Rogue Descendant (Nikki Glass #3) by Jenna Black
Urban Fantasy
April 30, 2013
Pocket Books
Reviewed by Tori
Favorite Quote: “You advising me to lie back and think of England?”
Nikki Glass has begun to acclimate to her new life as an immortal descendant of Artemis. Living in the mansion with the other Liberi’s, Nikki is slowly making it her home but finds herself clinging stubbornly to her humanity, especially when it comes to killing for revenge. And revenge is what Liberi leader Anderson wants. He orders Nikki to track the former head Olympian, Konstantin, but Konstantin’s son Cyrus had made it perfectly clear that any retribution against his father will be considered an act of war. A war the liberi have no hope of winning. When a series of mysterious fires propels Nikki towards Konstantin, she finds herself drawn into an intricate game of cat and mouse that could spell disaster for her and all those she loves.
Add in her attraction to death goddess descendant Jamaal and Nikki isn’t sure if being immortal will be enough to keep her alive this time around.
Rogue Descendant, the third book in Jenna Black’s Nikki Glass series, is an action packed urban fantasy based upon Greek mythology. Fast pacing, well plotted story lines, dry humor, and engaging characters will hook you into this entertaining world that Ms. Black has written.The world building is simplistic in its construction yet each layer we uncover reveals a twisting mass of lies and half truths that it rest upon.
Heavily character driven, what I really enjoy about this story is the machiavellian and unapologetic makeup of the cast. There are no clear cut good or bad guys in here. There are just degrees of separation. These are demi gods. Powerful and deadly, each has a story begging to be told. They may not want to kill you, but to protect their secrets, they will. Nikki is still having a hard time fitting in with them because of all this. New to her immortality, her Nikki’s tight hold on her humanity separates her from the fold. She still doesn’t feel any real tangible connection with this new family and the events in this book only continues to highlight that lack of connection.
Nikki is still dealing with Anderson’s insane wife Emma whose jealousy has hit epic proportions. Though, Emma may have a legit reason for her craziness. Especially when some information concerning Anderson is brought to Nikki’s attention. She is also on Konstantin’s hit list and finds herself wondering if she will soon need a spreadsheet to keep up with who wants her dead.
The romance is still in the beginning stages, we are given a much deeper look at Nikki’s ongoing crush on Jamaal-a death goddess descendant. Going from enemies to frenemies is a common enough trope but Ms. Black handles it well in allowing the relationship to move at its own pace through the series, though I felt their relationship consists of one step forward and three steps back. Jamaal is so damaged and is also having problems with his death magic not liking Nikki. He tries to stay away from her and for good reasons but she is convinced she can overcome anything to be with him. There are also more scenes that show Anderson’s interest in Nikki maybe more than work related, though no love triangle is presented.
Anderson is still my favorite character in here and I REALLY want him and Nikki to hook up. They have some great chemistry together. Anderson and Nikki spend a lot of page time together and grace us with even more information about Anderson’s past and his reasons for keeping his heredity a secret. I enjoyed seeing more of the other Liberis and of course, Cyrus. He’s the perfect anti hero. He does bad so good. I do wish we could get some insight into Steph and Blake’s relationship from their POVs and I really can’t WAIT to see how Cyrus reacts to that development.
Deception and betrayal all combine together to create a main conflict that keeps you wondering as you learn the villain’s reasons behind the fires. Nikki’s humanity plays a large part in the decisions she makes in here, which causes some very tense moments for her and Anderson. The ending does a 180, leaving you wide eyed in shock as you realise that once again, Ms. Black has pulled a fast one on you.
A few issues did keep me from 100% enjoying this story. Though all the elements are here for the perfect story, I did feel this particular installment seems to coast. Nikki is more indecisive and immature; especially in her dealings with Jamaal and her sister. Dialogue rules this installment with small amounts of action included. Also, some of the decisions made by her and Anderson were questionable. The storyline stalled at times and by the end, I realized the arc had not advanced all that much. This book felt like a bridge; especially with the “OMG cliffhanger moment” is announced at the end.
Regardless of these issues, I look forward to book four, title and release date to be announced.
Overall Rating: C+
Recent Reviews:
Goodreads
Author Website l Series Listing
I liked this one a lot better than you did. I totally agree with your assessment about there being no bad or good guys, just degrees of separation and that’s what makes a big part of the books for me. This wasn’t as jam packed as Deadly Descendant, but I didn’t find myself bored or restless while reading. On the other hand, did you read her novella that came out? Eeh, that was pretty snooze worthy.
I’m on the opposite side of wanting Anderson and Nikki to hook up. I like how she’s taking her time with working on Jamaal’s issues, and not making light. He does seemingly blow pretty hot and cold, so I can see how some readers would take issue with that.. but when I read that bit about how Anderson looks at Nikki when she’s looking, that made me HOWL NOOOOO, Anything but that! No love triangle, bad, bad!
“when she’s NOT looking” even. Sigh. My proof reading skills, they blow.
LOL I read the reviews of the novella and decided to decline.
I wasn’t bored, I just felt something was missing. I like Anderson but yea, no love triangles. Cyrus stills remains my fav and I hope Nikki bish slaps him in next book. lol
Another series still on my wishlist, but thanks for the great review Tori. And with Ronnie also liking it, that notches is up a little.