Compared to "The Last of the Talons," this sequel takes on a much darker and more emotional tone.

With Lina liberated from her pact with the Dokkaebi King, her previous fears for her younger sister's safety are no longer a hindrance, thanks to the king's assistance. Empowered by her newfound freedom and peculiar abilities, Lina is determined to exact the revenge she so desperately desires.

I believe this book successfully avoids the common pitfall of sequels falling short, largely due to its incredibly fast-paced storytelling and overall narrative.

While the plot heavily relies on the miscommunication trope, which admittedly frustrates me, the portrayal of both Lina and Rui experiencing panic attacks is handled with depth and authenticity, seamlessly integrated into the world-building and vividly depicted within the pages.

Prepare yourself to experience a rollercoaster of emotions—be it gut-wrenching, horrifying, inspiring, worrisome, or heart-wrenching—in this captivating tale inspired by Korean mythology, where a determined girl fights to reclaim what is rightfully hers.

Thanks for NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for providing me the ARC.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. (via Netgalley)

I had quite literally just looked around for it the day before and was delighted that the publisher sent me an email regarding this book. I remember enjoying the first one but this one just didn't hit for me. The first half of the book felt repetitive to me and was hard to get through, not really drawing me into their world.

First, I would like to start my review by thanking NetGalley for an eARC of this book! Even though I didn’t get to it before the release date, I’m glad I took my time reading it!

As the second book in this series, I was curious to see how our main characters’ relationship evolves. I got part of the happy ending I wanted with Lina and Rui getting married but not under the best circumstances. As Lina’s Imugi traits take over and a prophecy controls and contorts her body and mind, destruction follows her wherever she goes. I would have liked more of the actual Lina POV as well as more of the backstory of her ally Iseul. The last chapter absolutely gutted me and made the slow middle worth it.

I really really loved this. The plot was so good and the main characters, Rui and Lina make it even better. I just always enjoy a good prophecy tale but wow was this book also painful. Overall, i think this is a solid second book and it will make the next book even better. I really love this series

Okay, after reading Wrath of the Talon , I can safely say that Sophie Kim has become one of my auto-buy authors. Because oh.my.freaking.god. This book ripped me apart and left me in so much pain. And I loved it.

Second book syndrome who?? This book is quite possibly the most perfect sequel to book 1; it picks up from the events that book 1 ended with and weaves in new threads and dangerous enemies throughout the story. Sophie Kim has crafted a masterpiece of a story; her writing is incredibly beautiful and her words just flow off the page.

As I said, this book is the perfect bridge, between what was an amazing start to this trilogy and to what I know will be an even more amazing (and heartbreaking, I'm sure) conclusion. I enjoyed how we get to see Lina struggling with the darkness inside her and how she deals with that along with her complex feelings for Rui. Oh, I wish I could write how much I love him. Because I am even more in love with Rui in this book. His charm and his personality in general just got to me.

The ending tho?? I am truly truly heartbroken. It caused me a lot of pain but I loved it. With the way things ended, I just know that book 3 is gonna be a wild ride. And I am so here for it.

Shin Lina, the last talon, is on a hunt to kill those who hurt and killed her friends. It’s a journey bathed with blood and grief. With her sister safely tucked away, she could focus on killing the man who destroyed her family with her Imugi powers. Though she had only the Dokkaebi king on her side, she forms new allies along the way to fight for her.

However, she knows not much about her Imugi abilities. Initially she had eyes set on ridding the Blackbloods and ruling Sunpo using her new powers. But Sonagi, the mother of the Imugi, offers her a tempting deal to become a formidable empress of the Imugi, to fulfil a prophecy. Although she resists at first, the Imugi in her robs her senses and controls her actions. Ultimately, Shin Lina is tied up in a battle of wills with new monsters to fight and figure out a way to not let a prophecy decide her fate.

I didn’t enjoy this book as the first one. It took a long time for Lina to act on her revenge. So, the chapters until then were dawdling and could have been shorter. The book took a complete 180 in the last quarter. Everything after that point felt rushed, even though I liked the twists. However, I'm looking forward to reading the next book. I hope we read more chapters from Rui's perspective in the next instalment.

Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Teen for approving this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have SO MANY THOUGHTS. The absolute stress this book gave me, the frustration, the anticipation and THAT ENDING!!

I will most definitely be reading the final instalment in this series!!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

While the second book was a bit harder to get into then the first, overall I enjoyed it. We got more worldbuilding and relationship dynamic change, which I loved. And while I wasn't the biggest fan of the ending, it build a nice suspense for the third book!

What a great second book in the series!
A very detail oriented story as we see the changes that Lina goes through and experiences in her relationship with Rui. I enjoyed the world and the story involving the Imugi. A lot of adventure and also heartbreak. I am eagerly looking forward to the next book. Happy reading!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I could not put this down it was everything I wanted and more.

Thank you to netgalley & the publisher for providing an earc.
I would like to start this review by asking Sophie Kim for monetary compensation of my next therapy bill bc I'm going to need it after finishing Wrath of the Talon.

Half jokes aside I absolutely loved this sequel, it was fast paced, twisty and overall amazing. My heart hurts for all the pain the characters have gone through. I really loved the 1st book but didn't know if i was going to read it's sequel bc it felt to me that the ending of book 1 was amazing. But i absolutely adores this it was such an amazing inclusion to the lore and world building of the series.
I love Lina as a protagonist and I can't wait to see what happens after THAT ending.

I would really recommend this series and reading this one if like me, you didn't know if a sequel was necessary, let me tell you it was.

That ending was DEVASTATING! I am still reeling. Knowing this was a trilogy, I knew we would not get a happy/complete ending here so around 80% in when it started to seem like things were going to be solved, I started to get suspicious. But I did not expect things to go so far south! Screaming, crying, throwing up.

If you hate a huge cliffhanger where the next book when the next book isn't available yet.... maybe hold off on reading this one until book 3 is out. Or be prepared to have your heart ripped out (or eaten by a Gumiho). I believe book three will be coming in September 2024 (Reign of the Talon).

I love this series by Sophie Kim. Book one was great but this book just amped everything up, especially the angst. This book it not for the feignt of heart, our main character makes a lot of tough choices and gets up close and personal with a lot of violence. There is less romance in this book since Lina and Rui are separate for most of the book. I loved their relationship in book 1 so I am hoping for more time together in book 3 (somehow?). In general I want to see more of the relationships (not just the romantic ones) but the new friendships Lina is developing. She spends a lot of her time alone or in her head but I love the scenes when she is interacting with others (the wedding getting ready scene was great).

I obviously cannot wait until book 3. I am really excited to see if there is more world building in the 3rd book. It was fun to be back in gritty Sunpo for book 2 but I am so interested in seeing other places!

Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing, for providing an eARC of this book.

The Reaper of Sunpo is eighteen-year-old Shin Lina, and almost everyone believes that she's dead. Her little sister and Dokkaebi Emperor Haneul Rui know that she's still alive. The Imugi venom has made her stealthier, more agile, and able to summon scales for protection. She still wants revenge for the deaths of the Talons and plans to slaughter the rival Blackbloods gang. As she does, she hears whispers guiding her through her kills and warns her not to trust any of the Dokkaebi. As far as she knows, if she isn't meant to love Rui, it means that she is meant to kill him.

This is the second book of the Talons trilogy, taking place after Last of the Talons. Lina is still figuring out how her augmented body moves; if it obeys her, she moves fast and more agile, like the serpentine Imugi. If it doesn't, she stumbles, flops about, and has little perception of the world around her. She is working to destroy the Blackbloods and build alliances for Sunpo residents to live without fear of gang violence. It's revenge with a higher purpose, but she also has a Voice in her head that is more than just guilt and grief, commenting on her behavior and egging on the violence. Rui is also continuing to take humans out of Sunpo, breaking his promise to her. He fears something and has more secrets than he's willing to share.

Lina goes through Sunpo killing the Blackbloods from the lowest ranking to the top, with panic attacks intermittently and bursts of grief. Her new allies are interesting as well, and I enjoyed seeing fragments of mythology woven throughout this novel. The Imugi history is presented here alongside Lina's revenge, and we now learn about prophecies and the role that the characters will play. We eventually discover not only how Lina is connected to the Imugi, but to the Prophecy and the kingdom itself. She becomes something other than the lost girl she used to be, and the novel has a devastating conclusion that will lead into the third book of the trilogy. I can't wait to see how it all comes together, and I'm hoping for a positive finale.

Thank you to Entangled Publishing, LLC | Entangled: Teen and NetGalley for an electronic advanced readers copy of this novel.

Book 2 of the Talons series finds teenage assassin Shin Lina rumored to be dead. But she is very much alive and out for revenge after her chosen family was brutally murdered. Having to deal with changes due to powerful snake venom being injected into her in order to save her life, Lina is hearing a mysterious voice in her head as she tries to take over the territories that were lost to her by her friends' murderer. .

Lina is also dealing with her emerging romance with Rui, a powerful Emperor who she was sent to kill in the last book - are their true loyalities towards each other, or to their other interests?

Wrath of the Talon is the sequel to the Last of the Talons, by Sophie Kim. I enjoyed it but there's a lot of details in it that I had forgotten from the first book, so it took me a while to get into it. It didn't fly by like some other books do, so the plot kind of drags at times. Sounds like there's another book coming!

This book felt very long. I really enjoyed the first one, so I was looking forward to this sequel; however, I never connected with any of the characters. There was a lot of filler (I mean, honestly, almost this entire book felt like filler), and I found myself just pushing to get to the end. The romance was very slim and the relationship between Lina and Rui was obliterated by the presence of what was inside Lina. Most of this book seemed to be her inner monologue and it became very tedious, very quickly. It finally felt like things started happening at the end, but by then, it felt too late for me to really get into the book because before I knew it, it was over. The writing was okay, but it did not flow well for me and that also added to the struggle of my getting through it. I did like the Interludes though, and seeing into other characters’ minds added some much needed relief from Lina’s inner turmoil. And as with the first book, I appreciated the Korean mythology woven throughout.

If you want a story about revenge and vengeance and one that is not shy about describing the violence against those who have wronged someone, you might really like this book. I would classify this as an upper YA/NA novel because it was very dark.

Content warnings: violence, death, murder, gore, sexual scenes, panic attack, mind and body control

Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review!!

The book is amazing! I'm in love with the writing style and the plot is very well thought trough so it kept me on the edge of my seat! Also experienced a lot of emotional damage, which is a good sign if I look for books haha. I also felt close to the characters and could relate to them a lot, even though I couldn't understand all their choices.
I recommend it to all fantasy lovers!

final rating: 4.75/5☆

thank you to netgalley and the publisher Entangled Publishing for the e-arc!

i started this series specifically because i read another arc of Sophie Kim's new book and decided to request for this one, not even expecting to be approved. and i'm so glad i did!! what a ride, and i absolutely cannot wait for the conclusion to this story. the worldbuilding for this story just continues to grow, and the story gets more and more complex.

(spoilers ahead!)

i love how the thread of Lina getting the imugi scales evolves to the whole prophecy and the imugi wanting to take over the human realm. i did not expect it to to go there, thinking it was just an upgrade for her. and man, this story just does not let up and it physically hurts to see Lina being controlled by the prophecy and Rui having to go through all of that getting hurt and having to remember it's not her. i don't know how Kim does it, but the endless angst is real.

it let up once. at the end, for half a chapter, which was insane because it followed up with what might be taboo for ya stories? a child death. that's right. Lina's adorable little sister Eunbi got killed right as she finally regained control of herself. and worst of all, by an (i'm sorry) side character who wasn't all that important to begin with. i might have screamed. especially in the postlude where Lina let herself be locked up and taken over.

i can't wait to see where the story goes with a new war of the dokkaebi against the omugi, Rui against Lina, with the severed red thread.

"Death does not die, and neither will I."

TW: abuse, abandonment, addiction, animal cruelty, animal death, blood, body-horror, body-shaming (internalized), child death (on-page), confinement, death, death of a loved one, drug use, drug abuse, genocide, grief, injury/injury detail, medical content, medical trauma, mental illness, panic attacks/disorders, physical abuse, sexual harassment, sexual content, stalking, torture, violence, war.

I am in so much pain.

This book was everything I hoped it would be and more. Sophie Kim created a masterpiece that is devastating and heart wrenching, artfully crafted and engaging. I haven't felt this much about a book in a long time, to the point I was struggling to pick it up because I was so invested in what was happening. And because I knew that this wasn't going to end well, considering the fact this is book 2 in a trilogy.

Which leads to my next point: this is how you write a middle book. It was a perfect bridge between the start of the story and the conclusion. So much happened in terms of plot and world-building but I never felt like the book merely existed because the author didn't know what else to write. Not a single word was wasted.

The ending? I am not going to recover from that for awhile. *I* cried. Do you know how much it takes to get me to cry while reading? A lot.

Overall, this was... fantastic. It exceeded my high expectations and left me wanting more. I'm unbelievably grateful for the chance to read the ARC and will now spend my time (im)patiently waiting for book 3.

This book had me completely enraptured from page one. I've been rooting for Lina and Rui since book one, and I was so torn with how their story unfolded in this. He's so sure though, and the fact that they're tied together in more ways than one gives me great hope.

Lina really struggles with the Voice of the prophecy though, and it continues to fight for control over her. There were so many shocking moments in this. I'm still completely broken by the ending of this. I need the next book as soon as possible!

5✰ // yet again i feel like i’ve been utterly enwrapped by Sophie Kim’s eloquent and captivating writing. Kim has yet again transcended into the space of storytelling and provided a raw and enchanting sequel here in Wrath of the Talon. all that have read Last of the Talon will not be disappointed and will recognize and appreciate, once again the immersive and unblinking way in which this second book in Talons grasps you. books and stories that you can allow yourself to be lost in are so rare these days. Wrath of the Talon will leave you reading not just for the sake of being so invested in the characters, plot, and delicate world-building, that we have come to love; but also, because there is something so wholly engaging about Wrath of the Talon, such that i found even as i allowed myself to get lost into the pages, never once did i ever feel myself trying to over-anticipate or wander from the unflinching path the story takes.

i cannot speak highly enough of Wrath of the Talon and i feel so fortunate to have found an author that writes from such a true, precise, loving, and cutting place. it is truly such a gift to find a series that remains embroidered into your heart, in the way that i can feel Talons has become in mine.

once again, i can hardly bear the wait until the next installment in Talons is released. Kim has honestly taken the incredible momentum from her debut novel and continued to build upon the spellbinding cadence of the series.

i find myself unable to recommend Wrath of the Talon adequately enough. if you loved book one, do not miss this wonderful sequel in the Talons series. may this sequel live in my chambers for many, many cycles to come.

thank you so much to Entangled Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review.