A review by erinarkin20
Rogue by Julie Kagawa
4.0
3.5 for this one.
Rogue is the second book of the Talon series by Julie Kagawa and its release was the catalyst to getting me to dive into these books. I have been hesitant lately on starting new series books just because I am so bad at finishing them. I am actually sitting on a number of last books in a series just because I don’t want them to end. With all of that said, I really enjoyed Talon and Rogue.
Talon of course sets up the story for Rogue and I won’t spend much time talking about that book here so if you haven’t yet read that book, stop reading this. I will do what I can to not spoil anything here but there will be some chance of a spoiler if you haven’t read Talon.
As I mentioned, Talon really sets the stage for Rogue and when that book wrapped up, Ember and Riley were on their way to see if they could save Garrett from St. George. I thought Kagawa did a great job of showing the conflict between these two sides of Ember (human and dragon) and this is really what moves the story forward. Ember continues to struggle with balancing her human side with her dragon side and Riley and Garrett embody that struggle.
I like Ember. She knows she doesn’t want the life that Talon has laid out for her and if she didn’t worry about Dante, she would probably drop off the grid. As Dante looks to make a name for himself within the Talon organization, he sets up a way to bring Ember back into the Talon fold. When Ember finds out that he is really responsible for the trap that was set, she finally realizes that Dante is lost to her and she needs to do what she can to survive away from Talon while helping Riley save other hatchlings any way she can.
The relationship between Dante and Ember is one that will continue to be a touchy subject as the story moves forward. I do believe Dante’s heart is in the right place but he is unwilling to open his eyes and due to the way things went down at the end of Rogue, I can’t imagine that he or Ember are going to be quick to forgive the other for their role.
Another aspect to the story are the relationships Ember has with both Riley and Garrett. There is a love triangle here but mostly because of the conflict Ember has between her dragon self and her human self. I am certain that if she was one or the other, the choice would be easy for her but her dragon side is clearly drawn to Riley/Cobalt and her human side is drawn to Garrett. As the story progresses, Ember has to figure out who she is and what that means to the people around her.
It felt like Rogue had more action than Talon so if that is something you are looking for, definitely buckle up. Ember, Riley, Garrett, and Wes are all on the run and seem to be constantly looking over their shoulder, either for Talon agents or St. George agents. Regardless, both sides are looking to get their claws on this group and in some cases, willing to do whatever it takes to eliminate the threat.
I found myself flying through this book and I thought Kagawa did a great job of moving the story along as well as providing a bit more background on Riley and his role within Talon. Admittedly, I want to know more about Garrett’s past and where he is headed, what Talon is really up to and how Dante fits into it, as well as what the burning need is for them to bring Ember back versus just eliminating the threat. I also hope we find out more about who is leaking information about the safe houses – I don’t have any clue who it might be. I am hopeful that we will get more information on all of these things in the next book.
If you know me, you know I love Kagawa’s other series so I had high expectations going into this series. Overall I think Kagawa wrote a solid second book in this series but I do hope we get more exposure to the dragons and the Talon organization. So far I feel like we have only had some glimpses of the whole thing and I want more of that. Consider checking this one out and if you haven’t read Talon yet, don’t be like me and wait so long. Also, make sure you pull off the dust jacket to see the actual cover…it is pretty cool!
Thank you to Harlequin Teen and Netgalley for the review copy.
Rogue is the second book of the Talon series by Julie Kagawa and its release was the catalyst to getting me to dive into these books. I have been hesitant lately on starting new series books just because I am so bad at finishing them. I am actually sitting on a number of last books in a series just because I don’t want them to end. With all of that said, I really enjoyed Talon and Rogue.
Talon of course sets up the story for Rogue and I won’t spend much time talking about that book here so if you haven’t yet read that book, stop reading this. I will do what I can to not spoil anything here but there will be some chance of a spoiler if you haven’t read Talon.
As I mentioned, Talon really sets the stage for Rogue and when that book wrapped up, Ember and Riley were on their way to see if they could save Garrett from St. George. I thought Kagawa did a great job of showing the conflict between these two sides of Ember (human and dragon) and this is really what moves the story forward. Ember continues to struggle with balancing her human side with her dragon side and Riley and Garrett embody that struggle.
I like Ember. She knows she doesn’t want the life that Talon has laid out for her and if she didn’t worry about Dante, she would probably drop off the grid. As Dante looks to make a name for himself within the Talon organization, he sets up a way to bring Ember back into the Talon fold. When Ember finds out that he is really responsible for the trap that was set, she finally realizes that Dante is lost to her and she needs to do what she can to survive away from Talon while helping Riley save other hatchlings any way she can.
The relationship between Dante and Ember is one that will continue to be a touchy subject as the story moves forward. I do believe Dante’s heart is in the right place but he is unwilling to open his eyes and due to the way things went down at the end of Rogue, I can’t imagine that he or Ember are going to be quick to forgive the other for their role.
Another aspect to the story are the relationships Ember has with both Riley and Garrett. There is a love triangle here but mostly because of the conflict Ember has between her dragon self and her human self. I am certain that if she was one or the other, the choice would be easy for her but her dragon side is clearly drawn to Riley/Cobalt and her human side is drawn to Garrett. As the story progresses, Ember has to figure out who she is and what that means to the people around her.
It felt like Rogue had more action than Talon so if that is something you are looking for, definitely buckle up. Ember, Riley, Garrett, and Wes are all on the run and seem to be constantly looking over their shoulder, either for Talon agents or St. George agents. Regardless, both sides are looking to get their claws on this group and in some cases, willing to do whatever it takes to eliminate the threat.
I found myself flying through this book and I thought Kagawa did a great job of moving the story along as well as providing a bit more background on Riley and his role within Talon. Admittedly, I want to know more about Garrett’s past and where he is headed, what Talon is really up to and how Dante fits into it, as well as what the burning need is for them to bring Ember back versus just eliminating the threat. I also hope we find out more about who is leaking information about the safe houses – I don’t have any clue who it might be. I am hopeful that we will get more information on all of these things in the next book.
If you know me, you know I love Kagawa’s other series so I had high expectations going into this series. Overall I think Kagawa wrote a solid second book in this series but I do hope we get more exposure to the dragons and the Talon organization. So far I feel like we have only had some glimpses of the whole thing and I want more of that. Consider checking this one out and if you haven’t read Talon yet, don’t be like me and wait so long. Also, make sure you pull off the dust jacket to see the actual cover…it is pretty cool!
Thank you to Harlequin Teen and Netgalley for the review copy.