NOVA / REBEL (The Renegades 2 & 3) by Rebecca Yarros-reviews

REBEL
The Renegades #3
by Rebecca Yarros
Release Date: August 28, 2017
Genre: new adult, contemporary, romance

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Chapters Indigo /

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date August 28, 2017

She’ll defy his every expectation.

She’s Penna Carstairs.
The Renegade they call Rebel.
FMX-treme Magazine’s sexiest female athlete of the year.
There’s no rule in extreme sports she hasn’t broken,
No gender barrier she hasn’t demolished.

She’s the woman I met in a bar in Vegas.
The woman I illegally BASE jumped for.
The woman I spent one insane, incredible night with.
But now I’m screwed.
Or rather…not screwed.

Because the woman I can’t get out of my head is the one woman I can never touch again. I’m Dr. Cruz Delgado—the youngest professor on this campus,
And Penelope Carstairs just walked into my class.

••••••••••••

REVIEW: REBEL is the third (and final) installment in Rebecca Yarros’ contemporary, new adult THE RENEGADES romance series focusing on a tight knit group of X-Games athletes, known as The Renegades, who are currently filming a year long, reality television program aboard an ocean cruise liner, getting an education from UCLA, and touring the world (ala Ryan Gosling and ‘Breaker High’). This is twenty two year old X-Games motorcycle athlete Penelope ‘Penna (Rebel) Carstairs, and twenty seven year old, former US army paratrooper Dr. Cruz Delgado’s story line. REBEL can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story line is revealed where necessary but I recommend reading the series in order for backstory and cohesion as much of the series premise is revealed in book one.

NOTE: If you have not read the first two installments there may be some spoilers in my review.

SOME BACKGROUND: Months earlier, Penna’s sister Brooke Carstairs, in a rage of jealousy and anger, attempted to destroy the X-games group known as The Renegades. Penna’s leg was crushed, and fellow Renegade member Nick, one of the Renegade ‘Originals’, was paralyzed in the ensuing fall out. Most of the members of the Renegades come from well to do families, and have earned their own reputations and financial success on the X-Games circuit.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Cruz and Penna) REBEL focuses on the forbidden relationship between X-treme athlete Penna Carstairs, and professor Dr. Cruz Delgado. While on hiatus following months of down time recovering from a near fatal attempt on her life, Penna convinced a total stranger to go BASE jumping off the High Roller, the world’s tallest Ferris wheel in Las Vegas, Nevada. Enter former US army Airborne paratrooper Cruz Delgado, Penna’s partner in crime, and the man with whom Penna would fall in love. What ensues is the ‘almost’ one-night stand between our leading couple, and the building but forbidden romance between Penna and her new Latin American History professor Dr. Cruz Delgado.

Penna doesn’t do relationships but meeting Cruz Delgado sent all semblance of propriety out the window. It didn’t help that her sexy BASE jumping partner was several years older but to discover that her almost one-night stand is now the new Latin American history professor on board the luxury cruise liner placed a line in the sand (or water) not meant to be crossed. Cruz Delgado knows that to get involved with a student, even a twenty two year old student, would be the death of his career but Cruz needs this job for reasons beyond anyone’s knowledge, and it is these reasons that Cruz is more reticent about getting involved.

The relationship between Cruz and Penna is one of immediate attraction ; a forbidden romance between student and professor that continues to grow with each look, each encounter, and each secret rendezvous behind closed doors and vacation hideaways. The $ex scenes are intimate, romantic and seductive without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

There is a large ensemble cast of secondary and supporting characters including all of the original members of The Renegades (Leah, Pax, Rachel, Landon and Nick, Little John and Bobby), as well as an assortment of teachers, television crews, support workers and employees. Like the previous two installments REBEL follows several paths that intersect throughout the story.

Unlike the previous installment –NOVA- REBEL reveals some of the background information and history between the members of Renegade including a few details behind the not so accidental attempt on their lives. Because I did not have the opportunity to read the first installment –WILDER-I am still a little confused as to the how and why of the onboard cruise and UCLA connections to the team’s continuing education but thankfully the author chose to reveal some important background information, about the accident, throughout the story. As a voracious reader it is always appreciated when the author ‘recaps’ the important events leading up to the current timeline and ongoing premise allowing new readers to the series a little more understanding and comprehension.

REBEL is a fast paced, entertaining story about family, friendship, the forbidden and love. The premise is energetic and dramatic; the characters are engaging, impulsive and animated; the romance is intense and passionate. The epilogue fast forwards the series approximately five years where the reader gets a glimpse into the lives and ongoing friendships of the original members of The Renegades.

Copy supplied by the publisher through Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy

______________

NOVA
(The Renegades #2)
by Rebecca Yarros
Release Date: February 20, 2017
Genre: new adult, contemporary, romance

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Chapters Indigo /

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date February 20, 2017

The only heart he wants is the one he already broke…

He’s Landon Rhodes.
The Renegade they call Nova.
Sinfully gorgeous, broody, tatted-up, professional snowboarder.
Four-time X Games medalist—
Full-time heartbreaker.

They say a girl broke him once—
That’s why he’s so reckless, so driven, so careless with his conquests.
But I’m that girl.
They can call me his curse all they want.
He and I both know the truth—
He’s the one who destroyed me,
And I’m not the sucker who will let that happen again.

••••••••••

REVIEW: NOVA is the second installment in Rebecca Yarros’ contemporary, new adult THE RENEGADES romance series focusing on a tight knit group of X-Games athletes, known as The Renegades, who are currently on a year long, reality television program aboard an ocean cruise liner, getting an education and touring the world (ala Ryan Gosling and ‘Breaker High’). This is twenty two year old X-Games super star and ‘Casinova’ Landon Rhodes, and Rachel Dawson’s story line. Although the author claims that NOVA can be read as a stand alone, I recommend reading the series in order. I have not had the chance to read book one-WILDER-and I felt like I was missing too much background information and history between the characters-like sitting down in the theatre part way through the movie.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Landon and Rachel) NOVA focuses on the second chance romance between twenty two year old X-Game super star Landon Rhodes, and former X-Games athlete Rachel Dawson. Two years earlier Landon walked away from the woman he loved. On the surface it appears Landon chose money and fame over the girl that called to his heart but the truth goes much deeper that once revealed will, once again, destroy any semblance of a rekindling relationship between our story line couple. What ensues is the rebuilding romance between Landon and Rachel as they prepare for their upcoming X-Games Asian adventures; Rachel’s ongoing struggles with Landon’s previous hurt and rejection, and Landon’s reputation as the on-board Casinova in light of his proclamation of love for the woman he pushed out of his life.

NOVA is an infinitely detailed story line that follows several intersecting paths as Rachel struggles not only with her love for the young man that destroyed her heart, but also with the search for her Korean birth mother whose own history is largely unknown. The story line has a large ensemble cast of secondary and supporting characters-athletes, teachers, television production crews, parents and friends- with a fair amount of history between them including a love triangle involving our leading couple, as well as sabotage, threats, injury and death. At times, the story line read more like YA than New Adult due to the lack of emotional maturity for several of the story line characters, and their less than adult behavior under the circumstance. There was plenty of back and forth, push and pull, yes and no between our leading couple due mostly in part to our heroine’s inability to trust the man that she still loved.

The relationship between Rachel and Landon is acrimonious at best. Landon is desperate to prove his love to the woman he all but destroyed; Rachel wants nothing to do with the man who broke her heart, leaving her behind for the bright lights and fame of sponsorship and money. The $ex scenes are intimate but limited without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

NOVA is an interesting story line but a story I struggled with because of the missing background and history between the characters. I had hoped the author would reveal some of the more important background information as the story line progressed but the details were limited and vague. I know something big happened but I don’t know the who, how and why. The premise is entertaining; the characters are colorful; the romance struggles with betrayal, secrets and lies.

Own a copy

Reviewed by Sandy

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Rebecca Yarros is a hopeless romantic and a lover of all things coffee, chocolate, and Paleo. She is the author of the Flight & Glory series, including Full Measures, the award-winning Eyes Turned Skyward, Beyond What is Given, and Hallowed Ground. Her new Renegade Series features Wilder and the upcoming Nova, and is sure to keep your heart pounding. She loves military heroes, and has been blissfully married to hers for fourteen years.

When she’s not writing, she’s tying hockey skates for her four sons, sneaking in some guitar time, or watching brat-pack movies with her two daughters. She lives in Colorado with the hottest Apache pilot ever, their rambunctious gaggle of kids, an English bulldog who is more stubborn than sweet, and a bunny named General Fluffy Pants who torments the aforementioned bulldog. They recently adopted their youngest daughter from the foster system, and Rebecca is passionate about helping others do the same.