"Life is lost without love". If ever there was a quote that speaks to the depth of a character, it is that one for Roselle St. Sismode. The fate of the world is in her hands and there is nothing she will not do, nothing she won't brave, nothing she won't sacrifice for the people she loves. And love is the driving force behind her perseverance. To say Roselle is the epitome of selfless determination would be an understatement. Rebel Born picks up where Traitor Born left off satisfying the long awaited finale to this fantastic trilogy. The action begins from the word go and never lets up. A complete rollercoaster ride of emotions with edge of your seat action and a twist you will never see coming. Evil rears it's head again and it is up to Roselle and her friends to save the world. Rich with incredible sci-fi elements that one could never possibly imagine and kick-a$$ characters- you will not be disappointed. I've always said Amy Bartol is a master world builder and the same is true for this installment. The story is well developed, filled with fine details that will make your imagination run wild. Brilliant conclusion to this incredible series.

4 solid stars! So many feels. Love, shock, anger, sadness and more shock.

This book took a turn I never saw coming. From the prologue I was sucked in and didn’t wanna stop reading. I had so many ideas running through my head and of course NONE of them turned out the way I expected.

It’s rather bittersweet to see Roselle’s story come to an end. She’s happy and that’s all that matters.

I was given an ARC of this book and I wasn’t disappointed! It took a different turn then what I was expecting when I first started this series. The ending was good and I’m curious if we will see some spin-offs from this book 🤔

I absolutely adored Secondborn and Traitorborn, I love the world that was created, the amount of detail and description and the amazing characters. I couldn’t put either book down whilst I was reading, I was so absorbed.

Rebelborn was diffierent for me though. I didn’t enjoy it as much, a lot of the events seemed improbable and the outcomes sort of impossible.

The ending also seemed to be babying the reader a little too much, yes, I was sad to see my favourite character die but I would have gotten over it and it would have made a much better book in my opinion. It felt like an ending of convenience, not what I would have expected to happen. And also incredibly rushed. Rebelborn was a fine book but not what I was expecting based on the previous books.

Classic Bartol. Incredibly dense world building, intense story lines and a dramatic conclusion that you didnt expect. Without giving too much away I will say that this series ends differently than I would have expected. It was nice to see Amy take it a different direction and throw her readers for a loop. If you've read any if this authors books you know it will be well written, you know the story will be water tight and you know it will be a thrilling adventure. Read this book and then go read or reread all her others.

<b> “I don’t know what to believe. Whose side are you on?”
“There are no sides, Roselle. There’s just survival and revenge.” </b>

After the cliffhanger ending of Traitor Born, I was really anticipating the conclusion of the Secondborn series. And it did not disappoint.

Roselle has been captured by the evil Agent Crow and implanted with a mind control device that lets him control her.

<b> “He was weak. You’re not weak, are you?”
I feel weak—insubstantial, flimsy, brittle, inadequate, helpless. “I’m not weak,” I repeat numbly.
Agent Crow bends to whisper in my ear. “But I will break you.” </b>

This book has a lot of matrix vibes. There’s the Spectrum - which is an alternate reality similar to the matrix itself.

<b> “Let’s call the other world Spectrum. As I said, it’s not a computer or a sophisticated program like I once thought. It’s an alternate universe, a new world with similar properties, but with its own unique features. It won’t always conform to the laws of nature we expect.” </b>

Agent Crow is a lot like Agent Smith - able to upload and body hop and manipulate the System to his advantage.

The love triangle between Hawthorne and Reykin concludes satisfactory - if not a little contrived. The moment I realized what Spectrum was I figured out the ending - but that didn’t make it any less enjoyable.

Reykin really shines in this book. I love his character.

<b> He shakes his head incredulously. “Even if I could figure out a way to kill you, I won’t.”
“Why not?” I seethe. “You could before.”
“Before, I was a stupid, arrogant boy. I believed myself capable of sacrificing everything for my ideals. But now I know that I could never have ended your life—not for anything in this world, not from the moment you saved my hide on the battlefield. I was yours then. I am yours now.” </b>

But as swoon worthy as Reykin and Hawthorne are - Roselle is a great character. Amy Bartol writes women that are strong yet vulnerable.

If you are looking for a sci fi series that has action and romance - this is a great series that is now complete and on kindle unlimited.

<i> I received this ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review. </I>

Let me start by saying I loved this book. It is one of the best books I have ever read. Though it is sci-fi, the feel of fiction borders so close to the science. The fiction part of Rebel Born felt well researched and incredibly plausible in the world today. (While I love sci-fi like Star Trek, the reality of it is just never there for me. It will always remain an alien story in the space of make believe.) The implications of the neurochemistry and quantum mechanics kept this novel from escaping into the world of pure imagination.

The evolution of Roselle and the relationships around her are all incredibly well done compared to the first two novels, which teetered incredibly close over the romance border. I was very pleased with the direction this novel took and did not feel let down with the resolutions made.

I was also incredibly pleased with the provocative treatment of the gods and our understanding of them. Let's just throw some ancient history in with our provocative, futuristic science. Yes, please!

The entire novel was close to complete perfection until we got to the ending. Ouch! Up until the last chapter I had been incredibly reticent to ever have to take a break. Who needs eating and sleeping? We are getting the peppiest prep talk before the battle for our very existence when the book just ends. Fists half-raised in the air. And it ends with one of those look-into-the-future chapters.

There is some allusion that another story lies in the ending somewhere, but it is not a guarantee. It was kind of a slap in the face to end the book that way. Still one of the best stories to get there, though. And still highly deserves five stars.

Amy Bartol has been one of my favorite authors especially for this genre. And she by far surpassed my expectations for this book.

This is part 3 of 3 books in this fantasy story that begins with fates that work together to keep the world in check. Within the fates each family is only allowed two children, the secondborn child is forced into servitude after coming of age.

Roselle was the second born. She trained all her life and she was royalty. Roselle took her place as second born as she had been shaped all her life. She moved into the army fighting the resistance call Gates of Dawn.

Within the first two books the Gates of Dawn appeared to be the worst enemy. But what was unknown to all but census was that the real problem was being created in manufactured right under their noses.

Roselle has to go through tons of heartbreak and acceptance to come out stronger on the other end. What I enjoy about these books the most is that things do not always come out perfect in the end. There's is twists and turns and unexpected allies throughout. But Bartle keeps you on your toes as to who can be trusted and who is a possible threat.

I felt this book took a turn at the end of the story. Continuing well from the second installment however you quickly saw that something was different about Roselle when all seems lost new allies emerged. Would I like that this wasn't a predictable storyline it was intriguing learning about how Spectrum Advanced into its own universe. As well as gods their powers and returning order to the Fate's.

Honestly I could not be more happy with this and then. But as any good series is I'm still left wanting more because the story was so inviting. Honestly at the end I think that this would be an awesome movie series to see what they could do with special effects. But it will never be the same as reading the book going through the emotions and knowing what is going on with in Roselle's head and heart.

I am eagerly awaiting whatever comes next from Amy bartol. I have enjoyed every book so far. I feel that all of her books have a great balance between mystery, action, drama and romance but not too much of each one to get sucked into one mindset.

Thank you for a wonderful experience

Wow! I love LOVE Amy A. Bartol. She cleverly finished this series off with yet another BANG! I love how she made HEA happen for EVERYONE.
I apologize for my overuse of capital letters, I’m just super excited.
I really appreciate how the author left me feeling there’s plenty more to come yet it’s wrapped up. So if another book pops up in the future for this series I’ll definitely pick it up or if it doesn’t pop up, I’m still happy.
But, quick side note for the author, please do write another book in the Kricket series (#TeamKyon)!

Thank you, Netgalley & 47North!

I would like to thank Netgalley and 47 North for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I would like to say that Rebel Born was the perfect ending to the Secondborn Series but in true Amy Bartol fashion she left it open just enough to continue the story. There are so many unanswered questions and so many directions yet to take. But after reading two of her other series I am not surprised. I know that this sounds negative but it's totally not and I rated this book 5 stars.

As in all of Amy's books Rebel Born pulled me in and had me wanting more. I love strong female characters and Roselle does not disappoint. I thought it was so clever how Amy solved the "love triangle". As in her other series, people were team this or that and WOW, this was perfect without making anyone chose. I have to say that this book took me totally by surprise. I'm all for a good plot twist but I was not expecting to have the story I guess change or progress as it went along. I was geared up for this major war with Agent Crow at the end and it didn't really happen. (Hence, unanswered questions and hoping for another book.)

I have to say that I loved this book....better yet this whole series. When I knew the release date I started stalking Netgalley multiple times a day to see if this book would pop up and was doing a happy dance when it did. I'm usually not a sci-fi reader but hers are my go to and I would not hesitate to pick this up.

Rebellion Born

I thoroughly love the Secondborn series. It is a beautiful blend of genres including futuristic dystopia, romance, and science fiction. There’s plenty of power struggles and covert (and not so covert) rebellious movements. What I will say is that Rebel Born, the final book of the series, is VERY different from the first two books of Secondborn and Traitor Born. If you go in expecting more of the same, you will be disappointed. You might think you know where the series will lead you after reading Traitor Born, but you would likely be wrong. Amy Bartol’s books always start in one place, then transport you somewhere drastically different in the most wonderful way. Be prepared for Rebel Born, because you are about to go on a whirlwind journey!

The ending of Traitor Born leaves readers on a huge cliffhanger, so do not read Rebel Born until you have completed both Secondborn and Traitor Born. Where Rebel Born goes is a deep-dive into science fiction akin to ending of The Matrix series. The rebellion and power struggle is still there, but it’s no longer a regime change at stake. The world as our beloved characters know it has changed into a dark and unforgiving place. They are fighting for the survival of their species.

What I love about Rebel Born is what you think you know is not really the truth. The Rose Garden Society has a far deeper meaning than you’d expect. Roselle, Reykin, Clifton, Crow, and Hawthorn (among others) take on far larger roles than ever before. Some good and some bad, obviously.

The worldbuilding for New Gildenzear was brilliant! I wanted to live there. At risk of revealing too much, that’s all I say about it. I loved the “new” character of Cassius and absolutely adored Cherno (I keep wanting to go mythic with his name and call him Chernobog). We even get to see some old friends who have not appeared on the page since Secondborn.

However, the book is not without its faults and the reason I give it four stars is due to some characters/story arcs being forgotten/abandoned/rushed. With the events that occur within the book, the other Fates territories are largely unaccounted for with little more than a few haphazard mentions. The Gates of Dawn rebellion, while present, is a shade of what it seemed to be before Rebel Born begins. With the exception of one major appearance, only one of the Leon brothers is seen and promptly forgotten. Roselle’s evolution is a little too fast. Yes, she’s smart and skilled, but a lot of the time she does something in a way that seems irrational, but you find out after the fact she had a plan all along. Even in her relationship with Reykin, I feel like it went from 0 to 100 in record speed. His feelings were very obvious for her in Traitor Born, but it never seemed reciprocated to me. With that said shippers of both Reykin and Hawthorne should be contented. Those wanting a victory over the big bag should be mostly happy too.

One last note I have is also about pacing. There’s a lot going on in Rebel Born, but 2/3 to 3/4 of the book takes place in one setting. I feel like much more exploration could have occurred, but I understand the restraints and limitations Amy put into the story There was a war being waged, but we only see bits and pieces from a safe vantage point away. The ending of Rebel Born is satisfying, but in true Amy fashion, things are not wrapped up nicely with a bow, rainbows, and unicorns. The ending we get is hard-earned and deserved.

Overall I loved Rebel Born. I love how risky a jump it is within the Secondborn universe. I love that Amy is willing to take chances and explore her creative depth as a writer. ****FOUR STARS****

Rebel Born is the third and final novel in the Secondborn trilogy by Amy A. Bartol. The core of this world is that when overpopulation becomes a problem, the government started controlling who could have children. Then it became that all first born children would inherit everything from their parents, while second born children were forced to be treated as second class citizens (if they were lucky).
Roselle has always been used as a figurehead for the messages of her mother, but that all changed, and rather drastically so. Now Roselle has come into her own, and she’s standing up for what she believes in.
I’ll confess that this was my least favorite of the three novels, but I promise I have reasons for that! And it’s not unheard of, either. There are so many trilogies (or really, any series) out there that tapered off as time went on.

Warnings: Rebel Born covers some heavy subjects. But if you’ve read the first two novels, that won’t be much of a surprise. In this novel there’s torture, mind control, and some graphic forms of death, including (but not limited to) drowning. So be mindful when picking this one up.
It’s hard to believe that with Rebel Born comes the conclusion of the Secondborn series…but here it is. This series has been a whirlwind of an adventure, from start to finish. Roselle’s journey was intense, to put it mildly. It’s certainly not a path I would have enjoyed walking.
Honestly, I can’t believe I’m giving this book such a low rating (yes, I know three stars isn’t technically bad, but you get what I’m saying). I absolutely adored the first novel, and while I didn’t love the second one as much, I still enjoyed it.
However, Rebel Born felt like an entirely different story to me. The characters all had the same names, sure. But everything else changed so dramatically. Too dramatically, for my liking. I’ll give credit for the fact that the stakes kept getting raised here, but that was part of the problem. The stakes became too high, and eventually it just got so…big. It turned into this entirely new and different beast altogether.
And while I did find this new path and plot interesting, it just wasn’t the same. Maybe I would have loved it, had my expectations been set differently. I honestly don’t know. And trust me, I wanted to like it. When I finished this book, actually, I hopped over to Goodreads to see how everyone else felt about it. And I was in the minority here (sorry). So now I’m just left wondering if I missed something. I don’t know. I do feel a bit lost, in truth.
I was fascinated by the new characters introduced, even while lamenting the changes to characters I loved. It was an interesting experience, to be dealing with those conflicting emotions all at once.
One thing I’ve always loved about this series is the ability to balance a main (and rather immense) plot with a romantic subplot. And that it allowed for the romantic subplot to be changed by what was happening in the main plot. That held true for Rebel Born as well, I’m pleased to note. Though no, I’m not going to say which ship, if any, won that war.
Rebel Born was an incredibly fast-paced read, one I got through very quickly. And while I admittedly didn’t love it at much as I wanted to, I did enjoy it. I wonder what Amy A. Bartol will work on next?

What a wild ride!
I’m sad this series is over, but dang there was a lot packed into this last book. I had no idea what way this would all go and never would have guessed that the series would go the way it did. Loved it!

The whole book was exciting and crazy...there is no way anyone could not want to read it after having read the first two. It was an epic ending for sure!

Rebel Born was a stunning conclusion to the Secondborn trilogy. To say things were eventful would be an understatement. Ms. Bartol truly didn't hold anything back with this book. Roselle deals with some unbelievable things in this book. Some of the events were truly horrific and at times things seemed very hopeless. It's also bittersweet and emotional. There is heartbreak and change. Nothing remains the same.

As the book progresses, the plot continues to bloom and expand. It had a great flow and was such an enjoyable read. I'm hesitant to say much as I don't want to give away any of the surprise twists. I do have to say that I loved the new character, Cherno that was introduced in this book. There is so much potential with this character. I could see him having his own book at some point...hint hint Ms. Bartol....

Thank you to NetGalley and 47North for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow...where to begin....
Completely threw me for a loop in a direction I didn’t see coming. Wow. The world building is just out of this world in this series. If your looking for something different with great characters check this series out!

Oh my. I was really happy to start reading this book, but was also disappointed that it was the last of the series. Like always Amy doesn’t disappoint. This book is really good from start to finish. It had me hooked from the start. Roselle is amazing, I absolutely love her character. And if you want to know more then you Need to read it. Get it. Read it. It’s a must!!!!

Rebel Born is the conclusion to Roselle St. Sismode's story and this one reaches beyond comprehension.

I wanted to like this book, but it had me off-balance from the start. It went backwards from where the second novel ended with what seemed to be repetitive information. There was no improvement. I felt like the characters fell flat from the previous installments.

The story was packed with information and stretched past the boundaries of what felt possible. Even in this created world, the events just didn't feel realistic. I noted this issue in my review of the second novel (that some parts of the plot felt out of reach). I finished this without really understanding the main problem or the solution to that problem. This was only exacerbated by a rushed, anti-climatic ending.

I appreciate the world created by this author and truly enjoyed the first two novels of this story. For me, this novel lost itself in an over-mixed plot.

I received an early reader's copy of this novel via NetGalley from 47North. I thank them for the opportunity to read and review this novel before its release.

This was a fun finale to the Secondborn series. There are some interesting twists and great new characters, along with some old ones who come back in surprising ways. I just can't give it five stars, though, because I felt like the ending was rushed and a little cliche - everything wraps up very fast after Bartol created a complex world that was solved in a simple way. I also pretty much hated the Epilogue and wished it had just been left out - it read way too much like so many other "girl saves the world" books do and I felt like it was a bit out of character for Roselle to have that ending. The rest of the story is definitely worth the read, though, so rush out and pick it up. If you are like me, you'll have trouble putting it down again.

Thanks to the publisher for providing an ARC through Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

I love this series. I have it on audio book and on my kindle. I loved it so much I purchased Bartol's other series Kricket. I loved the first book, but in that series the third book was hard so I was very apprehensive about this book. Needless to say this book was better than my wildest dreams! There were a lot of twists and turns I did not see coming, and some were very unexpected. I love how Bartol writes and creates every blade of grass and skyscraper in her novels, this one is no exception. Without giving away spoilers I can't really say more, but read it. It is so good!!

I received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.

This book was not what I expected. There was some zoom around twist that will take your breath away. Her luck is a bit on the wth side. She sure can't win for losing. This was not the way I thought things was going to go. I think this book is setting the next book up to give us something of a surprise.