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ominouslilraven's review against another edition
3.0
Not terrible but definitely plays heavy on typical YA tropes. I had to consciously remind myself this was published in 2014 and so love triangles were the thing.
Ember Hill is a hatchling dragon getting her first free summer before her new phase of training which will dictate the rest of her life.
Riley/Cobalt is a rogue dragon on the run from Talon.
Garrett is a St. George warrior. His sole purpose in life is to hunt and kill dragons.
Bam! Love triangle. Her dragon wants one while her human side wants the other.
The writing is good. But the pacing was a bit slow. Made sense since there was a build up, I just think it took to long to get to the point and it had excessive fluff. As for Ember, I appreciate that she was very strong willed, but her extreme naivety was annoying. I’ll get to book two eventually. Hopefully it’s better.
Ember Hill is a hatchling dragon getting her first free summer before her new phase of training which will dictate the rest of her life.
Riley/Cobalt is a rogue dragon on the run from Talon.
Garrett is a St. George warrior. His sole purpose in life is to hunt and kill dragons.
Bam! Love triangle. Her dragon wants one while her human side wants the other.
The writing is good. But the pacing was a bit slow. Made sense since there was a build up, I just think it took to long to get to the point and it had excessive fluff. As for Ember, I appreciate that she was very strong willed, but her extreme naivety was annoying. I’ll get to book two eventually. Hopefully it’s better.
faithharlan4's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
maloubach's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
books4susie's review against another edition
5.0
Pleasantly surprised by how this book turned out. And that ending was Miller. Cannot wait to read Rogue.
jessica_the_impressica's review against another edition
4.0
I’ll be honest, I didn’t fully expect to like this book, solely because it’s meant for high school aged people/kids. But the book outdid itself, while there were moments of cringe, stereotypes and kind of being cliché, I really liked the story. I had looked at the reviews beforehand just to see the general rating, and a lot of people didn’t like it because the story wasn’t there or something. But I really liked the book. That’s why I give it 4 stars onto book number two: Rogue.
nicolemhewitt's review against another edition
4.0
This review and many others can be found on my blog - Feed Your Fiction Addiction
Talon was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. So much so, that I was almost afraid to read it. I LOVE Kagawa (was so excited to meet her at BEA) and I also adore dragons, so this seemed like a match made in heaven! Then some reviews started trickling in, and they weren’t all that favorable – I started to get very nervous. But, on the positive side I knew a little bit more what to expect, so that helped me when I went to go read the book. The basics of those reviews that I was reading was this – this book isn’t heavy on dragons and dragon-lore. It reads more like a typical paranormal YA with a dragon storyline at its base. So, knowing that going in helped me to set my expectations a bit. I found that I actually ended up being pleasantly surprised by the amount of dragon action that was in the book (especially at the end).
Ember and her brother Dante are dragons who have been assigned to blend into society in their human forms. They have one summer to learn to integrate with humans before they receive their assignments within Talon, the organization that governs all dragons. Ember wants nothing more than to live out her three months in freedom, but she finds that she’s being hunted – and that Talon may not be everything she believes it to be.
Garrett is a member of the Order of St. George – a secret society that has been trained to slay dragons. His mission is to find the dragon who has been secretly placed into a small California town – and kill her. As soon as Garrett meets Ember he’s suspicious that she might be the dragon he’s looking for, but of course, he has to be absolutely certain before he does anything rash. In the meantime, he finds himself falling for Ember and he realizes that, if she truly is the dragon, then everything he’s believed about dragons is not entirely true. They may not be the monsters he’s always believed them to be.
What I LOVED:
Garrett.
I know, I know. This storyline has been done before. The hunter falls in love with the hunted. But, I’m sorry, I’m a complete sucker for this trope when it’s done well, and I thought that Kagawa did it extremely well. I was kind of in love with Garret myself. He wasn’t afraid to act on his beliefs – or to question them. By the end of the book, both Garrett and Ember find themselves reeling, questioning everything they’ve ever believed in, and I was completely drawn into their stories! Oh, and I was definitely shipping Garrett and Ember!
Questioning beliefs and shifting loyalties.
Both Garrett and Ember go through some extreme crises of faith. In Ember’s case, she’s been raised to believe that Talon takes care of its people and that anyone who goes rogue is a danger to dragon society. When she meets Riley, he starts to show her that Talon isn’t telling the whole story – that not everyone is being protected by the organization, and in fact, some dragons are being exploited. Similarly, Garrett has been told that dragons are all evil – that they cannot help their baser natures and are naturally destructive and bloodthirsty. The Order has taught him that dragons will take over the world if given the chance – and it is his duty to stop them. Of course, meeting Ember makes him question all of that. And he starts to wonder if he has really just been blindly following the Order without really seeing the dragons for who and what they are. Garrett and Ember’s journeys are parallel – they’re both learning to think for themselves instead of following the leader. At the same time, both Garrett and Ember have to decide if they’re willing to betray the people who have been most important in their lives.
Dragons!
Have I mentioned that I love dragons? Every time Ember took flight or there was a dragon battle with the Order of St. George, I was enthralled! I LOVED the dragony bits of this story and I can’t wait for more in the next book!!
The negatives:
The love triangle.
I didn’t feel like there was much development in the relationship between Riley and Ember – just a sort of implication that their dragon sides were drawn to each other – so I couldn’t really get behind the love triangle in the book. It wasn’t exactly a full-blown triangle anyway, but I get the feeling that it might be more of one in the next book – we shall see! The love triangle was probably the biggest aspect that kept me from really loving this book.
Less fantasy than you might be expecting.
Yep, those other reviewers were right. Like I said in my intro, this book is less straight-up fantasy and more YA paranormal with dragons and dragon-lore. The characters spend most of the book in human form, and we only get glimpses of fire-breathing dragons. That being said, I LOVED the glimpses that I did get, and the fantasy element really picked up A LOT in the end!
So, while this might not have been full-fledged dragon fantasy, I still found myself on the edge of my seat, loving the characters that Kagawa created for me and fully engaged in their story. I give this one 4/5 stars.
***Disclosure: This book was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***
Talon was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. So much so, that I was almost afraid to read it. I LOVE Kagawa (was so excited to meet her at BEA) and I also adore dragons, so this seemed like a match made in heaven! Then some reviews started trickling in, and they weren’t all that favorable – I started to get very nervous. But, on the positive side I knew a little bit more what to expect, so that helped me when I went to go read the book. The basics of those reviews that I was reading was this – this book isn’t heavy on dragons and dragon-lore. It reads more like a typical paranormal YA with a dragon storyline at its base. So, knowing that going in helped me to set my expectations a bit. I found that I actually ended up being pleasantly surprised by the amount of dragon action that was in the book (especially at the end).
Ember and her brother Dante are dragons who have been assigned to blend into society in their human forms. They have one summer to learn to integrate with humans before they receive their assignments within Talon, the organization that governs all dragons. Ember wants nothing more than to live out her three months in freedom, but she finds that she’s being hunted – and that Talon may not be everything she believes it to be.
Garrett is a member of the Order of St. George – a secret society that has been trained to slay dragons. His mission is to find the dragon who has been secretly placed into a small California town – and kill her. As soon as Garrett meets Ember he’s suspicious that she might be the dragon he’s looking for, but of course, he has to be absolutely certain before he does anything rash. In the meantime, he finds himself falling for Ember and he realizes that, if she truly is the dragon, then everything he’s believed about dragons is not entirely true. They may not be the monsters he’s always believed them to be.
What I LOVED:
Garrett.
I know, I know. This storyline has been done before. The hunter falls in love with the hunted. But, I’m sorry, I’m a complete sucker for this trope when it’s done well, and I thought that Kagawa did it extremely well. I was kind of in love with Garret myself. He wasn’t afraid to act on his beliefs – or to question them. By the end of the book, both Garrett and Ember find themselves reeling, questioning everything they’ve ever believed in, and I was completely drawn into their stories! Oh, and I was definitely shipping Garrett and Ember!
Questioning beliefs and shifting loyalties.
Both Garrett and Ember go through some extreme crises of faith. In Ember’s case, she’s been raised to believe that Talon takes care of its people and that anyone who goes rogue is a danger to dragon society. When she meets Riley, he starts to show her that Talon isn’t telling the whole story – that not everyone is being protected by the organization, and in fact, some dragons are being exploited. Similarly, Garrett has been told that dragons are all evil – that they cannot help their baser natures and are naturally destructive and bloodthirsty. The Order has taught him that dragons will take over the world if given the chance – and it is his duty to stop them. Of course, meeting Ember makes him question all of that. And he starts to wonder if he has really just been blindly following the Order without really seeing the dragons for who and what they are. Garrett and Ember’s journeys are parallel – they’re both learning to think for themselves instead of following the leader. At the same time, both Garrett and Ember have to decide if they’re willing to betray the people who have been most important in their lives.
Dragons!
Have I mentioned that I love dragons? Every time Ember took flight or there was a dragon battle with the Order of St. George, I was enthralled! I LOVED the dragony bits of this story and I can’t wait for more in the next book!!
The negatives:
The love triangle.
I didn’t feel like there was much development in the relationship between Riley and Ember – just a sort of implication that their dragon sides were drawn to each other – so I couldn’t really get behind the love triangle in the book. It wasn’t exactly a full-blown triangle anyway, but I get the feeling that it might be more of one in the next book – we shall see! The love triangle was probably the biggest aspect that kept me from really loving this book.
Less fantasy than you might be expecting.
Yep, those other reviewers were right. Like I said in my intro, this book is less straight-up fantasy and more YA paranormal with dragons and dragon-lore. The characters spend most of the book in human form, and we only get glimpses of fire-breathing dragons. That being said, I LOVED the glimpses that I did get, and the fantasy element really picked up A LOT in the end!
So, while this might not have been full-fledged dragon fantasy, I still found myself on the edge of my seat, loving the characters that Kagawa created for me and fully engaged in their story. I give this one 4/5 stars.
***Disclosure: This book was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***
kimbapnboba's review against another edition
1.0
I got about halfway but just found the book moved too slow for me. And the male characters just seem stamped by the female author's voice. Dragons I can believe, but some of the things the male characters would think made me go "Yep, a woman definitely wrote that." It's a pass for me.
jqduskrose's review against another edition
5.0
Talon Is a brilliant tail about a female dragon who falls in love with an enemy soldier.
This book was just wooow, I'm currently speechless, i don't know how to describe how i feel about this book...
i'm sorry this isn't much of a review, i'm just a bit overwhelmed by how this great this book is...
This book was just wooow, I'm currently speechless, i don't know how to describe how i feel about this book...
i'm sorry this isn't much of a review, i'm just a bit overwhelmed by how this great this book is...