*I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review* 
 3.5/5 
 THE PLOT 
 "Ladies and gentlemen, let's get started!" The arena around us fades out, and we are transported into an alternated world. 
 We basically follow our main character, Emika Chen, a bounty hunter who struggles to pay her rent and who suddenly finds herself in a futuristic Tokyo surrounded by luxury and money. How does it happen? She hacks into the opening game of Warcross and gets caught. Hideo Tanaka, Warcross's creator offers her a job, she accepts and becomes a vital part of this year's championship. 
 I never got bored, the pace was perfect. There aren't too many fights, training or kissing scenes, they're all perfectly balanced. 
 But, at least for me, some plot twists were incredibly predictable (except for the last two, those I definitely didn't see coming dammit Marie Lu). 
 THE PROTAGONIST(S) 
 "Think badass thoughts, I tell myself." 
 Emika is a bounty hunter who tracks down players who bet on the game illegally. She lives in New York in a horrible apartment and doesn't know how to pay her rent. After taking a very big risk, she enters the world of Warcross and meets Hideo, the game's creator who's 21 years old and a billionaire. The entire novel revolves around her and her mission to solve Warcross's security problem so she's the only one who gets a little bit of character development. 
 I don't think Hideo is supposed to be a co-protagonist, I'd say he's another one of the side characters. We see him only when he interacts with Emika but we get to see/understand him only in the second part of the book and I really hope Marie Lu is going to focus more on him in the sequel, he's such a complex character and he deserves more attention. 
 THE ROMANCE 
 "You're such a flatterer." 
 "I'm no such thing. See you in the dome, Emika." 
 I think it's pretty obvious who Emika is going to get involved with. Surprise, surprise, Hideo wins! The romance is not the main point of the book and I'm not going into details because it would be way too spoilery. I enjoyed their banter and flirting but it went from 0 to 100 way too fast for me. 
 But remember who Marie Lu is and prepare yourself for that ending. 
 THE SIDE CHARACTERS 
 "Game! Set! Fight!" 
 Warcross is all about teamwork. If you work alone, you lose and so does your team. 
 I loved the Phoenix squad. Each member is unique but underdeveloped. Marie Lu focused almost entirely on Emika so we never get to explore the secondary characters and that's a shame, I want to know more about them! But I really liked how they immediately welcomed Emika into their ranks and how well they all worker together. 
 THE ENDING 
 It's written by Marie Lu. That's all I'm going to say but it you've read her other books you know what I'm talking about lol 
 IN CONCLUSION