Reviving Izabel (In the Company of Killers, #2)

by J. A. Redmerski

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.

• ISBN10: 1494297523
• ISBN13: 9781494297527
• Publish Date: 6 December 2013 (first published 4 December 2013)
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 314
• Language: English

Reviews

[Angie]

Reviving Izabel was a great follow up and a great end to Sarai and Victor's story! It picks up about five months after the ending of Killing Sarai with her doing something incredibly stupid. Leading a normal life has not been working out too well for Sarai, since Victor is in her every thought. She also just can't stand living in a world where Hamburg and Stephens are alive, so she plots to kill them herself. Well, her attack on the disgusting Hamburg doesn't go well, since she really had no plan in place. But one good thing came out of it: Victor came back for her, and now he's going to train her so she doesn't get herself killed on her self-assigned mission.

I know I said I was happy about the lack of romance in the first book. It just wasn't the right time for Sarai and Victor to get together, but they're reunited in Reviving Izabel and I couldn't wait for them to get to the kissing! I still loved that there were no big declarations of love. These are not lovey dovey people. In fact, Victor has been suppressing his feelings for so long, that I wouldn't have believed him if he said the words. Instead, he just shows Sarai how much he cares and how she changed things for him! What those two have is passion! Lots and lots of passion!

The plot of Reviving Izabel was really great, too. Victor doesn't just let Sarai run after those men she wants dead, and she doesn't try to. She does the training, and asks Victor not to make excuses for her when she screws up. And boy does she screw up at times. But she owns it, learns from it, and moves on! There's no crying in assassination! But there is a lot of squirming. Being brought into the fold also means that Sarai has to get to know Frederik. The chapters where he does his work...um, yeah, very uncomfortable. But I'm so glad his book is next! I must know more about this "unbreakable" man!

My only disappointment with Reviving Izabel was that last chapter. It was kind of like how when a TV show gets a movie after like ten years (I'm lookin' at you Veronica Mars and Sex in the City) and the opening credits are one big info dump of what happened previously and what happened between then and now. I liked getting this closure, but I much rather would have read about it as it was unfolding! Lots of interesting stuff happened and it was just reduced to an epilogue. Other than though, I'm quite satisfied with how things turned out.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.

[Ashley]

A good followup to the first book. It was just as interesting and fun to read.

I'm not sure I liked the ending though. After everything, it almost felt like a bit of a letdown. Kind of like: none of that was even real? There was so much build up and intensity and it was all just some kind of test? Then the death of the guy Izabel wanted to kill was really downplayed and skimmed over (imo). I would have liked to see more plotting and planning here.

[kimbacaffeinate]

review to post soon ;)