Renegades: Badlands Next Generation

Badlands series will always be my fav! This one is no different. More secrets are revealed, more twists and turns then your mind can keep up with. Star is the perfect addition to the next gen crew, she is exactly what this whole crew needs. And I can NOT wait for the next book, finally we read about Lilith’s story

I love our Badland devious and deviant characters, and I was particularly excited to return to learn more about Lucifuge and Cam- and we get to spend time with both here. Lucifuge because, dear goodness, I wanted to see what a mini-Romero was like and get inside his head since we can CLEARLY see in other books, especially Addy’s, that he’s the subversive master planner just like his father- moving everyone around on a chess board without them knowing the game. And Cam because his story is just so sad and heartbreaking- betrayed, battered not just in body but in his spirit, and the twin who inherited more of his mother’s traits- he’s quiet, caring, stoic.

Our heroine is Star- one of the most intriguing ladies we’ve had in the badlands yet. We first meet her as part of a mysterious faction that our Savages know little about, and like so many of our badland characters, she’s trapped in her life and at the mercy of corrupted men. I loved Star- she’s the antithesis of what you’d expect as a Savage leading lady. She’s pint sized and innocent, empathetic and incredibly calm and mild tempered. Certainly her circumstances have left little to shock her, but she has an inner peaceful strength and a sharp mind that enable her to roll with the punches and survive. And, like all our leading ladies, mysteries surround her situation and an inner, untapped openness to darkness exists within her innocence.

Fair warning, the blurb of this book may lead you to think this book is going to be different than it is- this was not the romance I was expecting!!

So, given that, I won’t give too much away about our plot, but like all Badlands tales, this story twists and turns all with each passing page- we learn new information and get new questions, all while trying to figure the picture of the puzzle that Romero (and now Lucifuge who is more of the leader) has that clearly the rest of us don’t. We, like our other characters, are along for the ride, trying to piece together the puzzle when we don’t even know what the picture on the puzzle even looks like, but I know when we get there, like all Natalie tales, it will have been carefully masterminded. And, I love the Badlands series because even after our characters suffer incredible adversity and emotional and sometimes physical trauma, there is always satisfying retaliation. This book is no exception to that rule. You will leave satisfied, but with questions and still unsure about where the whole Badlands story is going to go next. Our dark queen is weaving a complicated tale of which we won’t see clearly until the very end. SO much new thrown at us in this book- some big surprises, too!

I’m loving our second generation- seeing how the characters we love are doing and also seeing how their personalities melded into their now adult children. I’ve found, so far, that the kids are a little softer than their parents when it comes to the relationships, and fair warning, that is especially true in this book. Sure, our characters have darkness in them and do depraved and bad things, but the inner romantic relationship feels more tender, sweet, and dare I say, romantic than the parents of our characters. The brutality and depravity of the world still exists all around us- so we get that good Natalie Bennett charm- and she has warns us that the NEXT book (after this book I have suspicions on which pair that book will center on) will be extremely dark- she shares a bit more about how this book ended up the way it did in the afterward- this is the romance the characters wanted. I can’t wait to get back to the darker romance aspect of the Badlands, but I did enjoy this surprisingly more tender interlude.

The return to the Badlands GAH! So worth the wait! All the things I expected this book to be yup… not even close to what I thought and I’m 150% here for it. Natalie Bennett takes us on yet another wild ride…back into the Badlands… into the minds of Lucifuge and Cam… & we meet Star! Renegades was simply unexpected; questions were answered ( now I have way more), factions are uncovered, Lucifuge meets his match & Cam moves forward… I’m not sure but I feel like this is only the beginning of their story. && I cannot wait for the next book in this series

This novel is like no other story-line. Definitely a pure evil magical book. If a reader is into dark, wicked, magical (not Harry Potter like), and clusters of pure evil then Natalie Bennett made this book with you in mind. The two main characters made romantic magic occur. Star was definitely the perfect light to Luce darkness bravado.

What an awesome read! I can not get enough of this author stories every single one has capture me since the very first page. And Renegade was no different than the others it was very intense,very captivating read. It just lefts you wanting more.