seriously romantic: rogue by karen lynch

book 3 of the relentless trilogy wraps things up nicely for sara grey and nikolas danshov. rogue picks up right where refuge left off, with sara escaping westhorne along with jordan, roland, and peter and following madeline's trail. they only have a few hours head start before the mohiri, before nikolas, is on the hunt too. and while they get close, madeline proves more elusive than they expected, and as they travel to albuquerque and the los angeles, they leave a trail of dead demons and vampires that can't be ignored. i wasn't too happy that once again sara and nikolas are separated after making so much progress in their relationship in the second novel. but the wait proves to be worth it because when they are reunited it is amazing.

because there is never any doubt that sara and nikolas are meant for each other. the lack of romantic triangle really endears these books to me. i like to see a relationship grow and the characters grow alongside it. and that is what we get here. as the bond between sara and nikolas strengthens we see them grow too. sara's progress as a warrior makes her a formidable opponent in battle, even though her methods are different from what the mohiri usually do. and nikolas learns to trust that sara can fight her own battles. just as sara comes to understand the protectiveness that nikolas feels.

out of the three novels this one really progressed the romance, while balancing and concluding the larger mythology that ties the books together. eventually sara and nikolas confront madeline, a meeting that ends up being somewhat anti-climactic and resolves less than you would expect from a character whose absence loomed so large over the series. the reveal of the master is worth not spoiling, i had guessed one thing correctly, but not the identity and that was a good and satisfying twist. and the last confrontation was suspenseful and dramatic and resolved in a way that made total and complete sense.

knowing that there is a sequel that tells the story from nikolas's perspective intrigues me. but i still worry that the things that i found frustrating about sara will frustrate me more in a novel told from his perspective. i'll still probably read it. because nikolas is dreaminess personified.