Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Teen for providing me with an eARC of this book to read and give an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
I enjoyed Talon so wanting to read the second book was a no brainer. I love the idea of dragons in a book, it's more unique than other beings I've seen so far.
This book picks up where Talon left off. Ember is Rogue, she's in cahoots with Cobalt, and they are on a mission to save Garrett.
For me, this book started off great and with a blast. I had high hopes. But once Garrett was saved, the rest of the book suffered from "middle book syndrome" though this is not even the middle book in the series since there are 5. The action scenes seemed a bit contrived. As if they were inserted into the book as filler. Many of them didn't move the book along as I'd hope. So the pacing ended up being slow. We did see much more dragon action in this book, though, so that was pretty cool.
I did love the different POVs. I'm always happy to read a book this way as it gives me insight into each characters brain and how they think and see things. And it's always interesting to see how they see things differently from their counterparts. This one still gives us Ember. Garrett, and Cobalt/Riley but as shown in the last chapter of Talon, we now have Dante. I have to say, I do not like him. I know that's part of the plot but I felt his character was very flat. And, while I know the dragons may be much older than their human years, Dante's voice was much older. Given the fact that he and Ember are the same age, and she comes across as much more naive, I felt his character was off.
There's still romance in this one. The building up of the love triangle. But it's not a central part of the plot, perse. It's mostly Ember contemplating why she is attracted to both guys and figuring out her human versus her dragon side when it comes to that attraction.
Does the end of the book come with a cliffhanger? Kind of, sort of, but not really. I mean the next book is called Soldier so, although you watch what happens with Garrett, you still know more is coming.
Kagawa's writing remains entertaining though very typically YA with it's love triangle trope and the FMC always making stupid mistakes that get her in trouble. But overall this series remains fun and I will continue on to see where it leads!

I have to admit I'm a bit frustrated with this series. It has all the makings of a completely great read, between the unique world, interesting cast of characters and the rotating first person narrative that really works for me, plus a fast paced plot to boot. However, the execution of everything isn't quite what I had hoped, between the love triangle disconnect, and the overly reckless heroine, I just can't sink into these books as much as I would like. Don't get me wrong, they are interesting and entertaining reads, but I just feel like there's unrealized potential not being met here, but hopefully the future books correct that.

I requested this one back in the day as I had every intention of reading it. However, its been years and I still haven't gotten around to it and while I feel guilty at not reviewing a book I think that I need to admit to myself that I won't be reading this one anytime soon....if at all.

I didn't really like the first book too much in this series but thought that I would give this one a try anyways. I just couldn't get into it. I don't know if I just waited too long between reading them or what but I gave up about 25% of the way into this one.

I'm over here bouncing up and down because of how awesome this book was. Another favorite author of mine just wrote another amazing book. I can't get enough of her stories. Like I just want to dive into her books and never leave. Though I'm not sure I would survive lol

Oh, yeah, it was so great to read this book! It was such a great sequel, and it had a lot going on! Like rescuing Garret! Or the flashback POV's of Riley/Cobalt around the time that he was leaving Talon...yeah, it was just a really great read!

Honestly, I kinda expected that rescue to be bigger than it was. But they got in fairly cleanly, and only really caused a ruckus on the way out. So that was a lot of fun to read! Even more so, the dynamics between Garret and Riley!

Ember has a lot to learn about life on the run. And while we did get a few POV chapters of Dante, we did have a good balance of everything that was going on! So that was really great to read! It was just so great to delve deeper into this world!

That ending oh, with the betrayal that the runaways they were helping were actual Talon plants? That hit right in the feels! That Ember was in a battle for her life, to the point where only one of them would walk away and she still tried to keep them both alive...yeah. That was hard to read!

I loved this book and I can't wait to read more!

Thoughts as I read this:

5.41% They didn't even let him finish!
12.39% What does he mean "like old times?!"
24.55% Always good to try a new way of transportation. Lol
50.23% What turmoil Ember must be in!
78.6% Interesting set up happening!
100.0% Dante is such a fool.

I think my main problem with the Talon series is that for all its action and crazy Dragons it lacks heart, it lacks soul... it lacks that spark that makes it un-putdownable and makes you create crazy connections with its characters. Also Ember is completely annoying but that's beside the point.

I feel like the characters (all but Riley & Wes) are just puppets waiting for someone to make them into real live boys. Like, Garret for example.

"Prodigy was another word that had been tossed around over the years, and lucky son of a bitch, if they were feeling less generous"

He ONLY thinks about two things throughout the novel: How he used to be the perfect soldier for the Order of Killing all the Dragoons Inc. and how he isn't the perfect soldier anymore because a fiery Ember opened his eyes and *gasp* his heart to the possibilities. I quite honestly feel nothing for Garret and would like him to move on as quickly as possible off Riley's page time.

Riley: "I'd seen the worst of Talon, St. George and the whole damn world, and it had turned me into a hard, cynical bastard."

Riley on the other hand is the INTERESTING fellow of the series, his whole underground system for protecting and rescuing his kind is all kinds of wonderful (plus it feels more real than Talon's whole "stick up their butts" system... more on that later). If the novel was only about him and Wes (and their forbidden feelings for each other--only in my head?) I think Talon would be made of gold and all my money would be thrown at my computer screen. Hell, give me Kagawa's paypal account and I'll send some extra dough just for making my dreams come true.

I feel like Riley and Wes' relationship has more credentials than Riley/Ember or even Ember/Garret. It is a bromance for the ages, and it helps that Wes is the only male character currently not making googly eyes at Ember. She comes along all "I am such a stupid, impulsive little dragon! Let's do this rash thing now!" and Wes is all like, "Fuck no, I would like to live through the end of this day thank you very much. Now scoot, let me do actual work around here." Wes is my hero.

Garret and Ember= Cliche YA leads in lurve with each other.
Riley and Wes= Awesome team who serve a purpose and make me SWOON.

**Seriously, some Riley and Wes fan fiction might be VERY appreciated (refer to my "throwing piles of money at screen" comment above).

As for Talon, they are full of shit.

"...with my trainer drilling me on company policies, protocol and how to act in front of the regional vice president."

They are portrayed as this corporation who somehow have all dragons eating off the palm of their hands, and so far I haven't even SEEN one dragon community. It is all stale offices and crappy coffee. Their whole structure feels flimsy. I can understand the order of "kill all the dragons!" as being full out military (but where do they get their recruits?) and strict, but you would think the dragons would have a sense of community, hidden towns or places where they can just be... but nope.

"In ancient times, the challenge between two alpha drakes would be settled via personal combat, with the contenders ripping, biting, and slashing each other, until one of them either fled in defeat or was killed. Nowadays, two rival dragons obviously couldn't throw down in the middle of the city, but there were a thousand other ways to destroy a competitor without getting your clwas dirty. Which was good, because that was something I could excel at."

Did I mention Dante was a major douche? Also, take me back to those ancient times, I think I belong there. Perhaps the whole damn series does because the "corporate" vibe ain't doing the show any favors.

Also, Ember is dumb as rocks.

"Did you not learn your lesson last time? You gave him a choice--Talon or blood-- and he chose Talon. He'll do it again if given the chance."
"I don't believe that."

Girl should really learn from her mistakes, also to use her head once in a while.

Riley: "You certainly keep my life interesting Firebrand."
Ember: "You love it. Just think how boring life would be without me."

His life was already interesting, you are just making it difficult. Also Ember is too good to kill anyone, even in self defense, which is why I think she keeps Garret around, to do the dirty work for her.

"I hadn't really been planning to kill her, not like this. Viper or no, I couldn't stand here and ever-so-casually tear someone's throat out."

Of course not, cause you are too good for school.

I am a super fan of Kagawa's writing, and I like all her other series. This one just ain't for me.

Anyways, maybe I'll muster the energy to read the third book, but I won't be falling over myself to get it. I am setting my sights on Kagawa's actually awesome series The Iron Fey, and its last installment The Iron Warrior.

I apologize for the delay in this feedback. Health issues for the past several years has really hindered my reading. I am making up for it now, and apologize for the inconvenience.

I'm a fan of Kagawa, with anything she writes. Rogue only adds to my fangirling with this installment in the series. She knows how to draw you in and captivate you with the characters, dialogue, and story. It's a perfect book 2, filled with complexity and an angsty love triangle. I'm not typically a fan of triangles, and this one had me on the edge of my seat. I can't wait to continue with the next story, and see what happens next!.

I enjoyed the fist installment of this series, but found this novel disappointing. I have enjoyed her other series, so I may try the next book.

I never had a chance to review this before it expired. I'm sorry!

Sorry, requested but did not find the time to review.