Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Series Review: Reboot and Rebel by Amy Tintera

Reboot 
by Amy Tintera
Read: May 4 - 9, 2014
Published: May 7, 2013 by HarperTeen
Source: Kindle purchase
Category: Dystopian, zombies, romance, YA

Series: Reboot #1
Find: Goodreads | Amazon


Five years ago, Wren Connolly was shot three times in the chest. After 178 minutes she came back as a Reboot: stronger, faster, able to heal, and less emotional. The longer Reboots are dead, the less human they are when they return. Wren 178 is the deadliest Reboot in the Republic of Texas. Now seventeen years old, she serves as a soldier for HARC (Human Advancement and Repopulation Corporation).

Wren’s favorite part of the job is training new Reboots, but her latest newbie is the worst she’s ever seen. As a 22, Callum Reyes is practically human. His reflexes are too slow, he’s always asking questions, and his ever-present smile is freaking her out. Yet there’s something about him she can’t ignore. When Callum refuses to follow an order, Wren is given one last chance to get him in line—or she’ll have to eliminate him. Wren has never disobeyed before and knows if she does, she’ll be eliminated, too. But she has also never felt as alive as she does around Callum.

The perfect soldier is done taking orders.


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Mini review: While this story is fun and the romance is sweet, I just couldn't muster that much enthusiasm for Reboot. I have a very low tolerance for dystopian/post-apocalyptic/zombie type stories these days, so part of my reaction to this book is definitely the fact that my over saturation levels on this subject have been reached. The concept of the Reboots - humans that die and the come back stronger with amazing healing abilities - and the KDH virus that caused them was interesting. But I wanted to know more about the world at large - is everyone else in the country dead? I also thought the drug being given to the under 60s (Reboots dead for less than an hour before they came back) was quite mysterious, I never got a full picture of how it would work. Wren is pretty badass and unemotional, and I liked seeing how Callum was a counter to her, and also how he made her question what she believed about herself, humans and the reboot program. I enjoyed their romance, though I'm not sure they'd realistically be kissing as much as they were, on the run during some of the more intense moments. Although I never fell in love with this book, I did enjoy it enough to read the sequel. 

Love Triangle Factor: None
Cliffhanger Scale: Medium (Not a stressful scene, but definitely mid series)

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Rebel
by Amy Tintera
Read: May 17 - 19, 2014
Published: May 13, 2014 by HarperTeen
Source: Kindle purchase
Category: Dystopian, zombies, romance, YA

Series: Reboot #2
Find: Goodreads | Amazon


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.

*I don't remember this…though there was some great romantic moments, I think "steamy love scenes" is a stretch!
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I enjoyed Rebel a lot more than Reboot! I was so much more invested in these characters and their story. I think that happened for a few reasons:

1) The author added Callum's POV, which was a GREAT decision. He is much more emotionally expressive than Wren, and I connected with his narrative better than hers. I also really liked seeing Callum step it up in this book. He mostly followed Wren around in the last story - he was a new Reboot and incapacitated for part of it - but I wasn't sure how their different abilities and perspectives would work in a longterm relationship. I enjoyed seeing more balance between them, and watching Callum take on more leadership and responsibility. I love how supportive they are of each other, and the way they acknowledge that each has his/her own strengths. They are also willing to ask each other and themselves hard questions, but despite that, this book never fell into an angst trap. 

2) I'm happy this story focused less on a revolution plot, which seems standard to any dystopian, and more on social, community questions. How can humans and reboots co-exist in this society? Are they destined to be separate? Should one group be eliminated? There's a lot of suspicion and hurt between the two: is it possible to heal that? Of course violence and battles are part of the immediate answer, but what will happen longterm? I enjoyed exploring this within the characters, especially Wren, who had to grapple with it a lot more than Callum. We also saw these questions play out in the larger world. 

3) Micah was a great character who added complexity to this story. He is the leader of the Reboot reservation. Though he creeped me out from the start, it isn't clear right away whether he'd turn into a villain or what role he'd play. Watching Wren's perspective of him slowly change was extremely well done, especially how that affected her overall view of the world. I was much more on the edge of my seat while reading this book than the first, and that had a lot to do with Micah's addition, especially in the first half of the book. But Micah wasn't the only secondary character who stood out. I enjoyed getting to know Addie better, as well as seeing Wren's old trainer Riley, the Austin Rebels and Callum's brother. Wren was so emotionally isolated in the first book, and Rebel had more of a community feel to it. 

Reboot and Rebel are a solid series that is a little more romance based than the traditional dystopian story. It is another reminder to me how much I prefer to read series books back to back than spread out over years. The first book was fresh in my mind when I read the second and the two together created great momentum. Although many of my additional world building questions were not addressed in the finale, I really liked the shift in focus to the characters and society. I'm glad I read these!

Love Triangle Factor: None
Cliffhanger Scale: Series conclusion

12 comments:

  1. Like you, I'm so very tired of the genre altogether, but for some reason I can't quite pinpoint, this series worked very well for me. Like you, I enjoyed the second book more and I completely agree about the addition of Callum's POV. But I liked the changes in Wren as well.
    Also, I was glad that the second book focused more on the societal issues, the matter of co-existence and trust. It worked very well and I loved how it was handled.
    Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

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  2. Amazing reviews sweetie. <3 I'm glad you mostly liked these books :D I loved them. Sigh. But I get why you had a few issues.. but ohh. So happy you found the romance to be sweet :D I LOVED the romance. So much. And Callum point of view in Rebel was awesome, wasn't it? Sigh. Loved it :) Thank you for sharing. <3

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  3. I enjoyed the first one, though I never really felt any romantic connection on Wren's part. I think, because of her condition, it was difficult. I'm looking forward to reading Callum's POV, though!

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  4. I did enjoy Reboot, but I agree, I liked Rebel even more, and I do think it's because Callum's POV was added. And yes, seeing him step it up was so great and the fact that they were separated for a time and he was forced to make decisions, etc. made the fact that they were separated an important part of the story (rather than be separated just because we have to have the love couple separated for angsty reasons, if that makes sense). He kept thinking about asking Wren what to do and she wasn't there. Although I also enjoyed knowing that Callum was important to Wren as her moral compass, she always thought about what he would think about something, whether it was right or wrong. Really loved this series and especially the fact that it was a duology! No middle book syndrome. Glad you enjoyed them! ~Pam

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  5. I felt the same way about Reboot as you did, Lauren, so I can't say I was enthusiastic for the next book, but I'm thinking after reading your review that Rebel would appeal to me. I also had trouble connecting with Wren in the first book, so I'm glad to hear that the author included Callum's POV. I liked him more than I liked Wren. I also like that it doesn't have a typical rebellion plot.
    Do you think I'm going to have to re-read Reboot before Rebel because I can't remember much of the events from the first book? Does the author recap the events in the second one?
    Anyways, I'm glad to hear that the second book was much more successful for you. Lovely reviews, Lauren.

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  6. Well yay Lauren! I really enjoyed Reboot, so it makes me happy knowing that despite your somewhat lackluster reaction to it, you were a fan of Rebel. That makes me think I'll be madly in love with it and I can't wait to get my hands on a copy:) And yay for no love triangle still - I wasn't sure if this one might veer into second book territory when they found the camp by introducing a new love interest, but I'm so glad that's not the case. And I can't wait for Callum's POV!

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  7. Oh, I haven't read Reboot yet, but I'm even more excited now that the author added Callum's POV, and that there's a bit of romance woven into this dystopian. And, I agree with you that with so many series out there, it's nice to just read some back-to-back. Thanks for the wonderful review! :)

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  8. I'm glad you enjoyed these two books lauren! i read Reboot last year and bought a copy of Rebel today but i'm going into it cimpletely blind because i hardly remember anything that happened (like you i do like binge reading more than waiting years for sequels) but i'm happy to hear Rebel was a much more enjoyable read! Also, the addition of Callum's pOV (Which i didn't know about) seems very interesting and i can't wait to read it now!
    Great review
    Lily

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  9. Reboot didn't leave the greatest impression with me, although I enjoyed it overall and was still looking forward to giving Rebel a go, the romance kind of fell flat for me. But I am even more excited to give Rebel a go after seeing how much you enjoyed it. Introducing a pov into the book from another character when it was only from one before, tends to throw me at times, but I think I will have a lot of fun getting to know Callum more! Fab reviews Lauren!

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  10. I am starting to get fed up with dystopia these days because they all seem so generic. It's why I never picked this series up even though I was interested and also because I know a lot of people felt the same way as you did .-.

    I am really glad to see that the sequel got better for you though! :)

    Lovely review, Lauren!! :D

    Rashika @ The Social Potato

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  11. I've definitely reached dystopian over-saturation as well, which is mainly to blame for why I still have yet to read my ARC of Plus One. Just too many stories of teens rebelling against their corrupt governmental systems for me to handle right now.
    I was pretty interested in Reboot when it was published last year, but I never got around to reading it. I'm glad to see that your opinion of the series increased over time. I will have to keep this duology in mind for when I can stomach dystopian novels again, even ones that are more focused on romance and less on the governmental system. :)

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  12. I'd much rather read a series one right after the other, too, Lauren. As you said the story is still fresh in your mind and your excitement for the series is still there. I'm getting to the point where I refuse to read a series unless all the books are out. Although, I'm reading The Immortal Crown right now, the 2nd in Richelle Mead's Age of X series, so I guess I'm still making exceptions. I had to go to Recaptains to refresh my memory. Very helpful and such a great time saver!

    I'd rather a story be more focused on the romance and the story of the characters within a dystopian world than be focused on a revolution, so I may enjoy this series. Lovely reviews, Lauren! :)

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