pagesplotsandpints's profile picture

pagesplotsandpints 's review for:

Lifel1k3 by Jay Kristoff
4.0

Initial Impressions 12/3/19: I picked up LIFEL1K3 to re-read before DEVIATE (ugh I don't know the numbers so I'm not gonna try) aaaand it's a good thing I did because I don't think I ever finished? I was tallying up my 2018 reads last year and noticed that LIFEL1K3 was missing from my read books even though I had read it so I set an arbitrary date about when I thought I finished it. When I started my re-read, I think I may not have actually finished the book, however that's possible! I must have gotten interrupted or something but who knows at this point. Anyway, my re-read turned into a half re-read, half finishing the book haha!

This is the third Jay Kristoff series I've read after the Illuminae Files and the Nevernight Chronicle. It definitely has that Jay Kristoff feel but I feel like it's a lot more aged down to fit YA and I guess I'm just not that into it anymore. It's hard when DARKDAWN memories are so fresh to feel such a tone change to a younger audience and I just feel it a lot more than with the other two Jay Kristoff series I've read. The characters are just much more immature, which makes sense and is appropriate on many levels for the book but it just wasn't as enjoyable to read. The characters are young, yes, but the Lifelikes are also incredibly emotionally immature (being two years old in teenager mode) so especially that immaturity level is just kind of bothersome to me.

I did end up rating the book four stars because Jay swooped in with some great twists that I somehow didn't see coming and I liked that he doesn't hold out making readers wait forever to get any answers in the book. There's a lot revealed as the book progresses and while some big show-stoppers are held for the end, there's also a lot that readers get to enjoy as they journey along.

The character relationships were really hit-or-miss for me. The romance was super meh but I loved the friendship between Eve and Lemon Fresh and the relationship the two girls have with Eve's grandfather.

I wasn't SUPER excited to start DEVIATE but I know I'll finish the series, whenever that happens to be.