Deviate by Jay Kristoff Review

Rating: 4 Stars

Publication: June 25th, 2019

Lifelike #2

Genre: Scifi

Format: ARC

Diversity: Not Sure

Goodreads

Summary:

Set on a polluted planet turned junkyard with deserts of irradiated glass and moutains of plastic survival isnt for the weak of heart. Separated from her best friend Eve, the Lifelike android Ezekiel and her robot companion Cricket, Lemon Fresh has seen better days. While on the run from both BioMaas Incorporated and Daedelus Technologies, Lemon finds herself falling in with a band of teenagers with astonishing abilities. The group is led by an enigmatic figure who may hold the secrets to Lemon’s past. Meanwhile, Cricket finds himself captured by the bloodthirsty Brotherhood, a religious cult set for a head-on collision with Lemons new friends, Ezekiel makes a strange ally in an old enemy as he tries to track down Lemon, and Eve hatches a plan no one saw coming.

My Thoughts:

⭐Lifelike Spoilers Ahead⭐

This sequel mostly follows the sassy Lemon, but we do get some chapters from Ezekiels and even Crickets point of view. Since we see very little of Eve some of her motivations werent very clear, but Im pretty sure that was the point. I wish I believed her whole switch in personality a bit more. Since she didnt have Anas mermories when she was just Eve it was difficult for me to buy her new outlook. We also get a couple chapters from the bounty hunter that was in the first book. I enjoyed the different perspectives since we get to keep tabs on everyone once they get seperated. I love seeing Lemon go from the sidekick in the first book to the star of this novel. I loved her in Lifelike, but this sequel made me love her even more. She has this comedic personality and memorable narrative voice thats a joy to read. Not to mention shes very brave and super loyal to her friends.

I loved the people and the friendships Lemon makes on her journey. The Hunter from BioMaas was absolutely fascinating with her killer bees. Then we meet a gang of deviates with amazing powers. I liked their leader until he started insinuating that Lemons friends had moved on without her. It felt like a manipulative way to keep her from leaving and I just didnt trust him, but that made him a compelling character. Crickets is such a caring and devoted bot I felt so bad for his inability to disobey the humans around him. Seeing such a small bot get use to a huge warbot body was priceless. I also really enjoyed the robot Solomon and how he taught Cricket to bend the three laws of robotics. Ezekiel and the bounty hunter have this great dynamic where the bounty hunter keeps teasing Ezekiel while he tries to be all serious.

Lemons plot line was definitely the most compelling. I loved the romance sprinkled into her story. Overall the plot wasnt as shocking as Lifelike since I managed to predict most of the deaths and big reveals, but the twists and turns were still very exciting. I was confused by the scene where Solomon leaves with Ezekiel, but then all of a sudden magically appears on Crickets shoulder. I even went back and reread it to make sure he had actually left. Maybe this inconsistency will be adjusted in the finished copy. Another issue I had was Fix decision to heal his girlfriend without the help of his friends. I think if they had all added their strength it would have worked out better. As for the world, I really enjoyed the gritty junkyard vibe with the severe radiation and pollution. Theres some awesome scifi elements with the BioMaas creatures, lifelikes androids, and the deviates powers. The Darwin references were great.

I think its incredible how the authors writing completely changes to suit the novels setting and the age range of the target audience. Its a total different experience reading the slang on page then when I was listening to Lifelike on audiobook, but its a great way to establish the differences between our world today and this original futuristic world. The writing also did a great job delivering some sassy banter and funny inner thoughts. Its not often a book has me laughing out loud, but this one did. I wasnt only gigling to myself though, it also had me all kinds of emotional. I was sappy with Lemon, frustrated with Cricket, and confused with Eve. I thought this was a duology, but Im so glad were getting a third book. With the way things ended we have so much more left to explore. I would totally recommend picking up Lifelike if you havent already. Be warned the first two books have major cliffhangers.

*This book was received for an honest review