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 … 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.
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After the big reveals in the closing scene of Lifel1k3, I was ready to press on and see what became of the disheartened, disbanded team that had been led by Eve. Things are not in a good place for any of them as they search out their own destinies in the harsh world, but they each manage to make their way even as the Lifelike Eve stews on a terrible new plan.
Dev1at3 is the second book in the Lifel1k3 series and won’t work as a standalone. It is the second segment of a story and follows right on the heels of the previous book. There is a bit of explanation at the beginning for those who might have gotten hazy on the previous events, but it might not be enoug for a new reader/listener.
So, Eve has discovered the secrets about herself and driven the others away. Ezekiel, Lemon, and Cricket leave together, but through circumstances end up separated. Lemon Fresh lands with a group of deviates like herself who are on the radar of the big corporations and the religious group that would seek to destroy them for being different. Cricket finds a new friend to protect. And, Zeke ends up finding an old enemy to help him on his quest. New people and mechanical people pop into their lives, the stakes get higher, and there are more twists and a cliff hanger to leave things at a desperate place.
I don’t want to say more and spoil the book or the series for others. There are too many wonderful breath-taking twists and surprises that I want others to experience for themselves. I’ll stick with impressions. Though, I did have a light bulb moment when it dawned on me that the fall of Eve’s family and all was a retelling of the Russian Romanov story even down to the possible living and missing youngest daughter, Ana.
It’s still fast paced, brutal, and incredibly descriptive. This post-apocalyptic world is gritty and dark. The author isn’t afraid to kill or harm to prove it. I had to deal with loss a few times. But, its not utterly without hope. I was cheering for our disbanded group to find their way somehow. There are multiple POVs like in book one, but maybe more with the newcomers added in to give a multi-faceted perspective.
It’s not all action, though mostly. Each person has introspective moments. I know I was supposed to hate what has happened to Eve, but I did sympathize. She went through a level of betrayal, even if it was not meant to be bad, and it came from all sides and at once. That would be enough to shatter a person. I’m holding out for the third book to see if she can turn it around. Then there is Lemon Fresh. She really comes into her own in this one. She has a chance to find out her origins this time. Meanwhile, Zeke and my favorite Cricket are adjusting and pushing forward.
Whew boy, that ending! Still reeling a bit. It does leave me in desperate need, but I expected that with this author’s books.
The narration work was superb. Erin Spencer had a large cast of vastly different peoples and types. She got her genders, ages, accents and more nailed perfectly. I like her crystal clear witty voice for Lemon Fresh the best, but none of her other voices or narration moments are lacking at all. Great match for this book/series.
YA Warning: violence and language moderate to severe
All in all, this was heart-pounding, thought-provoking, and engaging from cover to cover. YA Dystopian fans need to give this one a look-see.