Ratings6
Average rating3.9
From bestselling author Jay Kristoff comes the second installment in the LIFEL1K3 trilogy--hailed by Marie Lu as "a breathless, action-packed exploration of what humanity really means." In the wake of a climactic battle in the ruined city of Babel, two former best friends suddenly find themselves on opposite sides of the same quest. Eve is torn between the memories of the girl she was, and the synthetic she's discovered herself to be. Together with her lifelike "siblings," Eve sets out to find the real Ana Monrova, whose DNA is the key to building an army of lifelikes. Meanwhile, Eve's best friend, Lemon, is coming to terms with a power that she has long denied--and that others want to harness as a weapon. When she meets a strange boy named Grimm, he offers to lead her out of the horror-ridden landscape and to an enclave of other abnorms like herself. There, Lemon quickly finds a sense of belonging--and perhaps even love--among the other genetic deviates. But all is not what it seems, and with enemies and friends, heroes and villains wearing interchangeable faces, Lemon, too, will join the race to locate Ana Monrova before her former best friend can get to her.
Featured Series
3 primary booksLIFEL1K3 is a 3-book series with 3 primary works first released in 2018 with contributions by Jay Kristoff.
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Initial Thoughts (6/30/19): First off let me just say Jay Kristoff continues to be a master when It comes to infuriating endings. So this book starts off the way I think all books should with a great recap of who and what happened in the first book. It was a great refresher and It meant I didn't have to sit and remember anything as I started the book. I did not enjoy this installment as much as LIFEL1K3 and I think a big part of that was characterization issues. I feel many of the characters acted in ways that did not match what I expected of them. And I know that is the point but to some extent, I needed something to show they were still the same. I still cannot wait for the next one and loved all the new characters in this book that definitely expanded the world and the story.
Update (7/7/19): Now that it has been about a week since I finished the book I want to add a few more thoughts. I've thought about it more and I think this book is truly Lemon Fresh's story. In LIFEL1K3 the focus was Eve and learning who she was and her family history. We got a huge shocker at the end of the book and I thought DEV1AT3 would pick up with Eve's story and we would get more insight into Eve as a person making her own decisions. Instead, DEV1AT3 shifted focus to Lemon Fresh and her quest to figure out her own self. We also got to follow Cricket a lot more in this book. I think I expected this trilogy to be continuous with the characters but instead, it felt more like a series that follows a different character in each installment even though all the characters stories intertwine. I know it sounds like I really did not enjoy this book but I truly did, it just was not what I was expecting. LIFEL1K3 was a five-star read for me and I was expecting DEV1AT3 to continue the five-star series. This installment still had the same humor and action I have come to expect from Jay and as I said in my initial thoughts, Jay continues to be infuriating when it comes to ending books/series.
You know, there was actually a point about midway through this book where I thought “Hmm, this isn't so bad. Maybe Jay isn't going to stomp all over my heart this time?”
What a fool.
All he did was save all the heartbreak and bewilderment for the last few pages.
Well done, Mr. K. Well done.
Of course I loved it.