Reviving Izabel by J.A Redmerski

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My rating: 4 stars

Book summary:

"Determined to live a dark life in the company of the assassin who freed her from bondage, Sarai sets out on her own to settle a score with an evil sadist. Unskilled and untrained in the art of killing, the events that unfold leave her hanging precariously on the edge of death when nothing goes as planned.

Sarai’s reckless choices send her on a path she knows she can never turn back from and so she presents Victor with an ultimatum: help her become more like him and give her a fighting chance, or she’ll do it alone no matter the consequences. Knowing that Sarai cannot become what she wants to be overnight, Victor begins to train her and inevitably their complicated relationship heats up.

As Arthur Hamburg’s right-hand man, Willem Stephens, closes in on his crusade to destroy Sarai, she is left with the crushing realization that she may have bitten off more than she can chew. But Sarai, taking on the new and improved role of Izabel Seyfried, still has a set of deadly skills of her own that will prove to be all she needs to secure her place beside Victor.

But there is one test that Izabel must face that has the potential to destroy everything she is working so hard to achieve. One final test that will not only make her question her decision to want this dangerous life, but will make her question everything she has come to trust about Victor Faust."

      I liked first novel more, but it is still worth reading. Reviving Izabel continues the story about Victor and Sarai, but we meet our anti-heroes eight months after the final scene from the Killing Sarai. No matter how much she tries to lead a normal life, Sarai is far from what is socially accepted as normal and still deeply marked by the last nine years of her life. She takes the matters in her own hands and decides to confront the monsters. (Spoiler alert.)

      More hotness, more action and, unfortunately, more drama. Everyone who wanted to see more sensitive side of Victor, sizzling scenes and what would Sarai do next will be happy with what author did in the sequel. For the most part I am among those too, but at the times it looked like J.A. Redmerski forgot few details in her original character concepts. Victor, but Sarai too, were more like teenagers in love. Why was that problem for me? Well, it is different from the way they were represented in the first novel and also, Reviving Izabel has most of the standard new adult drama issues. Plot was inconsistent and not convincing, I felt lost several times. Last third of the book was written in the completely different manner - too many witty comebacks and cliche set-ups.
No matter all of the above, I still enjoyed reading this book - it has even more Nikita atmoshere than the Killing Sarai, it's fast-paced and interesting, but far from perfect. I agree with other readers when it comes to Fredrik, he is interesting character but I hope he will not be new Soren (character from The Original Sinners series  by Tiffany Reisz).

Happy reading,