We are so excited to be sharing Rebecca Yarros’s REBEL with you today!
REBEL is the third standalone in the Renegades series and is out now–hurry and grab your copy today!
About REBEL
She’s Penna Carstairs.
The Renegade they call Rebel.
FMX-treme Magazine’s sexiest female athlete of the year.
There’s no rule in extreme sports she hasn’t broken,
No gender barrier she hasn’t demolished.
She’s the woman I met in a bar in Vegas.
The woman I illegally BASE jumped for.
The woman I spent one insane, incredible night with.
But now I’m screwed.
Or rather…not screwed.
Because the woman I can’t get out of my head is the one woman I can never touch again.
I’m Dr. Cruz Delgado—the youngest professor on this campus,
And Penelope Carstairs just walked into my class.
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Review
Rebel’s story is the one I’ve been waiting for ever since I was introduced to her in Wilder; there’s just something about a kickass woman who can hold her own and then some in a male dominated environment, and as an extreme sports athlete, Penna Carstairs has made one hell of a name for herself as one of the original Renegades, diving in headfirst regardless of the danger and pushing the envelope as far as it will go.
But at the end of Nova/the beginning of Rebel, there’s more broken parts of Penna than just her leg, and as she works to try and figure out if she still fits the role she created with Pax and Landon by her side, Penna finds herself taking a different kind of risk – one that could break her in ways she never imagined because she’s never felt anything like what Cruz Delgado made her feel in one night and continues to make her feel even when it crosses a line neither of them should be crossing.
Rebecca Yarros does an AMAZING job of illustrating the many layers and demeanors that make Rebel who she is. Since her accident, she’s lost a bit of her inner rebel, which has forced doubts and insecurity to take up space in her head. Rebel is the facade that the world sees – the fearless woman whose ego never waivers. Adventure and recklessness is what ignites Rebel and it’s what her fans expect from her during every stunt and every interaction on the worldwide trip she and the Renegades are using as their EXTREME playground. Beneath her Rebel veneer is Penna – the good time girl who’s always smiling and living life to the fullest. Penna is her default persona, and it’s the one she feels most comfortable in, especially now, when she second guesses her position as a Renegade. At Rebel’s core is Penelope – the fragile and complex girl who tries to hide her pain with fake smiles and bravado. This is the part of her that she rarely allows people to see because it reveals too much about her true nature, so the fact that that’s the layer that Cruz easily recognizes proves how in tune he is with this complicated woman, even when it’s in his best interest to see only what Rebel shows to everyone else because anything more than that places them both in a dangerous position.
Cruz Delgado may not be the daredevil he once was, but there’s not much that the Renegades do that he couldn’t match or at least attempt with little difficulty. But that’s not who Cruz is now and he’s spent the last 8 years of his life singularly focused on one mission, so the fact that he feels more than a physical connection to a girl he barely knows throws him off balance and makes him reassess exactly what he’s willing to give up in order to accomplish the one thing that’s always dominated his every action.
Penna and Cruz’s chemistry is evident from their very first interaction, but even though they met one another before embarking on the Athena, it’s clear that his role as professor and her role as his student does not allow them to finish what they started in Las Vegas. Yarros does a great job illustrating just how conflicted both Penna and Cruz are once they realize one another is off-limits, and while it’s clear that Cruz wants to do what’s right because he’s teaching on a cruise ship for a very particular reason, what Penna offers him is something he can’t relinquish because everything she feels for him, he feels as well, so while there’s a huge risk every time they cross their predetermined boundaries, the undeniable bond that formed in a short amount of time becomes something that they both desperately need to live and breathe, even if the outcome of their inappropriate relationship destroys more than just Cruz’s teaching career.
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed Yarros’ Renegades series. Each of the three stories teaches the characters and its readers that sometimes taking risks is worth the fallout…that sometimes being alive means working past one’s fears and accomplishing feats that would never have even been attempted without the opportunities that lie before them. And while the Renegades definitely put their lives on the line with each stunt that they attempt to master, what’s also clear is that they attempt to live life fully, experiencing everything it has to offer and never holding back when things seem too risky or too difficult. Dylan Thomas would definitely see Penna, Pax, and Landon raging ‘against the dying of the light,’ and while they don’t expect everyone to follow their lead, they do expect everyone to make the choice making their lives everything they’ve ever wanted them to be.
5 Poison Apples
Excerpt
“Oh God, don’t do that.”
“Do what?”
“That.” He pointed toward my mouth. “Everything I told you in Vegas is still true. You’re still gorgeous, still sexy as hell, still everything that draws me in like a damned magnet, but you’re also everything I can’t have. Don’t you get that? When you pull shit like that on the dance floor, you successfully drive me batshit crazy, watching you in some guy’s arms.” A small laugh escaped him. “Like that kid has any idea what to do with you if he actually managed to catch you.”
“And you do?”
His eyes darkened. “Don’t challenge me like that.”
The tension stretched between us for a quiet moment until I broke the silence. “I didn’t kiss him.”
“I’m well aware, because if you had, I’m not sure if I could have let him walk out of here, and that’s dangerous, Penelope. You are dangerous to me.”
“I’m sorry,” I said truthfully. “Logically, I know nothing can happen between us. I get it. But I see you, and all I can think about is the way you kissed me in Vegas. The way you touched me. I can’t just erase those memories, Cruz. Like I said, somehow you make me do stupid things.”
“You? I make you do stupid things?” he nearly yelled, and I was thankful for the loud, driving beat of the music beyond the office doors. “Woman, I got into a strange car for you. Illegally BASE jumped off a Ferris wheel to stay close to you. Went to jail for you, and I make you do stupid things?”
He stalked forward, his movements smooth like a predator, and a low hum filled my stomach, growing stronger with every step he took.
“I let you stay in my class. Stupid. I look for every reason to run into you, while simultaneously praying you’ll stay far away because I need this job. Stupid. I take one look at you in that fucking dress, and I’m so hard I’m afraid I can’t hide it in a room full of students. Stupid. I can’t stop thinking about the way you taste, the way you open up under me, the way your nails left little half-moons in my shoulders when I found how wet you were for me.”
If he got his hands anywhere near me, he’d find out I was just as wet now. God, his words were the biggest turn-on I’d ever experienced. Next to his abs. Or his arms. Or his mouth. Crap, the man was one giant sex package begging to be unwrapped.
“Cruz,” I whispered as he cupped my face with one hand, his thumb rubbing over my lower lip, while he caged me against the desk with the other.
My tongue licked across the tip of his finger, unable to help myself.
“God, Penelope. You could cost me everything, and yet I’m still in here with you. And this might be the worst choice of all.”
His mouth met mine in a kiss that sent my senses reeling. His tongue swept in, claiming every curve he might have missed last time, until it felt like my mouth belonged to him.
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WILDER
I’m Paxton Wilder.
Motocross phenom & adrenaline junkie.
I have more tattoos than scars.
And I’ve never seen a stunt I couldn’t pull off—
Or a girl I can’t get off.
Until she walks in.
My new tutor is sexy, smart, more stubborn than I am, and one hundred percent off limits.
That’s right—the only rule this semester is Don’t Touch the Tutor.
For the first time in my life, I want someone I can’t have.
She’s the girl who obeys every rule.
I’m the guy who breaks them.
Our biggest risk is falling for each other,
But I live for risk…
NOVA
The only heart he wants is the one he already broke…
He’s Landon Rhodes.
The Renegade they call Nova.
Sinfully gorgeous, broody, tatted-up, professional snowboarder.
Four-time X Games medalist—
Full-time heartbreaker.
They say a girl broke him once—
That’s why he’s so reckless, so driven, so careless with his conquests.
But I’m that girl.
They can call me his curse all they want.
He and I both know the truth—
He’s the one who destroyed me,
And I’m not the sucker who will let that happen again.
About REBECCA YARROS
Rebecca Yarros is a hopeless romantic and a lover of all things coffee, chocolate, and Paleo. She is the author of the Flight & Glory, Renegades, and Legacy series. She loves military heroes, and has been blissfully married to hers for fifteen years.
When she’s not writing, she’s tying hockey skates for her four sons, sneaking in some guitar time, or watching brat-pack movies with her two daughters. She lives in Colorado with the hottest Apache pilot ever, their rambunctious gaggle of kids, an English bulldog who is more stubborn than sweet, and a tortoise who might be faster than the bulldog. They recently adopted their youngest daughter from the foster system, and Rebecca is passionate about helping others do the same.
Connect with Rebecca!
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Juliana O’Neil’s promising future was burned away in the heat of battle. She had been an officer with a bright future in the military, but now she is struggling to survive. Her husband gone and her career in shambles, she finds a job at Top as a hostess and tries to put together the pieces of her life. The last thing she needs is any kind of male attention, but she can’t help but be amused at her neighbor and coworker’s lothario antics. Not that she would have anything to do with him, at least not for more than one night.
NY Times and USA Today bestselling author Lexi Blake lives in North Texas with her husband, three kids, and the laziest rescue dog in the world. She began writing at a young age, concentrating on plays and journalism. It wasn’t until she started writing romance and urban fantasy that she found the stories of her heart. She likes to find humor in the strangest places and believes in happy endings no matter how odd the couple, threesome, or foursome may seem.
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