Renegades (Renegades #1) by Marissa Meyer

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Renegades (Renegades #1) by Marissa Meyer

Secret Identities.
Extraordinary Powers.
She wants vengeance. He wants justice.

The Renegades are a syndicate of prodigies—humans with extraordinary abilities—who emerged from the ruins of a crumbled society and established peace and order where chaos reigned. As champions of justice, they remain a symbol of hope and courage to everyone…except the villains they once overthrew.

Nova has a reason to hate the Renegades, and she is on a mission for vengeance. As she gets closer to her target, she meets Adrian, a Renegade boy who believes in justice—and in Nova. But Nova’s allegiance is to the villains who have the power to end them both.

---

I haven’t read a Marissa Meyer book in awhile, but I loved The Lunar Chronicles! Since I’ve gotten Kindle Unlimited, I haven’t read very many books not on KU since I essentially prefer to read these “free” books. I then saw that Renegades was actually on KU, and the other 2 books I got with my free audiobook trial haha so we will see how long it takes me to listen to the rest of the series.

I did like this series and I like the concept that it wasn’t all black and white, villains and heroes, good and bad. While I did really like this book, it didn’t grasp my interest so quickly and so fully as other books have. It may have a bit to do with the length, but as I read more, the more I got into the book.

Nova, the niece of Ace of Anarchy, the famous ‘villain’ who started the age of anarchy that ultimately led to some rights for prodigies, is taking up the cause. After an ultimate defeat by the renegades 10 years prior, Nova goes undercover in the Renegades to finally figure out how to dismantle them from the inside.

I liked Nova’s character though I expect a lot of character growth from her in the next 2 books. There was definitely some misplaced anger on her part and she honestly seems a bit brainwashed in some of her ideologies. However, she does think well for herself and did have some realizations. I am really interested to see how her character straddles the line between Renegades and Anarchists in the following books.

I also really liked Adrian and the fact that he was a bit sheepish and awkward. I love a little love story in fiction series so I hope to see more of them and how they develop in the later books. Also, shoutout to Meyers for her diversity in the other characters including LGBTQ+, disabilities, POC, and more! All books should be representative of what our populations looks like so kudos to that.

I am excited to continue the series, however, considering they other books are in audiobook format for me, I admit it may take awhile. While it was good to listen to them while driving on long road trips (why I got audiobooks and used my free trial credits), I don’t think it is something I would listen to just sitting in my house.

Anyone else read the Renegades series? What are your thoughts?