Warcross by Marie Lu | Spoiler-Free Review

Hey everyone!!

I read a book so now it is time for a review!! YAY!

Brief summary of plot:

Warcross is a global event competition where the best gamers compete in a virtual reality game. It is one of the most popular events on the globe.

In this story you follow Emika Chen who is a bounty hunter and hacker who ends up being asked to help Hideo Tanaka (creator of Warcross and the technology) by tracking down the person trying to hack into the Warcross. She does this by getting entered into the championship?

Will she succeed? And how will she handle the championships?

You can find it on goodreads here.

Content Warnings: Mention of family death, touches on people going missing and an assault on life in one scene. But it isn’t graphic at all.

My Warcross highlights…

 Rainbow hair (yes this is a reason to read it)

 Fast-paced writing: very easy to read and quick.

 Visual imagery: This is a visual book as you enter the different worlds of the game and the way technology is used day-to-day I thought was really interesting and creative.

 Enjoyable romance: The book covers a romance and I think throughout the whole book it was paced correctly and it was really fun to read about and to get to know the characters.

 The diversity: As a global game it involves everyone around the world and I love that. And that so many countries were brought together. Also, you get Emika’s view as she goes to Tokyo, Japan for the first time so I enjoyed her getting to experience some of their culture too. Also, you get diverse characters– racial diversity, LGBTQ+ diversity and disability included in a fantasy/sci-fi read which I thought was great.

 Mario Kart: How many books make references to Mario Kart? Not enough is the answer. And I grew up playing Mario Kart so I really appreciated that reference. There are a few easter eggs in it which is amazing!! 

Characters

Emika Chen: Our main gal with rainbow hair, rainbow tattoos and a snazzy hoverboard. She is a strong girl who knows her own mind and is an amazing hacker. She was a good main character to follow. I enjoy that she could be nervous and unsure in certain situations but that she will always stand up for herself and others. The insights into her past helped to get to know her more as well. Also, she had an admirable amount of motivation and I loved her saying ‘Every locked door has a key‘!! And her work paid off and she became a very talented hacker. I love how technology and hacking became her escape— “Everyone has a different way of escaping the stillness of their mind. This, I learned, was mine.” Also, she is a bounty hunter, how badass?!!?

Hideo Tanaka: and the mystery surrounding him. I really liked Hideo too and I enjoyed Emika trying to get to know him throughout the book after he hires her. They had an easy chemistry and they were both a bit more vulnerable around each other so got to let down their barriers which was great to see. He had quite a few different sides such as “the smooth and in control”, “I love my family”, and “I have some anger issues” but from reading about him I can definitely understand why he had so many fans in the book.

I really wish there was more fan art for them!!

Zero: The villain. We didn’t see too much from him but it was clear he knew what he was doing and had a grand scheme planned. Mostly worked in the shadows but was a worthy nemesis for Emika in terms of skill/power.

Secondary characters:

• I liked Roshan and Tremaine (towards the end). I feel like they definitely had an interesting, messy past so I would have liked to have seen more of that. But maybe in the next one.
• Asher and Hammie were good, likeable characters who focused on the team and game. I loved their strong work ethic.
• Ren. I had no great feelings. He was a stepping stone for the plot really.

It had a great cast of characters in the book!!

Plot

As I said the fast pacing makes it a good read. As well as pace I felt like the plot was really strong. Something was always happening whether in a virtual reality game, hacking or something developing in their relationship. And it was all building up to the big end– you knew where the characters were trying to go. I could predict the end because the story was leading up to the reveal and it was structured and presented well to give you all the information. And even though you guessed the end it didn’t take away from the enjoyment at all. Like at all.

You get equal parts of getting to know the characters and have a full plot so the balance was handled well. Also, Marie Lu does action sequence really well as there is quite a few in the story. I don’t like really long action sequences but Marie gets lots of action in without dragging it out. And she built up a great world with all the virtual reality details and it was awesome to see the technological advancements in society. 

Overall

Rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ .5

It was a really enjoyable read that just lacked the overall close connection to reach for me to love it personally. But I would 100% recommend it to others!! I am intrigued for the next one, even though there are mixed thoughts about it but I loved the set-up for it at the end and can’t wait to read it.

If you want to know more about my rating system you can read it here.

 

Have you read Warcross?? What did you think?? Or is it on your TBR??

What do you think about rainbow hair? Yes or no? Did you play Mario Kart? If so, which was your favourite character to be?