So it seems a lot of people really hated Talon by Julie Kagawa. I am 
 NOT 
 one of them. I actually liked Talon. Maybe this is because everyone loved The Iron Fey series and they had super high expectations. However, this is the first book I've read from Julie Kagawa so I don't have anything else to compare Talon to. It seems that the biggest complaint was that for a book about dragons there wasn't a lot of cool dragon stuff. I disagree. I don't think that was the point of what Talon was about. I think this was really a book about coming of age and wanting the freedom to choose your own path... that also happened to feature dragons. 
 Do I think the story could have benefitted by focusing more on the dragon world and making us distrust Talon, rather than relying so heavily on a first love situation to move the story forward? In a word, yes. The chapters were there was action (you know fighting, shooting, running, etc... ) were actually really compelling to read. So much of Talon was specifically related to the normal teen angst of growing up and wanting more freedom from authority figures and learning who you truly are. So it did get a bit tiresome to have to keep waiting for the action to come. But, once the action got there it was dope. I feel like Talon was really just laying a sturdy foundation for the rest of the series. Especially with that cliffhanger ending (!!!!) I know the next book should have a lot more in the action packed & running for their lives departments. 
 Ember, our heroine, is a somewhat naive dragon hatchling. I would have loved it if she was incredibly intelligent, an excellent fighter, and had a funny, snarky charm. But the thing is, Ember is only 16 and has literally never been out in the real world before. If Ember was a total badass it wouldn't have been accurate for a character in her specific situation. So, I'm looking forward to Ember growing into her badass-ness. On the flip side, Ember has a twin brother, Dante, who is just unlikeable. I think I would have liked to get maybe a chapter or two from his perspective in order to be able to fully empathize with him. As it stands at the moment I just think he's a little tattle tale asshole! 
 And what YA fantasy romance wouldn't be complete without the obligatory love triangle? Talon lays the groundwork for an epic saga of "who will she choose!?" It's fairly obvious the direction this is going to go. Ember's human half is in love with Garrett (an enemy soldier of the Order of St. George) while her dragon half senses that Riley (our rogue dragon extraordinaire, AKA Cobalt) is her dragon mate. In the beginning I was actually really shipping Riley and Ember. I do have a thing for bad boys and he's a dragon too. I thought it would be a great match! Then when I found out he was probably much older than he physically appears and I was kind of grossed out by the attraction since she's 16! So I think it will more than likely be a Garrett and Ember relationship we should be rooting for. I mean, he did give us so many romantic lines such as: 
 "Kiss Me," I whispered. Make me forget, for a night, that this isn't real. Make me believe that this could be my life. That I'm not betraying everything I know to be here, to feel like this. 
 I just didn't really feel a lot of heat between them. There was some heat but not enough for a feasible undying love connection. Also he's a human and she's a dragon who ages slower and will live for hundreds of years. Not sure on how the logistics of a relationship between them would work. Unless somewhere down the line they are going to magic out a solution to this whole situation but I honestly can't think of a non shitty way to do that. 
 I wouldn't say I'm in love Talon but I'm definitely in like with it. I'm intrigued with the rogues and how they live their lives on the run. I'm intrigued in how the relationship between Dante and Ember will change. I'm intrigued in the damn love triangle against my own better judgement! I will be moving on with this series because overall, I liked Talon enough to need to know what happens next.