Thursday 15 January 2015

Talon by Julie Kagawa

This is the first in Julie Kagawa's dragon-shifter Urban Fantasy.

Ember and Dante are dragons,who can assume a human form, which they need to do to stay hidden within the human society. The two of them come from the same nest, which is highly unusual in dragon society.

Note that although the assumption is that they are considered by all and themselves to be twins, however the phrasing Kagawa uses may indicate a second origin for either Dante or Ember. Just speculation on my part, mainly due to the way their egg nesting or hatching is described.

The two teens couldn't be more different. Ember is outgoing, free-spirited, rebellious and Dante is determined to abide by the rules, regimented and happy to stay within the boundaries laid out for him. Ember is torn between her two souls.

Her human soul and body wants Garret the human, and her dragon body and soul really want Riley. Ember and Riley's dragons speak to each other on such an intimate level it is as if they were destined to find each other.Little does Ember know that both her hunky heartthrobs have hidden agendas, one of them is planning to kill her and the other save her from Talon. Apparently Talon isn't exactly what they are pretending to be. Are they really protecting the hatchlings?

Kagawa has once again created an exciting venture into Urban Fantasy. I can see this story appealing to younger readers, especially those in the midst of the their first experiences with love. Is it as intricate as Kagawa's Iron Fey series,? No. Or as dark and mesmerizing as her dystopian Blood of Eden series? No.

It is a little more mellow when it comes to complexity and focuses a lot more on matters of the heart and gut emotions. Perhaps time will tell if this romantic ménage à trois will develop into a series with more grit. At the moment it does tick all the boxes for a compelling Urban Fantasy read, but knowing Kagawa this is only the beginning and there is much more to come.
I received a copy of this book courtesy of Harlequin UK & Harlequin Teen.

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