Review: Wires and Nerve by Marissa Meyer & Douglas Holgate

Wires and Nerve by Marissa Meyer and Douglas Holgate (Wires and Nerve, Volume 1) / ★★★★☆

Summary: When rogue packs of wolf-hybrid soldiers threaten the tenuous peace alliance between Earth and Luna, Iko takes it upon herself to hunt down the soldiers’ leader. She is soon working with a handsome royal guard who forces her to question everything she knows about love, loyalty, and her own humanity.

I read The Lunar Chronicles a year ago, and I loved it so much I put off reading this graphic novel sequel, Wires and Nerve because I didn’t want it to end. But then I waited…a little bit too long, and my interest waned. Then on a whim, I picked it up and read the entire thing in one sitting. And let me tell you, it really reignited my love for the The Lunar Chronicles and its characters.

Did I find Wires and Nerve out-of-this-world amazing? Well, no. But it was a fun introduction into a two part story, and honestly, I was just happy to be with all the characters again. It was fun, and cute, and I liked getting to see what the characters – and the Lunar Chronicles universe in general – were up to, post-series. I loved the central plotline of the wolf-hybrid soldiers rebelling, because it was the biggest question I was left with at the end of the series, and I’m eager to see how that is resolved in volume 2, Gone Rogue. A lot of concepts were introduced in this short book, which, to be honest, felt a little heavy-handed sometimes, but I wasn’t terribly bothered. Mostly, I just wanted to get back to the sillier stuff with Thorne and Cress. Because, to be honest? The two of them, and Iko, were the highlight of this book for me.

It was what felt like the “down time” with the characters that made this book so enjoyable for me. We know them, so there’s not much to establish, and their voices came through so clearly in this new, non-novel format. I rarely read graphic novels, so I was curious to see how this type of storytelling would come across. I thought the art captured their personalities, their facial expressions and emotions in a way that was very them. It was a lot of fun to see these characters making jokes and being friends, not to mention the little romantic moments between them. I forgot how much Thorne cracks me UP, and him and Cress???? The cutest.

And IKO. I love her, and I really love this storyline that’s taking us deeper into her insecurities, her personality, and (what I think to be) her past. And I’m very intrigued about how her romantic plotline will turn out, because of…obvious reasons. Also, she’s just hilarious. Her and Thorne had me laughing out loud. I also just really love how resilient she is, and I’m very, very interested to see where her character development is taken in Gone Rogue. I feel like that’s where most of the big stuff is going to go down, and I can’t wait to read.