Rogue (#2) by Julie Kagawa
Genre: Young Adult/Modern Fantasy
Spoiler Free Summary:
Long ago, dragons were hunted to near extinction by the Order of St. George, a legendary society of dragon slayers. Hiding in human form and growing their numbers in secret, the dragons of Talon have become strong and cunning, and they're positioned to take over the world with humans none the wiser.
Ember and Dante Hill are the only sister and brother known to dragonkind. Trained to infiltrate society, Ember wants to live the teen experience and enjoy a summer of freedom before taking her destined place in Talon. But destiny is a matter of perspective, and a rogue dragon will soon challenge everything Ember has been taught. As Ember struggles to accept her future, she and her brother are hunted by the Order of St. George.
With assassins after them, the rogues find an unexpected ally 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?
**Spoiler Free Review**
Publication Date: 15th April 2015
I was sent a copy of this book from Harlequin (UK) Limited, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. Rogue is the second book in Julie Kagawa’s series. I had high expectations for the first book, Talon, when I first saw just the cover. I love dragon books and the concept of this one sounded interesting and unique. I’d also heard a lot of good things about Julie Kagawa’s writing (which is, as I found out, completely justified).
The first book I found quite exciting and fast-paced, albeit a little underdeveloped in world-building. However, this second book certainly delved into the world of Talon itself a bit more. I also really enjoyed the exploration into different character’s back stories and points of view. Diving into more of Dante's point of view was especially interesting with his experiences on the other side; it was so fascinating to see more of the dragons and their organisation. Garrett and Riley were equally made so much more three-dimensional in this book as you learnt more about their pasts and what led them to this moment.
Sadly, I did find Ember rather irritating in this book (and a bit in the last book). I think it was just her reckless behaviour which a lot of female characters in YA seem to have these days. I can only hope that character development will continue in the next book and that she will change for the better. However, I do think the main reason for this sudden onslaught of reckless characters in YA is the result of something else... the love triangle.
There is a love triangle in this book and, although I can see how this developed (and I suppose it makes more sense than many love triangles), I really dislike them as a trope in Young Adult fiction. They are everywhere. It just frustrates me when reading a book as I feel it takes away from the storyline and it always seems to force the main character to make stupid/reckless decisions for absolutely no reason. Having said that, I am interested in seeing how this one actually plays out and what will become of the characters; which I think just shows how well Julie Kagawa writes mores than anything else.
And I do think the main thing I love about these books is Julie Kagawa’s writing. She writes dialogue between characters fantastically well. She brings the characters to life through their speech and I really feel as though I know them. Her beautiful writing makes them as vivid and three-dimensional as any person. Although he’s not the main character of this book I think Wes is definitely one of my favourites. He is witty, clever and downright brave when it comes to facing dragons, especially those on his own side. Everyone needs a good hacker on their team and he is the perfect character in the team to stop the main focus being on romance.
Although I did see the twist coming, I still got a shock at a couple of things in the ending, and I thought it suited the book perfectly. It’s an exciting instalment in this series and I am looking forward to continuing on because I’m very interested to see where this story goes and how the characters will develop. I really want to see more of the world of Talon explored, as well as the history of St George. If you're a lover of modern/urban fantasy and dragons then I highly recommend picking up the first book in this series and giving it a read because it gets even more action-packed in the second book!
Long ago, dragons were hunted to near extinction by the Order of St. George, a legendary society of dragon slayers. Hiding in human form and growing their numbers in secret, the dragons of Talon have become strong and cunning, and they're positioned to take over the world with humans none the wiser.
Ember and Dante Hill are the only sister and brother known to dragonkind. Trained to infiltrate society, Ember wants to live the teen experience and enjoy a summer of freedom before taking her destined place in Talon. But destiny is a matter of perspective, and a rogue dragon will soon challenge everything Ember has been taught. As Ember struggles to accept her future, she and her brother are hunted by the Order of St. George.
With assassins after them, the rogues find an unexpected ally 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?
**Spoiler Free Review**
Publication Date: 15th April 2015
I was sent a copy of this book from Harlequin (UK) Limited, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. Rogue is the second book in Julie Kagawa’s series. I had high expectations for the first book, Talon, when I first saw just the cover. I love dragon books and the concept of this one sounded interesting and unique. I’d also heard a lot of good things about Julie Kagawa’s writing (which is, as I found out, completely justified).
The first book I found quite exciting and fast-paced, albeit a little underdeveloped in world-building. However, this second book certainly delved into the world of Talon itself a bit more. I also really enjoyed the exploration into different character’s back stories and points of view. Diving into more of Dante's point of view was especially interesting with his experiences on the other side; it was so fascinating to see more of the dragons and their organisation. Garrett and Riley were equally made so much more three-dimensional in this book as you learnt more about their pasts and what led them to this moment.
Sadly, I did find Ember rather irritating in this book (and a bit in the last book). I think it was just her reckless behaviour which a lot of female characters in YA seem to have these days. I can only hope that character development will continue in the next book and that she will change for the better. However, I do think the main reason for this sudden onslaught of reckless characters in YA is the result of something else... the love triangle.
There is a love triangle in this book and, although I can see how this developed (and I suppose it makes more sense than many love triangles), I really dislike them as a trope in Young Adult fiction. They are everywhere. It just frustrates me when reading a book as I feel it takes away from the storyline and it always seems to force the main character to make stupid/reckless decisions for absolutely no reason. Having said that, I am interested in seeing how this one actually plays out and what will become of the characters; which I think just shows how well Julie Kagawa writes mores than anything else.
And I do think the main thing I love about these books is Julie Kagawa’s writing. She writes dialogue between characters fantastically well. She brings the characters to life through their speech and I really feel as though I know them. Her beautiful writing makes them as vivid and three-dimensional as any person. Although he’s not the main character of this book I think Wes is definitely one of my favourites. He is witty, clever and downright brave when it comes to facing dragons, especially those on his own side. Everyone needs a good hacker on their team and he is the perfect character in the team to stop the main focus being on romance.
Although I did see the twist coming, I still got a shock at a couple of things in the ending, and I thought it suited the book perfectly. It’s an exciting instalment in this series and I am looking forward to continuing on because I’m very interested to see where this story goes and how the characters will develop. I really want to see more of the world of Talon explored, as well as the history of St George. If you're a lover of modern/urban fantasy and dragons then I highly recommend picking up the first book in this series and giving it a read because it gets even more action-packed in the second book!
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