Review| Lifel1k3 – Jay Kristoff

Jay Kristoff is an author I hear a lot about online in the bookish community. So far, I have only read The Illuminae Files that he wrote together with Amie Kaufman. His book Lifel1k3 has been something I want to read for quite awhile, so when I had the chance to buddyread it with a few people, I signed up!

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.

Review

Lifel1k3 really surprised me, but in a very pleasant way. Science Fiction and Dystopian reads are something I’ve slowly started to love a bit more. It’s clear from the start that the USA we know now is nothing like the one in this book. Many things are wrong in this world. The fact that you need either a radiation suit or some type of clothing to keep you being fried from the heat says enough.

Jay Kristoff created a very interesting world. The dystopian USA is described in a way that I can imagine what it looks like and how it ended up that way. I loved the names he gave all the new places. Even though the world has been destroyed, it sounds really interesting.

On top of the dystopian world, robots and lif3l1kes are a part of this world. There are rules though, so humans can’t be harmed, but it’s clear there are ways to get around those rules. Eve is our main character and we read a lot of her memories. Terrible things happened to her family and she’s still dealing with those consequences. To make money for her grandfather’s medication she fights with her robot gladiator.

Eve’s world is flipped upside down after her robot is destroye and it seems that she can fry electronics with her mind. That’s when people come after her and this book start its actionpacked ride. Even though a lot happens in this book, it never felt rushed to me. Eve is trying to deal with all these new secrets she’s learning about while hiding from lifel1kes that are out to get her.

Jay Kristoff isn’t afraid to have things happen with his characters and if you’re looking for a fluffy story, this book isn’t for you! Lifel1k3 is filled with twists and secrets I just didn’t see coming. This made this book so much more interesting though, because you never knew what to expect.

I think this book gives us a message to though. As a technical world, it’s only a matter of time before robots are more part of our world. This book shows us the danger of that. Even though there are some fun ones: Cricket and Kaiser. I would want one of each, haha. Ezekel and Lemon Fresh are fun and refreshing characters and make up a part of Eve’s odd family.

The only reason this book didn’t get five stars is that reading could be confusing at times. There are cases where the book is told through another POV, but it’s not always clear from the start of the chapter that this has changed. The worldbuilding, action and amazing characters make up for that though! I can’t wait for the next book!

I think Jay Kristoff is going to be an author I need more from! What books have you read by this author? Did you enjoy them?

One thought on “Review| Lifel1k3 – Jay Kristoff

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CommentLuv badge