4.5 Stars

The Rogue King was PNR at its finest. Phenomenal world building and characters. I was instantly sucked into the story and didn't want to put it down till I finished!

I can truly only think of two minor things that were confusing to me. One being that the title and cover seem to indicate this being Brand's story and in a way it definitely is, but the description and the story itself seems to highlight Kasia more (which I loved) and it seems to me as if the following one(s) will be centered around her sisters and obviously their potential mates. I just found it an interesting choice. But what do I know, maybe hot male bods call out to their core demographic more at first glance? The other thing is I'm a bit unclear about the humans in this world. It seemed as if they are likely mostly unaware of the supernatural/shifter elements around them. And I get that there was multiple points made about the dragons especially being able to hide in plain sight in a multitude of ways, but something about that still seems so increasingly difficult when recruiting humans for dragon mates and a building dragon war. I'm curious to see if that's something that comes to a head in future books. It seemed hard to contain in this book and I'd imagine it will only be increasingly so as it proceeds. Dragons are kinda hard to miss, especially when engaged in battle and not as adapt at shielding.

Other than those two things everything else was masterfully done imo. The Supernatural element was superb, I highly enjoyed the politics within the dragon colonies and the larger story there with the high King oppressor and building rebellion. I was totally engrossed in it all. I also loved the other shifters and mythical beings, especially some that were a complete surprise *cough Hershel cough*. And let's not forget the star of the show, Kasia the Phoenix herself! She was awesome! Why is there not more Phoenix shifter books?! So so good. I really enjoyed seeing her learn and harness her own abilities as we went along too. I can't wait to see more about her sisters and how her story progresses as well!

The romance was great. Initially it did feel a bit insta but it honestly ended up being a little more of a slow burn which was awesome. Insta chemistry + some mystery is a wonderful combo.

I'm thrilled this is only the beginning of something much larger! I really look forward to more and I'm definitely going to check out more from this author.

The Rogue King is the first book in the Inferno Rising series and tells the story of Kasia and Brand.

The Rogue King is the first book I’ve read by Abigail Owen and it was amazing! I’ve read one of Abigail Owen’s Romance books under the name Kadie Scott, and I really liked that book too. I think that The Rogue King was better than her Romance book I’ve read.

I’ve never read a book like this one, where there are so many different shifters and creatures, and I really liked it. It was really hard to put this book down because I really wanted to know what was going to happen.

I really liked Kasia and Brand. They’re both amazing characters, and they’re both really badass. Kasia’s been hiding because she’s one of the only phoenix alive and Brand is a rogue dragon shifter. They’re both so different but at the same time they’re just perfect for each other. I really liked the tension and romance between Kasia and Brand!

I think that The Rogue King is an amazing Paranormal Romance book with the right amount of action and romance! Kasia and Brand are amazing characters and I really loved the world Abigail Owen’s created. I cannot wait for the sequel!

4.5/5*

Rating: 4.5 Stars

"Legend held that the man who captured a phoenix would be blessed. Unable to put a foot wrong. Every choice the right one. Every action leading to greater fortune. Except legend had it wrong. The man had to capture the Phoenix's heart."

I stan paranormal romance now.

The Rogue King is a action-packed romance that tells the story of Kasia, a phoenix on the run to protect herself and her freedom, and Brand, a Dragon shifter who has been marked as rogue his entire life--a mark he is determined to revenge. When an opportunity strikes Brand's way to deliver the Phoenix to the King of the rebelling clan with the reward of his revenge being in touching distance--Brand doesn't hesitate. However, the rebelling clan isn't the only ones who have found out about Kasia's existence and they too are determined to capture her and her secrets for themselves. But as creatures are dodged and attacks ambushed, the chemistry between the two build to the point where a new plan must be made--one where she is his.

To tell you I just enjoyed this book would be a complete understatement. This is my first shifter romance, and by golly it wont be my last. From the start, Owens does an amazing job of sucking you into the story and bringing you to the dead center of the drama and action; and you stay there until the very end. A fantasy romance at its core, but a paranormal at it's heart Rogue King was magical as it was adventurous. Owens creates a world where mystical creatures live amongst humans incognito for thousands of years, with Dragons being the top of the food chain and Phoenix's the coveted prize of them all. Legend and lore are weaved into the story as the hunt for the only known Phoenix begins, just as a war against the Dragon clans begin to spike.

"He was a big, bad dragon shifter, a breed of male she realized took Neanderthal to a whole new level."

Kasia is the character I truly felt connected to the most in this story, as she is this headstrong, kick-ass heroine who is determined to do whatever she has to, to make sure that her remaining family is safe--even if that means mating with the one species that killed her parents. I loved watching her character development as well as her relationship with Brand grow into something deeper and stronger. Brand on the other hand, had me swooning from left to right--front to back. I honestly could not get enough of his broody demeanor and determined swagger. Dealt a hard life because of greed and power hunger, Brand has been a loner for most of his life, cast out from his own clan, Brand was marked rogue--a mark that has every dragon watching his/her back who bears it for the rest of their life--at a young age, and has learned to take care of himself above all else; so when Kasia hurtles in and burns a path into his life--literally-- he is flipped upside down and a internal conflict begins to rage within him as he begins to learn to let people in.

"You want to know what you were doing in every vision I've had of you?" His shoulders stiffened, his biceps stretching out his T-shirt a little more.
"What?"
"Protecting. Sometimes me, sometimes others. Big ways. Small ways. But always protecting."

The character development overall, was stunning and I loved watching the slow burn of Kasia and Brand's relationship form. The theme of protection and destiny was a constant play with our characters, which I think completely enhanced the plot and moved it forward in ways that I don't think anything else could.

The only reason I couldn't give this a complete 5/5 stars, is solely because I felt like the end tale of the novel was rushed and diverged from the pace that was set from the rest of the novel. One could almost call the ending abrupt, as things we were waiting for unraveled and then instantly was wrapped up again before we could fully savor what was happening.

Overall though, this story gripped me and I cannot wait to get my hands on the next installment. A romance like no other, The Rogue King is a fantasy that is filled to the brim with action, adventure, mystical creatures, and undeniably romance that will have anyone swooning from the first paragraph. I highly recommend anyone who loves romance and fantasy to give this one a go--you will not be sorry!

Huge thank you to Entangled Publishing and Netgalley for sending me an ARC for my honest review! Quotations taken from an uncorrected proof and may change upon final publication.

Loved Brand and Kasia’s story. Interesting characters and absorbing plot. I hope we get to hear more about this world and the other characters’ stories.

This was an entertaining, well-written book. Kasia is always in hiding and is hunted by everyone in the supernatural world. Brand has spent his life hiding his true identity. Bringing the phoenix to the Blood King will move him a step closer to the revenge he wants above everything else. There's something between the two of them they don't expect, though, and it pulls them toward each other. I enjoyed this book and would read other books by this author.

Dragon's and Phoenixes and a few other shapeshifters thrown in for good measure what more can a fan of romantic fantasy ask for. The surprise came when I found that Ms. Owen instead of being a fresh new voice in this genre is a seasoned protagonist and I've just missed reading her earlier work. I definitely will need to go back to the earlier story arc from which this one spun off to catch up on dragon history. A Phoenix is that rare treasured shapeshifter that is born once in a life time and is fated to bring peace and the title of high king to the dragon king lucky enough to win her heart. Of course it all falls apart when the red dragon king tries to get the power illegally. Nature compensates and a set of quadruple girl phoenixes are born. While her sisters remain hidden Kasia the oldest is burning up with visions when rogue dragon shifter Brand Astarot comes to her rescue. Now mind you he's far from altruistic. He's on a mission for his boss the Blood King to bring the phoenix in a mission to restore his lost rights even as he helps his boss towards the high kingship.
Kasia is a gal who knows what she wants so it's not going to be smooth sailing for Brand besides which it seems the entire dragon and shape shifter world is chasing them in pursuit of the phoenix. Even as Kasia allows herself to be courted, she is soothed and her fire tamed by Brand. Will Brand give up his dreams of revenge to give Kasia his heart?
I enjoyed the fast paced book with its excellent blend of action, adventure, erotica and angst. Some of the background and plots are revealed to the reader so its clear that these books will need to be read in order and I can tell you that I am ready for the games to begin the next book with the titillating glimpse of the kickoff in the courtship games of the protagonists at the end of this one.

This is the start to a new series In this first book we meet Kasia Amon she is one of a set of quadruplets whose mother the last phoenix on earth gave her powers to her four daughters before she was killed by Pytheios of the Red Clan Dragon Shifters. The dragons are divided into four clans Red, Blue White and Gold and each king must marry a phoenix to gain his true powers Kasia has come to the attention of the dragons as she is starting to lose control of her powers, Ladon King of the Blue Clan employs Brand Astarot a rogue dragon ho belongs to no clan (he should be a king) to track Kasia down and bring her to him so they can mate. Only problem is that when he tracks her down she is his mate will he be able to hand her over to Ladon or will his own dragon mark her and claim her Looks like the next story will be Kasia 's sister Skylar but who will be her mate I think I have a good idea after that epilogue

Every now and again, I get in the mood for a paranormal read.  The reason that I tend to stay away from them is the world-building. You either get tons of details which bog down the story or not enough and are lost as to what exactly the setting is.  And then you get that rare find..  a perfect balance between world-building and story.  Luckily for me, The Rogue King strikes that balance making for a read that you can fall into.


In a world of dragon and wolf shifters, vampires and demons, Kasia is something special ~ a phoenix.  Her mother has run and hidden herself and her daughters with the humans after her husband is killed by a vicious rival king hoping to use her and her powers to become the Blood King of the dragon kingdom.   After her mother is killed, Kasia is now the one being hunted for her power. Enter gold dragon shifter, Brand.   Brand lost his family and his place in the dragon hierarchy as a young child.  He has placed his alliance with the red dragons and they need Kasia.  Brand and Kasia fight their way to safety as Kasia fights having to be a mate without choice and Brand fights his feelings.

The romance edges more towards enemies-to-lovers then fated mate with funny, battle of the sexes scenes and touching bonding scenes layered with the push and pull of two people who deny their attraction even as it takes them over.   The story has vivid characters that are read both mystical and fantastical as well as real.   The story moves along at a steady pace, revealing secrets and subplots along the way making for a rich tale.  The aerial dragon fight scenes are very well done, making it easy to "see" it on the page.

A great choice for paranormal and romance lovers alike. I look forward to the next in the series.

This started out a little slow for me, but I was never bored with it. It was so painfully obvious how everything was going to end (I mean, heck, even the title gives it away) but I didn't mind so much because getting there was pretty damn good. I thought that Kasia and Brand were such a great couple. Despite Brand's difficult personality, somehow they just fit and I totally enjoyed them together.

I liked Kasia. There was only one time that I was so pissed off at her because she jumped to a conclusion that was so far off the mark and then started treating Brand like crap. Thankfully, that didn't last too exceptionally long. Aside from that, she was great. I have a soft spot for women who actually do as they're told because they know their own limits. I HATE the ones who do exactly as they're told not to just to prove they don't have to listen to anyone. They should all suffer. Anyway...Kasia knows how to fight and take care of herself, but at the same time she knows when she would be more of a burden than a help. I loved her sense of humor and sarcastic wit. She was smart and practical as well. She also has an awesome hell hound as a pet of sorts, and that's just cool.

Brand was a hero that didn't want to be one. He was as much fun to have around as Kasia was, but usually for a different reason. He was strong and fierce and dedicated to his goals. But he also had that caring side that only came out for Kasia. Was I swooning for him? No. But he was a damn fine male.

For pretty much all of her life, Kasia and her sisters have been hidden by their mother who is last living phoenix. The night her mother is murdered, before she dies, she sends each girl off to a different place for protection. Kasia is last and she also inherits her mother's phoenix powers. Which now would make her the biggest target in the shifter world should they learn of her existence. Unfortunately, it's her own actions that bring their attention to her. Having a hard time controlling her flames, Kasia seeks out help from a place she thought she could trust. Turns out, she couldn't. Shocking, I know. The head doctor has been telling all sorts of people about Kasia. Fortunately for her, Brand is the first one to show up.

When Brand was a child he watched his family murdered and another steal their throne. Forced to flee to save his life, he became a rouge with nowhere to go and nobody to turn to. Lucky for him, a blue dragon child found him and they became friends. Brand and Ladon had been working together ever since. Now that Ladon rules the blue dragons, Brand is that much closer to having a clan again if he can complete this one mission for Ladon. Bring him the phoenix.

Kasia has been having visions of Brand for so long that she has fallen for him in them. So when he shows up in front of her, she immediately wants to trust him. But that's hard to do when she finds out he's a dragon because she had always been taught never to trust a dragon. As they travel together though, she quickly realizes that he will do everything in his power to keep her safe. Which is good because they have a bunch of groups after them. It wasn't easy, but they eventually make it to Ladon.

From there, both Brand and Kasia have to find a way to fight the feelings they have developed for each other if she's to mate the blue king. Ladon gives Kasia time and tries to woo her in a way. But during this time the place is attacked by the gold dragons and the two of them find themselves alone again unable to deny what each wants. Forever tying them to each other. I was impressed with how Brand wanted to handle things with Ladon over this, so it really ticked me off how Ladon responded. I mean, I get it. But dammit man, just listen! When Kasia has another vision about Brand is when she gets super stupid and I just wanted to smack her. But there's one more fight to win alongside a pack of werewolves and they need all the help they can get. Which also forces Kasia to get her head on straight. The end of the fight was, again predictable, but also pretty good. With the very end also being quite satisfying even being open as it was.

It definitely seems as though Ladon's book is next and he'll end up with one of Kasia's sisters. I look forward to seeing how that goes.

5/5 stars

'The Rogue King' is the most delicious, beautifully built, action packed, sexy shifter romance I have ever read. I'm in love with this new paranormal romance series and I need more from this series now!

<u>Synopsis</u>
Kasia has been running and hiding her whole life from dragon shifters. Dragons that believe possessing a phoenix will proclaim them High King over all the dragon clans. Then an unlucky run in with a rogue dragon, Brand, drags Kasia back into the world she's been running from. Brand has secrets of his own and only delivering the phoenix to the Blue Dragon King can ensure that he achieves his revenge. But what is revenge compared to love?

<u>Pacing & Points of View</u>
I read this story in a day. It was so good I just couldn't put it down. The world building, depth to the character's backgrounds, and variety of shifters made this story feel different than any other paranormal romance story I have read lately. The story itself flowed very easily overall and never dragged from Kasia and Brand's points of view.

<u>Characters</u>
I loved the chemistry between Kasia and Brand. There was definite insta-attraction, but not instalove. The author took her time to build up the romance and make it worth the wait. I'm very interested to see where this series takes the Blue Dragon King, Ladon and the rest of the phoenixes.

<u>Overall</u>
Overall, I really loved this story that had a very good mix of paranormal world building and romance. There was no cliffhanger, but this story definitely ended with a sassy, teasing epilogue in another character's perspective. As soon as I finished this story, I pre-ordered it and started digging for everything the author wrote previously. I cannot wait to dive headfirst into the sequel and this beautifully built shifter world again!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for allowing me the opportunity to read this amazing digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This shifter paranormal was sheer fun.

In case you don't know what shifter paranormal romances are, they are HUUUUUUGE over at Kindle e-books. (Check out Zoe Chant for a good example.)

In shifter romances, heroes (and heroines at times) have animal souls, or selves, and they can shift into these animals. Sometimes they have powers. They live among us normal humans, keeping their shifter selves secret, and their culture is a palimpsest over ours. The romances are lusty with high-octane romance, often centering around finding one's mate for life.

In this one, we've got trouble in the world of dragon shifters, the apex-predators of apex-predators. But we begin with our heroine's mother on the run from a truly evil shifter king, who is determined to capture her and drain her blood so he can become immortal. She's reached the end of her running after five hundred years--but she goes out in style, sending her four daughters to various corners of the earth.

Kasia, one of the four daughters, is central to this story. She wakes up in a facility, suffering debilitating periods of pain and visions. Brand Astolot, a rogue dragon without a clan, is sent to find her, because Kasia is also a phoenix. Phoenixes have special powers all of their own, and anyone who mates with one is going to get magical bennies.

Kasia doesn't trust Brand as far as she can throw him, so she steals his one treasure--his car. But Brand is a dragon. He can fly, so she doesn't get far.

Watching the two bicker as their attraction grows is part of the fun. They are great on the run together. Kasia is no fading flower--she knows martial arts, and she also knows what she likes in a man. If she has to mate with Brand's boss, well, she can deal . . . if she decides to.

It's a fun story, with nifty characters. Bonus, Kasia's pet, Maul the hellhound! This novel comes to a satisfactory resolution, which opening up threads for what will obviously be a series centering on those four sisters.

I really look forward to the rest!

This was more or less what I expected this book to be. It didn't surprise me but it didn't disappoint me either and I'd say that if you're into paranormal romance then you'll totally love this book with its exciting plot, fiery characters (literally), and intriguing world-building. I mean come on, it has dragons!

I liked that there was a general balance between the romance and the fantasy world erupting with political chaos, it made it much more interesting. The plot was fast paced, the characters were intriguing, and there are enough teasers dropped throughout to make you want to read the next book to find out more. There's definitely plenty of action, dark plots, mad dashes, forbidden feelings, twisted destinies, and alluring creatures of nightmares and fairytales alike to keep you riveted to the page. I will say though that I think I'm more intrigued by the world than the main characters... Even so I really do think this is a must-read for paranormal romance fans!

MmmmHmmmm. He may not have a clan, but he had an awesome photo on the cover!
The Rogue King by Abigail Owen is about scheming male dragon shifters and a rare Phoenix.
I enjoyed this story and look forward to the next one.

Great read amazing characters and well written storyline. I couldn’t put it down had to find out how things were going to work out

Wow what a start to a new action pack ,steamy paranormal story about Kasia a phoenix and Brand a dragon.
Kasia and Brand are fated mate but they don't just fall into each other arms.
There is a lot going on before that can happens.
Great action,drama,passion and great characters.
Enjoyed reading ,kept me entertained.
Eaiting for the next.
Voluntarily reviewed.

This paranormal romance is full of fast paced action and emotion. The heroine and hero have an instant connection and attraction that sizzles through danger and the option of her choosing someone else. The spelled car and the hellhound were cool side characters. Lots of fighting and boo boos with a surprise at the end that makes me interested in book 2.

The pages spent with the villain were too long and I skimmed those. I didn't like the forced love triangle. The main characters fight to stay apart so hard through most of the book and then have a real fight. It became a bit much.

I received a free ARC from Netgalley.

The danger, intrigue of the dragon court and the growing love between Brand and Kasia will have you biting your nails as you read THE ROGUE KING. If you are looking for sexy dragons, danger, intrigue, fights and flights, and a Phoenix who wants only one king for herself, then you need to get your hands on THE ROGUE KING. Then you might want to look for the others by this fabulous author and enjoy those too.

Annetta Sweetko, reviewer for Fresh Fiction

Complete review may be found at: http://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=68911

Here lies another one that sounded soooooo good in the blurb but took forever to get into.
So many names and characters and history to figure out and remember...
This one was a total struggle to even get halfway into. But all in all not a bad read, just not a memorable one or one that I would read again or continue with a series of books.

Fun paranormal romance, with a little heat. Dragons will always be cool. and throw in a phoenix shifter and you've got flames!

Wow this book was just so good and so easy to get lost in. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and I just didn't want it to end. I just couldn't get enough of these wonderful characters and I just loved getting to see their journey. I will most definitely be reading more stories from this wonderful author.