Review: Rebel (Reboot #2) by Amy Tintera

The 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.

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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.