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cherry__tomatoes's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Overall, I felt like this book checked a lot of the needs of a superhero fantasy book. The powers and characters kept you drawn in throughout the book. I loved the variety of powers and talents throughout the cast of characters, it was nice to see a variety of powers from controlling insects to manipulating poisons. Another amazing thing about this book is how the main character is a woman, it's hard to find modern-day superhero stories that follow a woman. Overall, I loved the plot and idea of the book more than the writing, the writing style was a little basic and easy to follow but it was not terrible. I have a couple of problems throughout this book, like I said the writing style was a little bland so it was hard to be drawn into the stories sometimes. There was also quite a bit of confusion throughout the book, I feel like the cast of characters was too big. I felt like the inclusion of five people on the Renegades council made it confusing to follow, and it didn't feel like they added anything to the story. I feel like the storyline would have flown better if Caption Chromium was the only council member, possibly including Dread Warden because of his relationship with Nova. Ultimately, it was an entertaining, vibrant superhero story about a young mysterious woman who trying to find her footing in a world of chaos and confusion.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Gun violence and Chronic illness
Minor: Abandonment, Blood, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
love3v07's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Blood, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Gun violence, and Injury/Injury detail
jordantung's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
slow-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? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Blood, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
jfield351's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
This book was really good! Wow! I was hooked by the fifth chapter and it did not take me long to read because it was so easy and interesting. Shout out to Alyssa for buying it for me, can I borrow the next one please? I also loved how diverse the cast was. The end was shocking, in a good way, and I need to read the next book now! The only thing I didn’t like was some of the dialogue (just personal preference) and some of the romance . It was very interesting, and while character driven there was a strong plot with many interesting points. The start of the book was actually a bit confusing as I did not know who was who (I kept flicking back to the cast page) and I did not know what everyone’s intentions were. I read this as part of the Dymocks challenge, as ‘book with a blue cover’. Read from 29th Dec to 10th Jan
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Blood, Gun violence, and Violence
emilyparker's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
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? Yes
4.5
Okay that was incredible. I didn't know how much I missed Marissa Meyer's writing til I was finally reading it again! This book overcame any expectation I had (not that I really knew what to expect at all) and was just the most fun and the most epic YA book I've read in a long time. She's so good at what she does.
I thought this was a super well done start to the trilogy, and I expect (and hope) that the next two books will be just as good if not better than this one. I will say that the world building was slightly lacking - I wanted to know more about what the world was like before the age of anarchy rather than just during and after. It would have helped to better understand why the age of anarchy needed to actually happen in the first place rather than just seeming like a super evil power-hungry act. The brief introduction into the world before the prologue was good, but not really enough to fully emphasise just how badly prodigies were treated before this time - and even after finishing the book it's something that never truly gets explained. I think it's an important aspect to consider, especially with the way that the renengades and anarchists are set up as two opposing sides that underneath the surface might actually be just as corrupt as each other.
That was another thing I loved about this book - how morally grey both sides of the two extremes are; there truly aren't the "good guys" or the "bad guys", just people taking advantage of the situation they've been put in and using the powers that they hold to enact change upon the world. I will say that until the very end I was kind of thinking that the renegades maybe arent quite as bad as the anarchists, until the whole antidote D or whatever it was called was revealed.
Also I suspected the entire time that Ace was never actually dead and was unsurprised at the end, but that was still a very nice dramatic moment nevertheless. I expected Ingrid to somehow just reveal Nova's true identity to Adrian rather than just attempt to kill her, but I'm very glad that the whole charade of her pretending to be someone that she's not will get to continue throughout the next book (if only for a short time)
That brings me to another aspect that I just loved - both Adrian and Nova having secret identities that they're trying to hide from one another whilst we, the reader, just gets to sit there and laugh at them. So freaking fun. Reminds me of Miraculous Ladybug a bit (I haven't watched it though so take that opinion with a grain of salt). It's just too good.
I really enjoyed Nova and Adrian as characters. Nova reminded me a little of Inej from Six of Crows, who I of course love, so that was super fun, and the whole pen-weapon thing for Adrian gave me massive Percy Jackson nostalgia which is always fun. I'm curious to see how their dynamic will change once they find out the truth about their secret identities, but I'm sure it will be very entertaining. It's so interesting to see how their thoughts are so influenced by the way they were raised, there was one specific part where Nova literally said something like the thoughts she was having were in Ace's voice rather than her own. But I love the way they are both able to doubt the side they have known their entire lives, and it makes me really excited to see what will happen in the future books - will everyone lose their abilities like Nova wants? Or will the renegades just take over and become more like the villains they're trying to oppose? Ahhh so good!
The side characters were also really enjoyable, on both the anarchist and renegade side. I definitely want to learn more about Leroy, he seems super interesting and I loved the big brother vibes he has with Nova, very fun. I also want more Danna content cause she just seems super cool and interesting. Max was also super interesting (pun intended), and I wonder how he will come into play throughout the trilogy, and not just through this spooky antidote they've managed to create from him.
Overall this book was a super fun time and I absolutely loved it. Whilst the world building was slightly lacking, I felt that the characters and plot mostly made up for the few holes scattered throughout. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who has enjoyed Marissa Meyer's work in the past!
That was another thing I loved about this book - how morally grey both sides of the two extremes are; there truly aren't the "good guys" or the "bad guys", just people taking advantage of the situation they've been put in and using the powers that they hold to enact change upon the world. I will say that until the very end I was kind of thinking that the renegades maybe arent quite as bad as the anarchists, until the whole antidote D or whatever it was called was revealed.
Also I suspected the entire time that Ace was never actually dead and was unsurprised at the end, but that was still a very nice dramatic moment nevertheless. I expected Ingrid to somehow just reveal Nova's true identity to Adrian rather than just attempt to kill her, but I'm very glad that the whole charade of her pretending to be someone that she's not will get to continue throughout the next book (if only for a short time)
That brings me to another aspect that I just loved - both Adrian and Nova having secret identities that they're trying to hide from one another whilst we, the reader, just gets to sit there and laugh at them. So freaking fun. Reminds me of Miraculous Ladybug a bit (I haven't watched it though so take that opinion with a grain of salt). It's just too good.
I really enjoyed Nova and Adrian as characters. Nova reminded me a little of Inej from Six of Crows, who I of course love, so that was super fun, and the whole pen-weapon thing for Adrian gave me massive Percy Jackson nostalgia which is always fun. I'm curious to see how their dynamic will change once they find out the truth about their secret identities, but I'm sure it will be very entertaining. It's so interesting to see how their thoughts are so influenced by the way they were raised, there was one specific part where Nova literally said something like the thoughts she was having were in Ace's voice rather than her own. But I love the way they are both able to doubt the side they have known their entire lives, and it makes me really excited to see what will happen in the future books - will everyone lose their abilities like Nova wants? Or will the renegades just take over and become more like the villains they're trying to oppose? Ahhh so good!
The side characters were also really enjoyable, on both the anarchist and renegade side. I definitely want to learn more about Leroy, he seems super interesting and I loved the big brother vibes he has with Nova, very fun. I also want more Danna content cause she just seems super cool and interesting. Max was also super interesting (pun intended), and I wonder how he will come into play throughout the trilogy, and not just through this spooky antidote they've managed to create from him.
Overall this book was a super fun time and I absolutely loved it. Whilst the world building was slightly lacking, I felt that the characters and plot mostly made up for the few holes scattered throughout. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who has enjoyed Marissa Meyer's work in the past!
Content Warnings
Minor: Blood, Child death, Death of parent, Murder, and Physical abuse
cinderellagirl's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Death of parent, Violence, and Blood
thecasualbooknerd's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Child death
Moderate: Violence and Death
Minor: Blood
abby_shupe's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I will forever love this series. Of course it takes awhile to get going, but this is my second time re reading it and though everything is obviously spoiled for me - it’s still such a fun read! Archenemies, the second book is perfection and got 5 stars from me, but this is close. Top tier romance, and an amazing, unique plot. I will admit, a few plot holes I really start to see during my re read, but we’ll just ignore those for the sake of an amazing series 😂. Secret identities, friends/enemies to lovers, superheros, villains pov, and a ton of loveable characters; What more could you ask for?!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Violence, and Gun violence
Moderate: Abandonment, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, and Death
rachaelsfantasyland's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-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? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Gun violence, and Violence
c45p1n's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
overall whole series was amazing, final book had a tad anticlimactic ending tho
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Abandonment, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, and Grief