Halfway through this book I was thinking 3.5 stars, but bumped up for the ending. (Holy plot twists, Batman — not totally original developments, but I didn’t see them coming and I’m excited to see where this all goes.)

Emika is a classic Marie Lu heroine: badass, middle-of-the-road feminine (that is, neither “girly” nor “tomboy”), intelligent, capable, relatable. I love stories about MMO games (all my friends play LoL, and I grew up on SAO), teamwork and conspiracies and technology. The romance itself was cute, though imho the more charged scenes were a bit awkward and ultimately fell flat. The ending did feel a little rushed, the bulk of the plot development packed into a few chapters, but the progression still made for an enjoyable read.