Absolutely loved the ending to this trilogy.
So much action, moral questions, and destruction to satisfy my sci fi lust! Lemon Fresh is still one of my all time favorite characters to read. I enjoyed questioning Eve's moral compass and loyalty for 2 whole books. I felt distraught reading through her POV for the entire book.. Honestly, it made me dislike her character the most. 😅 Overall, enjoyable read just like the rest of the series.
Stronger together, together forever.

Jay Kristoff’s latest novel TRUEL1F3 wraps up his YA dystopian LIFELIKE trilogy with a long buildup to an epic battle, set in a nuclear-blasted future version of the “Yousay.” Some humans have (presumably due to radiation-induced mutations) developed superpowers and are often treated as deviants by normal humans; most of our main characters, like Lemon Fresh (named after the detergent box she was found abandoned in as a baby) are in this group. Intelligent robots are everywhere and are bound by Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics … other than a rebel group of advanced “Lifelike” robots, who were treated years ago with a Libertas virus that reprograms them without the Three Laws.

Several of the Lifelikes have been destroyed over the course of the series, but the remaining ones, led by the mentally unstable Gabriel, are determined to set all robots free and, by the way, use that new freedom to annihilate humanity. One of the Lifelikes, Ezekiel, is determined to thwart their plan to wipe out humans, and is doing his best to convince some of the other Lifelikes, particularly his one-time love interest Eve, to switch sides. Meanwhile two mega-corporations — Daedelus, based on cybernetics and high technology, and BioMaas, based on biotech, genetic modification and cloning, but both equally oppressive — are gearing up for a battle to overthrow the other and take control over the entire country.

TRUEL1F3 begins immediately after the end of the second book, DEV1AT3. Lemon Fresh has been taken captive by BioMaas, which wants to use her superpower to destroy the technology of Daedelus. For its part, Daedelus has taken Eve and Gabriel prisoner, and is experimenting with Eve in an effort to unlock the multi-layered security vault that hides the Veritas virus and other trade secret technology. After narrowly averting a nuclear missile attack, the remaining main characters — Ezekiel, the loyal robot Cricket, the Lifelike robot Faith who’s nursing an unrequited love for Gabriel, and several “deviates” that Lemon had befriended — regroup at their not-so-hidden hiding place, a former missile silo, and determine to rescue their friends from Daedalus and BioMaas.

The LIFELIKE trilogy is an action-packed, hard-hitting SF series aimed at older teens and young adults. There are some painful deaths and a good deal of blood and gore along the way, but in standard YA novel style, hope and love prevail in the end. Lemon Fresh has grown from Eve’s sidekick to a strong character in her own right, a damsel who’s determined to rescue herself and burn down the tower, rather than wait for the handsome prince to liberate her. Eve, on the other hand, remains to all appearances firmly on the side of Gabriel and the robots, committed to wiping out all of humanity, and she has the body-count to back it up. It’s difficult to sympathize with her at this point.

The endless made-up slang and jargon can get tiresome, and I think the whole series dragged on for a little too long. Though I was engaged with the characters for most of the series and determined to see how it would all wind up, by the time of the great climactic battle at the end of TRUEL1F3 I was starting to skim.

Overall, though, Kristoff has created a pleasingly complex dystopian world with engaging characters and some intriguing philosophical questions about the nature of humanity and the importance of choices. TRUEL1F3 is a fitting end to the series. I’d recommend it to younger (but not too young, or squeamish) readers who enjoy post-apocalyptic science fiction.

TRUEL1F3 is the third and final installment in author Jeff Kristoff's Lifelike trilogy. The story takes place in a post-apocalyptic USA. The story will take readers deep into the heart of Megopolis, home to Daedalus, and City Hive where we will find BioMaas and their myriad of strange beings including the Hunters who were sent out to retrieve Lemon. In this world, Bio Maas provides most of the country's food with gene modified crops, while Daedalus supplies power via solar farms. The story alternates via a whole lot of characters, so, if that is not your ball of wax, be prepared for whiplash.

Our main characters consist of a combination of humans, Deviates (humans with extraordinary abilities), logika (independent machines with intelligence and personalities), and Lifelikes, which are machines/robots that appear just like human beings but with extraordinary strength and healing abilities. One of the key aspects of this series is friendships. After all, the series started with Eve and her friend Lemon Fresh and ends with the same pair having forever changed by their actions throughout this series.

The Cast: Cricket, the little bot who is now stuck in a battle-bot body in New Bethlehem home to a religious cult called the Brotherhood. He's lost track of Lemon Fresh, his once friend Eve is a psychotic killer, and Ezekiel is stuck obsessing over Ana. But, he has new friends in Solomon (logika) and Abraham who is a human deviant. A boy who has powerful abilities. Abraham has a really messed up family. True Cert. Cricket hasn't forgiven Eve for her betrayal, but what's worse is losing Lemon Fresh who he was supposed to help protect.

Eve Carpenter: she's turned fully into a psychotic murderer who searched everywhere for Ana Monrova and finally found her only to be captured by the Preacher and given to Daedalus where she will undergo torture the means of which should be illegal. Eve is a hard character for me to like due to the fact that she's been her own person her entire life then suddenly she chooses her alleged brothers and sisters in attempting to destroy humanity. She's never lived Ana's life. She has her own memories and people who loved her with no requirements. One of those people was Lemon Fresh.

Lemon Fresh: Strangely, my favorite character in this story. She's grown above and beyond just being Evie's sidekick. Lemon is a genetic abnormality. Lemon’s abilities to manipulate electricity mark her as a deviate, and deadly corporate operatives are hunting her to use as a weapon in the war between BioMaas Incorporated and Daedelus Technologies. Hell, she literally stopped 6 nuclear missiles in their silos. She's fallen for a boy, Grimm, who has treated her with kindness and respect. She's befriend a girl, Diesel, who can create portals. She refuses to allow Eve and her insane brothers & sisters to destroy the world by releasing the Libertas virus which can override the 3 laws any robot it infects.

Then there is the truly head spinning obsessions: Ezekiel with Ana, Gabriel with Grace, and Faith with Gabriel. Preacher has done his share of violence against almost every character in this story. He's got nothing to show for it. He's like that reoccurring character you'd love to kill off only to discover that you still have even more strategic violence and betrayal to commit before you get your comeuppance. There is plenty to keep readers entertained. The pending war between mega-corporations puts everyone in danger. Add in Gabriel's obsession with Grace and his desire to rule the world, and you have to wonder if anyone will survive until the closing chapters.

I agree with fellow readers. One of the things that I like about Kristoff’s books is how he includes a small recap of the characters at the beginning of them. Pay attention to the breakdown of each character. It really helps when you’ve waited a whole year for the sequel and, most of the time, we don’t remember a lot from the previous books. The ending was a bit on the curious side for me. After all that has happened, no spoilers, the author kind of walks away dusting off his hands by saying like it or leave it.

This was a great conclusion to the LIFEL1K3 series! I don't want to say too much because spoilers, but I loved all the twists to this story and I loved the characters so much, it was hard to say goodbye.

Please note that this is the third book in a trilogy so there will be spoilers for the first two books. If you have not started this trilogy I highly recommend you skip this review and just start reading LIFEL1K3 immediately 🙂

Immediately after I finished DEV1AT3 I knew I needed to start TRUEL1F3 because DEV1AT3 ended on such a crazy cliffhanger. And right from the start the action gets going in TRUEL1F3 picking up right where DEV1AT3 left off. I absolutely adored Lemon Fresh in this book especially. I feel like her character was developed so well over the course of this series. My heart broke for her so many times… she did not deserve the terrible things that happened to her. But I LOVED how close she got to Grimm and Diesel. Their friendship and banter was so fantastic. I also really felt for Zeke… he was being torn in so many directions but I loved that he was able to stay true to his beliefs. One character that I was really surprised to feel a kinship with was Abraham. At first I didn’t think he would have a very big role to play in this story but was I ever wrong.

This book was such a heart pounder with action galore. But what I really loved was that there were also comedic and heart felt moments scattered throughout. I laughed, I cried, I felt anger… so many emotions while reading. These characters are so special that it was hard to say goodbye to them at the end of this book. Overall, I think this was an incredible ending to this series and once again Jay Kristoff proves he is worthy of being one of my favorite authors of all time.

5 Stars

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: TrueL1f3

Author: Jay Kristoff

Book Series: Lifelike Book 3

Rating: 5/5

Recommended For...: sci-fi, ya, dystopian, robotics

Publication Date: June 30, 2020

Genre: YA Sci-Fi

Recommended Age: 16+ (sex mentions, language, gore, violence, death)

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers

Pages: 480

Synopsis: Best friends have become enemies. Lovers have become strangers. And deciding whose side you're on could be the difference between life and death. For Eve and Lemon, discovering the truth about themselves--and each other--was too much for their friendship to take. But with the country on the brink of a new world war--this time between the BioMaas swarm at CityHive and Daedalus's army at Megopolis, loyalties will be pushed to the brink, unlikely alliances will form and with them, betrayals. But the threat doesn't stop there, because the lifelikes are determined to access the program that will set every robot free, a task requiring both Eve and Ana, the girl she was created to replace. In the end, violent clashes and heartbreaking choices reveal the true heroes . . . and they may not be who you think they are.

Review: Overall, I thought this was a really good ending for the series. The book still had the POV switch, but it mostly focused on Lemon Fresh, which I’m not complaining about. I think the character development continued here and while I wish we found out more about Lemon Fresh’s backstory, why she was left in a box and stuff, I think it didn’t need to be explained. I think Lemon Fresh is for the kids and adults who don’t know where they came from and it showed them that they too are important. I also felt like the world building was well done and I literally sped through this book because it was that good and compelling.

However, I did feel like the pacing lulled in parts and the big fight scene was a bit chaotic. The book also has a lot of character deaths and it will break your heart.

Verdict: Well done series!

The below review was posted on TheNerdDaily.com on July 4th, 2020.

Endings are always difficult to execute, and even more so when you are trying to please readers all over the world. With TRUEL1F3, Jay Kristoff brings us the ending of his LIFEL1K3 trilogy and he almost nails the landing.

Picking up immediately after the explosive cliffhanger of DEV1AT3, we are thrown back into Yousay and dragged through the aftermath. Lemon Fresh has been taken by BioMaas, Eve captured by Daedalus Technologies alongside Gabriel, while Cricket and Ezekiel are about two seconds from a nuclear explosion. With the corporate warfare between Daedalus Technologies and BioMaas escalating to all-out battles, our heroes are caught in the crossfire and things do not look good.

Each entry in Kristoff’s LIFEL1K3 trilogy has been a wild, reckless ride through destruction, deserts, and dystopia. While TRUEL1F3 shares this with its predecessors, it also brings in more of the corporate warfare that has been brewing in the background throughout the series. While it is good to see payoff from the corporate side of the previous stories, it left TRUEL1F3 feeling a little less focused on the emotional growth of our core group of characters. That being said, I found the worldbuilding to be spectacular, most specifically when it came to the corporate cities of CityHive and Megopolis. Kristoff certainly has a way with words and he brings his own brand of weird to this one. With such a wild world, some authors could weigh down the reader with clunky detailing, but Kristoff’s hand is deft and light. Immersing yourself in this world is simple, if not a little bit dangerous.

There are three missteps in TRUEL1F3, one of which I can discuss in detail, the other two I will have to be vague for spoiler reasons. So let’s start with the details: there are too many POVs for the story being told. While there were quite a few POVs in the first two books, the characters were more so within each other’s orbits and the strings of the stories were easier to maintain hold of. But in TRUEL1F3, we are bounced between POVs. Sometimes this is donee numerous times in a single chapter and at an alarming rate so because of this, the emotional investment in the characters is difficult to make.

The other two missteps will probably boil down to personal preference, but they still stood out enough to critiqued. The first is the development of Lemon Fresh’s story line in TRUEL1F3. Her importance is boiled down to a reproductive issue and that just really did not sit well with me. Lemon Fresh started this journey as a presumed sidekick, but proved herself to be a force not messed with. And while she is still a fighter with a heart of gold, Kristoff let her down in the end.

And, in the most unspoilery way I can describe it, the ending felt too easy. Sure, a lot happened to get us there, but the ending felt hollow and a little bit unsatisfying. It wasn’t a bad ending by any means, it just lacked the emotional stakes some readers will be looking for, especially considering this is a Kristoff novel.

At the end of the day, TRUEL1F3 is a good read, even if it’s not the most satisfying ending to a trilogy. I will never deny Kristoff’s way with worldbuilding, but where he tends to shine is the emotional impact of his character’s stories. In that aspect, he did not hit the mark with TRUEL1F3. But if you are looking for a wild, fever dream-esque story, set in the nuclear wasteland of the west coast of the United States, then TRUEL1F3 and the rest of the LIFEL1K3 trilogy are for you.

Lemon Fresh really stole the show in the last two books of this series. When I first picked up LIFEL1K3, I was captivated with Eve's storyline and Lemon was more of a sidekick afterthought. As the series progressed, Lemon grew up and completely overshadowed Eve.

This last book finds everyone thrown into the start of a war between BioMaas and CityHive. Lemon is separated from her friends, and Eve is still trying to figure out what she wants. Everyone is coming to terms with their present circumstances and trying to decide where they stand. The story jumps right into the action and doesn't slow down until the end. Through the chaos, the characters manage to find moments of humor and heart. While Eve really fell flat for me in this book, the rest of the character storylines wrapped up nicely and I am sad to see this trilogy end.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley for review.

TRUEL1F3 is packed full of the same non-stop action and thrills as the two previous installments and concludes the trilogy in a way that leaves the reader feeling satisfied. The Lifelike series was one hell of a ride and I would highly recommend it to any fan of YA Science Fiction.

The book picks up exactly where DEV1AT3 left off so it’s easy to fall right back into the story. Not to mention that once again Jay Kristoff blesses his readers by giving a short run-down of the plot/characters before the first chapter. Seriously, can we please make this a thing with all sequels? Instead of struggling to remember everything and everyone through the first few chapters, I can jump right in like no time at all has passed since the previous book.

My one issue with DEV1AT3 was that Eve’s POV wasn’t as prominent and she didn’t have as big of a voice in that book. I was super stoked to find that her and Lemon Fresh both had equal amounts of the proverbial limelight in TRUEL1F3. I was really glad to be back in Eve’s head, especially with all the emotional turmoil she was experiencing regarding her identity.

In all honesty, however, TRUEL1F3 didn’t stand up to the I had for LIFEL1K3 or the enjoyment of reading DEV1AT3. The book was non-stop action from the first page until the last, which I generally enjoyed, however it was almost too fast-paced at times where it felt like I was getting whiplash from being bounced back and forth every chapter. I also felt like there were some aspects where I needed more convincing, especially regarding Ezekiel’s true feelings. It seemed to get brushed over and we never really get inside his thoughts or emotions enough for it to convince the readers.

That being said, TRUEL1F3 wrapped up the trilogy nicely. If you enjoyed reading the other two books in this series, TRUEL1F3 will sure to please you as well!

It is no secret I adore Jay Kristoff's novels. I have two different tattoos containing his words, and his books remain among my all-time favorites. The final book in the LIFEL1K3 series ranked among my most anticipated books of 2020. Except, while TRUEL1F3 is a perfectly satisfactory ending to a fantastic series, I did not love it like I thought I would.

In many ways, it is a typical novel by Mr. Kristoff. He is not afraid to jump right to the worst-case scenario in any scene and does so here many times. He does this to show his characters' true motivations and personalities, for it is within conflict a person's true nature comes to the fore. In that regard, the series morphs from being about Eve, as in books one and two, to being about Lemon Fresh as a sidekick turned heroine in her own right. Frankly, I like her character more anyway, so this was a welcome change.

Still, I didn't LOVE TRUEL1F3. The ending was a bit too...pat...for my taste. While there are battles and apocalyptic explosions, it is not as dark and therefore as emotionally wrought as his other novels. In his adult novels, his characters fight for every ounce of happiness. That isn't quite true in his standalone young adult work. Even with his collaborations, you know that he is not afraid to sacrifice a character for a storyline. I never felt that any of the characters were in danger, and therein lies my issue with this final book. It is almost as if Mr. Kristoff played things too safe. I missed that edge, that fear that your favorite character might die on any page, and while you would mourn, you know the story is stronger because of that death. There was none of that here.

That being said, any Jay Kristoff novel is better than most of the other stuff published these days. He is probably the only author these days willing to place his novel in the middle of a radiation zone with easy access to nuclear weapons. I also love his sly criticism of modern-day priorities where in his world, they have the ability to build AI with the ability to feel emotions and genetically modify any living thing on the planet but cannot do anything about cleaning up and repairing the environment. Maybe it isn't such a departure for him after all.

It's so hard to rate this. I loved the beginning of the story. It kept me captivated throughout. I always wanted to know what happens next. Pretty interesting. I gave it 3 stars! I had more fun reading this book than book 1 or book 2.

Having read enough books by Jay Kristoff to know, I was a bit worried going into this third and final book in his Lifelike series. And, yup. I was right to worry. Dang you, Kristoff!

Truelife starts out where Deviate ended, with Lemon Fresh as a captive of BioMass, and Eve as a captive of Daedalus Technologies. To be honest, at this point I didn't care a bit where Eve was or what she was going through. All I cared about was Lemon and if she'd survive. And in a surprise twist, I finally realized this series was really Lemon's story, not Eve's and I couldn't have been happier.

Kristoff tends to give us heroes and heroines who we absolutely adore. With that said, I want Lemon as my own bestie! And I want my own squad of Grimm, Diesel, Crickett, Zeke, and Abraham!

The squad separates to try to save both Lemon and Eve, and in the midst of non-stop action that follows, we even get a few kissing scenes. The gang then pulls out all the stops to prevent insane Gabriel from wiping out the human race and populating what's left of the world with Lifelikes and robots. Even more action ensues culminating in the final battle.

Yes, there are tears. It wouldn't be a Kristoff book without them after all, but I can honestly say that I was very satisfied with the ending.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf Books for the advance copy!*

Jay has done it again.

A wonderful finale to a wonderful series.

I admit Eve didn’t fully redeem herself. But I’m okay with that.

I had a hard time here with so many points of view. I felt like it took away from my emotional reactions to the things that were happening to them.

But overall, enjoyable!!

5/5 stars
 
Absolutely brilliful as Miss Lemon Fresh would say! I loved how much was packed into this entire series and I can't wait to reread it through audiobook. There was so much character progression for everyone throughout this series, but especially in this story. Everyone seems to be coming to terms with the past, the possible future, and having to pick a side in this post apocalyptic world. It made this finale even better when everything comes to an explosive, emotional end that I absolutely loved! Overall, I can't recommend this entire series enough for the adventure, action, laughs, character progression, so many feels and bit of romance. 

***Thank you so much to Random House Children's, Knopf Books and NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read this amazing digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this conclusion to the series. Great characters, action and thought provoking ideas in an era where the questionable future of the planet does not seem so questionable after all.

I remember back in 2016, when I met Jay Kristoff (and Amie Kaufman) at a book signing at my local Barnes & Nobles. I don't know what happened. Maybe the bookstore hadn't bothered with any publicity. But here were two Rock Star authors...and eight fans! I kid you not.

What must have been terrible for Jay and Amie was a boon for those of us who showed up. We were able to sit around for ninety minutes and just talk to these two wonderful people. We talked about everything: books, politics ("What is going on with you Americans?" they asked), war. It was an exhilarating conversation which made me into a life-long fan.

Jay's latest book is Truelif3, the last in a Dystopian trilogy that is part Mad Max, part road trip, and completely riveting. I loved it.

What I Liked:
Setting:
The books are set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland called the Yousay (a clever riff on the good ol' U.S.of A), where city-states compete for resources. One city is driven by technology to provide the Yousay with energy and innovations, while another relies heavily on genetic engineering to supply the other cities with food. Both are rich playlands for the elite. The majority of people, however, live in squalor, eking out a living on the scraps of the rich city-states, and dreaming of a better life. The pollution is so pervasive that the Grand Canyon is filled with plastic trash!

Characters:
Eve has only recently learned that she is a Lifelike, a replacement for Ana, the daughter of a genius inventor. All her memories have been implanted. This has severely messed her up! She is now obsessed with finding Ana and destroying her. In fact, most of the Lifelikes borderline psychotic. While their bodies are that of young adults, they are emotionally immature, quick to anger, and obsession.

Lemonfresh, is a Deviant. She's human, but has super-human powers, and can manipulate electricity. What I love about this series is that the main characters change with each book. Lemonfresh was only a side-kick in the first book. I love how she becomes the focus of the second and third books. She is sweet, kind, and an underdog. You can't help but root for her!

I also like that more attention is paid to side characters such as The Preacher, Abraham, Solomon, and Cricket. Each of them have complete story arcs, and makes the series full and satisfying.

Themes:
How much should we rely on technology? In one city, the elite let technology do all the work so they can bliss out in virtual reality tanks. Life is brutal for everyone else in the areas around the city. They aspire to get this life for themselves, and will do anything to get it. It's a classic tale of capitalism run amok.

In another city, cloning has been embraced. Every person is genetically engineered to fulfill a narrow purpose in society. They seem happy. Everyone has enough to eat, and find satisfaction in their tasks. But there is no individuality. No choice.

One of the other strong themes explores the role of servitude (slavery) in society. Machines have just enough conscious thought to know that they have no choices, doomed to do the bidding of humans. The author really does a wonderful job of creating empathy with Solomon and Cricket, as they begin to realize they are slaves.

What I Was Mixed About:
My only gripe with this book is with the ending. While most characters have logical and satisfying resolutions, Eve's is too abrupt. Without any preamble, her personality changes. Are there any consequences for her actions? I wish there had been a deeper exploration into how she turned out.

I freaking loved this series! I loved the characters, all of them! They were all so truly amazing, their character development and the relationships.

The trilogy was action packed and so fast paced but was no lacking. The tests of loyalty and friendships hit so close to home. I loved how the world and the characters were not perfect and I wasn't sure there would be a happy ending, but I was so hopeful...for them all.

It's hard for me to say who my favorite characters were because as the story progresses, it changed. But I loved Zeke's ability to see the good in everyone. Lemon fresh is such a fun side kick. Cricket was small but mighty.

I did listen to the audio's for each one of these, Erin Spencer did an amazing job for each character's voice, the emotions felt real. I'm not sure I would have felt as strongly about the series without the audio, it was just so impactful.

Thank you netgally and Knopf Books for Young Readers for my arc!

This concluding volume of the LIFEL1K3 series is the only one that I physically read - I enjoyed the audio versions of the first two books - but I have to admit, that I enjoyed this one the most of the three. Not that the audio performance was bad, but I really liked having the map, and it was also fun to see the spelling of some things. There was a little head-hopping that I hadn't noticed in the earlier novels (it is more forgiving to listen), but luckily, this didn't happen enough times to make me really frustrated with this one.

I feel like all of the characters really grew here - and as usual, this was an absolutely action-packed read! There are plenty of reminders and refreshers for readers who have waited a year for this one and most importantly, it really does have a satisfying conclusion that doesn't leave too much dangling at the end. And also like the previous installments, this one relies on great visuals of the world-building. No real new characters are introduced here which leaves room for even smaller roles to show some growth. I had a hard time putting this one down and I quite thoroughly enjoyed it! This makes me even more excited to not only catch up on Kristoff's earlier writing, but also to keep an eye out for him in the future!

Kristoff is by far one of my favorite authors. I LOVE EVERYTHING HE WRITES!!! I was so happy when I recevied this arc and couldn't wait to get reading it! I give it a million stars if I could! Picking up right where book two leaves off, we jump right back into action after the nuclear bomb explodes. There is never a lull in action or a dull moment for the rest of the book. I fell IN LOVE With Lemon and Grimm.. Their love story was ahhhh so sweet and perfect. I could have just read an entire series on them! But I do love how throughout this book you are reading all the different POV and are there when they all converge in one epic battle in the end.

MY only complaint would be that I really wanted Eve to come around much sooner than it happened. I hated hating her character when she was my original badass female crush from the first book. I've always loved Lemon, but there was something about wanting Eve and Zeke to fall in love from the first book that was so frustrating to see Eve struggle throughout the second and third books. I thought for sure she would join forces with the right crew by the last book but it was still such a fight to get her to come to her senses and that would be my only complaint. Not that it skewed my opinion on this book overall though because i still LOVED IT!!!!

There's just something about the way Kristoff writes. It draws you into a whole different era of the way the world might be so far into the future that you really feel like you're in the YOUSAY. (which is hilarious to me that its now YOUSAY instead of USA). There are so many little things like that throughout the book that make you smirk and are fun little easter eggs to find. I LOVE THE WAY HE WRITES!!!

Every single book is such a joy to read and I can't wait to jump on the next book that his beautiful mind creates. Thank you for the opportunity to read this book early, its been one of my biggest reads I've been looking forward to all year and I am so happy its out in the world now :)

After absolutely loving LIFEL1K3 and enjoying DEV1AT3, I had high hopes for TRUEL1F3. Unfortunately, I felt like this one wasn’t quite up to the same level as its predecessors. Part of what I loved about this series was the characters. While the action was fantastic and the world well-developed, the characters were really at the heart of the story for me. And there were just too many characters in TRUEL1F3 for me to really feel that connection with any of them. This book, particularly the ending, felt rushed and I didn’t understand why Eve and Ezekiel made the choices they did. But saying more than that would be spoilers.

While I didn’t quite enjoy TRUEL1F3 as much as the first two in the series, I do think that, as a whole, Jay Kristoff has written a great trilogy. The themes this story deals with are timely and relevant and I think that Kristoff handles them well. Plus, like all of his books, the world-building was quite good. Overall, I’m very glad that I read the Lifelike trilogy and will probably be rereading it again in the future.