YA Addicted Book Club discussion

Brittany and I are going to be reading Warcorss, if anyone else wants to hop in.

I started it last night and read 2 chapters. Not much has happened so far, just set up and the introduction to the MC who is in a pretty bad situation. But the world sounds very interesting! I think things are gonna start happening in chapter 3, so I'm excited about that.

Yay!! I should have a bunch of reading time in the next few days so I'll likely be jumping in on this by the weekend.

Sounds good!

Somewhere in the middle of chapter 7: I don't think any of the following is too spoiler-y since it's in the synopsis, but just in case...

(view spoiler)[I don't know why, but Em hacking into the game and then getting caught, that was hilarious to me. Like, girl, what did you think was gonna happen? Lol. I am very intrigued as to why she's not in trouble though, and why instead Hideo is flying her to Tokyo and offering her a mysterious job. I am excited to meet him too!

The technology in this book also sounds really cool! I'm really enjoying that aspect of this. (hide spoiler)]

I have 40ish minutes left in my audio then I'll start this. How are you enjoing so far?

I just started it, only listened to the first 10 minutes so no opinions yet

I'm somewhere in chapter 6 (view spoiler)[ She is on the plane to Tokyo and calibrating the new glasses.
Not sure what I think of the book or the characters yet. It has been interesting enough to listen to but nothing has really stuck yet.
Not surprised that the bounty earlier was denied to her. Easy enough to say that someone else called it in and pay nobody for the work.
Her roommate seemed kind of pointless and I doubt we will really see her again and that is okay with me. (hide spoiler)]

So far I'm enjoying it! (view spoiler)[I agree that it's interesting enough to keep going, but nothing really sticks. Like, nothing action-y had happened, but I was surprisingly okay with it. There's something about this world that is very intriguing to me and has kept me hooked. I think it's the technology... it just sounds so cool! As for Emi, I don't really have any thoughts on Emi. I don't dislike her, but I don't love her either. And the throwaway roommate was weird. Even Emi agreed that she probably wont see her again. Lol. (hide spoiler)]

Finished chapter 18. (view spoiler)[So the thing she did to get a criminal record... the doxing after her poor classmate's nude get spread around the school... I kinda love that she did that! And then she turned herself in because she didn't want to girl to get in trouble. Okay maybe I am starting to love Emi. Lol. She's also really smart when it comes to this tech stuff.

Yubein and Ziggy were fun. Are we not gonna see them again? Lol. No thoughts on her teammates yet. They're fine 🤷‍♀️

Hideo... he's also fine. He's finally starting to warm up to Emi here at the end of chapter 18, so that's nice. It was really cute! However, I don't really see the charm Emi keeps referring to in regards to him since he's always serious, but I don't dislike him either.

So Ren WAS the figure at the draft and he's meeting with this Zero person?? What's that about? I'm interested to find out though! And Zero almost caught her! Ooof.

So far, this book is weird because I feel like I'm quite indifferent when it comes to the characters, but the world itself sounds so interesting to me that I'm fine with it and just want to keep reading. Also the deal with Zero is intriguing. I'm just a sucker for mysteries. Lol. (hide spoiler)]

Start of chapter 13 (view spoiler)[ I still like the concepts and everything but I find it so hard to believe. Yes she would have a different way of looking at things so she would spot code discrepancies in a different time frame than others maybe but to be able to continuously out do so many when she has never had the tech to work with, the training or the time is hard to swallow.
Still its neat enough and the game is fun and I could totally see something like that becoming a world hit in the future.
I still don't really care about any of the characters a whole lot though (hide spoiler)]

Brittany wrote: "Start of chapter 13..."

I agree! (view spoiler)[The concept is what's keeping me hooked, and I am just really enjoying the world and the tech. However, I never thought about how Emi was able to do all the things she does (and good!) with her limited resources... I just sort of went with it. But now that you point it out, yeah. That totally makes sense! Lol. (hide spoiler)]

Finished chapter 21 (view spoiler)[That first game was pretty exciting! I loved the landscape and the action and the curveball that was the beasts! It was fun! Oh and then the fact the she got control of the freaking dragon and they won? That was pretty cool!

So Zero's goal is to kill Hideo? I'm guessing it's someone close to him. I swear if it's an evil brother we didn't know he had that turned out wasn't as dead as he thought or whatever... 🙄 Lol. Also he invented freaking telepathy?? What? That's pretty cool.

Okay, this relationship between Emi and Hideo is weird. Look, I don't mind the intense make out session they had, that was pretty great, but where is this attraction coming from? I feel like they don't even know each other. Which goes hand in hand with the fact that I still feel nothing towards any of the characters. But to be honest, it doesn't matter too much to me cause I'm still having fun reading this. Lol. At least I don't hate them! Lol. Oh, but also, that make out session followed immediately by him closing up again and sending her back on her way? Umm, whiplash much? (hide spoiler)]

Im in Chapter 19 somewhere. (view spoiler)[ Currently in the first match and Emi scored the first strike (or whatever the are calling it in this game). She just got the speed boost power up and the captains are making their first moves against each other.


That the DJ had something to do with Zero and all that was a way too obvious.
I too love what she did to get the criminal record. I think its amazing that she turned things around on the bullies that way and then admitted to it so someone else didnt take the blame.
I need more about Hideo. I need some backstory and motivations from him 'cause right now he's too one dimensional for me. Love the smart handsome type and all that but need something more.
The dark world is a neat place and again I want more of it. The Pirate's Den is cool. I want a little more of how all the coding works, not full geek mode level but a little more.

I totally agree, its the world building that is keeping me reading. The characters I could all do with or without none of them mean anything to me. (hide spoiler)]

Start of Chapter 24 (view spoiler)[ Enjoyed that first match and the beasts. Was really cool.
Ren definitely knows Emi is involved in the plots and stuff somehow. He will be watching her extra carefully at this point and she needs to be less obvious.
Was good to get more background about Hideo with his family and his brother who went missing. That is totally going to be Zero isn't it?
I still feel nothing for any of the characters and there's just under 3 hours left in the book so that isn't a good sign.

I just want more Warcross and screw the rest lol. (hide spoiler)]

Liliana wrote: "Finished chapter 21

(view spoiler)[ Right? That relationship whiplash, ugh. The telepathy is super neat. I assume its someone close to him aswell. And yeah I dont care about the characters either. So weird. (hide spoiler)]

Brittany wrote: "Im in Chapter 19 somewhere..."

(view spoiler)[YES! Ren being in on things with Zero was TOO obvious! My mystery loving brain was like, okay if the book is implying it's him, it's actually NOT because it's too obvious. But no, it was. R.L. Stine gives me better plot twists 😂

And I agree on Hideo. I want to love him, I want to see what Emi sees in him besides his attractiveness, but so far we've got nothing. We found out he has a brother but then he shut down. I'm sure we'll get more into that though. (hide spoiler)]

I finished the book a couple hours ago and I'm still thinking about it because that ending was just... holy crap!! I was NOT expecting that! (view spoiler)[Like, you're telling me that this whole time the villain of the story was actually Hideo?? Omg. So I get his intentions, but that does not make his plan for mind control anywhere near okay! It sounds downright dystopian! Jeez, dude! And Zero was trying to stop him. Oh man. And now Emi told Hideo to his face that she was going to stop him 😬 I was not expecting any of this! I take back what I said before about R.L. Stine giving me better plot twists 😂 But to be fair, the whole Zero being Hideo's long lost brother was obvious as hell. Lol.

I am VERY interested to see where to story heads after this. Like, is she still gonna end up Hideo? Is she just going to stop him, or is she also going to try to save him from himself? I'm guessing she's going to work together with Zero to put a stop to this madness. And I liked that she told her teammates what was up and they worked together there at the end! AND that she also told them everything that happened with Hideo and his horrifying plan. Still don't care about the characters, but the story itself is very interesting, plus the world is just cool! I enjoyed it overall! I grabbed book 2 from the library a couple days ago, so I'll probably start it pretty soon here. (hide spoiler)]

I started last week and so far I have read through chapter 10. (view spoiler)[That opening with the mention of suicides... That's fucked up. I get that they were bad guys, but holy crap! No one person should have this much power. And speaking of which, do people not know what Hideo has done? Apparently people in the dark web or whatever do.

So the plan is to get inside Hideo's account to kill the algorithm whatever. When they were playing Darkcross and Zero was showing her how to use the hack that would achieve that... I didn't follow. Lol. I'm not sure how it works but okay. I'll go with it. Lol. I don't know how to feel about the fact that she has to get close to Hideo to do this. Does that mean like emotionally? Hideo did a terrible thing but Emi over here still has feelings for the guy 🙄 Oh, and she IS going to try and save him from himself, just like I suspected.

As for Zero, he's intriguing. I'm really interested to find out what happened to him. Especially after the memory Emi saw in Darkcross.

So far I'm pretty ambivalent about this book. The Darkcross game wasn't as exciting as I was hoping, which is a shame because the games were some of my favorite things about the last book. (hide spoiler)]

I finished it on the plane. It was okay
(view spoiler)[ I wasn't even really surprised that Hideo was the bad guy. There was something off about him. And Zero being his brother was boring and predictable.
The romance sucked. I never felt anything for the characters.
I did love the world.

I agree I love that Emi told her team everything and got them involved at the end that was fun. (hide spoiler)]

How is book 2 so far? I'll see if the library has it in audio if so I'll put a hold on it if you are enjoying it

Library only has the ebook so I'm uncertain about reading it

I am almost done with chapter 24. (view spoiler)[So things just got interesting and we finally find out what happened to Sasuke! That was really sad! Kidnapped and then turned into an AI by the director of the lab his mom worked for? Jeez. Poor kid. Jax helping out Emi I was not expecting, but it makes sense. That whole scene in the Dark World, while informative and interesting, holy crap did it go on forever! It was too long.

Emi told Hideo everything and they have a plan to stop Taylor, but the fact that he's still reluctant to end the algorithm afterward doesn't sit well with me. He finally knows what happened to his brother and who was responsible AND they're going to try to save him. The reason he made the algorithm in the first place was to find his brother, so why not give it up? I get what he's trying to do with it, I do, but this thing in the wrong hands can be even more catastrophic than it already is. And Taylor wants it! Who's surprised? No one 😒 (hide spoiler)]

Brittany wrote: "I finished it on the plane. It was okay..."

(view spoiler)[Looking back, you are totally right that there was something off about him! I just didn't see it. Lol. Yeah the romance and the characters did nothing for me, but the world was so intriguing that I just couldn't stop reading! Lol. I really liked the action sequences. (hide spoiler)]

So I'm at about the 70% mark with Wildcard and so far it's good. I'm having the same issues as with the last book where the characters are meh but the world is interesting. Unfortunately, so far in this book we haven't spent nearly as much time inside Warcross as in the last book, and that just makes me sad because that was one of my favorite aspects about book 1. But I do believe I'm about to start the third act, I guess you could call it, and this is probably where we're going to get ALL the Warcross (finally!) I'm excited for that. We also finally find out what's up with Zero and his past, so that was interesting. But to be honest, I think I might be liking this book less than the first one. This might change depending what happens in this last part of the book, so we'll see.

Agree the action sequences were so good!

Hmm... you aren't making me want to pick it up very badly.

Okay, so I finished Wildcard a while back and... it was fine. Definitely not as good as the first book though. The ending was... I just, I don't know. That ending was the only ending possible and that would make sense, yet I don't know that I love it. The fact that there was less Warcross was disappointing. The mystery surrounding Zero was interesting, but overall the book was kind of disappointing. And that makes me so sad to admit because the concept and the world was just so promising!

Okay with that review I have no real interest in reading it. The only saving grace in the first one was the world and the game so less of that makes me lose all interest. Want to tell me about it in spoilers?

Here are some of my thoughts while reading the book:

Up to chapter 10. (view spoiler)[That opening with the mention of suicides... That's fucked up. I get that they were bad guys, but holy crap! I don't know if the algorithm is making them do it, but no one person should have this much power. And speaking of which, do people not know what Hideo has done? Apparently people in the Darkcross do.

So the plan is to get inside Hideo's account to kill the algorithm whatever. When they were playing Darkcross and Zero was showing her how to use the hack that would achieve that... I didn't follow. Lol. I'm not sure how it works but okay. I'll go with it. Lol. I don't know how to feel about the fact that she has to get close to Hideo to do this. Does that mean like emotionally? Hideo did a terrible thing but Emi over here still has feelings for the guy 🙄 Oh, and she IS going to try and save him from himself, just like I suspected.

As for Zero, he's intriguing. I'm really interested to find out what happened to him. Especially after the memory Emi saw in Darkcross.

So far I'm pretty ambivalent about this book. The Darkcross game wasn't as exciting as I was hoping, which is a shame because the games were some of my favorite things about the last book. (hide spoiler)]

Up to chapter 24. (view spoiler)[So things just got interesting and we finally find out what happened to Sasuke! That was really sad! Basically, he was sick as a kid and his parents enrolled him in a program at the mom's lab with a drug they were testing that would potentially help him. However, this was all a front put up by the director, Taylor, who basically wanted to find the perfect candidate to basically turn into an AI. So Zero/Sasuke was just a hologram type thing in a suit of armor. the director basically merged his mind with an AI.

Jax helping out Emi I was not expecting, but it makes sense. Jax is the daughter of the director Taylor but friend of Sasuke. They basically grew up together in the lab. There was a scene in the Dark World, where we learn about his past and what happened after he was kidnapped, and while informative and interesting, holy crap did it go on forever! It was too long.

Emi told Hideo everything and they have a plan to stop Taylor, but the fact that he's still reluctant to end the algorithm afterward doesn't sit well with me. He finally knows what happened to his brother and who was responsible AND they're going to try to save him. The reason he made the algorithm in the first place was to find his brother, so why not give it up? I get what he's trying to do with it, I do, but this thing in the wrong hands can be even more catastrophic than it already is. And Taylor wants it! Who's surprised? No one 😒 (hide spoiler)]

And some overall thoughts: (view spoiler)[So like I said, we didn't spend a lot of time in the Warcross world. In the beginning Zero and Emi went to the dark web or whatever and they played a short game of Darkcross. Then Emi went back with Jax to learn about Zero, and that scene was painfully long with no fun action. It was till the very end of the book that we get Emi, Hideo, and the Phoenix Riders (glad they were still helping out.. that was great) going into Warcross to stop Zero because, surprise surprise, after Hideo stopped and killed Taylor with the algorithm, Zero merged with the algorithm himself and basically wanted to take over the world or whatever 🙄 This was the only Warcross we got besides the short Darkcross game in the beginning.

The characters I still didn't care about. The only two I was sort of starting to come around to were Roshan and Tremaine.

Soo Hideo killed Taylor and then they saved Zero/Sasuke and unmerged him with the algorithm, so now he's just roaming around inside the internet I guess? No longer evil? Anyway, after all of that, the NeuroLink was no more and Hideo was arrested for what he did. He was charged with second degree manslaughter and he got time under house arrest. Hideo's company has a new CEO and she came to Emi hoping to hire her because they want to get the Neurolink back online, but make it better and safer. The end parallels the first meeting between Hideo and Emi. Except this time, Emi is the one coming to Hideo offering him a job as a consultant because who better to go to than the guy who created the NeruoLink 🙄 She literally came to him in jail with the job offer. And she said that they would keep a close eye on him and all that, but omg. I just can't believe it. Especially after everything he did! Oh and in case you are wondering, yes they do end up together 🙄 Like I said, all this seems like it was the only way this would end... or maybe it was predictable. I don't know. But I wasn't a fan. And it probably has to do a lot with the fact that I didn't care for the characters. It just had so much potential and it was a fun world. It just makes sad that we didn't get more. (hide spoiler)]

Thank you. Yes I officially have zero want to read this. It would probably be a dnf for me so thank you for saving me the headache

No problem!