LIFEL1K3 is a WILD post apocalyptic robotic explosion.
It’s honestly very very a typical Jay Kristoff book, with intelligent AI’s and unique slang and badass epic girlpower and BLOOD EVERYWHERE. I enjoyed it! But I honestly have to admit I felt slightly underwhelmed because I’ve read this type of story a lot and called the plot twists like two hundred kilometres early. (Is this the downside to reading so much?! GASP.)
☆ OTHER REVIEWS OF JAY KRISTOFF BOOKS ☆
✓ ✗ It comes with a HEFTY pitch which was part awesome, part…spoilery?!
On the front cover it says: “Romeo And Juliet meets Mad Max meets Xmen meets Blade Runner.” Now I don’t know a thing about Blade Runner so I’m skimming over that one. It did have a Romeo-Juliet-esque foribbden romnace but it was WILDLY MAD MAX. This is like homage to Mad Max (!!). I also add in that it’s really hugely Pinocchio + SO MANY Anastasia references. It also reminded me of Blood Red Road x This Mortal Coil x Frost x The Diabolic x The Body Electric—
ummm so we see our small problem here.
I’ve kind of read the story before. This version was well written and fun and I loved the characters, but I knew all the upcoming plot twists because (a) that looooong pitch ON THE FRONT COVER gives them to us! and (b) I’ve read a lot of books oops.
✓ Our story follows Eve who fights with robots until she does some X-Men magickery and melts her opponent. Then she has to run.
People are after her to kill her! And then she finds this dead-android on a scrap heap! But he turns out to be alive and knows her from her past. Because obviously she has a complicated past where her dad built lifelike androids and it backfired massively. (I mean OF COURSE she knew him from the past. ahem. ahem.) But I did like how spicy the adventure kickstarted. It showed this cutthroat, dusty, murder world they live in (APOCALYPSE IS NOW) and also her home, her granddad, her trusty cyborg dog, and her BFF, Lemon.
Then we get: gunfights, getting eaten by a kraken at the bottom of the sea, desert races, a murderous hitman “preacher”, and androids’ blood everywhere.
me @ if there was a robot apocalypse i just wouldn’t notice
✓ I enjoyed the characters a lot!
They were this excellent mix of sass and punky power and I LOVED THEM. There is:
- EVE: she’s so freaking BADASS but emotional!
- LEMON: she will kick you in the face while telling you a super cool joke. So basically I loved her. Also she + Eve have this intensely tight and wholesome friendship that I adored?! I shouldn’t be so starved for epic female/friendships, but YET HERE WE ARE.
- CYBORG DOG: I absolutely forget his name, please forgive me. But I loved him!!
- CRICKET: a small (he hates being called that) robot who definitely functions as Eve’s conscious because Eve sees something dangerous and is like: “YES!” while Cricket is shrieking, “NO.”
- EZEKIEL: he’s our hot love interest lifelike android…super perfect in every way which gave him the personality of a plastic spoon. BUT HE WAS LOVELY and loyal!
✓ I really loved the writing too!
It could be a tiny bit corny at times and I had to get used to the slang, but it was fun and the pace was snappy and scenes fast! They whipped banter back and forth so awesomely. And it really made the settings come alive: all dust and blood and oil and grease. I could totally see it.
✗ But briefly? Here were the things that were an “eh no” from me.
☆ guys Ezekiel and a toaster could’ve swapped place and it would’ve worked
☆ the romance was super fast and therefore felt super flat
☆ Eve’s flip out at the end at Lemon and Ezekiel was REALLY annoying and didn’t make sense to me
☆ the technical sci-fi-robot jargon had me rather lost
☆ the plot twists at the end were obvious
☆ it lacked the kind of punch that Nevernight and Illuminae gave me unfortunately
LIFEL1K3 is a gritty and bloody apocalyptic shout, and while I did find it predictable and “seen it already”, it was still fun! I loved the aesthetics of the cutthroat world, the grease splattered mechanics and gears, and the corrupt AI robots.
THANKS TO ALLEN & UNWIN FOR THE ARC. Lifelike by Jay Kristoff is published May 2018!
★★★☆☆
On an island junkyard beneath a sky that glows with radiation, a deadly secret lies buried in the scrap. Seventeen-year-old Eve isn’t looking for trouble-she’s too busy looking over her shoulder. The robot gladiator she spent months building has been reduced to a smoking wreck, she’s on the local gangster’s wanted list, and the only thing keeping her grandpa alive is the money she just lost to the bookies. Worst of all, she’s discovered she can somehow destroy machines with the power of her mind, and a bunch of puritanical fanatics are building a coffin her size because of it. If she’s ever had a worse day, Eve can’t remember it.
The problem is, Eve has had a worse day–one that lingers in her nightmares and the cybernetic implant where her memories used to be. Her discovery of a handsome android named Ezekiel-called a “Lifelike” because they resemble humans–will bring her world crashing down and make her question whether her entire life is a lie.
With her best friend Lemon Fresh and her robotic sidekick Cricket in tow, Eve will trek across deserts of glass, battle unkillable bots, and infiltrate towering megacities to save the ones she loves … and learn the truth about the bloody secrets of her past.
Goodreads Publisher Buy Author’s Twitter
I have totally experienced this with books, alas. It means I’m really careful abou blurbs now because I know it doesn’t take much to be old news to me. and to be hoonest I’ve never been that interested in Jay Kristoff’s solo writing, I don’t think it’s really my style.
also where is that robot and books gif from I love it. I often read whil eating breakfast and I could just RELATE
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I just found that gif on giphy.com haha, but isn’t it perfect? Most relatable gif ever. 😂 But yeeeah…I’m SAD I didn’t adore it. I adored Nevernight so so much?! But this just felt really blandly typical almost…enjoyable but not the calibre I was expecting. 🙊
I am SO EXCITED for this because, Jay Kristoff, but also kinda nervous because I loved Nevernight and the Illuminae Files soo much and I’m scared this won’t live up to my exorbitantly high expectations?? And it’s also not my fav genre but I want to love it so badly. Either way I’m sure it’ll be exciting and enjoyable at the very least.
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I feel like my immense love of Illuminae/Nevernight backfired on me for this one. *cries* I mean it was good, it just was nowhere near the level of “amaze” I expected!??
I have not read those other books, so it will be fresh for me. Thanks!
YAyyyy excellent! I hope you enjoy it!
Hmm this book sounds really similar to Defy the Stars by Claudia Gray. The robot romance, an apocalypse-like situation, etc. but I love the idea of a robot dog!!! 😂 I’m not sure if I’ll read this one, although I do want to read The Diabolic! So I’m glad that was in your list of similar books!! 😁
Robots can be amazing and cool if they’re done well! Like Star Wars and the Insignia trilogy….. although that didn’t really have robots. More like cyborgs. And I have to say…… the apocalypse storyline is getting a bit old. Like there’s a bunch of good ones – it’s just getting worn out 😂😂 In my little opinion anyway.
You know what…it totally is.😂I should’ve put that on my list hhaha (the robots are SO similar come to think of it). And The Diabolic is super good if you get a chance to try it. Super stabby and the robot-girl is unapologetically stabby which is nice.😂
This intrigues me, though I haven’t read a Jay Kristoff book yet and that mash up is ridiculous but I think I’ll still give this a try.
For me a book that was super predictable and felt familiar was Magnus Chase (unpopular opinion! Yay!) It’s because I read all of Riordan’s books in a relatively short amount of time when I discovered Percy Jackson and Magnus Chase was the last of his books I read and it just kinda felt like a rehash of all his other books and I was just bored the hole and reading it.
It’s such an intense mashup hahha. I mean, I think it isn’t a BAD list of comparative titles but it is a LOT. Hence it feels kind of spoilery because you know everything to expect before reading??
And I do kind of understand about Magnus. I reeeally like Magnus, but the plots/characters are still so much like Percy Jackson. I still preferred him to the Kane Chronicles though.😂
Ooo sassy/badass characters are the best. Bummer that the romance was crummy and that it was so predictable for you. I’m reading quite the mixed reviews on this book so far!
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I feel like this one would maybe appeal to some people more than others?! Like I did like Mad Max, but not enormously, so that’s probably a problem here too.😂
This reminds me a little of the Claudia Gray Defy The Stars series, hot abandoned AI that falls in love with a human but it sounds dirty and darker which I’m here for! Is her best friend really called Lemon Fresh? I don’t want to judge but it’s not often you hear of someone named after a toilet cleanser. Colour me intrigued. I have this one on my TBR for next week actually and after loving his Nevernight series, can’t wait to crack it open. Hopefully I enjoy it as much as you have. Brilliant review Cait, absolutely loved it ♥♥♥
Actually it’s totally like Defy the Stars too hahah. Especially with the robot who is unhappy being a robot. (Why are they always so unhappy??? Sheesh. Must be the lack of delicious snacks available to them.) And YES her best friend is legit called Lemon Fresh. 😂 It’s clearly Lemony Snickety’s child.
WHATT! HOW HAS THIS NOT BEEN ON MY RADAR! I have to admit I hadn’t even heard this was a thing until just now! The X Men are my FAV! This book sounds so interesting, I just HAVE to get my hands on it! Great post!
I hope you like it!! I think maybe you might?!
I usually have trouble getting into Kristoff’s books and need about a 100 pages before I’m fully invested. Which is why I haven’t read Nevernight yet (SHAMEFUL I KNOW). BUT I do want to read this one because it still sounds cool okay?? I’ll get myself a copy and read it. But I hope to read NN first. If my TBR is gentle and allows me to do so.
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Nevernight is a pretty intense one that’s for sure.😂I actually liked it better via audio (I’ve read it twice haha) if that’s any help?! And hahaha HAHAHA “if your TBR is gentle”…oh that’s the dream.😂
Seeing this review is kind of a relief to me because oh my goodness YES SAME SAME. I agree that most of the characters were full of win, and I liked certain parts of course, but I also predicted all the things (except maybe the thing at the very end) and while I dug the whole Romanov thing, it again made things obvious for me because… well, history.
And the spoilery thing? YES yes she did and I mean, I am not sure how I am supposed to feel about it? And the second spoilery thing, that irked me too. A lot. Because it didn’t really make sense to me either, and I kind of hate when that happens because… female friendships, you know?
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I just saw your review on Goodreads! Look at us go, TWINNING. :’) But I’m just confused why the loooong list of comparative titles didn’t have the Romanovs in it?! Like that was way way bigger than any Romeo/Juliet thing going on!
I FEEL WEIRD ABOUT IT. I DIDN’T COME HERE TO READ THAT.😂Not that we “read” it per se, but seriously. O m g. And yeah, I was going to peg this as such a good female friendship (like finally one where boys weren’t coming between it) and I think Eve was really out of character with how she treated Lemon there. I mean yEAH it nearly got them killed a bit, but it was so understandable why Lemon was being quiet about it???
1. I just wanted to take this moment to thank you for the phrase “Ezekiel and a toaster could’ve swapped place and it would’ve worked” I just really like it, I feel like it has a broad range of applications
2. I’ve been a bit hit-and-miss with Jay Kristoff’s books in the past, although I REALLY liked Illuminae. I’ve been trying to parse out what makes some of his books work really well for me and others not… this one might actually be good for finding the dividing line because so far I’ve just kind of been assuming the defining features that make me like a Kristoff book are “space” and “AIs…” which isn’t super informative so it a book with both those things doesn’t totally work for me… then we’ll know that those aren’t ACTUALLY the thing I like?
3. Okay fine on a less cynical note the good things about this book do sound really good and I’m thinking I’ll still pick it up even if it isn’t his best work? Any AI-monitored port in a storm, as the saying goes
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I’m so glad you enjoyed my creative wording there ah hahah.😂Poor Ezekiel, I have given him a rough go over for this one.
And it would be interesting to know if you enjoy this one! I really love the Illumiane AND Nevernight books but I remember not being super keen on Stormdancer?? So IDK what the secret is for me.😂
Ah yes, I know that feeling well. I blog a lot in the Christian fiction, and *cough* so many of the books *cough* follow basically *cough* the same timeline. Not to say that they’re not all quirky and different in their own way, but just . . . it can get dull quickly.
I’ve heard lots of really good things about Kristoff’s books, but haven’t really read any myself: the Illuminae files in particular are on my TBR!
Hahah I totally understand.😂I quit reading Christian fic a long time ago for that reason.😂 It’s kind of annoying though right?! It’s like authors need to get out a bit more and read more so they know what’s been done to death?! (Illuminae is AMAZING and really unique too!)
I have added it to my TBR, but after reading your review. I have no idea if I want to read this……… (basically because I have not read a lot of books)
If you haven’t read a ton of other sci-fis this one might not be so predictable for you!!
I literally just started reading in 2016 and have only read 12-13 books.
So I might pick it up in a few days or whenever I go to a place that sells books (even though I literally have nowhere to put it)
Seriously cannot wait for for the new Skulduggery Pleasant book at the end of this month and A Thousand Perfect Notes on June 7th !
Aww I’m honoured that my book is on your list too!!
I am tempted to try and review it on BookTube
Cait, how on earth can you manage to make me laugh out loud with a BOOK REVIEW??? 😂 You are a master at blogging, oh my word. XD
This was an absolutely epic post! I’m not sure if I’ll be reading this particular book in the NEAR near future, as my TBR is already so big, but I might give it a try sometime! (Also I can’t stop laughing at the name Lemon Fresh. I thought Lemon was a super cute name, and then I read the blurb, and now I think I am dying. 😂😂😂 )
Awww!! *sends you cake* YOU DELIGHTFUL BEAN. And I do still recommend this one, it just wasn’t the best “me” book ever, you know?! But Lemon IS a cute name. Makes me think of Lemony Snicket. :’)