Tag: warcross

ARC REVIEW: Mindwalker by Kate Dylan

Francesca LucyLeave a comment

First of all, hi! Second of all, my first book review of the summer is a 5* review of one of my most anticipated releases this year!!!!

I’m so, so grateful that I got the opportunity to read an eARC of Mindwalker by Kate Dylan because this book has literally everything I’m looking for in a thriller. It was such a fun read that I’m still obsessed with nearly a month after finishing, and I’m very excited to share my thoughts. So:

Mindwalker is a completely wild sci-fi/cyberpunk thriller that follows Sil, a genetically modified teenager with a supercomputer in her mind that allows her to enter and control other people’s brains. At eighteen years old, Sil’s employment and life are both almost up and, in an attempt to die a legend, she finds herself caught up in a scandal, a compromised mission, and a plot to overthrow the company that she’s idolised for as long as she remembers.

I knew before I picked this up that I was going to love it and it absolutely did not disappoint. Mindwalker combines enemies-to-lovers, Marie Lu-level sci-fi world building, a page-turning plot and an incredibly fierce, slightly unhinged female protagonist to create one of the most exciting books I’ve read all year.

The pace didn’t slow down for a second, and whilst the characters were by far my favourite thing about this book, the plot was an absolute thrill ride. There was a lot of explanation needed due to the amount of futuristic tech in the story, but this was done so well that it was incredibly easy to understand the tech that Syntex was using without wasting a lot of time describing it.

I cannot stress enough how much I loved this book. It reminded me a lot of slightly older dystopian YA, like Divergent and The Hunger Games, but with plenty of modern tropes and elements that made it feel completely new. I’m so excited to read everything Kate Dylan writes from here on in and seriously can’t recommend this one enough!

Rating 5/5

Mindwalker publishes on 1st of September! If you read it, I would absolutely love to know what you thought (and also if you have any recommendations of anything similar!!)

Book Review: Every Line of You by Naomi Gibson

Francesca LucyLeave a comment

I read this book forever ago now (okay, two months ago… but still) and it wasn’t actually a gifted review copy but a book I went out and bought for myself. So I didn’t always plan on reviewing it.

But as we get deeper into Spook-tober, I find myself remembering how fun and creepy this book was, and finding myself wanting to recommend it to everyone all over again. So… this post is basically that. I loved this book and can’t wait to go on a hopefully intelligible rant about it.


Every Line of You tells the story of Lydia, a young coding prodigy who, somehow, accidentally falls in love with the AI that she’s developing, Henry. What starts as basic coding hobby turns into so much more as Henry begins to develop, rewrite and reprogram himself until he’s fully independent, portable, sentient and… romantic?

I heard about this book for months before it published and knew that I had to go out and buy it as soon as I was able to (I ended up walking four miles to get the Forbidden Planet exclusive edition and, honestly, no regrets). I love love love books about VR, AIs and pretty much any of that technical stuff, and this seemed too unique and creepy an addition to the genre to miss.

Anyway, this book totally lived up to my expectations. Although very dark and at times a little gruesome, it does read like it’s intended for the younger YA audience, which made it a really easy read. I finished the whole thing in a few hours because it was so fast-paced, gripping and, honestly, pretty short.

Lydia is a fairly straightforward character: a young girl who has suffered much more loss and sadness than she should have to deal with, who is suffering both at home and with bullying at school. She was totally believable as an impressionable teenager looking for an escape, and that made what happened with Henry feel all the more believable and, as a result, all the more terrifying. It was fascinating and horrifying to watch her go completely off the rails under the influence of her AI, and to see what terrible things grief and pressure can encourage a young girl to do.

Henry, although not a person, was an equally impressive character. Like Lydia, I often forgot that he was an AI because he was so well developed and fascinating in himself. He definitely got scary as the story went on, but I somehow found myself rooting for him for the majority of the story in a way that I’m still kind of concerned by.

The story itself was a great twist on a classic YA thriller. We saw everything Lydia was feeling as her life started to unravel, and I found myself desperately turning the pages to see either when she would snap out of it or when she would completely go off the rails. This book really had all of the elements needed by a YA thriller: high school drama, revenge, plot twists and – after all of the build up – an ending that didn’t disappoint.

If you’re into dystopia or YA thrillers or even scary articles about how fast technology is developing, I absolutely recommend this book. It’s the perfect line between fun and creepy and I will definitely be going back for a re-read in the (likely very near) future.

Rating: 5/5

BLOG TOUR REVIEW: THE LOOP AND THE BLOCK by Ben Oliver

Francesca Lucy3 Comments

Blog tour posts are my favourite posts, and I’m so excited to be part of this one! The Block by Ben Oliver came out on April 1st and I was lucky enough to have a read of this and its predecessor, The Loop, courtesy of Chicken House (thank you!). This is a super exciting dystopian series about an AI-run prison, a ravaging war and the potential end of humanity, and I’m so excited to share my thoughts on it!

So, to begin:

The Loop tells the story of Luka Kane, a sixteen-year-old inmate in a dystopian, AI-run prison, whose repetitive and torturous life is completely upended by the prospect of a war raging outside of his prison block. As the world outside descends into chaos, so too does the inside of the prison, and the question arises of whether now is his chance to escape and, more concerningly, whether it would be safer just to stay inside.

There is so much that I loved about this book that I don’t know where to start. The Fifth Wave was one of my favourite books when I was growing up, and this is the first book I’ve ever read that matches up when it comes to telling the story of teenagers acting as saviors in a ravaged, dystopian world. The storyline was painful to read at times – as can be expected from a book containing young people trapped in a prison – but the pace and action were so intense that I couldn’t bring myself to put it down.

Luka is a driven, independent character who knows what he needs to do and will let none of the obstacles life throws at him stop him from doing it. His fellow inmates (the ones that aren’t terrifying, murderous or completely out of control) share a similar drive, and I think I enjoyed reading about them just as much as I liked Luka. Even the warden, who definitely gave off completely unavoidable damsel-in-distress vibes at various points, was a developed and interesting character.

Basically, I loved this book. It was an incredibly fast-paced, unique combination of genres with a hero that you can root for and a cast of characters that immediately intrigue. If, like me, you’re slightly older and read The Maze Runner, The Fifth Wave and all those other mildly disturbing dystopias when they first became popular, this book is absolutely for you. And if this isn’t a genre that you’re familiar with yet, The Loop is definitely a wonderful place to start.

Rating: 4/5

The Block review

*Some spoilers for The Loop will definitely follow, so be warned…*

As expected from the sequel to The Loop, The Block is an action-packed, at times gruesome and wholeheartedly entertaining story of Luka’s continued mission to save the world. Once again, he has found himself imprisoned, but this time it’s far, far worse. Instead of the young offenders’ institution, Luka is struggling to cope with the long hours of torture, lack of interaction and psychological manipulation of The Block, and he knows that if he doesn’t break out soon, he’s going to lose his grip on reality and risk humanity altogether.

I found The Block as gripping and unique as its predecessor. It still definitely had elements of older YA (The Hunger Games, The Maze Runner, The Fifth Wave) but it also felt completely unique with its newly added aspects of virtual reality. The addition of various new technologies to this story fascinated me and I found myself completely invested as the characters made their discoveries about the disturbing dystopian world that they found themselves in.

In terms of characters, there was a lot of growth for so many people in this story. Luka fully developed into his role as a leader and he did it so. well. Likewise, although they went through so much suffering in The Loop and could have made the decision to give up and hide, the whole troupe’s experiences seem to have only made Luka’s friends much stronger as they find themselves becoming the faces of a struggling rebellion and searching for ways to save the world. The new characters – there are lots that I could focus on but I need to shout out Apple-Moth, in particular (an adorable companion drone that joins them on their mission) – were so entertaining too, and I definitely felt like part of their squad as the story went on.

I loved The Loop, but this is definitely one of those rare occasions where I loved the sequel even more! It was fast-paced, action-packed and sometimes slightly horrifying, and I cannot wait to pick up book 3 as soon as it comes out.

Rating: 5/5

Resolutions Book Tag!

Francesca Lucy1 Comment

So, yes, we’re halfway through January and, no, I did not have any New Years resolutions this year, but I saw this tag and couldn’t resist taking part! It’s a bookish twist on New Years resolutions and an excuse to talk about some really great books I’ve read recently, so I’m really all for it.

This was created by Mikaela Reads and you can check out her original post here!

Exercise More – name a book that has made you want to leap up out of your seat (for any reason)

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Turner made me want to jump up out of my seat in all the best ways. I wanted to scream and cry at some times and I wanted to leap up and cheer at others. I cannot fault this book at all and am honestly always looking for an excuse to talk about this to anyone who will listen.

Get Organised – a book with an exceptional plot

This one took me a while because, whilst a lot of the books I read have amazing plots, I read a lot of very character-driven stuff. I think one that just kept me turning the pages was Caraval by Stephanie Garber.

Learn A New Skill – a book which taught you something

Definitely Foreshadow by Nova Ren Suma and Emily XR Pan. I feel like I bring this book up at every opportunity as well, but here we are. Not only were the stories so interesting that they made me want to write, the essays and the prompts really helped with certain techniques and plotting.

Live Life To The Fullest – a book which inspired you

Shine by Jessica Jung, for sure. This book did not inspire me to become a kpop idol but the protagonist, Rachel, will stop at absolutely nothing to achieve her dreams. She is strong-willed, super talented and willing to look past personal problems to achieve her ultimate goal.

Save more money / spend less money – the most expensive book you’ve bought and was it worth it?

This is the most boring answer but the most expensive books I’ve bought are all textbooks (you probably aren’t interested but Major Problems in American History, I’m looking at you). They helped me get my degree but in terms of whether the books themselves were worth £60? Umm… probably not.

Spend More Time With Family and Friends – a character you would want to be best mates with

Pip from A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson! Her personality is so relatable but, on top of that, she seems super committed to her friends and just like a really fun person to be around.

Travel More – a book with a location you’d love to visit

Warcross by Marie Lu (I find a way to include a Marie Lu book in every tag I do and I will absolutely never stop). Not only do I want to visit Tokyo, I also want to visit dystopian, virtual-reality Tokyo.

Read More – a book you are desperate to read this year

Witches Steeped in Gold by Ciannon Smart is my most anticipated read of 2021 and I am completely desperate to read it. I just got an ARC (praise the book gods) and will likely be dropping everything after writing this post to read it.

If you’re interested in doing this, consider yourself tagged!

I’d love to hear if you agree with my choices too, so let me know your thoughts in the comments😊

My Top 10 Books of 2020

Francesca Lucy5 Comments

It’s December! And, having finally met my Goodreads goal (52/45!), I’m feeling nostalgic about my year in books. The change in my reading since starting this blog in November 2019 has been insane, and I’m so lucky to have discovered so, so many incredible, diverse authors and novels over the course of the year.

Picking my top 10 books for 2020 was way too difficult, so I’ve narrowed it down to only books that released this year in an attempt to make it easier (spoiler: it didn’t) and, after a lot of internal debate, I finally think I’ve got it. So, without further ado… my top 10 books of 2020:

TEN. Again, Again by E. Lockhart – I LOVED this book, but I think my rating is at least partially biased. We Were Liars is my favourite stand-alone of all time, but I’ve never really clicked with a lot of E. Lockhart’s books, so finding one in the same style with a cute story line and a lot of trippy parallel timezones was really all it took for this book to make the list.

Check out my review here.

NINE. The Rules by Tracy Darnton – This book is one of those books where you read the ending and can’t get over it for at least a few days. It’s a gripping, twisty thriller in the exact style that I one day hope to write and I adored it.

Check out my review here.

EIGHT. The Kingdom by Jess Rothenberg – I bought this entirely as a cover-buy but ended up reading the whole thing in one night (finishing at 2am when I had to get up at 7am, oops). It was a really fun thriller with androids, romance, mystery, suspense and way too many parallels between the setting and Disneyland to be accidental.

(I didn’t review this, oops, but more information can be found here.)

SEVEN. Shine by Jessica Jung – I have never been as excited to receive an ARC as I was to receive this one. Electric Monkey literally only publishes books that I know I’ll adore, and this one tied my loves of Kpop and YA together so well. It was realistic, exciting and really well written.

Check out my review here.

SIX. Foreshadow by Nova Ren Suma and Emily XR Pan – This is the only short-story anthology I’ve read this year because it isn’t really my go-to form, but I’m so, so glad I read this. The combination of stories, writing prompts and essays provided me with so much insight and motivation for my own writing that I couldn’t not include it.

Check out my review here.

FIVE. Skyhunter by Marie Lu – MARIE LU. DYSTOPIA. That is all.

Check out my review here.

FOUR. Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco – I was blessed to get this on Netgalley and I’m still mad about how long it took me to start it. It had a strong protagonist, an exciting romance and so much fantasy. It gave me major 2014/2015 YA vibes and I’m completely here for it.

Check out my review here.

THREE. The Court of Miracles by Kester Grant – THIS. I’m in love with Les Mis and have developed a newfound appreciation for Enjolras in the months since reading this book. It was so beautifully written that I swear I highlighted something on every other page and I’m beyond excited for the sequel.

Check out my review here.

TWO. Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo – I’ve since read Poet X as well and I can’t get over how beautiful Elizabeth Acevedo’s writing is. This book was a poetic masterpiece, and is another that I read in a single sitting.

Check out my review here.

ONE. The Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu – oh look, more Marie Lu (how she managed to release two completely contrasting works-of-art in the space of a year, I will never know). I’m surprised that I enjoyed The Kingdom of Back more than Skyhunter but this book just feels so special to me. The order of my top 10 has shifted a lot in the last few minutes, but there is no doubt in my mind that this book deserves to be number 1.

Check out my review here.

And that’s it! Thank you so much to the publishers that gifted me books on this list (namely: Hot Key Books, HarperVoyager, James Patterson Presents, Electric Monkey, Algonquin and Little Tiger).

I would love to hear what your favourite books were this year, so comment below which books wowed you in 2020!

Book Review: Skyhunter by Marie Lu

Francesca Lucy7 Comments

I wasn’t sure whether or not to review this because I completely gave up on being impartial about Marie Lu’s books about 6 years ago- but in the end, I couldn’t keep my thoughts to myself. Surprise, surprise, this is not going to be a balanced review. It is instead going to be a short summary, followed by a post full of fangirling. You’ve been warned.

Skyhunter is the story of Talin, a specially-trained soldier, or Striker, for her struggling nation, Mara. Set far, far into the future, after the collapse of the world as we know it, Mara is the only land that remains un-colonised by the ever-growing Federation, and Talin is one of many, fighting on the front lines to defend from the oncoming attack, from humans, technological human experiments and ghosts, which are monstrous beings trained to obey the Federation’s every command.

When a presumed Federation soldier wanders into their territory, all but Talin are happy to watch him suffer for their actions, but Talin feels a strange connection that forces her to risk her own life for him. When he is later paired up as her partner, she discovers that there is more to him than meets the eye, and that he may become the key to their survival and a vital look into the Federation’s plans.

There are elements of Legend and Warcross in this book that were impossible for me to ignore. Marie Lu is incredible at writing dystopia, especially dystopia surrounding technology and world domination, and this book was really no different. The characters were as instantly fascinating as any of her books and I found myself loving and hating exactly who I was supposed to. Talin is a fierce, incredibly well-developed protagonist, suffering from a lot of internal struggle about her duties, her heart and her sense of belonging, and Red is an intriguing, unique and equally powerful character to read. Jeran as well, a close friend, a fierce soldier and a very useful translator for Red and Talin, was a particular favourite character of mine. I loved seeing him develop as the story went on, after finding myself particularly invested in him from the very beginning.

This story is fast-paced, exciting and completely immersive. I got sucked in so quickly to the world of Mara and the Federation that I completely forgot the outside world, caring only about their story and their survival. The technology Marie Lu invents is believable, the world is so detailed that it’s impossible not to find yourself in the story with them, and the characters are the kind that you want to keep in your mind forever.

Rather than recommending this book, I urge you to read it. Or read Warcross, or The Young Elites, or Legend, or The Kingdom of Back (which I also *cough* reviewed, here). Marie Lu’s books are incomparable: inclusive, diverse, thrilling, immersive and incredibly original. This book has further solidified her status as my favourite author of all time, and I can only hope that, if you take my advice and read it, you’ll see exactly what I mean.

Rating: 5/5 (obviously…)