Wildcard (Warcross, #2)

by Marie Lu

An Instant New York Times Bestseller!

Return to the immersive, action-packed world of Warcross in this thrilling sequel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Marie Lu

Emika Chen barely made it out of the Warcross Championships alive. Now that she knows the truth behind Hideo's new NeuroLink algorithm, she can no longer trust the one person she's always looked up to, who she once thought was on her side.

Determined to put a stop to Hideo's grim plans, Emika and the Phoenix Riders band together, only to find a new threat lurking on the neon-lit streets of Tokyo. Someone's put a bounty on Emika's head, and her sole chance for survival lies with Zero and the Blackcoats, his ruthless crew. But Emika soon learns that Zero isn't all that he seems--and his protection comes at a price.

Caught in a web of betrayal, with the future of free will at risk, just how far will Emika go to take down the man she loves?

In this explosive sequel to the New York Times bestselling Warcross, Marie Lu delivers an addictive finale that will hold you captive till the very last page.

• ISBN10: 0399547991
• ISBN13: 9780399547997
• Publish Date: 18 September 2018
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: G.P.Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers'
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 352
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780399547997

Reviews

[alisoninbookland]

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Well, that was a bit disappointing. I had so much fun with Warcross. It was one of those books that I picked up because it sounded interesting enough and ended up having a blast with. I had hoped to have just as much fun with Wildcard but alas there was just something missing.

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what was different. We still got snippets of the game and virtual world. We still got Emika and Hideo and the tension there. We still got the Phoenix Riders. It was just lacking that little bit of magic that made Warcross so much fun.

The story really takes a while to get going. There was so much talking and planning about how the plans were going to be executed. We had to get almost 3/4 of the way through the story for the story to get kicked into high gear and have me really care about the story.

Morally gray characters are always engaging to read about so the twists and turns about Hideo, Taylor, and company are interesting. No one and nothing is exactly what it seems. Emika felt so disconnected from the story. She didn’t engage that much with what was happening.

Ultimately, Wildcard isn’t a terrible book. It’s what I would normally label as middle book syndrome except this isn’t the middle book of a series. It’s the end of a duology which makes the misstep a bit unfortunate.

[alindstadtcorbeax]

Star Rating: 4 Stars 💛

I’m not sure yet. RTC.

[Kat @ Novels & Waffles]

I wasn't particularly in love with Warcross, but I liked it enough to pick up the second book. I thought maybe Wildcard might turn things around for me – but the result was the same as the first installment. It was a vanilla ice-cream sort of book: Nobody is going to say no to a big bowl of vanilla ice-cream, but it’s probably not going to be anybody’s first choice for a desert either. Similarly, this book was good but not great. Enjoyable, but not particularly memorable.

The things I liked:
-Emika's RAINBOW HAIR. I will never stop shouting about this
-That it was set in Japan (though sometimes the authenticity was questionable)
-There were no clear-cut "good" or "bad" guys. The bad guys sometimes did good things and the good guys sometimes did bad things. Marie Lu is the QUEEN of morally grey characters and I love it. She explored these same sort of themes (but more successfully, in my opinion) in her series The Young Elites, which is one of my recent favorites.

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[Sam@WLABB]

I guess I shouldn't be surprised that I let loose some tears, while reading this one. Lu sure knows how to hit me in the feels. There were a lot of big reveals, and I loved being back with and learning more about all the Phoenix riders.

I was really happy with the ending Lu gave to all these characters, who I grew to care about, and was grateful for that last bit she added at the very end.

Another wonderful Marie Lu book! There was action, suspense, romance, answers, and lots of feels.

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[Ashley]

Ugh 3 stars may even be generous. I completely skimmed the last third. I think it just took a direction that didn't interest me. I was bored and didn't care about anyone or anything. Blargh.

[writehollydavis]

4.25/5. This book started off a bit slow for me, as Warcross was jam packed with action and that's what I was expecting from Wildcard. Most of the action, however, came at the end. Although the climax is supposed to be this big showdown with tons of action, I felt there should have been more of that sprinkled throughout the novel. Despite that, I LOVED finding out the true past of Zero (not gonna spoil anything here) and how the plot wrapped up with Emika at the end. A solid read, but I'm hoping book 3(?) gives us a little more of that oomph I wanted.

[emruth13]

I loved this book! I love how things ended up. I love how the characters interacted. I just loved the whole thing.