Rogue by Julie Kagawa
Genre: Fantasy
Published by: Mira Ink
Pages: 464
Format: ARC E-Book
Rating: ★★★
Series: Talon (#1)
Where to Find: Goodreads | Amazon

Okay, so the epilogues for this series so far are incredible! I need Soldier in my possession ASAP. How I’m supposed to go on when the final reveal changes EVERYTHING I don’t know! Rogue is a great sequel to Talon; it’s just as action-packed, with 100% more conspiracy. I have to say that I missed the blend of the contemporary/fantasy thing Talon had going on, but this series is definitely heading in an interesting and new direction.

I really loved the first third of the book because it was so fast paced, unfortunately it got a bit repetitive in towards the end. The smaller surprises weren’t altogether shocking, but how they blended with other elements of the story – like Dante’s scenes – was really impressive. Dante’s perspectives, although few and far between, where some of my favourites because they really gave an insight into the dragon world and it’s becoming a lot easier to see through the propaganda that Talon keeps trying to force on the hatchlings. What’s strange is that I think I sympathise with Dante more than I do with Ember. Don’t get me wrong, Ember’s going to become this super awesome heroine and is going to kick conservative dragon butt, it’s just I can’t stop feeling sorry for Dante and his brainwashed ways.

The sibling conflict will – I hope – become a more prominent theme in the later books, and judging by the epilogue Dante’s position in society is rising, which only increases the gap between him and his sister. As for the conflict between Garret and Riley/Cobalt, I didn’t think there was anything particularly new there. Riley got overly possessive again with allusions to ‘she should be mine’ which I can’t help reading connotations of ‘I will make her mine’ into. Ember’s a smart girl, kids, let her figure it out herself!

The past Cobalt chapters were also super effective and really made me warm to his character. There was quite a lot of rescuing in Rogue – who doesn’t like a bit of mortal peril thrown in for good measure, eh? – which just seemed to slow the story down and I didn’t really get back into the plot until the very end. I want to see these characters evolve in the sequel, I want to see them tested and pushed to their limits, because I think that will really drive this series into something that readers will just think ‘wow, how are they going to get out of this one?!’ Basically, I want MORE mortal peril, is that crazy? I just feel that’s where we’d really understand Ember as a character, because at the moment she’s still on the fence about her life. She may have ‘gone rogue’ but she still feels connected to her brother and Garret, and the harder decisions that she’s going to have to make with set her apart from the other host of amazing female protagonists out there.

Overall, I think Rogue was a really awesome sequel. It left me wanting more and definitely built the tension reading for the next book. I don’t think we’ve ever scratched the surface of this series’ potential yet, and it’s already so promising. Therefore, I gave Rogue 3 stars!