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ctara2123's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I support women’s wrongs.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Gore, Addiction, Drug use, and Physical abuse
Minor: Death of parent
xlaurareads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
a badass strong assasin fmc with a tragic past, fighting for her and her sister's life while being enslaved by an enemy gang leader has to fight to stay alive in the mythological world of the dokkaebi because of a crime she didn't want to commit of her own free will. a fun, mysterious, entrancing dokkaebi king who's soft only for her and wants her to play his game of life and death. an incredibly well-crafted, complex and intense world full of magic. sophie kim did an amazing job in her debut novel about lina's story of survial. she crafted an amazing fmc whose drive is her love for her little sister and a wonderful mmc i fell for instantly. i wholly enjoyed lina's story - everything that happened in the now and everything she let us see from her past, and her whole story with rui. i loved rui and lina's dynamics and their complex relationship throughout the book which, who would've thought, ended with them falling for each other. i really enjoyed the whole development of the storyline and the influence of korean mythology which filtered in absolutely natural without having to be explained thoroughly in the beginning of the book (i like it way better as it is because it didn't make the book to boring or complex). the ending was great and i am looking forward to what will happen to lina (and rui) in the future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, Blood, Gun violence, Slavery, and Kidnapping
beautifulminutiae's review against another edition
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Gore, Murder, Blood, Death, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Drug abuse, Addiction, Death of parent, Drug use, and Confinement
Minor: Sexual content
sabrandbooks's review against another edition
4.25
I think if I read this at a different time it easily would’ve been 5 stars! At the moment I couldn’t connect to it as much as I hoped :(
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Addiction and Blood
leedolee's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Thoroughly enjoyed this book from start to finish. Fast paced and brilliant world building! I enjoyed reading about Korean mythology and the Pied Piper story immensely! I look forward to the sequel!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Panic attacks/disorders, Addiction, Cursing, Death, Murder, Blood, Body horror, Gore, Grief, Medical content, Violence, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Emotional abuse
lisashelves's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Violence, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Addiction, Death of parent, and Death
Minor: Alcohol
annavdn's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I was entertained the entire time reading Last of the Talons, which was a nice change from the first book I read this year. Last of the Talons is the story of a girl named Lina, who is the last survivor of her gang called the Talons. She has no one in her life other than her little sister, who is her sole reason to survive. She is enlisted by her rival gang's leader and boss to steal an ancient tapestry that is said to belong to the old gods that very few still believe in, and Lina is one of the few remaining believers. Soon after the tapestry is stolen, her boss is kidnapped. Since she hates her boss and knows that his kidnapping was a trick to get her to save him, she does nothing. Until she is taken by her boss's lover, who gives her 30 days to get him back before Lina's sister is killed. Lina plans on getting her sister and escaping asap before she herself is taken by the same person who took her boss, Haneul Rui, the emperor and powerful dokkaebi. Rui suggests that they play a game - Lina has 14 days to kill him. If she wins, he will spare her and her boss. If she loses, he will kill her.
Major plot spoilers:
Despite being known as the best assassin in her town, Lina doesn't appear anything of the sort. Soon after she agrees to the game, she rashly tries to kill Rui. As punishment, she is forced to work in the kitchen. In her second attempt to kill Rui, she uses seduction. She successfully seduces Rui, and manages to stab him, but an immortal being cannot be killed so easily, to her surprise. Her punishment is to go to a ball with him, and she is compelled to come out of her hiding spot at the ball with his magical wind instrument. She receives another punishment for not having her last dance with him and they go sightseeing. Between these moments, Lina tries to find map her way through the palace and tries to find allies outside. She comes across the Revolution and joins them. I must say, she was very naive to believe that there were only three members and trust that their cause was really for the well-being of less powerful dokkaebis. Jiwoon, the academic she meets on her first outing outside the palace turns out to be the leader of the Revolution. He had enlisted her to find ingredients to make a potion that would give her more strength. However, he never trusts her and he catches her kissing Rui in the Black sea/ocean and takes the potion for himself. The Revolution attacks and they nearly kill Lina by stabbing her with a blade laced with poison. She manages to reach Rui before she passes out. Rui and his officials decide to give Lina the strengthening elixir to save her, and she survives. While she is recovering, she confesses everything to Rui, they confide in one another, and they agree to let go of their game. Later, Jiwoon attacks again and just before he kills Rui, Lina comes out and battles him. She is able to defeat him because she gained powers that strengthen her and allow her to form scales on her body. Jiwoon is killed and the Revolution is quelled. They retrieve Lina's little sister and agree to let her stay in the land of the Dokkaebi. Rui invites Lina to stay and she agrees to stay for a while before leaving to exact her revenge on her former boss and his rival gang.
Small romance spoilers:
The romance between Lina and Rui is fast and happens in the span of a few days. You may not like it if you're not a fan of insta love. However, the romance isn't super developed other than initial lust/attraction. There appear to be moments when Rui expresses jealousy, like when he cuts the waltz short when she is dancing with Jiwoon. It never really seems like Rui ever hated Lina. Just that she hated him, and mostly for circumstance rather than personal reasons, at least until she realizes she is attracted to him.
Another spoiler (TWs: Drug use and Addiction):
Lina is addicted to smoking a leaf that has very addictive properties. She smokes in the early chapters of the book and saves her last cigarette, which was given to her by Sang (her former love), for a moment she gets really overwhelmed in the dokkaebi realm. She is caught by Rui and he orders her not to smoke. Lina responds that one cigarette should make any difference to him if he plans on killing her anyway, which is fair. The plant is very addictive and it seems as though Lina is teetering on the line to no return. He takes it from her and stomps it out. Later, she is under surveillance because she is experiencing withdrawal, but the surveillance is shit because she manages to go into Kang's study (he is Rui's general) and steals leaves she finds there to roll her own cigarettes when she is there to look for a scale. She does eventually find the will to get over her addiction, but it is more of a tactic to seduce Rui, since she knows he doesn't like it. There may be more than that, but this is all that I can remember.
Nonetheless, I enjoyed this book despite the small issues I had with the book. I was very entertained and I look forward to the sequel.
Major plot spoilers:
Small romance spoilers:
Another spoiler (TWs: Drug use and Addiction):
Nonetheless, I enjoyed this book despite the small issues I had with the book. I was very entertained and I look forward to the sequel.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Death, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Addiction
small_alex's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
fast-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
4.5
I loved this book!!! It was genuinely such an enjoyable read. The FMC is great. I love her character development as she learns to cope with grief and trauma. She's badass and funny, and I lovedddd all of her interactions with the MMC. Their banter was so entertaining, and the pacing of their enemies to lovers arc was great. All of the hurt/comfort, who did this to you, etc. had me literally screaming. The plot itself was captivating, and the ending had some cool surprises.
All in all, it was well written, and the incorporation of Korean mythology made me want to research those inspiration stories further. I docked half a star because it felt a little too YA (there was no swearing throughout the book but then in the end we got some f-bombs which was kinda like why weren't we just using those the whole time?). That's just not my personal preference. I also still don't really understand the age of the MMC like 20ish but old enough to have already been that in love? Idk seemed a little weird. And I would've like some of the relationships with the MMCs friends to be a little more developed, because I still don't really understand the vibe between him and his 3 main friends. This could technically be explained away by the fact that we only really get to follow the FMC though.
Still, this was an amazing book that I would definitely recommend!
All in all, it was well written, and the incorporation of Korean mythology made me want to research those inspiration stories further. I docked half a star because it felt a little too YA (there was no swearing throughout the book but then in the end we got some f-bombs which was kinda like why weren't we just using those the whole time?). That's just not my personal preference. I also still don't really understand the age of the MMC like 20ish but old enough to have already been that in love? Idk seemed a little weird. And I would've like some of the relationships with the MMCs friends to be a little more developed, because I still don't really understand the vibe between him and his 3 main friends. This could technically be explained away by the fact that we only really get to follow the FMC though.
Still, this was an amazing book that I would definitely recommend!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Addiction
cascannotread's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Rating: 3.5
This was a really fun new fantasy series based on Korean mythology. I actually wished the book incorporated a bit more mythology but it was enjoyable nonetheless, and I’m looking forward to the next instalment.
The Last of the Talons follows Shin Lina, allegedly the best assassin in the country/region. I say allegedly because for the most part she felt very unserious and immature for a supposed battle-worn assassin. Some of her so-called “tactics” felt cartoonish and amateurish. Her assassin skills aside, I did enjoy Shin Lina as a character and what of the most interesting parts of her story was her grief. Not to spoil too much but Lina suffers from survivor’s guilt. She starts the story haunted and broken, both physically and mentally and throughout the course of the story she learns to heal and find happiness again.
One thing that confused me about the story was the setting and time period. My e-arc did not have a map and I’m not sure if they added one in the finished copy but I feel it would be really helpful here. I never quite understood the geography and the different countries and regions of the world. At first I assumed the story was in a Joseon-like period but some of the descriptions about the other regions made the story feel like it was more modern.
This was a really fun new fantasy series based on Korean mythology. I actually wished the book incorporated a bit more mythology but it was enjoyable nonetheless, and I’m looking forward to the next instalment.
The Last of the Talons follows Shin Lina, allegedly the best assassin in the country/region. I say allegedly because for the most part she felt very unserious and immature for a supposed battle-worn assassin. Some of her so-called “tactics” felt cartoonish and amateurish. Her assassin skills aside, I did enjoy Shin Lina as a character and what of the most interesting parts of her story was her grief. Not to spoil too much but Lina suffers from survivor’s guilt. She starts the story haunted and broken, both physically and mentally and throughout the course of the story she learns to heal and find happiness again.
One thing that confused me about the story was the setting and time period. My e-arc did not have a map and I’m not sure if they added one in the finished copy but I feel it would be really helpful here. I never quite understood the geography and the different countries and regions of the world. At first I assumed the story was in a Joseon-like period but some of the descriptions about the other regions made the story feel like it was more modern.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Violence, Murder, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Confinement, Gore, Death of parent, Death, Drug abuse, and Blood
cw: substance abuse, gore, death, mutilation, grief, hallucinations, kidnapping, parental deathlydiareads247's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
"I am the last of the talons. My kingdom calls to me. And when I arrive the blackbloods will feel my wrath."
Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me an audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
"Last of the Talons" is Sophie Kim's debut book, consisting of a pied piper retelling mixed with korean mythology, and it has such a promising plot - it follows Shin Lina in an adventure to the magical realm of Dokkaebi, where she sees her path intertwined with the emperor's (the pied piper) and the revolution.
While I did enjoy the author's writing, I see room for improvement, especially regarding monologues. She does start to fix that towards the ending of the book. There is much more internal monologue at the beginning of the book, which made it a bit dull at times, but once the book picks up, it gets really interesting.
Some of the "plot twists" weren't really twists, I could see them coming a mile away, but I still enjoyed when they were revealed and the plot developed. There are really good fight scenes and dialogue and Lina is a captivating character and fighter.
I think the one thing I disliked the most (though this is only a personal preference, for others this may be their cup of tea) was the constant flashbacks. Until about half of the book, Lina has flashbacks regarding her time with the talons, until it eventually culminates in their murder and how it came to happen. Sometimes these flashbacks take up whole chapters. I understand they're important to the story and I enjoyed reading about the other talons, but I feel like it would have been better if the book started up when Lina was still with the talons - their loss would have been more significant and we would've had a chance to see Lina in a different environment and time in her life. Though, if it was so, then we wouldn't get to Rui until later in the book.
Haneul Rui is the emperor and love interest. The one bad thing I have to point out about him and his romance with Lina is the classic "hundred of years old man falls for 18 year-old girl" (even though it's said that "Rui is 20 in dokkaebi standards" - I can only forgive that if time in his realm works kind of like in Narnia? Then the age difference wouldn't have much meaning but I'm not sure that's how it works). If I overlook the age thing, I was capable of enjoying their romance, especially towards the final chapters.
And speaking of final chapters, the one thing I was shocked about in the book was the final fight and the revelation about Lina - and I really liked it. It changes a lot regarding her fight since she now has the upper hand and no one else is expecting it. And the plan she shares with Rui in how she plans her revenge... can't wait to see it unfold.
Added to that, there were some plot points left unanswered that I'm curious about so I will definitely be reading the next book. I'm also a sucker for sisterly bonds so I'm looking forward to seeing how Lina and Eunbi's bond develops and I'm curious about the gods and their abandonment of their realms (I don't know if we'll get any looks into that but I think that would be really interesting).
Overall, I think Sophie Kim has done a pretty good job. "Last of the Talons" is enjoyable, fun and pretty much everything you can expect for in a book that has an assassin for main character.
Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me an audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
"Last of the Talons" is Sophie Kim's debut book, consisting of a pied piper retelling mixed with korean mythology, and it has such a promising plot - it follows Shin Lina in an adventure to the magical realm of Dokkaebi, where she sees her path intertwined with the emperor's (the pied piper) and the revolution.
While I did enjoy the author's writing, I see room for improvement, especially regarding monologues. She does start to fix that towards the ending of the book. There is much more internal monologue at the beginning of the book, which made it a bit dull at times, but once the book picks up, it gets really interesting.
Some of the "plot twists" weren't really twists, I could see them coming a mile away, but I still enjoyed when they were revealed and the plot developed. There are really good fight scenes and dialogue and Lina is a captivating character and fighter.
I think the one thing I disliked the most (though this is only a personal preference, for others this may be their cup of tea) was the constant flashbacks. Until about half of the book, Lina has flashbacks regarding her time with the talons, until it eventually culminates in their murder and how it came to happen. Sometimes these flashbacks take up whole chapters. I understand they're important to the story and I enjoyed reading about the other talons, but I feel like it would have been better if the book started up when Lina was still with the talons - their loss would have been more significant and we would've had a chance to see Lina in a different environment and time in her life. Though, if it was so, then we wouldn't get to Rui until later in the book.
Haneul Rui is the emperor and love interest. The one bad thing I have to point out about him and his romance with Lina is the classic "hundred of years old man falls for 18 year-old girl" (even though it's said that "Rui is 20 in dokkaebi standards" - I can only forgive that if time in his realm works kind of like in Narnia? Then the age difference wouldn't have much meaning but I'm not sure that's how it works). If I overlook the age thing, I was capable of enjoying their romance, especially towards the final chapters.
And speaking of final chapters, the one thing I was shocked about in the book was the final fight and the revelation about Lina - and I really liked it. It changes a lot regarding her fight since she now has the upper hand and no one else is expecting it. And the plan she shares with Rui in how she plans her revenge... can't wait to see it unfold.
Added to that, there were some plot points left unanswered that I'm curious about so I will definitely be reading the next book. I'm also a sucker for sisterly bonds so I'm looking forward to seeing how Lina and Eunbi's bond develops and I'm curious about the gods and their abandonment of their realms (I don't know if we'll get any looks into that but I think that would be really interesting).
Overall, I think Sophie Kim has done a pretty good job. "Last of the Talons" is enjoyable, fun and pretty much everything you can expect for in a book that has an assassin for main character.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Addiction