A review by julzangold
Rebel Heart by Penelope Ward, Vi Keeland
2.0
This is one of those duets I think could have - and should have - been a single novel. Being pushed into two books really stretched the characters and plot in a way that I don’t think worked.
Gia and Rush have to come to terms with the changes in their life, mainly Gia pregnant with another man’s baby (perhaps the worst man it could have been). Rush runs all over hell and creation to figure out the answer he needs - can he move on and still be the father to someone else’s baby?
Gia and Rush right off the bat acted differently than in the first book. Gia was no longer straightforward and caused a whole host of problems because she didn’t communicate like she would have in Book 1. Rush was impulsive and questionable in his interactions with other woman, and suddenly didn’t know if Gia was worth more of a burden from his estranged dad and brother. His actions just left a lot of plot holes because of his carelessness (the woman from the bar, his best friend in Arizona, his brother’s wife) and I didn’t feel like they even needed to happen in the first place. Even Gia’s book deal fell flat. The best character in this book was Gia’s dad, and he was barely in it.
I didn’t commit to the unexpected pregnancy trope when I started reading this duet, and this book just took one of my least favorite tropes and dug it into an even deeper hole. While the novel ended on a sweet note, I really didn’t need this novel to get me there, I was already in love with the Gia and Rush in Rebel Heir. If anything, it made me love them less.
In this case, I don’t think the summit was worth the journey.
Gia and Rush have to come to terms with the changes in their life, mainly Gia pregnant with another man’s baby (perhaps the worst man it could have been). Rush runs all over hell and creation to figure out the answer he needs - can he move on and still be the father to someone else’s baby?
Gia and Rush right off the bat acted differently than in the first book. Gia was no longer straightforward and caused a whole host of problems because she didn’t communicate like she would have in Book 1. Rush was impulsive and questionable in his interactions with other woman, and suddenly didn’t know if Gia was worth more of a burden from his estranged dad and brother. His actions just left a lot of plot holes because of his carelessness (the woman from the bar, his best friend in Arizona, his brother’s wife) and I didn’t feel like they even needed to happen in the first place. Even Gia’s book deal fell flat. The best character in this book was Gia’s dad, and he was barely in it.
I didn’t commit to the unexpected pregnancy trope when I started reading this duet, and this book just took one of my least favorite tropes and dug it into an even deeper hole. While the novel ended on a sweet note, I really didn’t need this novel to get me there, I was already in love with the Gia and Rush in Rebel Heir. If anything, it made me love them less.
In this case, I don’t think the summit was worth the journey.