angelarenea9's Review of Talon (Talon Saga, #1)

by Julie Kagawa

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.

In a world where dragons pass as humans to secretly grow their numbers, Ember and Dante Hill prepare for destined positions in the world of Talon only to be hunted by a dragon-slaying soldier. The plot contains mild profanity and violence. Book #1

This review is posted on my blog

I have been a big fan of Julie Kagawa for a few years now. I loved her Iron Fey series, and have recently finished her Blood of Eden series, so when I heard she was writing a new book about dragons I was ecstatic! It did take me a while to get started because of real life interfering (I know!) but I finally got a chance to read Talon.

I'm not sure what I expected from this book, but it was not this at all, and that's OK! This was such a unique book about dragons! This book is a story of a young dragon named Ember who, with her twin brother, is training to enter her adult life with her assigned role in Talon, the organization of dragons. Disguised as humans, Talon is waging a war against St. George, a religious organization determined to save humanity from the dragons. Ember's is forced to question everything she thought she believed when she is placed in Crescent Beach for her final training and meets Riley, a rogue dragon on the run from Talon, and Garret, an undercover St. George agent.

I loved the pace that this book moved at, there were lulls in the action but everything kept moving along. I think back to the first time I picked up one of Kagawa's books and her writing just keeps getting better. The changing point of views gave you a wonderful image of the whole story with some great dramatic irony.

I was a little disappointed that Kagawa went with the love triangle story line again with this series, unlike Blood of Eden. I'm not generally a fan of love triangles. That being said, she always manages to elevate them beyond two guys like the same girl, and this time is no exception. Ember is torn between raw instinct and passion, and a true human connection, even where she should not be able to have one.

Overall this book was spectacular and anyone who loves fantasy YA should read this!

Talon (Talon Saga, #1)

by Julie Kagawa

Reviewed by angelarenea9 on Jun 25, 2015

Reading updates