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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
bookishcb_21's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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? No
4.0
This story took me a while to digest, considering I started it awhile back and just now finished. However, the storyline grabs you, pulls you along for the ride, and makes you wish you had Rui on your side as opposed to him being the enemy. Lina’s courage and will to save her sister was very excitable and the fact that Rui (the Pied Piper) was there to taunt her the entire time was humorous. I don’t want to get too detailed about this description, as the way it ended makes me wish there was a snippet into what is to come for Lina and Rui…only time will tell 🐍🗡
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and Blood
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 deathdaniellestarredpages's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Review to come
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Vomit, Death, Blood, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Death of parent, Grief, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Addiction
ezwolf's review against another edition
So I decided not to finish this at 20%.
I was intrigued by the plot description and I saw another review compare it to Guardian: A Great and Lonely God which is a show I adored, but even that wasn't enough for me to finish it. Aside from them being based on similar Korean lore, I didn't see the comparison and was extremely disappointed.
Lina was a frustrating and borderline annoying main character and none of the other characters appealed to me at all either. They were all dislikeable to me, even characters in Lina's flashbacks. I wanted to try and finish it at least for the sibling plot with Lina and her sister, but Lina's internal monologue was too frustrating to read about. It felt like a lot of telling instead of showing in regards to Lina's skills as an assassin and the way it was absolutely drilled in how much suffering Lina had gone through in a year and the cigarette and the sweets and the palace and the clothes, etc. were all so fancy. The reiteration wasn't needed. Maybe I'll pick this up someday and finish it to find out what happens to Lina's sister, but for now, I am okay not knowing.
I am still giving this two stars because I think it had potential in its plot and having fantasy stories based in other cultures is important and it might appeal to other people, but it wasn't for me.
Thank you to NetGalley for making this available in exchange for an honest review!
I was intrigued by the plot description and I saw another review compare it to Guardian: A Great and Lonely God which is a show I adored, but even that wasn't enough for me to finish it. Aside from them being based on similar Korean lore, I didn't see the comparison and was extremely disappointed.
Lina was a frustrating and borderline annoying main character and none of the other characters appealed to me at all either. They were all dislikeable to me, even characters in Lina's flashbacks. I wanted to try and finish it at least for the sibling plot with Lina and her sister, but Lina's internal monologue was too frustrating to read about. It felt like a lot of telling instead of showing in regards to Lina's skills as an assassin and the way it was absolutely drilled in how much suffering Lina had gone through in a year and the cigarette and the sweets and the palace and the clothes, etc. were all so fancy. The reiteration wasn't needed. Maybe I'll pick this up someday and finish it to find out what happens to Lina's sister, but for now, I am okay not knowing.
I am still giving this two stars because I think it had potential in its plot and having fantasy stories based in other cultures is important and it might appeal to other people, but it wasn't for me.
Thank you to NetGalley for making this available in exchange for an honest review!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Blood, Confinement, and Death