Do you know those authors who make you want to read their whole backlist? That was me and Sophie Kim. After finishing the adult fantasy The God and the Gumiho, I looked up and saw I had a copy of Last of the Talons. This YA fantasy story is about survival and bargains. Keep reading this book review of Last of Talons for my full thoughts.
Summary
After the destruction of her entire Talon gang, eighteen-year-old Shin Lina—the Reaper of Sunpo—is forced to become a living, breathing weapon for the kingdom’s most-feared crime lord. All that keeps her from turning on her ruthless master is the life of her beloved little sister hanging in the balance. But the order to steal a priceless tapestry from a Dokkaebi temple incites not only the wrath of a legendary immortal, but the beginning of an unwinnable game…
Suddenly Lina finds herself in the dreamlike realm of the Dokkaebi, her fate in the hands of its cruel and captivating emperor. But she can win her life—if she kills him first.
Now a terrible game of life and death has begun, and even Lina’s swift, precise blade is no match for the magnetic Haneul Rui. Lina will have to use every weapon in her arsenal if she wants to outplay this cunning king and save her sister… all before the final grain of sand leaks out of the hourglass.
Because one way or another, she’ll take Rui’s heart.
Even if it means giving up her own.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
Last of the Talons is a Korean Pied Piper mashup with fantasy elements and gangs. Lina is trying so desperately to save her sister. She makes bargains, enemies, and compromises in order to protect her sister. It’s one of the central components of Lina’s character. And we love her for it. At the same time, she’s haunted by the guilt of her actions in the past, her own painful past, and how much she hates herself. I felt like Lina, and her relationship with the Pied Piper figure – their cat and mouse – was the most compelling. Pacing wise, I felt there was a bit of a lull as the time counted down.
(Disclaimer: Some of the links below are affiliate links. For more information you can look at the Policy page. If you’re uncomfortable with that, know you can look up the book on any of the sites below to avoid the link)
We are supposed to feel this anxiety about the sands slipping through the hourglass. But funnily enough I felt that was a bit anti-climactic as Kim introduces these elements of rebellion and Lina’s Talon identity. Towards the end, I really enjoyed watching this cat and mouse game resolved – for now – and how these larger themes of her world versus his intersect. If you love characters taking back their power, about building the blocks from nothing, you have to read Last of the Talons.
Find Last of the Talons on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Bookshop.org, Blackwells, & Libro. fm.