Author: Julie Kagawa
Genre: Young Adult/Urban Fantasy
Publication: Harlequin (UK) Limited
Release Date: April 28th 2015
Pages: 447
Spoilers: None!
Special: YABC Staff Review
First of all, thank you thank you thank you so much Harlequin (UK) Limited for providing me with the e-ARC of Rogue! I was literally dancing around my room, screaming at my roommate that I got to read Rogue as an e-ARC. You guys rock at Harlequin (UK) Limited! So here we go… be prepared!
Rogue starts off where Talon left us: yearning for more dragons, St. George soldiers and Talor assassins. Ember left with the rogue dragon Riley, accompanied by former St.George soldier Garret en Riley’s human hacker friend called Wesley. Haunted by both Talon and St. George, they try to survive in a world that wants to see them dead more than anything. I was really looking forward to the book, but got a tiny bit disappointed (don’t worry, the book is amazing!).
What I really liked about Rogue was the fact that you, as a reader, will learn so much more about the world Ember lives in. In the beginning, everything was really black and white. St. George hates dragos, Talon pretty much hate anybody who stand in their way. In short: two teams want the group of runaways dead or captured. But Riley isn’t going to let that happen. He and Wes have been trying to save hatchlings from Talon for so long, they aren’t going to give up. Even if Wes has to risk everything in order to keep Ember happy. After a break in at one of St. George’s quarters, they save Garret from a painful death and run as far as they can, only to get into a fight with hem again.
Ember startled me a couple of times. She is totally in love with Garret, the human that has changed his mind about dragons for good. But that’s her human heart. Her dragon heart yearns for the dangerous rogue dragon Riley. But then again, she’s a rogue too. And Dante, her brother, is doing everything he can to keep Ember away from both the soldier and rogue. But Ember has other plans.
Rogue flies you through fights, haunts and painful situations. They fall into every trap possible and always nearly achieve to escape from whoever is hunting them down. The flow of actions is fast and Julie Kagawa knows how to keep her readers going, not stopping until the very last page.
But I have to admit, reading Talon was easier. Some parts of Rogue felt like they were dragging. As a reader, you might feel as if the book has not one problem, one goal and one solution. They are trying to save their lives, which is good, but what then? That was honestly the only thing that I didn’t quite like about the book. But maybe that’s because the second book in a trilogy is the ‘middle’ book and they always have this particular characteristic of somehow feeling a little bit lost.
Anyhow, I enjoyed reading the book a lot. Mostly, because it offered different views on one big problem that has been going on for centuries. Kagawa managed to show how something can be one thing at the first page, but turns out the be the complete opposite on the other page. And even in this love triangle, I have no clue who Ember is going to end up with. I know who I’m rooting for… but I’m not going to spoil anything!
Rogue is a haunting novel that offers a great range of views on one fight that has lasted for centuries. The book will question you about being human, and what that means. Kagawa showed us what real fear is, knowing that it’s almost impossible to trust somebody completely. Readers who love urban fantasy will fall in love with Rogue the way Megan from The Iron Fey fell in love with Ash.
