Review: Renegades by Marissa Meyer


Title: Renegades (Renegades #1)

Author: Marissa Meyer

Pub. Date: November 7th, 2017

Genre: YA Fantasy

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends/Fierce Reads

Pages: 576

Format: Physical ARC

Secret Identities. Extraordinary Powers. She wants vengeance. He wants justice.

The Renegades are a syndicate of prodigies—humans with extraordinary abilities—who emerged from the ruins of a crumbled society and established peace and order where chaos reigned. As champions of justice, they remain a symbol of hope and courage to everyone…except the villains they once overthrew.

Nova has a reason to hate the Renegades, and she is on a mission for vengeance. As she gets closer to her target, she meets Adrian, a Renegade boy who believes in justice—and in Nova. But Nova’s allegiance is to a villain who has the power to end them both.

    

Are you a Renegade or a Anarchist? is it really as simple as choosing a side? and is it really good vs. evil? The city of Gatlon has been divided by those who admire the Renegades & those who detest them. Our MC Nova aka Nightmare is a Prodigy, someone born with superhuman abilities. Nova at a very young age was raised by her parents to trust in the Renegades to save the day however, too soon she learned this was not the case for her. When tragedy struck Nova at the age of 6, everything she believed in crumbled & the seed of resentment towards the Renegades began to grow deep within. Vowing vengeance, Nova takes to life underground with other Anarchists intent on the destruction of the Renegades. The overall consensus is that Renegades aren’t out on the streets saving lives, they are glorified super stars that the people have come to idolize through parades and intense media coverage. The Renegades themselves believe everything they do is in the best interest of society. However, not just anyone can become a Renegade, Prodigies interested in joining must go through what is known as the Renegade Trials. Based on your super human ability, Renegade teams can choose you to join their squad very much like the American tv show The Voice haha!

We follow Nova as she sets out to get back at those she believes have failed her and the city she lives in. I enjoyed seeing how Nova went about positioning herself to enact her plan however, I do believe plot pacing took a hit. Renegades is generous on the page count & although I LOVED every single one of the characters, there were some moments of no real activity. That being said, my enjoyment wasn’t too impacted & towards the end there are certain elements introduced that serve sort of as a jet-pack concluding with a strong and unsuspecting finish.

Although the story does focus mostly on Nova, we meet a slew of characters both Renegades and Anarchists alike. The finished copy actually has a small glossary in the front of the book. Nova was pretty much raised in a underground subway tunnel surrounded by a handful of other Anarchists. It’s made clear that the Anarchists ranks have taken a severe hit and not many are left. Nova spends her time with her adopted family of Anarchists Queen Bee (has a special connection to bees), Cyanide (King of poisons & natural gasses), Phobia (will draw the fear right out of you), The Detonator (BOOM!), and The Puppeteer (creepy as hell lol) who are all Prodigies with innnnneresting abilities. I REALLY liked all of the Anarchists which speaks to how well Meyer blurs the lines between who is good and who is evil.

The Renegades are more of a corporation expanding world wide with many arriving in Gatlon city to train. We meet Adrian Everheart at the start of the story while he is experimenting with his abilities (vague for fear of spoilers). Adrian is the adopted son of Captain Chromium & Dread Warden who are both leading political figures and part of the Council which governs over the Renegades in protecting Gatlon. I appreciated the LGBTQ representation with Adrian’s dads who although they are side characters, are still very important people in leading roles in fictional Gatlon city & that’s pretty damn awesome!  Adrian is team leader of his squad & we are introduced to Red Assassin (Gem & Rubies manipulator), Monarch (special connection with butterflies), and Smokescreen (smoke manipulator who is also disabled). However, Adrian is the character we spend most our time with & I ended up loving him to pieces. Although we get some moderate page time with Adrian’s squad, I do wish they were as fleshed out as the Anarchists were.

Any time I can get my hands on a Marissa Meyer story, I will! One of my all time favorite YA authors, I cannot resist her writing and the worlds she creates full of complex & morally gray characters. By the time you reach the end of Renegades, it will be hard for you to choose a side. Although the Renegades mean well, are they really helping or hurting the people of Gatlon city? & although the Anarchists claim to want independence for the people of Gatlon city, is full fledged freedom with no government really the answer? I myself haven’t chosen a side yet & love that about this story. Start to finish I enjoyed my time with these characters & found myself at times rooting for both sides lol. The plot could’ve been paced a bit better & I would like to see the other characters fleshed out a bit more, particularly on the Renegade side. Other than that, I CANNOT WAIT for the sequel!!! anyone who has already devoured this knows that with that ending, the suffering will be long & hard haha! MARISSA HAS DONE IT AGAIN!!!! ❤ ❤ ❤

*Special thanks to Fierce Reads for providing ARCS of Renegades in exchange for an honest review

*Images not my own, gathered from Marissa Meyer’s Pinterest Board. She has loooooads of pics but these called out to me most 🙂

Hello bookworms! many of you are either in the middle of or finishing up Renegades…isn’t it sooo good?!?! I finished it in the tub & tweeted my reaction to the finale while trying my hardest not to drop the book smh LOL! more importantly, are you a Anarchist or a Renegade? 😉

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45 thoughts on “Review: Renegades by Marissa Meyer”

  2. Great review of a great book. My thoughts were pretty much in line with yours I think. Loved how Meyer blurred the lines between the goodies and the baddies. For most I found myself leaning towards the Anarchists.

    I had an eARC so no handy glossary unfortunately. I may have to go buy a copy of the physical book.

    Liked by 2 people

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    1. Thank you! ☺️💕I def found myself leaning more towards the Anarchists 💜 & LOVED Queen Bee’s character so much 🙌🏼 I am currently waiting on my copy of The Barnes & Nobles exclusive edition to arrive with Marissa’s behind the scene notes 😆😆😆 a little excited to see what she threw in 👀

      Liked by 1 person

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      2. I absolutely agree!!! Queen Bee made it sooo much more interesting with all her charisma! ❤ my copy arrived on Friday & gahhhh! can't stop looking at it lol.

        Like

  4. YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES!!!!!!! I need this book like right now. However, I think I’m going to finish up The Lunar Chronicles first and then dive into this one. But like, I’m seriously excited to pick it up. I love when the lines between the “heroes” and “villains” are blurred. Great review like always, Lilly!

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      1. I was at Target and they have the beautiful foil stamp on the naked cover! Next time, I’m at Target, I’m going to get it! 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

  10. This was such a great review, Lilly, I loved reading it 🙂 I’m glad to hear you enjoyed this book so much – I can’t wait to read it at some point, I love Marissa Meyer’s books so far and I’m eager to discover this new universe and its characters ❤

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  11. Great review for this book Lilly, and I agree with so many of your thoughts on Renegades as well. 🙂 I loved all the characters, even Winston who, despite having a really creepy power, was a character I enjoyed learning more about. I also agree with you on the plot. There were times when I felt like not much was happening, and while the characters kept me interested in the story itself it felt like it was only really at the end, when everything that was revealed was revealed, that there was some kind of stakes raised for Nova and the other characters you know?
    Still great review, and I cannot wait for the second book either! 🙂 ❤️

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    1. Thank you Beth! ❤ OMG Winston was SOOOO friggin creepy & yet I found myself smiling during his scenes which then only creeped me out more LMAO! & yea it totally picked up at the end & left me mouth wide open smh! Hope the next one does better with pacing though *fingers crossed* so glad you enjoyed the characters 🙂

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      1. That’s all right! ❤ Yeah his power freaked me out. I think because it uses children it just makes it all the more sinister. It was that scene in the interrogation room when he was talking about his past with Nova that made me smile a little. 🙂 I'm sure it will, I have a feeling this will be a series that goes from strength to strength, especially considering the way Renegades ended! 😀

        Liked by 1 person

      2. OHMYGOSHHH! yes that same scene! You just made me put down my cup of tea to reply cuz YASSSSS! haha! & I agree, I see this series only getting better & better & I’m soooo ready for the sequel 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

      3. It kind of tugged at the heartstrings a little and I think gave us another side to Winston’s character besides the creepy side we’d seen so far. 🙂
        We’re going to have a long wait for the sequel (longer for me in the UK given the first book hasn’t been released yet!)

        Like

    1. HAHA! I’m feeling special right now lol, thank you Trang!!! & I’m so glad you enjoyed it, it’s def one to read if you enjoy Superheroes stories and morally grey characters 😉

      Like

      Reply
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