debrobinson's review
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
4.0
I really enjoyed this book. Shifters, magic, good and evil.
Amy, our main character, has a jewellery shop where she puts enchantments on her creations to help her customers. She is being hunted by Opal. Opal is the evil part of the story. She only has one weakness. Opal destroyed Amy;s home and others and has killed many. When Amy’s sister gets kidnapped all gloves are off. This story will keep you reading on into the night. Excited for book 2. Thanks to the author for this new approach to a fantasy novel.
desjmom's review
5.0
This is the first book in the Gemstone Massacre Series. This series is definantly off to a great start. Amy is on the run, always looking over her shoulder, always afraid of what she did and what she caused. Once she knows that she will have to run again she decides now is the time to stop and fight. I enjoyed the characters so much. The way they interact felt so natural. This is a slow burn enemies to lovers romance. I found the incorporation of the LGBTQ+ representation was well done. I can’t wait for the next book in the series.
van829_86's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
4.0
Amy’s Rebellion truly brings a whole new twist to the fantasy, mystery, magic genre with an lgbtq+ theme thrown in.
Amy must leave her past behind if they ever truly want a future but soon learns that the past doesn’t always stay there. There are forces that will do whatever is in their power to control Amy, including taking the sister. The only way to escape their control is to fight them and in order to do that they need to build an army. Will Amy ever be free from those that wish to control them? Can Amy find the happily ever after they are searching for?
It is kind of easy to get lost in the book but if you truly read it then it is a wonderful book. Full of action, adventure, romance, and magic that will keep you turning pages to find out what happens next. I like that this book incorporates the LGBTQ+ and gender pronouns of inclusivity that we see today. This was an interesting read and I wonder where the author might take it from here.
wolfsbane26's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
5.0
Amy was only 12 when she accidentally killed a man, causing the strong leader, Opal, to come for vengeance. To stand a chance, Amy fled to the human world where she learned to harness her powers and opened up a gemstone shop to pass the time. She was tired of running and decided that she was going to settle down whether it meant fighting Opal or not.
Opal spent years trying to find Amy so when she finally succeeds, she takes Amy and her sister Garnet captive. Amy knows that she has to defeat Opal but she won’t be able to do it alone. She was able to destroy most of the magic world after binding Merlin’s two swords together.
When Amy first came to the human world, she met Iris, a shifter who helped Amy figure out some of her powers. With her help and the help of a few other magical friends, can they have an army strong enough to stop Opal?
This book was very unique, most of the magic users relied on gems to harness their powers. Each gem did something different. I also like how the author named all the gem users after gems. Amy was short for Amethyst. The book gave me Steven Universe vibes but more adult themed.
Another bonus is that it is LGBTQ friendly. Iris is gender-fluid and Amy has a same sex love interest. I highly recommend this book for lovers of magic.
shannlynn's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
5.0
I am quite impressed with the first book I’ve read by Julia Goldhirsh! I’m so excited that I picked up their book and cannot wait for the second installment in the Gemstone Massacre Series already. I really appreciate the map in the beginning of the book because I feel that it helps me dive into the world itself. I also LOVE the LGBTQ/gender fluid representation right from the get-go. We start off with a little prologue informing us that they were twelve the first time they killed a man, so definitely diving right into the drama. There is plenty of adventure, different relationships, and magic throughout the whole story. I enjoyed the detail and depth of both the characters and the world. The author did an amazing job bringing everything together to start this series off right. I am excited to see what else Julia brings to life for us!
tarajohnson's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.5
Amy’s Rebellion is the first book in the Gemstone Massacre Series. The book starts out fast paced as Amy is fleeing from an assassin that was sent after her by her vengeful leader. She has been on the run from Opal for years, in a desperate attempt to survive and leave her past behind her. While hiding in plain sight she has been trying to harness her magical powers in preparation for the day where she must fight Opal to the death. This day comes sooner than Amy anticipated when her sister is kidnapped, and Amy has no choice but to fight Opal in order to save her sister. Losing is not an option if both Amy and her sister want to survive.
This book was action packed and full of a few twists and turns that I did not see coming. The fantasy world and characters were wonderfully written. Amy has learned to be strong in order to survive the evil forces that dictated her life in the past. She has been trying to leave her past behind her but has always known the day would come when she would no longer be able to hide. The evil forces that dictated her choices were always going to return and she needed to prepare for the inevitable battle against them. Opal is the leader of the evil forces and the one that Amy has been fleeing from after Opal destroyed their entire clan. She has her own reasons for turning evil, which are explained in a prequel book that I intend to read. This book was full of drama, action, adventure, magic, a bit of romance, and the age-old battle of good versus evil.
tytanmom23's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
4.5
Amy's Rebellion (Gemstone Massacre Book 1) by Julia Goldhirsh. This is such a good Adult Fantasy read. Its the story of Amy who has killed a man in self defense at, of all places the peace negotiations. Due to this she has been given the name of Amethyst Killer. Amy has a lot of enemies but none that are worse than Opal who is the Magic Council's President. Amy runs to the human world to escape. Unfortunately Opal follows her and wants Amy dead. She has already killed her whole clan and she won't stop until she kills Amy. Amy is trying to escape as far away as she can but also she won't lay down. Opal has taken her friend Night and Amy isn't sure if Night was captured or is with Opal on her own which adds a whole other level of confusion for Amy. Will Amy be able to lead her people to peace or will Opal take Amy down at last? Read this fast paced Adult Fantasy to find out!
duckygal's review
4.0
I enjoyed the LGBTQ inclusion as I don’t often come across fantasy books with gender fluid characters.
My only minor criticism would be that it wasn’t always clear whether the use of ‘they’ meant Amy, or other characters. However, this wasn’t a major issue as the meaning could be understood through context.
The story is paced well and the characters well-written. There were even a couple of surprises (for me at least) along the way which kept it interesting as it wasn’t entirely predictable.
The storyline had me hooked and I got emotionally invested in Amy’s situation. I look forward to the next book and the adventures that follow.
shellyk51's review
medium-paced
4.0
This was a pretty good fantasy. Amy is a fairly strong character with some powerful magic. I found Amy to three-dimensional and courageous. She already lost night. She’s ready to battle Opal again. The story has a few glitchy spots which makes it hard to follow in spots but overall I found it an interesting fantasy to read.
jennadb's review
4.0
4 stars
Amy’s Rebellion is an intriguing New Adult dark fantasy story. It is the first book in the Gemstone Massacre Series and an enemies to lover’s romance. It is also the first book I have read by this author. I was not aware there is a prequel, War of the Twin Swords until after I finished Amy’s Rebellion. I would say reading the prequel is a must as it tells the story of Opal the clans and the war. There is much to be learned.
There is so much to keep the reader engaged with drama, action, and suspense, magic, magical lands, friendship, enchantress’s, assassins, gemstones, familiars, seers, evil intensions, a corrupt Magic Council, shifters.
Julia has given us mythologies based around Merlin and King Arthur with a new twist on Excalibur. It is a retelling of sorts that is unique with a plot is very well thought out. There are unexpected twists and vivid details. Julia has included a cast of different cultures and LGBTQ+ characters with strong FMC’s. Sometimes keeping track of them all got a bit difficult.
All in all, this was an enjoyable read, and I will see where the next book in the series takes us.
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