Book Reviews by Author

Having been a long-time fan of Marissa Meyer after falling in love with The Lunar Chronicles, it was only natural that I picked up the first book in her new series, Renegades. The premise of the story immediately caught my attention: a sci-fi dystopian where the two main characters are enemies who both harbor secret identities. Meyer did a solid job of examining the gray area between good and evil, as well as the mixed feelings people harbor towards law enforcement. The two protagonists, Nova and Adrian, at first seem to be polar opposites. Nova tries to assassinate a high profile superhero right off the bat and reveals her affiliation to a group of villains. Adrian, the adopted son of the almost-assassinated superhero, has good intentions, and is always down for being someone's knight in shining armor. However, as Renegades races through its first half, Meyer reveals neither Nova nor Adrian are as evilgood as they first seemed instead they are both humans existing in the moral gray area. While Meyer's characterizations are on point, the plot peters out after the first half of Renegades. The book would have been a more riveting read if the plot points in the second half were more concise. Sometimes I felt that Meyer added some unnecessary scenes that weren't relevant to the main plot. In addition, the world building didn't feel as rich as it was in The Lunar Chronicles. Though I understand that only a few details about the Renegades universe were needed to drive the story, the world felt bland and unremarkable. For example, what systems were in place after the Renegades took over? How did the economy work? How did everyday citizens lead their everyday lives? What technology was available? The world building of Renegades left me with more questions than answers. Even though this book wasn't as well-written as I'd hoped, it was still extremely engaging. I fell in love with the characters and I'm really looking forward to seeing what happens to them next. Renegades has its flaws but it's definitely worth a read! Also suggested: Cinder