Soldier by Julie KagawaMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is the third book in the Talon Saga, and by far the best. This book is much darker than the first two, and the stakes are exponentially higher. I think Julie Kagawa has really settled into her world and characters, and in particular the character of Garret Sebastian, the "Perfect Soldier" of the title. I really enjoyed getting to know him better, but at the same time the backstory reveals and some of the dialogue tipped me off to what was coming. Which is, let's just say, George RR Martin territory.
I've complained before about the love triangle in this series, but it's handled quite a bit better in this book. It isn't so prominent, and there are reasons given for the protagonist Ember Hill's attraction to each of her boys--she is a shapeshifting dragon, after all, and the two sides of her personality want distinctly different things. Also, the fact that, as a dragon, she will outlive any human paramour by hundreds of years can't be brushed off. In the end, however, she makes her choice, in a fantastic scene that shows everyone where her heart lies. This whole thing is worked pretty seamlessly into the overall storyline, the conflict between the evil Talon organization and the Order of St. George, the humans that have hunted and killed dragons for centuries.
The bombshell ending is obviously setting up the final battle between Ember, Riley, and Ember's murderous little shit of a brother, Dante. (I really really hope he's not given some kind of redemption arc in the final book.) There are quite a few storylines to tie up here, and I can't wait to see how Kagawa pulls it off.
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