Renegades – LairOfBooks

November Wrap-Up

Hello Bookworms! I come to you with my November Wrap-Up which is only a slight bit different in format than what I typically post here on Lair Of Books. I usually include my Book Haul but that tends to leave me with a lengthy post & so I decided to split them up and I think I may keep it this way. I really didn’t expect to get as many books as I did in November but that’s usually the case whenever I try to convince myself that I can go on a book buying ban smh, check out my My November Book Haul where I bake my soul for judgment…please be easy, i’m just a woman with a profound love for books, the prettier the better haha!

November was a roller coaster of events for me with close friends and family experiencing loss & sadness. I found myself really wanting to be around my loved ones, people who are known for being strong & always being there for others. It was time to give back & be the source of strength for two very important people in my life. Thanksgiving was bittersweet but I found so much to be thankful for. I’m a little late with this post but I just want to say Thank You to all my blogging buddies both new & old. I’ve enjoyed getting to know a lot of you a bit better & the wonderful conversations we’ve had, many times have changed my day for the better. I appreciate you all & can’t wait to see what 2018 brings us 🙂

*My reviews for each are linked below

Her Body and Other Parties ★★★★ 4 STARS (RTC)

Artemis ★★★ 3 STARS

The Closest I’ve Come ★★★★ 4 STARS

Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance ★★★★ 4 STARS

Renegades ★★★★ 4.5 STARS

After the EPIC month of October, I knew it would be a tough act to follow lol. No 5 star reads but they definitely came close & so I am satisfied. Renegades was my best read of the month, I was just happy to have a new book by Marissa Meyer but it wasn’t w/out its flaws. My overall enjoyment overpowered the fact that there were large chunks of inactivity & it’s a HUGE book so there’s that. Still though, highly recommend to any superhero/villain lovers out there. Be warned though, that ending will leave you begging for the sequel like yesterday. My biggest disappointment was Artemis by Andy Weir & whelp, I wasn’t expecting that to be the case (review linked above). I may still give The Martian a go but I’m not so sure I’ll be continuing on with the follow-up to Artemis that is rumored to be in the works.

December is already lining up to be a pretty EPIC reading month, I’ve already finished my first read & it is a EPIC 5 stars! currently reading The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden & gahhhhh! how I’ve missed Katherine Arden’s LUSH WORLD BUILDING!!!! her books feel like a warm blanket on a cold winter night & I just don’t ever want to leave *sobs* My December TBR will be going up this Friday so stay tuned <3’s!

I was actually surprised that I managed to squeeze in 2 movie dates with the hubby & a Netflix binge but it happened and it was AMAZING!…

Thor Ragnarok

SO worth the 5 Butterflies!!! I can honestly say I LOVED this movie so much so that it made the 2011 flick fade to black #jussayin Thor Ragnarok had incredible action sequence scenes, EPIC call to action soundtrack, fun plot, and LOTS of screen time with Tom Hiddleston (still not enough though lol). We also get to catch up with Hulk & see where he’s been, those scenes brought some humor & levity to the flick. Similar to how how I felt about Spiderman Homecoming…this movie made me see Thor in a new light. Whereas before I didn’t really care much for the God and his hammer, now I’d like another movie please 🙂

Justice League

4 stars to the movie that surprised the heck outta me! I was not expecting to enjoy JL as much as I did after not quite loving Batman VS. Superman but I did! Ben Affleck toned it down several notches & I found him to no be as annoying this time around. I actually really enjoyed his Bruce Wayne scenes especially those with The Flash who wonder & awe added some comedic relief. Didn’t think I’d love this Flash because I LOVE Grant Gustin’s version so much on the CW but surprise surprise lol. Aquaman legit made my heart skip beats & yes! yes I would like more Jason Momoa on the screen please lol. Gal Gadot friggin Killed it, she can do no wrong in my eyes at this point. Cyborg is a essential & awesome new addition to the team, he is constantly evolving as he is part machine which I thought made him all the more interesting. Overall, I really enjoyed Justice League & hope it continues in this new direction.

Punisher

There’s a new order to my fave Netflix Marvel series & it goes like this…Luke Cage (#1), Punisher, Jessica Jones, Daredevil, Defenders. I haven’t had a Netflix binge since Luke Cage & when I sat down with the hubby for some Pizza & the pilot episode to Punisher, I wasn’t expecting to watch 8 episodes back to back but again, I did. This month was definitely filled with some unexpected goodies in my viewing so yay for that! 🙂 this show is not for the feint of heart, there is a lot of violence & revenge taking place but I just couldn’t tear my eyes away. Frank Castle is seriously bad a**!& I’m here for it! haha!

Happy reading in December Bookworms!!! Hope you all had a wonderful November & an even better start to December. What are you currently reading/watching? drop your comments down below <3’s!

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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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WWW Wednesday 10/25/2017

WWW Wednesday is a meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On a World of Words and to participate all you have to do is answer the three W’s listed below. Once you’ve posted your WWW, drop a link to your post in Sam’s comments <3’s!

The questions are:
1. What are you currently reading?
2. What did you recently finish reading?
3. What do you think you’ll read next?

The Dark Intercept (The Dark Intercept #1) by Julia Keller

I requested this book from Tor back in June & had totally forgotten about it since I hadn’t heard from them. I was very happy to have received it in the mail last week but since its publication date is 10/31 this means I had to squeeze it in this weeks reading schedule. There aren’t many reviews as of yet since I believe I read somewhere that the Publisher asked reviews to be posted first week of November. Of the reviews/ratings that are up on Goodreads, not many are good but I’m not letting this deter me from reading this one. I started it this morning so I’m only 25 pages in but I will be reading throughout the day & updating my Goodreads as I ago along. Blurbed by Melissa Landers author of the Alienated series & Emmy Laybourne author of Berserker, I have hope for this read *fingers crossed*

YOU BRING THE DISTANT NEAR by MITALI PERKINS

This is the eGalley that I was supposed to be reading together with Nyxia last week lol. Well…Nyxia kind of snuffed out everything in sight & I could only focus on what was going on in NYXIA! smh so reading 2 books was a #epicfail last week. I have hope this week since I am reading The Dark Intercept in physical format on my commute to/from work & this will be the eGalley I read while at work during down time. I’ll aslo be updating my progress & thoughts on Goodreads 😉

Berserker (Berserker #1) by Emmy Laybourne

I finished Berserker yesterday & settled on a 3.5 rating, it certainly had many elements I enjoyed however, I expected a less than neat conclusion to what really was a bloody read. Many thoughts I’m still sorting through but my review will be posted this week.

Nyxia (The Nyxia Triad #1) by Scott Reintgen

I recently read, loved, & wrote a GUSH review for Nyxia by Scott Reintgen (my review)…I’m still not over that ending!!! *sobs* this book was a burst of adrenaline each & every time I picked it up. I enjoyed the cast of diverse characters immensely & can’t wait for the sequel next year! Also, on Friday my luck was on a roll & I won a signed copy of this book from a giveaway the author himself was running. He was very nice & promised that book 2 amps up the fun even further which gives me something to look forward to. Last but not least, I came across NerdNarration who also reviewed Nyxia & BOOKWORMS she nailed it! I loved her enthusiasm & style of reviewing so much 🙂

Renegades (Renegades #1) by Marissa Meyer

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

Yes! Yes I am reading Renegades next & Yes! I am over the top excited & have tired of stroking the spine every day when I walk past my shelf haha! This is 576 pages I am SO READY for & because it’s a hefty one, it will be my last read for the month. Hoping to close October with a bang! 🙂

What are you wonderful bookworms currently reading? planning to read next? any good ones? & if you’re reading any of the ones I mentioned, sound off in the comments down below! ❤ ❤ ❤

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#ARCstravaganza #10

#ARCstravaganza is a weekly meme hosted by the wonderful Flavia over @Flavia the Bibliophile where book bloggers/bookstagrammers have a chance to show off their ARCs/eARCs/Galleys!

Hello Readers! This is my 10th week participating in #ARCstravaganza Monday & this week I’ve chosen Renegades (Renegades #1) by Marissa Meyer which is one of my highly anticipated books of 2017! Meyer is a auto-buy author for me at this point, I enjoyed her writing & fresh take in the Lunar Chronicles & have high hopes for the next chapter in this authors journey. Renegades will follow a new story line, set of characters, and world. I’ve tried my hardest to stay away from early reviews on Goodreads but I did see mention of the main character being half Filipino which is automatically a plus in my book & on this blog. I guess what I’m also very excited to see is the villain Meyer has conjured up this time. Levana is still top 5 evil for me & I’m curious to see if there will be a new villain in town to dethrone her. Also, superhero powers are my Achilles Heel & no I can’t resist these stories, truth be told they take up the majority of my shelves.