Rebel Prince
The Coalition has not given up on the jewel that is Trios, and this time they are determined not to conquer, but destroy. A new generation will be tested. Lyon, the son of a legendary Trios king. Shaina, the daughter of an infamous skypirate. Rina, a survivor haunted by the losses of the first rebellion. Prince Lyon would rather strip naked in the square than allow Shaina Silverbrake bragging rights for rescuing him from anything, much less would be prince-nappers on Arellia. But what he wants and what destiny has planned for him are about to collide when a dark plot is uncovered by Rina. Lyon's last adventure before royal duty claims him for life becomes a race for a powerful artifact, and the fate of two worlds hangs in the balance.
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3 primary books#3 in Coalition Rebellion
Coalition Rebellion is a 3-book series with 3 released primary works first released in 1994 with contributions by Justine Davis.
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I'm giving Rebel Prince a generous 4 stars, primarily on the strength of my love for the first two books in this series and because you have to admire the heck out of an author who finally wrote the third book in a trilogy, a full 20 years after the original publisher, Topaz, made the boneheaded decision to reject it.
Back in the good old 1990s, Lord of the Storm and The Skypirate were two of my favorite comfort reads - nice, juicy space operas with catnip plots including slave-turned-warrior (Storm) and redemption of evil bitch (Skypirate). Over the past 20 years, however, I grew up and romance novels did too. While I enjoyed Rebel Prince, it just didn't move me in the same way as the first two books.
Part of the reason is that sci-fi/fantasy romance has grown and changed so much in the past 20 years. While there were few other options in this genre in 1994 when Storm was first published, now there are many examples of novels and series with sophisticated world-building and mythology. The Star Wars-lite planets of this series - perfect Trios vs. the eeeevil Coalition - now seem quaint and unsophisticated.
Also, readers have grown to accept and even expect kick-ass heroes and heroines who apologize to no one for their bad-assery. So when Rina and the object of her affection keep playing the “I'm not good enough for you” humble card again and again ad nauseum it seems annoying, and an unnecessary conflict.
Then there are our golden children, Lyon and Shaina. Destined from birth to be together, there's very little Davis can do to keep them apart other than the “let's not ruin our friendship” trope, which lasts for about half of the book before they give into their feelings. The romance felt very pro forma. I thought there was more depth of emotion in the fractured relationship between Shaina and her father, Dax Silverbrake (hero of Skypirate) than between Shaina and Lyon.
Maybe I'm nitpicking. After a 20 year wait, it would have been difficult for Rebel Prince to live up to the wait. And I'm 20 years older and more cynical than I was when the first two books were published. I did enjoy the glimpses of Dare & Shayla, and Dax & Califa, and I'm glad that Rina finally got a happy ending. I salute Justine Davis and Belle Bridge Books for finally completing the trilogy and righting a 20-year wrong.
