I finished Rogue, the second book in the Talon Saga, on 1/8/17. This is the first book that will qualify towards my 2017 Goodreads goal. :D
Goodreads Summary:
"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? "
My Rating: 4/5 Stars!!!
My Review:
Once again, Julie Kagawa had me captivated! I want to reiterate what I said in my Talon Book Talk....I have NEVER seen dragons done the way Kagawa has done them. You have dragons that can shift into humans and it is set in present day. Sometimes you forget that the dragons aren't actually people! I love that about this series.
My one major complaint still remains: the love triangle. It is truly hard to read through. However, that isn't enough to make me hate the book, or even dislike it in the least. The way the romance is written is great, I just hate that the triangle exists. It feels forced and unnecessary to me in this series.
The action scenes are amazing! Especially towards the end of the book. This book kept me on my toes way more than the first book. The whole book left you wondering what would happen next!
After reading the second book in this series, I still highly recommend these books! You get some of everything with this series, you feel every emotion, and who doesn't want that?!
SPOILER ALERT: Please stop reading if you have not read Talon or Rogue and you plan to do so!!
Seriously....You have been warned....
Book Talk Section:
So first, lets talk about Garret in general.... This guy is amazing. He has risked everything for Ember, and has resigned himself to his fate at the beginning of the book, even though he deserves so much better than what he is getting, just because he is happy that he could save Ember's life at the end of book 1.
I definitely prefer Garret to Riley/Cobalt where the love triangle is concerned. In the last book I was conflicted, but I know 100% who I want her with now. I love him....I love him so much.....
Now for Riley/Cobalt....I really admire how much he cares for all of the "Hatchlings" that he helps escape from Talon.
I also think he needs to lay off of Garret. I understand that Garret has killed dragons before and he has all of their blood on his hands, but he was only following orders. Cobalt followed Talon's orders the same way before he was aware of what Talon really is.
I liked Riley more in the first book. Now he is just way too jealous and, to be frank, an epic asshole.
Ember......ugh. This girl still drives me insane with her naivety, but not nearly as bad as she ticked me off in book 1. She isn't whiney anymore, which is a huge saving grace, but she does have her flaws.
For example, she still insists that Dante didn't report her to Lilith in the first book when she was getting ready to run away. She thinks Talon is only using him and he is just following along like a little puppy. NOOOO!!!! EMBER WTF?!! We all know that Dante is lost to the dark side and he is completely cray and refuses to see the truth. Talon may have taught him that, but after he was trained, he still had the choice to leave. He should have trusted Ember in the first place.
Next thing....Freaking pick a guy girl! Riley and Garret both love her. Those words actually came out of sweet Garret's mouth. He actually said it. Riley has said the same, but not in so many words. I have a HUGE problem with her not having a clue who she's going to be with.
I do like that she is ready and willing to help her friends no matter what the situation or consequences. I also am sooooo happy that she has finally seen Dante for what he is at the end.
Dante.....you stupid ignorant dude. Why won't you give your sister the benefit of the doubt?!?! He's known her his whole life and he won't even hear her out?! And then, he sends a Viper after Ember?! (In Dante's defense, Talon itself gave the orders to Faith to kill Ember if she didn't go back willingly, and Dante ordered her to not harm Ember no matter what).
I do believe that Dante doesn't know the harm that Talon is willing to inflict to get their way. He could feel differently if he did.
The Epilogue was like what!!? Dante SMILED like a maniac when he saw the clones in the Talon basement. CLONES..... After movies like " The Clone Wars" is there ANY doubt what a huge number of clones is actually meant for?! The answer is NO! There is only one thing that Talon could be planning to do with them.....It is an ARMY! A DRAGON ARMY!!! And Dante just smiles evilly.....Um...ok Dante.......
So now for thoughts about other random characters:
I suspected Ava/Mist as soon as Kagawa described her looks... The hair color gave away her real identity to me. Ava=Mist. Mist works for Dante.....Obviously, the whole "save the innocent hatchlings" plan was not going to go well.
Since I realized who Ava/Mist was, I suspected Faith immediately and was basically mentally screaming at Garret and Ember to throw her out a window and be done with it. Hate. Her.
The epic battle between Faith and Ember had me biting my nails. When Ember let Faith go I was like Noooooooo! She's coming back, she's coming back! And then.....Faith came back and Garret did his thing to save Ember, yet again. Go Garret!
The end......you guys the end tore my heart out and stomped on it with its big giant feet.....I've said this in other reviews, but I really, actually, literally cried. I love Garret and I was so mad that Ember just let him walk away like that. When he tells her all she has to do to make him stay is to tell him to, and she doesn't say anything, I was so angry at her! Heck, I am STILL angry with her. She better redeem herself and choose him in the next book. I want her with Garret!!! GARRET!!!! And he left! *Sobs uncontrollably*
Some things about the writing that irritated me....
Several sentences seemed to be repeated a few times in the same-ish situations. So I was kinda "eh" about that.
Once again, I hate that Dragon-Ember and Human-Ember are referred to as separate individuals. NO! Ember is a dragon and a human! She has both! BOTH. Drives me insane.
If this love triangle isn't resolved ASAP in book 3 I will literally scream. I'm not joking around here guys. If there is one single thing I would change about this book, the love triangle would be it....it is SO forced and unnecessary. I don't normally feel this way about the love triangle thing, but I am not having it in this case. It got old, reeeeeal fast y'all.
A few things I want for the rest of the series:
I would really like for Dante to come around and help Ember and the team.
I also would like to see Garret's old St. George partner come back into the story. In a good way though, not as an enemy, because G-man needs all the help he can get from how the ending of the book sounds.
Obviously, I want the love triangle to be resolved. (Go Team Garret!!)
I also want to know why the heck Ember and Dante are so important to Talon.
No major deaths please!!!!!!
Let me know if you have any thoughts on this book in the comments. Don't forget to check out my Talon Review from December and discuss that with me as well!
See y'all later!
XOXO,
Eden
