Friday, November 14, 2014

Talon by Julie Kagawa


Talon
Talon by Julie Kagawa

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


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. (From Goodreads)


THE FAERYS VIEW


It’s no secret that Julie Kagawa is one of my absolutely favorite authors; The Iron Fey series is one of my favorites and probably will for life. Talon by Julie Kagawa is the first book in a new trilogy. This is a book about a set of twins, well, clutch mates really, who are dragons. Yep, fire-breathing, scaly beasts but luckily they are able to assume attractive human shapes. Ember and her brother, Dante have spent their entire life in a desert compound being raised by a group of dragons called Talon. Talon exists to ensure that the dragon line is not wiped out by the Order of St. George, which has been taking out dragons since forever. They are natural enemies and hate one another with undying passion. The story begins with Ember and Dante being placed with human hosts in a marvelous beach house in sunny California so they can learn to assimilate and act like humans. They have one whole summer of freedom, learning to walk the walk and talk the talk, and then it’s back to their Talon lives and duty. Garret is a member of the Order of St. George, his entire family was murdered by dragons, leaving him alone and owing his life to the Order. Garret is the perfect soldier, he has one mission in life and that is to destroy the things that destroyed his family.

Talon is told in three different perspectives, Embers, Garret’s, and later in the book, by Riley/Cobalt, a rogue dragon, who is intent on luring dragons away from Talon. Ember is spunky, gregarious and wants to experience all that life has to offer. Garret, is quiet, shy, and has trouble letting go. Riley/Cobalt, on the other hand, embodies all that is bad boy biker – with a tender side, of course. Unfortunately, there is a bit of a triangle and Lord knows, I hate THE TRIANGLE! So, we’ll have to see how it all pans out!

There was a bit of a problem with the plot line for me, Ember and Dante spent their entire lives in a compound in the desert. They spent absolutely no time with any other teens, etc … just grown dragons yet they managed to fit in with the popular kids within their first hour in California. There wasn’t any awkwardness or missteps, they just blended in seamlessly. That just doesn’t happen that quickly, I know, I live in a resort town. One girl, Lexi, even calls Ember her best friend after only a month. Call me a skeptic but it just seemed like maybe it should have taken a bit more time and there should have been a few fax pas.

Other than those things stated above, I enjoyed Talon, it has plenty of great action, fighting scenes and suspense. Enough so, that I can overlook THE TRIANGLE and the seamless clique fit in. I give this a 3.5 but round up to a 4. I’ll definitely read the next in the series.




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14 comments:

  1. I enjoyed this one as well! I'm not a fan of the triangle but this one... so far... hasn't totally bothered me. I know it will though. It seems to be her forté. *sigh*

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    1. Me, either, Melissa!

      I'm hoping the next book will be better! I didn't hate this book but I didn't love it, either. More of a 3.5 for me.

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  2. Why do they always have to become friends with the popular kids...

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    1. That was one of my gripes! Not only that but they fit in without a flaw immediately :(
      What's that all about?

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  3. I was so curious about this one as well! I love kagawa and well dragons, I only need that. Sorry for the love triangle, I understand why it annoyed you. But I confess that I really impatient to read it too and I'm glad you had a good time in a whole. great review!

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  4. When I first heard about this title I was super psyched because I love dragons, and have been meaning to give Julie Kagawa's writing a whirl, but I didn't want to play catch-up with one of her existing series. I'd heard that there was next to no dragon action in it, but a love triangle too? Bleh!

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    1. There's really only two scenes of any real dragon action and yeah, love triangle ....

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  5. Ugh, Ember/Garret's seamless transition would bother me too.

    Since the book is told from multiple perspectives, did you have a problem following along?

    Glad you liked it! I think I'm going to read Immortal Rules first and THEN attack this one! :)

    Amber Elise @ Du Livre

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    1. It did bother me, LOL, a lot!

      As far as the different POV, each chapter was told from a different character and had that characters name at the top, so no, heh!

      I gave it a higher score than normally would have because it's one of my favorite authors and I'm holding out hope!

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  6. i've only read Julie Kagawa's Blood of Eden series so all i know is that she's the queen of vampires!! i mean, she's probably queen of all supernatural creatures now because wow, DRAGONS? this one is unlike anything i've read/heard before, so curious as to how things will go!! the love triangle though... realize that ms kagawa's books are never without them.

    p.s. for a moment i thought clutch mates had something to do with bags. no? okay =P

    alicia @ noverly things

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    1. Sophie Jordan wrote the Firelight series about Dragons and so did a few others that I can't think of right now :)
      It can be fascinating reading!

      LOL @ the clutch bags!

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  7. I've been putting this off because of mixed reviews. I'm glad you liked it even with the issues it had. I've loved her other books, I'm just nervous I won't like this one, haha!

    Great review!

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