Author: Julie Kagawa
Series: Talon, #2
Published: May 7th 2015
Publisher: Mira INK
Length: 432 pages
Source: Publisher for review
Buy: The Book Depository
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?
The best thing about Julie Kagawa is that she can get away with almost anything. She put us through hell so many times – just think of that cliffhanger in The Eternity Cure – and still we keep coming back for more.
The very simple truth is that I liked Rogue more than I liked Talon. The first read like light contemporary YA at times, what with all the surfing, parties and teens hanging out. It’s true that we needed to really see Ember as part human in order to understand her struggles, but it’s also true that for a dragon book, Talon had very little actual dragons to speak of.
Rogue is certainly an improvement in that (and every other) regard. There is more tension, more danger, more drama, and there are more dragons flying around. Kagawa still doesn’t explore them to their full potential, but she’s getting there, and we’re happily following along.
Ember, being two-natured, is torn between two men, one for her human, and one for her dragon self. It’s clear, as it usually is, who she leans toward more strongly, which makes the whole thing tedious and unnecessary. Fortunately, the focus in this book is very far from romance. There is a war brewing which puts romantic entanglements very low on everyone’s priority lists.
The title of this book could just as easily be Ember in the Middle, and I don’t only mean romantically. With Talon’s search team on one side (led by her twin brother), and the Order of Saint George on the other, Ember has no shortage of enemies to run from. But even worse than guns are the secrets. It seems that everyone has something to hide.
The worst thing about Julie Kagawa is that she can get away with almost anything, and she knows it. Using the same tropes, putting us through hell and back, leaving us hanging from a cliff by our very fingertips… all is fair and all is forgivable. And we’ll always keep going back for more.
A copy of this book was kindly provided by the publisher for review purposes. No considerations, monetary or otherwise, have influenced the opinions expressed in this review.
Yup, I was beyond annoyed by Riley and the triangle and I'm still gonna be preordering the next book...
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that you enjoyed this one more than Talon! I was a bit annoyed about how lil we progressed when it comes to info & revelations, but it's true that the action and dragons went up a notch or two in this one!
Can you believe I haven't read a single Kagawa? Seriously need to remedy that. I don't know about this series though. It sounds too much like the Firelight series.
ReplyDeleteSo true! I have only read her Iron series but I loved it and it really did put me through heck with the cliffy's and love triangle. I so need to try something else of her's and soon!
ReplyDeleteGreat review Maja!
The issues that you had with Talon were issues I had with it too; so I'm glad you thought Rogue was better, Maja. It's also good to hear that romance isn't a huge focus of this one because let's face it, we know who she's going to choose.
ReplyDeleteThough I do find these covers dreadfully boring
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately Talon didn't really end up working me for as much as I'd hoped, so I decided to skip out on this one, but it sounds like I really shouldn't have. I'm glad that Kagawa ups the ante with this one and you were thoroughly able to enjoy it!
ReplyDeleteI love Kagawa, but I'm not going to be reading this series. I have zero tolerance for love triangles that are being dragged throughout the entire series. I seriously can't deal with them anymore.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that this was an improvement for you from the first book, Maja. Hopefully the series will continue to impress you!
Wonderful review!
While I can never get enough of dragons, I'm waiting to try this series until I know how the romance works out Maja! I think it will be less stressful for me once I know who the clear winner is going in, that way when Ember waffles a bit I can more easily forgive her:) Lovely review!!!!
ReplyDeleteI DNF'd the first book cause it was driving me nuts. As much as I love Julie it just wasn't working for me. But I'm glad to hear this one was better. Maybe one day I'll finish the first and consider reading this one. :)
ReplyDeleteI always really like the books from this author. I haven't read Talon I confess so neither Rogue but I'm curious. I want to see how it is!
ReplyDeleteI've been meaning to start the talon series for quite a while now. Maybe my internet will go out and let me binge read this weekend. :D Matt @ JC's Book Haven.
ReplyDeleteI meant to try out this series, but I was somewhat disappointed with her last one (with the faeries...) I felt it had started really strong, and then gradually the writing became increasingly repetitive, barely carrying the story anymore. So I stopped reading her. But it's been a while and writing does improve with practice, so I'll have to make time for this one. As always, lovely review <3
ReplyDeleteSigh I am not convinced to try this yet. I know the reviews for the first book were dismal and I dont know I wish she would branch out and give up something more original if that makes sense. She is so talented.
ReplyDeleteI still haven't' read anything by this author. I didn't read all that great things about Talon, but this sounds much better.
ReplyDeleteI've not been impressed with her lately, so I'm not ready to jump back in the Kagawa wagon. Love triangle though? Yeesh.
ReplyDeleteI'm one of those rare people not under the spell Kagawa has created. I'm not a fan of the tropes she uses but I'm glad her novels are consistently able to deliver for you--that's rare, in an author. So glad to hear you enjoyed this as I'm a huge fan of dragons myself. Who knows, maybe I'll pick it up soon! Lovely review, Maja!(:
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this one too but I really hated the romance in this one. I don't know why but it bothered me and usually her triangles don't as much. I did love the adventure and can't wait for the next one.
ReplyDelete"that cliffhanger in The Eternity Cure" Ohh, yes. Twas cruel.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you liked this one more than the first, it gives me more hope for the series! All the mixed reviews for Talon kind of turned me away from the books but this one does sound a bit better. The romance reminds me of the Firelight series, which I was not a fan of, so I'm a little iffy though. Nice review!
Gah I still need to get stuck into this series - I'm rather partial to dragons! Kagawa's got a really compelling writing style, and I loved her Fey series.
ReplyDeleteTalon wasn't what I expected, but I enjoyed it overall. Not sure what's keeping me from reading this. Maybe the love triangle? Glad you enjoyed it!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for stopping by! Jen at YA Romantics
I love how this author writes such different types of stories... faeries, vampires, dragons.. I need to start on this one too, not sure if to wait for all of them to come out though.
ReplyDeleteYES. I liked Rogue more than Talon, definitely. I still want more dragons, though.
ReplyDelete