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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
What a way to end the series, honestly the ending had me crying, which is a rarity these days!
This book was everything you needed, characters you fell in love with dying, sarcasm, humour, epic fight scenes, betrayal, heartbreak. Honestly I think I felt every emotion possible in this book, it was so action packed and fast paced but still with the ability to create amazing character development. I felt like I was on a rollercoaster the entire book, with honestly jot really knowing what was around the corner, I must say that for Mr Kristoff's writing, it is not predictable, I'm just happy that the series ended with a kind of happy ending! That's how I prefer my series to end
This book was everything you needed, characters you fell in love with dying, sarcasm, humour, epic fight scenes, betrayal, heartbreak. Honestly I think I felt every emotion possible in this book, it was so action packed and fast paced but still with the ability to create amazing character development. I felt like I was on a rollercoaster the entire book, with honestly jot really knowing what was around the corner, I must say that for Mr Kristoff's writing, it is not predictable, I'm just happy that the series ended with a kind of happy ending! That's how I prefer my series to end
I was given an ARC for an honest review. Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for the ARC.
I took some time to let this book really marinate within me. I have this volatile love/hate relationship with Jay Kristoff. He has this ability to really upset me as a writer in one minute then make me cry and want to hug everyone in the other. He's a great writer. He draws you in with the worlds he builds, the characters he creates, and the question of what is good and what is evil. His characters are never black and white. They always, always usually flounder in the middle, in the grey area. Even if you hate this character one minute, you will find yourself going, "Well, she's right about that," the next. I found myself going back and forth like that with TRUEL1F3.
This book had the potential of being 5 stars. From the beginning, I already liked it well above Dev1at3. This was going to be the epic conclusion to the last two books. We were finally going to see the showdown between Lemon Fresh and Eve. It was going to be a bloody massacre, and I steeled myself against the inevitable; someone was going to die and my heart was going to be ripped out of my chest.
Oh, this book is bloody. This book is rough to read at a time. There is torture and physical abuse all through out this book. We have crazy cults, crazy megalomaniacs, a bounty hunter that just won't die, and pants-on-head crazy lifelikes who want to essentially rule the world. This is what this series has boiled down to: all these people want to rule the Yousay, and someone is going to end up being screwed because of it.
Yet, there was something missing with this book. Every time I expected something to happen, something to really bring it home that none of these characters are safe, something would happen to save them and for a few more pages, they were safe. It almost felt abusive, this sense of false security. I kept waiting for the inevitable, but it never happened. I was so on edge half the time, that by the time the book ended, I was actually mad that spent about the last 200 pages with my breath held for nothing. Don't get me wrong, there are deaths. Some you will cheer about and some that will make you angry. But I expected to be devastated while reading this book, and I found that... I wasn't.
I'm not sure what demographic Jay was trying to write to with this book. It didn't feel Young Adult despite that it's marketed as young adult. There is a lot of cursing in this book. Now, I usually don't care. However, when a book is marketed towards a younger demographic, as a writer, you should be mindful of the language you use. I don't remember the language being as vulgar in the last two, but this book felt as if he got tired writing for a younger audience and quit censoring his words. If you are a parent wanting to buy this for your teen, just be mindful of the language. I don't think anyone under the age of 17 should actually read this for the language alone.
As far as the characters go, I really did adore everyone for the most part. Eve and her lifelike kin annoyed the ever living hell out of me, and I found myself not caring about them at all. That's not a good sign when your main character isn't worth a care, but she became a broken record halfway through Deviate, and she was no different here. She...grows in a sense towards the end of the book, but at that point it's much too late for me to genuinely feel for her.
Lemon Fresh and Cricket continued to remain the very best characters, and I will die on that hill. Preacher remains a waste of writing, and I really don't understand Jay's obsession with that character. He was a beaten dead horse since the last book, and he just started to rot and stink up the pages by the time he showed up in this one. Every time the chapters turn to his POV, I had to refrain from screaming profanities.
The story itself was a bit lacking, and I felt there were plot holes that never got filled or questions that never got answered. Where did deviates come from? How did their powers generate? It couldn't be just a mutation or an evolutionary response to the way the Yousay was. I wanted more of that, but perhaps that was answered in Deviate, and I didn't bother to pay attention because I honestly hate read that book for a good 75% of it. The wrap up of the overall storyline was too neat. I never thought I'd say this, but it was entirely too neat the way the conflict wrapped up. I don't want to get into details and spoil it, but as someone who loved, and I do mean LOVED, the friendship between Eve and Lemon, I found the ending to be a bit unrealistic.
All in all, this was a great series and this was a great end to that series. There were things I wanted more of, and there were things I wanted less of (*coughPREACHERcough*), but I knew going in that this wasn't going to be perfect. I still sobbed at the end, and for me, that was a win.
I took some time to let this book really marinate within me. I have this volatile love/hate relationship with Jay Kristoff. He has this ability to really upset me as a writer in one minute then make me cry and want to hug everyone in the other. He's a great writer. He draws you in with the worlds he builds, the characters he creates, and the question of what is good and what is evil. His characters are never black and white. They always, always usually flounder in the middle, in the grey area. Even if you hate this character one minute, you will find yourself going, "Well, she's right about that," the next. I found myself going back and forth like that with TRUEL1F3.
This book had the potential of being 5 stars. From the beginning, I already liked it well above Dev1at3. This was going to be the epic conclusion to the last two books. We were finally going to see the showdown between Lemon Fresh and Eve. It was going to be a bloody massacre, and I steeled myself against the inevitable; someone was going to die and my heart was going to be ripped out of my chest.
Oh, this book is bloody. This book is rough to read at a time. There is torture and physical abuse all through out this book. We have crazy cults, crazy megalomaniacs, a bounty hunter that just won't die, and pants-on-head crazy lifelikes who want to essentially rule the world. This is what this series has boiled down to: all these people want to rule the Yousay, and someone is going to end up being screwed because of it.
Yet, there was something missing with this book. Every time I expected something to happen, something to really bring it home that none of these characters are safe, something would happen to save them and for a few more pages, they were safe. It almost felt abusive, this sense of false security. I kept waiting for the inevitable, but it never happened. I was so on edge half the time, that by the time the book ended, I was actually mad that spent about the last 200 pages with my breath held for nothing. Don't get me wrong, there are deaths. Some you will cheer about and some that will make you angry. But I expected to be devastated while reading this book, and I found that... I wasn't.
I'm not sure what demographic Jay was trying to write to with this book. It didn't feel Young Adult despite that it's marketed as young adult. There is a lot of cursing in this book. Now, I usually don't care. However, when a book is marketed towards a younger demographic, as a writer, you should be mindful of the language you use. I don't remember the language being as vulgar in the last two, but this book felt as if he got tired writing for a younger audience and quit censoring his words. If you are a parent wanting to buy this for your teen, just be mindful of the language. I don't think anyone under the age of 17 should actually read this for the language alone.
As far as the characters go, I really did adore everyone for the most part. Eve and her lifelike kin annoyed the ever living hell out of me, and I found myself not caring about them at all. That's not a good sign when your main character isn't worth a care, but she became a broken record halfway through Deviate, and she was no different here. She...grows in a sense towards the end of the book, but at that point it's much too late for me to genuinely feel for her.
Lemon Fresh and Cricket continued to remain the very best characters, and I will die on that hill. Preacher remains a waste of writing, and I really don't understand Jay's obsession with that character. He was a beaten dead horse since the last book, and he just started to rot and stink up the pages by the time he showed up in this one. Every time the chapters turn to his POV, I had to refrain from screaming profanities.
The story itself was a bit lacking, and I felt there were plot holes that never got filled or questions that never got answered. Where did deviates come from? How did their powers generate? It couldn't be just a mutation or an evolutionary response to the way the Yousay was. I wanted more of that, but perhaps that was answered in Deviate, and I didn't bother to pay attention because I honestly hate read that book for a good 75% of it. The wrap up of the overall storyline was too neat. I never thought I'd say this, but it was entirely too neat the way the conflict wrapped up. I don't want to get into details and spoil it, but as someone who loved, and I do mean LOVED, the friendship between Eve and Lemon, I found the ending to be a bit unrealistic.
All in all, this was a great series and this was a great end to that series. There were things I wanted more of, and there were things I wanted less of (*coughPREACHERcough*), but I knew going in that this wasn't going to be perfect. I still sobbed at the end, and for me, that was a win.
This was a wild ride of a conclusion. I feel like there were almost too many character POVs in this one compared to the earlier books and the action felt a little broken up because of the constant switching between them. However, this was a strong, solid conclusion to the series.
i’m not sure any plot twist will top eve learning she’s a lifelike but that ending was p close
What an ending to an almost perfect trilogy!
I really didn't want this book to end and I'm still not quite ready to let these characters go. If I had to nitpick about anything, it would be.
But despite that I thought that Lemon was a great character as always, and I loved that. She may be my favourite character in this whole series.
Now, if Mr Kristoff would like to write a companion series or even just a single book set in this world, I wouldn't complain. In fact, I'm heavily begging him to do so. Please give us what we want/deserve!!
I really didn't want this book to end and I'm still not quite ready to let these characters go. If I had to nitpick about anything, it would be
Spoiler
Eve's arc in this book. I hate that she spent 90% of this book being like 'we're superior to humans, they should all die, I hate Lemon and I'm mad because Zeke loves Ana and not me, blah blah blah', then at the very last second she changes her mind?? The very last second. I think it happens at like 95% of the way through the book and I completely believed she was irredeemable and she would be killed. I wish we saw more of her inner struggle and got more of a hint that she would change sidesBut despite that I thought that Lemon was a great character as always, and I loved that
Spoiler
she embraced the whole main character identity and was like 'I'm not gonna be the side character or comedy relief anymore, I'm taking control of my own destiny' and I was like yaaaaaaasss bitchNow, if Mr Kristoff would like to write a companion series or even just a single book set in this world, I wouldn't complain. In fact, I'm heavily begging him to do so. Please give us what we want/deserve!!
This book was a fantastic sequel, I enjoyed it so much, loved how it all ending! So many unexpected moments, and there were some that really hurt!
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Wow! This is the second series, consecutive too, where I loved the ending. I love all the Jay Kristoff books I've read thus far, my favourite being the Illuminae Files, but this series was amazing as well.
I love the world building, the characters I fell in love with, even those that were "bad' I still felt for them.
Full review coming soon, but this is a MUST READ series for sure with a wonderful conclusion.
I love the world building, the characters I fell in love with, even those that were "bad' I still felt for them.
Full review coming soon, but this is a MUST READ series for sure with a wonderful conclusion.
A HUGE thank you to Random House Children’s via Net Galley for providing me an eARC of this in exchange for an honest review!
I should preface this by saying that I’m an absolute nerd for Jay Kristoff’s books so that means this was one of my most anticipated reads of 2020 and it…kinda let me down? I know, you see the 4 star rating and go ‘Whu?!’ but for me this wasn’t Jay’s greatest work.
As the third and final book in the LIFEL1K3 series, I expected this book to be JAM PACKED with action, explosions, twists, turns, and general Jay fuckery, which it was, but at the same time it just felt like too much to me. We had multiple POV’s, which I could have done without, and when the action hit, IT HIT! Over…and over….and over…and over, to the point that it felt very redundant and just boring after awhile. I get that our crew had to fight two major corps before even getting to the lifelikes but good god, it just felt like a lot.
Character wise we had a LOT of characters, which, thinking back on the first book, I wasn’t really expecting there to be this many in the final book. I loved all of them (except Preacher because screw him and Eve because screw her too) but I really feel like Lemon Fresh shined the most. In the first book, she’s the silly sidekick with a secret. In the second we get more of her backstory and she comes more to the forefront of this story. In this book, she just took the spotlight and SHONE in my opinion. If there’s one thing that Jay can do, it’s write a kickass female character.
If there’s one thing Jay can also do, it’s write a really hateful villain and that’s Preacher. To be honest, I shouldn’t be surprised that he lasted as long as he did because hello, it’s Jay Kristoff, but good god, was it just a tad bit annoying to see him keep popping up! I didn’t loathe him as I’ve loathed other Kristoff villains but he was just like an itch that wouldn’t go away! The other villains (hello, Jay again) didn’t feel as fleshed out as this guy. Gabriel was just wanting revenge for killing his love, and the other two leaders of the corps just, surprise surprise, wanted to take over the world. Nothing overtly original but again, twisted enough by Jay’s evil mind to really make you hate them.
Storywise, again, Lemon Fresh had the most growth and the best storyline out of the whole bunch. I think Jay may have gotten sidetracked between the first book and this one by how loud Lem’s voice was because Eve, our original protagonist, just seemed kind of shoved to the wayside when it came to story arc. By this book, I honestly didn’t care about her because she just became annoying and triffling because wah, people lied to me! She would not let go of the fact that Lem hid her deviate-ness (out of fear of persecution and death, mind you) and so all of humanity should suffer! Give me a break! Even the ending couldn’t save Eve’s character for me because I just…didn’t care anymore.
Speaking of endings, this is not Jay’s best work. I hate to say it because I absolutely worship his work and think he’s a brilliful writer but considering how long it took to get to the climax, it just happened…and very quickly. I kept expecting the big fight at the end to take a good chunk of time and it didn’t, and I was very unsatisfied. I felt as if the showdown with Gabriel was rushed and not done as well as it could have been. It felt like an afterthought, tbh.
All in all, I love the trilogy. I think Jay is a mastermind at coming up with his own worlds and vernacular for his worlds. He writes truly engaging characters and this story is definitely a great way to showcase that. It’s not his best work but I enjoyed it for what it was and will definitely recommend this trilogy to anyone looking for original YA Sci-Fi.
I should preface this by saying that I’m an absolute nerd for Jay Kristoff’s books so that means this was one of my most anticipated reads of 2020 and it…kinda let me down? I know, you see the 4 star rating and go ‘Whu?!’ but for me this wasn’t Jay’s greatest work.
As the third and final book in the LIFEL1K3 series, I expected this book to be JAM PACKED with action, explosions, twists, turns, and general Jay fuckery, which it was, but at the same time it just felt like too much to me. We had multiple POV’s, which I could have done without, and when the action hit, IT HIT! Over…and over….and over…and over, to the point that it felt very redundant and just boring after awhile. I get that our crew had to fight two major corps before even getting to the lifelikes but good god, it just felt like a lot.
Character wise we had a LOT of characters, which, thinking back on the first book, I wasn’t really expecting there to be this many in the final book. I loved all of them (except Preacher because screw him and Eve because screw her too) but I really feel like Lemon Fresh shined the most. In the first book, she’s the silly sidekick with a secret. In the second we get more of her backstory and she comes more to the forefront of this story. In this book, she just took the spotlight and SHONE in my opinion. If there’s one thing that Jay can do, it’s write a kickass female character.
If there’s one thing Jay can also do, it’s write a really hateful villain and that’s Preacher. To be honest, I shouldn’t be surprised that he lasted as long as he did because hello, it’s Jay Kristoff, but good god, was it just a tad bit annoying to see him keep popping up! I didn’t loathe him as I’ve loathed other Kristoff villains but he was just like an itch that wouldn’t go away! The other villains (hello, Jay again) didn’t feel as fleshed out as this guy. Gabriel was just wanting revenge for killing his love, and the other two leaders of the corps just, surprise surprise, wanted to take over the world. Nothing overtly original but again, twisted enough by Jay’s evil mind to really make you hate them.
Storywise, again, Lemon Fresh had the most growth and the best storyline out of the whole bunch. I think Jay may have gotten sidetracked between the first book and this one by how loud Lem’s voice was because Eve, our original protagonist, just seemed kind of shoved to the wayside when it came to story arc. By this book, I honestly didn’t care about her because she just became annoying and triffling because wah, people lied to me! She would not let go of the fact that Lem hid her deviate-ness (out of fear of persecution and death, mind you) and so all of humanity should suffer! Give me a break! Even the ending couldn’t save Eve’s character for me because I just…didn’t care anymore.
Speaking of endings, this is not Jay’s best work. I hate to say it because I absolutely worship his work and think he’s a brilliful writer but considering how long it took to get to the climax, it just happened…and very quickly. I kept expecting the big fight at the end to take a good chunk of time and it didn’t, and I was very unsatisfied. I felt as if the showdown with Gabriel was rushed and not done as well as it could have been. It felt like an afterthought, tbh.
All in all, I love the trilogy. I think Jay is a mastermind at coming up with his own worlds and vernacular for his worlds. He writes truly engaging characters and this story is definitely a great way to showcase that. It’s not his best work but I enjoyed it for what it was and will definitely recommend this trilogy to anyone looking for original YA Sci-Fi.
There’s a moment where you think that all of these threads of story couldn’t possibly be woven together, and that all of these references and meta-narratives couldn’t possibly work together, but then you remember that it’s Jay Kristoff.
Just....jeepers
Just....jeepers
Truelife wraps up the Lifelike trilogy by Jay Kristoff with heart stopping moments, lots of betrayal, war, and so much more.
I have loved this series since book 1 when I wanted to fight Jay Kristoff for all the emotions he put me through in just that very first book (I’ve been told I’ll feel it ten times worse when I finally read his Nevernight series, I’m not prepared).
Lemon, Eve, Ezekiel, and Cricket all meet and clash again as their visions for the future battle it out for the ultimate ending. BioMaas and Daedalus now have a third party sneaking into the battle as the Lifelikes, led by Gabriel, jump into the fray. Battles on all fronts, loyalties tested and divided. I knew what I was getting into but it didn’t make it any easier to watch Eve’s continuing spiral, Lemon’s hope and love for what the world could still be, and Ezekiel’s enduring love for Ana. This was honestly one of those books I could not stop reading because I was afraid if I did I wouldn’t pick it back up again because of the anxiety of what was going to happen to these characters I’ve loved ate at me.
***
A fast paced, full tilt run towards the ending, it was a good way to finish the last book in the trilogy. I’m at peace. Mostly.
4.5 stars ⭐️
***
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I was able to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
I have loved this series since book 1 when I wanted to fight Jay Kristoff for all the emotions he put me through in just that very first book (I’ve been told I’ll feel it ten times worse when I finally read his Nevernight series, I’m not prepared).
Lemon, Eve, Ezekiel, and Cricket all meet and clash again as their visions for the future battle it out for the ultimate ending. BioMaas and Daedalus now have a third party sneaking into the battle as the Lifelikes, led by Gabriel, jump into the fray. Battles on all fronts, loyalties tested and divided. I knew what I was getting into but it didn’t make it any easier to watch Eve’s continuing spiral, Lemon’s hope and love for what the world could still be, and Ezekiel’s enduring love for Ana. This was honestly one of those books I could not stop reading because I was afraid if I did I wouldn’t pick it back up again because of the anxiety of what was going to happen to these characters I’ve loved ate at me.
***
A fast paced, full tilt run towards the ending, it was a good way to finish the last book in the trilogy. I’m at peace. Mostly.
4.5 stars ⭐️
***
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I was able to read this book in exchange for an honest review.