Audio, 10 Cd'sRelease Date: September 12, 2017Published by: G.P. Putnam Son's Books for Young Readers
Read from: September 1-20,2018Warcross, #1Source: LibraryTW: N/A
For fans of: Virtual Reality, Gaming, Fantasy, Action, Diverse Authors, Diversity, YA
For the millions who log in every day, Warcross isn’t just a game—it’s a way of life.
The obsession started ten years ago and its fan base now spans the globe, some eager to escape from reality and others hoping to make a profit. Struggling to make ends meet, teenage hacker Emika Chen works as a bounty hunter, tracking down Warcross players who bet on the game illegally. But the bounty hunting world is a competitive one, and survival has not been easy. To make some quick cash, Emika takes a risk and hacks into the opening game of the international Warcross Championships—only to accidentally glitch herself into the action and become an overnight sensation.
Convinced she’s going to be arrested, Emika is shocked when instead she gets a call from the game’s creator, the elusive young billionaire Hideo Tanaka, with an irresistible offer. He needs a spy on the inside of this year’s tournament in order to uncover a security problem . . . and he wants Emika for the job. With no time to lose, Emika’s whisked off to Tokyo and thrust into a world of fame and fortune that she’s only dreamed of. But soon her investigation uncovers a sinister plot, with major consequences for the entire Warcross empire.
*MY THOUGHTS*
Y'all, it took me about a year to get into this book. I read this book in three different formats! (ARC, HC, Audio) But for whatever reason I just couldn't get into it like everyone else. But now that I have finally finished it, I still do want to read Wildcard, it's just not super high on my TBR like it was for everyone else.
Emika Chen is a gifted hacker, but like anyone, she's had some bad times in life. But one day on accident she hacks her way into the live Warcross game that's being watched by the entire world. The creator of the game, Hideo, calls Emika to find out who she is and how she did what she did. And of course, Emika thinks she's being arrested. But instead Hideo takes her to Tokyo where she must try to stop someone trying desperately to end Warcross.
This is one of those books where I feel like I read a different book than everyone else. I liked it ok, but there were some huge things that were preventing me from giving it five stars like everyone else. My first thought was the pacing. In the beginning I was NOT impressed. But then towards the end I was hooked. (I tend to DNF books that take a while to get to the action. Which is precisely why I quit the ARC and a HC copy of this book. The only thing that stuck was the audio.) A wise friend of mine once told me when I had given up on The Hunger Games, just make it to the games." So I did. And that's exactly when I said, "ok, maybe this is growing on me." As for the audio, it wasn't all that great either. I hated the narrator. I just saw she's also the narrator for Wildcard, so I may be trying to read a HC of that one.
Another reason it took me awhile to get into this the character. I liked her, but as a hacker, I wanted to see more..... Hacking. In the book it describes her as hacking into the Dark World, and the game, etc. but I wanted to see how she was doing what she was doing. It was very telling and not really showing. It would have been cool to kind of see her process.
What I did like was the plot twist. I wasn't able to guess it until right as she figured it out and I had to pause my audio copy and say "Wait, what?! I was right?!" and go back and rewind it to make sure I heard it right. I can see now why people have been desperate for Wildcard lol Had I read this on time, I probably would've been desperate for it too.
Lastly, I loved the love interest and I loved how that person *spoiler* turns out to be the bad guy. The last love interest villain I approved of was The Darkling lol And even though he's doing something completely dispicable, it came from a really great place. He can't really be all bad, right? RIGHT?! Hopefully with this new development, he will see things in a different light! Guess I'll have to get the next installment to find out!
Even though I didn't love this one as much as everyone else, I still found it to be entertaining. I am definitely like everyone now though, waiting on pins and needles for their turn to find out what happens in the next installment of Warcross!
Overall, I give this
