The Rise of Ren Crown

Ren Crown #3

by Anne Zoelle

Reeling from what the students at Excelsine University are calling "Bloody Tuesday," Ren is determined to regather her magical family. But the events of the attack were not without multiple costs. Magically broken and exposed, Ren is ripe pickings for multiple factions that want to use and chain her, and the Department is the scariest of the pack.

With only a limited amount of time to save her friend, and confined with the rest of the student body awaiting their fate, Ren stands a mere hairsbreadth from losing her freedom completely with each and every decision she makes.

Genres: Fantasy, Magic, Young Adult, Found Family, Science Fiction Fantasy, Young Adult Fantasy, Friendship

372 pages, ebook

First published July 28, 2015

Reviews

[☂️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

my heart is honestly RACING. anne zoelle really just fed me SO WELL with ren and constantine. i'm THRIVING. (spoiler ahead because this time... i can't contain myself.)

okay, so let me start off with saying i love ren. i love her the most of any character in this novel which is why, when she ends up choosing a love interest, whoever that may be... i will reluctantly tag along. (EDIT: okay, i lied. BECAUSE i love ren, i don't want her with alexander dare. he's not good for her and their relationship would be unhealthy. i'd rather ren end up alone than be with him.)

i hope with all my heart that she chooses constantine though. (anne zoelle, PLEASE. please please please give me ren and constantine. PLEASE.) if it's not, i'll most probably be lowkey bitter and never let go of the hope that one day they'll find their way to one another again but anyways, let's talk about the actual content of this book.

CON. i would die for him (and ren would too). he is my favorite character after ren, hands down. i have had way too many physical flailing reactions because of things he said. i CRIED because of him. the relationship between him and ren is so compelling and there's so much obvious chemistry there and you can tell... she is one of the most important people, if not THE most important person, in his life. he treats her like he treats no one else. he cares about her and is willing to lay down his life to protect her. he is willing to sacrifice his fucking 7-year-long revenge for her. she is his highest priority and he makes that no secret. in fact, i do believe this is the book he completely and utterly realizes how in love with her he is.

some of his quotes that made me absolutely SCREAM include:

"I will break you, Ren," he said, voice heavy. "You need to understand that."

"I'll ruin you. If Alexander doesn't do it first."

"Con?"
He blew out a breath. "You exhaust me."
"No, I don't."
I caught his smile before he grew serious again. "I'll see what I can do."

I replaced my lip with my thumb as my nervous chewing object. "I've taken over your workspace. Your hours. Your life."
"You've taken over the very heart of me. Blah, blah. What do you want to do about it?" He tilted his head and drew his ribbon through his fingers. "No, I'll tell you what I want. I wa-"
"I'm sorry!"
"Do you hear me complaining, Crown? Do you actually know me to do anything I don't want to do?"

"I don't think you fully appreciate the dirty lengths the people around you will go to for you," he said evenly.
"I don't want want anyone to do bad things for me." I gnawed at my lip. "But I'm trying to rely on others more."
"That's a horrible plan, darling. You should only rely on yourself, and me."
Tilting my head up, I gave him a look. "I don't want you to do bad things for me either."
"I'll do horrible, terrible things in your name," he murmured, fingertips dragging along my skin.
I sighed. "That doesn't work on me."
"I know. More's the pity." He smiled and lifted a lock of my hair against his lips.
It was the closest I'd ever felt Constantine experience contentment.

"I'm not giving up Neph," I said, returning to the previous conversation.
"Any fool can see that, darling." He looked at me through dark eyes. "You don't give up people, ever."

"You didn't have to-"
"You are at ease now," he said, as if unaffected by the magic I could still see rippling over his fingers. He slowly released my elbow. "And your trust is critical."
I frowned. "Critical to what?"
"To me, of course," he said lightly.

I looked back at Constantine, and for a moment, his expression held a look of longing so fierce that it made me blink.

"You aren't going to die for me," I said fiercely, shaking him a little, using up half a container of magic to heal everything in him faster.
His smile was red. "Don't worry so, darling. I'm far too pretty to die."


let me stop there before i give myself heart failure. but I LOVE THEIR RELATIONSHIP. i love that he flirts with her endlessly but also looks at her the way a dying man might look at his only salvation. i love that he seeks redemption from her. when he sent her those flowers, i nearly burst a blood vessel because we all know, no one else could say constantine leandred sent them flowers -- much less that he wanted their forgiveness. and every time he held a lock of her hair, i was sure i was meeting my intended death, whether it be to hold or play with or kiss. not to mention when he held her hand or the two times he almost kissed her. I WANT TO BE SEDATED.

the fact ren trusts constantine even though everyone else is so sure he is going to betray her... that must mean so much to him. the fact she has never given up on him. the fact she continues to be his friend and care about him despite the terrible behavior he's exhibited. when stevens said that con might be past the point of recovering, ren holds her ground. she has faith in him. she believes in him. hell, she probably loves him. i suppose it's up to anne zoelle to explain what type of love that is, although from what i can see... it appears very romantic.

ren took a chance on constantine when no one else would. she believed in him. everyone warned her away from him, told her he couldn't be trusted... and ren trusted him anyways. she acknowledged there were parts of his lifestyle she didn't agree with but never thought of him as any less for it. she is always quick to point out his best attributes and commend him. she genuinely thinks he's so brilliant and doesn't want to lose him. ren also pays careful attention to constantine; she notices little things about him no one else ever has before because she actually cares about him. she has this attitude at first where she thinks he's using her and plans to discard her like the rest but STILL pursues a relationship with him.

ren is almost hyperaware of constantine "honey bunnies" in a way that goes completely beyond platonic. i don't pay attention to my friends' sex lives that intently, nor do i have any reason to. while we're talking about that though, can you believe upon meeting ren, constantine--a known womanizer--stopped sleeping around completely. from the last book, ren mentions noticing the distinct lack of girls coming to constantine's room and in this book, constantine undoubtedly gives ren his undivided attention. it's... peculiar. (or not peculiar at all, given he's IN LOVE WITH HER. it's fine. i'm fine.)

but back to what i was saying -- ren originally believes that all she is to constantine is another conquest but despite this belief she only eggs him on and flirts and teases him and continues to give him love and support. she ENCOURAGES this behavior from him. and then when constantine betrays the entire second layer, instead of flinging accusations like ANYONE else would, she chooses to forgive him. she knows he is capable of destruction and is fueled by hatred and revenge and she DOESN'T CARE. she continues to only ever give him LOVE. it's astounding to me that ren can care about constantine this extent, pay this close attention yet still miss what's right in front of her.

and ANOTHER THING. if i couldn't already see through constantine's actions how much ren means to him, i can see them through everyone else's. for example, alexander makes it blatant several times over that constantine cares about very little things and of those things that he cares about, a majority he cares about due to hatred. but with ren, that is most certainly not the case. it's very obvious that alexander also knows constantine rather well so it says a lot that he chooses to trust ren in constantine's care.

side note: i started reading because of the quote "I will be able to do anything. Hook you in any way." His fingers slid down my throat. "Manipulate everything inside of you until you answer only to me." and to be honest, i take it all back. when i first read that line, i liked it because i related the quote to alina/the darkling from the grisha trilogy (a relationship i am STILL bitter about. god forbid i get played like that ever again by an author.) after reading, i've come to the conclusion that alexander/ren do not have even remotely a similar dynamic to alarkling so this quote is just gross. who even says shit like this? "manipulate everything inside you until it answers only to me"??? STAY AWAY FROM HER. GET A JOB.

i also really hate that he does this while touching her and infringing on her personal space because alexander is undoubtedly aware of ren's crush and is exploiting so the true impact of his words don't hit her. he does this often -- uses her crush against her, even though she fails to notice.

... which brings back my point that constantine/ren is the ship for me. i misplaced my hopes on the wrong ship but now that i'm here, i'm in it to win it.

frankly, i think all three of them are some kind of a strange package deal even though i'm not he biggest fan. (are we going to talk about how ren's magic recognizes their dorm as 'home'?) alexander considers constantine to be a viper impersonating a cat (which kind of pissed me off because constantine has been upfront with ren about everything, whereas ALEXANDER has been increasingly shady) and i think it's interesting considering constantine gave away that they used to be best friends. from the scene where they enter con's room in the medical wing and they so clearly can't stand the sight of one another but still have a common enemy in constantine's father... i'm intrigued. i'm very intrigued. the scene at the end where constantine grabs alexander and chooses to save his life for ren-- i think i held my breath the entire time. these three make a very... interesting trio and their dynamic is very entertaining. i want the relationship between constantine and alexander broken down. why do they hate each other so much? i'm dying to know.

one thing i appreciated was how alexander saved ren in the beginning with the vine because i'll admit, i spent the first half of this book is a constant state of stress. i was and am very worried for ren. i don't know that he did any of that for her though -- his motives are unclear to me. ever since the scene when ren and alexander were speaking to julian dare and marsgrove (i felt so bad for marsgrove every time alexander called him 'phillip' i'm crying) i've been kind of pissed off. julian says alexander should let him take away ren right then and that "WE" should cease waiting for a better opportunity... there is very clearly something more here. even later, ren says, you should let julian take me and alexander say something along the lines of, "don't tempt me, not yet." i'm pretty sure his family has every intention of kidnapping ren and whisking her away. who wouldn't want an origin mage at their beck and call, in the palm of their hands, after all? it would once and for all cement the dare family's power...

i'm very wary of alexander. i have serious doubts on whether he will remain true to ren through the end. at any rate, i would never want their relationship to become a romantic one. the implications of that make me want to scream. he doesn't treat her like an equal, always speaks down to her, exploits her often and even threatens her in chapter 26 (saying that if she doesn't stay in line and do what he wants, he'll take it out on constantine). it's... not good. i don't want it at all. anyways, like i said the only thing i appreciated was when alexander nearly exposed himself in order to protect ren but again, i do wonder, how much of that was FOR ren and whether it might have been done to serve his own purposes in the long run.

one thing that lowkey bugs me is that she calls him 'axer' now; it's kind of uncomfortable. i much preferred when she called him 'dare'. i'm probably still going to refer to him as that in my head.

REREAD EDIT -- SPOILERS FOR THE UNLEASHING OF REN CROWN -- SKIP THIS BOLD SECTION!!!

oh my god, alexander dare is so... no. in chapter 25, alexander gives her the leech and this is the scene:

Axer put a small silver figurine in my palm. A duplicate rested in his. “Keep this on you.”
I tapped my finger against the silver dragon. It was exquisitely crafted. I stroked my finger down its head and the one in his hand yawned, mouth wide. I tucked it under my armband. I'd go to Delia's and sew a pocket for it later.
“Is this going to manipulate me while you're gone?”
“If it is, you shouldn't have put it in your armband.”
I rolled my eyes. “Whatever. You had your chance, buddy.”
He smiled—a far more self-satisfied smile than I was used to seeing. Axer tended to wear an “all business, save the villagers!” look as a default. “Did I?”

(...)

“It's an easy spell, and an old one. The hard part is usually synching up the two mages at either end. But in your case, it's simple.”
“Yeah, yeah, you know all my magic and weaknesses. I've already been warned.”
“Have you?” he said lightly. Too lightly.

are you KIDDING ME? what the IS THIS?? WHAT IS WRONG WITH HIM? she says "is this going to manipulate me while you're gone?" jokingly and then says "you had your chance" and he SMILES A ~SELF-SATISFIED SMILE~ AND SAYS "Did I?" because he just GAVE HER A LEECH WITHOUT INFORMING HER AND KNOWS IT AND IS AMUSED THAT SHE ISN'T AWARE? this is literally so gross. he's being a complete and utter asshole, who doesn't care about consent at all. keep him away from ren.

okay sorry REREAD EDIT DONE.

to sum it up, i don't want alexander and ren to be a couple. he's terrible for her romantically. i would VERY MUCH prefer for constantine and ren to be in a relationship. in the end though, i think as long as ren doesn't sideline constantine, i'll be... somewhat appeased. i don't want con to be cast aside. i want him to remain a part of her life because that's what he IS. i want them to be the best friends in the universe. thick as thieves and partners in crime for life. all of this is, of course, given ren ends up alone in the end since that's the only acceptable solution if she doesn't end up with constantine. i hope she ends up with constantine though. that would be my ideal ending.

OKAY ANYWAYS,

i love ren's friends. i love all of them. they are all so loyal (and rightly so considering how much loyalty ren gives them in return) and are willing to walk into the flames for ren. i can relate because i would pretty much do the same.

mike, my sweet son, who never had to take ren's side but does each and every time. ever since will introduced them, mike took her under his wing and has never made her feel less. he is willing to speak out and defend her and i just love him. "I will do whatever is needed to keep you safe."

neph, the light of my life, who puts herself on the line for ren over and over. who was fully expecting to accompany ren on her trip. who continuously puts herself in a very dangerous position for the protection of her friends. she is so pure and so loving. i'm very, very curious about neph's roommate though as well as the secrets she's been hiding.

will, a loyal friend from the beginning until now. i love that he and mike stepped into the role olivia would want them to and acted like overprotective worried parents. i also love will's easy acceptance of constantine. i understand it's because they worked together in the last book but it still made me very happy to see.

delia has become even more interesting to me than she previously was. i want to know more about her connections to the third layer and i have a feeling they will be explored given the ending of the book. i love her unwaveringly loyalty to ren, even in the moment ren was unsure because of the type of mage she was.

okay, let me just put it out there i didn't pick up that trick was the son of mobster either until it blatantly laid out for me but now that i know I LOVE HIM EVEN MORE. tbh can we have a novella about trick? i'd read the hell out of that. i love him and how he hasn't even known ren as long as her other friends but is willing to do whatever it takes to help her (and olivia, lbr). that also reminds me of how dagfinn was loyal to ren even when he didn't have to be. I LOVE REN'S FRIENDS.

you know how i love very specifically though? olivia. i missed her so incredibly much this book and i missed her and ren's friendship, since it means the world to me. she is the honest to god light of my life and i am so proud of her. i love her. i love her i love her i love her. i am however very concerned for her. i can't imagine the emotional repercussions of the turmoil olivia faced not to mention she's kind-of an assassin now. i hope ren is able to help her through this. i think she already is. i can't imagine how relieved and happy olivia must have been that ren came for her in the end after all. the scene where they reunite has a special place in my heart.

i'm so excited to see where the next book goes and where the series ties up. i loved reading this and i especially loved how much ren/constantine i got.

5/5 and on to the next one!

[Cris · Rating 5 out of 5]

EDIT: I just read in the author's page that there will be 5 books in this series, not 4.


"I'll do horrible, terrible things in your name," he murmured, fingertips dragging along my skin.
I sigued. "That doesn't work on me"
"I know. More's the pity." He smiled and lifted a lock of my hair against his lips.
It was the closest I'd ever felt Constantine experience contentment


I really really loved this book! It is definitely not suffering of the "sequel syndrome" where nothing happens and you can tell the author is just making time (and money) until the last book in the series.

If there was one single thing that I didn't like, it's the fact that whereas books 1 and 2 cover several weeks, maybe even months in the life of Ren, this one is only one week, with the first half covering only the 24 hours after the big event in the previous book. However this is understandable since it is book dedicated to rescuing Olivia, and having her in Raphael's hands for more than a few days wouldn't be realistic. He would probably kill her quickly and be done with her, instead of waiting for months until Ren comes to him.

In this third book (the series has 4) the Department stops being a shady distant threat, and becomes involved in both campus and Ren's life, threatening her freedom. The author wrote them really well, making me feel that his potential threat was very real and sinister, and that they would stop at nothing to get what they wanted. There were no incompetent villains in this book. Both Raphael and Stavros (along with Kaine) were devious and intent on carrying on their different agendas.

I also specially like the fact that although we have a romantic triangle, there is almost no romance in this book. Like in the second one, you are aware that both Dare and Constantine are potential partners for Ren, and their interactions are always very well written, with subtle and careful proving on their part. Because the very best of this series (along of course with meaningful friendship, well constructed second characters and world building) is that the heroine is simply way too busy for any non-sense, and the male leads too. They simply don't have the time. Also, Dare and Constantine's personalities and social status are very complex, and the reader can see plainly that they would never take the step of dating Ren lightly. There are far too many repercussions and they are not thoughtless characters at all.

It's such a fresh change from the typical YA forbidden romance, where the lead characters do whatever they want and common sense be damned. In this book there is simply no place for romance. It's too fast-paced and Ren's first loyalties are to her friends, first and always. She does trust blindly and easily, but she is assertive and fun and kind. She also has to deal with the fact that her magic could wipe out the world, and does not take her responsibilities lightly.

I think that the best part of this book was that, despite covering such a short span of days, we get to really feel the potential threats to Ren, her deep loyalty and the devious devious interactions and plotting of those surrounding her. And as always, the banter!

And last, but not least, even though there's no romance, every time Dare and Ren talked I couldn't breathe seeing if something would finally happen between them.

All in all, it was over too soon. Can't wait for the final book!

[lyss · Rating 5 out of 5]

renstantine that’s it that’s the review

[Sara XuHerondale · Rating 5 out of 5]

Character developments going crazy, the scale is getting bigger, and characters becoming even hotter. This trio is my absolute favorite thing so far, I'm THOROUGHLY enjoying everything I've been getting, and I can't wait to see all the insane things I'm about to find out in book 4.

P.S. Now I know how the Marauders fans probably feel, there's nothing more tragic than the og brilliant friend group that fell apart by unfortunate circumstances.

[tai · Rating 5 out of 5]

MANY THOUGHTS
1. the first half had too much axer and that made it lowkey boring ops but I love ren! so it’s fine
2. I MISS OLIVIA SO MUCH RIP
3. second half solidified me as a renstantine shipper I officially stan forever!
4. I loved the scene where ren turns those guys that flirted with her into a toad wish I had the ability to do that it would be useful. But I also feel bad for her :/
5. ren leaving her stuff all over con’s room tho they are already in a serious relationship and they don’t even know it this gives me girlfriend leaving her stuff at boyfriend’s house little by little until everything she owns is there and she moved without noticing vibes.... just saying
6. I LOVE THESE CHARACTERS SO MUCH

[Ornella · Rating 5 out of 5]

22/10/23 - I get why Dare is doing what he is doing but I hate it anyway.

17/10/17 - These books...

There isn't much I can say that hasn't been said already. Zoelle is a superb writer. Everything from the writing style, world building to the characters is masterfully done.

I love the emphasis on friendship and how Ren has 0 prejudice against her fellow students. She takes them all at face value and this allows those people to actually be themselves without having to act/think like everyone else already thinks they should because of who their parents are or what type of mage they are.

Ren, beautiful, loving, naive, brave, Ren. WHY CAN'T YOU SEE WHAT'S GOING ON WITH DARE?!

Seriously, the one thing I took from this reread was that the more I read about Dare the less I like him. And unfortunately with the way things went in the 4th book I think that's how it's gonna go. Which is BS.

Dare is the most conniving, brilliant, machiavellan character in this series and yet he is like first contender for Ren's affection?!

Sure, Stavros and Raphael plan 50 steps ahead as well, but let's be real, Stavros is pure evil with a side of psychopathy and sadism and Raphael is just hella damaged. But Dare? He comes off as this brilliant, prodigy of a combat mage who is the protector of campus, Yada Yada. But he moves everyone around like he owns them. Like it's his right to use them and dispose of them as he sees fit. And everyone actually loves him for it! Like wtf, are we not seeing the same thing?! Exhibit A, Ren. She actually realizes the dude plans 50 steps ahead and moves people around *Ren* for his own purposes but SHE STILL SEES HIM LIKE THE SUN SHINES OUT OF HIS ASS.

Unacceptable.

I was only appeased cause of all the Ren/Constantine moments :)

Con is a character you hate, but then love and then realize just how human he really is. All his flaws and all his baggage, all that emotion! And once he has bestowed that on a person. It's just breathtaking; because it's REAL.

Which is why I'm still trying to prepare myself mentally that Ren is still going to end up with Dare anyway. But you know what, I'll take Con instead!

[Navdha · Rating 5 out of 5]

ILOVE THIS BOOK WITH A PASSION!!

-----------------------------

Gaaaaah!!! I want the next book

I love this series so much that it's hard to write it down in words! I thought I wasn't getting my dose of Constantine but then the author delivered and I was a happy kitty again. I can't wait to see how this brilliant series and comes to an end. I can't wait for Ren to be more awesome with all her great friends at her side. I just can't wait. I feel like I'm bursting at the seam with my love for this book. Give me mooooooooreeeee

[Navdha · Rating 4 out of 5]

In loooooveee

[amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I wil never abandon you."
Her hand wrapped around the back of my neck and she pulled my forehead against hers. "Ren, I know."

Another amazing book in this series!!! I'm absolutely loving where the plot is going. Ren is such an amazing character and with each book, I really appreciate how loyal, protective, and kind she is to all her friends. Even though Olivia was absent throughout most of this one, her friendship with Ren is probably my favourite part of this series. They love each other so much!!! My girls!!! I also love Neph and her supportive relationship with Ren. And then there are the complicated and amusing relationships between Ren, Dare, and Constantine. I really want to know more about why those boys hate each other so much, and I need Ren to choose a boy to favour because I spent a lot of this book confused (probs similarly to Ren). There were several parts in this that made me feel like I should ship her with Dare, but then there were just as many parts that made me feel like I should ship her with Con. Once again I love the scenes that all three of them were together because a lot of the time there was a ton of banter and drama and when Ren's in the middle she's so amusing. I like the friendship that Ren has with Dare, and how he has been able to bring her positive memories regarding her brother. I also very much enjoyed seeing Con's relationship with Ren develop in this book, and seeing them trust each other more and more was wonderful. One of my favourite chapters in this book was them being adorable and Con being flirty and Ren being protective.

"I don't think you fully appreciate the dirty lengths the people around you will go to for you," he said evenly.
"I don't want anyone to do bad things for me." I gnawed at my lip. "But I'm trying to rely on others more."
"That's a horrible plan, darling. You should only rely on yourself, and me."
Tilting my head up, I gave him a look. "I don't want you to do bad things for me either."
"I'll do horrible, terrible things in your name," he murmured, fingertips dragging along my skin.
I sighed. "That doesn't work on me."
"I know. More's the pity." He smiled and lifted a lock of my hair against his lips.
It was the closest I'd ever felt Constantine experience contentment.

These two!!! I love how, a lot of the time, Con's always in contact with Ren, whether he's touching her arm or playing with her hair. I'm really excited to see their relationship develop even more.

On to the next book!

[Nini · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Ren Crown with all my heart. She's honestly one of the best characters I have ever read about and my admiration for her knows no limits. I love everything about her: how fiercely she loves, cares and protects her friends, who have become her family; her loyalty to them and how she would literary do anything for them, no matter the cost to her; her ability to forgive her loved ones easily; her bravery and strength, her drive and her never ending positivity; how, no matter how many times she falls, she always gets back to her feet and continues fighting. Gosh, I could go on and on and just thinking about her fills me with warmth.

Another character I adore equally as much is Constantine. I think, when it comes to him, I trust him like Ren, no matter how many mistakes he makes. Because like her I'm certain that he's a good person behind his facade, which only exists there because of losing his mother the way he did. And also because he cares and loves Ren even if neither of them admit it. They have come such a long way from book one, from being "business partners" aka partners in crime to friends who trust each other with their deepest secrets and care so much about one another. Constantine kept telling her how he would break and ruin her but in the end he chose Ren's well-being over his revenge and my love grew for him even more. My heart ached and soared every time he was so astonished that Ren would protect him, that she didn't give up on him when everyone else did, that she thinks he's worthy of her friendship. I thinks in this book Constantine really came to the realization about how strong his feelings for Ren are, there multiple scenes that are proof!! I JUST LOVE THESE TWO SO MUCH AND RENSTANTINE NEEDS TO BE THE ENDGAME, OTHERWISE I WILL RIOT. THIS BOOK PROVED THAT THEY ARE SOUL MATES AND I'M READY TO CRY JUST REMEMBERING ALL THEIR SCENES.

"Con?"
He blew out a breath. "You exhaust me."
"No, I don't."
I caught his smile before he grew serious again.
"I'll see what I can do."

*cough* sorry (not really) about that outburst *cough*.

I love and adore Neph, Olivia, Will, Mike and Delia so much too. They are truly the definition of found family and should be protected at all costs. The way they all teamed up along with other members of Plan Fifty Two to help Ren get to the Third Layer safely, save Olivia and come back was one of my favorite things. I could never thank Anne Zoelle enough for writing these friendships the way she did because now these characters will forever stay with me.

[claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars bumped up to 4 because of the swoony Renstantine moments and my love for Ren Crown as a character.

This is very unique from the first two books in that it immediately follows what happened in the second book and covers a week instead of several months. This was weird to adjust to because it led to the plot not being as set up over time with intricacy and intensity.

The intensity comes from Ren’s mission to find Olivia and adjust to life without her temporarily and the aftermath of Bloody Tuesday. There’s a lot of relationship development with Ren and Axer and Constantine.

That weird love triangle thing is the biggest development in this book, I think. Both guys’ character is starting to show. Constantine’s fierce devotion to Ren is starting to show (even though she thinks it’s platonic). People continually warn her that Constantine will betray her, but any chance he gets to do so, he doesn’t, especially in the climax of the book. However, I think Dare is more likely to betray her (and not just because book-twitter hints at this lol). There are so many signs that he’s just using Ren’s friendship against her in his plot for power. I’m not sure if that plot for power is for him and his family or just his family. Regardless, he’s a POS that needs to stay away from Ren. :)

This isn’t my favorite book in the series, but it is super special just for the Renstantine development. On to book 4!

[Pebbles · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really love these books and wish that the next one was already out. I liked the scenes with Dare and Leandred the most and then I also like the dynamic between the three. I love Ren and the way her character is, she has a lot of likeable qualities. I like the group of misfits that she befriends. There is not a lot of drama in this book (between characters) it's not overwhelming and I like that their is just the right amount of romance in the story. There are just so many great things about these books I just don't know what to say besides that they are Awesome!!

One thing I don't like so much are the new covers.

[emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reread: 17/09/17
I'm reading these again because I've missed the gang. I'm definitely enjoying them more on the 2nd round

Well that was action-packed from start to finish. And can I just say that I love Constantine

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

"I'll do horrible, terrible things in your name," he murmured, fingertips dragging along my skin.

I finally get to the iconic quote that pushed me to read this series, and with context and after knowing Constantine, it hit me even more.

"And your trust is critical."
"Critical to what?"
"To me, of course."

I really love his development and all his moments with Ren (especially all his flirting that hides as jokes but are so painfully obvious) but also adore his character as its own, funny, smart, one step ahead from everyone, reckless but deeply loyal too if he actually likes you.

Besides Constantine, my favorite part of this book was all the parallels between Ren and Raphael, we've been reading three books about Ren sacrificing everything for her friends, of fierce love and blind loyalty, and empathizing with her just to see that Raphael was once just like her too. To see how even after all he's done his old friends still have a hard time trying to hate him. And the line between heroine and villain is so thin, it was such a good reminder of how Ren could've ended (maybe, even, how she could end if the antagonist hit the right soft spots). Raphael's character is mesmerizing and complex and I really liked it.

What I didn't like was Alexander having so much spotlight, and with Olivia far away this book didn't hit me as much as the 2nd but I enjoyed it anyway.

[holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's a distinct pattern with this series where I'll be reading along just fine and enjoying myself and laughing and loving the continuously amazing world-building and character development and then those last few chapters just GO INTO OVERDRIVE AND THERE'S SO MUCH FAST-PACED ACTION YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO BECAUSE YOU ARE UNDER ASSAULT - and it's the perfect way to end because you're literally on an adrenaline rush and need to start the next book RIGHT AWAY.

I love this series so much. I love Ren. I love Olivia wHO I AM SO HAPPY IS FINALLY BACK HOME (I missed her terribly...and I hate that even with her return to Excelsine I must continue to fret about her wellbeing). I love Constantine!! (Rise was repeatedly hyped to me as the "Renstantine Bible" aND THAT WAS ENTIRELY ACCURATE. I love the entire gang - and family - that Ren has found for herself at school.

I'm terrible at reviews but anyways this series is amazing and so important to me and it continues to not disappoint so with that said on I move on to Unleashing!!

[ash · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

I was expecting this book to as interesting as the second one, if not more but I was disappointed. The first half of the book was slow and didn't really held my interest.

I was waiting for Constantine but I got Dare for the most part in the first part and I was hoping that I will get to see Constantine and Ren getting closer or something like that but alas, I didn't get that either.

It got interesting near the end so I can't really complain, I just hope the next book will be more interesting.

[Genesis · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW this is def my favorite book in the series so far loved it!!!

[hope · Rating 5 out of 5]

mi favorito!!!!!!!! (aunque podrían haber rescatado a mi Hija como un 90% antes) un 10 vaya muchas ganas del siguiente

[Sarah ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me? Internally screaming because of how damn good this series is? You’re right, I am.

[senna · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5

[say · Rating 5 out of 5]

Renstantine is real. I REPEAT, RENSTANTINE IS REAL!!

The development of Constantine and Ren's relationship and also Ren's with Olivia's, I love it so much.

[Luce · Rating 4 out of 5]

a lot of lead up with not a lot of pay off until the end but the CHARACTERS ARE SO GOOD 🥹

every page without Constantine was a page wasted, I love that man

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't believe I finished this within a day. This is my fave of the series so far - I was hooked from start to end. PS: Renstantine is superior

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Constantine and Ren so much

[manasa k · Rating 4 out of 5]

this series is just staying consistently really good i'm so impressed
also ren had better end up with constantine just saying

[n🫶🏽 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm going to sob because I finished the book and the other books haven't been released. Hell, I don't know if they've even been written.
This fills me with great sadness.
I've taken a huge liking to these books and characters and I was in shock when I saw that this book didn't even clear 400 pages unlike the last two. Huge disappointment. For this series, the longer the books, the better.

So this book kinda dragged a little. The whole point of it was getting Olivia back, and this doesn't happen until the very end. I'm glad it didn't happen right away, but I feel like it could've happened sooner, or something should've been added so the middle of the book didn't seem so filler-ish.
I love how loyal Ren is to her friends. She puts them first, before anything, including herself. She has quite the self-sacrificial personality. Which probably stems from the fact that her twin brother died protecting her, so the strong feelings of loyalty she always had towards him are now directed elsewhere, and she's determined to keep everyone safe so no one else will sacrifice themselves for her. She has basically made it her personal mission to keep her friends safe, no matter the cost. And the only time she was really concerned with the fallout is if her friends sacrifice something while attempting to help her-- then she's all worried about dying. Which would probably be annoying to her friends but it's kinda admirable. I also love her friendship with Constantine. And speaking of, I wouldn't mind seeing a romantic relationship stem from their friendship. Not that I don't like the platonic relationships, but if a romance develops anywhere, I'd prefer it be with him.

There actually isn't really any romance in the books. There are no couples and not even secondary characters have romantic relationships. We only hear about the numerous women Constantine has charmed. There's a ghost of a potential love triangle between Dare, Ren, and Constantine, though I don't even know if I'd call it that. They don't even have any time to entertain the mere thought of romantic relationships, although there's a possibility something might happen there. I suspect that if a relationship developed at all, it would be between Ren and Dare, but I'd greatly prefer Constantine.

Despite the themes of friendship in this book, we actually don't see much of Ren's friends other than Dare and Constantine. We only really see them when they're at lunch or doing their plan 52 thing. Which is a shame cuz I'd have liked to see more interaction with Will or Neph. (I would also like to know more about Neph because she's very clearly hiding things from Ren.) That all kinda takes a backseat to the whole Save Olivia thing, but I'm hoping we'll see more of them in upcoming books.

I wonder why this series isn't more popular cuz it's better than 84.5% of the more popular fantasy books floating around, but I'm glad I've been investing in the more unknown books, else I probably would've never stumbled across this.

[lu (taylor's version) · Rating 4 out of 5]

ren es una pupi y tan linda con sus amigos it hurts sometimes porque le da tan igual que le pase algo a ella y se preocupa tanto por todos los que esten pasando un mal momento no solo su circulo cercano,,,,, TAMBIÉN LA RELACIÓN DE OLIVIA CON ELLA MIS PUPINAS

“I will never abandon you.”
Her hand wrapped around the back of my neck and she pulled my forehead against hers. “Ren, I know.” SHAKING CRYING THROWING UP


NONONO PERO CONSTANTINE SIENDO SUPER PROTECTOR CON REN Y QUE SEA DE LO QUE MÁS SE PREOCUPA CUANDO EN REALIDAD NO LE IMPORTA MUCHA GENTE? THEY'RE SO REAL, EL HECHO DE QUE VOLVIÓ A ABRIR LA LÍNEA DE COMUNICACIÓN CON ALEXANDER PARA AVISARLE QUE SE LA ESTABAN INTENTANDO LLEVAR CUANDO LO ODIA A ÉL, ES UN MALEWIFE

ALL OF CONSTANTINE LINES? SUPERIOR

“You want...you want people to think we are going back to your room to...what?”
He raised a brow.
“To do...science?” I said halfheartedly.
“Yes.” He looked suddenly quizzical. “What else would I mean?”..... “Lots and lots of science,” he said, voice low, gaze hooded and hypnotic. FIGHTING THE INNER URGE TO BE A WHORE

“I don't want you to do bad things for me either.”
“I'll do horrible, terrible things in your name,” he murmured, fingertips dragging along my skin. HE'S SO REAL WTF

“I will break you, Ren,” he said, voice heavy. “You need to understand that.”
“It's okay. We'll be fine.” WE'LL BE FINE LINEEEEEE

“You aren't going to die for me,” I said fiercely, shaking him a little, using up half a container of magic to heal everything in him faster.
His smile was red. “Don't worry so, darling. I'm far too pretty to die.” HE'S NOT WRONG

...

“I will be able to do anything. Hook you in any way.” His fingers slid down my throat. “Manipulate everything inside of you until you answer only to me.” LISTEN COSTANTINE I LOVE U, I LOVE U RIGHT? SHIT IS CATCHY, ALEXANDER DARE DOWN TO MY KNEES

NONO BUT WHEN CONSTANTINE SAVES ALEXANDER AÚN DICIÉNDOLE QUE LO ODIA Y ÉL LE DICE QUE LO DEJE IR PARA QUE LOS DEMÁS SE PUEDAN SALVAR Y SE NIEGA>>>

[Valery]

Though I still enjoyed the book , I was a little disappointed with the ending. The first two books had been wrapped up quite well, ending the storeyline, yet giving you a desire for more, where as book 3 just kind of... stopped.
*spoilers* You don't know for sure if one of the characters made it back safely, the rest are barely on campus, not even given time to breathe and settle, and you get the terrible "noooooo! Don't end it like that!" feeling.
While cliffhangers are fine in my opinion, as long as they are wrapped up well, this one was so abrupt it just left me with a nasty adrenaline spike that wasn't ready to let go. I need a bit more closure than what the author gave, and lately this seems to be the trend, but I don't like the abrupt ending style.

Also, for my "clean reader" friends, the book contains some foul language and mild violence, but there is no f-bomb. No vastly inappropriate scenes, and only the slightest hint of romance to come.

I will still read book 4, as I feel this author and I are soul mates in the humor aspect, and I do love the series.

[Zainab · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really great books. I feel like my reviews for them are getting repetitive! But what else can I say?
The problem is the slow unnecessary details at the beginning. This book could have been much much shorter.
I would have loved to see more action or more mysteries uncovered.
I really hope the next book is more fast paced and if it’s long that it would be necessarily so.


I really want to see some love interests developing. I’m dying for a little more romance! And I ship Constantine and Ren hard 💔 I hope they end up together.

[Lou · Rating 4 out of 5]

UPDATE****
I keep changing my mind about this book. And my feelings for Dare and Con. ON THE ONE HAND I LOVE THEM BOTH.
ON THE OTHER HAND I HATE CONSTANTINE AND FIND DARE MILDLY ANNOYING WHEN HE DOES HIS ~~~I live on a special island that you will never know of Ren Crown~~~ THING.
Then again Constantine does his *~*ohh look at me I am secretly evil except IM IN LOVE WITH YOU MUAHAHAHA*~* thing.
So.
they are both stupid.
Ren should be gay.
That's my official opinion.
Bye.

**spoilers ahead**

So I enjoyed this book less than the first 2, mostly because it was less of an action book and more of a thinking and planning book. I expected a lot more to go wrong than it did so...that is both disappointing and amazing. All my favs are alive and well!! And it didn’t end on a cliffhanger thank god.

Some good things:
-much more development on the political front here. We learn about Stavros and Kaine and the department. I enjoyed this immensely because of the actual palpable fear it made me feel for Ren.
-Raphael remains a really well written villain
-more development w Marsgrove and Raph’s other friends from school.
-Bellacias character is amazing. So annoying and I want her to die but also I love her?? And I kind of want her to join Ren’s group....I loved how she ended up helping in the end. Even if that wasn’t her intent
-third layer! Happy we got to see that.
-continuation of not giving us any physical descriptors, for like anyone, which means what these characters look like is up to me. Which I love.
-I continue to love the love triangle but now it’s morphed into a friend triangle? I’ll explain below

The annoying things:
-I'm starting to get annoyed at how much information about this world is kept from us. I realize that since this is through Ren's eyes we only know what she knows but...There are far too many conversations where someone says something obscure and mysterious about the world and Ren is like ohhh I wonder what that is but no one tells her and then we never find out.
-both Constantine and Axer began to annoy me in this as possible ships. Constantine more so than Axer. Con treats Ren like she’s a naive child and is constantly hiding things from her and lying. But not...for her own good or anything, but because he doesn’t seem capable of confronting how he feels for her. Either way, women are capable of handling the truth and should be allowed to make their own decisions about whether or not someone is good or bad. Con's desire to "protect" Ren from himself and the ways he manifests this: doing things to her for her protection but without her consent is just creepy but also means that neither Ren nor the reader has full info on who he is as a person. Anyways it’s not a cute look on him and he really started to bother me in this book. Before I just shrugged at him but now I actually dislike him a bit? Axer similarly hides things from Ren, which also annoys me. She’s not a child. She’s a powerful brilliant mage who can handle the truth. But at least Axer seems to be actively invested in her happiness and how it relates to her friends and the safety of the school while Constantine seems to only really care about himself and Ren but fuck everyone else. This is a bad look given how much Ren cares for everyone. I just...don’t see her and Con as compatible in the long run. They have some funny moments and I like that she doesn’t fall for his shit. He’s a complex character who I enjoy outside of his romantic interests in Ren. I guess I just want...him to actually be a good person.
-either way I’m annoyed by how slowly the romance progresses. I doubt she will end up with either at this point. Which imo is better than her with Constantine lol.
-Also there are lots of gay vibes in this series but no gay characters and I'm sad. Ren and Olivia would be super cute, also Delia and Olivia, also Will and Mike. But nope.