Series: Marvel Aconyte Novel
Author: Alisa Kwitney
Publisher: Aconyte
Released: May 4, 2021
Received: NetGalley

Rogue: Untouched, written by Alisa Kwitney, is the latest Marvel Aconyte novel (be sure to also check out Domino and Elsa Bloodstone’s books!), and it follows one of my favorite heroes from the X-Men franchise.

Rogue is pretty used to having a less-than-ideal life. She lives alone, in a crummy cabin, and makes the best of both it and her job as a waitress. That might have been the only life she ever knew, if not for a few strange appearances in town.

Now, suddenly Rogue is wrapped up in a dangerous world, one that looks to take advantage of and alter mutants. Rogue is going to be forced to come to terms with the truth about herself if she wants to have any chance of surviving what is about to come.

“I’m a ticker off Southern woman, hoss. Cross me and I’ll shruck your rocky mountain oysters and stuff them down your throat.”

Rogue: Untouched was such a blast to read, and I sincerely think that any fan of the character will enjoy this take on her world. To be clear, this is not the same Rogue from the comics or the movies. Yes, the foundational elements are all there, but the experiences are different. So if you’re looking for a comic/movie adaptation, this isn’t it.

There are a lot of fun twists and turns in this novel, many of which cover the basic elements of Rogue’s backstory. The not-so-great childhood, the appearance of her powers (which she didn’t really know or understand, especially at first), and then a trainwreck situation that pulls her into the world of mutants.

There’s a lot to take in here, especially for newer fans. But I think that Alisa Kwitney did an excellent job of making her story approachable here, as well as making a point of having a few different elements thrown into the mix.

It was a fun and quick read, and I’m happy that I took the time to read it. I don’t know if this will be the end of Rogue’s story as far as these novels are concerned, but I certainly wouldn’t mind seeing where the story goes from here. There’s so much potential (obviously).

Thanks to Aconyte and #NetGalley for making this book available for review. All opinions expressed are my own.