Reborn

by A. J. Helens

In the rural Mistlands, where old gods and ancient rituals clash with the iron fist of the Arcturan Empire, Vera Zorika is hunted for the dangerous secrets she harbours.

Haunted by a power she can barely control, she’s caught in a world on the brink of war, rebellion, and a deadly plague with no cure. Forced to work alongside the ruthless Governor Arctominus, Vera must decide where her loyalties lie.

As dark forces close in, Vera will have to embrace her power and fight for her people, or lose herself to the shadows. Reborn is a tale of love, war, and the thin line between salvation and damnation.

Genres: Fantasy

554 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 7, 2024

Reviews

[Rebellican · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whilst YA typically isn't my genre, I found the book to be engaging and enjoyable. Vera is a great protagonist, and the relationship between her and her love interest are well written, and emulated an almost Romeo and Juliet feel with a backdrop of an Ottoman Janissary gone rogue plotline in the backdrop. If you are looking for something easy to get through, not too long, and escapist, then this is your go to book. Definitely liked alot of the world building as well, incorporating slavic mythology, terminology and cultural inspiration, as someone who loves history, these things definitely scratch my brain the right way and I usually don't expect this sort of world building from YA, so it was a pleasant surprise, and something I would like to support avidly. If this wasn't the author's first book, I probably would have rated it a bit lighter, but as this is the debut of this author I've seen, and I want to see them grow, I will throw all the stars at her I can, good luck my friend, keep it coming!

[Kayleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

First off I’d just like to say thank you so much from the author!!!
I’m so thankful that she put her trust in me to send me a copy of her book!

Ok now..
Omg omg!!! What a book!
I loved the details and the storyline!! Just wow!
I loved that Vera, our FMC, is so flawed. Throughout the book she comes off as very self important, better than everyone. And then later on, oh by god does she get a reality check!
I love character development like this, it shows these characters as real people with real flaws.

The political world is another level of messed up! It’s so relatable which is probably why I loved this book so much!
It’s not about “there’s one true belief system” but rather, let’s all just find a common ground and live together as equals.

Spice level, zero..sorry girlies! But the slow burn… excellent!

I could go on and on about this book but honestly, just give it a chance! It’s so worth it!!

[Aalis · Rating 2 out of 5]

100 pages in I realised I don’t care about any of these characters and my time was wasted. For some reason we time skip past the training arc? And now she’s grow and strong, I don’t know, this FMC is so bland. It doesn’t help that she has special chosen one aura with her appearance and because she’s supposedly the bravest one at 14 in that area, what? Soft dnf, I hope for the patience to read this again.