The Unleashing of Ren Crown

Ren Crown #4

by Anne Zoelle

The fourth book in the Ren Crown series.

The rise always proceeds the fall...

After the events of winter term, Ren wants nothing more than to take a deep breath and be normal—spend some time with her friends, maybe enjoy the festival where shifts are continually unleashed to re-sort everything in the magical world, perhaps actually do something about a particular boy… But the Department has started a sinister and highly effective campaign, one that threatens everything Ren has built. When unexpected faces and betrayal crop up from her past, she must do anything except engage. But when a terrible secret is revealed, nothing will stop her from unleashing her destiny.

Genres: Fantasy, Magic, Young Adult, Found Family, Romance, Friendship

400 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 30, 2016

Reviews

[☂️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

let me start by saying i love ren and constantine. which is why i'm understandably more than a little upset right now at the ending.

before i go off, let me say the book itself was interesting if slow. it was kind of filler but it was good for the most part -- the first half was absolutely amazing. as a whole, this book wasn't as good as its predecessors but the book needed to be written to further the plot along. it's much... calmer. and i acknowledge and appreciate that. i enjoyed 90% of it very thoroughly. the rest of this review will be spoilers.

EDIT AFTER REREAD SIGNIFIED BY BOLD LETTERING.

there were many things i did love about this book and the first half especially made me scream and cry at multiple points.

ren's friendship with olivia is so pure and loving. she was not only willing to hide a body for olivia but to go to prison if it came to it. they are so GOOD. it's amazing to know how they started off in awakening to this fierce loyalty and devotion they have to one another now. they would both undoubtedly destroy the world for each other and are the most important relationship in each other's lives. they're family and it makes my heart soar. this one quote especially made me feel warm on the inside.

Her gaze latched onto mine. "You came for me."
"Of course," I said, pulling her into a hug.
"You came for me. You came for me." It was a litany.
"Of course," I murmured into her shoulder. "I will always come for you."

i love the quiet, easy domesticity between ren and olivia now. their friendship is established now and they know where they stand with each other and what they mean to each other. there's no doubting that. i love them both so much. shoutout to olivia for standing up to helen and freeing herself. i've said before that i really identify with olivia a lot--probably the most of any character--and so that scene meant a lot to me. she inspires me a lot and all i ever want is olivia's happiness, healthiness and safety.

onto a different note though, olivia came for my life by saying that ren is easily led by the people she LOVES including her and LEANDRED.

since we're on the topic of love and constantine, let's dive right into it, shall we?

constantine would do anything if it meant protecting ren. he would do anything to reserve the faith she has in him. he would burn the world down for her and more. i think in this book, it becomes very clear TO EVERYONE aside from ren that constantine does have romantic feelings for ren outside from the realm of merely flirting. one particular thing that stood out to me was the "resignation" that constantine constantly felt.

when ren says the two of them can save the world, it clearly hurts constantine in some way. he is not used to being part of a team yet it's clear ren would never do it without him.

The normal seething mass of emotion that never seemed to be directed at me was still there. But the elements that were directed towards me contained humor, disbelief, fondness, resignation, possessiveness and a weird jumbled mass that I couldn't identify—but it wasn't negative.

as i addressed before... the resignation... does constantine believe that she'll never love him like he loves her? does he think they'll never be together? does he never intend to try?

i'm not saying constantine is in love with ren... but he's in love with her. i've said it before and i'll say it again. he is in love with her. and i'm upset because it seems those feelings are never going to be explored in the way they deserve. from the ending, it seems like ren and alexander are going to 'enter' a relationship with one another and honestly, the entire notion of that is making me SO upset but i'll save that for later because i want to talk more about constantine.

I sent all sorts of manically happy thoughts toward him, the exchange heightened by our direct contact.
"Ugh." He let his hand drop. "I can't take that much optimism. Maybe that's it."
"It's your kryptonite."
His gaze dropped to my hand as it patted him. Complicated emotions whipped through him again. "No, my biggest weakness is turning out to be something else entirely."

YEAH, I BET IT IS.

and then constantine did the thing that ruined my entire life. he tied the ribbon around her neck. the ribbon we have seen him use throughout the past 3 books, the ribbon which is item most associated with him, the ribbon he uses almost as an anchor... and he gives it to ren.

the reactions to the ribbon from everyone else from neph to isaiah to haynes had me SCREAMING. haynes had me convinced for a second that constantine had courted ren without her knowing and that the two were engaged to one another. "I saw you with him, but no one thought, I mean how could have anyone have thought he would actually care? It's Leandred. He doesn't do engagement. I can't—" (tbh i'm still pretty convinced constantine and ren are publicly engaged.)

and then constantine backed it up further by calling her his intended. WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN? HELLO........ he made AVOWALS. he made a commitment that "went beyond normal friendship". LIKE EXCUSE ME? "You steal the very breath from my body. I suffocate with the feelings, it's true."

and then this...

He stared at me, unreadable for a moment. "I've had women try to save me before," he said idly.
"Then that means I'll be yesterday's trash soon on that part of the equation, but we will still be friends."
He smiled with a far truer lift of his cheeks. "Don't be foolish. I told you before. I'd never let you go." He touched my chin, tilting it up toward him. "I could remove the danger, you know. Lock you in a room—a tower—"
"My hair isn't long enough," I said automatically.
"But you would spin me gold. So many things better than gold. Truer." His gaze dropped to my lips. "I would keep you in the finest of materials, handcrafted with only you in mind. The finest paints, in a tower so high that you would have no cares."

EXCUSE ME??

but then i don't know why and who thought this was a good idea but constantine likens them to family and them to siblings? WHAT? i don't know if this was zoelle's way of friendzoning their relationship :( but she does this continuously over the course of the rest of the novel like CONSTANTINE DIDN'T JUST LOOK AT REN'S LIPS AFTER TELLING HER SHE WOULD GIVE HIM THINGS THAT ARE 'TRUER' AND 'BETTER' THAN GOLD (AKA LOVE). these constant feelings of family that run through the bond... I'm choosing to interpret it as constantine sees ren as family as in his "intended" because anything else is frankly disturbing to me at this point.

if we're being honest, constantine's willingness to hurt people in order to protect ren is one of my favorite things. he is willing to lie, manipulate, deceive, hurt and kill people if it means ren is protected and ren is safe and ren is happy. that doesn't sound platonic to me but what do i know? (come on, zoelle... please give me this ship. PLEASE.) he cares so much about her and seeks to do eveything he can to help her thrive mentally, socially and physically. he is willing to burden himself with weight to help her get through everything, willing to tie himself to her publicly to to protect her and is increasingly protective and concerned every time someone tries to put weight on ren's shoulders, saying she should disregard them all and do what is best for her. for someone who hasn't cared about anyone else in YEARS (since his mother's death), him actively displaying this much positive emotion shows to me for certain how important ren is to him.

anyways. when ren accidentally muted her connections, the reactions from constantine and olivia made me cry. (also constantine has a seal of approval from olivia, ren's best friend. surely that counts for something. they have an "understanding", after all.) they both love her so incredibly much and we have SEEN this throughout the books. Constantine grabbed his elbow and never had I seen such physical relief cross his features before. Olivia rubbed her chest, and looked like she might cry.

another quote that had me rolling my grave because constantine and olivia were actually becoming friends (plus some added ren+constantine):
Contantine—who could be securely trusted when it came to his promises—was going to help Olivia. And she was going to let him.
Olivia was getting better at rely on other people—her network slowly spreading wider—but Constantine was still a "rely on Constantine or Ren, or no one else" kind of guy.

&

I sent a mass of thanks, love, trust through Constantine's threads, as I escaped. Resigned acceptance, irritation, and grudging fondness returned along the path.

AND WHEN CONSTANTINE FEELS BAD FOR SACRIFICING REN'S TIME WITH STEVENS AND STEVEN'S FACE IS 'fiercely elated'..... me as HELL.

let's add another quote because why not.

"Would you—"
"Yes."
"You don't know what I was going to ask."
"Don't I?" A ghost of a smile worked his lips, and he turned his head just a fraction toward me, looking at me through a lock of hair. "The answer is yes anyways."
"I should make you do part of my community service," I mused, kicking back in the chair across the table from him. "That would serve you right."
"Go ahead. I can't say no to you either, darling."
"What do you mean, either?"
He smiled—though it was more of a smirk this time. "Either, one or the other, all of the above."

HE WILL DO ANYTHING IF SHE ASKS HIM.

i could talk in depth about the ribbon but if i start, i'm going to faint so let me continue on to ANOTHER ren and constantine moment.

The only emotions coming from him were light, playful—maybe with a little resignation wrapped in there, but positive feelings flowed across out bond.
"You are amused," I said. "What was in the vial? What are you so suddenly amused?"
He tipped his head. "It's...freeing, this shift in perspective. It's all rather insignificant in the grand scheme of things, but you want this—for campus, your new home, to be happy and free. Easy enough to assist with, so here I am."
"I had to drag you here."
"It wouldn't be a game otherwise. You would have been far more skeptical had I come willingly. You'd never have brought it and I'd have been made to stand elsewhere, relegated to being good."
I looked at him, then slipped my hand around his arm and squeezed. "I'd buy it."
Bonds wrapped around me—family, fondness, and something slightly darker and more fatalistic. He squeezed my hand beneath his, then pulled away before I could identify the last feeling.

I'LL TELL YOU WHAT THE LAST FEELING IS. LOVE!!! and especially in light of the fact we know the vial was put in place to protect ren and that's why he was so happy. keeping ren safe is his highest priority. the line "it's freeing, this shift in perspective" referring to changing his main priority from his revenge to her, implies that loving her makes him feel free. and for a man who spent a majority of his childhood caged by the life hook stuart put into place, to state ren makes him feel FREE... god. and the fact that he loves and trusts her enough to give HER a leash to HIM (again, protecting her) in order to keep her physically safe, even if it means drawing on himself. he cuffs himself to her in so many ways and seems to have no regrets about it because ren has returned that devotion back to him tenfold.

holy shit, we deserve this ship so much.

"My magic trusts you, so it accepted the hook and spread it, causing it to catch the community trail, from my group to each mage that trusts each of them, and so forth, until everyone had tapped in?" I could see from his expression that I was on the right track. "You are lucky that my magic automatically accepts yours."
There was something in his eyes. "Forever."

FOREVER????

even alexander acknowledges, "Constantine is like a dragon. He guards with fire the very few things he considers his."

and let's talk about olivia's observation:

"Leandred is insanely useful—never tell him I said that. he made enough for all of us, and helped imbue them with the spells. We included some of your magic, too. You know Leandred has a ton of it, right?" She frowned at me, but it wasn't nearly as frowny as it used to be when aimed at Constantine.
"You're going soft." I smiled.
"No, I just agree with Axer Dare—Leandred's motives are transparent at this point. Leandred would burn the world for you."
"It's not like that," I said automatically.
"No. It's way worse," she said frankly. "You are like the sole family gold nugget and the crystal on the pedestal and all the frankincense in the factory. He'd never touch you. And the world will burn if someone intent on harm does."

ren said "it's not like that"... WHY???

super side note: if constantine ends up with like... bellacia. or anyone other than ren, i'm going to be HELLA pissed. keep it.

anyways... omg the scene when constantine found out about alexander's leech. i truly thought i was seconds from watching con commit a murder. and then this line broke my heart:

Constantine's expression was heartbreaking—the countenance of a person who had been betrayed all over again.

what did alexander DO to him? whatever it was.... he didn't deserve it. and i'm UPSET.

i'm even more upset that the next scene happened with ren and alexander almost kissing while constantine was in the THE OTHER ROOM. that scene literally rubbed all my nerves wrong and pissed me off BEYOND reason.

i have nothing against alexander. i don't. i even like him most of the time and think he's an interesting character but the relationship between ren and him has so LITTLE substance. he was barely in the first, third and this book (until the very end and bits in between). HOW is that enough for a budding love? i don't understand this at all. :( [[this is no longer true]]

REREAD EDIT : after a reread, i would like to say, i honestly cannot stand alexander dare. i have MANY things against him, starting with the fact he LEECHED ren without her CONSENT. what the fuck? why does ren brush it off? why is it glossed over? this is not REMOTELY okay, especially since he isn't even apologetic about it. for TWO books, alexander dare has been leeching her without her consent (yet somehow had the audacity to threaten constantine about leeching ren???) he is so unbelievably hypocritical.

in chapter 39 (the worst chapter in this book), ren says, "If I wasn't going to vilify Constantine for his retaliation against Raphael, I wasn't going to vilify Axer for his family goals." and honestly, NOTHING has ever made me so angry.

I love ren but she has two flaws -- one is her obliviousness, which is adorable most of the time, so I accept it but her other flaw is how RIDICULOUS she acts when it comes to alexander dare. this is one of those times.

how can ren compare these two situations??? constantine was trying to kill the man who KILLED HIS MOTHER /prior/ to even KNOWING REN and after knowing ren, HE GAVE UP ON THAT COURSE OF ACTION. he STOPPED PURSUING HIS REVENGE for HER. i see NO reason to vilify him for that? furthermore, constantine has NEVER leeched ren without her permission. NOT ONCE. especially not for the duration of WEEKS without even INFORMING her? he has NEVER treated ren like a weapon or betrayed her trust after genuinely befriending her. he might have betrayed the entire second layer but he has remained loyal to her.

meanwhile alexander dare has on SEVERAL occasions lied to her, brushed off the fact that his family (AND HIM!? don't think I forgot that scene in the midlands in book 3 with julian!) is trying to ACTIVELY KIDNAP REN, has always treated ren as inferior and placed insurmountable weight upon her shoulders, and now TOOK HER MAGIC WITHOUT CONSENT and isn't even ASHAMED OF IT because it means protecting his family?

again, HOW can you make that comparison between the two of them? constantine made REN his #1 priority over his "villainous" aims whereas alexander did the OPPOSITE. he has NEVER put ren first and honestly, he never will. that much is very clear. alexander SHOULD be vilified for what he did and constantine should not. dare KNOWS ren, has known her for 3-4 books and CHOSE TO BETRAY HER TRUST IN HIM. there is no way in HELL constantine would EVER do the same thing knowing ren for the same amount of time.

instead of being called out for his actions, alexander gets a pat on the back and an-almost-kiss. are you kidding me? i can't begin to explain how UNHEALTHY that is. all he had to say to ren was that she was "interesting" and ren immediately moved on from the fact HE WAS LEECHING HER and LYING TO HER and USING HER and instead started thinking about their potential "future" together... christ.

also, i think it's worth mentioning that this is not the only ridiculous part of this chapter. the fact that constantine is VISIBLY upset and heartbroken and ren lets him walk away to swoon over alexander instead? that's unrealistic. we SAW in chapter 35 of the rise of ren crown that she does chase after constantine and apologize when she knows she's done something to upset him and we've seen that her apology and her comfort is what allows constantine to feel contentment.

so ren... knowing this... chooses not follow her obviously distraught and upset best friend? if that was olivia or neph, ren would have DEFINITELY followed after them and they mean as much to her as constantine does so why is it any different with him? ren has ALWAYS put her friendships first so i don't believe for one second that she would let constantine walk away and not follow him and instead attempt to make out with the dude who just admitted to using her. sorry but no.

i cannot and will not accept ren ending up with alexander after all this. their relationship is incredibly unhealthy, there is a blatant power imbalance between them, he treats her like dirt and everything he's ever done is suspicious since he has yet to prove himself trustworthy. in fact, with each book, i trust him less and less. he is clearly motivated by self-interest and to me, it seems like every nice thing he has done for her has been to gain her trust and clearly, it has worked. ugh. no thank you. can ren please just open her eyes and see that the right guy for her is the one that always puts her first, prioritizes her safety and happiness above all and is in LOVE WITH HER? aka constantine?

ANYWAYS. reread edit DONE.

constantine and ren have so much more chemistry and they are side by side throughout almost all the books except the first (and even then, he's in the first book more than alexander is) so I simply don't understand........ ugh. i'm ANNOYED AND IRRITATED. i love zoelle's work SO MUCH, i really do but this baffles me more than i can explain. she set up constantine and ren so well, i don't see why she would push them to the side now. :/ and i'm really scared than constantine is going to be sidelined in favor of pushing forth this romance between alexander and ren and i just don't want it. sigh.

anyways, i think all my current feelings can be summed up in the moment olivia decked inessa.

my hopes for the next book is ren and constantine are given the romance they deserve and that ren's story ties up nicely and all her friends are safe and happy. if i get that, i think this might be one of my favorite series ever (to be fair, it already is but one book can make or break things a lot of the time.) i suppose we'll see.

3.5/5 tbh but whatever i'll round up to 4 because zoelle is a good writer and i love ren and constantine w/ my entire heart.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Current Status- desperately awaiting devouring this book. Goodbye social life, see you when I turn the final page of UoRC.

Updated Status (7/30) - finishes book, heart explodes with happiness and magic, promptly sinks into depression until 2017 release of Destiny of Ren Crown. SIGH. Next stop Itlantes? Pretty please?!

[Navdha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I admit that I had been too harsh rating this book the first time around. The story and the characters are great! The writing style though and some of Zoelle's decisions are sketchy and infuriating to say the least. I have a lot of words to say about Axer Dare and none of them good. Everyone else deserves the world. I will be deeply upset if book 5 doesn't deliver and would probably write a long rant to Zoelle.

[lyss · Rating 4 out of 5]

i don’t claim that ending TAKE IT BACK but ren i DO love you

[n🫶🏽 · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The rise always proceeds the fall…

After the events of winter term, Ren wants nothing more than to take a deep breath and be normal—spend some time with her friends, maybe enjoy the festival where shifts are continually unleashed to re-sort everything in the magical world, perhaps actually do something about a particular boy…"

Okay but if it's not Constantine imma be pissed.
-----------
Update: 8/3/2016

So. I need to start out by saing it's not Constantine. I'm unhappy with that. Although to be fair, the blurb was kind of misleading. Ren wasn't really looking to do something about any boy-- hell, Dare (I liked it better when Ren referred to him as that rather than Axer) wasn't even present for a lot of the book. There was this little moment between them, though, where they probably almost kissed. Ugh. I like Dare and all but I like Constantine more. Not only that, but I feel like the timing of that moment was off. I might have liked it at least a little if it happened at a different time.
Also, does Constantine like Ren or not??? It seemed like he did-- it's evident he would, as the characters kept saying, burn the world for her. But it seems like the author is trying to push them more into the "just friends" area to make way for Dare. Ugh. I've lost hope for Ren + Constantine happening anyway. There's only one book left and if something does happen there, it would probably be rushed and out of place, and I don't want that.

Anyway. Onto other topics.
I have to say, I'm a bit disappointed with this book. It seemed kind of filler-y for some reason, and Ren didn't do much "unleashing" except for the end. Maybe it's just me, but I think the plot was less defined and the goals weren't as concrete as they were in the other books. In the others, the book was centered around a main goal (saving Olivia, protecting friends, ressurecting Christian, etc) but this one seems more random.
There was also something missing from the book and I realized: Ren didn't paint at all. That's supposed to be some HUGE part of her, but I don't think she even glanced at a tube of paint once. This book was more centered on the Layer politics and feral awakening stuff. It seems odd that the art would be such a small part of the book when a big part of Ren's life is centered around it.

Another issue I have is that the characters are present, but I feel like they're not included enough. We don't know much about Mike, there hasn't been much focus on Delia or Will's backstory, Constantine is still an engima, as is Dare (also, what the hell happened between them?!), and we don't have concrete answers about a lot of the characters. It's like you know that the characters have depth and a backstory, but we don't know exactly what they are, which can cause a bit of a disconnect.
And honestly, Ren doesn't ask enough questions. Secrets are very clearly being kept from her and she's still ignorant about a lot of the Layer stuff, but she doesn't ask too much. It took her four books to figure out what was going on with Neph-- come on now. Her trusting nature almost borders on naivety.

But those are small issues in comparison to everything I liked about it, or how much I like this series in general. Since this book kind of revolved around setting the stage for the last one, it better be amazing and go out with a bang.

[Sara XuHerondale · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars, minor spoilerish comments ahead
I truly hate to give any book in this series anything less than a 5 but my god, did Axer annoy the shit out if me in this one. Like, in all of the previous books he was sus as hell but I really enjoyed his character because of his interactions with everyone else, especially Con, but in this book... his behavior and his actions were too much, even for my ass which was simping for him in the previous two books (even with the abundance of red flags around him). Which is SUCH A PITY because Con carried this book, literally 98% of my highlights is just him, i hate that I have to even mention Dare's acoustic ass, especially when the biggest victim in this series is Con (not only does he have to bear with Ren's thoughts, he also has to bear with his insufferable friends to enemies op dumbass, all the time). Con, you deserve so much more king, and I'm so sorry you keep going through all of this. 😣😔
This book was also on a slower side but not too much (almost all of the previous ones were kinda slow ig), but in a different way. This was was evidently the PREPARATION for everything that's about to go down, especially for Ren to grow as a character and learn a lot of practical things, and finally finding out at least SOME of the secrets about people around her, I didn't mind it. SPECIAL SHOUTOUT FOR DOCTOR GREYSKULL FOR BEING THE HOTTEST CHARACTER IN THIS SERIES, if Dr Greyskull doesn't have any fans, I'm, dead, he's so fucking hot.
All in all, Dare being Dare is literally the biggest twist in this entire series for me, and we'll see how that will play out in the fifth book. I have a feeling that it will go HARD, I've missed irl interactions with them sooo much.

[Cris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before we start:
If you're reading this review but haven't read anything by Anne Zoelle, I really really recommend that you go and read The Awakening of Ren Crown. This is a really great fantasy series that no one should miss.

Review: 5 stars. Anne Joelle blew my mind with this book.

The magic and the politics of Ren's world are much more complicated than in any of the other books, and all my favorite characters were involved this time. I am really glad that a lot of questions from previous books were answered, and that there was such a huge progress in the overall timeline. While the third book comprehended about a week in Ren's life, this one described several months in her University life, with the Department lurking around every dark corner and all The Bandits quietly scheming.


Olivia and Neph basically broke my heart this time. It was so great to see Olivia finally emancipated from Helen, and all the questions about Neph's troubles with the other muses answered... I really wish them both the best. In my mind, Olivia will achieve great things in the future (hopefully with Patrick by her side.... *cough*) and Neph and Ren will have a chance at a truly balanced relationship.... Basically everyone in this book should just be covered with hugs and given a warm beverage.

And not to forget.... Alexander Dare! Finally some progress!! Constantine's always been my favorite, and in this book he was an undeniable hero and friend of Ren, but THAT SCENE between Axer and Ren made me swoon. I am really glad that both of them got to spend some time together during Spring Term, and I honestly hope we will see the three of them interact even more in the fifth and final book.


All things considered, The Unleashing of Ren Crown was a brilliantly planned book, with an evil ending! After reading this in one sitting, now there is another year before the last book. I can't wait!

[ash · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Don't be foolish. I told you before, I'd never let you go. I could remove the danger, you know. Lock you in a room—a tower—”
“My hair isn't long enough”


I loved this book! I found it really funny and loved how Ren handled everything in this book.

I loved how Ren turned Olivia's curse around, it was one of the funniest thing in this book.

I also loved how Olivia kinda warmed up to Constantine.

And Constantine, that boy, I love him with my entire heart. He's always looking out for Ren and this book proved it. His ribbon and the purpose it served shows how much Constantine cares about Ren. He stops himself from doing things that will upset or disappoint Ren.

Moving on, Dare, I don't know how how I feel about him and I don't want to post any spoilers so I won't talk about it but so many people told me that I would hate Dare in this book but I don't? I understand why he did what he did and I don't think it was that big of a deal so I'm not really disappointed in him or upset him or hate him.

The only thing I didn't like was the ending. It was a mess and I know that it had to happen but it felt like things were just thrown together near the ending to attain the ending.

[sofia · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5 Not as good as the previous books, but still a fun read...
What was really frustratig was that it was pretty obvious that Constantine and Ren have a stronger connection and a deeper relationship that Ren and Axer. If Constantine x Ren doesn't prevail I'm going to be extremely disappointed bc their relationship is so pure :(

[claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

ANNE ZOELLE IS A FANTASTIC AUTHOR. I am gonna be incredibly disappointed to see this end in a few days because I LOVE REN CROWN SO MUCH.

As a character, Ren is so.. human. It’s so refreshing. She is one of my favorite heroines I have ever had the fortune to read.

Constantine is awesome and I have so many thoughts on him that I can’t articulate right now. My heart broke for him toward the end because he was getting so upset and then didn’t even get closure for how he was hurt. *rolls eyes and glares at Ren and Dare*

I missed Olivia in book 3. Her interactions with Ren are what I missed in the last one.

[MAJOR SPOILERS UP AHEAD]

Dare.. Axer... The Most Problematic Douchebag that Ren tried to protect solely for how they met. At least he was honest about his feelings before Constantine..? I hate how I love Ren so much that I just want her to be happy.. even if for some reason, Dare makes her happy. Although, I think he’s a total douche who is trying to have his cake and eat it too by thinking that he can have her and continue to be the protector of his family. [EDIT With little regard to the fact that Ren is likely to be inadvertently caught in the crossfire even if he thinks he can still protect her regardless. Leaching her magic that just happened to be able to use at a later time may have luckily protected her but still makes him a shitty friend.[/EDIT] This is one of the reasons that I like Constantine more, he realized his plans against Raphael would get in the way of his connection with Ren. I just hate that Axer was being so cute with Ren and letting his guard then then OH SURPRISE I WAS USING YOU TO HURT CONSTANTINE CAUSE MY FAMILY PROTECTION COMES FIRST. Piss off.

I wish Ren would just leave Axer alone and realize how great she and Constantine are together.

I’m emo while I wait 4 days for the final book. It’s fine. EVERYTHING IS FINE.

[Ornella · Rating 4 out of 5]

25/10/23 - 4s - Still quite slow but still enjoyed it. Dare growing on me like a true fungus because I appreciate that his brains and prowess are keeping Ren alive and clearly he does genuinely care for her, but ugh the subtle manipulations are so gross.

10/07/23 - 3.5 Stars

I know a lot of people will find this boring (a few friends actually did), but I enjoyed it. Not many books ever show the aftermath of catastrophe, they just build up to it, make it happen, then it´s over. They don´t show all the rebuilding, all the trauma, and all the destabilization that occurs when such events happen.

This book was that journey.

It wasn´t flashy. It went at a slow, sedate pace. It showed the people both cracking apart and then getting back together to become even stronger. It showed shifting alliances and goals. It showed character growth and very small, but very important plot movement.

However, the last 10-15% was explosive. I´m still reeling from what happened and trying to grasp all the repercussions that will happen, but most importantly, will Ren ever kiss anyone?! *I say anyone because I´m still delusional that Constantine is still somehow in the game*.

So, while not as action packed or exhilarating as previous books, I still loved it, and I´m already dreading the last book. I don´t want it to end :(

[Annette · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book.. Really, the whole series so far! I am still hoping for a Constantine/Ren relationship.

[Valery · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of disappointed in this one. It dragged and it felt as if it had been written by someone else. The voice was different.
And the ending was not wrapped up well. The storyline was just starting to get interesting and, boom, it's done.
Not the best in the series.

For my clean readers:
Minor language and violence.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this series and the characters so much (especially Constantine that boy is my child)

The female friendship is fantastic and is one of my favourite things in this series. It's so pure and they care about each other so much. Ren's relationships with all the other characters are so unique and are written so well. The characters in this book are really the driving force for me.

This book was really a slow burner and a kind of filler in the series that really works to set up the finale. And even although the pace is slow it never feels too slow.

I low-key wish I'd waited until the last book was out so I could marathon them but I'm still so glad I read them.

I really don't like the couple that's set up to be endgame. We'll wait and see.

Over all a fab book and set up the finale really well. I just hope the time flies so I can get the last book in my hands! Even although it will probably break my heart.

[Genesis · Rating 4 out of 5]

WOW I was truly not expecting that ending!

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

What was that ending

[Madadmiral · Rating 5 out of 5]

Starting directly after the events of the third book, The Unleashing of Ren Crown continued the excellent storytelling, complex characters, and intricate world that made this series one of my favorites. Just like each previous books, the pace felt more frantic (while encompassing a longer period of time than some of the previous books), while diving deeper into the characters, interactions, and the world Anne Zoelle has built. This installment in particular dove into more depth to see the motivations of the all the characters, and added more intrigue to the on-going plight of Ren and her cadre of ne'er-do-wells.

In particular, the fourth installment shows increased interactions between Ren's separate circles of friends: the delinquent's club, Alexander Dare and the combat mages, and the inner circle. Getting to see these characters interact on a much deeper level than simply being aware of each other and having short conversations was a treat. Not only did these interactions bring added intrigue, but they also helped finally clarify many of the character's motivations for actions taken in the series.

In addition to the interactions between the main and secondary characters, the latest book also added to the intrigue of the various antagonistic forces in the series. Following the events of the third book, the reader finally gets to witness how the Department wages open war against Ren and "threats" to the Second Layer. And not only the Department is finally in the open, but after four books, Ren finally starts to learn to harness her Origin Magic.

And finally, the magical world Zoelle has crafted was granted additional depth. Just like in each previous novel, the reader is granted a deeper and more encompassing understanding of the Ren Crown world. As Ren learns more about her abilities and the magical community, we get to see more of the complex, intricate, and fascinating world Zoelle has painted. We also get to experience more of how Ren conceptualizes this world and finds her place in it.

My one criticism is that if you enjoyed much of the "monster of the day" battles found in the previous books, you will be disappointed in this installment. Instead of physically and magically fighting battles, much of the conflict in the fourth book was fought in the political arena. While I found it interesting to see many of the characters exercising more than their muscles and getting to see new strengths of many characters, others may not find this as interesting.

Just like the second and third books (The Protection of Ren Crown and The Rise of Ren Crown), Zoelle leaves us with a bit of a cliffhanger. I will forgive this simply because of how well the tension was ratcheted to new heights and the epic final confrontation, but I was left wanting for more. Next year's The Destiny of Ren Crown cannot come out soon enough.

Edit: I should add that if you're already a fan of the series, be sure to allocate enough time to finish this book in one sitting. I planned to read only about half of it before sleeping, but ended up finishing it well into the night.

And if you haven't already read this series, you are really missing out.

[Bre · Rating 4 out of 5]

WHAT. AN. ENDING.

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

Constantine's expression was heartbreaking—the countenance of a person who had been betrayed all over again.
shaking crying throwing up screaming fighting the wall. guess you didn't cheat but you're still a traitor kind of shit

[emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

reread 17/09/17
I honestly love all of the characters so much but especially Liv and Constantine. Can't wait for the next book


WHERE IS BOOK FIVE I NEED IT RIGHT NOW

[Lucy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!

[Malena · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5* então fiquei pensando como ia avaliar esse livro porque a primeira parte do livro foi muito boa e eu sou apaixonada pelos personagens e pela ren sendo que pra mim faltou muita coisa. E óbvio que esse livro e mais devagar que o 2 e o 3, e eu entendi que o foco da autora foi mais as questões políticas sendo que muitas cenas eram apenas enrolação e o livro começou a ficar cansativo e perder a qualidade. Também tem muitas pontas soltas que no penúltimo livro poderia ser arrumado mas não foi e tenho medo disso impactar na qualidade do último. Agora em relação aos personagens, sinto que a ren ficou estagnado no livro, não teve muito desenvolvimento em relação a ela, e o fato dela acreditar muito nas pessoas e confiar em todo mundo me irritou porque isso pra mim atrapalhou no desenvolvimento da história onde invés de ela estar confiando cegamente nas pessoas poderia estar fazendo algumas perguntas pra essas pessoas. Além disso, tem o romance que aparece no livro que pra por mim foi uma merda, sério to revoltada chorei de raiva, o Alexander nunca foi um personagem que eu gostei ou confiei, pra mim ele só se importa com ele e com os objetivos dele e nunca ficou muito claro se ele via a ren mais do que um objeto pra ele usar pra ajudar a família dele e que no momento em que ela descobriu que ele tava manipulando ela a ren jogou pra debaixo do tapete como se não fosse nada e isso me irritou para um caralho, dito isso fica óbvio que eu odiei esse romance que apareceu no final do livro entre ele e a ren que pra mim foi super mal desenvolvido e não acreditei nem um pouco, porque apesar deles passarem muito tempo juntos pra mim isso nunca foi além da amizade ou do interesse do dare em manipular a ren. Em relação ao Constantine que pra mim e um dos melhores personagens e tem um dos melhores desenvolvimentos, junto com a Olívia, ele tem muito mais química com a ren do que o dare teve nesses quatro livros juntos, na verdade pra mim esse relacionamento da ren com o dare e muito do forçado, e é muito óbvio que o Constantine ama a ren, não tenho nenhuma dúvida sobre isso, eu só não entendi as intenções da autora com o comentário do irmão tipo WTF??? O Constantine passa o mais da metade do livro dando em cima dela pra depois falar que queria ela com irmão e depois continua dando em cima dela ??? Qual a intenção?? Ele ama ela como irmão ou como namorada ?? Ou isso foi só uma piada horrorosa ? Enfim, espero que o último livro amarre todas as pontas soltas que a autora deixou e que foram muitas.

[amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I deliberately thought of a ton of magical tentacles hugging him and sent all of it—mental pictures and fluffy emotions—toward him.
He fumbled the thing he was trying to put on his nightstand and looked at me, revolted. I just laughed, happiness filling me."

yet another amazing book in this series!!! will my love for ren ever stop increasing?? i doubt it. she's so caring and supportive of her friends, and all she ever wants to do is help. it's amazing. she's so smart, such a hard worker, and reallyyyyy loves her friends.

i love love love her relationship with olivia so much. and neph. and will. and mike. and delia. and all her other friends.

there were several parts of this book when i was very confused about what was happening, and some slow parts, but overall i really liked the plot. especially all the lovely friendship scenes where everyone was happy.

i'm quite frustrated, however, because i've spent so much of this series confused as to whether i shipped her with dare or with con, and finally with this book i was very happily on the constantine side of things, but ren just had to go and have that ~moment~ with dare near the end. i don't know how i feel about it because, despite loving their friendship, he's also kinda sketchy?? i'm just so into ren and constantine and their banter and the way they help each other and make each other feel better. all con wants to do is protect her!!! and that part with his ribbon!!! i'm hoping that they somehow become endgame in the next book because i did not go through all that confusion throughout almost four books for nothing!!! (i do still like dare, but i don't think i can fully trust him with the way he hid so much from ren.)

i'm soooo excited for the next book and am very sad that i can no longer continue my binge read of this wonderful series as i will now have to wait until november.

[Lou · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this series and these characters so much that these books will never get less than 4 stars from me.
But...this one was rather slow for me and I missed how fast paced book 2 was. But still, the friendships and relationships grow stronger and more complex, the magic develops more, and Ren remains an extremely likable and wonderful narrator.
The ending is dramatic and twisty which is nice and made up for a lot of the dragging in the middle of the book.
I was also happy that this book gives some indication that Ren really like Axer, because it was difficult to tell in the other books if they were going to be a thing or if it would be her and Con. For my part, I like Axer and her more, but only because SHE likes Axer romantically. I just want Ren to have what she wants and if that is Axer then cool. She deserves happiness.
I still get a bit annoyed by how him and constantine don't just TELL HER EVERYTHING. Instead they do weird shit with leeches and leashes and spells and yeah it is mostly to protect her but I wish they would just be up front about stuff. Just spell it out for her. ALSO SPELL IT OUT FOR ME, THE READER, BECAUSE SOMETIMES I AM AS CONFUSED AS REN IS.
I want more things actually explained than there are!! Like the muses!! We finally get answers about Neph but its weird obscure answers. JUST TELL ME FLAT OUT DAMN IT. BE OBVIOUS.
Anyways, I love the tensiony moments with Axer and love Olivia and Ren and Con and will and mike and Neph and all of them. But I wanted more from this book.

[say · Rating 4 out of 5]

THIS IS AN ALEXANDER SLANDER, BEWARE!!!

I'm at the edge of my seat, so freaking excited that Ren will finally find out what Axer is really doing to her. That manipulative jerk, fucking user. AND boom. I fell from the sky by riding the Renstantine ship that soared so high while Axer's away.

*face palm* I hate how trusting Ren is. Don't get me wrong, I also love that about her but she doesn't have any self-preservation when it comes to Alexander Dare who's constantly using her. God, I hate him so much. She blindly trust him, I hate it.

And my Renstantine ship, I'm crying for it as of the moment. I'll forever hold this against Ren if she ended up with Alexander. SHE'S SO BLINDED!!!

Gosh, Ren. Please please please, don't!

And yes, I'm giving this a four start all because I got disappointed by that specific scene, before Stavros happened. My poor, Leandred, waiting in the sideline. He doesn't deserve that. >...<

[holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely the slowest of the series so far, but I think that was necessary given how Rise ended, and I appreciate that Anne took the time to actually spend time with everyone during the aftermath of Bloody Tuesday.

(Why did Dare have to come back? He could have stayed gone, honestly. The last 60-100 pages are always so fast paced and usually my favourite to read but alas. HE JUST HAD TO RUIN THAT.)

I love Ren so, so much. I love Con. I love Olivia! And Neph! And the bandits and just - I love all these characters (except Dare) so, so much. I have a strong feeling Destiny will not disappoint me.

[Fahdah · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only things that ruined this book for me is Axer and Ren’s relationship. It’s weird and I do not like it.
It was just revealed that Axer has been leeching off of her for WEEKS without her knowing and is clearly plotting something else by using her, and Ren brushes all of that off and then almost kisses him?? No. Absolutely not. Unacceptable.

If this book is going to have romance, then Constantine is a far, FAR, more appropriate choice for it than Axer, his relationship with Ren is more genuine and easy and healthy. He is clearly in love with and is willing do whatever for her.

I’m going to be so mad if Axer/Ren is endgame. No.

[Margaret · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. It’s taken me 4 books to figure out why I just can’t give this series full marks. It’s compulsively readable. The world building and characterization are phenomenal. But I just can’t get over Ren’s flaws as a character. A friend once told me that weaknesses are just strengths overused and that’s never more true than with someone like Ren. Her immense loyalty causes her to consistently make reckless, stupid decisions that put herself and those she loves in jeopardy. Frankly it borders on TSTL territory.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

i was convinced i'd written a review for this book the first time i read but guess i was wrong!! that's what happens when you almost throw up from #one scene
almost four stars but that almost kiss really ruined my life

[Meg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm so glad I decided to read this right before the last one came out bc I know I wouldn't have survived