Photo credits: Mystic Art Design (pixabay) Edited by Vaishali Title: The Rogue King (Inferno Rising #1) Author: Abigail Owen Publisher: Entangled Publishing. Year of Publication: 2019. ISBN: 978-164063-532-6 Format: E-book - kindle app Genre/Themes: Adult Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Dragons, Shapeshifters Review
A phoenix is a temptation and a trophy worth salivating over to any dragon king. A king is just a king without one. With one, they court over an entire species with a rare myth to establish their seat on the supreme throne. But Kasia Amon is a best kept secret nobody was to ever know about. After five centuries of being hunted in the shadows, one phoenix burned through the ash of sacrifice so her four daughters could live. Kasia’s mother spent the last minutes of her immortal life burning for her daughters, to protect them, push them apart and send them off into secrecy and away from the savage rank of dragon shifters that would do anything for a piece of Phoenix legend. After a year in hiding, Kasia’s days of camouflage are over. She might have the gift of vision, but she couldn’t see the day she dreaded most edging nearer - her exposure and the flight of a dragon predator aiming right for her. When her existence is leaked, spreading the message of a live phoenix to every creature who wants a claw, canine or talon in her myth, her time is truly up. Any beast with hungry intentions and unsated interests would love to capture a creature worth a king’s ransom. A set of neatly told lies and closely held secrets has kept Kasia out of perils way, but the rage of her Phoenix fire is the fire call that puts her on an open-wide radar. Brand Asterot is a dreaded and damned castaway. He’s what they call a rogue dragon shifter, a wild card in the realm of dragon with not a clan to belong to, a paragon of mistrust among shifter kind. He’s the reddest flag, the baddest danger, a menacing outcast. Brutish and uncaring, he’s worn the mask of a warrior stoic since the slaughter of his family. Working as an ally to the Blood King, one among many searching for the immortal bird of fire, is just a means to a centuries old end, and if it takes bringing a fated creature into the claws of dragon domain, no sacrifice is too big. Her imperative plan to stay hidden now burnt to flame, Kasia is stuck with a resisting gold dragon with a coarse heart and cold head. He’s perhaps the biggest predator who could have come roaring. He’s everything she was educated to deflect, everything her fabled history insists she turn tail and run from. Whether a lionhearted phoenix makes the right call in putting her faith in a self-serving mercenary to seal his path in revenge could end in either in fated flame or a field of ash. I’ve made my way halfway through the gamut of supernatural species romance. I’ve done vampires, I’ve done werewolves, I’ve done fairies, I’ve done the sub-species between but until Abigail Owen, I’ve never done dragons. What fantastic beasts they are. The words big and proud and beastly are the first to come to mind when I think about dragons, and they do live up to their name, but to read about these dauntless predators is a roaring thrill. Those scenes that you can see splashed across the space in your mind’s eye? The gloriousness of a beast imagined, the threat of their proportion in shifted form and the fire-blasting suspense of seeing them in action really is a trivialised indulgence. It was hard not to get caught up in the magnificence of it all. A shapeshifting urban fantasy marries a paranormal romance with The Rogue King, one that smolders with suspense. The prologue penetrates straight away, imparting a sacrifice that makes a reader feel the importance of the story to come. The opening scene reads with rapture and the rest leads by example with danger and action that boosts and braces what becomes of a rogue king and a sought-after phoenix. Of how the daughters of sacrifice will find their way in a world without each other, how they’ll survive being hunted, but perhaps most importantly, how they’ll set themselves apart or become a part of their legend. Expressive writing and dragon mythos makes it hard to look away and easy to forfeit hours of your life to wander. My fire breathing debut wasn’t shy of leaving scorch marks. It definitely set me aglow. There are those books that look like an unchallenged enticement, then there are those that fly under the radar, over and under, until one finally takes notice. Once the bird landed, I easily took flight. Readers will appreciate this fated mates romance with a warmongering dragon race, dragon/phoenix lore, strapping characters, and, my favourite, a breath-holding finale where you get to see those scaled creatures in fiery action. As a fresh-faced newcomer to dragon romance, I’m not acquainted with reptilian lore, but the world-building, the shifting setting and the conjectural mythology winds into an open-plot adventure that you won’t want to stop reading. A book that bristles with heat, claws and clan wars…and a hellhound that i wouldn't mind adopting. 3.5/4 stars to The Rogue King - NOTE: While there are larger plots arcing through Inferno Rising, these individual paranormal standalones can do just that: stand alone! C O N T E N T W A R N I N G: Violence, blood, injury, profanity, attempted rape and a few descriptive sex scenes. --------------------------------------- M Y R A T I N G S Y S T E M: ★ - 1 star: I did not like the book ★★ - 2 stars: The book was okay ★★★ - 3 stars: It was a good, solid read ★★★★ - 4 stars: A great book ★★★★★ - 5: A phenomenal read --------------------------------------- Some Concerns While I really enjoyed this book, I want to touch on a few things that I think needed some polish or perhaps more consideration… 1) I don’t have any qualms about the fated mates trope, but with fated mates can come the absence of building a proper love bond in favour of just belonging to the ‘true mates’ label. I really did love Kasia and Brand as a pair but Brand acts indifferent and detached towards her for a hefty 60/70% of the book. We know from the start that they’re mates, that they’re drawn to each other, that they’re inevitably going to end up together, but as a reader, I need to believe that two people are actually in love, that that love can stand apart from whatever the fates cement. Both of them spend a lot of the time wanting, deflecting and ignoring each other (that got frustrating after a good while of repetition). This really doesn’t leave a lot of time for the ‘get to know you’ part. While we’ve got some short conversations and brief confessions, they don’t communicate well enough to have me believe they know each other. There is such a thing as emotional intimacy, and while something can be felt through the dual POV, it’s not the same as sharing emotional intimacy with each other. Relationships need to come with more than just a fated label. I think I needed more reassurance of their love, not just a final confession. Only after they start the mating process, does Brand become fully invested, but even then, that just might be a case of ‘we’re fated so it must be’? If they had never mated, would they have both taken that leap? 2) Onto Kasia. She’s brave and dauntless, plucky and funny. What bothered me about her character is that her too trusting nature doesn’t coincide with a learned, historical aversion to dragons. Mate or not (not that she knew it) he’s still a dragon and could have had every intention to harm her. I probably would have made multiple attempts to make my escape from Brand and I felt that she justified her staying with him out of a familiarity to him. She accepted her fate too easily - I found that surprising for someone who has her own mind. As well as that, it strikes me as odd that a 500 year old Phoenix who has been trained and educated in 500 years worth of protective survival skills often comes across as lacking in those very areas. Her skill level doesn’t justify her age. When we get a short epilogue from her sister Skylar at the end, she instantly showcases her capability and combat skills, skills that Kasia doesn’t typically display. My point being that I think it would have been realistic to have her armed and ready in situations where she can and should make use of them. 3) Brand was also a bit (a lot) frustrating at times. I understand his personality being an imprint of his neglect and expulsion, but he seems too self-absorbed to see that his and Kasia’s history is almost one and the same, and yet, it’s his pain that matters. They could have easily flipped the plan on the head and decided to work together earlier on. Instead, they spend so much time going around in circles to play the evade and conquer game. I really did want to shake that golden rogue up a time or two. Apart from caring if Kasia is injured or in harm’s way, I wanted to see that he cared about her as a person (this goes back to the emotional intimacy thing). While you could argue that he’s not great with his own emotions and while it’s within character to fend only for himself, this is a PR romance. His self-interest and need to avenge is part and parcel to his character motivations so his actions are understandable. He has been working for payback for a matter of centuries. But while understandable, if he’s playing a male love interest, relationships do require balance. Favourite Quotes: ( Some may contain adult content and swearing) "Has anyone ever told you that you’re hot as a giant lizard? And I don’t mean because of the fire.” "My knight in shining scales.” Except this time, instead of pure anguish and terror that usually came with the overwhelming rush, Brand’s touch morphed the pain into a sensation more akin to being buffeted by roaring waves on the ocean, at the mercy of a crushing force greater than herself. “Don’t give your trust too easily in this world. More often than not, people like me are out to harm you or use you.” “Aren’t you trying to stop me from running away?” she pointed out. “You might want to work on your sales pitch.” That caught his attention, and he glanced at where she sat. “We’re not monsters, Kasia.” She snorted inelegantly. “Wrong. I grew up on terrifying stories of what hunted me.” Brand let the curtain slide back in place and gave her a hard stare. “You don’t look terrified.” She raised a single eyebrow. “I’m not exactly a damsel who faints at the first hint of danger.” “Good to know.” Was that a quirk of a smile lifting one side of his mouth? No, she had to be wrong. Immediately, his hands loosened up. “I don’t like this.” “ What? Slaving me out to your king?” she asked. “Me neither. Let’s part ways now.” A small part of her mind hummed in appreciation. She liked his voice, which reminded her of bottomless pools of water in a cave. Dark. Sinfully beautiful. Her mother had told them all sorts of facts and stories about dragon shifters. She’d conveniently left out how sexy and powerful they could be in this form. Dragons were as dangerous as anything supernatural got, and they didn’t play nice with others. Strike that. They didn’t play. Period. “My mate,” he murmured. Satisfaction lingered in those low tones, but she caught something else as well. Awe. “I used to think fate was as cruel as dragon shifters, but now…” She couldn’t look away from those golden eyes. “Now?” “Now I think fate set me on a path to you.” He nuzzled her hair. “I’ve loved you since the moment you stole my car.” Plus, he was a big, bad dragon shifter, a breed of male she realized took Neanderthal to a whole new level. Kasia laid a hand over his, only this time none of his men tensed. Except Brand. “You should be proud.” “I fight for my people. When they’re truly free, then I’ll be proud.” Every single one of his warriors gave a murmur of agreement. Kasia grinned. “Well, I’m proud of you now.” Ladon sobered and clasped his hands behind his back. The most self-contained, back-the-fuck-off man Brand had ever met, except maybe himself, suddenly looked down, uncomfortable with the praise. Had anyone ever dared to tell Ladon something like that? Even Arden? “I like her,” Duncan said. Ladon looked up. “Thank you. I’ll take any help I can get courting you.” And there it is. Brand stared. He’d never seen his friend look unsure of himself. Ever. But he did now, and in front of his men, too. Kasia also stilled. “You’re courting me?” she asked quietly. Ladon shrugged, appearing even more uncomfortable. “Someone told me you were a woman who wanted to make up her own mind. As a phoenix, you have to, but I can see that’s true regardless. I’d like to make it easier for you to choose me.” “Brand’s been a loner since he was a kid, by necessity. He’s a tough man because he’s had to be. A true rogue.” Everything inside Kasia paused, as she tried to suss out his meaning. He was saying something important, but what? “Why are you telling me this?” “Not to frighten you. I would trust Brand with my life.” “But?” There was definitely a but in there. “Not but. More like unless. I’d trust him with my life…unless a decision came down to my life or his.” Hell. She called to something deep inside him. Mine, that voice whispered. But she wasn’t his. Even as she pressed up against him, she lay out of reach—tantalizing, tormenting, unattainable. Brand grinned. By her stance, feet set and the stock of the gun firmly in place at her shoulder, Kasia knew her way around the weapon. Damned if that woman wielding a gun to defend him wasn’t sexy as hell. I love interacting with fellow readers, reviewers, bloggers and writers! Hearing about reader opinion is the fuel to my reader appetite, so get in touch and comment below... SHARE ON FACEBOOK Leave a comment and let's talk about |
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