It's with a heavy heart that I write this review. I wanted to love this book so much; I loved Meyer's first series and hoped this book would match that level of awe-inspiration. Alas, it fell short. Hopelessly short.

While 3 star is a generous rating for this book (it's probably more of a 2 1/2), it earned the extra half star because of the amazing world that Meyer took the time to painstakingly develop. Similar to her first series, The Lunar Chronicles, Meyer manages to create this world that's so detailed and fantastic it leaves you kind of awed by her creativity. It takes place in a post-war city, recovering from decades of unrest and rebellion following a prodigy rebellion, or humans with supernatural powers led by Ace Anarchy. Fast forward and we meet Nova, Ace's niece and prodigy in her own right with a major chip on her shoulder. Spurred by her rag-tag family of Anarchists, she becomes a double agent and joins the Renegades-- a group of peaceful prodigies that ended Ace's reign and are acting as the city's current government.

While this book earned major points for it's imaginative setting and wide cast of characters of all races and abilities, it just dragged. The beginning was slow, and the rest of the book managed to limp along until we ended in (what felt like) the middle of the climax. Overall, I wouldn't really recommend this book unless the reader really loved superheros or didn't mind a slower paced book.