Renegades by Marissa Meyer

So...I have conflicted feelings about this book. Really my rating falls more in the 3.5/3.75 range. First, things I like: Smokescreen, Max, Adrian's super power, Honey and Cyanide. I'm also appreciative of the fact that the lines between good and evil can be blurred. It also read as if it were written for a movie which can be both good and bad. Second, things I wasn't a fan of: This is a beast of a book and the pacing seemed a bit off. Like a friend said, it just seems like a very long introduction (at 552 pages). Furthermore, virtually no plot arcs were closed in this book. Usually, there's one or two overarching plots that continue into a next book, but this one is all loose ends. And then, even though I spoiled myself checking the page numbers, the very end was still lackluster for me and seemed to be more for the "Wow" factor than anything. Also, another plot point/potential conflict was introduced right before that. All within the last 40 pages. Near the end I also started to get annoyed with Nova. Clearly, she is a bad guy who realizes some bad guys are good guys and some good guys are bad guys, but it's like she keeps ignoring her gut feelings and it gets old after 500 pages. I also have some theories about her family's death, Lady Indomitable’s death, and Ace. So.... In conclusion, I will be reading the next book because this was enjoyable overall, but I think it would have been more effective if it were a bit shorter and didn't have so many loose ends after 552 pages.