Author: Julie Kagawa
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Publication Date: April 28, 2015
Pages: 444
Source: Hardcover/Own
From the limitless imagination of bestselling author Julie Kagawa comes the next fantastic adventure in the Talon Saga.
Deserter. Traitor. Rogue.
Ember Hill left the dragon organization Talon to take her chances with rebel dragon Cobalt and his crew of rogues. But Ember can’t forget the sacrifice made for her by the human boy who could have killed her—Garret Xavier Sebastian, a soldier of the dragonslaying Order of St. George, the boy who saved her from a Talon assassin, knowing that by doing so, he’d signed his own death warrant.
Determined to save Garret from execution, Ember must convince Cobalt to help her break into the Order’s headquarters. With assassins after them and Ember’s own brother helping Talon with the hunt, the rogues find an unexpected ally in Garret and a new perspective on the underground battle between Talon and St. George.
A reckoning is brewing and the secrets hidden by both sides are shocking and deadly. Soon Ember must decide: Should she retreat to fight another day…or start an all-out war?
Review: I definitely enjoyed Rogue a bit more than Talon. It had much better pacing and more going on than to keep me engaged! While I definitely don't think it's the best out of the series either, it's definitely improving! :D
I really liked the action and everything moving the story along. We weren't just stuck in one spot doing some mundane activities over and over again. We are on the move, hiding from Talon and St. George. Dealing with agents from both sides. Trying to find out whose the mole ratting out all of Riley's safe-houses for escaped dragons. There was so much going on and I loved it! I was expecting the fact our rogue/escaped group of Ember, Riley, Wes and Garrett was going to be tailed by St. George. Ember and Riley freaking broke into one of their chapter-houses and broke Garrett out. Of course they are gonna go straight after them and keep on their tail. Not only because they got Garrett out, but because dragons broke into the dragon-slayer home base pretty much. I was not completely expecting the big scene with the Talon agents initially. It wasn't until the informant Riley met with let it slip that he talked to others about the dragons that I knew it was a setup.
I really liked that both Ember and Garrett solidified their choices of leaving their respective orders. Garrett was figuring out that St. George was lying about dragons and how bad they were. And that they clearly didn't care about the fact some dragons didn't agree with Talons beliefs. He can tell St. George is lying or keeping secret a number of things and that doesn't sit well with him. And Ember is definitely solid in her choice to leave Talon. She refuses to be sent to kill her own kind and wants nothing to do with it. She's also questioning more and more of why Talon wants her back so bad and what secrets they are holding regarding her. And as she learns more from Riley about the things they made him do and how little regard they have for humans she hates Talon more and more.
However, there's also a flip side to this. There was so much naive gullible stuff with Dante, Ember and Riley. Dante is proving he's just a brainwashed Talon operative and refuses to listen to any reason. And having the nerve to claim he's trying to get Ember back because Talon is just trying to protect them and their kind and is doing whats best for her. Um, no. Your brainwashed by these idiots. They don't have anyone's best interests at heart except for their owns. I thought it was so funny that Dante was so cocky and confident he would convince Ember to come back and that Riley just led her astray. Didn't expect little sister to stand up to you and tell you no and that your wrong huh?? Ember, she still acts like she can save Dante. She still thinks Talon is just leading him astray and that if she could just get through to him he'd see reason. She doesn't understand her brother is no longer there. He's now just a brainwashed Talon operative 100% loyal to the order. She finally seems to get that through her thick headed skull when she hears from Dante himself that he set up the Talon trap. She just couldn't think big brother would do that despite all the proof until she witnessed it and heard it 100% from him. That he tossed her aside for Talon. And Riley. Despite questioning the informant and hearing him slip up, he brushes it off and acts like nothing is wrong. I would have been incredibly skeptical after that slip up. Riley's wanting to find and get to rogues before Talon seemed to have completely overtaken his mind to the point where he forgot to be careful and question things. And then Griffin (supposedly a trusted friend/informant in Vegas) sells them out. But Riley doesn't even do anything about it. Just questions how much money he got. I felt like Riley should have been a lot more on guard regarding Griffin.
I have to admit, the ending is bittersweet for me. Ember is so torn between her feelings for both Riley and Garrett. And since she couldn't tell Garrett she loved him like he loves her, he decided to go off on his own and find answers about St. George and the things they are hiding. I'm sure they'll come back together at some point, but still. Bittersweet. Definitely hope Ember can sort out her feelings and decide on which guy she actually does want to be with. I'm super interested in what Garrett is going to find out about St. George though. And also really interested in finding out who the traitor is that keeps ratting out the location of Riley's safe houses.
I really liked that both Ember and Garrett solidified their choices of leaving their respective orders. Garrett was figuring out that St. George was lying about dragons and how bad they were. And that they clearly didn't care about the fact some dragons didn't agree with Talons beliefs. He can tell St. George is lying or keeping secret a number of things and that doesn't sit well with him. And Ember is definitely solid in her choice to leave Talon. She refuses to be sent to kill her own kind and wants nothing to do with it. She's also questioning more and more of why Talon wants her back so bad and what secrets they are holding regarding her. And as she learns more from Riley about the things they made him do and how little regard they have for humans she hates Talon more and more.
However, there's also a flip side to this. There was so much naive gullible stuff with Dante, Ember and Riley. Dante is proving he's just a brainwashed Talon operative and refuses to listen to any reason. And having the nerve to claim he's trying to get Ember back because Talon is just trying to protect them and their kind and is doing whats best for her. Um, no. Your brainwashed by these idiots. They don't have anyone's best interests at heart except for their owns. I thought it was so funny that Dante was so cocky and confident he would convince Ember to come back and that Riley just led her astray. Didn't expect little sister to stand up to you and tell you no and that your wrong huh?? Ember, she still acts like she can save Dante. She still thinks Talon is just leading him astray and that if she could just get through to him he'd see reason. She doesn't understand her brother is no longer there. He's now just a brainwashed Talon operative 100% loyal to the order. She finally seems to get that through her thick headed skull when she hears from Dante himself that he set up the Talon trap. She just couldn't think big brother would do that despite all the proof until she witnessed it and heard it 100% from him. That he tossed her aside for Talon. And Riley. Despite questioning the informant and hearing him slip up, he brushes it off and acts like nothing is wrong. I would have been incredibly skeptical after that slip up. Riley's wanting to find and get to rogues before Talon seemed to have completely overtaken his mind to the point where he forgot to be careful and question things. And then Griffin (supposedly a trusted friend/informant in Vegas) sells them out. But Riley doesn't even do anything about it. Just questions how much money he got. I felt like Riley should have been a lot more on guard regarding Griffin.
I have to admit, the ending is bittersweet for me. Ember is so torn between her feelings for both Riley and Garrett. And since she couldn't tell Garrett she loved him like he loves her, he decided to go off on his own and find answers about St. George and the things they are hiding. I'm sure they'll come back together at some point, but still. Bittersweet. Definitely hope Ember can sort out her feelings and decide on which guy she actually does want to be with. I'm super interested in what Garrett is going to find out about St. George though. And also really interested in finding out who the traitor is that keeps ratting out the location of Riley's safe houses.
I'm glad you enjoyed it. This is an author I have seen and thought about trying. But it looks like YA which I have to be very careful of what I choose. Anne - Books of My Heart
ReplyDeleteI really like Julie Kagawa. She's got a lot of series to choose from you can try. There's the Iron Fey series (about Fae), The Blood of Eden series (Vampires), this series, The Talon Series (Dragon), and her new series starts in October with Shadow of the Fox (Japanese culture, kitsunes). I've read almost all the Blood of Eden series and that's so far my favorite. I like this series, definitely not bad. I have an advanced copy of Shadow of the Fox, and it's pretty good so far. The only series I can't really give any feedback on is the Iron Fey. I own it but haven't read it yet. But if I were to suggest Julie Kagawa, I'd suggest The Immortal Rules (the first book in the Blood of Eden series). I think that series is by far the strongest.
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