The Rebel: secrets, family trouble and enemies to lovers

The Rebel by Jennifer Bernard is the first book in The Rockwell Legacy series. Deep in the Cascade Mountains, the Rockwell family has been running the historic Rocky Peak Lodge for generations. The lodge and its legacy is a risk. Kai Rockwell is the oldest and always the rebel. He left home when he was 18 and would rather die than deal with his father, “Mad Max” Rockwell. Now fifteen years later, he’s being called home as his father has a health scare and the lodge needs a lot of help. All Nurse Nicole Davidson wanted security for her and her disabled sister. When the job as an in-home nurse for Max Rockwell comes up, she is recruited to do a little intel for her friend’s investment group. No problem until Kai comes home and everything is thrown into a chaos. Kai and Nicole are equally determined to protect their families, they aren’t sure if they are enemies or lovers. 

The opening chapter of The Rebel hooked me in and let me down from there. I’m not really sure why but the story fell flat. There were a lot of secrets that the characters hinted at but took forever to reveal them. By then, I didn’t care what the secrets were. I did enjoy Kai’s character and despite his vow to never to return, he couldn’t truly abandon his home. I didn’t care for Nicole’s friend who was so pushy that I wanted to yell. Nicole giving her information about the lodge was plausible but her friend’s demands were way out of line. The introductions of Kai’s siblings didn’t heighten my interest enough to read the rest of the series. It is not my favorite by Ms. Bernard and I have loved the books I’ve read by her so far. Overall, I just didn’t care for the romance between Kai and Nicole. 

The Rebel is available in paperback and eBook