Rebel by Rebecca Yarros

Pages: 440
Publish date: 28 August 2017
Publisher: Entangled: Embrace
ASIN: B0739N8GVK
Purchase: Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

She’ll defy his every expectation.

Rebel:

I received an e-arc of Rebel by Rebecca Yarros from Entangled, in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book. 

I was very nervous about picking this one up. I have loved all the other Rebecca Yarros books that I have read over the last couple of years. But then when the synopsis came out – I hesitated. I am not a massive fan of student/teacher relationship. While this one is slightly different – it did keep me on edge for most of the book. 

Rebel follows Penelope Carstairs, the only female of the original Renegades – amazing on the bike and will try any extreme sport that she can. She likes to be one of the ‘boys’ and wants to do everything that they can do – being a female hasn’t stopped her – and it never will. But, after her accident in Wilder she is scared. Scared to go back on the bike, scared to try. Then on the night, she wants to let go and fly, she meets Cruz and well things get interesting. 

Cruz wasn’t expecting for his life to be changed in Vegas. The last thing he thought he would be doing is BASE jumping. But, when things start to fall into place – he goes with. Until he gets onto a ship, the same ship as Penelope Carstairs. And he isn’t there as a student. 

I loved Penna when we first meet her in Wilder. I loved that she was a female and from our side she never let that get to you. It was great seeing a strong female character that does everything a male could do. She was into typically male sports and didn’t let that get her down.

However, after the incident in book one, we know that she isn’t exactly the same. And we really get to see that in Rebel. I loved seeing her both scared and ready to take on the world in one go. We see that it really wasn’t just the injury stopping her, but the betrayal of everything that happened. 

Cruz was a fun male protagonist to get along with. He tries to keep up with Penna was much as he can, but he has his own demons to slay. From the start of Rebel, we know that Cruz will do many things and I loved seeing him try and keep up with Penna and the rest of the Renegades. 

As I said before, this is a teacher/student relationship to a sense. Penna and Cruz meet before he starts teaching her and she is over 20. That is how I kind of let myself see the romance. If she was younger, I would probably not have liked it. 

I liked how they seem to ‘fit’ with each other so well. They cared about a lot of the same things and it just seemed to work. 

Family is a big aspect of Rebel. We already know through the other books how much the Renegades care about each other and we see more of that in Rebel. However, we also see how Penna is going with her sister and gosh these scenes were hard to read. I felt for Penna so much. Throughout Rebel, we see that family can be both of blood and by heart. I liked that in times of need the Renegades were there. 

At times I felt that the plot was a little ‘big,’ and unbelievable. But, I went along with it. Rebel is heart breaking and heart stopping. You are on the edge of your seat and towards the end, you have no idea what is going to happen. There are some parts I was able to guess early but also kept on my toes. 

Overall, Rebel is a heartwarming and heartbreaking read. It explores the notion of doing what every you can for family and love. It’s about believing in yourself and letting go. Rebel explores the journey of someone learning to love themselves and believe in who they are. It’s fun and pulls at your heart strings. And let’s not forget heart stopping stunts, steamy love and amazing friendship. 

Have you read Rebel by Rebecca Yarros? What did you think of it? Are you planning on reading it? Have you read any of the other Renegades books? Let’s Chat!