Rebel Spring

The world that Morgan Rhodes has created is beautiful. Mytica is a mysterious island, where King Gaius has forced three countries into one. The island is one with hidden magic, with magical beings watching it. There is a magical treasure to find and these beings are influencing the mortal world. They should all be working towards the same goal, but maybe not. The story is rich, with enough movement that I can't say where it will all end. With such a fantastic world and plot, it is the characters that have me coming back.

When I started Rebel Spring, I was so excited to find out what happened to the characters from Falling Kingdoms. Cleo and Jonas, Magnus and Lucia, all had such open ends to their stories. But I didn't expect the new characters to grip me just as much. Lysandra is amazing and Prince Ashur is intriguing. The Watchers gave me more than one, what the f@#$?! moment. I can't wait to see where these characters are going to go. Rebel Spring is full of unexpected twists and reveals. Morgan Rhodes created such a high intensity sequel, it had me hooked into this series more than the first book.

I really like that the book opens with Lysandra. Even though I wanted to know about the other characters, Lysandra's story is important. It also gives you a good idea what the tone of this novel is going to be like. There's a lot of death. There's torture and destruction. Blood will be spilled on the land, Gaius is the King of Blood after all. Lysandra also concludes this story, making the novel more complete than if the ending has less of her.

Also, Prince Ashur! He is going to be a wild card. I wasn't sure how he was going to fit into this intense, complex mix of characters, but he did his job. He's getting in there. He's learning and forging alliances, among other things. I'm excited to see what he does next. I wonder who he'll side with or if he has an agenda all his own.

That moment between Cleo and Lucia, what is going to come from that? Cleo has lost everything. Her entire life has changed and she really is lucky to be alive. She's long gone from that spoiled princess. She's learning to be a leader, to be strong, to be smart. She's learning to believe in magic. I want her to make the right decisions, but between Jonas and Magnus, Lucia and the king, I'm not always sure what that's going to be. Her relationship with Jonas is what I thought it would be, but her relationship with Magnus is something different.

Is Lucia going to be a villian? I can't tell. I don't want her to be. I think she has the potential to join Mytica together in a way unlike her father, but I don't know if she's capable. How much is she going to be influenced by others and by her own power? Is she going to lose herself? I feel like Rhodes initially wrote her as an innocent girl, being controlled by her adoptive father, but I'm not sure about that any more; she's not the girl she used to be.

I need to keep reading this series. Except for Cleo, the King of Blood, and maybe Jonas, I can't tell who the heroes and villians of this story are going to be. Anyone could choose to do anything. Many of their decisions seem personal, but they will effect the whole of Mytica.