An action-packed, romantic, and suspenseful third book in the Altered series.
The Branch is in shambles, but Anna, Sam, Cas, and Nick can't rest easy. Remnants of the organization lurk unseen and the flashbacks to their old lives are only getting stronger--especially Nick's.
Following scattered memories and clues from his Branch file, Nick sets off alone in search of answers and in search of the girl who haunts his dreams. But the sleepy town where she lives in full of secrets and Nick soon learns that uncovering their shared past may have deadly consequences.
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"Oceans are vast and almost bottomless. You play in the rain, Elizabeth. You drown in the sea."
I was really excited about Reborn. After all, my experience with Erased is more than nice. While this book still leaves me impressed, I feel like it hasn't really met up to my standards. There are just some flaws in the book that can't be ignored.
I like that the book has many links with the previous books, including the novella, Betrayed. Some of them might not be obvious, but there are quite a lot of them. The presence of Anna and Sam and Cas is one of the more obvious ones. I really appreciate that Jennifer Rush keeps a significant amount of history in Reborn. It gives me a sense of satisfaction as I don't think I'd be able to see it as a book from the Altered series without Anna and Sam and Cas. It also gives me a sense of closure because Anna and Sam has their own life now.
Nick is quite an interesting narrative. He's a douche bag. Yes, don't even deny it. But he also has a complicated past. One that is filled with horrible memories. One that he doesn't even know the whole of it. He has this nonchalance on the surface. But deep down he really cares, despite his dickish moves sometimes. I got a glimpse of that Nick in Erased. But it's nothing compared to a book half written in Nick's perspective. It's really easy to bond with this character. As messed-up as he is, he's surprisingly realistic, and I kind of want more books about him.
Elizabeth, however, is another story. Thing is, it's hard to imagine her character. She's described as having anxiety problems because of what happened to her a few years ago on a regular basis. However I can't really see her as that. The description does not fit her actions. She's a nice and normal girl, of course. Well, as normal as she can be when something really gross and horrifying happened to her a few years back. But I feel a sense of detachment from her character. With Nick being the spotlight, the light of Elizabeth as a narrative is actually being cloaked by Nick. She has an interesting story nonetheless, and despite the fact that I can't bond to her character, I still can bond to her story. She, too, has a complicated background. And they are laced with suspense and secrets. What can I say, it's hard not to like her background.
The ending is also slightly too rushed. It's a good ending, but some things have gone unexplained. I guess part of the reason is that a lot of things happen at the very same time. But I would like more closure. The fact that a certain someone still escaped and another certain someone has disappeared completely without further explanation is bugging me a lot. I'm not sure if it's meant to be a trilogy or if there will be more books after Reborn. But I want explanation for this... bizarreness.
Despite some obvious flaws, I still think Reborn is a good story. It's so finely entwined with the previous stories that everything gets way more tense when the truth dawns on the characters.
Rating: 7.5/10
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