Author: Julie Kagawa
Series: Talon #3
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Release Date: April 26th 2016
Book Length: 416
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
A fighter dedicated to saving humankind from dragons in strictest secrecy.
That was what Garret Xavier Sebastian thought he was part of as a soldier of the Order of St. George. What he learned from a fiery dragon hatchling twisted all he believed in and set him on a collision course with certain death-but not without a chance to put things right.
Betrayed and on the run again, Ember and rogue dragon Riley discover an unthinkable truth about Talon and St. George. They'll need Garret's skills and insider knowledge of the Order to negotiate an impossible deal-and if they fail, there will be no way to stop all-out war.
Review
I have loved this series since the
beginning but I just knew Soldier was going to be a little different from Talon
and Rogue. It’s that feeling you get when everything is going well but you’re
waiting for the other shoe to drop, for disaster to strike…. Except in this
case you’re waiting for Julie Kagawa to crush your soul.
Similar to the
Iron Fey series Kagawa makes you fall in love with her wonderful characters,
even the bad guys have their shining moments, it’s hard to have strong negative feelings towards
anyone – well except Scary Talon Lady, the
name is reason enough. Anyway, so while you’re immersed in this new world
and loving the direction each book is taking, suddenly out of nowhere Kagawa drops an A-bomb, a bomb so
big and catastrophic that you find yourself thinking that you simply didn’t read that last sentence right,
you’re eyes are deceiving you, perhaps it was a trick of the light?, all the while listening to your heart being
crushed; this ladies and gentlemen is Solider. If tears do in fact feed
Kagawa’s muse then I’d say that everyone better prepare for Talon #4 because
it’s going to be one hell of a ride.
Solider picks up straight after Rogue,
Ember and Riley are on the run from Talon and St. George and while attempting
to save their scales they must also keep numerous underground dragons safe.
During the ending of Rogue we saw my poor sweet snowflake Garrett leaving the
nest and taking matters into his own hands. There’s not much I can say about
Solider without giving away spoilers but I will say that you do get some
much-needed answers to those questions that have been popping up since book
one.
Time for honesty, while I highly recommend Solider and the Talon series, I wasn't able to give it the 5 stars I was hoping due to a few minor issues; One being that a very very small portion of this book started to read as a filler but it did soon pick up. It was nowhere near as bad as Glass Sword - the entirety of that book was a filler! My other issue was Ember, like in glass Sword the MC seems to lose herself and while it is expected due to the extremely stressing trails they've been through, they're actions just seem wildly out of character and filled with contradictions that you can't help but pick up on.
Time for honesty, while I highly recommend Solider and the Talon series, I wasn't able to give it the 5 stars I was hoping due to a few minor issues; One being that a very very small portion of this book started to read as a filler but it did soon pick up. It was nowhere near as bad as Glass Sword - the entirety of that book was a filler! My other issue was Ember, like in glass Sword the MC seems to lose herself and while it is expected due to the extremely stressing trails they've been through, they're actions just seem wildly out of character and filled with contradictions that you can't help but pick up on.
What
about answers to the romance? Hmm, again I’ll be honest, to me it remains a
question mark. There was a moment in the book where a choice is made but the
following events left a lot of room for potential change. I found myself
looking way too much into certain
scenes, the mere mention of certain colours had me convinced they were
referring to characters and ships. Gray = OH MY GOD IT’S GARRETT, his metallic greys so
dreamy, Ember belongs with him. Blue/Purple = AHHH IT’S RILEY, together at
last, two dragons mating, it all makes sense. As you can see, I tended to jump
the gun… and on numerous occasions.
Fan of the series will no doubt enjoy this
heart-stopping sequel, there’s action, adventure, romance and more
fire-breathing dragons!!! What more
could you want? Kagawa has surpassed herself with this incredible instalment,
her writing continues to have the same captivating affect and with each book my love for her incredible fantasy worlds continues to grow.
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ReplyDeleteI read Talon last summer and I found the plot to intriguing, but Ember lacked that extra umph I really needed for the first book. After that, I had tried to read Rogue, but ultimately put it down because I was set in a sour mood from Talon. I'm hoping to get back into it, because hello - DRAGONS, and I've seen some awesome reviews for Rogue. You seem very excited about Soldier and the upcoming 4th installment, so maybe I'll have to continue! Great review :)
ReplyDeleteLillie @Little Lillie Reads
EEEEKKKK, I can't wait for this book! I skimmed your review, because I'm both scared and excited for this A-bomb you keep mentioning. No doubt we will have words in about a week's time about this. I can't wait!!!
ReplyDelete