LIFEL1K3 by Jay Kristoff: Book Review

On a floating junkyard beneath a radiation sky, a deadly secret lies buried in the scrap.

Eve isn’t looking for secrets—she’s too busy looking over her shoulder. The robot gladiator she’s just spent six months building has been reduced to a smoking wreck, and the only thing keeping her Grandpa from the grave was the fistful of credits she just lost to the bookies. To top it off, she’s discovered she can destroy electronics with the power of her mind, and the puritanical Brotherhood are building a coffin her size. If she’s ever had a worse day, Eve can’t remember it.

But when Eve discovers the ruins of an android boy named Ezekiel in the scrap pile she calls home, her entire world comes crashing down. With her best friend Lemon Fresh and her robotic conscience, Cricket, in tow, she and Ezekiel will trek across deserts of irradiated glass, infiltrate towering megacities and scour the graveyard of humanity’s greatest folly to save the ones Eve loves, and learn the dark secrets of her past.

Even if those secrets were better off staying buried.

SPOILER FREE REVIEW

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Can we just start with saying that I have never been much of a sci-fi fan and then come to the immediate conclusion that LIFEL1K3 is now the reason I might actually consider having metal/cybernetic body parts in the future. I have to admit that I was very weary going into this as I was worried that I might not have the attention span to keep with it or the brain power to process all the technicalities, names, and slang. And whaddayaknow? I was able to prove myself wrong, or maybe Jay is just that great of an author that his writing just has that effect. Besides all that, I have about a billion reasons why I loved this book to pieces.


"YOUR BODY IS NOT YOUR OWN"
"YOUR MIND IS NOT YOUR OWN"
"YOUR LIFE IS NOT YOUR OWN"

Eve is introduced as a seventeen-year-old tough-nut teenager with a ridiculously good looking fauxhawk and a ton of skill for building machines to fight in the WarDome where she earns credits to buy her grandpa medication. Most of her time is spent ripping up machines there or avoiding a gang amongst the scap with her best friend, Lemon Fresh, her logika pal, Cricket, and her cyborg dog called Kaiser. The setting is post-apocalyptic Kalifornya, now known as an island called Dregs. We begin to realise that there is more to Eve's past than she had anticipated when a lifelike called Ezekiel shows up almost completely trashed in the scraps and claims to know her as someone else. When the brotherhood show up at Eve's doorstep where her grandpa lives to eradicate her after somehow destroying a gladiator robot in the WarDome with her mind, Eve and Ezekiel have to quickly work together to shut them all down. Until another lifelike shows up and everything goes to hell, along with Eve's perception of who she really is.

“This is not the end of me.
This is just one more enemy.”

Not only does is described as Romeo and Juliet meets Mad Max meets X-Men meets Blade Runner, but it is somewhat of a loose retelling of another story (one I shall not name so that you might find out for yourself and be wonderfully surprised - I did not have that luxury but oh well, I thoroughly enjoyed it anyway)! Once I discovered little tidbits of information and easter eggs of the story, I began to fully immerse myself within the novel. I found some of the slang a little off-putting at first but then I got the hang of it and it started to catch on. Now what really caught me other than the flashback scenes (they were brilliant, by the way. They didn't slow the pace or bore the story at all and I kind of wanted to keep reading about Eve's past) was the artificial intelligence. Logika are basically robots that can think for themselves and feel emotions to supposedly the extent of any average human. Cricket is one example, although he is subjected to the three laws of robotics. Ezekiel and the other lifelikes, however, were not subjected to them and the whole reason for that kickstarts the whole vibe of the story and I just couldn't get enough.

"'I mean it,' he whispers. 'No matter how perfect they make us, they can't make us human. It's your flaws that make you beautiful, (Eve)'. It's the imperfections that make you perfect. Being what I am, I can't help but see them. Or love them."

One thing that I appreciated a lot was how much development Eve went through over the course of the whole novel. Without spoiling anything, I'll say that she starts off knowing who she is and what she does and who she loves as family. As time goes on and more information is revealed to her along with memories that start to resurface - this confuses Eve but she tries to clasp on to what feels real and right to her by balancing the past and the present. With some help from her bestest (best friend), Lemon, Eve is able to figure out her own thoughts on her current status. The amount of twists that this book had really got me left, right and centre but I loved it and the ending killed me but I also need so much more of this universe.

"'So you've had some bad days, no doubt,' Lemon said. 'But I figure, instead of letting your yesterdays bring you down, maybe you can concentrate on building some happier memories today. And that way you'll have them for tomorrow?'"

I'm truly grateful that I got to be a part of this promotion with Allen and Unwin New Zealand. This book has changed everything for me in the sci-fi realm and I'm dying for the next instalment (can 2019 not come any quicker?). It's one hell of a girl power statement and the love between Eve and Lemon is the best platonic friendship I'll ever come across - it is real, it has major development, and makes your heart hurt when they hit a bump in the road. I have given this book a 5 out of 5 stars because I did not dislike a single thing about it and I definitely felt immensely moved by how the story played out. It made me question a ton of things, including if I actually like the idea of artificial intelligence and how polluted the world actually is already and why aren't we doing more to prevent the world from dying? If you're a fan of any of the franchises I mentioned earlier, and just a great action packed novel in general to get yourself going after a terrible reading slump, then get on board with LIFEL1K3! You will not regret this, true cert!

Photo proof that this is a book worth checking out! Lemon is the baddest bestest!

A list of slang used in LIFEL1K3 (in my kiwi interpretation):

• True cert: For certain/Definitely/Legit
• Bestest: Best friend
• Fug/Fugazi: Fake
• Scope: Find
• Kreds: Credits/Money
• Ghost/Ghosted: Kill/Dead
• Fizzy: Good/Nice
• Abnorm: A person with unusual powers
• Recyc: Scrap yard
• Bookie: Bettor
• OOC: Out Of Commission

Thank you Allen and Unwin NZ for sending me a signed review copy!

Check out their links here:

Official Website: http://www.allenandunwin.co.nz/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AllenAndUnwinNZ

Check out my Spotify playlist for

LIFEL1K3

Go add LIFEL1K3 to your Goodreads list HERE

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Buy it on Book Depository with free shipping world wide HERE

Find it on the Allen & Unwin NZ website HERE

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Website: wordsofeuphoricnostalgia.blogspot.com

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Ten Thousand Skies Above You by Claudia Gray: Book Review

Ever since she used the Firebird, her parents' invention, to cross into alternate dimensions, Marguerite has caught the attention of enemies who will do anything to force her into helping them dominate the multiverse—even hurting the people she loves. She resists until her boyfriend, Paul, is attacked and his consciousness scattered across multiple dimensions. 

Marguerite has no choice but to search for each splinter of Paul’s soul. The hunt sends her racing through a war-torn San Francisco, the criminal underworld of New York City, and a glittering Paris where another Marguerite hides a shocking secret. Each world brings Marguerite one step closer to rescuing Paul. But with each trial she faces, she begins to question the destiny she thought they shared. 

The second book in the Firebird trilogy, Ten Thousand Skies Above You features Claudia Gray’s lush, romantic language and smart, exciting action, and will have readers clamoring for the next book.

*I received this ARC copy in exchange for an honest review*

SPOILER FREE REVIEW

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I am so happy that I was able to read this series by Claudia Gray. Thanks to HarperCollins NZ I now have a series that has not only pushed the limits of my brain in terms of science and physics through a YA novel, but I have found myself immersed in such a heartbreaking, and yet still beautiful, love story. I was given both the first book and this one as an ARC to check out and I am super grateful to have been randomly aligned with such a well written series. If I were to say anything about this specific book though, I would want people to know that there is nothing else like it and that in itself is more than enough reason to pick it up after reading the first. If you have not read the first book, A Thousand Pieces Of You, then you better or I'll hunt you down and replace your current TBR pile with just these two books alone! There's this saying, or just something widely known amongst many readers, especially on Booktube; the fact that the sequel is almost never better than the original. In this case we can happily skip over that generalization and get straight to the fact that this was the most heart-wrenching novel of the year (can I say century?)!

From what we saw of the first book, obviously the tides had turned; Marguerite and Paul ended up together; Theo wasn't really Theo, the Triadverse Theo hijacked his body; Henry Caine (Marguerite's father) didn't actually die - he was technically kidnapped; and we realised that the true enemy was in fact, Wyatt Conley, the millionaire and leader of the Triad Corporation. Now if you have just finished the first novel and you are looking for a review to give you a bit of closure, I'm sorry but I literally can't say much without spoiling it (that is why this is called a SPOILER FREE REVIEW!) - basically because this sequel has just as much twists and turns as the first, if not more. Even so, I'm here to try my very best. I absolutely loved how the story free flowed from the first, the way it interlocked in such a reasonable way through Theo and Paul - like Conley knew how to get to her by using the ones she loves. Marguerite undergoes another round of highly dangerous yet intriguing realities travelling through the dimensional realms in order to do what's right, but also to save her true love, Paul and her parent's science assistant, Theo. One thing that got me was the new worlds that she visited showed her a lot more about the possibility of fate - the one thing Paul tried so hard to prove in his scientific efforts - and how the soul can reanimate itself in so many different ways. I can definitely say that TTSAY transformed my appreciation for Theo as a concerned friend, but also helped me fall more and more for Paul's charms and everything about his personality that resonates throughout the entire book. Again I can't say too much without spoiling anything but I will tell you now that this one will have you in tears hoping to God that anything and everything will happen in order to help Marguerite succeed in her dimensional journey, even if it means sabotaging a life's work to ensure the safety of loved ones. Also visiting other dimensions and other versions of herself and her family will keep her questioning her loyalty and whether or not she was right about how a soul is always the same in every world and lifetime.

Marguerite definitely has a lot on her mind in this novel. She seems to question things much more and wonder whether she was misled by certain things and make it hard for her to make calculated decisions. Her loyalties are tested much more so it's almost heartbreaking to see how she goes through it all and still comes out mentally stable. She comes to a real development curve though which gains her better insight to the world of the dimensions and therefore gives her a clearer mind when it comes to the end of the book as her loyalties are truly tested in ways that no one would even begin to understand unless they saw it for themselves. Who knew families were so complicated! Marguerite eventually gets an opportunity to revisit the Russiaverse where she is know as a Duchess and has an older brother, Vladimir, younger sister, Katya, and a younger brother, Peter. There are complicated reasons as to why she feels she needs to visit again and unfortunately even coming back to this world doesn't help when she discovers something completely overwhelming for both her and the Duchess. I feel like the visit gives her more clarity on the virtue of life, not just through the previous lost of Lieutenant Markov and reliving that reality, but just seeing her 'siblings' again and something other that totally blows her mind.

I only just started this series about a couple of weeks ago but reading both back-to-back helped me see the major differences in either one and helped me develop my love for all the characters so much easily spending so much time with them. I'm really sad to have to wait a whole lot longer than everyone else to read the next installment due to receiving an ARC but at least I know I am fully ready to receive another dose of Marguerite and Paul having majorly romantic moments which make my stomach turn with butterflies and send my heart leaping with excitement. This novel is most likely one of Claudia's best work to date (I just can't see her original series, Evernight being as good as this!) so I'm betting on it that it will become one of the top selling series of the decade due to it's mastermind thoughtfulness behind it all. I don't think I can think of anything wrong with it and coming from a fully honest critic like myself, that hopefully sounds pretty good!

Overall I have given this a 4.75 stars out of 5 just naturally because it made me feel warm and gooey inside and I'm literally craving more like I crave coffee every morning. I need my next Firebird fix! Also one thing before I wrap this up, I can't wait until someone creates a Firebird device because I'm so down to own something like that. Hell, if it works then I'd love to find myself a Lieutenant Markov version of my partner, Chad (just kidding but seriously...)!

What do you expect to happen in this book? Do you believe in dimensions and the possibility of dimensional travel? What do you think the Firebird looks like? Any thoughts on the name for the next book? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below!

Go check out the awesome playlist I created specifically for this series on Spotify HERE!

Thank you HarperCollins New Zealand for the review copy! Go like their Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/Harpercollinsnz?fref=ts

Go add Ten Thousand Skies Above You to your Goodreads list HERE

Go buy it on MightyApe with 1 day delivery in New Zealand HERE

Buy it on Book Depository with free shipping world wide HERE

Find more out about my writing career at:

http://ellafleming-christie.weebly.com

My YouTube Channel: FeathersandFaith

A Thousand Pieces Of You by Claudia Gray: Book Review

Every Day meets Cloud Atlas in this heart-racing, space- and time-bending, epic new trilogy from New York Times bestselling author Claudia Gray.

Marguerite Caine’s physicist parents are known for their radical scientific achievements. Their most astonishing invention: the Firebird, which allows users to jump into parallel universes, some vastly altered from our own. But when Marguerite’s father is murdered, the killer—her parent’s handsome and enigmatic assistant Paul—escapes into another dimension before the law can touch him.

Marguerite can’t let the man who destroyed her family go free, and she races after Paul through different universes, where their lives entangle in increasingly familiar ways. With each encounter she begins to question Paul’s guilt—and her own heart. Soon she discovers the truth behind her father’s death is more sinister than she ever could have imagined.

A Thousand Pieces of You explores a reality where we witness the countless other lives we might lead in an amazingly intricate multiverse, and ask whether, amid infinite possibilities, one love can endure.

SPOILER FREE REVIEW

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It has been a while since I've read a well thought through sci-fi book and I am ever so grateful that HarperCollins seems to have good taste in their authors. At first I found it hard to get into just due to the lack of a love story in the first few chapters, crazy information all at once which was hard for me to process instantly, and the fact that this was a major difference to my usual read. However, I did manage to push on through the novel and thank God I did because I ended up enjoying it more than I intended. I haven't read any of Claudia Gray's previous novels before, even though I always wanted to read her 'Evernight' series but I never managed to get my hands on the books, but this specific novel gave me the uttermost chills of excitement from the interesting storyline woven together with scientific facts (the majority) and a heart-breaking romance that will leave you wondering why you have not yet found someone like that.

Marguerite was the protagonist of this novel and reminded me of such a typical yet realistic teenager which really helped to reel me into the book. I hate when characters either do not have enough personality or self esteem to keep the novel interesting, or are just so fake that someone like them could never exist in real life. Yes, it's fiction. Of course you'll be expecting anything, I'm just stating my personal preferences. Meg (as Theo likes to call her) is a realist and goes through a lot of painful realities in a short amount of time. She has been battered and bruised, lied to and made to think the worst while she leaves her family behind to go track down the 'killer' of her father. Going through the story I grew to really like Marguerite as a person and respected the way she handled things as it was very much how I would have if I were stuck in her position, however I probably would have noticed something off or different about someone instantly if it were someone I knew quite well. I like how her talent is art and in every dimension she notices that the different versions of her there also like the same things and feel the same way; well let's say it's more than usually that would happen in one dimension to the next. Marguerite seems to be quite an on to it character, being able to pick things out easily and notice the differences between each world, the very minor differences. I guess that's how the daughter of two highly acclaimed scientists/physicists would be - and she seems to think she's the odd one of the bunch who isn't smart like her family which in truth is actually very much the other way around. Obviously as the main character, she is made out to be special so she is perfect for the dimensional travel but I'm honestly starting to get a little tired of that trope. Other than that small detail, I actually really loved this book.

The storyline played out amazingly well and worked out better than I had imagined. I have this bad habit of trying to predict at early points of the novel what might end up happening later but with ATPOY, Claudia Gray did the most amazing job at keeping you in the dark until just before the information is given about a certain subject or person and that made it all the more enthralling and anticipating. I like how there were very many obstacles and it almost always felt like they would be too torn down to keep going but they always managed to work around or get out of a sticky situation. In saying that, I guess that points out a very interesting message for the readers: No matter how tough the obstacle their is always a way around it or never give up because you might just win. I don't know, that's the part where I had to get a little cheesy. I like how even though the dimensions were set at the same time as every other, some had developed more and some had developed less so it made it interesting and gave the novel diversity of time. Thinking about all the dimension's that were mentioned, a few genre's could sneakily be mentioned thanks to those worlds such as dystopian and historical fiction of some sort. I can't say too much without giving anything away but the love story in this book will have your heart thumping with excitement and encouragement, but then ripped to pieces and then sewn back together with string and a knitting needle. Yup, ouch, painful. But honestly so good! I've already set myself straight into my ARC version of the sequel, Ten Thousand Skies Above You which comes out November 15th 2015 and let me tell you that this series will be something to keep an eye on. To be fully honest, it could be as big as The Hunger Games if it were to be optioned for a movie because this novel is just too good to pass on as just "mediocre young adult fiction".

Overall I have given this book a 4.5 stars out of 5 because again like I've said about other novels, I absolutely loved it and it had great content which continued to amaze me with how much sense it made for a science fiction novel, although it was not something that I would become obsessed with and will stand just before a 5 star novel. In other words, it's a great novel and I recommend it to anyone who is interested in science based novels, just not for those who are constantly seeking out another series to be enamoured with like I am with the Throne of Glass series for example. I truly do hope to get more out of the next installment!

Have you read this book? What did you think of it? If you are planning on buying this book because of my review, please let me know in the comments below!

Go check out the awesome playlist I created specifically for this series on Spotify HERE!

Thank you HarperCollins New Zealand for the review copy! Go like their Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/Harpercollinsnz?fref=ts

Go add A Thousand Pieces Of You to your Goodreads list HERE

Go buy it on MightyApe with 1 day delivery in New Zealand HERE

Find more out about my writing career at:

http://ellafleming-christie.weebly.com

My YouTube Channel: FeathersandFaith