LIFEL1K3 (Lifelike) (Lifel1k3, #1)

by Jay Kristoff

From the coauthor of the New York Times bestselling Illuminae Files comes the first book in a new series that's part Romeo and Juliet, part Terminator, and all adrenaline.

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.

• ISBN10: 1524713937
• ISBN13: 9781524713935
• Publish Date: 29 May 2018
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 15 May 2023
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Random House USA Inc
• Imprint: Knopf Books for Young Readers
• Format: Hardcover (Library Binding)
• Pages: 416
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9781524713935

Reviews

[alindstadtcorbeax]

Star Rating: —> 4.5 Stars

My God, so happy I finally read this. But jeez Jay Kristoff is the master of the Heartache (good kind)/Heartbreak (only kind) game. Plus, that freakin' crazy ass ending? Heartbroken. But seriously this was PHENOMENAL... I don't think it's easy to create a world like this, in fact I KNOW it must be absolutely painstaking & difficult. You can tell, though, how much fun Kristoff had while writing this book.

Ahhh highly recommend! Moving on to DEV1AT3!

[Stephanie]

This review was originally posted on Once Upon a Chapter

I decided to read Lifel1k3 by Jay Kristoff when it was picked as one of the four May COYER Book Club selections. I was attempting to read all 4 picks that month (I got 3 of the 4!). Plus I just wanted more Jay Kristoff in my life.



I really enjoyed Lifel1k3! I kept thinking I knew what was going to happen. I've read the Illuminae series after all. I knew there were going to be twists and turns! Turns out having that prior knowledge did me not much good at all! I picked up on some of what was going to happen but really it felt so obvious that I'm sure I was meant to.



I definitely was not prepared for most of what happened. I would think that surely we had reached the end of the the jaw dropping moments just for my jaw to hit the floor again! I really liked how the plot just kept moving. There really was not a lot of time to stop and digest anything that was happening.



Eve gets hit with a lot of information all at once and while I can appreciate that, I still don't agree with some of her actions. I felt that there was just too much finality in the way that Eve decided to end things. I could understand Ezekiel but I drew the line with my sympathies when she treated Lemon the way that she did.



I had some conflicting feelings on how some of it ended. I could completely understand how the lifelikes felt but I don't think the ends justified the means.



Lemon Fresh and Cricket make this book! I adored both of them. The audio really helped flesh out their characters. I definitely like sass in my characters and Cricket had that for days. Lemon is just so loyal and you have to respect that.



I really like Silas and I think he fit the crumedgeon grandpa character well. I can't really talk too much more about the characters without giving some things away so I'll leave it here.



I'm very excited to see where Kristoff takes this series. Lifel1k3 didn't get a full five stars simply because I'm an endings clincher reader and I didn't love this ending. I could understand it but that is much different than loving it.

[bumblingbookworm]

DNFed at 76 pages. This is the second time I’ve tried to read this, but I just can’t get past the constant slang and made-up words - it’s so annoying. Kristoff’s Nevernight series is one of my favourites and his books with Amie Kaufman are magic, but this is just not for me.

I had expected to like this, I really had. But somehow, the characters felt extremely one-dimensional, the love frustrated me, and the plot twists are predictable. Except the one that Ana is still alive. But Eve/Ana being a lifelike? Saw that coming from the start.
It was okay. I liked reading it, I loved the world and the premise, but I could not connect with any of the characters. The logika were more developed than the lifelikes and normal people, which somehow only had one characteristic. This made me not care about the characters. It is very difficult to like a book if you do not like any of the characters in it. The whole plot falls apart at that point.

Sorry Jay Kristoff, I will still be reading your other work, but this one wasn't for me.

[alisoninbookland]

I’m sure if I just missed it when I bought the book but I’m totally digging the Anastasia vibes to the story. It’s hinted at but never overwhelms the story which was nice.

This was my first solo Kristoff book and I’m glad I enjoyed it as much as I did. It appears that his solo writing can be intense so I’m glad it worked for me.

The story was truly fabulous and certainly never dull. Kristoff creates this brutal world that you can’t help but want to know more about. Robot and android technology is something that will likely be in our not-so distant future. Exploring the ideas of freedom and exactly what makes someone a ‘person’ are endlessly fascinating topics for me.

I typically don’t care for time jumping in a story but found the then and now story lines to be great. I never wanted to leave either time but was eager to learn more about the other story.

Non-human characters can occasionally be dry or dull. Not so with with Lifel1k3. The robots and androids manage to have distinct and realistic personalities full of snark and sass. Obviously, snarky robots/androids are the best robots/androids.

The end really does knock the book out of the park. Without spoilers, it elevates the story to an entire different level. I can’t wait to see what DEV1AT3 has to bring to the table.

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[Stephanie]

This book was good and I kind of guessed the ending, but it also took me entirely too long to read and I don't know why.

[limabean74]

I can get lost in this book and when I stop reading I actually have to give myself a minute to adjust. It also has a tendency to creep back into your head and you have to stop for a minute to figure out if that was something that actually happened to you or did it happen in the book. The lines of reality get a little blurred. With that said, can you tell I loved this book. The words jumped off the page and painted such vivid images in my head. I can picture Eve and Ezekiel, laugh a Cricket's comments and adore Lemon Fresh. It's described as  similar to a classic story but for some reason I am not feeling the Romeo and Juliet that it is compared to. I am getting more of an Anastasia vibe, maybe more of the cartoon version of Anastasia (I love that movie). It was the first thing I thought of especially with her name.

The story pulled me right in and this is my first book by Jay Kristoff alone, I also read part of Illuminae, which was great but not as good as this one. I loved how the story had both raw painful, no holding back moments and some really funny, laugh out loud lines. The story goes back and forth between "now" and the past. I loved the back story just as much as the present. This book has made up slang since it's set in the future, it can get distracting at times to read the slang, it is somewhat easy to understand. If you don't like made up slang this might bother you more than it did me.

Overall, I loved this book and if you know me you know I am not a huge Sci-fi, dystopian fan but this book was amazing. I loved every minute of it slang and all. Thankfully the next one is out soon so I wont have to wait that long after that FUCKING ending! HOLY SHIT! My head is spinning and not even sure I know how to process everything that happened, my heart and head hurt! Highly recommend.

[Kat @ Novels & Waffles]

** Buddy Read with the lovely, the wonderful, the amazing Malanie **

This book. THIS! BOOOOKKK!!!! It blew my freaking brain out of my head, out the door, and down the street for like, five miles. I haven't read anything by Jay Kristoff before, so this was my induction, and what an induction it was. I can safely say that I have been converted and will be picking up more of Kristoff's work in the future.

A brief and non-exhaustive list of the things I loved:
- Lemon Fresh.
-Great dialogue and witty banter.
-Lemon Fresh.
-The immersive worldbuilding and the amazing usage of made-up slang.
-Lemon Fresh.
-THOSE TWISTS THO. I DID NOT SEE THEM COMING. LIKE. AT ALL.
- Oh, did I mention Lemon Fresh?
-The unique writing style.

[emruth13]

I predicted Mr. Kristoff would be ripping my heart out and leaving it bleeding at the end. Well, it was more of an explosion of my brain. This book was AMAZING and I'm super excited for the next book!

[leahrosereads]

Likes:
The writing was exceptional. I can see why so many people love Jay Kristoff's works. He can weave a fantastic tale. And while I wish there was some more world building here, I got a feel of the world through the storytelling that had me interested in learning more.

The characters (through most of the book) were entertaining to read about and definitely had some very emotional backstories, but they were lacking a little in being well rounded.

The robots. I like robots.

Tank Girl vibes. Jet Girl vibes. It was great.

Dislikes:
Lack of world building. It wasn't info dumpy enough for my taste. This is probably a positive to most people.

The MC near the end. WTF was that ending even though? It felt like the character changed drastically and while it made sense if you squinted...shouldn't have to squint.

Overall:
I was entertained, but I don't think it was enough to continue with the series. I'm definitely interested in trying out other works by Mr. Kristoff though, because I really enjoyed his writing.