Reborn by Jennifer Rush

Reborn by Jennifer Rush
Series: Altered #1
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: January 6th 2015
Source: Bought

The Branch is in shambles, but Anna, Sam, Cas, and Nick can't rest easy. Remnants of the organization lurk unseen and the flashbacks to their old lives are only getting stronger - especially Nick's.

Following scattered memories and clues from his Branch file, Nick sets off alone in search of answers and in search of the girl who haunts his dreams. But the sleepy town where she lives in full of secrets and Nick soon learns that uncovering their shared past may have deadly consequences.

Reborn was probably my most anticipated book in this series because it's Nick's book! And after Erased I've been dying to get into Nick's head and discover more about his past. So obviously when Reborn showed up, I dove straight into it. 

Reborn is set after Erased and we follow Nick on his journey to find out more about his past and more about the girl he's having flashbacks about. Elizabeth was kidnapped - along with her mother - a few years ago and she'll never forget Gabriel - the guy who saved her.

Reborn was told in alternating chapters of Nick and Elizabeth (which I'll admit I didn't notice to begin with and I got slightly confused!). 

Nick was just his usual jackass, stubborn self. But now we know he acts like that to cover up his feelings and keeps everything bottled up - because he's Nick.. We still don't know a lot about Nick - apart from what he's told Anna in previous books - so when he decided to track down the girl in his flashbacks, I couldn't wait to find out what it led to! He definitely stayed true to his character but he did start to loosen up a bit and I enjoyed getting to see happy Nick.

Elizabeth is still haunted by her kidnapping and what happened to her. She tries to function and have a normal life, but the littlest thing can remind her of her kidnapping and set off her anxiety attacks. I felt bad for her. She has absolutely no idea why she was kidnapped, or if her mother is alive. She's trying her hardest to put everything behind her, but it's not that easy when she doesn't understand it.

Nick sets off in search of the girl in his flashbacks. He heads off to Illinois, and he starts to dig around looking for connections to his past - after a few drinks of course, it's Nick. Nick quickly finds out that Elizabeth Creed is the girl he's looking for, and he hunts her down. Elizabeth remembers that Nick saved her, and she's willing to give him a chance even if she doesn't completely trust him. Nick tries to find out why Elizabeth would have been captured by the branch and he keeps coming up blank, until he decides to give Trev a call. 

Getting to hear from Nick and seeing how he reacts to finding out more information about his past was my favourite part of the book. I've been dying to get inside Nick's head for quite a while to see what he's really like - since we've really only seen the hard exterior he puts on. Hearing from Elizabeth was kind of hard at times. The kidnapping really affected her and she struggles to have a normal life. She's found her own ways of dealing with everything, but that doesn't stop the anxiety attacks. She's desperate to know what happened to her mother - whether she's alive or not - and she's constantly terrified that the people who kidnapped her will come back to finish her off. 

There wasn't as much action in this one as the previous books, but when there was some action, it was awesome. I love seeing all of the boys - and Anna - fight because they're so badass and it's kind of amazing. Even Elizabeth surprised me. I was extremely surprised with the twists that Rush threw at me towards the end, I hadn't expected either betrayals, but one of them surprised me more than the other. Also, finding out what The Branch had been up to in Illinois and why Elizabeth had been taken in the first place was extremely interesting. I felt so bad for Elizabeth when she found out the truth. The ending was jam-packed full of action and characters being awesome, and Anna saving the boys lives - again! I'm hoping that there's going to be another book because there's still a ton of stuff to be uncovered, and I really want a book about Cas! Please let the be a book about Cas! PLEASE.

Overall, Reborn has been my favourite book of the series - so far. I really enjoyed uncovering more about The Branch; learning more about Nick and also seeing Anna, Sam & Cas again because I just adore them all. I need more.