Gothic Romance Review: Renegade by Amy Carol Reeves

Renegade by Amy Carol Reeves (Ripper #2)

Egalley thanks to Flux

Synopsis from Goodreads
Brimming with romance and danger, the suspenseful Ripper series continues

The Conclave—a secret group with twisted ideals and freakish practices—has been wiped out, thanks to Arabella Sharp. Now there’s a new malevolence afoot. Fishermen are getting killed, their partially devoured bodies washing up on the shores of Scotland. Is the Ripper responsible? Or have the Conclave’s sinister experiments left behind something more monstrous? Abbie fears the worst when her beloved Dr. William Siddal vanishes. To save the man she loves, Abbie must comply with the Ripper’s dreadful orders—and put her own life in grave danger.

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8/10

* * *

I loved the previous book in the series, Ripper, and I really enjoyed this book as well. It was very atmospheric and full of interesting historical details amid dark psychic visions and bloody mysteries left in Conclave's demise.


I applaud heroines like Arabella. She is a warrior, fierce and stubborn. She is not a damsel in distress and her every action only proves it again and again. She is actually the character who does all the dirty work in both books. In that trait she is very similar to Ripper - she has an innate talent for killing, and she fights dirty.

In Renegade, Arabella tries to come back to normal life after what happened to the Conclave, however life gives her a blow after blow. She finds out something about William that makes her doubt him to the points of breaking all ties, and she still has this weird connection to Simon, whom I admit I favour much more.

 Then when William disappears, it's up to Arabella to find him with the help of Simon, and to vanquish the creature who guards him.

Now that creature's thoughts is what perhaps slowed down the book for me and diminished my pleasure of reading. She has perhaps third of the book to herself, while she reminisces about her past and does her dirty deeds. However I found her so unexciting, I kept wanting to get back to Arabella...

There are also two major plots in the book: Arabella and Ripper's connection, and mysterious cannibalistic murders in London. Now this I suspect has something to do with vampirism, and reminded me strongly of Bram Stoker's Dracula, but unfortunately that threat disappears without any sort of conclusion. I suspect it will renew itself in the next book.

All in all, it's a pretty good book despite some structural misgivings. Recommended.

* * *

Несмотря на некоторые неудачные моменты сюжета, вторая книга серии вышла удачной.

Арабелла всё-также поражает своей природой воина и своими столконовениями с Потрошителем. Она также остаётся ведущей силой тройки, замешанной в тайны Конклава, состоящей из неё самой, Арабеллы Шарп, и докторов Уильяма Сиддала и Саймона Сент-Джона.

Когда в Лондоне происходят загадочные каннибалистические убийства на кладбищах, Арабелла подозревает, что в них замешан Потрошитель, и когда исчезает Уильям, с которым она недавно порвала отношения, она получает от Потрошителя ультиматут - чтобы вернуть Уильяма она должна попасть на острова Оркни и убить монстра, охраняющего последний зверинец Конклава.

С помощью Саймона, Арабела выбирается в Шотландию, и финальная битва оказывается не менее эпичной, чем столкновение в первой книге.

Однако, сам сюжет Ренегата страдает раздвоенностью до самого конца. Во-первых, книга разделена на две точки зрения - Арабеллы и монстра, и читать как монстр вспоминает о прошлом и охотится на людей честно говоря скучно. Во-вторых, сюжетная линия с кладбищенскими убийствами обрывается на середине, и я подозреваю, что она разъяснится только в книге следующей.

В остальном, совсем неплохо и очень атмосферно написано. Советую.