Jay Kristoff

The thrilling finale of the LIFEL1K3 trilogy from the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Nevernight Chronicle and The Illuminae Files.

TRUEL1F3 (TRUELIFE) (Lifelike, Book 3)

From the bestselling co-author of the Illuminae Files comes the thrilling finale in the LIFEL1K3 trilogy--hailed by Marie Lu as "a breathless, action-packed exploration of what humanity really means." Best friends have become enemies. Lovers have become strangers. And deciding whose side you're on could be the difference between life and death. For Eve and Lemon, discovering the truth about themselves--and each other--was too much for their friendship to take. But with the country on the brink of a new world war--this time between the BioMaas swarm at CityHive and Daedalus's army at Megopolis, loyalties will be pushed to the brink, unlikely alliances will form and with them, betrayals. But the threat doesn't stop there, because the lifelikes are determined to access the program that will set every robot free, a task requiring both Eve and Ana, the girl she was created to replace. In the end, violent clashes and heartbreaking choices reveal the true heroes . . . and they may not be who you think they are.

TRUEL1F3 (Truelife)

Danny Werhane

Paige Green

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.




Book: TrueL1f3




Author: Jay Kristoff




Book Series: Lifelike Book 3




Rating: 5/5




Recommended For...: sci-fi, ya, dystopian, robotics




Publication Date: June 30, 2020




Genre: YA Sci-Fi




Recommended Age: 16+ (sex mentions, language, gore, violence, death)




Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers




Pages: 480




Synopsis: Best friends have become enemies. Lovers have become strangers. And deciding whose side you're on could be the difference between life and death. For Eve and Lemon, discovering the truth about themselves--and each other--was too much for their friendship to take. But with the country on the brink of a new world war--this time between the BioMaas swarm at CityHive and Daedalus's army at Megopolis, loyalties will be pushed to the brink, unlikely alliances will form and with them, betrayals. But the threat doesn't stop there, because the lifelikes are determined to access the program that will set every robot free, a task requiring both Eve and Ana, the girl she was created to replace. In the end, violent clashes and heartbreaking choices reveal the true heroes . . . and they may not be who you think they are.




Review: Overall, I thought this was a really good ending for the series. The book still had the POV switch, but it mostly focused on Lemon Fresh, which I’m not complaining about. I think the character development continued here and while I wish we found out more about Lemon Fresh’s backstory, why she was left in a box and stuff, I think it didn’t need to be explained. I think Lemon Fresh is for the kids and adults who don’t know where they came from and it showed them that they too are important. I also felt like the world building was well done and I literally sped through this book because it was that good and compelling.




However, I did feel like the pacing lulled in parts and the big fight scene was a bit chaotic. The book also has a lot of character deaths and it will break your heart.




Verdict: Well done series!

Truel1f3 (Truelife)

Anastaciya

Okay, the ending was cute. Even though many questions are left unanswered :/ and the book itself was somewhat of a mess... (thank god for players playing at x2 speed 🙄)
I'll give this 2.5☆

Kaele Perkins 

This series was a rollercoaster! Such a cool sci-fi series. We’ve got a post-apocalyptic world run by machines, sarcastic robots, people with powers, a bounty hunter, a very up and down romance between main characters, best friends on opposite sides of a war, and a whole lot of betrayal and action. There are also some of the best and funniest side characters ever in here. I flew through these books, because there was never a good place to take a break. The LIFEL1K3 series will keep you on the edge of your seat the entire time and leave you shocked at the plot twists. Overall I loved this series!

Heather Killeen

Rating: 4.5/5 logika with a heart of gold

Format: ebook. I’d like to thank Netgalley for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

To sum up: 
This is the third and final book in the LifeL1k3 series by Jay Kristoff. To avoid spoilers, I’m going to talk more about how I feel about this series as a whole, and what I think it did really well. This series is set in a dystopian near-future after a third world war and a major earthquake that separates part of California from the rest of the country. This world run by two major corporations at war with one another and our characters are tossed in the middle of this war. Our main characters consist of a combination of humans, Deviates (humans with extraordinary abilities, think X-men), logika (independent machines with intelligence and personalities), and LifeLikes, which are machines/robots that appear just like human beings but with extraordinary strength and healing abilities. The machines in this world are bound by three laws of robotics which are as follows:

 1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.

2. A robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.

3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the first or second law. 

The main driving force of this trilogy comes from some of the robotic/lifelike characters pursuing freedom from these laws, and are willing to kill anyone (especially the humans that created, and in their minds, enslaved them) in pursuit of this freedom. While the laws were put into place to prevent an AI uprising endangering humans, it also prevents robots from having free will and choice, that they feel they deserve. Therefore, a big part of this series delves into a discussion about free will and technology, how this topic ultimately causes a rift between friends and allies, and what the characters are willing to sacrifice in pursuit of their ideals.

What I loved:
What I loved most about this trilogy, is the major theme of resistance and change throughout and in each character. Like many futuristic dystopian stories, there is a theme of REVOLUTION and RESISTANCE, but I think that it’s particularly cool that we get to see this resistance from the robot’s point of view. In most robots vs humans stories, it is all too easy to choose the side of humans, but this trilogy really strives to give equal time to both sides, which can make some of the choices made really heartbreaking and intense. Every character’s motivations are really clear and aren’t exactly painted black or white. The line between good and evil, villain and hero, is often hard to draw. There is such a fantastic arc of development and change in each major character to this series so that most of them are by one character or another, seen as both a hero and a villain. As a writer myself, I really admired this level of complexity to the characters, it was a really cool way to demonstrate that every revolution has more than one side, and every “villain” has their reasons (whether or not we agree with them).

I also loved the friendships in this trilogy. A lot of YA focuses on romance, and don’t get me wrong, there is excellent romance in this series as well, but I think this trilogy is more about friendships and the lengths we will go to preserve those friendships. There are friendships between humans, human and deviate, deviate and machine, and all of them are done with beautiful depth and sincerity. My favorite for sure is the friendship between Cricket (a logika) and LemonFresh. There was MORE THAN ONE moment in this book where their relationship made me tear up, it’s so beautiful!

I also have to mention the WORLDBUILDING. Like many of Jay Kristoff’s books, he immerses the reader in a concrete and well-thought-out world containing relevant history, slang, religion, topography, technology obviously, and politics. The way slang and curses are used is a particular strength of his, and this book is no exception. I may not have wanted to live in this world while I was reading it, but it was easy to feel completely immersed in this world due to the level of detail we are given about the world. 


What was meh:
Honestly, I can think of very few things! The ramping up action and tension were great, the development and world-building were great, the themes were interesting, I just felt there was a little something missing that I can’t quite put my finger on. When I set the book down I wasn’t dying to know what would happen next (which I felt like while reading LifeL1k3 and Aurora Rising). Since that is pretty vague and unhelpful as a critique I’m only knocking of half a star and I’ll have to update this review if I think of more to add!


Overall, I highly recommend this trilogy, and this book in particular if you’ve enjoyed the first two books! It’s a great finale to the trilogy, jam-packed with action, drama, feels, and of course all the sass, plot twists, and betrayal we have all come to expect from a Jay Kristoff book! 

Who I'd recommend it to: Fans of the LifeL1k3 series so far, Illuminae, Aurora Rising, X-Men, The Runaways, The Hunger Games, and Stranger Things.

Joleen

TRUEL1F3, what can I possibly say about this book. I have been putting it off for a year because I was not ready for it to end. But this one was fantastic. Jay Kristoff just really does a great job writing a wonderful story. He knows how to keep you invested. 

From the start, Lemon was my girl. She stole the show from the moment we met her and I am really glad Kristoff made her the more focal character of the series. Because she deserves the limelight. Her sass and humor were * chef's kisses* and I loved her relationship with Cricket. I loved all of these characters but those two were the stars of the show for me.

Now with the plot, I am happy with the way most things turned out. For obvious reasons, I won't spoil anything so there isn't a lot I can say. But just know that I am happy with it. Except for one thing but I'll leave that for you to figure out. TRUEL1F3 is still a wonderful conclusion to a great series!

I am so sad to say goodbye to Cricket, Lemonfresh, Eve, and Ezekiel. But if you are looking for a wonderful sci-fi trilogy, then this is the one to pick up.

Geneviève Rouleau

Ok the final battle could've been condensed a bit more 😅 3.5 ⭐

Lisa Beasley

I enjoyed this conclusion and was rather surprised it didn't completely destroy me as I expected it to. I definitely enjoy this series more as an audiobook than physically reading them. Maybe its the genre or the style but listening adds to my appreciation. I think I would say the second book is my fave as we spend a lot of time with Lemon who is by far my fave character. But yeah overall a good conclusion.

Juliet

From the bestselling co-author of the Illuminae Files comes the thrilling finale in the LIFEL1K3 trilogy--hailed by Marie Lu as a breathless, action-packed exploration of what humanity really means. Best friends have become enemies. Lovers have become strangers. And deciding whose side you're on could be the difference between life and death. For Eve and Lemon, discovering the truth about themselves--and each other--was too much for their friendship to take. But with the country on the brink of a new world war--this time between the BioMaas swarm at CityHive and Daedalus's army at Megopolis, loyalties will be pushed to the brink, unlikely alliances will form and with them, betrayals. But the threat doesn't stop there, because the lifelikes are determined to access the program that will set every robot free. In the end, violent clashes and heartbreaking choices reveal the true heroes . . . and they may not be who you think they are.

Zoe May

Elisa Bieg

Wendy Stonegood

Samantha Chavez 

Maegan Kennedy

Adrianne

From the bestselling co-author of the Illuminae Files comes the thrilling finale in the LIFEL1K3 trilogy--hailed by Marie Lu as a breathless, action-packed exploration of what humanity really means. Best friends have become enemies. Lovers have become strangers. And deciding whose side you're on could be the difference between life and death. For Eve and Lemon, discovering the truth about themselves--and each other--was too much for their friendship to take. But with the country on the brink of a new world war--this time between the BioMaas swarm at CityHive and Daedalus's army at Megopolis, loyalties will be pushed to the brink, unlikely alliances will form and with them, betrayals. But the threat doesn't stop there, because the lifelikes are determined to access the program that will set every robot free, a task requiring both Eve and Ana, the girl she was created to replace. In the end, violent clashes and heartbreaking choices reveal the true heroes . . . and they may not be who you think they are.

TRUEL1F3 (TRUELIFE) (Lifelike, Book 3)

Reviews