'Last of the Talons' by Sophie Kim.
Rating : ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars

I deeply enjoyed this wonderful book.

'Last of the Talons' as a debut novel is promising and deeply original.

The premise was what drew me in and I can say that I was not disappointed.

The writing is witty, smart, elegant and sharp and packs a lot of emotion.

The blend of Korean mythology (in some aspects) and Korean folklore was also wonderful and I was excited to read more of this retelling.

Lina as a protagonist was fierce, smart, cunning, reckless at times, but most importantly loyal to herself and those she loves.

The only aspect of the book I disliked was the pacing of the relationship between the main characters and how I felt that, from Lina's point of view, her romantic feelings felt a little bit "insta love-y" for my taste.

Thank you again to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for providing me an ARC of 'Last of the Talons'.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I am all for Myths, Legends and all things Fantasy and journeying into legends that are new to me.
The premis of a Goblin King, an independent strong women assassin main character and monsters defiently sat well.

A slow start, but once through the world building and unknown pronunciations of characters and places inwas gripped.

Enemies to lovers, the will they wont they, and then the twist at the end was perfect.
I love how the book ended and can't wait for the next installment.

Thank you #netgalley for the arc.

The Last of the Talons is a debut book by Sophie Kim and the first in a YA fantasy series. Based on Korean mythology this novel follows Shin Lina, a teenage assassin under thumb of a ruthless gang. When she’s forced to steal a tapestry that brings to a Dokkeabi – immortal beings born of the Gods – shes’s whisked away by Haneul Rui – the Emperor of the Dokkeabi.

The Emperor offers her a cruel game: kill him and she goes free. With her sister’s life hanging in the balance Lina must find it within herself to kill the unkillable even as her heart begins to waver.

Ya’ll all I needed to hear about this book was Korean mythology and enemies to lovers and I knew I would love it. And the 400+ pages of this novel did not disappoint.

First off, the imagery in this novel is amazing. I was able to perfectly visualize everything that was happening and feel comfortable with the setting. The tone in this book is also used very well. It was very easy for me to feel with Lina was thinking and experience the events of the novel through her eyes.

I absolutely loved the fact that Lina is a down-to-earth and likeable character. So often it’s easy to not really like a main character, to have nothing in common with them, to not be able to sympathize with them. Lina was the opposite for me. It was very easy for me to get rooted into her story. I loved her fiery personality. She reminds me of those characters that you see in anime or TV shows where they’re always trying to physically fight someone, animatedly flailing their hands in the air but someone else is holding them back.

Okay, we have to talk about the Dokkeabi Emperor, Haneul Rui for a minute. Without giving much away in terms of spoilers, I love him. Lina would probably call him a “conniving bastard” or probably something worse. But I love him all the same. His wit and attitude melted my heart and yep – sign me right up to take Lina’s place.

I had a hard time putting this book down anytime that I picked it up. There was always something happening that made me want to keep reading whether it was learning about Lina’s mysterious past, disrespecting a statue, or throw pastries off a building.

The ending of this novel was *chef’s kiss*. Other than just being an amazing, action-packed climax of an ending in general, I think the novel comes really full circle wrapping up some loose ends while leaving some open for future books.

I’d recommend the Last of the Talons to anyone who wants to read about a teenage assassin (I mean come on, who doesn’t?) spitefully attempting to kill an immortal and fighting her own heart along the way.

Rating: 5/5 stars

Release Date: September 27, 2022

I want to thank Netgalley and Entangled Publishing/Entangled Teen for an arc of this book. All opinions in this novel are my own.

Pretty dokkaebi emperor x feral human assassin? Sign me up!

Lina will do anything to protect her younger sister, whether it means working for one of the most hated crime lords in the land or having to strike a bargain with the powerful Dokkaebi emperor with her life on the line. She’s a very fun protagonist to follow, as she’s positively bristling with rage at the world that has knocked her down her whole life. She’s deeply flawed and prone to making mistakes, but she attacks every obstacle with an admirable viciousness.

Here, the romance is the main selling point. Rui is charming, snarky, and infinitely amused by every one of Lina’s attempts to murder him. Their dynamic is just delightful. I almost wish the romance had moved more slowly so that there was more time for that sizzle of tension, alas. I also enjoyed how the present story was interwoven with her past so that we learn her tragic backstory in bits and pieces to parallel the events going on.

There’s a lot of room to explore the world that Kim has created, and I’m definitely excited to see where the rest of this trilogy goes!

A Korean inspired Pied Piper retelling with enemies-to-lovers, magic, a astonishing world building and heartwarming sister relationship that'll capture the heart of readers.

Shin Lina has lived her life as an assassin, when she was summoned to go on a mission to steal the tapestry from the temple, she didn't know that it'll make a huge turn in her life. Which the mission will lead her to make a dangerous bargain with the Dokkaebi, and in order to save her sister (which is her only family), she'll have to kill the Dokkaebi in 14 days.

Literally binge read it in one sitting and I need MORE

<i > "So kiss me or kill me. You'll find that I'll enjoy either equally." </i>

I have been waiting for this book for SO LONG! Already intrigued by premises and teasers shared online by the author. Naturally, I went in with high expectation and this book didn't disappoint. It was everything I expected it to be, and more.

Lina is a strong and remarkable lead. She is not without flaws, but her character building was great and relatable. Rui Haneul is simply perfect book boyfriend we all could ever ask for. The dynamics between Lina and Rui is simply sooooo good I just love them so much. Two broken souls giving their everything to shape a better future. They are just *chef's kiss* own my whole heart.

Their relationship alone worth every single stars in this review (lol) but I also enjoyed the world building and the fast pacing. Also love the politics and magic systems, although I wish for more details on the Gods and rebellion etc in next book. Excited to see how things would play out after THAT ending!

Overall, it was a strong debut! I'm looking to read more books from this series and future works by Sophie Kim :)

Last of the Talons was such an enjoyable read. I was hooked from the first sentence and read this book in one sitting. I loved the MC, the magic, the worlds, the enemies to lovers, and the character development. Just all around an amazing book.

I absolutely loved this. All of the characters were super interesting. It was a very easy fast paced read as well. I loved the enemies to lover dynamic where she's literally trying to kill him and he's like whatever about it. Super excited for the sequel!