Review Detail

Julie Kagawa has always been one of my favorite authors. After reading The Iron Fey series (and the spin-offs), I knew I had to read more of her stories. I did doubt whether her other books could live up the The Iron Fey. After a small discussion with myself, I decided to give Talon a shot. It was worth it. It was worth it all.

Talon tells the story of Ember, and her brother Dante. They have to live in the human world as part of their training; they are dragons of Talon, destined to do great things for their race. Humans and dragons aren’t exactly best friends as the organization of St. George has been trying to kill all dragons since forever. Ember and Dante, now in human forms, try to fit in with the humans.

Ember and Dante have opposite personalities. Ember is stubborn, fierce and likes to be human now and then. Dante is calculating, patient and listens to everything thing Talon has to say. The fact that Ember and Dante are twins, is a good finding of Julie Kagawa. She shows how different brother and sister are, but also depicts their love and friendship perfectly. But, how deep does love for a sibling go?

Then meet Garret, human and part of St. George. Besides Ember, you also see part of the story from the POV of Garret. He, and his mate Tristan, are on a mission to find the sleeping dragon that’s implanted in Crescent Beach. Garret wants to find the dragon, kill it an complete the mission. Little does he know that the girl he’s falling in love with, Ember, is the one he has to kill.

And then we have the mysterious Riley. Bad guy, rogue and totally attractive. He was part of Talon once, but fled. He knows stuff about Talon that would creep both human and dragon out, and is now on the run from the Vipers; a group of dragons that will search dragons that have turned rogue. And Riley… is a rogue.

The story starts off slowly, while the reader is introduced to a whole new world of dragons, St. George assassins and wars that are rooted so deep, nobody actually remembers who started it. Ember and the other dragons are in human form, which is super interesting to read bout. She has dragon feelings for Riley, but human feelings for Garret. Julie Kagawa knows how to make love very complex and impossible – readers of The Iron Fey might know what I mean.

I don’t think there’s anything that I do not like about the book, or what I think Kagawa could’ve improved about the story. It’s compelling, exciting, adorable and there’s no way you can turn it down once you’ve opened it. The love triangle thing is a bit cliché, but since Ember is half dragon, half human, it’s believable. Her dragon side likes Riley, her human side likes Garret. Besides, I always root for these kind of things. Love triangles are part of young adult literature. And that’s okay with me, as long as the love triangle doesn’t become the thing that the story is about. It’s part of the story, that’s all.

If you loved The Iron Fey, you will love Talon. Readers who like urban fantasy will totally adore this book, as have I. This story will compel you into reading until the sun comes up. I cannot wait to get started on Rogue, the sequel to Talon!