Review: REBOOT + REBEL by Amy Tintera

Title: Reboot (Reboot #1) + Rebel (Reboot #2)

Author: Amy Tintera

Genre: Young Adult/Sci Fi/Dystopian.

Publication Date: June 2013 + June 1st 2014

Publisher: Allen and Unwin

Format: Paperback

Pages: 384 +352

Form of Review: Series Review - Non- Spoiler.

Rating: 5/5

REBOOT:

'5 years ago, I died. 178 minutes later, I woke up.'

In this post-apocalyptic thriller a deadly virus mutation sees teenagers raised from the dead and trained to be vicious soldiers until Wren, the deadliest Reboot, joins forces with Callum, the most innocent, to try to overthrow the organisation that has corrupted their world.

REBEL:

The sequel and exciting conclusion to the action-packed Reboot.

Wren and Callum finally reach the Reboot Reservation, a safe haven from HARC, which controls the cities. But it isn’t the paradise they’d hoped for. As they learn more about Micah, the bloodthirsty Reboot who runs it, they discover that he’s been creating an army with one goal in mind: to kill the humans in the cities … ALL of them. Wren’s first instinct is to head out for new territory, but Callum can’t stand by and let his human family and everyone else be hunted down. With HARC on one side and Micah on the other, saving the innocent and forging a lasting peace between humans and Reboots is a nearly impossible task. But Wren and Callum have never let that stop them before.

Since this series is a duology (only two books) I’ve decided to review the two books together. And since this is a review based around the whole series, I’m going to try and keep it unspoilery. Before we start, Ely and I received these books to review but that no way alters our opinion of the book. If you would like to view Ely's review of Reboot click here. If you would like to view Ely's review of Rebel which has spoilers, click here.  So have fun!

I personally am not a big Zombie fan, and like Ely, when I heard that it was Zombish I was kind of thrown off. Like, when do us Young Adult readers normally see Zombie’s mixed in with dystopia’s? Like never. But the thing is, it worked perfectly. Amy Tintera sure knows how to keep you intrigued and this sure did that exactly.

The pacing off the series was excellent and Wren and Callum are both lovable and the world building is crazy. I seriously don’t know how people come up with these kinds of ideas but all elements combined beautifully. Normally one may see a decline in quality throughout a series but this was the opposite. The first book served a basic foundation and the second finished it off nicely. Even thought I would’ve liked more of Wren and Callum!

One of the things I also loved the most is how we enter action as soon as we open the first page. The Ideas that Amy develops gives an insight to the variety of perceptions of humanity. In the end, what does it really mean to be human?

One of the most outstanding things was the character development with Wren. Once each layer was peeled back you could see her more distinctly. It wasn’t obvious but once you look back you realise how much all the characters actually changed. Applause to Tintera for being able to swiftly develop characters and make the reader still love them throughout the whole entire way.

Finally, Thank you to Lara from A&U for providing Ely and I with the copies to the series.

Love you all!

BLOG TOUR/REVIEW: Rebel by Amy Tintera

Title: Rebel (Reboot #2)

Author: Amy Tintera

Genre: Young Adult. Sci Fi. Dystopian.

Publication Date: June 1st 2014

Publisher: Allen and Unwin

Format: Paperback

Pages: 352

Rating: 5/5

The sequel and exciting conclusion to the action-packed Reboot.

Wren and Callum finally reach the Reboot Reservation, a safe haven from HARC, which controls the cities. But it isn’t the paradise they’d hoped for. As they learn more about Micah, the bloodthirsty Reboot who runs it, they discover that he’s been creating an army with one goal in mind: to kill the humans in the cities … ALL of them. Wren’s first instinct is to head out for new territory, but Callum can’t stand by and let his human family and everyone else be hunted down. With HARC on one side and Micah on the other, saving the innocent and forging a lasting peace between humans and Reboots is a nearly impossible task. But Wren and Callum have never let that stop them before.

We received this book for review, but this is no way alters our opinion of the book.

Can we just take a moment first? I literally just finished this book a few minutes ago, and I think I need some time for this to sink in. I have one question for Amy Tintera.

Okay, so now that that’s over. Let’s actually get to the review. First, if you haven’t already- go check my review of the first book, Reboot, out. Now moving on.

I thought the first book was fats paced, but that really has nothing on this one. Oh my god. There was hardly a moment to stop and catch your breath. That being said, I think all the action was really well planned out- there wasn’t anything that wasn’t relevant to the story. I have to admit, some of those plot twists- damn…I did not see them coming. 

I’m really not a big fan of dual POV books (I entirely blame Allegiant), so I was actually a bit hesitant when I saw that this begun with Callum’s POV. After a few chapters, it didn’t bother me anymore. I actually really liked being able to be inside Callum’s head as well as Wren’s, and I think it really made sense for the story to be split into the two POV’s. Have I mentioned how much I love Callum? Because, I really seriously love Callum.

I still really love Wren, and so you can probably imagine that I really love Callum and Wren together. Just. So. Much. Love. Anyway, I want to talk about the other characters because I mentioned how excited I was to meet some new ones in my review of the first book. Let’s start with Addie. There isn’t a lot of Addie at the beginning, but once she becomes a more prominent character- to put it simply, I really love her. I’m interested to see where the friendship (sort of spoiler alert there) between her and Wren goes from here (Note, I hadn't realised this was only a duology at this point). Next…Riley. So when I think of Riley, I think of Riley from Buffy- so yes, I imagine this incredibly buff guy (which I’m totally not complaining about, by the way). But yes, this Riley is amazing, though I admit I had my doubts about him. 

Finally, Micah. Where do I even begin with you? I thought maybe that Micah would sort of make this into a love triangle so I was a bit hesitant about him coming in. But no, this is not a love triangle. Micah is so much more than that. I can’t properly express my feelings without spoiling, so I’ll just leave it at the fact that it took me a while to decide where I stood.

Okay, so before I wrap this up, can we just have another moment? This is a duology, meaning this is the last book. I CAN’T DEAL WITH THAT. I NEED ANOTHER BOOK. THAT CANNOT BE THE END. GIVE ME ANOTHER BOOK. 

At that, I will leave you. Thank you again to the Allen and Unwin for the lovely ARC copy. I will treasure it for ever and ever.

REVIEW: Reboot by Amy Tintera

Title: Reboot (Reboot #1)

Author: Amy Tintera

Genre: Young Adult. Sci Fi. Dystopian.

Publication Date: June 2013

Publisher: Allen and Unwin

Format: Paperback

Pages: 384

Rating: 5/5

'5 years ago, I died. 178 minutes later, I woke up.'

In this post-apocalyptic thriller a deadly virus mutation sees teenagers raised from the dead and trained to be vicious soldiers until Wren, the deadliest Reboot, joins forces with Callum, the most innocent, to try to overthrow the organisation that has corrupted their world.

Reboot was sent to me for review, but this is no way alters my opinion of this book.

I don’t even know where to start with this. I loved it, okay? I didn’t really know much about this before it was sent to me- I know it was sort of Dystopian/Sci Fi and I knew I wanted to read it. It wasn’t until I got the little like ‘press sheet’ that I realised that this has kind of got a zombie thing going on. I’ve never really read zombies, but I’d heard such great things about Reboot that I didn’t really mind. 

I loved the two main characters- Wren and Callum. Usually, it takes me at least a few chapters to warm up to characters but I loved these two from the moment they appeared. I love a good strong female lead (don’t we all?) and I definitely think Wren fits that bill. She’s a serious badass, guys. I would not want to get caught with her in a dark alley…not at all. I especially loved that Callum is the weaker of the two. I’ve noticed usually when you get a strong female lead, you get an equally strong or stronger male lead, but in this. Well, Callum’s pretty terrible. I love that. 

I loved the plot too. It was fast-paced but not too fast-paced. There were those parts that weren’t so much about the action but rather about the world and the bigger picture. All of it was interesting, I don’t think there was an actual moment when I was even remotely bored. I loved how Amy Tintera built the world- I think it’s amazing but it’s also very unique. Like I said, I don’t have a lot of experience in the zombie genre but I think this has got to be one of the most unique. 

Now, before I finish off this review, I wanted to dedicate a special little section here to talking about the book itself. As in, the aesthetics of it rather than the content. Words cannot describe how amazing this book looks. I tried to explain it but I didn’t do a very good job at that, so I’ve just included these pictures for you instead. BUT DO YOU SEE THAT? CAN YOU SEE HOW BEAUTIFUL THEY ARE? 

Finally, I just want to mention how excited I am to the read the sequel, Rebel. I’M REALLY, REALLY EXCITED!! I can’t wait to see where this story goes and meet some new characters. 

Thank you the lovely (and very helpful) Lara from Allen and Unwin for sending both Chami and I copies of Reboot!