Marie Lu

For the millions who log in every day, Warcross isn't just a game - it's a way of life. And teenage hacker Emika Chen has found herself caught up in a conflict that could change the world.Warcross creator, Hideo Tanaka, wants to use to the game to control peoples' thoughts and feelings, effectively ending free will - Zero, a mysterious (and dangerous) hacker, wants to stop him.Now Emika must decide who she will fight for. The game is on . . .From #1 New York Timesbestselling author Marie Lu

Wildcard (Warcross 2)

Wildcard

The spark Hideo's eyes now is the one I recognize from his early interviews. It's the creator's gleam, that magical thing that keeps you awake at night, wide-eyed with potential and promise.

THIS IS WHY IT WOULD MAKE A PERFECT MOVIE

It's a looking-glass version of our first meeting.

Once technology has been made, it cannot be unmade.

Even though Sasuke isn't here, I can sense his presence in the room, as if the boy who had disappeared has finally, in Jax, found the voice for his story.

And that's when I realized that, at the end, we'd all wish for the same thing. 

If you had asked me before whether virtual reality could ever cross into reality, I would have shaken my head and disagreed. It's obvious to me what's real and what isn't, but should and shouldn't be. 

But there is a point where the lines start to blur, and I am standing in that place now, struggling to see through the gray.

To have come all this way and done all this— just to fail here at the end, when we were so close. To leave this puzzle unfinished, the door locked. My mind shuts through other options, but the fog is starting to fill my head, and I can see myself slowing down. Along with it comes a strange sensation of... unfeeling.

Was this what Sasuke felt on the final day of his experiment? When he gave up his last breath and his mind, and felt what was human of him scattered to become nothing more than data?

"Touch her, and I'll kill you," Hideo growls 

"But I'm thinking that, even though there's no one in my family willing to wait around for me, even though you're the only one in here, I couldn't care less, because you might as well be the entire damn world."

As I move, another figure materializes beside me. Hideo. He's in a crouch against the floor, and his green-gridded eyes are turned up to Zero, narrowed in rage. His bruised hands are clenched into tight fists. His voice emerges in a low growl. " Don't. Touch. Her."

WHEN HE'S OBSESSED WITH NECK KISSES UGHHHHHHH

Hideo gives me a half smile, leans close, and presses his lips against my neck.

And the gentle lapping of the ocean outside, the ink under a midnight sky, separating us from the glittering city that awaits us.

"You told me you never wanted to see me again" I manage to say.

His voice is low and raw. "Because every time I see you, it takes everything in me to turn away."

"I'm terrified," he whispers back. "Of what you're capable of."

For this, I know he's willing to year the world's order to shreds. He's willing to risk anything.

"A candidate whose mind was string enough to withstand an experiment to separate the mind from the body."

I still don't get what blockchain or NFTs are

. An encrypted ledger of records, nearly impossible to trace or change.

In my next life, I'm going to be an accountant.

"People like him immediately, are drawn to that quicksilver mind of his."

Oh Ash I love you how are you so relatable

Asher massages his temples. "Would anyone else like to share their illegal activities with their Captain?" he says.

Loving this but who the even is Kento I've forgotten

As the crowd shouts out new challenges and exchanges bets, Roshan gets out of his seat so that someone else can play Hammie, then heads over to wrap an arm around the waist of Kento Park.

The silence in here is punctuated by the muffled noise coming from down below, where fifty thousand fans are cheering as the latest track from BTS thunders from the speakers.

Anna 

Ještě větší pecka než první díl! Děj se rozjel ještě víc, a ta zápletka... Wow! Celý děj byl neočekávaný a já se od knihy nemohla odtrhnout!  Hrozně moc mě bavilo nahlížet do Zerovy a Hideovy minulosti, a do hlavní hrdinky jsem se vžila ještě víc. Nevím, co k tomu ještě dodat; celá tahle série je prostě báječná, a vy rozhodně neuděláte chybu, když si ji přečtete 😊
Mimochodem, mám na vás dotaz: Jaký máte názor na Hideův algoritmus? Protože já jsem ho absolutně chápala a pomohla bych mu s ním, hlavně bych tam některé věci poupravila, ale jinak se mi jeho myšlenka zamlouvala. Co vám? Přišel vám Hideo jako záporák? 
✩
Mé hodnocení knížky je 5*/5* ☺️

the last 50 pages were kind of a blur (especially at the climax, where i struggled immensely with how they were in zero's body, or whatever it was), but this was fun!

💌

words cannot describe how terribly much i love this series

"Teenage hacker Emika Chen embarks on a mission to unravel a sinister plot and is forced to join forces with a shadowy organization known as the Blackcoats"--

An Instant New York Times Bestseller! Return to the immersive, action-packed world of Warcross in this thrilling sequel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Marie Lu Emika Chen barely made it out of the Warcross Championships alive. Now that she knows the truth behind Hideo's new NeuroLink algorithm, she can no longer trust the one person she's always looked up to, who she once thought was on her side. Determined to put a stop to Hideo's grim plans, Emika and the Phoenix Riders band together, only to find a new threat lurking on the neon-lit streets of Tokyo. Someone's put a bounty on Emika's head, and her sole chance for survival lies with Zero and the Blackcoats, his ruthless crew. But Emika soon learns that Zero isn't all that he seems--and his protection comes at a price. Caught in a web of betrayal, with the future of free will at risk, just how far will Emika go to take down the man she loves? In this explosive sequel to the New York Times bestselling Warcross, Marie Lu delivers an addictive finale that will hold you captive till the very last page.

Denaiir

This was full of action but a bit too long for my taste, I didn't connect with the characters so I was not really intrigued by their story. I thought the world was cool but not used enough

Yasmin Dunnewind

so so so great and well written. this book was so interesting and well written. it captured a lot of different genres i think. also the ending was not something you would have expected but it felt like the perfect ending. i was reading it in the train and literally had tears in my eyes and put all my will power in not crying out loud

Briar's Reviews

Man, has it been a while since I.... A) Finished a book series and B) Finished a MAINSTREAM book series. 

Seriously, I pick up so many books and rarely do I get the rest of the series. I did manage to pick this book up not long after I finished Warcross, I just ended up losing it in my TBR shelves and didn't pick it up. Then, I managed to find it and stare at it for months because I was scared it wouldn't live up to the hype. Honestly, it wasn't that bad and I think it did a good job. There weren't many ways that this series was going to end. It did it's job and I applaud Marie Lu. There was no disappointment from this reader!

Emika Chen is back in the second and final round of the Warcross series. After a giant hack and lots of drama in the last book, she's suddenly trying to ensure the world isn't going to end (like most dystopian novels) with her local band of misfits (and super awesome video game players). Hideo's plan is evil, but somebody else has an even more sinister plan. You think that would be it? Of course not! People will come out of the woodwork to show their true colours, and show us a past we never knew existed... And one they were trying to hide.

This book has it's positives and negatives. I think it does a great job finishing this story up because it had a BIG job to do. I do think Emika and some of the characters are a little dull. The romance card really doesn't go anywhere so why bother with it to begin with? Lots of this book just... happens. There's no rhyme or reason, but things tie themselves up nicely with a bow and make sure all is said and done. There's definitely ways this book is lesser than Warcross, but at the same time I think it's a great sequel. I did take time between the books though, so I wasn't expecting this book to be way better or do something magical. I wanted to see how the story would end and what would happen to my favourite characters. 

Overall, I liked this book! Definitely a nice two book series to hide away from the world in. It gave me Ready Player One vibes, but in a very different universe.

Three out of five stars.

Danny Werhane

2.5 ⭐️
This book was very disappointing! I absolutely love her other books. I struggled a lot with the begging of this book and I didn’t feel connected to the characters or what was happening. The plot goes in a completely differently direction then Warcross almost immediately. a lot of stuff was happening. There are a lot of new characters who become very important to the story. we learn there entire backstories, I feel Jax and Taylor should have been introduced in book one so we care more about them, and then there could have been a lot bigger shock factor. I didn’t really care what was happening until page 200 because it didn’t really involve characters that I know from book one. I was pretty invested near the end and I think I wrapped up well. I also appreciate that there was a character who uses they/them pronouns, even though it was a very small part and probably could have been better.

alexandra

this review was originally posted on twirling pages




Wildcard was WILD.

Warcross was one of my favorite books of last year, so i (obviously) had high hopes for Wildcard. but i was also really worried i'd be disappointed. spoiler alert: I HAD NOTHING TO FEAR (aka it was fantastic). all the things i loved about Warcross came through in the sequel, while also maintaining ~suspense~ and ~mystery~.  Wildcard is definitely a darker book compared to Warcross, but it's one of the things that made me love it more. it felt like a "slytherin" type of novel (and the cover is green and black so!!!).

warning: spoilers for warcross!! if you haven't read the first book, don't read the review for the second book.

we begin the novel almost directly after the end of Warcross. the big reveal makes us wonder who Zero really is and what's his story. naturally, he (and the rest of his gang) become a big part of Wildcard and I WAS HERE FOR THIS. their gang, the Blackcoats, are so ruthless and so cool. i mentioned earlier about how Wildcard is super ~dark~ but the Blackcoats are a big reason why. i loved all the new characters and their stories. although a lot of it is completely new, it ties together with Warcross really naturally. 



"Every locked door has a key.



the parallels between Warcross and Wildcard!!!! i scream. i'm obsessed with authors who do little things with their series that tie it all together; MARIE LU PRESENTED IT WITH A BOW. i actually didn't fully realize until i went back to reread parts of Warcross, but UGH. i have a lot of feelings. but. i do wish i noticed these things the first time around. i feel like i would enjoy this duology so much more if i'd read both books in one sitting. regardless, i now officially prefer duologies to series/trilogies/standalones. they're so wonderful?? 

Spoileri'm SPECIFICALLY talking about the very last sentence of the book. "So, I have a job offer for you," I say to him. "Would you like to hear more?" which – idk if you noticed – is like, the first thing Hideo says to Emika??!!!? I'M OVERWHELMED WITH EMOTIONS. i know there were a lot of other moments but this specifically!!!!




the one issue i have with Wildcard probably has more to do with myself than anything else. i forgot a lot of details in Warcross, which made me kind of confused while reading Wildcard. (duh) for example, a lot of the side characters and relationships were completely wiped from my brain (sorry, characters!). like i mentioned earlier, i think i would've enjoyed this book so much more if i'd read it immediately after finishing, instead of a year later. i know Mare Lu probably intended the reader to experience it that way, but she could've done a better job at refreshing my memory. (but i blame my memory!!! ugh) now i want to reread both books.

Spoileri forgot who Tremaine and, like, ALL of the Phoenix Riders were. but i guess because of that, i read them from a new perspective?

the thing we, as readers, are most worried for is the ending of a series. personally, i was even more worried than usual because i felt UGH about Legend's ending and didn't bother reading The Young Elites' ending (both of Marie Lu's previous series). i love her books, but am usually frustrated at her endings – mostly because of what she does to characters. PROTECT MY KIDS PLS. i don't want to spoil anything but WILDCARD IS A PERFECT CONCLUSION. it ends so cohesively!! it's so subtle and allows you to imagine a world for the characters beyond the pages!! i'm so happy with it, i could cry!!!


in conclusion, Warcross/Wildcard is amazing. this is one of my favorite duologies. it's action-packed, carefully complex, and fast-paced; it's been a while since a read a book in one sitting and i couldn't put this one down. i'm in love with the world and how it seems too possible. i love all the characters and their relationships (and how they diversely represent different cultures and sexualities). i'm too obsessed. 


note: gallery photos belong to their respectful owners. i found them on weheartit and created a mood board of my loves.

Reread: finished the last 10 chapters in one sitting and I am unwell. 

THIS BOOK. THIS DUOLOGY. THIS AUTHOR.

Reread: finished the last 10 chapters in one sitting and I am unwell. 

Beatrix Haase

Dang... She was playing with the feels a little this time.

Xoxo,
Bea

oberon vortigern

After Warcross, I was so excited to read the conclusion to a brilliant and entertaining book, but much to my disappointment, Wildcard falls far below my expectations. It's an easy read, with excellent pace, which is pretty much the only good thing I have to say about it. 

Emika feels like a bystander in the story, barely doing any actual work, detective-wise, or action-wise. Everyone just opens up to her and tells her the relevant parts for the mystery, and then in the end, everyone did their parts action-wise, to push Emika forward in the story, while she feels like the baggage in the team. Hideo is barely even memorable in the book, despite being a significant part of it, and the chemistry between him and Emika feels so forced. And I'm not even going to start on Zero, thinking about him makes me so annoyed. 

The plot was somewhat entertaining while I was reading it, but the second I thought about the plot, it immediately fell apart. Few things made sense, and everything just happens to be so convenient for Emika, such as strangers straight up telling her their story, and unlocking the mystery for her. The twists are, I admit, not what I expected at all, but they did not surprise me, or even made me feel anything. I was kind of like, "Whatever, move on". The writing is mediocre in the book as well. In Warcross, it's showing us what's happening, and I felt like I was in the story with Emika, which made it even more exciting, but in Wildcard, it's just too much exposition, and too little showing the story, and I was bored by it.

Overall, this is a massive disappointment after Warcross. I love Warcross, but this killed my love for Emika as well as any excitement for the duology. Nearly everything about Wildcard is far below the quality of Warcross, and I came out of it deeply dissatisfied at the difference in the quality. Read Wildcard for the conclusion, if you'd like to, but don't bother going in with any high expectations from it.

the ending was kinda underwhelming but the reveal about sasuke and his past was just devastating

Kelsey Joëlle

I loooved Warcross, and this book was good too. 
But the ending... it felt all so rushed. 
Not a big fan.

Julia Lotz

Ihr kennt vielleicht noch meine Rezension vom ersten Teil der Warcross-Dilogie? Ich war super begeistert von dem Buch und das hatte mehrere Gründe: Die tolle Protagonistin, Gaming als Thema (sogar mit einer weiblichen Spielerin), die vielen unvorhersehbaren Wendungen und Marie Lus Schreibstil. Mit Neue Regeln, neues Spiel erschien nun das Finale im Loewe Verlag und ich konnte es nicht mehr abwarten, endlich zu erfahren, wie es mit Emika endet.

Alle oben beschrieben Dinge, waren Punkte, bei denen auch der zweite Band bei mir Punkten konnte. Naja, abgesehen vom Gaming. Das kam zu meiner Enttäuschung leider viel zu kurz und hätte meiner Meinung nach mehr Platz bekommen sollen. Das lies aber vor allem die Wendung und deren Fortführung nicht zu, die bereits mit Warcross 1 begonnen hat und nun natürlich weiter verfolgt wird. Zugegeben: das hatte mich damals schon sehr emotional zurück gelassen und sollte auch der Hauptkonflikt von Band 2 sein. Na? Wisst ihr wovon ich rede? Ansonsten habe ich euch hoffentlich Lust auf den ersten Band gemacht.

Schön fand ich, wie treu sich Emika in diesem Band bleibt, nach allem, was passiert ist. In meinen Augen hat sie genau so gehandelt, wie ich es auch getan hätte, entwickelt sich aber dennoch weiter und das fand ich sehr gut gelöst. Auch auf die Vergangenheit der anderen Charaktere wird genauer eingegangen, was ich sehr schön und passend fand. Außerdem beweist Marie Lu hier ein großes Gespür fürs Detail.

Abgesehen von der Tatsache, dass ich den Gaming-Aspekt sehr vermisst habe, steht das Warcross-Finale dem Auftakt in nichts nach. Solltet ihr Band 1 schon gelesen haben, könnt ihr beruhigt zu diesem Buch greifen, es wird euch gefallen. Allen anderen kann ich nur empfehlen, zur Reihe zu greifen: Tolle Charaktere, eine spannende Geschichte und eine klasse Thematik machen diese Dilogie zu einem Must Read.

Connor 

Maybe 4.5? Both this and the first one were excellent and fun reads, so we’re rounding up.

Kimberly Burgess 

More like 3.5 stars. Took a long time to get through. I was satisfied with the ending to the duology, but I think I'd rather watch a TV show of this series rather than reread it. Marie Lu has such an imaginative mind, I'll pick up any book she writes at least once.

Kelsey Lynn

Let me just open with applause for Marie Lu, for not making this a trilogy. I know that is THE THING right now, so to choose not to was a nice departure from the YA stereotypes. 
 However, that is about it as far as departure from YA stereotypes. A good tagline for this book would be "Double-crossed, wait double-crossed again? For the love of God, why is no one communicating with each other".
 Lu is very consistent with this book, so like the last one, it was a fun read, but unfortunately extremely formulaic. If you haven't read the first book, don't read this one as I will be spoilin some stuff.
 We learned toward the end of the last book, that spoopy mcspooky bad guy is in fact, wait for it, Hideo's long lost brother! DUN DUN DUN. Also, Hideo was a bad guy and Zero was trying to stop him! DUN DUN DUN. The Warcross finals were considered a sham, a rematch declared, and the world is pissed at Emika for ruining their game. Our rainbow-haired protagonist is no longer in the employ of Hideo, but she can't escape the fall out of the Warcross game, both because she's interested, and because she is now on the Dark Web's sh*t list for messing with the finale. 
 The story takes place in the days leading up the Wargames closing ceremony. Hideo's mind-controlling algorithm is live and crime is down (won't lie, not a horrible idea). Not down enough however as Emika is targetted by some assassins and gets saved by Zero's group. Zero brings her into the fold and she starts working for him to stop Hideo. But she's still just too smitten by Hideo, and it wouldn't be YA if we didn't have some star crossed lovers. But rather than telling Hideo who Zero is and ending the book, she keeps it from him for quite some time. They stay mad at each other for .0001 seconds and they are back being lovey-dovey. Her team is willing to do absolutely anything for her, even if it means hurting their livelihood because they just got sooo close in the first book (so, yes, this annoyed me, I wanted more development dang it). 
 What Lu did that I really enjoyed in this book was give us Zero's backstory, which was sad and interesting. Honestly, without it this book would not have been good. Writing this review is making me realize that not a lot happens. We get Zero's back story, Emika tries to get Hideo back, we learn the bad guy isn't as black and why as Hideo or Zero and have to stop them. But a lot of this happens towards the end. Emika for me was infuriating in this, she just can't communicate whatsoever and did absolutely nothing, she was handed every bit of info she needed. Her hacking wasn't needed, her playing wasn't needed. She wasn't needed. 
 For me, the biggest eye roll was the last two pages. So spoiler alert. The idea that the company would reach out to a girl who barely did anything, who broke the law, got removed from the game, had a relationship with a man now jailed, and ask her to help run a company, is just plain laughable. The fact that she eventually becomes CEO is beyond unbelievable. Like, what? Everything was packaged into shiny of a bow for me on this one. The actual plot of this book could easily have been two additional chapters of the first book, and then a side story about Zero's past. I still was bummed out to not have much in-game time, and the in-game we did have was the stereotypical "find the real zero hiding in here" with some Inception-style "his mind will try and attack you" sprinkled in. 
 But it was enjoyable enough and finished the story, so I suppose you could say it was worth the read. I guess I'm just desperately looking for a good VR book, cause for me, by the end of the second book, the YA formula was just too extreme with this one.

Nicole Dykeman

This was a great conclusion to the duology. This has been my favorite series by Marie Lu by far. I love Emika as a narrator, and I think Hideo is a really great morally grey character. Honorable motives, questionable behavior. Just the way I like it.

*3.75

definitely a lot weaker than the first book since the warcross game was what made the book so thrilling, but this was still action packed and i couldn’t put it down. now i need a hideoemika novella

catia

Marie Lu just wants to play with my heart yap it's confirmed!
It was way more intense than warcross unfortunately less scenes between hideo and emika but equally so damn good! I'm so sad to leave these world and these characters beyond, but it was such a ride, I'm so glad I finally read it!

little bit SPOILERS BEWARE! 




Emika Chen, CEO of Henka Games DAMN RIGHT SHE IS AAA!

WHAT AN ENDING.

that ending has got to be one of the most satisfying endings i have read. i was so ready to decrease my rating because marie lu, apparently, likes to toy with my feelings and to keep me hanging. i thought it was going to end this way, but then she will manage to do something and then boom! a justified, satisfying, and happy ending. i love this. i love to be happy. i can't even be objective enough because although i love how tragic endings are enough to make me unhinged, happy endings will always have a very, very special place in my heart.

ily hideoemika thanks for pulling me from my romajuliette breakdown!!!!!

Livia

3.5

is it slightly frustating? very. is it good? yes, i enjoy it to a certain degree

Wildcard (Warcross 2)

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