Book Review - 'LIFEL1K3' by Jay Kristoff

Review by Fay Clark

My 143rd book of the year is this absolute masterpiece, LIFEL1K3 by Jay Kristoff. This man has quickly become one of my favourite authors; his writing style, amazing plot-lines and outstanding characters have all made me fall into a deep, book nerd love for his work. LIFEL1K3 is the first book in a new trilogy Kristoff is writing, it came out late July this year. So plenty of time to grab one before the next instalment arrives (which I highly recommend doing.)

We follow a 17 year old girl called Eve, her best friend Lemon Fresh and her robotic conscience Cricket. There's also a grumpy Grandpa character, not to mention a deadly cute robot dog named Kaiser. On the way home from battling War Machines at WarDome the squad stumble upon an almost-human, otherwise known as a Lifelike (due to the way they look and act.) Ezekiel literally comes crashing into Eve's life, with him bringing the truth of the robotic revolt and secrets that will leave your head spinning. Shenanigans then, naturally ensue.


It features (in no particular order) Giant Mechanical War Machines. Sexy Androids. Mutant Powers. Doomed Romance. Warring Corporations. Cybernetic Bounty Hunters. Sassy Robot Sidekicks. Strong Female Leads. Outstanding Secondary Characters. Rebellions. Chases. Escapes. Betrayals. Lies Upon Lies. Explosions. Road Tripping. Sarcasm. Warrior-Girl-Ride-Or-Die-Female-Friendship-Forever AND BADASSERY. Honestly who could ask for more.




This book has been described as Romeo and Juliet meets Mad Max, meets X-Men, with a little bit of Blade Runner cheering from the sidelines. After seeing this description LIFEL1K3 went immediately to the top of my most anticipated reads of the year, I knew I'd enjoy it because Kristoff has never let me down.

The characters are amazing and extremely well thought out. The plot line takes you to places you could never see coming I would say this book could be put in the genre of Young Adult, Sy-Fy, Dystopian, but I wouldn't want to pigeon-hole it into any specific genre, mostly because it's a mix of so many and has the opportunity to be so much more in further instalments.



I think my favourite character is... well, let's be honest I've got more than one. I love every character in their own right, but a few stand out to me. Namely Eve, she goes through a lot in this book and finds out more about herself. She takes it all in her stride with a sarcastic comment here and there, but mostly gets on with her life and what needs to be done. Eve as a character has such an interesting development by the end of the book, she is a true testament to Kristoff's writing.

The other person that shouts out and jumps off the page for me was Lemon; the loud, smart-mouthed best friend. Lemon goes along for the ride with her girl, and is happy to do so as Eve is the closest thing Lemon has to family. Lemon is younger than Eve but I would argue probably more mature. Her loyalty astounds me and is very refreshing to see, she is blunt and bold and here to stay. With a few secrets of her own Lemon Fresh is a really interesting character and I cannot wait to see what happens with her next.

I'm unbelievably excited to see where this trilogy goes; I laughed, I cried, I gasped and even had to stop reading to process what had just happened. Yes, this book comes highly recommended by your local bookish crazy lady. So, read it and drop me a message or comment; let's see if you agree.




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