I can't believe this series is over. I have had the best time even though it has broke my heart more times than I want to count. I was worried going into this one because I didn't want it to end like I feared it would but I should have known better. Endings are hard to read and write but this ending suited the story brilliantly.

The characters are all at their limit and the three kingdoms are at a perilous pentacle. I loved how this story was told and each of the characters. I do feel some parts were rushed while lingering too long elsewhere.

I want to thank the publisher for the early arc.

I stayed up until 4am reading this. I was SAT. The previous book left off on such a lethal cliffhanger that I was elated when I got approved for this ARC to inhale in one sitting. There's drama, real tension, and a rollercoaster of emotions, but also moments of peace and healing. The worldbuilding expands further as we see the other kingdoms and mythical figures, all while Kim takes her time to send her cast on some painful yet ultimately satisfying emotional journeys.

What a way to end the trilogy. Kim really cranked up the stakes from 0 to 100 getting us from the first page to the last. Shin Lina and Haneul Rui, you will be missed!

I'm truly going to miss this series, but thankfully I won't have to miss Sophie Kim's writing since I plan on reading everything else that she comes out with.

Unsurprisingly, the most impactful and poignant part of the story revolves around Shin Lina, as it has for the entire series. Her storyline in this book (and in the series) has been one of forgiveness and the search for redemption, even as her path is decidedly twisted in how she can get there. I can't think of many other series that have the ambition or the clear execution of how to do a character arc quite like Lina's and it fully brought me to tears numerous times.

While I wish the book focused less on the side characters and more so on Lina and Rui, I can't begrudge that the other stories fully added to the overall purpose and drizzled in some happy and horribly sad moments. That being said, at times I wondered if any of those sections were hinting at a spinoff series with how much focus was being paid to them, though at the end, I don't think that is actually true.

ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Reign of the Talon by Sophie Kim is an excellent conclusion for this much loved trilogy. Pacing was phenomenal, character arcs were wrapped up in incredibly satisfying ways and I was left with very few remaining questions by the end.

I am thrilled that there is only a short time remaining before I will get to recommend this book at our store and add a physical copy to my own shelves.

*As the conclusion to a series this title is best read by fantasy lovers who have already read and enjoyed the first two installments.

Thank you for reaching out and asking me to read the last book in the series.
I must admit it was a lot. There’s a lot going on, and it did took me a bit to deep dive into it.
But I did not know I was going to be ugly crying at the end.
I want to say that I want to hate what happened towards the end, but it all makes sense. It was good, and definitely worth reading.
Thanks again.

The conclusion to this trilogy couldn’t have been better. When I thought I finally had a grasp on what was going to happen there would be a twist taking me in another direction.

Reign of the Talon was such a great way to end this series. If anyone is looking for an amazing, well written series full of mythology this is the one for you.

This final installment of the Talon trilogy, Reign of the Talon, by Sophie Kim, begins with where book 2 ended with the Prophecy in full command of Shin Lina’s body and on course to conquer the Three Kingdoms and her fate of Fulfillment.
The internal journey Shin Lina has to make to take back control of her body and Huneui Rui her soul-stitched love’s devotion to give Shin Lina time to do it by trying to stall the Prophecy showed how much the author has developed all the characters since the first book. Making them more personable and relatable.
The story has so many great elements like self healing, mythology of another country’s gods, enduring love, and an unexpected ending that was just right.
I am so glad that the author never gave up on developing and finishing this trilogy as it is now one of my favorite reads and had me reading this last book every minute I could take over the busy holidays.
If you are looking for your next excellent read, I would recommend this trilogy.
*** I received an ARC of this book from Entangled Publishing via NetGalley and I am voluntarily leaving a review and thanks. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

"Rise to your feet, Shin Lina. One last time."

Easily one of the best series finales I have ever read.

This is how you write a finale. Hell, this is how you write a trilogy.

Sophie Kim has created the kind of series that will stay with me for a long time. The character arcs, the depth, the growth, the foreshadowing from book 1? There isn't a single piece of this that I could find fault with, even if I tried.

I swear I felt every emotion while reading this book, which is odd for me. I've said this before, I love reading but I don't always have the emotional experience that other people seem to. Part of this is because I'm usually unsurprised by most intended twists.

This whole trilogy was an exception.

This may sound a bit melodramatic, but I really mean it when I say this is the kind of book that tears you apart and puts you back together again. In many ways, there were lines that felt like they were meant specifically for me - which is a magic of fantasy, to feel so personal even as the characters are fighting mythical beasts and literal gods.

When I thought I knew where the story was going, the actual events always left me surprised. Even in small story beats, patterns I recognized from other books, Sophie Kim turned them on their head in the most satisfying way.

If I haven't made it clear already, this was incredible and secured this trilogy's position as one of my favorite series.

If you love *actual* enemies-to-lovers, stories of grief and addiction and forgiveness, books that don't treat traumatic events as minor inconveniences, a morally grey main character, magic, gods, and prophecies please read this. You won't regret it.

It's so bittersweet to be reviewing the last book, but I'm excited to return to Sophie Kim's words whenever she writes them.

This story has been a rollercoaster of story building and emotions. I’m not ready to say goodbye to the characters. Contemplating restarting the whole series. Great job on finishing this up!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this book.

I enjoyed the read. The book moved quickly and the setting and characters were so good.

Can recommend

Reign Of The Talon was a great conclusion to the Talons trilogy. This book picks up right where the last book left off. There was so much packed into this book and a good amount of twists and turns. I really enjoyed this series overall and definitely recommend it for anyone looking for a good young adult fantasy series.

A very good ending to a very enjoyable series!

The story of Lina and Rui continues as Lina tries to escape after being captured by Shin Lina and return to Rui. There are many trials and tribulations as Shin Lina tries to fulfill her prophecy and take over the kingdoms, allowing her serpents to become dragons. Some friends become traitors, on both sides, as many have their own agenda. I truly enjoyed the series and look forward to reading more books from this author.
If you enjoy good fantasy give this series a try. I think you’ll like it! Happy reading!

The last book in a series often leaves me a bit melancholy, since after this I will not hear about these characters again, will not revisit the places that I've come to know from these books, and will not be left wondering about what is coming next. With the Talon series this is particularly pronounced as the characters have grown on me, the story has deepened and the cliffhanger endings, though frustrating have left me with the comfort of knowing there is more to Lina's journey to come. After Reign of the Talon, I feel as though I have seen Lina through her journey and this book completes the stories of all of the characters in a satisfying way. Moreover, I feel like the writing style has improved through the run of the series and the plot ending was a solid strong finish.
I received acess to this eARC thru NetGalley (for which I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher, Entangled Publishing, LLC, Entangled: Teen) for an honest review. The opinion expressed here is my own.

Since this is the third book, I won't go much into the specifics to avoid spoilers. However, I am SO SO SO happy with how this series was concluded. Kim's writing has grown so much since the first installment and I just knew she would deliver here. It's always great when one of your most anticipated releases lives up to your expectations and then exceeds them.

Reign of the Talon starts off with a bang and does not let up the entire time. It was filled with so much action that it didn't feel like I was reading 480 pages. I thought Kim did a fantastic job weaving all of the POVs together and how they propelled the story forward. I thought the pacing was well done and I greatly enjoyed getting to see more of the world that Kim has imaged. I also thought that the way that Lina had to comes to terms with and accept the events that happened throughout the first two books was perfect.

I can see how people would have issues with the amount of battle/war there was here, but I thought it was perfect and an accurate representation of how wars go. The build up to the end was perfect and I appreciated how complete it felt. I was left completely satisfied and not wishing for anything more.

This series coming to an end was so bittersweet but I can't wait to re-read this in the future. If anyone is looking for an incredible (now complete!!!) YA series, I am begging you to pick this one up.

A huge thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Firstly thankyou so much to Sophie Kim and Entangled teen for an advanced copy of Reign of the talon

This is my full NO SPOILER review:

No surprises here with my rating of 5 stars for another brilliant Sophie Kim book 👏 this was a bitter-sweet read for me as I was so looking forward to reading this 3rd instalment of the Talons series but 🥹😭 also mixed emotions as this series has come to an end...LOVED the book, the characters and plot throughout the whole series and specifically this book was epic 💙 I loved it all!! Such a wonderful way to round out the series and the Korean mythology in Sophie's books is immersing and nothing like I've ever read (apart from her other books 🤩) I am eternally grateful that she also has the "of fate's thread" series and that I'll be able to read more from her soon.

I will be coming back to this series for re-reads so I can visit this world and these characters again, if you loved the first 2 books this final instalment is sure to impress!! Lina has been through so much throughout the series and it's amazing to read how far she's come and see the impactful well rounded end to her story-arc, I always admire such a strong and imperfect main character and that is absolutely Lina to a tee! 🤌💚 the only other thing I need to say is READ THIS 🤩🫶🐍

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book! Below is my honest review.

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5 stars

I love seeing the author's writing become better over time. The difference is so clear from book one to book two, and book two to book three. It definitely felt like there was a lot more showing than telling. That being said, this book is written slightly differently than book two. We get multiple perspectives this time. We follow Lina, Rui, The Prophecy, Kang, and other characters. It also takes place in different settings: one where the war is happening, one is a mental prison, one is an area where the dead are. I think the strongest part of this book is Lina's character development. You really see all the pain that she's in, so much so that she has "lost" the ability to speak. She learns to accept all the positive and negative parts of herself, but not without the help of other people. The ending was emotional as expected, and I can't wait to read more of Sophie Kim's work.

The only two downsides that I didn't quite like about this book was the war scenes. I got a little lot in the sauce/bored at times, but that's a personal preference. There were also some POVs that I didn't care much for, but it is what it is.

i absolutely loved Reign of the Talon! from the very first page, i was hooked. Sophie Kim does an incredible job of creating a world full of rich history, intriguing characters, and non-stop action.

the plot centers around a group of fierce warriors known as the Talon, and the story mixes politics, betrayal, and self-discovery in such a unique way.

i found the main character to be relatable and strong, but also vulnerable, which made her journey even more engaging. the pacing was perfect—there were plenty of twists and turns to keep me on the edge of my seat without it feeling rushed.

if you're into fantasy with strong world-building and complex characters, this book is definitely worth reading! 5 stars all the way!

Thank you for ARC! Sophie Kim never disappoints me. What a roller coaster ride from crying because of book one and now crying because of the ending of the trilogy. I can't believe that Shin Lina's story is at its ending, but as Lina's said, "endings are new beginnings," so I can't wait for more. Again, thank you for Sophie Kim and the publisher!

4.25 stars!

I thought this was a great finale to the Talons trilogy and one series that actually gets better with each book. I initially didn't care much for book 1, but I got the eARC for book 2 and decided to give it another chance. I'm glad I did, since I have since enjoyed Sophie Kim's other works.

After the events of book 2, Lina's body has been taken over by the Prophecy, and she has been relegated to a prison cell in her own mind. This means that this book had so much angst all around. Lina is traumatized, and the effects of this are shown as she tries to escape and reclaim her body. Her journey was written so well, and I loved her strength and how she developed. There is one particular scene where she encounters and accepts all the different sides of herself to be quite emotional. And that ending!! All I'm going to say is that I did guess it because it was foreshadowed relatively early on but I did like how it wrapped up.

Other parts I enjoyed: most of the POVs, and I thought Iseul's growth was great. Loved Rui's determination, and the appearances of other gods including Seokga, as he does play a slight part here...

Thank you to the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.