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victorianrogue's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Medical content, Murder, Police brutality, and Violence
Moderate: Blood, Death of parent, Grief, Torture, and Vomit
Minor: Child death and Confinement
taelights's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
2.0
I think I went into this book expecting too much. I've seen so many 4 and 5 star reviews for this plus so many booktubers and people on booktok mention good things about this book so I was really excited but I thought the book was pretty average. I'm a big fan of YA dystopian novels and this one is not going on my list of favorites.
I will preface this by saying I do intend to at least give the second book a try but if the series doesn't improve I won't read the other two.
I almost DNF this book but I decided to push through it. It does pick up towards the end and was entertaining enough in the second half but still it was predictable and nothing special.
World building is probably the most essential thing to me when it comes to dystopian novels and I thought while it did have a few interesting aspects most of it felt generic and left me with questions and wanting more detail especially about the history of this world. I hope in the next book this improves but I'm not impressed yet.
The romance annoyed me a lot. First of all the characters lacked chemistry and also I'm not a fan of insta-love at all and especially with this being "enemies to lovers" I was hoping for it to be a slow burn. Especially seeing as this is a 4 book series they should not already be in love or whatever at like 70% through the first book. I feel like enemies to reluctant allies to friends to lovers across the whole series would have been a way better approach to the romance and would have worked better with the plot. Plus it would have been a better way to build chemistry between the characters rather than sticking them together in a rushed fashion just so it could have a shallow romance to check off the romance requirement in YA books.
I didn't enjoy either of the main characters. June was a Mary Sue and Day was a Gary Sue. The author tied so badly to make these characters special it just came off as forced and unrealistic...
Like Day, Mr. "I'm so good at crime" that I'm only 15 years old yet despite me making dumb decisions throughout the entire book I'm supposedly the most wanted criminal in the entire Republic and the government can somehow never catch me. Mr. I can climb a whole skyscraper in mere seconds even if that is physically impossible and I can break into a bank in literally 10 seconds.and his only flaw, failing the Trial, ends up being a lie by the government so wow he's the only other person to ever get a perfect score other than June. Look how perfect he supposedly is.
And June, Miss I'm so smart I'm the only person ever in history to get a 100% perfect score not once but twice in the Trial everyone is required to take. Plus I'm graduating from the top university in the Republic in 3 years instead of 4 at the age most people are entering university plus I have so many skills that I'm absolutely perfect at and due to that at literally 15 years old I'm going to hold a high level high clearance position in the military. It made her so boring and unrealistic to me. She's literally the perfect example of a Mary Sue.
Also the plot was generic and literally two of the most important revelations/plot points in the books are literally such huge leaps that the characters make with very little information to form these conclusions yet somehow both of them end up being right which also was annoying to me.
I will preface this by saying I do intend to at least give the second book a try but if the series doesn't improve I won't read the other two.
I almost DNF this book but I decided to push through it. It does pick up towards the end and was entertaining enough in the second half but still it was predictable and nothing special.
World building is probably the most essential thing to me when it comes to dystopian novels and I thought while it did have a few interesting aspects most of it felt generic and left me with questions and wanting more detail especially about the history of this world. I hope in the next book this improves but I'm not impressed yet.
The romance annoyed me a lot. First of all the characters lacked chemistry and also I'm not a fan of insta-love at all and especially with this being "enemies to lovers" I was hoping for it to be a slow burn. Especially seeing as this is a 4 book series they should not already be in love or whatever at like 70% through the first book. I feel like enemies to reluctant allies to friends to lovers across the whole series would have been a way better approach to the romance and would have worked better with the plot. Plus it would have been a better way to build chemistry between the characters rather than sticking them together in a rushed fashion just so it could have a shallow romance to check off the romance requirement in YA books.
I didn't enjoy either of the main characters. June was a Mary Sue and Day was a Gary Sue. The author tied so badly to make these characters special it just came off as forced and unrealistic...
Like Day, Mr. "I'm so good at crime" that I'm only 15 years old yet despite me making dumb decisions throughout the entire book I'm supposedly the most wanted criminal in the entire Republic and the government can somehow never catch me. Mr. I can climb a whole skyscraper in mere seconds even if that is physically impossible and I can break into a bank in literally 10 seconds.
And June, Miss I'm so smart I'm the only person ever in history to get a 100% perfect score not once but twice in the Trial everyone is required to take. Plus I'm graduating from the top university in the Republic in 3 years instead of 4 at the age most people are entering university plus I have so many skills that I'm absolutely perfect at and due to that at literally 15 years old I'm going to hold a high level high clearance position in the military. It made her so boring and unrealistic to me. She's literally the perfect example of a Mary Sue.
Also the plot was generic and literally two of the most important revelations/plot points in the books are literally such huge leaps that the characters make with very little information to form these conclusions yet somehow both of them end up being right which also was annoying to me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Gun violence, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Blood, Medical content, Pedophilia, Police brutality, and Torture
Minor: Medical trauma
I tagged pedophilia because one of the characters that is a grown man makes multiple moves on June, a 15 year old girl, throughout the book.leah4127's review
adventurous
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
I had read this book before but could hardly remember it, I have no idea why, this book was captivating, with fast paced writing (which at times felt a little childish, not enough to take away from the plot, instead it feels as if you are really reading a novel from the perspective of a 15 year old rather than one by an adult trapped in a child's body) a unique take on a common dystopian landscape, and interesting characters. The tropes used are common in YA but Lu's take on them gives the novel an edge above others such as Divergent.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Blood, Grief, Gun violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Police brutality, and Torture
nuin_giliath's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
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? Yes
4.25
I'm about 10 years late to the party, but I finally decided to give this series a try and I'm so glad I did! There are obvious parallels between this book and other YA dystopian novels published around the same time - The Hunger Games and Divergent for example. Despite the now well-worn tropes, I feel like Legend provides a solid addition to the genre.
I enjoyed the dual perspectives and how the chapters dovetailed nicely. Each narrator had a distinct voice and provided a clear view into that character's thoughts and experiences. The writing style was easy to read despite the fact that the story included intense and tragic moments. (Thankfully there were some quieter and more tender scenes to balance things out.) For the most part, I liked the mysteries that were introduced here. Even if they were kind of predictable at times, I still found myself wanting to receive confirmation that my assumptions were correct. While it did suffer from some insta-love, the romance was ultimately sweet and pretty on par with similar books aimed at this age group.
The world building was decent, but not phenomenal. I liked the tension resulting from having a military government, but the setting didn't feel as futuristic as I expected it might. The way that natural disasters have not only changed the landscape, but also some cultural practices (such as wearing white to a funeral) was a neat touch. Right now, I'm still not 100% sure how the whole Republic vs Colonies conflict started or why they're such mortal enemies with each other. Hopefully this will become clearer in the following books. It also took me a while to figure out who the Patriots are and where they fit into the conflict.
Of course it's the characters that really make or break a story for me. I connected with Day almost immediately. I liked how his need to care for others led him to engage in many of his reckless and dangerous acts. He had such a gentle nature when it came to how he interacted with the people who mattered most to him. It was quite endearing. It took some time for me to warm to June as I initially found her a bit bratty. She became a much more enjoyable character as the story progressed and her eyes were opened to the truth. At first, I was rather unimpressed with how these two teens were so immensely gifted that they were able to consistently outwit the adults in charge. However, things didn't always work out so smoothly for them later on so this wasn't as big of an issue by the end.
I can certainly see now why this series has received high praise. I really enjoyed my time reading it and am anxious to find out what lies ahead for these characters.
I enjoyed the dual perspectives and how the chapters dovetailed nicely. Each narrator had a distinct voice and provided a clear view into that character's thoughts and experiences. The writing style was easy to read despite the fact that the story included intense and tragic moments. (Thankfully there were some quieter and more tender scenes to balance things out.) For the most part, I liked the mysteries that were introduced here. Even if they were kind of predictable at times, I still found myself wanting to receive confirmation that my assumptions were correct. While it did suffer from some insta-love, the romance was ultimately sweet and pretty on par with similar books aimed at this age group.
The world building was decent, but not phenomenal. I liked the tension resulting from having a military government, but the setting didn't feel as futuristic as I expected it might. The way that natural disasters have not only changed the landscape, but also some cultural practices (such as wearing white to a funeral) was a neat touch. Right now, I'm still not 100% sure how the whole Republic vs Colonies conflict started or why they're such mortal enemies with each other. Hopefully this will become clearer in the following books. It also took me a while to figure out who the Patriots are and where they fit into the conflict.
Of course it's the characters that really make or break a story for me. I connected with Day almost immediately. I liked how his need to care for others led him to engage in many of his reckless and dangerous acts. He had such a gentle nature when it came to how he interacted with the people who mattered most to him. It was quite endearing. It took some time for me to warm to June as I initially found her a bit bratty. She became a much more enjoyable character as the story progressed and her eyes were opened to the truth. At first, I was rather unimpressed with how these two teens were so immensely gifted that they were able to consistently outwit the adults in charge. However, things didn't always work out so smoothly for them later on so this wasn't as big of an issue by the end.
I can certainly see now why this series has received high praise. I really enjoyed my time reading it and am anxious to find out what lies ahead for these characters.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Gun violence, and Violence
Minor: Murder and Police brutality
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