Warcross By Marie Lu (deliciously entertaining, I could not stop reading this and did not want it to end!)

 

Hi y'all! I hope your having a wonderful saturday! I for one am looking foreword to the down time that comes with not having to deal with the craziness that seems to consume the week days. I was able to get my hands on this fabulous book (shown below in that large image. Is the cover not beautiful?) and finished it in a matter of days (if you don't count the long period in which I finished two books after reading about 60 pages of this)
  Quick thoughts (for people too lazy to read all the review below, no judgement we all have our moments) LOVED THIS BOOK!!! please read it!! You will not regret! It is SO much fun and totally and completely entertaining you will not be bored! (I promise)
 Full review is below containing all my inner most thoughts and feelings (typed in all caps of course because this books is so good it deserves all the cap's and fan girling its going to get)!!

Warcross
 By: Marie Lu

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Summary: 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 players who bet on the game illegally. But the bounty hunting world is a competitive one, and survival has not been easy. Needing 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. 

AHHHH THIS BOOK WAS AWESOME! It totally blew away my expectations in every regard!!! I want to scream at people who haven't read this book to READ IT!

 *pauses to collect myself*

I just loved how original and unique this whole plot was!!! I mean it takes place in a really cool futuristic version of the world in which the whole society is obsessed with playing the game Warcross which is essentially a very high tech version of virtual reality in which you become your avatar in virtual worlds. The fun continues with the Warcross glasses allowing you to see virtual add ons people buy for themselves in the real world. I mean it was just so immersive and I loved it!

“Every locked door has a key. Every problem has a solution.” 

 First of all I loved the characters. Emika was this amazing kick butt hacker who can figure out incredibly difficult coding problems in like less than a minute and this is what ends up catching the  attention of some interesting people.....

 Hideo was not what I was expecting at all. He had this very dark side to him that he was always trying to cover up with this illusion of being perfect and it was all very intriguing.

“It is hard to describe loss to someone who has never experienced it, impossible to explain all the ways it changes you. But for those who have, not a single word is needed.”

 I also LOVED all of Emika's team mates in the game. Hammie was my personal fav and I was shipping her and Asher 100% all the way ( I mean if marie lu decided to write a book about those two... *freaks out* I would read it in a heartbeat!!) Roshan is also extremely lovable and I love how protective and caring he is for all the members of the team, I just love him.

  It took me about 100 pages to really get into this book (which is pretty normal for a first book in a series because.... background info!) but once I was able to actually sit down and you know READ it took me all of two seconds (and a few hundred pages) and I was completely and utterly hooked!

“Everyone has a price.” 

 Emika starts off as this dirt poor (and I mean noodle eating, mattress squatting poor) girl who is just trying to get through life day by day in order to pay off her debt and get on with her life. In order to stay afloat she's a bounty hunter for the police where she signs up to catch criminals who are illegally betting on Warcross and I just love this about her because whats more kick butt then being an off the grid bounty hunter?!?! Like excuse me? Also if that wasn't enough she has a full head of rainbow hair to top it all off.

The writing and the story building is also INCREDIBLE I loved how original this story was! I don't read a lot of books that take place in the future (with the exception of time traveling books and dystopians) but this was totally cool because it was like looking through time in order to see just how technology reliant our society becomes and it felt so tangible and realistic and like this could really happen and ugh! I just could not get enough!
 I also really loved the stories of Emikas past and the way she described her relationship with her dad was really heart wrenching and I also loved how Marie Lu mixed in all his flaws with all his good qualities because it really helped me understand Emika better as a character without filtering out the bad.

And you know me in order for a book to be a true four star (Almost 5) there had to be some sort of romance/ and or relationship going on. So it comes as no surprise that when Hideo and Emika were thrown together lets just say some sparks were flying.

 They were super cute and electric and I loved them right from the start and started hard core shipping them after he whispered in her ear at the first Warcross opening party. I mean LOVE, RELATIONSHIPS am I right? (excuse how big of a sap I am, its just my uncontrollable nature coming out here)

“She was so beautiful. But beauty can make people forgive a thousand cruelties.” 

Plus there was some insane plot twists going on here?!?! I mean I pretty sure at one time some stuff blew up, and then there were some shocking sob story confessions and to top it all off a rival with some legit beef so I am proud to say I was happily entertained for about 90% of the time. The only reason this book wasn't a full five stars is because I kind of predicted the outcome (okay, I did) of a really big reveal about 100 pages before said reveal and that kind of ruined some of the magic for me. But overall I really loved this book and I was highly impressed with the originality of it and I don't think theres much out there quite like this book!

 So please, do yourself a favor and READ THIS BOOK! You will not regret it I swear and if your in a reading slump I can guarantee this book will get you out of it! (just trust me for crying out loud! :))  (theres romance, plot twists, good writing its a triple threat! whats stopping ya?)

 So that it for now. Read any good books lately? Read Warcross lately or are now inspired to do so? Have any other general/ random bookish thought to share? Chat with me in the comments below!

-Bubblybooks