Synopsis: When Talia Lyons was just a child, her parents were murdered before her eyes. Offered a choice between accepting their fate and exacting revenge, Talia trains to become one of the country’s deadliest assassins in order to kill the man responsible for their deaths: Ian Crane. Luckily, Talia was born with a gift- the ability to read and influence the minds of others. At sixteen, Talia is poised to graduate from the McDonough School for the Talented, where she learned to control her abilities. Now there is only one obstacle standing between her and the retribution she craves... Talia herself.
Her greatest asset may also be her undoing; while a formidable weapon in the field, Talia’s talents prevent her from both shutting off the mental connection she shares with her questionable boyfriend and blocking out the thoughts of a beguiling fellow recruit. But Talia can’t afford to have the feelings and distractions of a normal teenage girl, when her life is far from normal.
She must regain the single-minded determination that has brought her this far, or it may cost Talia her life when she finally faces Crane. And even after being molded in to a weapon of war, she’ll still have to find the strength it takes to pull the trigger.
If James Bond and Sookie Stackhouse had a love child with a yearning for vengeance, her story would be TALENTED: an adventure about powerful teenagers who aren’t afraid to embrace their fears and fight for what they believe in.
Alright... Its review time! I obtained an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. When I saw the gorgeous cover and read the captivating synopsis I knew that I needed to read this book. The summary made this book sound like it was about this kick ass female assassin with mind blowing abilities who is feared by the entire country. That is definitely NOT what I got from this book... I was hoping that I would fall in love but I couldn't get past the characters.
****** SPOILER ALERT DO NOT READ ANY FARTHER IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THIS BOOK******
Ok, where should I begin? I felt like this book had a very good start. I was intrigued by the post apocalyptic world and I thought that the world building wasn't half bad. Reading about what happened to Talia's parents was really heart breaking and I loved Talia's need for revenge. I liked that the McDonoughs took her under their wing and raised her. I also really enjoyed reading about Donavon and Talia's relationship as children and how they grew up together. Ill get into more detail about their relationship later. The bickering that went on between Erik, Talia and Henri was very entertaining but I really wish there had been more relationship building and more background behind Erik and Henri. It didn't explain a lot about why they were so close. Another aspect that always brought a smile to my face was Penny. She was such an amazing friend. Her happiness and cheerfulness was so enlightening and she was always there for Tal 24/7.
Talia Lyons just frustrated me throughout the entire book. I was hoping that she would be this totally badass independent young woman. Instead I found her very immature and very dependant on other people. On the 3 missions that the author went into detail about, Talia had to be rescued because she kept getting stabbed, shot, or because she had some sort of mental break down. GAHHH!
I also found her relationships with Donavon and Erik very confusing.
I wasn't the biggest fan of Donavon from the get go. It would just be little things that he would say that would rub me the wrong way. And then when Erik started warning Talia about him... i knew Donavon was gonna cheat in her. When she walked in on him and the blonde chick I was soooo angry. It brought me so much happiness when she went rage and threw him against the wall. I was just hoping that she would light a match and roast some marshmallows over his cabin... :) And then Donavon didn't even apologize or try to talk to her!! I hate him with a passion!
I loved Erik and Talia's relationship in the beginning. You could see how much he wanted to be with her but he kept trying to give her space after what happened with Donavon. I wanted them to hook up soo badly. And then when they finally did... I was elated, at first. Then after a few nights of them kissing and him staying the night I was a little confused. Erik was apparently falling in love with her and he had all these deep feelings but he never vocalized them! He never told her how beautiful she was or how thankful he was to have her. Maybe I'm just a hopeless romantic but I felt like their relationship was purely physical which is why I wasn't too upset when he yelled at her and left.
I highly enjoyed the world building, dialogue, and a couple of the characters but it definitely wasn't my favourite book ever. I would give it about 3 stars. I went into this book with really high expectations and was kind of let down.
Happy reading nerds and sound off in the comments with you opinions and perspective on this book!! :)