Series Review: Is this series worth your time? Does it get better as the novels progress? Or does it get worse? Find out below:

 

Synopsis for Mila 2.0 (from Goodreads):

Mila was never meant to learn the truth about her identity. She was a girl living with her mother in a small Minnesota town. She was supposed to forget her past—that she was built in a secret computer science lab and programmed to do things real people would never do.

Now she has no choice but to run—from the dangerous operatives who want her terminated because she knows too much and from a mysterious group that wants to capture her alive and unlock her advanced technology. However, what Mila’s becoming is beyond anyone’s imagination, including her own, and it just might save her life.

Series: Mila 2.0 Trilogy
Author: Debra Driza
# of Books: 3 (Mila 2.0, Renegade, Redemption)

There is also a prequel eNovella, Origins: The Fire available for free on Kobo and Amazon/Kindle

Complete?: Yes
Genre: Young adult, SciFi, Action, Suspense, Thriller
Heat Rating: cold
Point of View: First Person, Single
Publication Dates: March 2013 – April 2016
Source & Format: Public Library–eBook

**This post was originally published as a Fresh Friday review of the first book of the series. It has now been updated to reflect my conclusion to DNF this series. It will not be further updated.**

Why I Picked it Up:

I came across this series when I found the eBook prequel, Origins: Fire, for free on Kobo. The cover drew my attention so I decided to see what the series was about. The main summary for Mila 2.0, the first book of the series, didn’t immediately grab my attention. I feared it would be some attempt to find the meaning of life or life as a human and that just didn’t interest me too much. What ended up making my decision for me was the title dropping of the Borne Identity and I am Number Four, titles that I have enjoyed in the past for their blend of action and plot–so when a book is compared to these two titles, I can’t help but to check it out.

My Thoughts on the Prequel Novella:

I’ll start briefly with the prequel novella. You don’t need to read Origins: Fire before you start this book. It ends abruptly and it confused me a bit because of this abrupt ending but it does explain what happened and why Mila is where she is and why she feels as she does. If you have a Kobo or a Kindle, pick up the eBook for free. It also offers sample chapters of Mila 2.0 as well if you wanted to get a bit of a feel for the full-length book.

My Review of Mila 2.0:

Mila 2.0, the first full length novel of the series, started off really slow. It isn’t until Chapter 8 that Mila learns the truth about herself so for the first 8 chapters of the novel you read about her life as a high schooler and her friends. It is a little dull and I don’t care for her friends (they are everything I dislike about girls in high school) so that made it hard to get through. But once the discovery is made, it really picks up. This set up of an extraordinary protagonist living in a ordinary world reminded me a lot of I am Number Four because in that book, Four/John goes through a very similar situation and most of the action picks up after a few “everyday-life” chapters in that novel as well.

Once Mila learns the truth, the action begins. More about her features and abilities get revealed as she navigates her way through the situations she faces. How Mila thinks and processes is very much Borne Identity-esque so there are some great action sequences in the latter half of the book. The detail in these sequences is also amazing–I was easily able to picture and have the scene run through my head as I read it which always gives a book bonus points in my opinion.

The last 30 pages have a lot going on and I was devastated when my Kobo ran out of batteries in the middle of it 😛 The ending was a bit abrupt but I guess most cliff-hanger endings are 😉

Why I Won’t Be Continuing With the Series:

I’ve just been too far removed from it over the last few years.

Series Rating: DNF

Mila 2.0 3.5/5 | Renegade N/A | Redemption N/A

Overall, it wasn’t as “what makes us human” as I initially feared though it does have that as a focus of the novel–my point is that it isn’t the ONLY thing that this novel focuses on. This was a very refreshing read in a genre that is usually filled with romance and high school drama. It was a nice change of pace to get a true action/suspense read that isn’t a paranormal SciFi read but a genuine SciFi read. For those who love SciFi and a novel that builds up the story as it goes, check this one out!

• I am Number Four by Pittacus Lore (I am Number Four/The Lorien Legacies Series, #1)

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