The Revenge of Seven (Lorien Legacies #5)
By Pittacus Lore
Genre: YA Sci-Fi/Action & Adventure
Recommended For: Ages 14+ and lovers of paranormal and the idea that aliens exist and are hiding among us

The Garde have suffered an unbearable loss. Number Five has betrayed them. Eight is gone forever. Ella has been kidnapped. The others are now scattered.

In Chicago, John makes the unlikeliest of allies: Adam, a Mogadorian who turned his back on his people. He has invaluable information about Mog technology, battle strategies, and weaknesses. Most important, he knows where to hit them: their command base near Washington, DC. During the assault, however, John and Adam learn the unimaginable truth: it is too late. The Mogadorians have commenced their ultimate invasion plans.

With a front-row seat to the impending invasion, Ella finds herself in the hands of the enemy. For some reason she’s more valuable to them alive, and they’ll stop at nothing to turn her.

Meanwhile, Six, Nine, and Marina make their way through the Florida Everglades, hot on the trail of the traitorous Five. With the development of a new Legacy, Marina finally has the power to fight back—if her thirst for revenge doesn’t consume her first.

The Gist:

This series continues to drag on in book five. I will give it kudos for amping up the action throughout, which all but disappeared in book 4. I’ll also grant some kudos for character development. But all in all it feels like it’s taking way too long to get to the epic ending it’s been foreshadowing for a while now.

What I Liked:

There were a couple twists in this one that I thought added some excitement to the story. Obviously I won’t share what those twists are, but this series lacked in the unexpected in books three and four so it was nice to see that change a little in five.

There was also a lot more suspense in this book. With Ella’s kidnapping and being kept behind enemy lines, the Garde going into enemy territories and strongholds, and Eight’s death, there is a lot more to keep you on your toes and hold your interest.

We finally get to see a little character development in some of the Garde.  Nine begins to realize the effects of his quick temper and Mareena learns what bravery looks like for her.

The reader gets a closer look at the infamous Setrakus Ra in this book thanks to the Ella POV parts. He actually is a well-crafted villain. Powerful, check. Thinks his fight is noble, check. Thinks he’s the hero in his story, check.

What I Didn’t Like:

Now that I’ve been through five of these books, I’m starting to pick up on little things that bug me. Like why do only three of the Lorien characters go by human names? It makes it seem like the ones that go by their numbers aren’t as important.

It’s taking too long to get to the main event. Things keep happening that makes me as a reader think danger is imminent, but then I am missing the sense of urgency in the characters actions and thoughts. It feels like “Earth is about to be destroyed! But let’s do this first…”

I don’t understand the Mogadorians as an enemy. They are brutal and scary, which is good for the villains, but I don’t understand why they blindly follow their leader. It claims their motive is to find new planets, but then they destroy them? What’s the point?

And the U.S. Government is too flimsy for me in this book. It doesn’t take much for them to completely switch sides which makes that part of the plot feel flimsy also.

It really annoyed me that they mentioned Mark and made it a big enough deal to send Sarah off to him, but that was it. We never actually get to see Mark in the story and know what it was like between him and Sarah. It sounds like he’s changed a lot and I’d like to see that!

LunasLuckyRating: 3/5 Lunas