Book Review: ReBirth by Azshure Raine

Genre(s): Fantasy

Book Synopsis:

Time is something we all have too much of and too little. Our world turns at the mercy of the clock. Gaea is one of those worlds. The world has been reset Twelve times.

ReBirth: Zodiac Book One is a romantic fantasy novel with “Final Fantasy” level storytelling. It tells the tale of the Gaea’s thirteenth cycle through multiple POVs, energetic prose, and deep world-building.

If Titans, Zodiac, Star-Crossed lovers, and villains you love to hate are your thing, then grab an apple, pick up a copy, and may Fate smile upon you.

Threads of gold, ancient and dangerous, pull them together; a bond neither can deny.

Jase Raion receives an unexpected assignment—locate and retrieve a girl he was certain was dead.

Expecting nothing, he goes to Brighton—a port town on the island of Aria—and finds her.

The girl who escaped the fall of Aria.

The girl who bears the symbol of Eternity.

The girl whose blood the Titan of Time thirsts for.

Liya Fairaway, the Princess of Aria, and his target.

The moment he sees her, he knows she is not safe, from the Zodiac meant to protect her, the Titan of Time, nor his father—the King of Chall.

Review:

I loved the atmosphere of this book. It’s a blend of medieval-esque fantasy and modern day, with multiple “chosen ones” destined to come together in a design only a Titan could have imagined. As someone who has played a lot of Final Fantasy games, so much of this book reminded me of that brand of fantasy. And just as it happens in many of those games, the world is at stake, only the select few can hope to save it, the villains are epically terrible, and there’s a really sweet romance.

There are a number of POVs in the story, and some get significantly more page time than others. Jace and Liya are the main two, and I liked both of them a lot. Jace was a sweetheart, though often misunderstood, and Liya is an innocent caught up in events that started long before her birth. I loved that Liya learned to stand on her own as the story went on and even stood up to her guardian.

Now her guardian, Reve… She’s aggravating and stubborn and refuses to listen so much of the time. At one point, I rolled my eyes and said something aloud regarding one of her scenes, and my husband had to ask me what was wrong. (How do you explain you’re annoyed with a fictional character without sounding like a crazy person?) But in terms of Reve’s role in the overall storyline, I think her personality was exactly what was required.

As for the villains, Time is definitely a good one. She’s powerful, ruthless, and how can you not like the idea of Time as the enemy? Then there’s the Betrayer. He’s exactly what the nickname implies, and he’s a creeper too. As horrible as Time was, the Betrayer was the one character that made me truly angry. He’s bad news.

There is a lot of depth to the worldbuilding too, but the Zodiac plays the most significant role. Since what they are is central to the book’s plot, I don’t want to say too much, but I liked the concept.

Overall, this was a great read. If you like Final Fantasy vibes, definitely check this one out.

Author website: azshurerainenovels.com

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