Sneak Peek!!! You'll ***LOVE*** WARCROSS by Marie Lu! It's my first Book Hangover of 2017!!!!!


A sneak peek now, a full review when the book releases!
(Basically, it's a feature to squee about books I really love that aren't coming out anytime soon. 
It's way too early to review them, but not too early to tell you to start salivating and adding it to your TBR List!)


Guys, guys, guys. GUYS!!!!!

I can't. I really can't even form words right now. I just finished reading WARCROSS by Marie Lu and I am can already tell--I am going to be stuck in the BIGGEST BOOK HANGOVER for a while. It was just SO GOOD. I was up until about 1 a.m. reading it TWO DAYS IN A ROW. I devoured this book. And the moment I finished reading it? I was just left reeling with ALL THE FEELS.

I just had to spotlight this book as my first You're Gonna LOVE Me title of 2017!!!!


The book won't be out until OCTOBER, so I can't review it for you anytime soon, but I can give you a little preview to whet your appetites, right!? Add this one to your TBR now because it is JUST THAT GOOD!!!


THE WORLD BUILDING

I'm used to dystopian from Marie Lu. I'm used to fantasy from her. But WARCROSS? It's something brand-new. It's like this urban fantasy / sci-fi hybrid that feels completely contemporary and modern.  AND IT'S A SUSPENSEFUL MYSTERY, TOO.

Do you remember a few years ago, when Smart Phones and Tablets were just coming out, and nobody knew we were on the cusp of a revelation that would change technology as we knew it? WARCROSS centers around a new type of technology that has once again revolutionized the world in life-changing ways. To the point where  "90 peercent of people ages 12-30 now play on a regular basis, or at least once a week."  And it's hard to be spoiler-free here, especially in a preview, but you are going to want to experience this for yourself. The book feels modern and edgy.

Plus, anyone who liked READY PLAYER ONE by Ernest Cline will like this one, too!!! AND the main character are 18 and 21, so I can see a lot of adult readers who "don't read YA" falling in love with this one!!!

UMMMM, JAPAN.

Also??? IT MADE ME MISS JAPAN SO MUCH. You may recall that earlier this week, I complained a bit about the way Japanese culture was integrated in another recent YA release. Something was missing for me. WARCROSS filled in that gap and gave me exactly what I'd been craving...and then some. The new tech works especially well in Japanese society, and I could envision all of the things Emika sees as she sets foot in Japan for the first time. Plus all the cool things like karaoke bars and themed cafes and strolling through Harajuku looking at everyone's get-ups on a Sunday afternoon? All of that stuff is enhanced SO MUCH with this crazy new technology, and I can see it all in mind's eye so perfectly. Japan is the PERFECT setting for this book in so many ways.

THAT TECH THOUGH!!!

The technology in WARCROSS is so crazy cool. From simple things like crazy cool karaoke bars to big huge things like Olympic-level tournaments for Warcross, which is so much more than a video game or VR or even a Fantasy Draft. How cool is it that something as nerdy as playing a videogame (Sort of like LARPing? But also not??) is THE thing to do and decides things like how successful you are in life based on how good you are in the game? Again, out of context, it's impossible to make it seem interesting, so I'm not even going to try. But it is so cool, and you will understand as soon as you read it!!!

IT'S ALL SO CLASSICALLY MARIE LU.

Maybe it's because I've recently been so obsessed with The Young Elites and the way Marie Lu introduced so much gray matter to the series. About how I couldn't wait to find out if Adelina would be a hero or a villain. About the way lives and characters connected in that series. Maybe I'm still coming down off of the high from how successfully Lu tied that series up. I recommend it to people A LOT.

And, really, WARCROSS is completely different. For one thing, there's only ONE POV, unlike both of her previous series. Her first series was dystopian. Her second was pure fantasy, and had that whole Hero Vs. Villain thing going on. This one is more of a mystery. Readers get a first-hand experience of the tech and the danger as Erika does. They want to know all the answers just as badly and keep turning pages to find out more! AND ALL THE SPOILERY THINGS I CAN'T TALK ABOUT.

NEEDLESS TO SAY, WARCROSS IS FANTASTIC!

I can't wait to share my full review with you this October. Plus, it will be amazing to have other people to talk to about the book, since so few people have read it yet!! (I probably should have waited myself, but I couldn't resist diving in immediately and...well...I HAVE NO REGRETS!!!!

Here's a summary to tide you over until this one releases!

Title: WARCROSS
Author: Marie Lu
Release Date: Out October 3, 2017
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers // Penguin
Received: ARC for Review
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29385546-warcross

SUMMARY:

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Marie Lu—when a game called Warcross takes the world by storm, one girl hacks her way into its dangerous depths. 

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. 

In this sci-fi thriller, #1 New York Times bestselling author Marie Lu conjures an immersive, exhilarating world where choosing who to trust may be the biggest gamble of all.



Will you be reading this when it comes out!?


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