Today I'm going to be reviewing RECKLESS REBELLION by Rinelle Grey. I received an ARC of this, volunteering to read her novel on the basis of an opinion that has not read the first book in the series.
First a summary of Reckless Rebellion:
With Tyris’s home planet in sight, Marlee is looking forward to exploring her new home. Only a routine medical exam to go, then they can be together on the thriving planet of Urslat.Incredibly, the exam reveals something that shouldn’t be possible. Something that is actually illegal because of Tyris’s past. Marlee’s pregnant.
Marlee and Tyris will do everything they can to keep their secret safe. But Urslat has its own problems, forcing Marlee to choose between everyone she has ever known and the ultimate secret she carries within.
Remember to check out Rinelle Grey. You can also purchase Reckless Rebellion on Amazon.
My review:
Please note that I am reviewing from a perspective that has not read the prequel to this novel. I was asked to give my review based on this perspective, and I also received this novel free of charge for my honest critique.
As someone who did not read RECKLESS RESCUE, I was immediately pulled into the story of RECKLESS REBELLION and I connected to the characters, even though I did not know of them or their previous adventures. I think that this is in part attributed to the fact that the romance between the two protagonists was already established, and so I cared about that when Rinelle shortly after pulled Tyris's wife Milandra into the mix.
If you haven't read the first book in her barren planet romance series, you do not feel as though you're missing a large gap of information. Obviously, there are conflicts and child-bearing/fertility problems the characters face before you enter the novel, but those are easily picked up and explained in a way that doesn't confuse you or overload you with information from the start. The mix is interesting; Rinelle informs the reader of the problems the characters face without pumping too much information in the beginning
The only part I was confused on for the first fifty or so pages was determining what exactly anysogen was. The characters reference it several times, and I originally thought it was some sort of chemical that was a factor in infertility. I was wrong of course. Anysogen is just spaceship fuel and a valuable resource at that. (This was reaffirmed when I went back and read some blurbs on the first and second novels). Also, the definition of anysogen is not a spoiler; but it is a key factor in understanding what's happening. The only other thing that gets confusing if you're going into RECKLESS REBELLION headlong first is that when the people of Marlee's home planet are brought back, you don't really know THOSE characters, stepfamily included, but it is not a detracting factor in the story either.
Rinelle's writing is very clean and refreshing. When you first pick it up, you blink and realize you've been sitting there for five hours and just devoured over a hundred pages. It gets you hooked and invested right from the start. The romance is innocent and new, even though Marlee and Tyris are not new to love, and those past relationships help develop how they handle their feelings for each other as well. I loved Marlee. And I also loved Kerit, and this is his debut too
But back to the writing. It has a simple style that makes for an enjoyable read, but you do walk away reflecting on topics that are serious, and though they are not typical problems that are present in our society (though, some cultures do have similar ones), they do beg the reader to wonder. If not in a 'could this happen' sense but in a 'where do we draw the line' sense. Rinelle presents problems that are very real to her characters, and they become very real to the reader.
The science-fiction portions are not confusing. I was heavilly interested in her huge elevator that transported people from the spaceship port to the planet. Also, while I sense that RECKLESS RESCUE heavily portrays "primitive, frontier" society, Rinelle flips the coin and shows you an entirely different yet functioning society. I am very interested in reading the first installment to see how she presented Marlee's life on her home planet.
All in all, this is certainly worth the read.
