Talon by Julie Kagawa | Book Review

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Book 1 of the Talon SagaIn Julie Kagawa's groundbreaking modern fantasy series, dragons walk among us in human form. Long ago, dragons were hunted to near extinction by the Order of St. George, a legendary society of dragon slayers. Hiding in human form and growing their numbers in secret, the dragons of Talon have become strong and cunning, and they're positioned to take over the world with humans none the wiser. Ember and Dante Hill are the only sister and brother known to dragonkind. Trained to infiltrate society, Ember wants to live the teen experience and enjoy a summer of freedom before taking her destined place in Talon. But destiny is a matter of perspective, and a rogue dragon will soon challenge everything Ember has been taught. As Ember struggles to accept her future, she and her brother are hunted by the Order of St. George. Soldier Garret Xavier Sebastian has a mission to seek and destroy all dragons, and Talon's newest recruits in particular. But he cannot kill unless he is certain he has found his prey—and nothing is certain about Ember Hill. Faced with Ember's bravery, confidence and all-too-human desires, Garret begins to question everything that the Order has ingrained in him—and what he might be willing to give up to find the truth about dragons.

I have been on a bit of a Julie Kagawa reading binge of late and I have absolutely no regrets. After finishing The Forever Song I read a couple of books but I came back to Kagawa OF COURSE and picked up Talon. I took the leap from vampires to dragons and that has made all the difference. Well, in a good way. Not that The Forever Song is bad but I am totally all about the dragons so this book sucked me in immediately. Friends there are just not enough books about dragons who are also people but I am glad that Talon and the subsequent books in the series are changing that.

Talon is about teenage dragon turned human girl Ember Hill who is about to assimilate among humans with her twin brother Dante at a California beach. If they pass assimilation, they will move up in this organization that oversees all of the world’s dragons called Talon. All is not sunshine and waves though, as there’s this group called Order Of St. George that is all about driving the dragons to extinction. Garret, a member of the Order, has a directive to go to the beach, infiltrate and find the Sleeper aka the dragon. What Garret doesn’t account for is falling for the dragon, falling for Ember. MEANWHILE, there’s this other dragon who is in town, Riley, who is a rogue. Riley has broken away from Talon because he thinks they have nefarious plans. And he’s trying to convince Ember that her best option is to leave Talon. YO there is so much plot and drama in Julie Kagawa’s Talon and I LOVE IT.

Ember is the kind of character I just want to shake hard — like yo listen and stop being so stubborn. Like you know in horror movies how there is that one character that sort of is stubborn and doesn’t do the sensible thing and like goes down the dark hallway? THAT IS EMBER. She drove me nuts while reading, but I loved it. I thought she was the quintessential teenager. And of course as the quintessential KIDS THESE DAYS GET OFF MY LAWN type, I loved it and was also annoyed but was like, this book is for teenagers not crotchety old ladies like myself. Still, I like that Ember has got gumption even if she makes the worst decisions ever and places her faith in the wrong people. Her heart is in the right place, ya know?

As for Garrett, who lol, for like the first chapter I read as Garnet as in the precious gem, he’s an okay love interest. He and Ember have a lot in common. Both are orphans. Both are cogs in a larger machine. Both believe certain things about the other’s organization. I like that they have fun with each other. They aren’t a terrible pairing, but they aren’t OTP of my reading life, ya know? ALSO, I do find Riley a lot more interesting than Garrett and yes there’s totally a love triangle going down.

Talon by Julie Kagawa is written with alternating first person chapters. I LOVED THIS. It made the book much more intense and interesting, especially when things came to a head. I really felt sympathy for all sides involved. I also think that the different points of views added a faster pace. There were no boring parts because with each different character we are getting action and straight up to the point. That’s awesome. If anything, I wish that there was more kissing scenes in this book. That’s my one complaint — not enough making out. Otherwise, this is a great read that I’d recommend if you were into Sophie Jordan’s Firelight series.

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April (Books&Wine)

April is in her 30s and created Good Books And Good Wine. She works for a non-profit. April always has a book on hand. In her free time she can be found binge watching The Office with her husband and toddler, spending way too much time on Pinterest or exploring her neighborhood.

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