Jay Kristoff proves to be once again one of the best writers of our time. I couldn't put this down, and I can't wait for others to read it as well!

Truelife wraps up the Lifelike trilogy by Jay Kristoff with heart stopping moments, lots of betrayal, war, and so much more.
I have loved this series since book 1 when I wanted to fight Jay Kristoff for all the emotions he put me through in just that very first book (I’ve been told I’ll feel it ten times worse when I finally read his Nevernight series, I’m not prepared).
Lemon, Eve, Ezekiel, and Cricket all meet and clash again as their visions for the future battle it out for the ultimate ending. BioMaas and Daedalus now have a third party sneaking into the battle as the Lifelikes, led by Gabriel, jump into the fray. Battles on all fronts, loyalties tested and divided. I knew what I was getting into but it didn’t make it any easier to watch Eve’s continuing spiral, Lemon’s hope and love for what the world could still be, and Ezekiel’s enduring love for Ana. This was honestly one of those books I could not stop reading because I was afraid if I did I wouldn’t pick it back up again because of the anxiety of what was going to happen to these characters I’ve loved ate at me.
***
A fast paced, full tilt run towards the ending, it was a good way to finish the last book in the trilogy. I’m at peace. Mostly.
4.5 stars ⭐️
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Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I was able to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

SO, we start off right where DEV1AT3 ended…the bomb. Of course, our wonderful cast of characters are able to stop the bomb (unknown to Lemon), and save the horrible people of New Bethlehem. Like I get their lives were in danger too, but screw those people.

Meanwhile, the Preacher (seriously how is homie still alive??) has Eve, Ana, and Gabriel. Lemonfresh is with the Hive, and the Yousay is on the verge of war.

Okay so lets talk about my loves and where they are mentally and physically right now.

Eve: We see a lot more of Eve this time around, and honestly I feel for the girl so much. She finally has time to think for a moment, and continues to struggle with her identity and what her future holds. I’m still a little weary of her at the beginning, but I love how morally grey of a character she is and how she grows throughout the series.

Zeke: My baby lifelike boy annoyed me a little bit this time around. He’s so torn between his love of Ana, his feelings for Eve, and wanting to save Lemon. He’s so trusting and willing to throw his pot in with anyone who says hello. FIGURE YOUR SHIT OUT EZEKIEL.

Lemonfresh: MY GIRL. I love Lem. Lemon has finally found her badass side and has decided that no, she’s not the girl waiting for her to prince to come, and she’s not the quirky sidekick, she’s the MOTHERFUCKING HEROINE. I love how Lemon grows even more awesome, and the struggles and hardships she goes through in this book are absolutely heartbreaking.

Cricket: MY FAVORITE ROBOT. I love Cricket. End of story.

Grimm and Diesel: Man, after the betrayal in the last book, I’m still iffy on these two. But they’re on the side of the good guys so they’re alright. But the way Grimm talks drove me CRAZY. Like why does he have to say “That’s Robin Hood” or “gone mum and dad”? Just say its good and they’ve gone mad! The time wasted explaining what he’s trying to say was just exhausting.

Abraham: adorable, talent, child. Also Abe is exactly what Cricket needed during this time.

Now in the midst of this crazy cats personal issues and relationships, there is also TONS of war brewing.

War between:

BioMaas and Daedulus – fighting for control of the country, these two companies are fully coming to a head in a big way and will stop at nothing to come out on top. Also, fuck BioMaas for what they do to Lemon.

Humans vs Machine – war is on the horizon also for humans versus the robots that serve them, as some robot’s learn more about how to get around the three rules, the war between human and non transitions to oppressors vs slaves.

Human vs Deviate – technically different than human vs machine, its more of “Gabriel vs Everyone/thing else. But boys on a mission and won’t stop until he gets what he came for.

Will all the different fights going on, this book is INTENSE.

Also I cried. I cried sooo many times. There’s moments where I cried tears of relief, of anger, of sadness, I cried when things went right, and when they went horribly, horribly wrong.

This book does not disappoint in terms of plot twists, and almost every character goes through major growths, and some characters do outlandish, sometimes amazing, things that completely throw you off.

Overall, I loved this book. I loved how the characters continue to grow and change, I love how so many different ideas and possibilities come to a head, and at some points it’s hard to really see the lines of ‘good vs bad’. I had a few small problems with the end, I felt like some plot areas were resolved a little too quickly, some actions were forgiven with almost no explanation. But in the end, this is a great story about humanity, friendship and family, and survival.

I 100% recommend this series if you haven’t read it, and this was a really great ending to the story.

Dear Mister Kristoff,
Thank you for making me laugh. For making me cry. For making me FEEL. True cert, this is one hell of a series ender. Lots of twists. Many turns. A LOT of emotions surging through me as I read on what these character experience and go through. This is why you’re my favorite author. I find myself holding my breath, or trying not to laugh aloud too hard, or wiping at tears that streak down my face. Thank you for these characters, in particular. Eve and her turmoil, trying to figure out what she wants. Dearest Lemon, becoming more than a sidekick in someone else’s story. Ezekiel, and his lifelike siblings, with their grief and confusion... I don’t know what else to say without adding in major spoilers...

So. Once again - thank you.

(And even more thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this in e-ARC format!)

This finale is everything I hoped it would be. The first book in this series sucked me into the world of Eve and Lemon, and I never wanted to leave. But if it had to end, this was a phenomenal way to go! The character development was incredible, and the world building continued to impress. The ending was one exciting turn after another, with an unexpected yet satisfying final scene. I’m so glad to have read this series.

Jay Kristoff is the king of making you think you know where the story is going and then turning you on your ass. This was a great finale to such a fun and action packing series! This book was full of twists and turns and everything I wanted!

Truelife is the finale to Jay Kristoff's sci-fi/dystopian Lifelike Trilogy and I've been waiting for Truelife since Deviate's whopping cliffhanger and I couldn't be happier with this book. Eve, Lemon, Criket and Zeke are all back and this book was non-stop action up until the very end. My heart was crushed exactly the right amount, while still leaving me hopeful after the last page. Jay Kristoff knocked it out of the park as usual.

*eARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

First things first, this was a really weird book to read this week. Tension in America went through the roof after the unjust murder of George Floyd by the police, causing people to take to the streets in protests and riots. And here I was, at home in bed, reading sentences like, "You built a world on metal backs. Held together by metal hands. And one day soon, those hands will close. And they'll become fists." I saw the revolution of the logika and lifelike through different eyes this time around. I was definitely more sympathetic to their plight than I was when reading Deviate. Like yes, you want to kill all humans, but the humans treated you badly, maybe they deserve it.

In Truelife, everyone is gearing up for a fight. The ending of Deviate was a massive cliffhanger with a bomb heading straight towards Ezekiel, Cricket, Abraham, Grimm, and Diesel. Eve, Gabriel, and the newfound Ana were taken prisoner by Daedalus Technologies and BioMaas took Lemon back to CityHive to figure out how to replicate her powers. Chapter One picks up right where Deviate left off. So, I guess it's not much of a spoiler to say that the people of New Bethlehem survive and our main characters much go off in search of their kidnapped friends. Some go to rescue Lemon. Some go to rescue Eve. And all are trying to figure out how the heck the fate of the world is left on their shoulders.

Tensions are rising. And all of the characters must band together to prevent world-wide destruction on multiple fronts. BioMaas wants to kill the citizens of Megapolis and replace them with their hivemind. The Lifelikes want to start a robot rebellion and eradicate humanity. Which means our heroes are left siding with the least worse option- Daedalus Technologies.

Truelife serves as a wonderful conclusion to the series, wrapping up each characters' story line and leaving the reader with some hope for their future. Yes, there is death and loss. It wouldn't be a Jay Kristoff book without it. But the reunions I've been longing for since the end of Lifelike do happen (though my heart got stabbed everytime).

4.5 stars. Deviate is my favorite book in the series, but this was very close behind. I am sad to leave this world behind, but satisfied with the ending.

I got my copy of this book through Netgalley. I read the first two books in this series immediately before reading Truel1f3. And I am going to write an honest review - but this is the first time I'm saying the following: I HATE that I have to write an honest review about this book because to me, this was NOT a fitting conclusion to the tale started in books 1 and 2. And, just so we're clear here, spoilers abound for all three books. If you don't want anything ruined, don't read any further.
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Okay! Books 1 and 2 of this series got 4.5 stars apiece. They had everything! Romance! War! Espionage! Black hats! Good guys, bad guys, people who didn't know what the hell they were doing or who they sided with. And I liked that. That was fine. But the main character, Eve, wiffled back and forth so many times it made my head hurt. Seemingly random events would throw her back and forth like a f'king ping pong ball being ponged across a table. AND THAT'S FINE. But her sudden change at the veryveryvery end seemed way too cliche and just FAKE. I was so angry when this happened and when Kristoff dared to have her spout the line "don't touch my sister." WHAT?! ARE YOU FOR REAL?! This entire book you've been fighting against your "sister." How trite could this have possibly been?! It (obviously) just made me so angry. Like I could see if it happened at the 75% mark, 80% mark, even 90%. But at the NINETY-NINTH PERCENT MARK?? NO. JUST. FLAT. OUT. NO. Honestly, that was my main issue with the book. I suppose if it has to end that way he wrote the best last chapter possible. But I literally want to cry because a series that was absolute perfection ended up being trite and hokey. Three stars.

With it's gritty, Mad Max-like world and highly charismatic characters (Lemon Fresh is so brilliful!), this has become one of my favorite YA sci-fi series.  In this final book, I was excited, yet hesitant to read it because I was afraid of what Kristoff might do to some of my favorite characters.  In several scenes, I nearly halfway covered my eyes.

Since it's been about a year between books, I really appreciated the recap at the beginning of this novel.  It's kind of hard to review the final book of a series without spoilers, so this will be brief.  Emotions were all over the map with this one - heart-gushing moments followed by roller coaster plunges into wildly intense action for pages.  Epic battles, cruel blindsides, devious villains with world-ending plans - I wondered if my heart could take it.  The ending satisfied me, with the exception of the fate of one character.  My feelings for this character remained conflicted for most of the series, and I'm not sure they got what they deserved.  So I guess it makes sense that I'll probably remain undecided.

Still, I've thoroughly enjoyed this intense, complex series with fabulous characters.  It's one I'd highly recommend to sci-fi fans.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

TRUEL1F3 was an adrenalinic and emotional conclusion to this trilogy. I cried, screamed and had an heart attack many times. Kristoff is definitely good at making at keeping you glued at the pages!

I'll keep saying that the worldbuilding of this series is great and very original, I never read anything like that.
I also really liked how the thematics of freedom and family are addressed.

The thing I liked and disliked more, at the same time, was Eve. I think she's the most interesting character of the books, I just adored her journey, how she tries to find her identity and how she struggles with certain choices.
The problem is that since book 2 we didn't see much of her, I adore Lemon but I would have preferred more space for her best friend.
This leads to the ending, it felt a little bit rushed, in Eve's final decision but also in the final battles.
There was all this big construction but I had the impression everything was so fast.

I was not deluded at all, the book was addicting and I finished it in 2 days but without these tiny errors, the ending would have been a lot better!

I have been a full year yall to get the closure of this trilogy after in true jay like fashion he left us hanging with our mouths open, minds blown and begging for answers.

I loved getting to see everyone’s POV and thoughts behind the actions. It really made it so very difficult to hate them more because the best villains are ones you kind of feel bad for. And someone Jay made me feel bad for some of them, others I was just as willing to throw off a cliff xD Lemon’s growth continued even more in this book and she stole my heart y’all completely. It was such a wonderful balance of action, heartbreak, romance and more! I didn’t think Jay could add more twists to the story, but he true cert left some for this one! I will say there is a particular thing that happened that will could definitely be a trigger to some so if you are curious I will glady tell you, but other wise my lips are sealed.

Theres so many things I just want to talk about, but I don’t like spoiling the book so expect a big discussion once this baby in your hands! Don’t forget to preorder this baby to help support our wonderful authors!

Jay Kristoff followers will love this 3rd book in the Lifelike series! Great read, thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the arc.

First of all, thank you Knopf books for sending me an eARc of this!

I am a huge Jay Kristoff fan, and I knew this would be a crazy finale! Lemon Fresh is by far my favorite character in these books, so I was really curious to see where her story would go! And of course what was going ot happen between all of the lifel1k3s!

Without spoiling anything (which is always difficult when writing a review for a series finale):

Following the events of Dev1at3, a lot of questions have been answered, but a lot of questions have also risen up about our 'freaks' and why they're so wanted. Well, we get our answers. I think one of the reasons I love Jay's writing is that he's not afraid to break some hearts and kill off some characters. There was a lot going on, it was sometimes difficult to follow, but in the end I still really enjoyed how he ended it!

Over all liked it, but of course we never get the perfect ending because Jay feeds off of our sadness! Thank you for such a wonderful series, Jay!

**I was provided an electronic ARC from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for honest review.**

It is always difficult to discuss books in a series when reviewing them without spoilers, so I will try to keep this brief.

All of the questions I had from the first two books were answered. Nothing fought for came easy. Sacrifices were made along the way. New and old enemies, frenemies, and friends come to bat during this epic conclusion to a cyberpunk-y dystopian series.

Jay Kristoff's writing is on par with his usual, though I will say that I prefer him as an adult writer when solo. I feel like the details that Kristoff includes are some of the things that make him stand out, and his young adult works don't necessarily have the space that allows him to showcase that as well as his adult works. Which resulted in a 4 star rather than 5, so clearly it isn't hurting anything that badly.

I also listened to the first two books in this series via audiobook, and feel like the audiobook really added to my reading experience for those books. I do wish I had also had the audiobook available for this, though it likely would not have changed my overall star rating.

Kristoff is an auto-buy author for me at this point. I'll read whatever the man wants to write, and am so ready to dive into vampires in 2021.

*I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced reader's copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own*

This was a great conclusion to the series. As usual it was action packed from the beginning until the end. There were the same twists and turns as in the previous books in the series. One of my favorite characters died, so that sucked but it was also predictable. I almost wished some more favorites would have died because it had a little too much of a happy ending. Even though the ending was predictable, I still really enjoyed the story and felt this book did justice to the reader but giving us what we wanted.

I don't know. I think it was the characters? I didn't really care about them. The writing was good and the world building fantastic, but ultimately I wasn't invested in any of the characters.

There was nothing wrong with this book at all - I just found that as the series went on, I lost interest.

Rating: 4.5/5 logika with a heart of gold

Format: ebook. I’d like to thank Netgalley for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

To sum up:
This is the third and final book in the LifeL1k3 series by Jay Kristoff. To avoid spoilers, I’m going to talk more about how I feel about this series as a whole, and what I think it did really well. This series is set in a dystopian near-future after a third world war and a major earthquake that separates part of California from the rest of the country. This world run by two major corporations at war with one another and our characters are tossed in the middle of this war. Our main characters consist of a combination of humans, Deviates (humans with extraordinary abilities, think X-men), logika (independent machines with intelligence and personalities), and LifeLikes, which are machines/robots that appear just like human beings but with extraordinary strength and healing abilities. The machines in this world are bound by three laws of robotics which are as follows:

1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.

2. A robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.

3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the first or second law.

The main driving force of this trilogy comes from some of the robotic/lifelike characters pursuing freedom from these laws, and are willing to kill anyone (especially the humans that created, and in their minds, enslaved them) in pursuit of this freedom. While the laws were put into place to prevent an AI uprising endangering humans, it also prevents robots from having free will and choice, that they feel they deserve. Therefore, a big part of this series delves into a discussion about free will and technology, how this topic ultimately causes a rift between friends and allies, and what the characters are willing to sacrifice in pursuit of their ideals.

What I loved:
What I loved most about this trilogy, is the major theme of resistance and change throughout and in each character. Like many futuristic dystopian stories, there is a theme of REVOLUTION and RESISTANCE, but I think that it’s particularly cool that we get to see this resistance from the robot’s point of view. In most robots vs humans stories, it is all too easy to choose the side of humans, but this trilogy really strives to give equal time to both sides, which can make some of the choices made really heartbreaking and intense. Every character’s motivations are really clear and aren’t exactly painted black or white. The line between good and evil, villain and hero, is often hard to draw. There is such a fantastic arc of development and change in each major character to this series so that most of them are by one character or another, seen as both a hero and a villain. As a writer myself, I really admired this level of complexity to the characters, it was a really cool way to demonstrate that every revolution has more than one side, and every “villain” has their reasons (whether or not we agree with them).

I also loved the friendships in this trilogy. A lot of YA focuses on romance, and don’t get me wrong, there is excellent romance in this series as well, but I think this trilogy is more about friendships and the lengths we will go to preserve those friendships. There are friendships between humans, human and deviate, deviate and machine, and all of them are done with beautiful depth and sincerity. My favorite for sure is the friendship between Cricket (a logika) and LemonFresh. There was MORE THAN ONE moment in this book where their relationship made me tear up, it’s so beautiful!

I also have to mention the WORLDBUILDING. Like many of Jay Kristoff’s books, he immerses the reader in a concrete and well-thought-out world containing relevant history, slang, religion, topography, technology obviously, and politics. The way slang and curses are used is a particular strength of his, and this book is no exception. I may not have wanted to live in this world while I was reading it, but it was easy to feel completely immersed in this world due to the level of detail we are given about the world.


What was meh:
Honestly, I can think of very few things! The ramping up action and tension were great, the development and world-building were great, the themes were interesting, I just felt there was a little something missing that I can’t quite put my finger on. When I set the book down I wasn’t dying to know what would happen next (which I felt like while reading LifeL1k3 and Aurora Rising). Since that is pretty vague and unhelpful as a critique I’m only knocking of half a star and I’ll have to update this review if I think of more to add!


Overall, I highly recommend this trilogy, and this book in particular if you’ve enjoyed the first two books! It’s a great finale to the trilogy, jam-packed with action, drama, feels, and of course all the sass, plot twists, and betrayal we have all come to expect from a Jay Kristoff book!

Who I'd recommend it to: Fans of the LifeL1k3 series so far, Illuminae, Aurora Rising, X-Men, The Runaways, The Hunger Games, and Stranger Things.

Thanks to NetGalley for the free e-ARC.

Without giving much away since this the final book in the series. I will say that I could have had a little more character development and felt some parts just didn't hit the mark. Overall I still really enjoyed these books more than I thought I would. I will say it is exactly like the tag lines say Mad Max meets Romeo & Juliet.

Huge thank you to Knopf Books for Young Readers and Netgalley for providing me with this eARC in exchange for my honest review!

Jay Kristoff has done it again. I seriously don't know how he does it, but Kristoff consistently puts out absolute bangers. He is one of my favorite authors. One of the things that I like best about Kristoff's books is that he includes a quick recap of the previous books in the beginning. This is so helpful when it's been a long time since reading the previous books. He did this again with TRUEL1F3 and I loved it!

TRUEL1F3 picks up immediately after the events of DEV1AT3. The action starts immediately and does not let up. The entire book is non-stop! And I mean literally NON! STOP! Our rag tag group of characters are constantly getting themselves into all sorts of dangerous situations. TRUEL1F3 is a super exciting, fast-paced read that is jam packed full of fun.

I was so happy to be back with this incredible cast of characters . . . Cricket, the freaks, and my girl LEMON FRESH! Spank my spankables! Lemon is one of my favorite characters ever and she was once again she is totally *brilliful*! Lemon is fierce, sassy, independent, and so much fun. Her point of view chapters are always my favorite. I'm keeping this review spoiler free, but Lemon goes through a horrible trauma in TRUEL1F3. Kristoff did a great job of showing Lemon dealing with the physical and emotional tolls of this. It made Lemon Fresh even more fierce and powerful!

Besides Lemon Fresh, my favorite part of this series is the freaks . . . Diesel and Grimm. The team of freaks grows in TRUEL1F3 and I couldn't be happier! I would definitely want to be a part of the team.

Of course I have to mention that it's a Kristoff book . . . so that means I was an emotional wreck multiple times.

One character that I did not like at all . . . Eve. She has been the worst since the second book. I understand she is dealing with an identity crisis and incredible emotional stress, but Eve's decisions and actions are horrible. One of the overarching themes of TRUEL1F3 is that your actions are what defines the type of person you are. So basically Eve is awful. The ONLY reason I deducted 1/2 star from my review is Eve's arc/ending. It was too easy and seemed way off base for her story. To keep this spoiler free, I will include what I think would have been a more appropriate ending at the end of my review.

The LIFEL1K3 trilogy is an exciting, fast-paced, and action-packed series. Jay Kristoff creates the most thrilling worlds and captivating characters. TRUEL1F3 is no exception. I flew threw this book and I could not get enough of this incredible story.

TRUEL1F3 will be released June 30th by Knopf Books for Young Readers!

SPOILERS BELOW . . .











I think that Eve suddenly switching to the good side was totally off base and inconsistent with literally every single decision she's made. I think it would have been more appropriate for Eve to sacrifice herself in order to save Lemon and Ezekiel. The fact that she just becomes good, kills the enemy, and then it's all sunshine and roses for her just doesn't seem right to me. This was my only issue with this book and series.