The Reaper of Sunpo...assassin. Shin Lina is the last of her kind, her fellow gang members slaughtered by the rival gang she is forced to serve. When the gang's leader goes missing Lina is the prime suspect. She's been given 30 days to return him, or else the collateral they've held over her head is forfeit. Entering a world of superior and supernatural beings places Lina in danger, but it's one she's willing to risk to save herself...and her sister.

Everything about this novel shines....save the repetitive nature of Lina's sister's name...said again, and again, and again. The reader is more likely to remember Eunbi's name than the actual characters physically in the story. It is for this reason alone(a petty one at that, I know!) That Last of the Talons receives 4.75 out of 5 stars, but graciously Goodreads doesn't do half or quarter stars. The emperor, Rui l, is someone I enjoyed getting to know at the perfect pacing....it wasn't love at first sight or even like! Rui and Lina's relationship grew and morphed into something great that I can't wait to explore in book 2. I am hopeful that the publisher will have the same narrator for book 2 as well. She really breathed life into Lina, even when she wasn't being very likeable.

4.75 stars rounded to 5. A wild ride of action & lore that will leave you hungry for more! I'm waiting ever so patiently for book 2! Recommended for fans who enjoy lore as much as the current story itself(or it could get a little boring). Age recommended for 12+. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an AudioARC in exchange for an honest review.

"Last of the Talons" by Sophie Kim is an immersive and captivating fantasy novel that immerses readers in a world of magic, destiny, and courage. Kim's storytelling prowess shines as she crafts a tale of adventure, self-discovery, and the power of unity. The book's richly developed world and well-defined characters create an immersive reading experience that resonates with young adult readers. Kim skillfully weaves together elements of fantasy and friendship, leading readers through a journey filled with challenges and transformation. "Last of the Talons" is a compelling read that offers a thrilling escape into a realm where strength and determination define the path forward, leaving readers eagerly anticipating each twist and turn. As the characters embrace their destinies, readers are left with a sense of empowerment and the realization that even in the face of adversity, they have the power to shape their own fates.

This book was lovely. I really enjoyed the lore and the world and the characters. It was a great read, just not 100% for me

I really wanted to like this one, especially with how important it was for the author for this story to be told.

Whilst I loved the premise of this one I just could not get into it after numerous attempts. I'm gutted but it sadly happens.

So sorry!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me free access to the digital advanced copy of this book.

Stunning debut! I had a lot of fun with this one (from world building to characters) and look forward to more of the author's works.

Sophie is an author to watch! What a fun debut. I loved the Goblin-vibes and the world she created. As a BTS ARMY, I had to support a fellow stan and her work didn't disappoint. :)

(Rewritten review) Thank you netgalley for the e-arc! Last of the talons is a YA fantasy with a wonderful and intriguing worldbuilding inspired by Korean culture. It had a steady pace and perfect angst. Its strengths truly reside in our main character and the atmosphere the author created. The romance scenes were so well written! As a retelling of the Pied Piper, the magic was compelling and perfect for k-dramas enthusiast! I can’t wait for the development that will happen in book 2!

DNF after one chapter. That was enough for me to tell that this book just wasn't for me. The writing style and the dialogue were not very good.

I recently lost internet because, you know, I have AT&T, and I’ve read seven books in the last two days. This is the best of those. I think this was a clever idea, and Kim does a really good job showing the lasting power of Lina’s trauma.

However, this definitely has a lot of telling - you can’t convince me Lina is one of the best assassins in her country when all you show me is her bungling almost every one of her plans.

Full Disclosure: This book was read as an e-ARC (Advance Reader Copy) obtained via Netgalley from the publisher in advance of the book's release on September 27, 2022 in exchange for a potential review. I give my word that this did not affect my review in any way - if I felt conflicted in any way, I would simply have declined to review the book.

Last of the Talons is the first in a YA Fantasy Duology (I think) inspired by Korean Mythology. The story is largely stand alone and features a young woman, Lina, who is forced to continue her work as an assassin for the crime syndicate who murdered her own, under threat to her beloved younger sister....before being kidnapped by a Dokkaebi emperor, the Pied Piper who makes her a deadly bargain: kill that same ruler within 14 days or be killed herself. And so she struggles to find a way to possibly kill that man and to even understand his magical world, a world that the emperor seems eager to show her, even as it contains humans bewitched by him to work in a charmed state.

The result is a novel that reads really well, with a compelling at times main character even as she struggles with some pretty classical YA tropes and issues: like the Emperor she's supposed to kill being possibly a bit alluring and more alike her than she realized. There are some issues - particularly for me, I wasn't a fan that the book never really tries to interrogate the family that made Lina into the assassin she is and the book signals a late act betrayal so strongly as to be ridiculous. But it's a pretty solid and enjoyable YA novel that I found real easy to read, even if it never hits that higher level that would make it an automatic recommmend.



----------------------------------Plot Summary-------------------------------
Shin Lina was known as the Reaper, Sunpo's finest assassin, and a valued member of the Talons - a criminal gang who had the run of Sunpo. Now the Talons are dead and Lina is forced to work - at the threat of death to her beloved sister - for their killer, Konrarnd Kalmin and his heinous gang, the Blackbloods. She's starved and miserable and full of guilt in a city that has seemingly been abandoned by the gods...and even by the Dokkaebi who are supposed to still rule Sunpo's realm...like the legendary Pied Piper Dokkaebi emperor, who can lure away humans with his legendary flute. So when Lina is forced to steal a tapestry supposedly belonging to the Pied Piper...and then to shred it for the valuable jewels it contains, she worries less over punishment from the Pied Piper and more about how Kalmin's greed and his control over her will seemingly never end.

But Lina is very wrong, for the Piper is very real and Kalmin is far less dangerous in comparison...as Kalmin finds out when the Piper abducts him and takes him to the Dokkaebi realm of Gyeulcheon. Kalmin's second in command gives Lina 30 days to rescue him or else have her sister be killed...a feat that seems impossible even before Lina finds herself abducted by the Piper to Gyeulcheon. And that's when the Piper offers Lina a bargain: kill the Piper himself within 14 days and be released from Gyeulcheon, with Kalmin in hand.....or fail and die at the Piper's hand.

Lina has no choice but to take the Piper up on his offer, but killing him will be far from easy: as she soon learns Dokkaebi like him are supernaturally tough, and he of course always has the ability to compel her with his legendary flute. Even worse, the Piper just won't seem to go away and to give her a chance to act on her own, always seeming interested in her and in spending time with her. To kill him, Lina will need to find some way to lose him, obtain a weapon, and to catch him vulnerable, but the process of doing so may teach Lina that things about both the Piper and herself aren't quite what she thought they were....and what she truly wants may be unthinkable....
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Last of the Talons is a Young Adult novel that is hardly unique in its story-arc, character development, or plotting. You have a young woman heroine who is desperate to save her one remaining member of her family, who deals with grief and trauma over the deaths of the rest of that (found) family....deaths she blames upon her own actions. You have a seeming antagonist who is incredibly charming and attractive who stands in the way of that goal, which will cause that heroine to feel conflicted feelings about dealing with him on a permanent fashion (even if she can figure out a way to actually do that). You have some aspects of a mythology - in this case Korean mythology - which our heroine encounters and has to deal with in order to achieve those goals. You also have some potential allies who any reader can see super early on are probably not to be trusted (they literally talk about how they long for the days they ruled more of the Human realm). Any experienced reader will see what's going on with this book and have a pretty good and accurate idea about the way the story will wind up going.

That said, predictability is not always a bad thing, and Kim makes Last of the Talons generally a pretty compelling version of this story. The aspects of Korean mythology our heroine runs into are fascinating and will be very interesting to those with little experience of them (I have only a little bit from other similar books) and just as importantly, the voice of our protagonist, Lina, is really really strong - which is important because the book is told entirely from her first person perspective. Lina may not be unique, but her voice is compelling as the young girl turned assassin by her found family (her real parents died in a shipwreck, and the Talon gang took her in) whose last surviving grace is the younger sister she still has alive. Her grief and trauma over her found family's slaughter and having to work for their murderers is done extremely well, and her confusion and struggles once she's in the realm of Gyeulcheon are very understandable and well written. And the enemies to potential lovers trope (although there's no sex on page in this novel) is done really well here, with the antagonist Pied Pier Rui being compelling in his backstory and portrayal. The tropes here may be common, but that's generally because they work, and Kim makes this book a good example of these tropes actually working.

Still, the book has a number of minor issues that prevented me from really loving it. There's a subplot regarding a smoking addiction which honestly never really makes sense - Lina keeps her last cigarette because of the significance it has when her old love was the one who taught her to smoke and doesn't smoke it for weeks, and then is accused of being addicted....and then acts like she's addicted when she finds more material to smoke, which doesn't really work with how addiction works in the real world and just feels laughable. Lina's history as an assassin and how that's not a good thing isn't really dealt with in this book, which just treats the Talons and their molding of her as admirable, which well....no, a girl being orphaned and taken in by a crime gang who treat her well but teach her to kill people isn't really positive? It's possible that will be dealt with in the second book mind you. And the betrayal of the eventual antagonists is so blindingly obvious that it's kind of dumb, and why they decide to betray her and when doesn't really make any sense (or even honestly why they need to use Lina in the first place).

But overall I enjoyed Last of the Talons, which drew me in and made it hard to put down, such that I finished it in less time than I expected. That's the sign of a likable book, and one I wouldn't mind recommending, even if it's not quite a book I'd ever say was a must read. I'm not sure I'll try this book's sequel, but I'll be on the lookout for more from Sophie Kim if this is an example of her work.

Last of the Talons tells the story of an assassin who tries to kill the Pied Piper but falls in love with him instead. This story is basically a Beauty and the Beast retelling. It focuses more on romance and has very little action. I did not like how the story kept switching between last and present. It made me confused about what was going on. The romance was very underwhelming. I did not understand the Pied Piper. He seems very untrustworthy, and I did not know why Alina fell for him except that he is handsome. Lina was very likable. I thought that she was a strong and interesting character. As for the world-building, it was very confusing. I think for someone who has little knowledge of Korean mythology, should have more explanation in the worlds. Nevertheless, it was an engrossing read! I recommend this for fans of Hunted, Cruel Beauty, and The Wrath and the Dawn!

I really enjoyed this book, anything that has a sister duo is a win for me. Though the sister doesn’t appear much the main character is fighting to keep her safe! Gets you in the feels! This is an enemies to lovers troupe, a found family/ lost family!

It was sad, deadly sultry and amusing! I’m hoping there is a sequel!

This amazing debut from a promising new voice in YA was everything I love about fantasy books!

I loved the enemies to lovers trope in here, it was done so well and it was my favorite part! Our main character is also a badass and I always love this so seeing it here in this book made me really happy!

I thought the book was written really beautiful as well, it was lyrical at times and I quite loved that.

I cannot wait to read more from this author overall and I hope there’s more in this specific world!

This book held so much promise and I was interested in the worldbuilding as well as the mythical figures it featured, but the execution and overall plot pacing felt disorganized for me. I really wanted to enjoy this but I feel like this tries to be too edgy, and at some point I lost track of where the plot was supposed to lead.

I wanted so badly to get into this (Asian fantasy!!), but sadly, it fell short. The concept was pretty cool, but I found the execution to be lacking. It felt very generic and a bit on the juvenile side. The writing and characters were very bland, and I didn't care about anything that was going on. I found the bargain with the Pied Piper and Shin Lina to be rather...silly? She kept trying to kill him and he was all, 'oh you're so adorable, hehee.' Like what?? It's also an enemies-to-lovers romance, which is usually my jam, but I found the romance to be lacking any chemistry whatsoever. Which made the romance boring. Which made the whole story boring, because it's basically a romance disguised as a badass Asian fantasy.

It also didn't help that I felt very apathetic about Shin Lina. It's a classic case of tell, not show...we are told CONSTANTLY that Lina is the Reaper, she's a badass, an assassin and a thief, blah blah blah. But I made it halfway through the book I had yet to see any of that. She's childish, constantly getting caught, or in need of rescuing. For all the bragging about how adept she was, she was pretty useless.

Last of the Talons by Sophie Kim is the first book of the Talon series. After her entire Talon gang gets obliterated, eighteen-year-old Shin Lina—known as the Reaper of Sunpo—is made into a living weapon of a crime lord against her will. The safety of her little sister is the only thing keeping her obedient. When Lina is tasked with stealing a tapestry from a Dokkaebi temple, it incites the wrath of a legendary immortal. Soon Lina finds herself in the realm of the Dokkaebi. She must fight for her life and her sister’s, and she is willing to use any trick in the game to do so.

This Pied Piper retelling is full of Korean mythology and the world-building was cool. I liked Lina’s dedication to family.

LAST OF THE TALONS is such an incredible debut - it is fun, atmospheric, and absolutely thrilling. ⁣
⁣
I really loved Shin Lina’s character. She is incredibly brave in the face of adversity, and her strong sense of loyalty and determination was admirable. I enjoyed seeing her growth throughout the story.⁣
⁣
Now I won’t say much else because I don’t want to spoil the fun of reading this book, but please check it out. It is just amazing.

Es una novela atrapante que me mantuvo en vela hasta el final! Es realmente increíble. Seguramente la leamos en un club de lectura con protagonistas asiáticos !

Last of the Talons is the YA fantasy début by Sophie Kim. It recounts the story of Shin Lina, infamous for being the Reaper of Sunpo, who after stealing the tapestry of a very powerful Dokkaebi, sees her master kidnapped by the very same creature whom she stole the artefact from. To prevent the threats of murdering her sister, Eunbin, Shin Lina must go to Haneul Rui's realm and save her master. But a dangerous game emerges between the two, and Lina's time is counted to accomplish her mission. She has to carve out the heart of the terrible emperor, no matter the price.

I expected a lot from this novel, and eventually it disappointed me a little, I must say. I enjoyed a lot the Korean background; like any fantasy story out there, whether it is YA or NA, I feel like adding a personal touch to the story with a specific set of folklore traditions spices up the plot. In this novel, it also contributed to giving some originality to the storyline, which is quite frequent in YA fantasy nowadays. That's perhaps why I didn't appreciate this one as much as other readers: although the story in itself is well crafted, the lack of originality bothered me quite a bit. Again, readers can expect the tropes of the enemies-to-lovers, the said strong female lead that is an assassin wanting to avenge her companions lost in battle, and the said terrible emperor who, at some point, reveals himself to be soft-hearted and still grieving the loss of a past lover. I believe that, because I encountered several similar characters in the past, I did not feel attached to these ones this time.

If the plot didn't particularly appeal to me or at least make me gasp during my reading, I want to point out that Sophie's writing style is still very pretty and enjoyable and, on the whole, the world-building worked very well.
I would have appreciated it if her editor removed a few "so, so very *insert adjective*" for I feel like it would have given a bit more substance to the characters and helped with the building of a personality more, linguistically at least.

I will wait patiently for the second book to come out, as I am still very much curious to know how Shin Lina's revenge will turn out. I am also interested in knowing more about her mysterious new power that erupts at the end of this first book. Anyways, I want to be surprised! So surprise me, Sophie Kim!
Meanwhile, I will recommend this novel to some of my readers, for I'm sure a lot of them will like this story!

Thank you Netgalley and Entangled Publishing for the opportunity to read an advanced version of this novel; my apologies for taking so long to publish my review!