This was cute and quick read. I enjoyed being able to explore Nina's head and the juxtaposition Tom presented with the differences in lifestyle and their approach to things. Nina has some really fun and interesting friends and seeing her get to know her family for the first time was also great. Peter is probably my favorite character. There were some times in the book where Nina comes off as pretentious because she makes assumptions about people that don't love reading the way she does. However, it gave her space as a character to grow throughout the story. Tom was also super nice and charming. His back and forth banter with Nina was fun and he is someone that opened up Nina's mind about relationships quite a bit. A nice cute read.

We got a lot more background on Mercy's dad in this book and we also went on a journey with her when it came to exploring the Native American origins of her powers. This story was culturally rich and introduced monsters and creatures based less on European mythology and more on Native American folklore. I can always appreciate the diversity in that. Coyote was my favorite new character despite how obnoxious everyone else in the book sometimes found his antics and humor. I'm glad Mercy was able to get closure on some parts of her past that hadn't been addressed previously. It allowed us to get to know more about her in the process. Overall, though, it is hilarious that Adam and her can't catch a break even on their honeymoon. This isn't my favorite in the series by any means, but it was still enjoyable and helped to add depth the world building and Mercy as a character.

My favorite panel was probably the one with Dinah comforting Oliver. So glad they have a healthy romantic relationship. I really hope it stays that way because I'm sick of writers destroying that relationship over and over again.

The art style for this comic is beautiful. We are kind of dropped into the middle of the story and given context clues to figure out what's going on and the writer did a great job of giving readers enough to go on, without giving away too much at once. From what I understand, the Sleepless Knights who take a vow are probably bound by magic of some sort that literally does not let them sleep. It's a very unique and cool concept. We are given a slight glimpse into Cyrenic's history in flashbacks and he is definitely a formidable knight. Poppy is an illegitimate child in a royal family and I'm sure we all know how well that sits with everyone. Cyrenic and Poppy care a lot for each other and after that ending I would like to see more development for their relationship. I'm looking forward to reading Volume 2! A great intro to a new series.

This last volume was full of intrigue and I really enjoyed how short and sweet it was. Unfortunately someone wanted Poppy to pay for something that wasn't her fault and despite me understanding the motivations of the person trying to murder her, I don't agree with them. I'm glad her that she can have some peace now that that's over. Great series. I'm hoping to pick up other titles by this writer.

This was a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy. I’m glad it was open ended and not a complete “happily ever after”. I prefer stories that end like this where there are consequences to things such as war and governmental reformation. Things like that in real life take time, years, if not decades to get better and this last book did a pretty good job of showing that. We are able to get a time skip as to what happens to the government as well as the character we followed up until now. June is shown moving on with her life and attempting to move on from Day. It’s a realistic approach to what would have happened after she decided to separate from him. She established a relationship with Anden which after a while both of them realized would not work due to her lingering feelings for another person. Again, a very valid and mature reason to end an adult relationship that is a decision I wouldn’t have expected June to make as a teenager, but it is something that Anden and her both opt to do as adults. Day took years to recover his memories as would have been medically expected, and it’s clear he does not have all his memories back by the end.

Overall, the ending is hopeful and shows the growth that both June and Day have gone through as well as the steps the government has taken towards reform. June was never made out to be a politician and I couldn’t agree with her decision to not become Anden’s Princep, regardless of their relationship status. It was never in character for her to remain in politics and it makes sense that she stepped down. I think I am done exploring this world for now. A great introductory series for dystopian young adult, but I think I’ve had my fill. I do hope that those who pick up Rebel have a good time like I did.

Trigger warning: rape, sexual assault

This book does what so many stories in various forms of media fail to do: explore the aftermath of trauma for a sexual assault or rape victim. If anyone needs directions on how to do that, here is your example directors and writers! This book heavily focused on exploring Mercy’s trauma and what her boundaries of consent were after the assault. She has friends and people around her that try to help her through her panic attacks and anxiety throughout the book. Adam especially, proved to be an excellent romantic partner in general (not that we didn’t know that, but he was especially respectful and a sweetheart to Mercy after the assault). At the very beginning of this book Mercy wants to have sex with him, and Adam wants to as well, but he also understands that that decision may not be the healthiest one for his partner. Therefore, he declines and waits until she is in a healthier mental state. It shows responsibility on Adam’s part and also is an indirect indicator that they have a very healthy relationship. Adam shows how he is very much a 1950s gentlemen with wolf powers. On Mercy’s part, we are given a realistic depiction of recovery from trauma. Mercy has reasonably consistent panic attacks and does not react well to being touched. There are other triggers to her anxiety that are shown throughout the story. Adam and his pack adapt adequately to make Mercy as comfortable as possible. They don’t leave her alone for long periods of time to make sure she feels safe and Adam only touches her if she initiates physical affection. Despite her going through all of this, Adam still trust her to fend for herself. It is a breath of fresh air to see a character that is gradually going through the motions of recovering from trauma and how important having a support system is for a person going through that.

For this installment in the series we are back to being with the vampires. If there are any supernatural creatures that are super morally grey in this world, it’s the vampires. We get to know Stefan a bit better and he became an even more likeable character to me.



**MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD**



He hates the fact that he is a vampire and understands that he is a monster even if Mercy does not see him as such. He has a menagerie of humans he feeds on, but for vampiric standards, he treats them very well and tries his best to not abuse them and keep them healthy. Due to his understanding of what he is, it makes him that much more humane towards mortal humans, I think. He killed people in order to save Mercy and the fact that he is still so likeable despite that puts him in a very moral grey area that a lot of the vampires we see fall into. The insight that a lot of the werewolves believe that all vampires are evil at their core helps to reinforce this idea.

By the end of the book Marsilia reveals to Mercy that the reason Stefan refuses to forgive her is solely because she placed Mercy in danger. It comes to show how much Stefan is capable of caring for other people and poses the question of whether or not he is truly evil like many of the characters in the book believe vampires to be, or if there is enough good in him to consider him trustworthy the way Mercy does. In addition, it tells us how much he cherishes Mercy. Marsilia ends up being painted as our in house anti hero who does love Stefan, but is willing to hurt him if it necessary to fulfill her plans.



**SPOILERS END HERE**



I loved that we were able to learn more about the other members of the pack such as Darryl and how he has suffered prejudice for being an educated black man and Warren who has suffered prejudice from the pack for his sexual orientation. How pack dynamics let them know exactly who doesn’t like them is an interesting extra layer to how they interact with those members within the pack. It’s incredible that they are able to move past it because of the loyalty that is inherent to the pack. Ben is rude and I think it’s really funny how Mercy has come to tolerate him and Ben has begun to really like her but doesn’t know how to deal with it. It shows that relationships can evolve with time and with what we find out about a person. Due to both Ben and Mercy having a history of sexual assault and Ben and Mercy having a comparable level of snark to how they talk to people, I’m really looking forward to how their friendship develops.

One of my favorite parts of the book is how Adam and Samuel, despite both having to consistently deal with their werewolf instinct to assert dominance over the other, they don’t fall into an unhealthy pattern of toxic masculinity because of it. The fact that at some point in this book there is a scene where Samuel and Adam both snap at each other and are able to apologize to each other when Mercy calls them out on their behavior is amazing and an example to be followed, honestly. I really wish I saw more of that in fiction (and real life). Last thing I really want to mention is that Warren has solidified his position as one of my favorite characters in this series. He’s super funny and charming in a “Southern Texas hospitality” kind of way. He had some great moments with Mercy in this book that I’m looking forward to seeing more of. Can’t wait to get to the next one.

This last book was not really necessary for the series I think. However, it does give some good hopeful closure to Lara Jean and Peter’s relationship. This book helped them transition their high school relationship into college and had them juggle the logistics of that. It’s rare to see a lot of teen romance books deal with the real world hurdles that teenagers in relationships have to go through as things change and they graduate from high school. The circumstances presented really allowed Lara Jean and Peter decide what their priorities were in the relationship and how much they were willing to fight to remain together as a couple. In addition to that, they also had to decide whether they were going to try to continue to stay together at all. They had arguments like a normal couple, but they still communicated and chose what they thought was best for their relationship as well as their academic careers. I expected them to break up in the end and depart amicably, but it is very in character of them to give their relationship a try despite the negative expectations. It was a hopeful ending and I’m not upset about it at all. I just think that this book could have been a novella instead of a full blown novel.

I was really excited to jump into this because it’s always fun to get a science fiction novel with a new twist. The world building in this book is done very well and doesn’t give a plethora of details but gives enough for there to be a sci-fi world vibe. The most interesting relationship in the book isn’t the romantic one for me; it is the one between Maram and Amani. They both come from opposite worlds but end up building a trust and friendship. Maram is an incredibly interesting character who wears the façade of a cold and calculating ruler, when she is actually just a young woman who has not been given the luxury to trust others or build healthy relationships. Amani finally becomes the person that she is able to do that with. Maram is not evil, she is simply a player in a complicated game of political chess that must do what she can to survive, and she does it incredibly well. 

Despite the romance not being the most interesting part of the story to me, I still think it was decent. It is not my favorite romantic relationship by any means, but it holds up okay. I really enjoyed Idris individually as a character. He is yet another victim in this world of politics and I love how the author used him to represent someone who was uprooted from his family and culture at a young age to the point that he has a hard time reconnecting his native culture to who he is today. In addition to having a compelling backstory, he is also a kind person who comes off as very likeable. The ending of the story really left me wanting for more. Not a total cliffhanger, but close enough. However, I will gladly await the second book. But for now, this is what I’ve got.