"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?"
Rogue is the highly anticipated sequel to Talon. I'd written a review for Talon, and I recall how I absolutely love that book. It is simply wonderful, and I enjoy reading the budding romance of Ember and Garret and the surprising chemistry between Ember and Cobalt (Riley).
But surprisingly, I'm losing interest in the romance. I mean, I'm all in on Garret and Ember being together (big shipper here), but I'm simply growing tired of this "I want Riley, but I also want Garret," "Riley is a dragon," and "Garret is human" drama. *throws hands up* Sometimes, it gets a bit too much. Even for me. I'm simply wondering why in the world they are not simply having a polyandry, but I guess soldiers are very possessive of their lady. Also, I'm pretty sure Riley would murder Garret if he even so looks at Ember while she is dating Riley. There is something about dragon pride.
One of the four POVs, Ember's POV is easy enough to differentiate from the three. After being trained to be a dragon assassin, she is very shaken and shocked by her new job (which was decided by Talon, the sinister organization of dragons). She chooses to run away and rescue Garret.
For the rest of the characters (narrators which include Garret, Dante, and Riley), they each have different motivations and goals. Dante wants to bring his sister back, but he also wants to be part of Talon. Garret is trying to see why he would stay with Ember, even though he can leave (hint, the answer starts with the letter L). Finally, Riley's background is finally revealed and the details of his past are finally blown wide open. All four characters have come to the truth of themselves, and I'm eager to see what Kagawa brings in the sequel.
The plot moves quickly. The best part is definitely Garret's POV. His steady friendship with Tristan is definite highlight of a reasonable dark and gritty story. The dialogue between Garret and Riley isn't so bad (with a blooming bromance between them). At some point, it reminds me of Ash and Puck (so not much points in original material).
Overall, Rogue doesn't reach my expectations. Talon certainly set the standard, and though Rogue does have its good moments, it fails. The ending is good (and a cliffhanger). There are great characters, and all of the cards are on the table. However, the execution of the plot (and some of the characters) isn't that great. The romance is getting overbearing, and I'm tired of hearing Ember, Garret, and Riley moan over about their problems.
Rating: Three out of Five
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