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czeleia's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-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? Yes
4.75
megsbookishtwins's review against another edition
3.0
Disclaimer: I received a copy free from the publishers in exchange for an honest review.
The Renegades are a group of prodigies – people with superpowers. The Renegades was established to fight a society where chaos reigned and they established a relatively peaceful society. They remain a symbol of hope. However, the villains that they overthrew do not see them in such a positive light. Nova’s hate for the renegades is personal and she is out for vengeance. She goes undercover as a Renegade and meets Adrian – a Renegade who believes in justice and who believes in her.
Marissa Meyer’s Lunar Chronicles used to be one of my favourite series when I was younger (I first read Cinder FIVE years ago, wow!). I’ve since heard some problematic things about the series regarding the racial rep but it was a series that I used to love. And if you loved The Lunar Chronicles and hoping for something just like it, well Renegades isn’t it. Renegades is about superheroes and villains, about justice and revenge, and about secret identities. So while it is full of action and danger, it feel less like Avengers but more like… Sky High. Which isn’t a bad thing (I really love Sky High, it was my go-to movie when I was ill.) And while Renegades is more serious and less fun, it feels a little cliche at times, had a lot of overused superhero tropes, and some cheesy hero and villain quotes, so I do feel like this might be a hit or miss for a lot of people. But I’m definitely looking forward to the sequel, that cliffhanger was great.
Renegades does have a unique concept and the execution was also done well. It is a good superhero book with some awesome and unique powers, for example, I loved Honey’s power and how she could control bees, hornets, and wasps that was awesome. The fight scenes were also pretty great and seeing these people use their powers against each other was a fun aspect. I also loved the discussion between ‘good’ and ‘evil’ and ‘renegades’ and ‘anarchists’. How, sometimes, you found yourself agreeing with both the heroes and the villains and how sometimes that line between who was the good guys and who was the bad guys became a little blurred.
The reason that Renegades is getting three stars from me is simple-it had some major pacing issues. The first half was a struggle for me. It was 300 pages in the book and very little had happened plot-wise and I was going back-and-forth about whether I should DNF it. But I stuck with it and the second half was much better.
While I didn’t mind both Nova and Adrian, they weren’t that memorable or made me care about them too much. I would have loved to have seen some more backstory for some of the other fun side characters but I feel like they got pushed to the outskirts a bit too much.
Overall, Renegades is a pretty decent superhero book that is different from Meyer’s other books, but it does work. Just be mindful that it may not be as fast-paced as you might expect from a superhero book.
The Renegades are a group of prodigies – people with superpowers. The Renegades was established to fight a society where chaos reigned and they established a relatively peaceful society. They remain a symbol of hope. However, the villains that they overthrew do not see them in such a positive light. Nova’s hate for the renegades is personal and she is out for vengeance. She goes undercover as a Renegade and meets Adrian – a Renegade who believes in justice and who believes in her.
Marissa Meyer’s Lunar Chronicles used to be one of my favourite series when I was younger (I first read Cinder FIVE years ago, wow!). I’ve since heard some problematic things about the series regarding the racial rep but it was a series that I used to love. And if you loved The Lunar Chronicles and hoping for something just like it, well Renegades isn’t it. Renegades is about superheroes and villains, about justice and revenge, and about secret identities. So while it is full of action and danger, it feel less like Avengers but more like… Sky High. Which isn’t a bad thing (I really love Sky High, it was my go-to movie when I was ill.) And while Renegades is more serious and less fun, it feels a little cliche at times, had a lot of overused superhero tropes, and some cheesy hero and villain quotes, so I do feel like this might be a hit or miss for a lot of people. But I’m definitely looking forward to the sequel, that cliffhanger was great.
Renegades does have a unique concept and the execution was also done well. It is a good superhero book with some awesome and unique powers, for example, I loved Honey’s power and how she could control bees, hornets, and wasps that was awesome. The fight scenes were also pretty great and seeing these people use their powers against each other was a fun aspect. I also loved the discussion between ‘good’ and ‘evil’ and ‘renegades’ and ‘anarchists’. How, sometimes, you found yourself agreeing with both the heroes and the villains and how sometimes that line between who was the good guys and who was the bad guys became a little blurred.
The reason that Renegades is getting three stars from me is simple-it had some major pacing issues. The first half was a struggle for me. It was 300 pages in the book and very little had happened plot-wise and I was going back-and-forth about whether I should DNF it. But I stuck with it and the second half was much better.
While I didn’t mind both Nova and Adrian, they weren’t that memorable or made me care about them too much. I would have loved to have seen some more backstory for some of the other fun side characters but I feel like they got pushed to the outskirts a bit too much.
Overall, Renegades is a pretty decent superhero book that is different from Meyer’s other books, but it does work. Just be mindful that it may not be as fast-paced as you might expect from a superhero book.
gjiaojiao's review against another edition
3.0
3.5
I've had this book on TBR since 2018 and I thought I would finally read it. To be honest it was ok! The concept was interesting maybe a little simple and cringey but all the characters were pretty likeable. I'm giving it a bit of grace since my teen self back then would've liked it more.
I've had this book on TBR since 2018 and I thought I would finally read it. To be honest it was ok! The concept was interesting maybe a little simple and cringey but all the characters were pretty likeable. I'm giving it a bit of grace since my teen self back then would've liked it more.
kuvireads's review against another edition
2.0
the story and characters felt very single note to me and couldn’t get myself immersed in the world
sk_isheretoo's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-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
4.5
allisondukes's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
rileykunkle's review against another edition
4.0
This book moved slow in the beginning, but i’m glad I kept reading. It really takes until the end of the book to get anywhere. Although the plot is super complex, so the whole book lays that down, which makes the other 2 books just perfect. Once u get into this book, u will not put it down.
Only rated 4 stars because the book is not as good as the following 2.
Only rated 4 stars because the book is not as good as the following 2.
jess_walkinshaw's review against another edition
5.0
Loved it and I want the second one in my hands right now!!