reread 2023: just as good as the first time I read it
jacqattack94's review against another edition
5.0
THAT'S THE ENDING? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? NOOO I NEED MORE
thebookberrie's review against another edition
4.0
Warcross takes place in the slight future where a virtual reality game called Warcross is played by millions all over the world. For Emika, it's a way to make a living. Emika is a hacker and a bounty hunter, paid to track down those who bet on the game illegally. The score isn't always so good though so when the chance for Emika to make some fast cash happens, she takes it. Unfortunately it was hacking into the international Warcross Championships, where she glitches it thus exposing her identity. After her hack, Emika draws the attention of young billionaire Hideo Tanaka. He needs a spy in the upcoming tournament to find a security flaw and find the one trying to disrupt the games. But what Emika uncovers is far more than she thought, with lives and Warcross at stake.
And here we go to one of the really big problems I had with this book:
The Warcross games were so fun! I kind of got a Hunger Games vibe, but a lot less murdery. They were imaginative and exciting. I want to play! Another thing I really liked was the dark underbelly of Warcross, the Dark World. It was creepy, and it was so well done.
But that's kind of where one of the issues I had with this book begin though: the VR itself. While I get it's the future, it's not that far into the future (or at least I would think, besides the NeuroLink, everything else is the same and there is no mention of a year).
Then there was times where I wasn't really sure how they were moving. At first they were sitting down while moving virtually by twitching their feet to move or something. Other times they moved their hands while VRing.... do they move to play the game or not? How real does it feel when you aren't walking around yourself? How does the guy in the wheelchair move around in the game? I know it's nitpicking but it just bothered me.
Onto more positives though- the casual diversity! Warcross is a worldwide game and hell yeah if it's going to feel that way with people being different nationalities and throwing those different languages around. Tokyo being the setting was also really fun but I wished they were outside more. I also wished that Emika had bonded with her fellow teammates more but hoping in the sequel! This book really opens up for the sequel, while also tying up some loose ends, like the identity of Zero.
The writing was just so good, and the characters were so well made. The descriptions of the games were really awesome. Despite my issues with this book, I did still really enjoy it and I need the sequel right now and not next year.
"Every locked door has a key. Every problem has a solution.”This book was great! For the most part. Emika is a great main character. She's tough, has rainbow hair, is a great hacker and player, and stands up for herself. She's been through some hard times and just wants to finish the job she was hired for but she isn't going to back down. She does end up getting a bit closer to her boss than she'd intended. Hideo is mysterious and has a lot of walls and emotional baggage and I was here for that romantic subplot. When they were sharing their emotions while making out- yes please.
And here we go to one of the really big problems I had with this book:
Spoiler
The plot twist. What the hell was that? Maybe this is personal preference but I am so tired of the love interest flipping around and ending up being the "bad guy". It's overdone and annoying and I'm over it. But I will give credit to the writing- I actually understand where he's going with this. It wasn't just "oh I'm a bad guy now go die". Hideo wants to save the world. Yeah it's taking control of the minds of everyone in the world but he wants to stop crime before it happens. Meanwhile Zero was the one trying to kill people but he wanted to stop Hideo from total control. Damn that moral conflict. Still hate the twist though.The Warcross games were so fun! I kind of got a Hunger Games vibe, but a lot less murdery. They were imaginative and exciting. I want to play! Another thing I really liked was the dark underbelly of Warcross, the Dark World. It was creepy, and it was so well done.
But that's kind of where one of the issues I had with this book begin though: the VR itself. While I get it's the future, it's not that far into the future (or at least I would think, besides the NeuroLink, everything else is the same and there is no mention of a year).
“It is hard to describe loss to someone who has never experienced it, impossible to explain all the ways it changes you. But for those who have, not a single word is needed.”This tech made no sense at times and I would have accepted it being magic versus any sort of computer science. The worst part is that it didn't even TRY to explain it. Hideo just said what it was with a throw away line like "your brain makes the VR possible" and then that was that. Uh alright then, so ground-breaking. Even more annoying is at the beginning of the book, the technology for Warcross was some cool glasses. I was like, sure that makes sense and isn't out of the realm of possibility because we almost have those now. THEN they bring out some contact lenses to replace the glasses and says it's powered by your body. That's not how technology works. That's not how any of this works.
Then there was times where I wasn't really sure how they were moving. At first they were sitting down while moving virtually by twitching their feet to move or something. Other times they moved their hands while VRing.... do they move to play the game or not? How real does it feel when you aren't walking around yourself? How does the guy in the wheelchair move around in the game? I know it's nitpicking but it just bothered me.
Onto more positives though- the casual diversity! Warcross is a worldwide game and hell yeah if it's going to feel that way with people being different nationalities and throwing those different languages around. Tokyo being the setting was also really fun but I wished they were outside more. I also wished that Emika had bonded with her fellow teammates more but hoping in the sequel! This book really opens up for the sequel, while also tying up some loose ends, like the identity of Zero.
Spoiler
Right when Hideo's brother was mention, I was like yup there's Zero and bam it was him.The writing was just so good, and the characters were so well made. The descriptions of the games were really awesome. Despite my issues with this book, I did still really enjoy it and I need the sequel right now and not next year.
boonana's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75