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A review by jaymie_bookdragon
Going Rogue by Robin Benway
3.0
This is the second and last book of the Also Known As series and I gotta say, I’m kind of disappointed there are not more. Maggie and her friends make me happy. They have the right amount of chemistry between each of them to keep their banter light and witty, while also keeping the “deep” and “emotional” stuff believable. Not that there is much deep and emotional stuff, except maybe Roux’s situation. But overall the subject of family and friends is always one that I can get on board with. I think this is where Benway shines in the series.
In the first book, we are introduced to Maggie’s lifestyle and then we are sort of taken away from it as we follow her journey to become a normal teenager with a normal life. This book gives us a little bit more of the spy stuff, which I think is always fun. We get to meet more people from the spy organization known as “The Collective” and venture over to Paris for all of the action. I enjoyed the new characters a lot. That’s why I am sort of frustrated that this is probably the last book. I want more! I wanted to get an even closer look at The Collective and its other young operatives. Especially young operatives like Elodie, Ryo and Ames, who were recruited and not born into the organization. I think their stories could be quite fascinating. And if anything, I am dying to find out more about Angelo. But, I have to admit, that the secrecy and the mystery of Angelo makes him just as compelling as he would be with more of a background story, I’m sure. I just really enjoyed getting to know Maggie, her family and her friends. Now I want to know more about the organization they all work for and how it was started.
The writing is probably one of my favorite things about the book and the series as a whole. It is simple and to the point, which leaves lots of room for fun back and forth between the characters. Benway doesn’t make a habit of going into pointless details and in a way, even makes you guess at some of the details yourself. I enjoyed that aspect. I also liked, as previously mentioned, that the story revolved around the relationships and the importance of family. The typical teenager wishing for more independence and then realizing that family might be the best thing ever will always have a special place in my heart. Maybe because it hits so close to home.
What I didn’t enjoy about the book was the instalove. I hate instalove. I don’t want to spoil anything for anyone so I won’t explain it, but if you read the book then you will totally understand what I mean. And as previously mentioned, I wish there had been more to the other characters. We only really meet them in the very last portion of the book, but I think introducing them a bit earlier would have made it that much better.
I enjoyed this small series. Emphasis on “small”. Because I want more. I had my hopes up that the ending would leave room for more, which it sort of did, but it cleaned everything up rather nicely so I can’t complain. This is a fun book with fun characters and a fun story. What more could I ask for?
In the first book, we are introduced to Maggie’s lifestyle and then we are sort of taken away from it as we follow her journey to become a normal teenager with a normal life. This book gives us a little bit more of the spy stuff, which I think is always fun. We get to meet more people from the spy organization known as “The Collective” and venture over to Paris for all of the action. I enjoyed the new characters a lot. That’s why I am sort of frustrated that this is probably the last book. I want more! I wanted to get an even closer look at The Collective and its other young operatives. Especially young operatives like Elodie, Ryo and Ames, who were recruited and not born into the organization. I think their stories could be quite fascinating. And if anything, I am dying to find out more about Angelo. But, I have to admit, that the secrecy and the mystery of Angelo makes him just as compelling as he would be with more of a background story, I’m sure. I just really enjoyed getting to know Maggie, her family and her friends. Now I want to know more about the organization they all work for and how it was started.
The writing is probably one of my favorite things about the book and the series as a whole. It is simple and to the point, which leaves lots of room for fun back and forth between the characters. Benway doesn’t make a habit of going into pointless details and in a way, even makes you guess at some of the details yourself. I enjoyed that aspect. I also liked, as previously mentioned, that the story revolved around the relationships and the importance of family. The typical teenager wishing for more independence and then realizing that family might be the best thing ever will always have a special place in my heart. Maybe because it hits so close to home.
What I didn’t enjoy about the book was the instalove. I hate instalove. I don’t want to spoil anything for anyone so I won’t explain it, but if you read the book then you will totally understand what I mean. And as previously mentioned, I wish there had been more to the other characters. We only really meet them in the very last portion of the book, but I think introducing them a bit earlier would have made it that much better.
I enjoyed this small series. Emphasis on “small”. Because I want more. I had my hopes up that the ending would leave room for more, which it sort of did, but it cleaned everything up rather nicely so I can’t complain. This is a fun book with fun characters and a fun story. What more could I ask for?