Review: Stars & Smoke ~ Marie Lu

 

 

Image from Goodreads. Click on the image to learn more about this book. 

 

Format I Used: Audiobook & E-book

Pages: 336

Running Time: 11h 57m

My Rating: 5 stars

Publication Date: March 28, 2023

 

Spoilers ahead, please please stop reading now if you are planning on reading it, and don't want anything to be spoiled.

This is the second book (in a ROW) that I've read that's just completely stressed me out. In fact, I had to stop in the middle of this one, and go listen to a book that I've already read in order to de-stress.

Overall, it was an enjoyable read. There's lots of action, and it definitely doesn't shy away from the grittiness. So just beware of that if you go into reading this book. There is a spot or two that is a little intense (as per usual with Marie Lu's writing.)

I was able to suss out what was happening pretty early on in the book, so when the time came when poor, believes-the-best-in-people Winter was talking to Penelope and trying to help her, I was raging and screaming at him to stop. And then when it was revealed that Penelope was a bad person...  UGH!

I enjoyed the back and forth/chemistry and interactions between Winter and Sydney, and I can't wait to see that explored more in book 2 when it comes out. I'm also interested to see the character development that

When they were describing how Winter was dancing on stage, I thought of Jimin. And there were other times Winter would say or do things that would remind me of our wonderful Golden Maknae, Jungkook. And before you come after me, I KNOW that Winter is Chinese and not Korean... But my delulu ARMY brain will take the tiniest detail and make me think of something BTS related.

Updated To Add: My delulu brain isn't actually all that delulu this time. After writing this review, but before hitting publish I was doing some extra reading, and found out that Marie Lu is also ARMY, AND SHE'S JIMIN BIASED (samesies) How I missed that and the fact that she literally put Jimin in her book Wildcard I'll never know. (but this also shows how much attention that I do not pay to reviews for books other than the ones that I write) But that explains why Winter and his demeanor and so many other things reminded me of my favorite group.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Review: Wildcard by Marie Lu

Wildcard

By Marie Lu
My Rating: 4 Stars

Hardcover, 341 pages

Published September 18th 2018

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

      Summary From Goodreads:

Emika Chen barely made it out of the Warcross Championships alive. Now that she knows the truth behind Hideo's new NeuroLink algorithm, she can no longer trust the one person she's always looked up to, who she once thought was on her side.

Determined to put a stop to Hideo's grim plans, Emika and the Phoenix Riders band together, only to find a new threat lurking on the neon-lit streets of Tokyo. Someone's put a bounty on Emika's head, and her sole chance for survival lies with Zero and the Blackcoats, his ruthless crew. But Emika soon learns that Zero isn't all that he seems--and his protection comes at a price.

Caught in a web of betrayal, with the future of free will at risk, just how far will Emika go to take down the man she loves?

My Review:

Oh goodness, I rather enjoyed this story. It was slow at times, but it never lost my attention. It was full of plot twists and turns, and one of them actually managed to take me by surprise, so it gets bonus points for that.

I do wish there had been a little bit more romance in it (that's just a personal preference), but it was good, regardless. I was 100% immersed in the book, and the science fiction-y/video game-y world that Marie Lu created. Emi was faced with so many challenges, and I liked getting to see how she and her crew handled them.

Zero is still my favorite, I want to know even more about him than we do. I kind of wish he'd been Emi's love interest rather than Hideo.
  
Is this the last book in the series? I can't remember. It left some things open, so that there could be a continuation...