As a longtime Kaufman/Kristoff fan, I've been meaning to read LIFEL1K3 since its debut, so it was nice to finally get around to it! This is also the first book I've read by Kristoff himself, and I truly enjoyed getting to experience his solo work.
There was a lot that was good about this book, notably the world building. I'm a sucker for post-disaster Earth story, and intelligent robots, and I thought the world of LIFEL1K3 blended these wonderfully. I got real Mortal Engines/Mad Max vibes from it all! I also think the way Kristoff explains how the world as we know it fell apart and began to piece itself together again with tech and mech pieces. Also, the characters were mostly very fun, especially Lemon Fresh! Y'all, I ADORE her. I want to read ten more books with her as the main character. I thought Eva was pretty neat, although after a while I felt like she sort of flatlined? Maybe it was the repetitiveness of her internal struggles of identity, but near the end I began to not care as much about her. However, I DO love the friendship between her and Lemon! I care about them deeply as friends, and I'm eager to see more of them.
So all that being said, I think the pacing of this book was way off. It's sort of a bumpy ride, and the action moments in here felt forced to me in a lot of places. The character of the Preacher honestly felt like a waste of page space to me, too. Then when the characters have quieter moments, a lot of what they talk about is also very repetitive. I think the focus overall could have been sharper and more streamlined. The plot, although leading to a fairly predictable encounter, meanders all over the place and leaves a bit to be desired.
I am planning on reading the next in the series, mainly because it sounds like it more Lemon-centric and I here for that! Crossing my fingers for a slightly more focused sequel! ( )

I found it boring, but neat twist by the end. ( )

First off I was not prepared for this to be a futuristic Anastasia retelling but I was here for it.
Second, THAT PLOT TWIST ENDING. OMG. ( )

It was okay-ish but truly great bits were few.Also the insta-love, my god the insta love.

The whole Romanov thing was too on the nose.Seriously not even a change in the names? ( )

Its hard to be disappointed when you don't expect much, yet somehow this book managed it. It had a reasonable start, with identifying the key characters and the strange dystopian world. That said, the coincidences that moved the story forward and the obvious misdirection was just a little too unrealistic. I can buy all the machina, logika, and assembled technology. I can even buy androids that are like super-human - more human than human. But Eve and Lemon and Silas were just so myopic. They just didn't feel like interesting or complex characters. ( )