Batman: Nightwalker (DC Icons #2)

                Hello happy readers!  I'm a bit behind today I had some serious sleep issues the last few days with appointments during the day (aka my normal sleep time on nights) and am just now finding a free moment for the day.  So today I have my thoughts on another Marie Lu title and the next DC Icons story, Batman:  Nightwalker (DC Icons #2) by Marie Lu.  Just a heads up my good friend is hosting a giveaway for a signed copy of this title on her blog, Bogdana the Booknerd open for a few more days!  I previously reviewed the first DC Icons book :  Wonder Woman:  Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo though they are both in the "series" they are not connected but by the DC universe.  

Rating: 4 Stars

                Bruce Wayne before he was Batman.  Coming into his trust fund and finding some trouble.  Being one of the city’s elites is dangerous with the Nightwalkers about.  Money also can’t get you out of everything and after a run-in with the police Bruce must do community service…at Arkham Asylum.  Inside he sees and hears police interrogate an inmate of his age who seems to be baffling them all.  More so when she chooses to speak to him.  Madeleine is a mystery and he is determined to unravel it.  She is brilliant and dangerous and while he is trying to figure her out, Bruce may be giving her everything she needs on him. 

                I really liked this story.  I enjoyed that it was different sort of origins story.  It’s teenage years / coming into adult hood.  It’s not him becoming Batman but more how he handles his life and what could easily be seen turned into that life.  He has friends and normal issues to deal with on top of the more serious issues that come with being rich and powerful and having so much expected of you.  I enjoyed getting to see this side of him.  His friends in particular.  I really liked the idea of him having friends because as much as I love Alfred, and I do, a teenage boy needs more friendship than in his guardian.  Bruce is struggling with some things and it had showed and had real consequences. 

                So he is put to work in Arkham enduring attitudes as well as real menial physical labor.  Bruce is smart.  He has the money and the company to have all the newest gadgets and such but he understands how they work with a sharp mind which is something I enjoyed.  I liked the back and forth, cat and mouse, with Madeline.  You can never be sure what is going on; who has the upper hand.  Madeline is a very different and complex type of criminal and I really love Lu’s take on her as the villain.  She isn’t easy to pin down and that really created a complex character image of this girl. 

                I really got caught up in the mind game and trying to figure things out just like Bruce.  The idea of the Nightwalkers and what they were doing.    The overall pacing and suspense of the book was on par.  It was a rather quick listen really and a pretty short book.  I enjoyed this look at Bruce Wayne.

                Until next time…

Warcross (Warcross #1) & Signed Copy Giveaway

                Hello happy readers.  I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.  I know I did.  I got to go up and visit a fellow blogger friend, Bogdana the Booknerd, where we attended the Marie Lu event and then got to do out Christmas.  This is progress last year we didn't get to do Christmas until March so big steps!  We also got the chance to discuss our plans for revamping our reading group, Perpetual YA Bookworms and hope you will join us this year.  That said the Marie Lu event was one of the main reasons for the trip as she had the release of the new Batman:  Nightwalker (DC Icons #2) but also mid last year she also had the release of Warcross (Warcross #1) both of which I have read and very much enjoyed.  So having finished Warcross before the event and my Twitter poll on which one to get for a giveaway was at a tie I went with Warcross.  The giveaway will be at the bottom of the post with all the details.  First my thoughts on the book itself.

Rating:  5 Stars

                Warcross isn't just a game but a way of life.  The ten year obsession that spans the world is a place of escape from reality.  It's also a way to make a profit.  Hacker struggling to get by Emika Chen works as a bounty hunter, tracking down players who bet illegally.  Like most things the world is competitive and not always easy.  Needing quick cash fast Emika risks a hack of the opening game of the international Warcross Championships, only she accidently glitches herself into the game and becomes an overnight sensation.  Not exactly subtle.  Convinced she's going to jail Emika is surprised when instead she gets a job offer and a wild card spot to this years tournament.  Warcross creator and young billionaire Hideo Tanaka wants her to play but also help discover a security problem, much like the one she exploited when she glitched in.  Swept up in the fame and fortune of this world she quickly uncovers much less glamorous plot that would have major consequences for all of Warcross. 

                Emika is in a difficult spot trying to make it in the world.  Things are not easy and despite how hard she tries her past has put a bit of a damper on her ability to make ends meet.  So after a series of disappointments she makes a split second decision to try and make a play to help herself.  And her anonymity goes out the window as everyone suddenly knows who she is.  So when the Warcross company contacts her….a lot….she isn't surprised.  What does surprise her is the offer to fly her to headquarters and offer her a job rather and punishment for her breach.  Even more amazing is that she gets to talk to, and is on the way to meet, Hideo Tanaka, Warcross creator and boy genius who she has had a crush on since she first started coding.  The job seems straight forward: she'll participate in the game and get all the perks of being a player in the tournament but she is also to work from within to try and find this security breach.  She is on a bounty hunt with much higher stakes and the prize is well over any bounty she's took on before.  But hunting in the shadows is a bit more difficult than she originally thought.

                Emika is really easy to like.  She has had a tough run at things and despite her less than legal actions at times she has a good heart.  But as amazing a character as I found her I say the biggest character in the book was Warcross.  It is not only a game but a way of life.  Glasses you wear all the time as everything comes up with a second layer.  This is so amazing and futuristic but at the same time something that we could end up with a version of in our lifetime which is kind of amazing.  The intricate world that is described just blew me away and for a book that isn't super long this is a huge thing.  One I think Lu manages so well in her books.  So yes all the different worlds within Warcross and what it is capable of just astounds me.  So it's almost like adding in fun and vivid characters like Emika and Hideo are just icing on the cake.  Hideo is a rather complex character himself as he is guarded and a bit closed off but we get to see more about him as we get deeper into the story.  He is very focused and likes to build and fix things. 

                Plus that doesn’t even mention her team in the game.  Because the game itself, her cover, is amazing.  All the press and parties sure but the games themselves.  Training to get up to the proper level with everyone being an unknown she is behind on many areas but while it is a cover she doesn't want to let her team down.  I loved that aspect.  That she was good at it but she did have to train, she wasn't just an instant know it all.  She had to learn the higher levels like others who have been playing on them have done.  Plus while I knew it was virtual and all it didn't take away a single moment of action in the games.  As the attacks happen I was just as invested and concerned if they were really injuring one another because the VR is that intense in the book and really pulls you into it.  Everything is very in the moment. 

                 Another thing I found really compelling in this book is the play on right and wrong.  Lu is great at having characters who are on either side but she also has this amazing talent for walking the grey line.  This is something the characters play with yes, but also the idea of technology.  When one side is fighting to destroy it to understand their actions you learn a different side of things than you normally would have.  I liked this back and forth on if technology was good or bad.  Can we as flawed humans really be in charge of something so powerful?  At the signing Lu mentioned something along those lines as well and I found that to be something the resonated in the book and I have no doubt will continue to be a factor in the sequel. 

                I really enjoyed this book and I think it is my favorite book by the author yet and that is saying something since I haven't disliked a single thing.  Still I am super excited for the sequel which at the moment doesn't have a title, cover, or release date, though I do have my suspicions.  That said I am thrilled to have a SIGNED copy of Warcross to giveaway.  All the ways to enter are in the option below and I'll leave it open until Friday 2/2/18.  Good luck! 

                Until next time…

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