MILA 2.0: Renegade ~ Debra Driza tour review + dream cast + giveaway [@harperteen @debradriza]

MILA 2.0: Renegade (MILA 2.0 #2)
Katherine Tegan Books
May 13, 2014
pages
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There is no one left for Mila to trust. Except for a boy she barely knows.

But Hunter has no idea who—and what—Mila really is. She can’t bear to reveal her secret, even though he’s unwittingly joined her search for Richard Grady, a man who may know more details of Mila’s complicated past.

Yet the road to the truth is more dangerous than ever. With General Holland and the Vita Obscura scouring the earth for her whereabouts, Mila must rely on her newfound android abilities to protect herself and Hunter from imminent harm. Still, embracing her identity as a machine leads her to question the state of her humanity—as well as Hunter’s real motives.

Perfect for fans of I Am Number Four and Divergent, this action-packed and heart-wrenching second installment of MILA 2.0 will leave readers breathlessly awaiting the series conclusion.

In MILA 2.0: Renegade, the story of Mila teenage girl who is secretly (or not so secretly) an android, gets even better. Now, Mila not only knows that she is technology, but that others are after her - for their own reasons, not including her well-being.

If being a teenager and finding out you're an android, wasn't enough, now Mila's lost her mother and is on the run for her life. The only one she feels comfortable reaching out to is Hunter, a boy she barely knows.

Someone who does not know the truth and to whom she can't make herself tell it.

The first book of the series, MILA 2.0 gave readers some of the android/science vs human battle within Mila. From accepting that she now had ports and could interact with computers, to figuring out what that meant about who - or what - she was. The 'discovery' of all of this for Mila took more of the focus in the first book. Now, though, as she struggles to find a balance between android Mila and the human Mila she believes herself to (at least partially) be, things get so much better.

Now that she is aware of the threats both Holland and Vita Obscura pose to her - and by extension of his being with her, Hunter - it's necessary for Mila to embrace her android abilities. Everything that she is capable of, the different abilities she has lead to some fantastic action and tension.

They also cause trouble for Mila in her attempts at being a teenage girl and enjoying her time with Hunter. True, she's trying to stay alive, but it's hard to enjoy a cute boy when you're constantly scanning for threats and getting status updates.

I loved that the struggle for Mila between the teenage girl, trying to figure out her relationship - if there even is one - with a boy was so well balanced with the android girl trying to evade capture and discovering all she can do.

When they come together, there's Mila a girl with great skills, a computer 'brain,' and a giant secret she's keeping.

Renegade isn't only the story of a girl and it's not only the story of an android, it's both. And quite brilliantly, too.

We get to see much more of Mila's character in this second book, but there's also a really good plot with some superb revelations, twists and turns. Things from both the first book and from the prequel novella came into play. Some things were not quite as they had previously seemed, some were even better and some, suddenly, made much more sense. It all made for a much fuller plot.

MILA 2.0: Renegade is one follow-up that I definitely enjoyed more than its predecessor. After reading it, learning all I did of the characters and the things unveiled, I am definitely looking forward to what's to come in Book 3.


Rating: 9/10

series order (+ links to my reviews)

Origins: The Fire (ebook prequel novella)
MILA 2.0 (#1)
MILA 2.0: Renegade (#2)

About the Author:
I'm the author of the MILA 2.0 series and the owner of the messiest purse on the planet, aka: the black hole of doom. I think bow ties are cool and when I grow up, I want to be Veronica Mars.

I rarely check my account at Goodreads, so if you need to get in touch with me, try twitter or Debra at debradriza.com.



Author's website / on Goodreads / blog / @DebraDriza / Facebook

. . .

Rachael Leigh Cook (circa She's All That) as Mila

. . .

Vanessa Hudgens as Mila (since time travel doesn't really work)

. . .

Lachlan Buchanan as Hunter

. . .

Julie Benz as Mila's mom

. . .

General W.R. Monger as Holland

. . .

since animated people aren't real and thus don't get to be in a Dream Cast: Stephen Lang as Holland

. . .

Gwyneth Paltrow as [name withheld for security - re spoiler - concerns]

. . .

Giveaway:

Win one (1) of two (2) sets of both books in the MILA 2.0 series (MILA 2.0 and Renegade) by Debra Driza (US ONLY)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule - check out the rest of the tour stops

tour and my copy of the book for review thanks to Harper and FFBC

Isolation ~ Dan Wells review

Isolation (Partials #0.5)
Balzer + Bray
August 28, 2012
~75 pages (enovella)
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Two decades before the events of Partials, the world was locked in a different battle for survival: a global war for the last remaining oil reserves on the planet. It was for the Isolation War that the American government contracted the ParaGen Corporation to manufacture the Partials—our last hope in reclaiming energy independence from China. And it was on these fields of battle that the seeds of humanity's eventual destruction were sown.

Isolation takes us back to the front lines of this war, a time when mankind’s ambition far outstripped its foresight. Heron, a newly trained Partial soldier who specializes in infiltration, is sent on a mission deep behind enemy lines. What she discovers there has far-reaching implications—not only for the Isolation War, but for Partials and humans alike long after this war is over.

A powerful take of our world on the brink, Isolation gives readers a glimpse into the history from which Partials was born—as well as clues to where the Partials Sequence is heading next.

After reading Partials last February, I was really excited to read both Fragments, the sequel and "Isolation", the prequel novella. Though, "Isolation", is set prior to Partials, it was released just this past August -- between the releases of the two full length novels in the series.

If you've already read Partials and are looking for some more insight into how the Partials are made, how they come to be and a bit of insight into the Isolation War, I would recommend, "Isolation".

The story is told through Heron and alternates between her inception as a Partial and her assignment inside the Chinese military.

As a stand-alone tale or as an introduction to the series, I'm not sure I would recommend "Isolation." I loved Partials, the characters, their interactions, the plot, the way things unfolded, but, "Isolation" didn't really work for me.

The Chinese generals felt almost like we were hearing the dubbed version of them, if that makes sense. Their dialogue didn't really flow and seemed like it was Chinese translated (a bit oddly) into English before we read it.

That was on top of, perhaps, my bigger trouble with, "Isolation." What was going on with the gender roles in this story? 2060 China and 2060 military is apparently more misogynistic than 2013, which, okay plausible, I guess. But the ease with which Heron knows, accepts and plays into this as well as another place it was part of the story . . . Yes, it worked for what needed to be accomplished, but was it the only way? It felt cheap. Contrasting the treatment of Heron, the only female character, with Kira, Partials main character left me really disappointed.

I liked learning how the Partials were 'conceived' and trained, but I don't feel that this short story was crucial to Partials and I'll see if it plays a role in Fragments as I read it.



Rating: 5/10


A Novel Toybox does, possibly, a better job making some of my same points in her review

Mila 2.0 ~ Debra Driza (earc) review

Mila 2.0 (Mila 2.0 #1)
Katherine Tegen Books
March 12, 2013
480 pages
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Mila can't remember who she was. After moving, with her mother, to small town Clearwater, Minnesota after her father was killed in a fire she's struggling to come to terms with the past -- and remember it.

She can't remember if she used to like chocolate ice cream or pink finger nail polish. What she used to like wearing -- anything that made her her. All the little things.

It's even more surprising when she learns the reason for all of those gaps: Mila isn't a real teenage girl. Created in a lab, programmed to act like a teenager, she's also incredibly dangerous. And incredibly valuable in the right hands.

Now, with the threat of 'termination' looming after her escape from that lab and someone after her for the advanced technology she possesses -- even if she isn't aware of how to use it -- Mila's on the run. Trying to stay alive, at least as alive as she's ever been, and discovering more disconcerting things about herself at every turn.


Debra Driza's debut, Mila 2.0, was sold as 'Bourne-style' and though I can see that, a bit, I am hoping for more of it in the second book. With Mila, the initial setup where we meet Mila and the other characters, get a little introduction to how Mila's life is, is good.  It's nice to see that her life is relatively normal, albeit affected by the death of her father and the gaps in her memory. We also see the little quirks, too.

When things really start to kick in with the plot -- the scifi aspect coming into play and Mila's origin being explained -- I did wish for something . . . more. Or less, strangely. There was not quite enough unknown or quite enough known, either. At the same time I was wondering what exactly was so special about Mila and what she was able to do that someone was after her (the not enough known side), I also wanted there to be a bit more mystery on the side of what had happened in taking her from the lab (not enough unknown).

The balance between giving enough to pull me in, but keeping enough hidden to keep me interested -- and the story tense -- wasn't quite met here.

The last (about) thirty percent of the story was the best for me. The characters involved there are some of the best in the book -- and I do hope some of them make an appearance in Book 2. They have great interactions with Mila. Two in particular provide quite a great contrast, one seeming to see only her as android and the other seeming to see her human aspects.

The combination of the tension really amping up, the great character interaction and the promises it seems to hold for Book 2 (as well as some hopes I have), made this my favorite section.

Now that both readers and Mila know more about her, where she came from and what she can do, I'm anxious to see where Book 2 takes her!



Rating: 7/10




thank you to Harper & Edelweiss for the egallley