Review: Luz Rebound by Jeania Kimbrough

Senior Kara Jagger returns to Trinity, a private boarding school in New Mexico, after completing a student exchange year in Australia. She needs the comfort of familiar surroundings, but realizes her friends have changed. Her ex-boyfriend, Ryan, is heavily into a new romance with Christie, a girl who has copied Kara’s look. Christie forbids Ryan to speak to Kara and tries to intimidate Kara into doing the same.

Meanwhile, Kara experiences reverse culture shock. She misses Ben, the boyfriend she left in Australia, and the sense of security that her relationships with both Ben and Ryan previously gave her. So why not try to win Ryan’s attention again, Kara justifies to herself, since jealous Christie accuses her of it anyway?

Still, playing a part in a love triangle means someone’s going to be the odd one out. Kara’s rekindled passion for Ryan leaves her feeling confused and causes Christie to act with increasing desperation. The three are eventually enveloped in scandal that threatens to further isolate Kara from her friends and peers.

As the end of high school approaches, Kara must find a way to emotionally graduate to the person she wants to be, or risk hanging back in the darkness of a painful past.

My Review

The Cover of Luz Rebound drew me in with its difference. Instead of a photograph it uses a drawing with reds and oranges in the background which is eye catching. This novel is classified as young adult/ new adult and I think it seems closer to being for an older audience.

Kara’s character struggles to figure out her feelings for the Ryan, who she ended a relationship when she left for a student exchange program. I felt like that trip was her way of figuring out who she was as a person but she still had many issues to deal with. Ryan was having a hard time figuring out what he wanted and was being careful with his heart. I felt like the relationship between Ryan and Christie was toxic. There were so many obstacle in the way and it felt fake.

I really like that the novel took place at a boarding school, it gives a feel of how easily gossip can spread. I have to say the drawback of this novel was its beginning, which was slow to start. Once it started to pick up the characters came alive and I got a really good feel for each. I would have wanted more of a resolution between Kara and Ben, the guy that she met during her time away but maybe the author intended to leave it as unresolved.

I give Luz Rebound 3 out of 5 stars.

I received this ARC of Luz Rebound by Jeania Kimbrough from Smoke Signal Press through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

About This Author

Jeania Kimbrough is an American entrepreneur and author. Exploring new ideas and places are among her favorite pastimes. Reading is another. She likes to think she was born in the middle of a dried out ocean (commonly referred to as the Desert Southwest) and has been thirsty ever since.

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