Renegades (Book 1) Reading Journal - Part 3

Happy birthday Nova Artino!!!!!!!

And finally 😮‍💨 — here’s Part 3 of my reading journal! Enjoy!

SPOILER ALERT

Date: 08.4.25

Adrian and Nova in the Carnival and the Fun House

Overview

Adrian and Nova talk a walk through the carnival in Cosmopolis Park while on a mission to search for Nightmare. Later on, they explore the fun house together.

For two characters to have a romantic relationship, they need to spend some alone time together, and Meyer definitely gives them many opportunities throughout the novel.

However, the carnival walk and the fun house is a significant turning point in Nova and Adrian’s relationship. They connect on a deeper level, and being away from the other Renegades gives them their own space to really understand each other and develop trust.

“Adrian?”
Hand stilling, he turned his head to look at her.
She swallowed. “Was this a date?”
His lips parted, at first in surprise, but then in hesitation as he searched for a response.
…
They stared at each other, and Nova’s heart started doing acrobatics inside her chest.

”Would you have said yes,” said Adrian, “if it was?”
No, her brain said. Emphatic and aggressive. No.
While something else whispered back … Maybe.

At this point in the novel, they have started to develop feelings for each other. However, Adrian and Nova show their feelings in different ways.

Adrian is more emotionally open and expressive, so he makes it clear that he wants to spend alone time with her, and that he might be attracted to her.

On the other hand, Nova is the complete opposite. She is emotionally closed off, and rarely shows her feelings on her face. As we’ve seen throughout the novel, they are both evidently attracted to each other. However, Nova denies her feelings for Adrian and buries them deep down, convincing herself that she cannot be attracted to the enemy.

She focused on her breath, trying to drown out the surge of sensations flooding her body. She needed to stop thinking about handsome smiles and small touches and kisses and dates. If Adrian really liked her — really liked her — it was only because he didn’t really know her.

He would never like the girl beneath the lie.

Nova’s Internal Conflict

Nova is probably the most complex character in the book.

After being betrayed by the Renegades in the past, she becomes an Anarchist and is driven to bring the Renegades down.

In order to get more information about the Renegades, she becomes a spy. However, when she joins Adrian’s team, she starts to fit in more than she expects, and develops feelings for Adrian.

Little do they know about the secrets that she’s hiding from them: her true identity as Nightmare, and her real intentions.

In my opinion, Nova denies her feelings for Adrian because she’s afraid he won’t like her true self. She knows that even though he might be attracted to her now, it’s because he doesn’t know who she really is, what she can do, and how dangerous she can be. He doesn’t know how she’s lied to him and tricked the Renegades, and how much she despises the Council, especially Captain Chromium, his own father.

Even though Nova does all these things — lying, spying, pretending — she’s not a bad person. Really, she has a good heart — we can never forget that she risked losing her powers to try and save Max. And she’s not doing all this for no reason — she has a motive. She feels betrayed by the Renegades for not saving her family.

But deep down, Nova doesn’t think that Adrian would be able to understand any of this. She thinks he’ll see her as merely a liar and a rebel who betrayed him and the entire Renegade team. He’ll think that she’s a bad person, and that he won’t understand what she’s been through — or that underneath all of it, she has a good heart.

The problem is that Nova isolates herself from the rest of the world. She doesn’t show her feelings, and never wants to be seen as weak or vulnerable, so she hides her pain.

And that just makes it even harder for Adrian to see who she really is.

Nova pulled her arm away and turned to face him, settling her hands on her hips. “For the record, while it’s very charming that you keep trying to protect me, I would like to remind you that I actually know how to defend myself.”

He grimaced. “I know. It’s just … instinct.”
”Well, stop it.”
He held his hands up. “Won’t happen again.” He hesitated. “I mean, unless I’m pretty sure you’re about to die, then I’m absolutely going to rescue you, whether you like it or not.” (to which Nova rolls her eyes)

This moment is not only adorable, 🥰 but also meaningful.

Adrian shows his feelings, and that he’s attracted to her. He tries to protect her, which shows how much he cares about her and how much he means to her.

On the other hand, Nova doesn’t show her feelings, even though as readers, we know that she is also attracted to him.

Nova may act like she’s annoyed by his attempts to protect her, but deep down, she appreciates it. She also cares about him and he means a lot to her as well, even if she doesn’t show it.

Opposites Attract/Grumpy-Sunshine Relationship

One thing that I definitely want to point out is how different Nova and Adrian are from each other. Nova is an Anarchist who wants vengeance, and Adrian is a Renegade who wants justice — they are literally on opposite sides!

Not to mention that they have completely opposite personalities:

Adrian is emotionally open and expressive — Nova is emotionally guarded.

Adrian is cheerful and optimistic — Nova is cynical and sarcastic.

Adrian is driven by hope and justice — Nova is driven by revenge and loss.

Adrian is trusting — Nova is doubting and suspicious.

Adrian is hopeful about change - Nova is doubtful that people can truly change.

This is a classic grumpy-sunshine relationship with so much chemistry.

Looking at their opposite traits in the list above, we can see that Nova is the “grumpy” and Adrian is the “sunshine”, and this is reflected in the quote.

I love the grumpy-sunshine trope. I think that when two characters are different from each other, it allows them to learn from each other, and help each other grow. In my opinion, Adrian and Nova are made for each other. Even though they are polar opposites, their chemistry shines in these moments and their differences will help them understand each other.

At this point in the series, Adrian and Nova have just started to bond and understand each other. However, I think that as they get to know each other even more throughout the series, they will discover how much they can help each other, and learn from one another — and that’s when they’ll really shine together.

Finished the book

I would strongly recommend the Renegades. It’s an action-packed thriller about the rivalry between heroes and villains, challenging us as readers to think about its thought-provoking questions and helping us relate to the characters with their emotional complexity and depth. It’s a must-read!

Plot

Omg the plot. We have to talk about the plot.

This book will hook you with its thrilling twists and turns, as secrets are uncovered and nothing is ever as it seems.

There’s action, suspense, betrayal, double lives, undercover missions … everything you could want from a thriller.

And what makes it better is that the stakes feel real. We actually care about what happens to the characters because we understand their motives, desires and fears.

Nova Artino

Nova is my favourite! I love her!

She’s such a compelling character.

Firstly, I love how determined and driven she is to pursue her goals. Towards the end of the novel, we discover that this is being she’s afraid of failure, stemmed from the belief that she had failed her family, and that she could have saved them.

This has both a negative and a positive impact on her. Failure disheartens her and knocks her down (even though it’s not long before she picks herself up again😍), but her fear of failure motivates her never to give up.

It’s evident that she’s attracted to Adrian, but denies her feelings. She does this because she’s scared that when Adrian finds out who she is and discovers her true self, he won’t love her. As readers, this is so relatable.

Nova is an Anarchist, and this is clear by her ambitions, rebellious attitude and courage. However, there’s a part of her that’s becoming more like a Renegade — in my opinion, this is clearly displayed by the way she tries to save Max without a second thought, risking losing her powers.

Finally, what strikes me is how relatable she is. She’s so imperfect and is often misunderstood. Behind her mask of toughness and strength, she’s actually hiding so much sadness.
As we get to know her throughout the book, we understand what motivates her and what she’s afraid of. Her emotional complexity and imperfections make her not only relatable, but also unique and lovable. 🥰

Adrian Everhart

Adrian! Of course, we have to talk about him as well! I definitely haven’t talked about him as much as Nova.

Adrian is also a very complex, conflicted character.

He’s very warm-hearted, optimistic and hopeful. Unlike Nova, he’s simple and trusting, and believes that there’s good in people.

From the moment Nova becomes a member of his team, Adrian has never once doubted her sincerity. He has never considered that she might not be on his side, but on the side of the Anarchists. He is completely unaware of her secrets and true intentions when he starts to become attracted to her — but also has secrets of his own.

Adrian’s Identity as The Sentinel

His identity as the Sentinel makes him a really intriguing character.

He breaks the rules of the Renegades and doesn’t follow protocol when he takes on the role of the Sentinel.
Surprisingly, his rebelliousness and defiance actually make him more like an Anarchist, something you wouldn’t expect from him.
His secret identity also shows us that sometimes, you need to break the rules to do what’s right.

Furthermore, his role as the Sentinel contrasts with his warm-hearted, morally good nature. His disobedience in taking on the Sentinel is something that you definitely wouldn’t expect from him, and it clashes with the kind of person he appears to be. This makes him a much more compelling and complex character.

Nova and Adrian’s Roles

Nova is an Anarchist, but there is a part of her that is becoming more and more like a Renegade.

Adrian is a Renegade, but there is a part of him that is becoming more and more like an Anarchist.

Where does their loyalty truly lie? Which side are they actually on?

The divide between the Renegades and the Anarchists is starting to fade away, and the line between good and evil is starting to blur. What will happen next?

Nova and Adrian’s Relationship

And finally, Nova and Adrian’s relationship!

They have definitely grown closer to each other since the start of the book, and share lots of moments together, especially towards the end.

However, when Nova rejects Adrian at the end of the novel, it’s a huge turning point in their relationship. The book leaves their romance on a cliff-hanger, which leads into the second instalment perfectly.

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And that’s the end of my reading journal! 😮‍💨
I hope you enjoyed reading my reflections of this action-packed, thought-provoking book as much as I enjoyed writing it! I’m really looking forward to reading the second book in the series, Archenemies!

And finally, to end my reading journal, here’s an amazing edit of Nova Artino!

Nova Artino