ARC Review: Renegade by Debra Driza (& Happy Mother's Day)

 

RENEGADE

MILA 2.0 Series #2

by Debra Driza

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books (May 13, 2014)
Genre: Dystopia, Sci-Fi, Young Adult
Format: eARC (448 pages)
Source: Free book from publisher (Edelweiss) for honest review
Find It: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository
Rating: ★★★½☆ (3.5 stars)

Summary
There is no one left for Mila to trust. Except for a boy she barely knows.

But Hunter has no idea who—and what—Mila really is. She can’t bear to reveal her secret, even though he’s unwittingly joined her search for Richard Grady, a man who may know more details of Mila’s complicated past.

Yet the road to the truth is more dangerous than ever. With General Holland and the Vita Obscura scouring the earth for her whereabouts, Mila must rely on her newfound android abilities to protect herself and Hunter from imminent harm. Still, embracing her identity as a machine leads her to question the state of her humanity—as well as Hunter’s real motives.

Perfect for fans of I Am Number Four and Divergent, this action-packed and heart-wrenching second installment of MILA 2.0 will leave readers breathlessly awaiting the series conclusion.

At A Glance
That ending, hell yeah! But the beginning, meh.

The Good
Wow, this is going to have to be another stream of consciousness review because I just sat here for 30 minutes not knowing what to say. I am drawing a huge blank. And it's not because this book was bad, quite the opposite. Even though the first two-thirds were a little slow for me, there were so many parts that I loved. I loved Hunter and Mila together, even if they were kind of up and down. They were just both so cute, all shy and uncertain. They did grow closer together and, by the end, I could really see them being a real couple.

But what I really want to talk about is the last one-third of the book. OMG. So much hope, so much love, so much acceptance. And then Debra ripped my effing heart out, and I loved every minute of it! I have to admit, I was a bit fooled. I wasn't sure how to take the new changes, but I had so much hope that it would all work out. And, oh, how things got worse. Then the cliffhanger! Best cliffhanger ever! And you guys know how much I hate cliffhangers. Not this one. It just worked. And now I literally hurt having to wait for the next book to come out.

The action, writing, and dialogue all worked for me. I think the direction of the series is perfect now that we are getting somewhere.

The Bad
Even though there were interesting moments, the first two-thirds were a little boring. Not like "I don't want to finish this book" boring, but "Hmm, more could be happening" boring. Easy to put down but it didn't take me long to pick the book back up either. I think a lot had to do with the whole beginning being a road trip, which I hate road trips in books.

The Snuggly
Hunter and Mila were pretty on and off throughout the book so it was hard to fully enjoy their romance but I did anyway. They just seem like a great potential couple. I did love how close they had become by the end.

Just some kissing, so appropriate for a YA audience.

Final Thoughts
For me, the last part of the book was worth the whole slow beginning. Still loving the characters and still loving the story. Recommended.

Quotes
Can't quote from the ARC, sorry.

MILA 2.0 Series:

Book #1: MILA 2.0

Book #2: Renegade

If you have seen Land Before Time, then you just cried a little from this GIF. Happy Mother's Day again!