In my wrap up video below, I talk about how much I love the world of Warcross and it's delightful cast of characters.  Emika Chen is a force to be reckoned with but it's Hideo that really stole my heart.  I was ecstatic to read a book set in Japan and centered on video games and I cannot wait to get my hands on the conclusion. I'm really hoping book two will be called Darkcross!

WARCROSS was very addictive, perfect and will certainly take readers to this fantastical new world where technology has taken the world to a different level and where treason, secret identities and love will make you want to keep reading till the very last page! I cannot wait to read the second book and read more about this amazing and unique story that Marie Lu created <3

Review

For some, logging into Warcross is not just simply playing a game. Some see it as their means to live.

Emika Chen is a bounty hunter and she is desperate to capture the latest bounty in hopes that it will pay her debts. But things never goes as planned.

As she logged herself into the opening of the International Warcross Championships, she accidentally hacks herself in the game, making her an international sensation overnight. But when the creator himself calls for Emika's expertice, she is drawn to the game's darkest corners where her trust will always be questioned.

Pros

* For anime lovers and game geeks out there, this is a perfect read for you. With the most technologically advanced version of Tokyo to the most realistic virtual reality in the world, Warcross showcases what it is like to live in a time where almost everything is automated including the way we perceive the things around us.

* It is so compelling that I can't get my eyes off it. From it's very futuristic cover up until the very contents of the book, one will not regret reading it from start to finish. It is so beautifully writen and intriguingly concluded that I can't stop reading it.

Somewhere in between

* Hideo Tanaka. Honestly, I'm a little bit creeped out with his character. He was stoic and intimidating at first, but when he and Emika saw each other for the second time, he became flirtatious to the point where my first impression of him was gone. It was never clear why he fell for Emika and it was a total insta love in his side of the story. I know some of you swoon for his character but for me, I am still debating whether or not he is my bae.

Wrap up

First of all, thank you so much for visiting my blog. I hope you enjoyed being here today.

Warcross has been in hype for as long as the ARCs started circulating and I can tell that it trully is worth it. But despite it's popularity, I found the ARC in need of major edits which is probably the reason why I will reread this book once I get hold of the final thing.

Why am I telling you this?

Because there is a possibility that if major changes happen, I might change some of the things I have written in this review. But no worries. I will update to you as soon as I can. For the meantime, the things written here are my honest opinion of the book and trust me, no biases are made.

Thank you again for being here. I hope you'll have a nice day!

Till my next review!

I will begin this review by saying that this book made it to my "favorites" shelf.

This was my first book by Marie Lu, but I will definitely be reading more by her in the future. Warcross was so action-packed, the world-building was amazing, as was the plot and the heroine, Emika. I just couldn't put it down. I read it in one day and now I'm regretting it because I don't know how long I'm going to be waiting for the second book and this is killing me. Because the end, oh my. You're going to be screaming at your book, "I WANT MORE".

Honestly, the last sci-fi book that I loved that much was The Hunger Games (if you want to know, I'm part of the people who loved the end, because they fucking deserved it).

So let's get started on why this book was amazing:

THE WORLD BUILDING
First, the setting of this book is in Tokyo, in Japan, and this is freaking cool. Finallu, authors are discovering that the United-States isn't the only country in the world where you can tell a good story.

The world is the exact same as ours, but Warcross is everywhere. It's a game that you play by putting on glasses, and your whole environment become a gaming place. You have your own avatar, you can level up as any other games, and the thing I love the most in video games: you can have cool outfits. But this isn't important to the story, this is just me fangirling. Everyone uses Warcross, as it became a worldwide sensation. Of course, contraband is part of this game, called the Dark World.

      2. THE CHARACTERS

That's where Emika, the heroine of the book, enters. Living in poverty, she lost her dad when she was little, and she's drowning in debts he left her, gambling over Warcross games. She is forced to become a bounty hunter to survive, so she's pretty talented in hacking. Long story short, she hacks into the game while the worldwide competition is happening, exposing herself to the world. That's when Hideo Tanaka, the creator of Warcross, enters and offers Emika something she can't refuse: he needs her to spy on this year's tournament because he thinks there is some security problem.

If you do not want to read the book right here, right now, I don't understand you.

Emika proves herself to be a resourceful, flawed heroine, and also totally badass. She has rainbow hair, skates, and hacks into games. I couldn't like her more. She never complains even though her life is pretty hard.

Hideo is also some pretty cool character. Polite and mysterious on first sight, he's also quite complicated, with a dark past. And he knows about consent. I know, every decent human being knows about that, but since we're talking about a YA "dark" male character, I thought that it was something worth pointing.

The other characters, the players of this year's tournament are all great. We have some cool friendships in this lot, and I seriously hope that we're going to have more of Roshan and Tremaine in the second book, because they seem to have a complicated relationship and I'd love to know more about them.

      3. THE PLOT

Although it was pretty easy for me to guess the plot-twists and the end, I really loved the story, as it was very original. The technology is always present, although we have real human interactions, and the idea of people playing video games and being recognized for it was so cool and original to me, especially in a book. 

The concept of a video game tournament and its corruption was great, and the action-packed moments were so exciting, so much that I couldn't put the book down. Although we were properly introduced to the main characters, I feel like this book was just the beginning (it is though, since a second book will be released in 2018, I NEED IT), we learned just a fraction of their past, enough to be complex characters and for us to want more. 

Since it's going to be a series, it was an excellent first book, and as I said many times in this review, I NEED MORE. I couldn't read anything else after this one.


My review will be posted one month before the publication date, on my blog (readwithmae.wordpress.com) and on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/59311235-ma-readwithmae).

You know the feeling you get when you finish a novel and you just know that you’ve had one of the best reading experiences of your life? Well, take that feeling, multiply it by infinity and what you’ll get is how I felt when I finished Warcross. I loved, loved, loved this novel so damn much. So much so, in fact, that I immediately preordered it, told three different people to read it and could not stop talking about it every single time someone brought it up during Book Expo and BookCon. I still haven’t stopped talking about it, and I probably won’t because it was just that brilliant.

But before I get to telling you what I loved about Warcross, I should probably tell you what it’s about. Emika Chen is struggling to make ends meet day-to-day, both as a waitress and as a bounty hunter who tracks down the criminals the police don’t have the resources or time to capture for cash. When her need for cash becomes life or death, Emika does the unthinkable – she hacks into the opening game of the international Warcross Championships and accidentally glitches herself into the action. She can hardly believe it when Hideo Tanaka, creator of the Warcross game, doesn't give her grief but instead gives her the opportunity to come to Tokyo to work for him as a spy-slash-player amidst the teams in this year’s Warcross tournament. Her mission? To discover the person that threatens to be a security problem for the game. But what Emika doesn’t expect is to discover a sinister plot during her investigation that will have effects that reverberate through the entire Warcross community.

I will be 100% honest: I have not loved all the Marie Lu novels I’ve read. I binge read and enjoyed the Legend trilogy; I read The Young Elites but never continued with that series. But when I heard what Warcross was about,  I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to read this -and I’m glad I didn’t, because it is one of my favorite books ever.

The premise promises a story that is exciting and compelling, and Lu delivers on both counts. It’s a science fiction mystery, set in a world where a virtual reality game is a part of majority of the population’s everyday life (much like Sword Art Online, which is one of my favorite animes of all time). I loved the way the plot unfolds – the mystery, the relationships, the games. I loved the setting – New York and Tokyo and the virtual world within the Warcross game. I loved the action scenes; I loved the swoony moments; I loved the flashbacks. It’s probably making me sound like a broken record, but friends, the truth is that I just loved this novel.

As Emika races against time and danger to figure out what exactly is going on and who is behind it all, I was completely invested in the outcome alongside her. Lu makes it easy to root for her, both by making Emika so relatable in her determination to survive independently and to take her chances when she can get them and by revealing portions of her past as the story goes on. She was smart and capable, vulnerable and kind, stubborn and independent – and I absolutely adored her. I was also a big fan of the secondary characters – Warcross creator (and major crush for me) Hideo Tanaka, and the Phoenix Riders (Emika’s team during the championships) made up of Asher, Roshan, Ren and Hammie) especially – because Lu does a bang-up job making them memorable.

If I could broadcast to the entire universe how much I adored Warcross, I would do it without hesitation. It might not be the perfect book, but it was perfect to me – whether we’re talking about premise, characters, world, plot, pacing, writing or any other element of this story. It’s fun. And exciting. And smart. And impossible to put down once you start. It’s an adventure that I’m fortunate enough to have experienced with Lu at the helm, and I look forward to the sequel (and deeply grieve that I’m now going to have to wait over a year to read it).

This book is one of my most anticipated reads of the year and I was absolutely not disappointed! Not only was the world building even more than I had hoped for but I also fell in love with the characters.

The world around WARCROSS was so intriguing. While a big part of this novel is the virtual reality game itself, we also saw how this advanced virtual reality effected people's every day life. One of the aspects that impressed me most was the way the technology was embraced in different countries. We only saw it in the US and Japan but I loved that there was a difference between how these countries integrated the technology in every day life. Makes me really interested to hear about other countries, it would be so cool to get more on that in the sequel.
The game WARCROSS itself was certainly nothing new but still reading about the games from a virtual reality perspective was super engaging. While these worlds could of course be anything you'd want them to be, Lu still managed to describe everything in a way that made it easy to imagine the arenas itself and also where the players where and what their function in the game was. I liked that Lu decided to go for a simple battle concept and focus more on other things. I feel like she was able to pull off both an intriguing in-game world but not have the novel be completely dependent on that.

The protagonist Emika is awesome. She's smart and funny but also flawed. She knows exactly what she's doing but she's not perfect. Reading from her perspective was an absolute joy for me and I think she might be one of my favourite YA protagonists so far.
There were so many other side and minor characters that I found really enjoyable and hope we get to read so much more about them in the sequel. Because of her past, Emika has some problems letting people in but we got some glimpses of how much more awesome this story can be, when she works together with people.
There's a romantic storyline in this novel that I personally enjoyed a lot. I'm never quiet with my love for romantic storyline but this one had me infatuated really quickly. I'm sure there will be people calling it insta-love but I wholeheartedly have to disagree. Emika and her love interest connect through several things and the physical attraction is apparent. I think the development of their relationship was good and reasonable. Being affectionate ≠ love. Especially towards the end of the novel you can see that they mean a lot to each other but neither of them would go so far to call it love.

I was also impressed by the general plot. Some things where absolutely unpredictable to me while I expected other things to happen and then still felt shocked when they did happen. That's a sign of good writing for me.

Overall I was seriously impressed with this book. It's an intriguing world and storyline with awesome, realistic characters. I already cannot wait for the sequel and I am so happy I got the chance to read and review this early.

A sci-fi book about a game that is part of everyday life AND written by Marie Lu, sign me in!
 
I was way too excited about this book and I almost broke my phone when I get the e-mail saying I got the galley.
 
Warcross is more than just a game, it is a way of live and is part of everyone's daily life. Emika Chen is an orphan with rainbow hair (that detail was too cool not to be mentioned) who is trying to earn some money by tracking down illegal players. But her life is about to change completely.
 
The idea of Warcross is amazing, not that it has never been done before, but I liked how it was handled. I am almost sure that this kind of game will happen someday and we may be closer to it than we think. 
 
Emika is a lovable character, I actually admire her. She manages to follow her heart without rushing into decisions, and thus making bad ones. She knows what she wants and what she had to do to get it. She sometimes also wants to give up, because life can be hard, but she never does. Emika is rational but she is not afraid of her feelings either. She was the perfect MC for me! The other characters were not developed enough to be able to say anything about them. It was not a bad thing, it actually was a plus for me. Most of the books I read try to focus on multiple characters at once and it can get messy. Warcross is told through Emika, all the focus is on her and I really liked that fact.
 
The plot was neither too fast, nor too slow; the flow of events was coherent. I thought it was a standalone at first, so when I reach the middle of the book I was skeptical about how it was going to end, then I understand it was part of a series and I was really happy and really angry at the same time. I just need the second book right now!!
 
I love discovering this new sci-fi world, full of gadgets and stuff I would love to have. Marie Lu is great at creating this kind of things.
 
I enjoyed every single page of this book, it will probably be the best new series of the year!

Cyberspace adventure deluxe

Marie Lu is back - and she does not disappoint! Her new sci-fi novel "Warcross" is one more time proof why she is not only a great writer but also a passionate storyteller. Like with previous books she excels at unique worldbuilding, fast-paced action, and intriguing characters.


"Warcross" is a game played by almost everyone in a not-so-distant future. A novel technology lets the user experience a virtual reality via a NeuroLink between the user's brain and a particular set of glasses. This technology and the game were invented by Hideo Tanaka - wealthy, mysterious, genius billionaire residing in Tokyo. Virtual reality is a perfect escape from a grim reality, and "Warcross" is the new religion of the cyberspace faithful. Emika, on the other hand, is a bounty hunter, set on catching those who illegally bet on "Warcross" games. Orphaned and barely getting by, she tries to improve her chances of having a better life and paying off a big amount of debt. So she decides to hack into the opening ceremony of the Warcross World Championships. What she didn't expect though were the consequences this desperate move would set into motion. Instead of prison awaiting her, it's Hideo Tanaka himself, who invites her to come to Tokyo to help him catch a hacker that has been trying to sabotage him for a while. Suddenly Emika doesn't only find herself actively involved in the games but also caught up in her feelings for the mysterious cyberspace king.


For the most part of the book, I was absolutely smitten with Lu's rich language and detailed world building, as much as with its heroine. As a reader, you can't escape the feeling that Lu has delivered the book she has always wanted to create. Writing about computer games and virtual reality is clearly home territory for this gifted writer. Her descriptions are so colorful and detailed that this novel almost offers the same escape its central plot device, virtual reality, purports to do. However, it wouldn't be Lu if she did not use this canvas for a thrilling plot with (mostly) unpredictable twists, breathtaking action, and sizzling romance. First, I wanted to dock a point for its lack of criticism of new technology. Although our punk hero Emika hacks her way into the world and steals data from other players and criminals alike, this is portrayed with little regard for data privacy and identity theft. Until that plot twist that changes everything! Suddenly this book turns into a thriller in which nothing less than our own humanity is at stake. And that ending leaves you hanging off an excruciatingly ginormous cliff. Just as I thought that I'd figured everything out, Lu turned this world upside down - right before pushing me over that cliff. Well played, Ms. Lu, well played. Give me more!! Soon 'cause that's not fair!!

THE PLOT

"Ladies and gentlemen, let's get started!" The arena around us fades out, and we are transported into an alternated world."

We basically follow our main character, Emika Chen, a bounty hunter who struggles to pay her rent and who suddenly finds herself in a futuristic Tokyo surrounded by luxury and money. How does it happen? She hacks into the opening game of Warcross and gets caught. Hideo Tanaka, Warcross's creator offers her a job, she accepts and becomes a vital part of this year's championship.

I never got bored, the pace was perfect. There aren't too many fights, training or kissing scenes, they're all perfectly balanced.
But, at least for me, some plot twists were incredibly predictable (except for the last two, those I definitely didn't see coming).

THE PROTAGONIST(S)

"Think badass thoughts, I tell myself."

Emika is a bounty hunter who tracks down players who bet on the game illegally. She lives in New York in a horrible apartment and doesn't know how to pay her rent. After taking a very big risk, she enters the world of Warcross and meets Hideo, the game's creator who's 21 years old and a billionaire. The entire novel revolves around her and her mission to solve Warcross's security problem so she's the only one who gets a little bit of character development.

I don't think Hideo is supposed to be a protagonist, I'd say he's another one of the side characters. We see him only when he interacts with Emika but we get to see/understand him only in the second part of the book and I really hope Marie Lu is going to focus more on him in the sequel, he's such a complex character and he deserves more attention.

THE ROMANCE

"You're such a flatterer."
"I'm no such thing. See you in the dome, Emika."

I think it's pretty obvious who Emika is going to get involved with. Surprise, surprise, Hideo wins! The romance is not the main point of the book and I'm not going into details because it would be way too spoilery. I enjoyed their banter and flirting but it went from 0 to 100 way too fast for me.
But remember who Marie Lu is and prepare yourself for that ending.

THE SIDE CHARACTERS

"Game! Set! Fight!"

Warcross is all about teamwork. If you work alone, you lose and so does your team. 
I loved the Phoenix squad. Each member is unique but underdeveloped. Marie Lu focused almost entirely on Emika so we never get to explore the secondary characters and that's a shame, I want to know more about them! But I really liked how they immediately welcomed Emika into their ranks and how well they all worker together.

I'm probably going to read the sequel but I also think many Marie Lu fans are going to be disappointed.

"I thought that was just some science fiction myth."
"Everything's science fiction until someone makes it science fact."

> THE STORY
That's the reality Emika lives in, where virtual and real world blend together thanks to a game called Warcross that connects millions of people thanks to a simple pair of glasses.
But despite the technological development, there are people like Em who struggle every day to survive. Who, as their despair reaches its maximum, become able to commit even the stupidest acts. Like hacking the tournament of the most know virtual game in the world.

Soon Emika will find herself involved in a game bigger then her that goes beyond the virtual reality and threatens the entire planet and the person she's just begun to love. How to avoid a global catastrophe? How to defeat the dark, instoppable, dangerous Zero?
But above all: who to trust when even your team mates could be potential enemies hiding behind informatic shields?


> MY OPINION
I feel like a disgusting, creepy gremlin for rating with just three stars a book of one of my favourite authors. But if not for her name on the cover, I would have never imagined that this novel was hers. I wasn't able to recognize her writing style nor the type of characters I was used to. Probably it is due to the fact that the genre is different? She did an amazing job with dystopia and fantasy, however I feel like something is off with this sci-fi/thriller.

I'm a huge fan of videogames and I used to be a MMORPG gamer, so of course I fell in love with the idea of Warcross. I'm not 100% sure about it, but I think that Marie Lu developed perfectly one idea of hers that she had already hinted in Prodigy (Legend #2). The combat scenes between avatars during the tournament and the descriptions of the game levels were without any doubt my favourite part.

I had however some more difficulties with the characters and the plot.
I usually love the majority of Marie Lu's characters (main ones in particular) as they are always extremely complex and intriguing, but in this case I didn't fall in love with any of them. Probably because aside from Em and Hideo, the others weren't exactly taken in consideration.

As I said before, the genre is sci-fi/thriller, so many parts are dedicated to investigation. Probably this is one of the reason I couldn't fully enjoy it. There were just to main big plot twists, but to be honest I think they are a little bit forced. Or better, the idea is nice, but there's absolutely no clue that could lead to those conclusions, thus I felt more perplexed than surprised.

What disappointed me the most was however the romance. While reading I couldn't believe at the insta-love I was witnessing. I mean, I always said how this author is able to develop relationship wonderfully, and now I must bear this love at first sight with such a rapid escalation? No way...

> CONCLUSIONS
With my heart shattered, I have to say that this book was a huge disappointment. Though the story itself wasn't that bad, I couldn't feel completely involved by it as happened with Legend and The young elites.
But well, as I said I'm not that huge fan of thriller (though I gave it a try because I knew the author), so maybe other people will have more luck than me!