Rating: 5/5 Stars

This will be a spoiler-free review.

I’m just gonna come right out and say it: I LOVED this book. Seriously. There was just something about it that resonated with me in a way that a book hasn’t really done in a long, long time. From the story concept to the characters to the writing, it was all amazing. Honestly, this book hadn’t even been on my radar until I started writing my own novel about superheroes and villains, and I’d decided to check out a few books in the genre. I’m so glad I found it, though, because I’m in love.

Anyway, gushing aside, let’s get into this review.

This book had everything I love to see in novels, the most important of which being amazing characters. The two leads, Nova and Adrian, were so fun to follow. Nova being a kick-ass villain and Adrian being a too-pure-for-this-world hero led to some great moments between the two of them and between them and the other characters in the book. The juxtaposition between their personalities really led to the story feeling dynamic, and I enjoyed getting to follow both of their points of view throughout the novel.

The side characters were equally lovable, both on the side of the Anarchists and the Renegades (aka the villains and the heroes). Every character felt complex, and I grew attached to most of them almost immediately. Adrian’s patrol team specifically made me grin every time they were on the page, and I loved their relationship with Nova.

Another thing I loved in this book was the romances. I liked them because they didn’t overshadow the main plot, but rather accented it nicely. There were a lot of moments between different characters that left me squealing and grinning like an idiot, reminding me why I don’t read books in public.

The world building was also great. With so many layers and so much history, it would’ve been easy for this world to be a jumbled mess, but Meyer did a wonderful job at making sure everything made sense and was explained thoroughly to the reader. Sometimes, with fantasy worlds like this, there can be a lot of plot holes when it comes to how powers work or where they come from. Meyer, however, leaves no hole unfilled, which I was glad to find. There were some questions left unanswered, of course, but it was made very clear that these were for mystery purposes and not because Meyer was dropping the ball.

The last thing I loved about this book (that I can talk about without getting into spoilers, at least) was the pacing. The story always felt like it had a forward momentum, even in the moments when not much was happening. Whether we were focusing on the main plot or romantic subplot at any given moment, there was always tension that kept me on the edge of my seat, waiting to see what would happen next.

My only real complaint about this book is really just a personal preference thing, and it’s so small I didn’t even bother to count it toward my overall rating. But what I really wanted from this book, more than anything, was more Adrian chapters! It was clear that Meyer’s main focus in this novel was on Nova and her story, but I really wanted to see some of the big, important moments from Adrian’s POV instead of Nova’s. Especially some of the romantic moments. But, again, this was a very small and personal complaint.

Overall, I thought this book was a joy to read. It’s fun and action-packed, with lots of complex characters and a great plot line. I’d recommend this book to any and everybody, but especially to fans of the superhero genre.