Ellen Legros's Reviews > Reborn

I received an Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for my honest review.

I was thrilled to get this book early, since it is by one of my favorite authors. Of all the characters that this author writes, Kaliya is probably the most difficult for me to relate to. She is obsessive, secretive, and paranoid, and, as a result, she is sometimes a little difficult to love. This book shed some light on why and how Kaliya came to this state, and explored the truth about her paranoid behavior. By the end of the book, I feel like she is much more relatable, both to the reader and to other characters. She no longer sees herself as broken. I like the internal work she does on her own self image; I feel like her acceptance of herself made it easier for me to accept and love her. I also liked that Raphael has continued to work on integrating his experiences and becoming a functional leader. Their interactions were thoughtful and deliberate, and each was able to better accept the other by the end.

The plot was fast paced and very satisfying. Each new piece of information about the characters, both major and minor, helped create depth in the story. As in life, so in this book: things are complicated and messy and not always clear cut. I like the deepening friendships and support system that is falling into place and cannot wait to see where the new book is heading.

Overall, this was a very satisfying continuation to Kaliya’s story. There was enough mystery to keep me reading late into the night, but enough information given to satisfy my curiosity; there was enough growth and development of characters to entertain me, yet the characters never felt like they were untrue to themselves. Definitely worth the read.