Wrath of the Talon (Talons, #2)
Sophie Kim
Everyone thinks the Reaper of Sunpo—eighteen-year-old assassin Shin Lina—is dead. The only ones who know the truth are her cherished little sister and Haneul Rui, the icily gorgeous Dokkaebi Emperor, who she was sent to kill…and kissed instead. Now, with the potent Imugi venom surging in her veins, Lina’s returned to right all wrongs. Already her body is changing, growing stronger, stealthier, and more agile, with serpentine scales she can call at will. She is living vengeance, seeking retribution for the massacre of the Talons. She’ll become the sword who cuts down the rival Blackbloods gang, along with their ruthless crime-lord leader. And when she is through, she will take the kingdom as her own. But there is a mysterious side to Lina’s growing power, a dark voice inside her that whispers and guides her as she slips through the shadows of Sunpo’s streets. One that warns her not to trust the Dokkaebi, especially Rui. Because if her destiny isn’t to love him…it must be to destroy him. The Talons series is best enjoyed in order.
Publication Year: 2024
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0While I'm not sure this was better than the first book in some aspects, in others it was for sure! Was a lot more romance than I was hoping for though and not really too much plot progression. Most of the plot happens near the end, the rest is quite a slow, drawn out "this is what the 3rd book will be about" and a hell of a lot of romance in it (and a fair bit more sexual content than I'd expect from a YA book?).
The characters were mostly the same, I didn't quite like the slight POV change however but it wasn't too bad overall. <spoiler>I mainly just didn't like how overly aggressive and demanding the voice was, it was a stark contrast to Lina yes but it was also kinda just aggravating to read through honestly aha. It was a pretty nice twist on the prophecy cliche though!</spoiler> Eunbi was as great as ever, she's been what was getting me through these 2 books mainly because I just loved her so much. Major spoilers but needs to be said: <spoiler>I do wonder how the 3rd book will go with that ending now. I think the 3rd book will be a lot more of my think, focusing more on the world and the action happening rather than bedroom romances, but with that ending and loosing the "light" character.. I'm not sure lol.</spoiler>
The plot was a tad all over the place. It seemed to want to focus on Rui and Lina's romance mainly rather than progress too much plot. I think it suffers from middle book syndrome a fair bit, not quite sure how to move from the start to the end (book one to book two) and wants to leave the big action ending all to the last book? Though the finale of this one was certainly interesting and it did pick up the pace a fair bit, even if sadly it wasn't for too long.
In the middle of the book the pacing does slow down to a crawl while there's a *massive* lore dump that goes on for quite a while. It's just text book lore dumping and does get to be a bit of a slog to get through even if the world building is interesting.
Through my reservations though, I will be reading the 3rd book - mainly, honestly, because it seems like there might be less romance so I can read more of what I'm enjoying which is, ofc, the action and world building haha! I did quite enjoy the world building in this (even if I didn't quite appreciate the delivery of it) and how the history of everything got fleshed out. I'm quite interested in what action will take place next!
02024 reads: 82/250
i received an advanced review copy from the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review. this did not affect my rating.
in this sequel to last of the talons, lina wants to right all wrongs, but she’s battling a voice telling her not to trust the dokkaebi, especially when it comes to rui. rui’s determined to get lina back, but she’s not making it easy for him…
this book had so much angst, and i was absolutely here for it. not only angst between lina and rui, but even within lina herself. all this tension played into the plot very well! i enjoyed this book so much and i can’t wait for the final installment of this trilogy!
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