Lifel1k3 (Lifelike #1), By Jay Kristoff ~ 4.5 Stars

Tags

Romance, Science Fiction, Thriller, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf Books for Young Readers for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: May 29th, 2018

416 Pages

Synopsis: 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 robot conscience, Cricket, in tow, she and Ezekiel will trek across deserts of irradiated glass, infiltrating 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.

I’ve read almost all of Jay Kristoff’s books and I’m happy to say that Lifel1k3 is his best yet! It’s original, creative, exciting, and is definitely going on my top ten list of favorite books of 2018.

The first few chapters are a little slow, but it doesn’t take long for the action to kick in. The characters are absolutely fantastic! While Eve is definitely the star as a badass fighter who’s suffering from PTSD due to a traumatic past, the others are equally interesting, especially her loyal BFF, Lemon Fresh, and Ezekiel who despite not being human, is head-over-heels in love with Eve. 

The world building is phenomenal and the plot has elements of Romeo and Juliet, Mad Max, and Terminator. I found it impossible to tear myself away and finished this in one day. The ending completely knocked my socks off and I can’t wait until the sequel comes out.