Reborn (Altered, 3)

Jennifer Rush has done it again. The characters come to life with strong emotions and actions. Will these people ever have a normal life? Not with Riley and the Branch still out there. Besides if they did then we wouldn't have the opportunity to escape to the world that Jennifer Rush has created. Jennifer please keep writing so that we can enjoy these characters and their next adventure.

Reborn moves away from Anna as a central character in the Altered series and instead focuses on Nick. This gives the story a grittier feel than the previous books in the series and allows readers a better understanding of what makes the irritable and often volatile Nick tick. I have always found Nick to be a fascinating character because he always seemed so angry and distant, and yet there would be times where his actions would show that there was a compassionate and deeper person underneath the anger. Unfortunately, because of all of the genetic manipulation that has taken place because of the Branch's action, even Nick isn't sure if he has any amount of true humanity inside himself. This is a story of Nick coming to understand a little better who he truly is. In order for Nick to grow in this story he moves away from his "family" of friends and goes on his own to try and discover a girl he rescued from the Branch six years earlier. That girl is Elizabeth, and her first person narration alternates with Nick's throughout the story. Elizabeth is also unsure of who she is. Although her memories, unlike Nick's, remained largely intact, her understanding of exactly what was going on as she was held captive by the Branch is flawed. Things begin to sloooooooowly become clearer once Nick arrives and gets to know her a little. My thoughts on the story: One of the things that I really loved about the first books in this series is the action and intrigue that surrounded Anna, Sam, Nick, Cas, and Trev. It was never truly clear what was going on, who to trust, and where the next danger was. That always kept me on my toes as a reader, driving me to continue reading all day, but never allowing me to feel comfortable with the situations in the book. I always felt like something was getting ready to fall apart around the next corner. That was exciting, and I LOVED reading these stories. Sure, there was a good dose of romantic potential between Anna and Sam, but that did not really dominate the story. The story was about the evil Branch and these five (and sometimes four) kids' attempts to thwart it. This story moves away from the sense of danger and unrest that dominated the last books. Sure, it is there, but it doesn't really start to get unsettling until the last third of the book. The first two-thirds reads more like the beginning stages of a romance. The relationship between Elizabeth and Nick dominates the story. That is not to say that these two immediately become a couple or even that they spend every chapter pining for each other. It is just that everything seems almost too calm and too routine. I think this would have been a five star read for me if there was more of a sense of unease in the first two thirds of the story. I loved the character of Nick. He is just as irritable as always, and throughout the story he doesn't completely lose his edge. But it was nice to see the beginning of his realization that he was not all anger and assassin. He had a heart, and he could choose to follow it occasionally. I almost wish that less time had been spent in Elizabeth's head and more time spent in Nick's. He was definitely the most interesting character of this story. Elizabeth made an okay heroine for this story, but she was a bit too weak in comparison to other characters of the series. I think that in time she could grow stronger, but in this story she didn't have the grit to match Nick's edginess. She made for an excellent person for Nick to showcase his softer side, but that was about it. I think that there were some freaky things about her past that would have been really interesting to dissect, but those weren't revealed until the book was almost over, and no time was spent on Elizabeth processing through the new revelations about the people she had loved for so long. Once again, Jennifer Rush, has created excellent secondary characters. The best, by far, was Chloe. Chloe, we hardly knew you, and then you left!!! I want to know lots more about this girl. Lots more. Anna, Sam, and Cas make some appearances in this story, but my favorite of the group to return to the forefront was Trev. I have always loved this character, and I have always felt like he would redeem himself from his deception in the earlier books. His presence in this book was wonderful, especially as he interacted with Nick. I wanted to see more from him. Is this series over? I thought that it was, but events at the end of the story make it appear as if there is still more story to tell. We shall see. For now, I am satisfied with this latest entry in the Altered universe. It didn't quite match the first two books in the series, but it was still an enjoyable and action packed addition. Four stars!

The first two books in the Altered series were fairly mediocre, but Reborn was wonderful. I loved Jennifer Rush's decision to switch the perspective to Nick. He was a fascinating and dynamic character that made for a gripping read. Reborn also included the introduction of a thrilling new character. The plot line was fast moving and I couldn't put it down!

I wasn't sure how adding a new character, especially a main one, would work but it really did. I loved Nick's point of view and the storyline. I really hope to read more from her soon!

To be honest, this disappointed me. The story just did not go the route I had hoped. I'm trying not to penalize the author for not writing the story I wanted, but its hard, especially because I felt like she took my favorite character and made him into someone else for a while...I think the fact that the characters were separated for a large part of this also bothered me...it was missing something the previous one had..I will continue the series, but I'll probably wait until I can borrow the book from the library, $9.99 is a lot to pay to be disappointed

I always find myself wanting more. It was nice to have some other characters be developed and get more of the back story. I want to know more about the branch

Overall great book! I felt like the ending or the last few chapters were a bit rushed.

Couldn't put it down. Action. Romance. Emotion. Mystery. Full and realistic characters. I believed it. Can't wait for the next one.

Wie der Rest von dieser Reihe ist auch dieses Buch genial. Trotz English ist es sehr verständlich geschrieben. Die Charakteren sind einfach wieder genial gelungen. Ich kan die ganze Reihe herzlich Empfehlen.

Still reading but enjoying

Very well written book. Kept me captivated and reading at all times. Love the series. Hope there's another one soon.

After finishing Erased, and before I knew any kind of details on the third book at all, I was already half-expecting a triangle of Sam x Anna x Nick to form, since Nick and Anna were so close before (which we know from Dani and some flashbacks). I admit I even kinda rooted for Nick, because Anna sure knows how to crack a hard shell, but it didn't happen. They established more of a brother-sister relationship -- which is totally fine with me, and initially even sadder since Nick still has his devil-may-care attitude, and tries pushing Anna's caring nature away. Thus, I was very happy to find out there was a girl in store for Nick to coax out his soft side once and for all. So Nick's girl, Elizabeth, was as far from kickass as they come. She was even cuter and non-threatening than Anna used to be, way back in the beginning, which is saying something. Plus, she's another Branch experiment, kind of. I would've been fine with the fact if she had been an ordinary innocent he couldn't bring himself to kill, but the whole traumatized kid with a genetic secret was pretty good. They can still make her kickass like Anna, after all, since it's all about training. And if Liz can learn to let go of her fear, she would be just as awesome. So while Liz didn't really wow me, being all "this can't be happening to me" and ignoring her good old gut instinct (seriously, why do ppl do that?!), Nick blew my mind. I already knew he had the sweetness and caring in him -- I absolutely believe Dani's envy of his previous connection with Anna -- but damn! Seeing him going full force like that when it came to the rescue was something else. I especially liked how it shocked the others. ^.^ There was plenty of shocks going around, like Trev being himself now that he doesn't have to fit in with the others anymore, doesn't have to duck, he's an amazing guy. I sure hope Reborn wasn't the last of the whole Altered universe, coz I'd love to see more of Trev and Charlie, and Cas also needs to find someone who can put up with his antics. There has to be a superhot and/or tough-as-nails side to this clown, and I wanna see it, dammit! Seriously, there is so much left of the whole Branch disaster, espcially considering the big bad twist that comes in Played, it'd be a waste to stop here. The Angel Serum was already a very, VERY kickass idea. I gasped when it was revealed what it entailed, because it's just so... wow, who comes up with sick stuff like that? Sick meaning, it's not even that far fetched, but there's so much bad things you can do with it in a story. I totally loved it, and I'm sure Jennifer Rush has some more twisted ideas just like that one to create amazing plotlines from. And it was action-loaded again, the woman really has the conbat thrill down to a T. So, let's have more of it! Area Scan: Idea: 4/5 -- Style/Vocab: 5/5 -- Plot: 5/5 -- Heroine: 3/5 -- Hero: 5/5 -- Sidekicks: 5/5 -- Hearts: 5/5 -- Tears: 4.5/5 -- Heat: 3/5 -- Thrills: 5/5 -- Laughs: 4/5 Overall: 4.5/5