Archenemies

By: Marissa Meyer

Narrated by: Dan Bittner, Rebecca Soler

Length: 14 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's Summary

The Renegades Trilogy continues, in this fiercely awaited second installment after the New York Times-bestselling Renegades by Marissa Meyer, author of the Lunar Chronicles.

Time is running out.

Together, they can save the world.

But they each other’s worst nightmare.

Nova’s double life is about to get a lot more complicated: 

As Insomnia, she is a full-fledged member of the Renegades, a syndicate of powerful and beloved superheroes. She works with Adrian’s patrol unit to protect the weak and maintain order in Gatlon City.

As Nightmare, she is an Anarchist - a group of of villains who are determined to destroy the Renegades. Nova wants vengeance against the so-called heroes who once failed her when she needed them most.

But as Nova, her feelings for Adrian are deepening, despite the fact that he is the son of her sworn enemies and, unbeknownst to Nova, he has some dangerous secrets of his own.

In this second installment of the Renegades trilogy, Nova, Adrian, and the rest of their crew – Ruby, Oscar, and Danna -- are faced with escalating crime in Gatlon City, while covert weapons and conflicting missions have Nova and Adrian questioning not only their beliefs about justice, but also the feelings they have for each other.

The line between good and evil has been blurred, but what's clear to them both is that too much power could mean the end of their city – and the world – as they know it.

©2018 Rampion Books (P)2018 Macmillan Audio

Critic Reviews

"The narrators excel in portraying the two protagonists. Bittner's jovial tone captures Adrian's sense of hope and justice, while Soler snarls through antihero Nova's angst-filled diatribes. In addition, Bittner and Soler keep the large cast of secondary characters sorted out so well that it seems like there are way more than two narrators." (AudioFile)

Blatantly Rushed

It's a cool world and plot but Marissa always patters around insignificant, repetitive, platonic scenes and waits till the last 2 hours for any actual plot development to happen.

Not to mention her characters are making less and less sense as she contradicts herself without any definitive explanation to it.

It just seems like she writes (pretty good stuff, mind you!) but it doesn't connect till she stumbles through enough of it to find a plotline..

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Overall Good, Pacing a Problem

First of all, I love the way Marissa Meyer writes. She's one of my favorite authors. Her characters are always distinct and memorable. But...along with Winter, I have issues with this book. While Winter struggled with an improbable plot and to a lesser degree, pacing, the core of this book's issue was slow pacing. I found myself getting bored with the descriptions of artifacts. I wanted action in this book and it disappointed me how much of it was devoted to description. So I'd say the book was flawed but overall enjoyable. What I loved was: 1. The Characters. They come to life. Each different than the next. 2. That ending. Set up well, you can tell Meyer is a good writer and where she's going (hopefully, please don't be another Allegiant). I don't want to be too critical, because I enjoyed it, but it does have its struggles. I'm still not used to Audiobooks so I like the female actor doing female voices and the male actor doing male voices. A lot. The problem is when they do the opposite gender. It distracts me by how fake they sound. I don't know if that's common in Audiobooks or not, so I'm not going to knock the book for it. Overall, I would recommend, but definitely the second book in a series. I hope it ends well, or else I'd say this story could've been told in two books.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

AAAAAAAA SO GOOD

at first its kinda slow but then SO MUCH STUFF HAPPENS MARISSA GOT US FOR A REAL ONE WOWWWWWWW

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

A great surprise!

I loved this book! More than anything, I thought I knew where the story was going, but it completely defied my expectations. Loved this book! can't recommend it enough!

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

Obsessed!

This book was incredible, the characters, action, romance. It was even better than than the first one and I can't wait for the final book to come out to see how the plot settles!

can't wait for next

loved it... don't know how I'm going to wait 9 months for the last book... 😭

Another hit from Marissa Meyer!

Archenemies is the second book in the Renegades series, and I loved it!

Why did I love Archenemies?

• I love Marissa Meyer’s storytelling, so I was not disappointed with Archenemies. In this world there is no clear line between “good” and “evil”, as you’ll see in the politics of this society. Meyer clearly allows readers to understand what drives both sides actions, which makes it difficult to choose who is right and wrong. This adds conflict to the plot and readers see how the characters handle moral issues. Along with the seriousness of the story there is exciting action, funny moments and sweet romance that always makes Meyer’s books entertaining.
• Meyer’s writing always consists of well-developed and complex characters. In Archenemies I was drawn to the “good” and “evil” characters. I loved the characters and I enjoyed seeing the supporting characters get some spotlight. It was fun watching the banter between Ruby and Oscar. Adrian and Nova’s relationship is slowly growing into more than friends, but their secrets can jeopardize any future they can have together. The hopeless romantic in me wishes they will find their HEA at the end of this series. Nova continues to be torn between her alliances and her struggle is clear and realistic. I felt a connection with all the characters which made it easy for me to get lost in this world.
• The dual narration of Rebecca Soler and Dan Bittner was perfect. They brought to life the story and characters. I love that they both create distinct voices for each character and their personalities shine through. If I see Rebecca Soler as the narrator, it’s an automatic purchase for me. I love Rebecca Soler!

The ending of Archenemies is another chilling cliffhanger and I can’t wait for the next book!

Love this series!

This book picks up right as Renegades ends.... and doesn't let up! Exceptional narration, and a wonderfully written book.

it was good

I like the relationships developing, but it's getting a bit outlandish with this girl's ability to survive anything with the power of putting people to sleep. still... I'll read the third one!

passable but not great

this story had so much potential but it didn't live up to my expectations. My biggest complaint is the side characters are never fleshed out, they just seem like cardboard characters who are only propped up for the main characters to interact with.
i dont know if I'll even continue with the trilogy 😒