Wildcard | Review

Greetings readers!

You know that feeling you get when you finish a series and you’re in total denial that the series is actually over. Yeah. Here I am. In that exact state. I have things to say and I’m going to say them down below, so keep scrolling!

Wildcard by Marie Lu

Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
Pub Date: Sept 18th, 2018
Price: $24.99 CAD
ISBN: 9780399548017

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?

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BUY IT!

Chapters Indigo | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository

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*Let me take a moment to praise the beautiful people at Penguin Teen Canada who sent me a finished copy! Thank you! I don’t know what I did to deserve this much love, but I think I did something good.*

It’s no secret that I harbour a great love for Marie. She was one of the first YA authors that I actually read out of my own violation and not because everyone was reading her (Yeah, I’m talking about Suzanne Collins and THG) Since the beginning of my teen years, I knew how much Marie liked to rip her readers hearts out at the end. So heading into Wildcard, I braced myself for the worst and well Marie did things.

What I Liked:

Characters:

Emika: WHAT A GODDESS. I don’t even know where to begin. After the events of Warcross Emi–and the readers for that matter–are left in a major moral dilemma. We kind of question how the heck we move on from here? Emika is still reeling from Hideo’s betrayal and is having a tough time balancing her calls from Zero too. Basically she is in a mess, is herself quite a mess and I love her ever so dearly. LIKE SHE IS A MESS. But I love her! *shrugs* Her courage to face each day, to keep reciting her father’s mantra (“Every locked door has a key.”) even when she felt that it was wrong. Her growth from Warcross is incredibly well done and she has such an inspiring monologue to go along with it, so I won’t leave any spoils here. Emi is flawed main character, no doubt, but one who is willing to go that extra mile even when it shouldn’t concern her. She is truly spectacular.

Zero: How very interesting. I won’t spoil anything about who he is, but all I can say is I DID NOT SEE THAT COMING. Okay. I held out hope, however futile it may have been.

Hideo: Flawed, most definitely. Hideo also goes through some change in this book. It is his evolution into seeing how far his grief has taken him and how incredibly wrong his actions were despite his intentions being good. He is a man of warring emotions and goals, while he wants to do good his reasons behind it are selfish and his actions are corrupt. And he is swoony. So he is definitely a mix of good and bad, but which in the end will prevail?

Other characters…secondary characters from book one, like Hammie, Asher, Roshan and Tremaine all make a great come back! We delve deeper into some of their backgrounds and they are really essential to helping Emi in her quests and just being great friends in general. Then there are new people!! And boy oh boy do they take us for quite a spin!

The Intensity and Action:

Gosh it was only the third chapter and everything was already going wrong!!! Marie Lu really kept a fast-paced sequel. Poor Emika hardly ever got a breather. From beginning to end, this book is a race. Who will get what information first? Who will learn who’s plan in hopes of getting an advantage? Who is in the lead and who is desperately far behind? It’s a roller coaster of events and emotions. There is betrayal left, right and center. There are twists coming at you from all angles. It was an incredible RUSH.

The Plot & Writing:

I think Marie did a really good job in crafting the continuation of Emika’s journey. After all the turmoil that she put her characters through in Warcross, she followed it up by adding more information, more revelations that really helped piece together this intricate story line. It was not exactly what I expected, which I liked. As for her writing, I am always a fan. It was not too showy or too slangy, but a nice blend. It was clear and descriptive and so easy to follow, which is perfect when your trying to connect so many dots together!

The Romance:

Swoon. We really get more than one romance. Roshan and Tremaine get to be all adorable in the midst of all the action. Seriously, though: *heart eyes everywhere*

Then there is Hideo, Emika and a yacht and I screamed.

Swoon again.

What I Disliked:

Yeah I have a bone to pick. Ummm the ending…….was just not enough for me. I mean I liked how it ended…but it just lacked the drama I hoped for. I don’t want to say too much in case of spoilers…but I will warn you the following is SPOILER-Y-ISH-NOT-REALLY-BUT-STILL.

Read at your own discretion. Potential mild spoiler ahead. 

No tragedy…where is the tragedy!?!?!?!:

Here I am, the fool complaining that there was no tragedy in the book. Well..can you blame me? Marie is known to give sad and heart-wrenching finales. I expected as much from this book, but the final scenes were super light. Which I’m not complaining about, what I am complaining about is that there was no intense moment where I just wanted to break down out of rage/shock/sadness….it went as follows: action, action, action, intensity, intensity, intensity, mellow mellow, light end. Apparently, I was hoping for tragedy. (Even through plenty of sad things happen before hand!!!!)

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Overall, I am in denial that this series is over. This book was such a rush. With the perfect action, the much needed suspense, the swoon worthy romance and a final snippet that warmed my heart. I am not ready to let go of Emi, she has so much ahead of her and I couldn’t be more proud. I feel like a proud mom, oh wow.

Rating:  4 / 5 stars

Recommend: MARIE LU IS MY IDOL, I RECOMMEND ALL OF HER WORK!

Let me know what you think! How excited are you for Wildcard? If you have read it, what were your thoughts? Are you a general fan of Marie Lu?

Happy reading!

~ Rendz