Review: Wildcard by Marie Lu

Title: Wildcard

Author: Marie Lu

Series: Warcross #2

Genre: YA, Sci-fi

Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers

Publication Date: September 18th, 2018

Edition: Kindle Edition, 352 pages

Source: Library

Purchase: Amazon US | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | BAM

Synopsis:

   Emika Chen barely made it out of the Warcross Championships alive. Now that she knows the truth behind Hideo's new NeuroLink algorithm, she can no longer trust the one person she's always looked up to, who she once thought was on her side.

   Determined to put a stop to Hideo's grim plans, Emika and the Phoenix Riders band together, only to find a new threat lurking on the neon-lit streets of Tokyo. Someone's put a bounty on Emika's head, and her sole chance for survival lies with Zero and the Blackcoats, his ruthless crew. But Emika soon learns that Zero isn't all that he seems--and his protection comes at a price.

   Caught in a web of betrayal, with the future of free will at risk, just how far will Emika go to take down the man she loves?

Review:

In a word, this book was Disappointing. It doesn't help that I am currently reading another book by this author that's a better series. That's probably also why I am so let down by this series. The Legend trilogy, and The Young Elites trilogy, both have an interesting setting and complex characters that this Duology just feels bland in comparison. 

I still had a hard time picturing the Neurolink world, and understanding how it worked. In the sense of how they went into the Neurolink. There are just some small details that are sometimes glossed over that I don't really understand. 

The characters are also pretty boring and one-dimensional, and a little cliche at times. 

The "real" antagonist could have been more interesting had it been more of a surprise, as it was it came more across as a typical mustache twirling villain.

I skimmed more than half this book. I only read things that had a dialog involving Zero, Hideo or the main plot. I skimmed the rest of it. Anything that was about the very bizarre and boring "romance" between Emika and Hideo. The romance that came from nowhere and had no obvious substance, a barely-there hint of attraction.

I suppose I should have expected to not like this book since I didn't really like the first book, but I didn't dislike the first book enough to not read this one. Granted, I wouldn't have if there were more books. It being a 2-book series made it easier to finish it.