Legend - Marie Lu

What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic’s wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic’s highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country’s most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem.

From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths—until the day June’s brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family’s survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias’s death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets.

Full of nonstop action, suspense, and romance, this novel is sure to move readers as much as it thrills. [Goodreads]

I had been wanting to read this book for a while, and I had been reading about and watching all of the hype about Legend for a while before I'd picked it up. So, my expectations for Marie Lu were set pretty high. On that note, I gave Legend a 3/5.

I've been really into dystopian/conspiracy/action-y reads lately, (if I just described you, this is definitely your book) so I decided to give Legend a whirl. I wasn't dissapointed, but I also think that my expectations weren't completely met. The plot was good, and I really liked the who-done-it vibe that I got from the whole Metias dying thing. But, there was just something missing, and I'm not completely sure what it was. I guess the "it factor" just wasn't there for me.

I finished this book a few months ago, and while I did like the plot, I found myself growing bored with the characters. There were just too many similar things between Day and June that, besides the font and color changes in the text (and the whole June = girl, Day = guy thing), it would have been hard for me to remember exactly who was whom. I can't really go into any more about the characters without spoiling the big secret in the book, so I'm going to leave that at that. One thing made me want to chuck this book at my wall more than anything else, and that would have to be the whole Romeo and Juliet love at first sight thing that Legend had going on. Within a few pages - if even that - of the two main characters meeting eachother, they were instantly attracted to eachother. This made the book unrealistic, which is a definite no-no for me. It'd be great if the whole insta-love thing happened in the real world, but it doesn't. At least, not in my experiance and insta-love probably isn't what would have happened in the real world anyway. I'm pretty sure June would have punched Day in the face just to show that she could.

While I wasn't as wow-ed as I thought I was going to be by Legend I did enjoy the book, and I can't wait to see what Lu has in store for us with her next book in the Legend series.