Rebels: City of Indra by Kendall and Kylie Jenner (***)

*Drumroll* Aaaaand here it is, my much anticipated review of Kendall and Kylie Jenner's debut novel, Rebels: City of Indra. Before you read this review, I'd recommend you checking out the blog post I wrote concerning celebrities and publishing- it will make clear some of my ideas before you go on to read this :)

The storyline, on the whole, was not bad. It was similar to a lot of futuristic teen fiction I had read before: a pretty girl with dreams that reached beyond the confined world she was living in, an oppressive government, a love interest that is an enemy before a friend, and a trusty sidekick to top it all off. However this time, since the novel was split into two narratives with the separate tales of Lex and Livia, there was double of each ingredient I mentioned before. The story was well-written enough that I didn't want to give up on reading it (because I always aim to finish every book I start... Obsessive, I know) but it wasn't exciting enough for me to not want to put it down, or hype up on twitter or Facebook. 

The characters, I felt, weren't loveable enough. Sure, teenage protagonists aren't meant to be small and cutsie. However, they have to embody enough attractive qualities for the reader to actually like them, or at least be interested in what happens to them in the book. I just didn't feel that way with Lex and Livia. They weren't particularly pleasant to the other characters, let alone each other, and I don't really understand how you can't recognise your twin. Surely, you'd have enough physical similarities for you to realise before someone told you that? In Kendall and Kylie Jenner's mind, obviously not.

As the book ended on a cliffhanger, I'm presuming there is a sequel in the pipeline. This is not, in itself, an issue. The only thing is, what was promised in the first book has now been promised in the second. The blurb is somewhat misleading, I thought. Technically, all that happened in the first book was that Lex and Livia's lives collided. The rest of what was promised, plot-wise at least, has been shoved onto the sequel. 

As I said before, this was not an entirely 'bad' book. I believe that no book is completely horrific- there are always good points to a novel, if you look carefully. I believe a great deal of the negative press and poor reviews that followed the publication of this book stemmed from the fact that they are the Kardashian younger siblings, and therefore will face criticism whatever they choose to do in life. Although I haven't marked this book five stars, I have given it a rating, and explained why I gave it that particular rating- I don't believe this story is rubbish. If anything, I appreciate that they have struck out on a different path by publishing their own book. Even if there are some negative sides to this, at least they are contributing to this industry, and doing something a bit different.

If you have read Kendall and Kylie's new book, or are thinking of doing so, please leave me a message in the comments. I'd love to hear what you think :)

You can buy Rebels: City of Indra here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rebels-City-Indra-Story-Livia/dp/1451694423

*Try not to get distracted by the insulting reviews that basically just offend the authors. Give it a read first, and then form your own opinion*



Until next time :)