In the year 3030 an alien species known as the Thrakorian’s attacked Earth, and won. They came on a research mission and in search of one thing, and one thing only—answers. The humans held the key to finding those resolutions and after searching relentlessly for over two decades, the Thrakorian’s finally found their cure. 
Those afflicted were healed and they had the humans to thank for it. 
And all was going so well, until Kronus’s sister, Vasa, decided to declare war on their father and kidnap not only his namesake and heir, but also Kronus too. 
But his betrothed, Gretchen, wasn’t going to lose him. 
Wasn’t going to sit back and wait while the Thrak she loved was being held prisoner. 
They had a life they were planning to make together, and she wasn’t going to let anyone take it from her. 
Not even his family… 

This review is really tough to write for several reasons. Firstly it’s the ending of a series that I have loved pretty much throughout, I have to balance out my expectations with giving a review of the story as it is, and as it’s been 2 years since the closing pages of Hereafter, I was worried that I wouldn’t recall the finer points of what came before. Thankfully the author helps with that last point, as there is a brief recap which was enough to point me in the right direction!

Renegades is a short but powerful book. I read it in a few hours  (which isn’t unusual for me and this series) and honestly It didn’t need to be any longer.  It’s length helped with the urgency of the mission and wow was I turning those pages. Where Hereafter felt like a romantic interlude, Renegades goes back to packing the same punch as earlier books in the series. Kyra is given the opportunity to really shine again as she and the others dive headfirst into a risky rescue mission. The mission is daring and had me figuratively nail biting at times as dangerous new characters are introduced. There was real apprehension woven into the pages and I felt shocked when a shadow of the past returned but this time to haunt Gretchen. The twists are huge and I loved the direction the story took, when the true depth of Vassa’s declaration is revealed. The masquerade was a triumph when it came to conveying dread for one of our characters and honestly the story won’t help any readers with a fear of spiders!

Kyra returns stronger than ever, she is the tactical genius and I really felt like this story was the culmination of all she had learnt before, she truly remains one of my favourite all time heroines, her ability to keep calm, kick ass, and always be one step ahead is fantastic and this story offers her great closure in so many ways. She and Gretchen are so different, but both bring their own varying skills to the table and I liked how it was ultimately a combination of their characters that helped put the mission together. Because the story is shorter, it has a very character driven feel to it and I’m wary of delving more deeply in this review as I don’t want to give anything away, because honestly it’s been worth the wait.

Speaking from my love of the series though, the Invasion Day series for me have always been Kyra’s story. From frightened child, to new recruit, to Gentry, to hunter, to captive, to consummate badass, she is the character that I love to read about. I have been through so much with her and I wanted her story to end on a high. Which in many ways it did, however, when I reviewed Hereafter I said that I was struggling to warm to Gretchen and honestly this book hasn’t changed my mind about her.  I feel like Gretchen stole Kyra’s thunder to a degree in this book and I have to admit my heart sank a little when I started reading and it started as Gretchencentric again. But in fairness that did pull back for the most part and when Kyra got her chapters in it felt like old times again, I loved her and Thrayke on Razr, the hunting team back together and when she got to use her tactical mind again, working with Blue, it was a joy. I would have loved for her to have been the main focus, but then I have to accept that the series isn’t written for me alone and the author needs to go where the characters take them, I just could have done with some rearranging of the last few chapters to allow a full circle of sorts.

Putting personal feelings aside though, this is a really strong end to the series which went in a directions I didn’t see coming at all! Thank you LC Morgans for creating such an amazing character in Kyra with a great supporting cast and fantastic world building, I shall miss them!

4*