The Rise of Ren Crown by Anne Zoelle

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Source: I purchased a copy

From Goodreads:

Reeling from what the students at Excelsine University are calling "Bloody Tuesday," Ren is determined to regather her magical family. But the events of the attack were not without multiple costs. Magically broken and exposed, Ren is ripe pickings for multiple factions that want to use and chain her, and the Department is the scariest of the pack.

With only a limited amount of time to save her friend, and confined with the rest of the student body awaiting their fate, Ren stands a mere hairsbreadth from losing her freedom completely with each and every decision she makes.

My Thoughts:

I thought that this was the final book in the series, and was surprised to learn it is not.  Ren’s character continues to grow.  She continues to be the best friend that she can be. She still puts herself on the back burner for her friends. The bond between all of them is strong.  In this book we see more of the contrast between Dare and Constantine.  Ren’s magic makes her a target which in turn puts her friends in danger.  The loyalty and disloyalty in this book has been taken up a notch. Fighting the “Department” was terrifying to read.  This book in my opinion is much darker and more violent. Don’t get me wrong, I love dark novels. This one seemed to end so abruptly that I can’t wait to read what will be in the next one. I will warn that this one is a lot more violent.  I enjoyed it immensely.

The Protection of Ren Crown by Anne Zoelle

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

From Goodreads:

Barely surviving her first term at college, all Ren wants to do over break is relax and bond with her roommate—not get eaten by a sentient building or attacked on the street. But with increasingly open warfare brewing between the magical factions and Layers of the world, this time, Ren will not fail in making sure everyone she loves stays safe and protected. 

That includes doing things like filling her parent's house with personal art heavily embedded with wards, bubble-wrapping her increasingly imperiled roommate, and even making sure that a certain sexy thorn-in-her-side continues to breathe free air.

Finding herself on duty protecting the entire university alongside campus god Alexander Dare...was not what she'd had in mind. 

But this time it's not only her life on the line. And Ren will do anything to protect those she loves.

My Thoughts:

While I loved the first book in this series, the second was even better. We get to see the characters grow throughout the story. No stale, static characters here.  I really enjoyed getting to know Dare better.   Excelsine, the world the author has created just keeps getting better.  Ren has worked her magic when it comes to friending people. Olivia has started to come around now.  Reading this book is like peeling an onion one layer at a time. The story line gets sweeter and sweeter.

The Awakening of Ren Crown by Anne Zoelle

From Goodreads:
Ren Crown is a high school senior searching for her identity when a devastating attack on her twin brother thrusts her into a hidden world of magic. Fighting forces that she is woefully unprepared for, Ren illegally enrolls in a prestigious secret university where magic is plentiful and danger is absolute.

Determined to set her family back to rights, she is blocked at every turn and faced with a new reality of boundless fascination and possibility. Animated creations, enchanted gadgets, and marvelous machines vie with the students themselves: mischievous engineers, diabolical tacticians, battle-hardened warriors, and terrifying roommates.

But even amidst an eclectic student body, there is something off about Ren's magic...and the wrong people have started to notice.

Caught in a tightening web, Ren's values stand trial, as does the fate of the world.

My Thoughts:

I loved how thought out the characters were. They became real on the pages. The love Ren feels for her twin brother goes above and beyond. It made me ask how far I would go for one of my siblings, and would I know when enough was enough? I really liked that the romance/crush wasn’t over done in this book. I hate mushy romances, always have. We didn’t find what is found in so many stories, instant love. Instead the author let feelings develop slowly and naturally. The creation of all of the magical creatures shows how well developed the author’s imagination is. That for me is a big plus.

The title was the best at describing what happened to Ren, her magic awakens.  Awesome characters, great world building, make this a series to be read.   Come back tomorrow for the second book in the series, The  Protection of Ren Crown and then Saturday for the final book in the series, The Rise of Ren Crown.