REVIEW: Rift by Andrea Cremer

RIFT by Andrea Cremer

This book is...

For fans of the Nightshade series

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

On the List of "Amazing Prequels"

****Side note: Isn't the cover just awesome? Talk about fierce!

Synopsis:
Sixteen-year-old Ember Morrow is promised to a group called Conatus after one of their healers saves her mother's life. Once she arrives, Ember finds joy in wielding swords, learning magic, and fighting the encroaching darkness loose in the world. She also finds herself falling in love with her mentor, the dashing, brooding, and powerful Barrow Hess. When the knights realize Eira, one of their leaders, is dabbling in dark magic, Ember and Barrow must choose whether to follow Eira into the nether realm or to pledge their lives to destroying her and her kind.

With action, adventure, magic, and tantalizing sensuality, this book is as fast-paced and breathtaking as the Nightshade novels.

Review: 

So as I'm sure you all know, Andrea Cremer is not only the author of RIFT but of the Nightshade series, which is on my list of My Favorite All Time Paranormal Series. When I went to Comic Con this past July I was hoping to get my hands on an ARC, but alas I failed and waited until it was officially released.

I have one word to describe RIFT and that is BRILLIANT. "Brilliant" is not a compliment I bestow lightly, so I have broken down why RIFT was brilliant in a VERY orderly fashion, if I do say so myself:

Reason 1: World Building

World building is a particularly important aspect for me to consider in a book, and Cremer has certainly become a master at it. In the Nightshade series, I felt that, while the world Cremer created was great, she didn't explain it in the best way; sometimes facts and conversations were inserted awkwardly, etc. In Rift, this is not an issue whatsoever; everything was weaved together perfectly. I actually felt like I could have been in the stable with Ember and her horse or fighting that disgusting water horse, and I learned about the world in the same way Ember did. All Hail Andrea Cremer, World Weaving Queen!

Reason 2: Strong but Not Annoying Female Lead

Ember is a great example of a heroine who is strong but not without fault and also not annoying. That is a very jumbled and poorly worded description, but basically she is likable and relatable. Despite the fact that she is noble born and that she lives in a time hundreds of years before us, she still struggles with things people, especially women, struggle with today. One thing I've always loved about Nightshade was how Andrea Cremer highlighted the sexism that exists and has existed for years. In Rift, Cremer is still able to provide an enticing story  with a serious emphasis on serious issues. Essentially, it's nice reading about a character who does all this cool badass stuff in a world that doesn't really exist (to our own eyes at least) but still suffers what normal people go through.

The side characters are also very intriguing; I look forward to hearing especially more about Kael and Morag

Reason 3: Love Interest yeeee!

Oh Barrow, Barrow, Barrow. I like him. I like him A LOT. It was clear from the start that he was going to be the love interest, and I love that there weren't any love triangle games going on, at least on the side of Ember. While I appreciate a good love triangle, they are becoming a little cliche. Ember knows what she wants, in more than just her love life, and I like that! There is one scene (I won't get specific because I don't want to spoil it) where Ember really takes the lead in her relationship with Barrow. It is awesome because she doesn't wait around for him to push her into it, she does it because she wants to. I also really enjoyed the fact that there wasn't too much of a "Oh I can't want him, he's my mentor, I must resist my desire!"line going on with Ember. You go for it Ember!

Reason 4: Ties to Nightshade

While RIFT is a stand alone novel, it was still nice to make connections to Nightshade. In Rift, you basically learn the origins of the Keepers (well, not the full story) and the older version of the Searchers.  Personally, I really enjoyed learning more about the Searcher/Conatus side of things. In Nightshade series, I don't think this was the main focus, which is totally fine, but I'm glad Cremer wrote Rift to give more of a background

In all, RIFT is great, even better than any Nightshade book. I am anxiously awaiting for RISE, the sequel to Rift, to see just how things end up!