Rebel (415 Ink)

5++++ Stars. Absolutely brilliant, I loved every single thing about it. One of my top five books of the year for sure. It made me cry, it made me laugh, it made me feel. I fell in love with all of the flawed, beautiful, real characters. I cannot recommend this book enough. My favorite Rhys Ford book ever, and I’ve read them all.
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I loved this book. Rhys Ford is one of my favorite authors and she did not disappoint me. This story is NOT a murder mystery. However, it is a wonderfully crafted story about love gained and lost. Gus and Rey are a great couple. Gus is a skilled tattoo artist, and Rey is a fireman. I loved that their first meeting is at a fire and their relationship goes up in flames, burns outs, and then reignites when it gains new fuel. Additionally, she includes Easter eggs for her Sinners and Dirty series fans.

I ended up buying a print copy of the book to added it into my library.

Oh, Gus. My heart bled for everything this guy has had to go through to make it through life. He's probably the character most deserving of a HEA that I've seen in a long time, but I was glad to see that he and Rey didn't just fall back into bed together and instead took the time to get to know each other again. It also made me happy to see little Chris become such a big part of (and catalyst for good things in) Gus' world but not take page time away from the main story like so many authors will do with small and cute children.

Best part of this book for me? All the freakin' easter eggs. If you're reading this book as an established Rhys Ford (and a couple of other authors) fan, pay attention to what people are reading and wearing as well as who is sitting in the tattoo chairs.

This was a fantastic and gut-wrenching story. The characters will break your heart. You don't often get to see characters grow as people but this story does the job. I already love this little family and I can't wait to see what happens next.

Excellent beginning to a new series. This is Rhys Ford at her finest - damaged heroes, second chances and characters that grow out of experience. Not everything is easy and the journey makes it all worth while. Can't wait for the next one.

Rebel is the first book in an entirely new series, but it contains flairs that can only emerge from the vibrant mind of Rhys Ford. In Rebel, we meet a r In Rebel, we meet a ragtag group of five brothers, some family by blood, all family by choice. August Scott is a drifter, forever running from his internal demons, and pushing others away is easier than waiting to be kicked again. Rey Montenegro is a fire survivor turned firefighter, working with his best friend, who also happens to be one of Gus’s brothers.

It is a second chances novel, and it is beautifully done. Gus doesn’t understand why Rey pushed him away three years past, so when Rey discovers just how much damage he’d done, he kicks himself in the pants and tries to make amends. Unfortunately, once bitten, twice shy Gus isn’t ready to step back into the arms of the only man he’s ever been in love with. Then there is this entirely different component that leaves everyone wondering how to proceed.

As a first book, there is a very large portion taken up by world-building, character basics, and backgrounds, and as such, it is a slowly simmering buildup to the conflagration. As usual, Ford creates vibrant settings and ensures that she knows what she’s talking about before putting ink to paper (yeah, yeah, keyboard to monitor, but you get the gist). Her research is on point.

This is a hurt/comfort second chance theme, and the plot is carefully optioned and then excellently crafted. There is a lot of angst in Gus’s character. You get a really in-depth look into the horror that was his childhood, and watching that character grow and flourish throughout the book is heartwarming!

The chemistry aspect was a light almost-sizzle in the background. There was no doubt these two men were meant to be together, but with so much else going on, it detracted a bit from this aspect.

The secondary characters are plentiful, opinionated, and quirky, and I quickly fell for most of them. I am not currently a huge fan of Rey’s best friend/Gus’s brother, but I’ve no doubt that this opinion will probably change as he will be a main character somewhere in the series.

Then there are the easter eggs – oh my, the easter eggs! If you don’t know what they are, allow me the pleasure of explaining. When characters from other books, or references to characters in other books, pop up, the result is a smile in your heart if you have read those books. However, if you *haven’t* read the books, it detracts absolutely nothing and the story is just as stellar.

The end of the book brought both happiness and sadness, the former because it was *so* good, and the latter because I didn’t want it to end! I can with much fervor, recommend this book. It’s an emotion-provoking joy, and you don’t want to miss this amazing new series!

I voluntarily read an ARC copy of this book for Divine Magazine from Dreamspinner Press with hopes for but no obligation to provide a review.

**Same worded review will appear on Goodreads, the store.co.uk and the store.com.**

Great start to a new series! I absolutely fell in love with the 415 family. Gus and Rey are both flawed and real. Neither has had an easy life. I liked that their obstacles were internal rather than external and their journey was about fixing or finding peace within themselves so they could get to a place where they could be together. Can't wait to read the next one!

Full disclaimer: Rhys Ford is one of my favorite authors, and I got extremely excited when I was given a copy of this book to review. I don't think this review has any major spoilers so I did not hide it, but if you want to know nothing about the book, maybe skip it for now.

Gus and Rey are a neat couple, and I liked their story. I'm going to admit though, I ADORED Bear. I sincerely hope he is going to be one of the next stories. I loved the way he took care of Gus and all the others. One of Rhys's best features in her ability to write secondary characters and create a world that is believable. I loved the shop, Rey's step dad, and so on. I especially loved the writing for the family of Gus' son. Not all baby's mother's are bad, and this was very well written as I seen situation where the parents, and the extended family all got along fine.

If I had one criticism it would be because I'm a mental health counselor and have a pretty good idea how the system works, even during the time period Gus was little. He would have gotten counseling due to the politics of that time period as most schools had a counselor by the mid 1990s, assuming that's the time period (thank you Hillary Clinton!). Also, due to the circumstances described (especially as a twin), he would have been a huge draw for someone who wanted to do a study so he likely would have gotten free treatment in exchange for the study. Of course, that in and of itself would open up a new plot! That being said, as described in the book, there are some very very bad social workers who go out of their way not to care. He could have slipped through the cracks as described in the book.

I LOVED when Gus visited Luke and Luke explained why his office was set up as it was, with the kids stuff separate from his own office. Very well written and explained!

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book and review it. I can't wait for the rest of the series.

Rhys does it again. I absolutely loved the story, two people who definitely needed to communicate got their second chance and it was a beautiful one. I can't wait to read about the rest of the family. I've fallen in love with 415 Ink!

A wonderful story line and story about love, family and patience. I love how the author tackle the misconception of some people that families are only blood related, and the scary and sometimes insecure feelings of being a parent. I would recommend this book to anyone.

This book is about trying to overcome your past and about the family we choose to make. Well developed characters balance out this novel and make you hunger for more in the series. Rhys Ford has done it again!

This story tugged at my heart for many reasons, but it was a stark reminder about how apathy can hurt more than cruelty. Beautifully written, graphic and impactful, Rhys will continue to be an auto-buy and one of my absolute favorite authors.

The past is particularly painful for Gus, when Rey, the man he loves tells him that he doesn't see the relationship working. Gus leaves his home, his brothers, trying to bury the hurt. He's back now, with a bombshell for the family.

Ms Ford does lost boys better than most authors. She also has a grasp of cultures, like tattooing that are foreign to most people, and the value of family under the most dire of circumstances. Another excellent foray into life and love.

Gus’ story will break your heart but pick you right up! August, “Gus”, is a beautiful young man who was betrayed from the time he was born. Rey is the man who fell in love with Gus as a teenager and broke his heart as a man. I fell in love with Gus from the beginning and I’m never going to get over him!

My Review:
Overall: 4.25
Performance: 4.0
Story: 4.25

I've had this book forever, but when I saw it was available in audio, I grabbed it knowing that I was more likely to get it off my TBR list that way. I'm so happy that I got to read it...and just in time since book #2 is coming out really soon.

So...this book...It hits one of my weak spots for tropes...the second chance at love story. Rey and Gus were together until Rey blew them apart three years ago. That breakup completely blindsided Gus. He never saw it coming and it completely broke him. He's been avoiding coming home ever since because he can't see Rey without it shredding him inside.

But something's changed which means he can't avoid home...and Rey...anymore. Rey and Gus both have a lot of messed up emotions that they have to sort through in this book. They were both really hurt by what happened between them and that isn't something that just suddenly heals. And all of this is happening in the middle of lots and lots of family drama and side-plots. It really made for an interesting and entertaining read.

Wow, this is a group of seriously messed up guys. The brothers (Gus's) have been through hell and back, but they're even closer for it. But all those mental scars and hangups are still there. It's going to be a phenomenal series that I think will probably get better and better with each book as the story deepens.

I have the best kind of book hangover after finishing Rebel. What a great start to a new series by Rhys Ford. This book at its heart is about family and love. The family we choose, whether it be biological or not.
This group of brothers have each been through their own personal war. Yet they have created a beautiful family full of love, strength and acceptance.

Book 1, Rebel, focuses on Gus and Rey. This is a beautifully written second chance romance. I loved watching these two reconnect. They had to open themselves up and take a chance, but boy did it pay off! I loved how both Gus and Rey realized what had gone wrong in the past and worked to change things. The road to their HEA wasn't easy but so worth it.

I can't wait for the next book in this series.....I'm already addicted to 415 Ink!

Good gosh this book was filled with heavy strong emotions. A makeshift family of sorts of five guys who experienced various forms of abuse and neglect. A couple worse than others. The story also touched on how the social service system fails children and their families more frequently than one can imagine. Gus was holding on to his past hurts and it resulted in him being afraid to move forward even with the support of his brothers. The had to learn the meaning of compromise and not putting folks in a box. This was an intense story with a few light moments nicely done!