For What It's Worth


Thursday, June 5, 2014

Review: Rebel (Reboot #2) by Amy Tintera



Rebel JKT HC des3.inddThe sequel to the action-packed Reboot is a can't-miss thrill ride, perfect for fans of James Patterson, Veronica Roth, and Marie Lu.

After coming back from death as Reboots and being trained by HARC as soldiers, Wren and Callum have finally escaped north, where they hope to find a life of freedom. But when they arrive at the Reboot Reservation, it isn't what they expected. Under the rule of a bloodthirsty leader, Micah, the Reboots are about to wage an all-out war on the humans. Although Wren's instincts are telling her to set off into the wilderness on their own and leave the battle far behind, Callum is unwilling to let his human family be murdered. When Micah commits the ultimate betrayal, the choice is made for them. But Micah has also made a fatal mistake . . . he's underestimated Wren and Callum.

The explosive finale to the Reboot duology is full of riveting action and steamy love scenes as Wren and Callum become rebels against their own kind.

Goodreads | Author | Purchase

Source: Gifted by the lovely Julie at My 5 Monkey’s (xoxo!)

Review:
I have to be honest and say that the Reboot Duology isn’t breaking any new ground on the dystopian front. It has the requisite kick-ass girl and romance, government conspiracies etc but it’s not quite as dark, twisty or flashy as others I have read and that’s kind of why I like it. Tintera picks a few plot points/issues and sticks to it. There isn’t a lot of filler. We get to get to know Callum and Wren better as they explore and question the things happening around them because of it.

So many dystopian series of late have these BIG ideas and raise the BIG questions but then get sidelined in the last book by new characters that pop up out of nowhere, romance drama and worst of all unanswered questions. Rebel has all of that but does it well. By sticking to the core couple (alternating between Callum and Wren’s POV this time around) we can see opposing sides to the moral questions that this series raises.

Wren doesn’t carry around guilt or question her decisions. And she doesn’t really care about helping anyone other than Callum and herself. Callum on the other hand, feels that she’s just suppressing her feelings, having been trained as a soldier for so long in HARC. While there is some romantic conflict because Callum wants her to lead the fight, it isn’t silly and they are quite honest with each other (unlike *cough* Tris/Four *cough*) and I liked how they were placed in circumstances that had both of them reconsidering their stances on things.

I love how much Callum respects Wren and her abilities. A guy may be looking at her to long or too intensely but he just laughs and moves on with his day. If she’s in a battle, he worries, but he KNOWS she’s got this.

Callum talking about Wren – page 1:

“She stood completely still next to me, staring ahead with that look that she got sometimes, like she was either happy or plotting to kill someone. Either way, I loved that look.”

Just as Wren disagrees with Callum’s views but values his input. No insecure bullshit. (unlike *cough* Tris/Four *cough*). And miracle of all miracles – NO LOVE TRIANGLE. 

I highly recommend this series (only two books!!). It has a sweet romance that treats both as equals, loads of action and a very satisfying conclusion.

16 comments:

  1. That's great you'd recommend this. I like that it's only two books.

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    1. It stuck to the core story without a lot of filler. It's not as intense as a few of the other dystopians I've read but it was fun.

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  2. No love triangle? Do things like that truly exist?

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  3. YAY for no love triangle! I enjoyed the first one, though I never really bought the love story. Still, it was a fun ride and this one sounds like it's a good end to the story.

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    1. It's not one of those epic intense love stories and I think I said the same thing as you in my review of Reboot but I like how it doesn't overtake the plot either.

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  4. I love them as a couple and they talked . They seemed more real than the other couple and yeah for 2 books :)

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    1. Definitely more mature than that other couple lol

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  5. Courtney absolutely loved Reboot, and is dying to start this one. I've basically quit reading books like this, for all the problems you mentioned. So I'm very glad to see Rebel pulls it off well.

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  6. Thanks, Karen! I'm even more encouraged to read this now because it's only two books even if it has flaws

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  7. I love the fact that this is only a two book series! I've been iffy on this one but after reading this review I think that maybe I should dust Reboot off and give it a chance.

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  8. I really enjoyed too despite not being ground breaking.

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  9. I need to buy this one (as if I need more books LOL). I agree that the first one isn't anything overly ground breaking but it's still good :)

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  10. You have totally convinced me I need to read these! No triangle? Strong female? Male that LIKES said female? No lies? Growth? Yes... need. :)

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  11. Hmm, interesting. Haven't heard of this series, but I'm putting it on my list now! :) Great review.

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  12. Callum sounds like a great guy, very different from most YA boys! I'll have to check these books out :)

    Mands @ The Bookish Manicurist

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