Guess which book my lovely sisters picked to get me for Christmas? RENEGADES <3. I've been waiting to read this book since it came out, but now that I've finished it ... I have some mixed feelings.
![Book Review - Renegades by Marissa Meyer [post title image]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidvXQKe7OOd3NodXAVOJtcIa-em98KUBmKjnBTR_nAnDfXyYejuslKu3OfRcfkBBI-Buw5pNq8emCaHOPCoRNxJ5YECwULG66K2grrLdoeBkMEJ_yjW4f0o497uL1gVq0BUr6EpAfd8Lw/s1600/book+review+of+renegades+by+marissa+meyer.PNG)
3 Stars
And I was so looking forward to having Renegades be a four or five star book, because Marissa Meyer's Lunar Chronicles series was incredible. But sadly, that didn't happen. I think it definitely could have been a four or five star book, except for that fact that there was some content in the book I didn't enjoy.
From The Back Cover
![Renegades by Marissa Meyer [cover image]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_dl2gxhnlJnnFY1d5xvy35xzu0gANB56agZ8sH-kqMo8vm0zPlpCIDdRpW_lRgJ3JXr6-F5MKg_3IOep17ZoSpEkxSCNg3JL9H1GpCf87cbEj13OFzoq4mXRVdFt9LIl3pXy3A0O0KOE/s1600/1renegades.jpg)
Secret Identities. Extraordinary Powers. She wants vengeance. He wants justice.
The Renegades are a syndicate of prodigies—humans with extraordinary abilities—who emerged from the ruins of a crumbled society and established peace and order where chaos reigned. As champions of justice, they remain a symbol of hope and courage to everyone...except the villains they once overthrew.
Nova has a reason to hate the Renegades, and she is on a mission for vengeance. As she gets closer to her target, she meets Adrian, a Renegade boy who believes in justice—and in Nova. But Nova's allegiance is to a villain who has the power to end them both.
- The superpowers. So CONFESSION: I have never seen any superhero movies (*sobs because I want to*), which means I won't know if anything in Renegades was terribly cliche. But that aside - I loved the superpowers in this book! They were so unique, and I especially loved Adrian's. It was really fun to read a book with some many different powers.
- Adrian and Nova (and Max!). Again, I couldn't help it! The characters are my favorite part every time! xD But Adrian, Nova, and Max were especially good. Adrian broke out of quite a few cliches that I expected him to fit into, that was quite a pleasant surprise. And feisty Nova was lots of fun! Max was great, too. I really wish he'd been focused on more, I liked him a lot. But Marissa Meyer always writes great characters, so I wasn't surprised in the least about how much I enjoyed reading about the cast of the Renegades.
- The language. So, it wasn't really the fact that there was language that bugged me - I'm used to books having language (I don't condone it, but I've learned to expect it sometimes) - but I was surprised by it, because the rest of Marissa's books have been a little cleaner language-wise.
... yeah, so that explains why Renegades only got three stars. All in all, it was an engaging story that I really enjoyed, and I wish I could give it a better rating. I'm really curious to see what Renegades's sequel will be like, and I'm hoping I'll be able to give it a higher rating than I gave this one ;).
~ Savannah Grace
have you read Renegades?
what's your favorite Marissa Meyer book?
I got this one for Christmas too! I can't wait to read it, but I've been a little nervous because it has been getting mixed ratings. But I had no idea it had content like that in it! D: Like you, I assumed it was fine because her other books really didn't have language and much stuff like that. SADNESS. The one secular author I thought I could trust to keep her stuff mostly clean. *pouts* At least I know what to expect and won't be shocked when I read it! Lol. And the characters and superpowers definitely sound epic! :D
ReplyDeleteThanks for the review!
So obviously we both have EPIC friends/family that know us really well xD. Yeah, the only thing I'd heard about Renegades before I read it was that the plot was slow (which I didn't really agree with), but other than that *shrugs*. BUT yes, at least now you won't be shocked xD. You'll have to tell me what you thought of it once you read it!
DeleteThanks for commenting, Christine! <3
*points to the entire review* You said it. This is exactly how I felt about Renegades, and I'd been really looking forward to reading it, unfortunately.
ReplyDeleteI totally loved the characters too! Even the villains were super interesting, but Adrian and Nova - amazing! :D If it hadn't been for you-know-what, I would have enjoyed this one and probably recommended it to all my reading friends. As it is, though, I don't feel comfortable recommending it to anyone. :( It's sad, honestly. High hopes for the sequel, though!
Great review!!
Brianna | noendofbooks.blogspot.com
Yeah, I do wish the book had been better overall, but YES, ADRIAN AND NOVA. <3 And I agree about the villains being interesting - I wish we'd gotten to learn more about Phobia, he was really intriguing.
DeleteYup, very high hopes for the sequel ;). Thanks for commenting, Brianna!
I barely finished it, honestly. Adrian and Nova were the only reason I kept going - they're so awkwardly cute!! <3 YES, Phobia needs more story time in the sequel. As does Max. 12-year-olds with crazy powers = awesome! Fingers crossed . . .
DeleteBrianna
Great review!! I finished this about a week back?? The beginning was just slow for me but after page 150 BOOM! I sped through like a rocket!! *Sigh* I was not prepared for #issue but in the end, that aside, it was actually pretty good!? I feel like we appreciated the plot more bc like you I am not familiar with superhero movies/comics so yeah!! I also feel kind stupid trying to write superhero when I have 0% ideas if what I'm doing is cliche ugh ... *headdesk* I need to go get some education.
ReplyDeleteYes, the plot was SO GREAT. I loved the epic ideas that Marissa Meyer came up with for Renegades, they were so cool. And SAME - we both need to go get an education in superhero! We should both pick a Marvel movie and then watch it as our first superhero movie xD.
DeleteWhat kind of relationship does Adrian’s parents have? I’m usually up for reading anything as long as it’s not too graphically violent, sexually explicitly or just downtrodden by swear words (I’m kind of like you in sense of expecting swear words— for examine, these were bleeped our in Illuminae but you still understood what the characters were saying). I still need to read Renegades, thus the questions!
ReplyDeletexoxo Abigail Lennah | ups & downs
I'm curious too. I tried digging up information but didn't come across anything. Is it really that bad?
DeleteAdrian's parents are a gay couple - and I'm kind surprised that you're not able to find anything about it. For some reason no one is saying anything about xD. And how often is language used in Illuminae? I've heard that it's a good book, but that the author is really liberal with language.
DeleteAh. Personally, I don't mind reading books with LGBT characters, but I do understand if some people wish to step away.
DeleteAs for Illuminae-- there's a LOT of cursing. But it's bleeped out, as in you can see the first and last letters of the word and can kind of summarize what they're saying.
I DNF'd it because of conflict of belief. I felt God telling me to not finish. I wrote a review and even told people if they enjoyed, that was awesome and I'm happy for them. I told people I wasn't telling them not to read it, that I just couldn't finish it on a personal level. And all hate came flying. Over 300 hate comments about how I'm a terrible person. I stuck with my beliefs and won't even not stick with them.
ReplyDeleteI did enjoy reading your review, though I feel like I should have said something to you sooner. I didn't want to go into detail about what was in there. It's quite crazy how angry people get when you don't like a book for personal reasons.
I think your review was well worded and tactful. Great job. <3
~Ivie
iviewrites.blogspot.com
Wow, Ivie--I can't believe people responded angrily to your review! It's so crazy when people get so upset when others don't have the same opinion about certain books.
DeleteI highly respect your decision not to finish the book because of your faith. I think that that's (whoa, does that make sense? lol) extremely important, and sets a great example. :))
Thank you. They were extremely rude and I had to eventually close my reviews from comments from non-friends, which was something I never wanted to do. But, I had to do what was necessary. I got a lot of love from people who agreed with me and sent me messages telling me to stick to my beliefs. I know I did the right thing for me. I'm glad there were people who were able to enjoy it more than I did.
DeleteThanks for your kind words. <3
I agree with Allison, Ivie! Thank you for sticking with your beliefs, even if nobody else seemed to get it. You are setting a great example for Christians everywhere, and I'm sure God is proud of you! <3
DeleteI'm sorry you suffered for voicing your beliefs, Ivie. I'm so glad and praise God that you stayed strong <3
DeleteOkay, can I just mention real quick that it makes my heart happy how you guys all pounced on Ivie and encouraged her before I even got here? Y'all are the best <3.
DeleteAnd I'm so sorry you got hate comments just for sticking to your beliefs, Ivie. I honestly think that your choice not to finish Renegades was very admirable, and I wish you hadn't got slammed for it. But I'm really glad that you chose to stick to your beliefs instead of just doing what everyone else was doing - you're epic, okay? <3
Agreed—3 stars for those very reasons. (And because I found it a little bit slow thanks to all Nova’s internal rants about how the Renegades weren’t doing their jobs...:/) But yeah, Adrian’s superpower was EPIC PERFECTION.
ReplyDeleteNova did go into rant-mode a lot, didn't she xD. I WISH I HAD ADRIAN'S SUPERPOWER, wouldn't that be epic? I have high hopes for the sequel, but we'll see what happens.
DeleteIck. I'm sorry the book wasn't everything you hoped it would be. I hate it when that happens.
ReplyDeleteHaha, yeah, I'm hoping the next book isn't like that, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see :D.
DeleteI read Renegades last week, and I LOVED the plot and characters, but, like you said, I didn't like the relationship of Adrian's parents.
ReplyDeleteRegarding language, I don't remember any cursing?? (but I could have glossed over it--the book was so big:), but there was some suggestive/inappropriate comments.
Great review! :)
YES, the characters <3. If it hadn't been for the thing with Adrian's parents, I'd be all over the internets flailing about Renegades, haha.
DeleteYeah, there wasn't that much language, I was just kinda surprised that she used it since the rest of her books had been so clean *shrugs*. I'm glad you lied the review, Allison!
I literally binge-read the Lunar Chronicles this past week...*guilty smile* but yea, the Lunar Chronicles seem very different from Renegades! I don't know why Marissa Meyer felt like she needed to add that stuff...
DeleteSadly, a common theme I'm finding is that no one seems to like the rest of Marissa's books as much as the Lunar Chronicles. BUT: I am excited to read Renegades. I adore superhero movies (especially Marvel's. Always Marvel. Though Wonder Woman was LIFE CHANGING. Anyway, I digress.), and I hope that I enjoy Renegades as much. :)
ReplyDeleteIsn't is sad? BUT at least it means that everyone loves The Lunar Chroniles that much xD. (can you believe I haven't seen any Marvel yet? I MUST. SOON. What's your favorite Marvel movie so far?) I hope you enjoy it, too! You'll have to let me know what you think of it once you finish ;).
DeleteGIRL. THAT NEW HEADER. It's the bomb, okay???
ReplyDeleteYour blog is always so beautiful <333
Michaila
seventytimeseven.com
THANK YOU SO MUCH - I must credit the amazing Alea Harper for it, because she made the gorgeous thing <3 <3. Thank you so much, Michaila!
DeleteYour review basically said everything I would have said xD
ReplyDeleteI had a physical reaction to the introduction of Adrian's parents. I was like "wait. REALLY? Come on!" I kinda wished I'd waited to read reviews before I picked it up, even though there wasn't a ton of focus on that :P
BUT THE SUPERPOWERS WERE EPIC. A few were a tad cliche (kinda variations of Batman, Superman, the Joker, etc.), but I loved how they were incorporated into the world-building. Not sure if I'll read the sequel (like really. Adrian's parents could have not been his parents and nothing in the plot would have been any different. Mentor characters instead, anyone?), but it was a pretty good book to enjoy.
Fantastic review :D
Yeah, I don't think waiting for reviews (...unless you waited quite a while :D) would have helped much, because I've seen some reviews of it, and none of them mentioned that *shrugs*. But YES, other than that - it WAS EPIC. Loved loved loved the superpowers. And Marissa Meyer creates awesome worlds, my gracious. (and I agree about them being mentor characters - I think they could have been better as mentors instead of parents, then they'd be incorporated into the story more).
DeleteThanks, Audrey! <3
Aww, that's too bad about the parent relationship. :( I was looking forward to this book too, but now I'm having second thoughts.
ReplyDeleteAnd really, about the language? The fact that she kept the language down to a minimum was one of the reasons I really liked the Lunar Chronicles. Such a shame. :P
Also, YOU HAVEN'T SEEN ANY SUPERHERO MOVIES?? SAVANNAH YOU NEED TO FIX THIS IMMEDIATELY. O_O
Yeah, I would have, too, if I'd known about it xD. But (most of) the characters are still too-die-for <3.
DeleteIt really is - but I honestly don't think that any of Marissa's books will ever beat The Lunar Chronicles, those books were AMAZING <3 <3 <3.
I KNOW. I'M A TERRIBLE TERRIBLE PERSON xD. Which Marvel movie is your favorite? I need to know which one to see first!
lol you can just say they're gay and you're homophobic ....
ReplyDeleteRenegades sounds good-in fact, I have been wanting to read it-but I'm so glad that you mentioned the content problem. I think I'll have to skip it now. *sad sigh*
ReplyDelete*blinks* you've never watched any superhero movies? DUDE. HOW?? And I've been avoiding reading this because of the size, honestly. I have so many books to read ...
ReplyDeleteSo far I haven't read anything by Marissa Meyer, but I do have Cinder checked out. I've heard good things about Cinder, but not so much about Renegades, so I'm a little wary of it now. Thanks for the review!
ReplyDelete