Rogue (The Talon Saga book 2)
by Julie Kagawa
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Release Date: April 28, 2015
Rating: 4/5 Stars

Book Summary (Goodreads):

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?

My Review:

Rogue begins with Ember and Riley setting out to rescue Garret from The Order. Garret has committed treason by conversing with dragons and allow them to live. Garret, the Perfect Soldier, that has killed dragons for most of his life, showed two dragons mercy, allowing them to escape, and by doing so is subjected to firing squad. Riley and Ember manage to save Garret, and them, along with their computer hacker genius Wes, are on the run from both The Order of St. George, and Talon. But how long can they run before they get caught? Their luck is about to run out.

Rogue is action packed right from the start. It’s a page turner, and hard to put down. I really enjoyed reading more from Riley’s POV, and getting to know Riley from twelve years ago when he had decided to leave Talon and go Rogue. I think his POV as a major character brought a lot of insight and depth to the story. I enjoyed the inclusion of new characters, Ava and Faith. And I loved reading from Dante’s POV as well. Julie Kagawa is my all time favorite author, and she doesn’t disappoint in her story telling or character development.

Of all the main characters, my favorite is Garret, the Perfect Soldier. I think of all the characters, Garret has a lot to offer to the story, and has the most growth to do. Garret no longer knows who he is. And it might take him awhile to figure that out, and I can’t wait to read the next book in the series entitled Soldier to see where the story takes him.

Riley is still bossy as ever, but he is exactly what all the rogues and hatchlings need. I don’t like him like I like Garret, but I have to admit he has surprised me at times with how considerate he can be. I love him and Garret’s interactions. They flat out hate each other, and with good reason. Yet there are moments when they have to rely on each other, and save each other. I can’t wait to see in future books how these two evolve. There’s a moment in Rogue when they fight back to back, and it’s amazing. I felt like we were getting a glimpse into their future, of how it could, and possibly will be between them once they get over who each other are. They work together in a way that is exactly what the other needs. I can definitely see a camaraderie in the future between these two characters.

Ember drove me a little nuts. Sure she’s stuck in a hotel room and going crazy and all the flashing and bright lights of Las Vegas are surely alluring for a dragon that didn’t leave the nest until recently. But on two occasion I remember for sure that she tried to use both the boys. Once with Garret, to get him to take her to the slot machines, and another on Riley, trying to get him to let her contact her brother. She flat out used them, and I didn’t like that. She knew that she would get her way if she was stubborn about it. It worked with Garret, but didn’t work real well with Riley. But Ember is a very stubborn, fiery dragon, and she isn’t used to the shiny allure of a beautiful city or the freedom to be able to do what she wants, so I get it. But still, try to be nice to those boys Ember! They obviously would do ANYTHING for you! Try not to take advantage of them!

And on that note….

 I’m also not a fan of love triangles and really hope Julie doesn’t plan to draw this one out much longer. I understand that the dragon side calls to Riley, and that her human form calls to Garret, but I’m not sure I can take many more books of Ember not being able to make up her mind, no matter how well it’s written (because lets face it, Julie rocks as an author and even though I don’t like love triangles Julie writes it very well in her books).  And to top it all of, I personally think Garret is the better person for her. Riley wants to be dominant. He get’s mad at her stubbornness. He wants her to stay put like a good little girl and fights her about it until he relents and gives in to her. Garret on the other hand accepts who she is and works with her as an equal, not as her leader. In fact, I think he likes her stubbornness and that fire burning inside of her. I think he makes her a better person, and I think she makes him a better person. I don’t think that is the case for her and Riley. Riley tries to hold her back, while Ember is very distracting to Riley, and he tends to lose control of his composure because of her. I’m definitely team Garret over here!

Another POV I loved was Dante, Ember’s brother, whom lets face it is still naive and stupid. It’s amazing how easily and quickly Talon can turn blood on blood. But even though he’s an idiot, I still love his character.

A new character I loved was Mist, a dangerous, icy blue dragon. Hoping we see more of her!

Overall I think Rogue was fantastic and a great sequel to Talon. I still think that Talon is my favorite of the two books but who doesn’t enjoy a good love story and surfing on the beach? 🙂 Rogue is more about trying to escape and survive. It’s more action packed, and a very enjoyable read.

If you haven’t read Talon yet be sure to do so! You are missing out if you haven’t read it yet! And if you have, and haven’t read Rogue yet DO IT! Especially for all those fans out there that prefer more action than a love story, there’s lots of action in Rogue, so you won’t be disappointed!

Some Favorite Book Quotes:

I waited, holding my breath, my whole body coiled and ready for a fight. I didn’t know what to expect, but whatever was coming, I was ready.

And then the door to the guard room opened, and I met a pair of vivid green eyes across the hall. Turns out, I wasn’t ready at all.

The breath caught in my throat, and for a moment, I could only stare. Not only a nervous breakdown, I’m also hallucinating. Because there was no way she could be here. no sane reason she would show up in the middle of a St. George base, minutes from my execution. My mind had snapped; I was seeing things that weren’t there.

– Julie Kagawa, Rogue 

There was no disgust. No regret. I stood on this roof, openly kissing a girl who was really a dragon, and I wasn’t sorry at all.

– Julie Kagawa, Rogue 

I reached out and put a tentative hand on her neck, feeling warm scales under my palm. My heart jumped, still thrilled by the idea of touching a real dragon.

– Julie Kagawa, Rogue

 

Did you notice all my favorite quotes were from Garret? Tell me, which team are you on?

Buy Links:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

About the Author:

I’m a writer and the YA author of THE IRON FEY trilogy, beginning with THE IRON KING. I love books, anime, sushi, writing, and video games. (Occasionally, the characters from my book will hijack the computer and make an appearence, but I take no responsibility for anything they say.)

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