A Double Review of Wildcard
Wildcard (Warcross series #2)
Author: Marie Lu
Published: September 18, 2018
343 pages
Today Kim and I bring you a double review of Wildcard, the second in the Warcross duology.We both read the first in the series earlier this year and loved it! And I am NOT a gamer: This story is so much more than gaming! We both highly anticipated Wildcard, and were so happy when it was released in September.
Our reviews for Warcross are here:
Kim
Jessica
Book Description:
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?
Kim’s Rating: 4 Stars
Kim’s Review:
I’m so excited to finally read this book!!! Jessica and I have been waiting for this sequel for months! Warcross blew my mind and Wildcard followed very closely! I’ll admit that I wish I had re-read Warcross before reading Wildcard, but Lu added a lot of extra detail, in order to remind us of what happened in Warcross. It did start out a little slow while I was trying to get back into the story and remember all the details. But once I caught back up, stuff began happenin’! Lu managed to create a world-wide conspiracy surrounding Hideo without losing the personal scope.
Then in Wildcard, she shrinks the conspiracy without giving up the consequences to humanity. She has easily become a favorite author and her storytelling ability is unquestioned. Emika was just as relatable and likable. Where in Warcross, she was a badass in the virtual world, in Wildcard, she became a badass in real life! While there is all the awesomeness of the world of Warcross, there is more stuff happening in the real world. I’m still questioning the practicality of the gaming system and how it’s controlled by the individual players. If my unpractical brain was going over it, then I’m sure there were many more practical people who were going nuts over it.
But I officially want to be a Warcross player, and Wildcard has confirmed that. This is a great duology for teens; it combines gaming and adventure and action and conspiracies and great characters. I think this is the perfect series to help get kids into reading. I would absolutely recommend this book and this whole series to pretty much everybody, especially those who don’t like reading.
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars
Dates Read: October 29-November 9, 2018
Jessica’s Review:
You do not have to be a gamer to enjoy Warcross and now Wildcard: I am not a gamer and I highly enjoyed this duology by Marie Lu. There is so much more to this story than the game! If these books were all about the game, I would not have read them. It’s the real life situations that happen and what might happen that kept me reading. Wildcard picks up shortly after Warcross ended and Emika’s story continues. There is now an extremely high bounty on her head and the only way she can survive is…Zero!?!? Who exactly is Zero and can she trust him? And what about her feelings for Hideo despite what he has done?
And the twist: It is hard to be more than vague in this review without giving spoilers. This is a complete story that Lu wrote well and had all wrapped up with a bow by the end. I really enjoyed this series and I have to say: I LOVE these covers, they are gorgeous!
This series is recommended!
I’m so excited to share a picture of my signed copy of Wildcard! My friend Suleika attended an author signing in Hawaii and got this for me:
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
