Had this one on the list for a loooooong time. I finally got around to it and despite some faults, it was exactly what I wanted and needed.
Synopsis: After the forces of evil uprooted and killed her family, Nova decides to fight the power that claims to save people from the fates that Nova herself suffered-The Renegades. They are the continuously praised and loved superheroes of justice and symbols of hope that Nova will do anything to take down. Alongside her group, the Anarchists, she poses as a Renegade to get in on a covert mission and take them down from the inside.
Plot: I'm really unsure how I've never read a book about superheroes until now, but I'm so glad I did. This was so fun, unique, and very very cool. I want to dive inside and live in this immersive and interesting world. There were some faults to the overarching narrative, but regardless, I was drawn in immediately and stayed invested until the very end. Even while being entertained, I could still see that there wasn't much of a huge plotline going on and that the ending was kinda abrupt. And on top of that, I wasn't even sure what the end goal really was. There were also some major moments of convenience and the fact that not a single person put together that Nightmare and Insomnia were the same person is BAFFALING. All of that being said, I couldn't care less about the issues because I had such a fun time anyway. The inclusivity, the plot twist, and the overall vibes really did do this justice and I have a strong feeling it's only going to go up from here.
Characters: Pretty good characters all around. Each side character just got more and more interesting. I loved the attention to detail with each superhero's power and how they manifested in each individual. I am super super excited to learn more about them and see what lies ahead for each. Nova as an MC is pretty average. My main glaring issue is that I never really understood her motives for joining the Renegades, a huge point of the book. She was very against evil because they killed her family...but she joins the villain's team to spread more evil? Sure... There were also a lot of extremely cringy lines throughout, which unfortunately took me right out of the narrative so I could appropriately grimace. There was a slight romance between the two MCs and I did actually really like Adrian, but the romance in this felt a little flat. It has potential though, and I'm sure it will bloom in the following novels, just wasn't too invested in this point quite yet.
I feel like I had a lot of negative things to say, but I promise I really did enjoy this. I swear.
Ready for the next one.
4/5 stars.
Comments