Cole’s heart is dark.

He’s a mystery, even to those closest to him in the Assassins Guild. All anyone really knows for sure is that he’s ruthless, grim, and cares little for his own life. So when he loses his memory during an attack and thinks himself a naive eighteen year-old again, no one can really believe the transformation. But as his memory returns, so do the nightmares and the dark reality of who he has become.

Lucy’s world is bright.

When gentle-natured Lucy falls in love with the damaged stranger, she thinks him a smiling, amiable gentleman. But rumors of a murder in the nearby village have her suspecting that her patient may be hiding a terrible secret. 

Can opposites really attract?

What will happen when Cole regains his memory and his past catches up to him?

The Rebel is the second novel in the Assassins Guild series. The books in this series do not need to be read in order, but it will enhance your reading experience if they are.

I did not read the first “Assassins Guild” book so I can agree that they don’t have to be read in order. I’m not sure what secrets or additional details were revealed in that story but, while The Rebel references characters and happenings from the first story, Archer does a great job of filling in the details so you don’t get lost.

I did feel like maybe their relationship was rushed a little, although this is a common historical romance theme. They do discuss how quick it is but that doesn’t make it any more believable. After her questionable past, I kinda felt she was a little too easy to fall in love. But as the two spend more time together and as Lucy supports Cole during all of his troubles, their relationship becomes more realistic. By the end I could easily see the two together.

Cole was by far my favorite of the two. It was heartbreaking to have all that he’d experienced revealed to him (and us) and for his darker past catch up with him. There was so much optimism and charm in the eighteen-year-old version that you know that life had to do something awful to turn him in to the more hardened man introduced at the beginning. Lucy on the other hand seemed a bit naïve about things and less accepting about the bad things that happen. The ending is handled very well and I felt very satisfied by the way Archer wrapped it all up. There were plenty of options that could have been taken but I felt this one was definitely one of the best.

And Cole’s history as an assassin, and the group of men that he worked with, makes for a very intriguing plot point. Although they do what they do for good, it cannot be an easy job to kill people for a living and it makes for a lot of intriguing story possibilities. I’m going to be keeping my eye out for more from these guys.