TITLE - Talon (Ashes & Embers #4)
AUTHOR - Carian Cole
Synopsis:
DESCRIBE YOUR IDEAL PARTNER:
Caring. Hard-working. A devoted family man, loves kids.
Clean cut, funny, smart, quiet, but a good communicator.
~ Asia Jenson
DESCRIBE YOUR IDEAL PARTNER:
Independent. Tall, blonde, sexy. Outgoing. Intelligent,
neat. Unslutty. Confident. Loves to travel. Committed.
~ Talon Valentine
A SOCIAL EXPERIMENT.
The concept was scary but exciting...
Marry a total stranger.
Live together for six months.
Journal everything. (Feelings. Fights. All of it.)
After six months, we each get $50K in trade for our journals, whether we stay married or not. But the goal is to commit to the experience and see if the relationship experts could put together the perfect matches.
I have never been lucky in love. This was my chance to find my soulmate.
I couldn’t wait to meet the man the experts felt was perfect for me.
My hopes were immediately dashed when I saw him at the altar.
Shit. I married my worst nightmare.
Right?!
** can be read as a stand-alone! **
My Review:
Talon is the fourth book in the Ashes and Embers series by Carian Cole. Carian has slowly become one of my favorite authors with this series. I love the way she writes and the fact that she is fearless in addressing different topics. While these books can be read as standalones, I enjoyed following the stories from the beginning. They are all intertwined together and you learn more about the other characters in the series while you are reading the books as well.
Talon focuses on Talon, one of the Valentine brothers and also member of the famous rock group Ashes and Embers. Talon is tired of one night stands and women who only want to use him for sex. His mother suggests he apply for a social experiment that would have him marry a complete stranger chosen by a group of people after getting to know all people in the experiment. Enter Asia. She has never had an easy life. She had no one in her corner other than her best friend. She has always had trouble in the dating scene and wants to find her perfect match so she applies for the experiment.
Each of these characters go into this having an ideal match in their head. When they meet, they quickly agree that they do not think the other is their perfect match. This was an important part of the book for me. I think Carian did an amazing job of discussing how first impressions are not always right. I also loved how she explored the fact that what we might think is perfect for us, might not actually be what we need. What one wants and what one needs is sometimes going to be different and we must accept it.
Both Talon and Asia go through major development. They each change slowly as they get to know one another. Although they are not sure about the other person, they both take the experiment very seriously. I think Talon grows the most though. He had a set thought about what his new wife was going to want from him. When he met Asia and she fought him tooth and nail about everything, he realized that maybe not all women were gold digging women who only wanted him for sex. I think that this set in motion his development and growth for the story.
There is also tragedy within this story. I love that Carian is not afraid to take a serious topic and research it to put it into one of her books. It is obvious that she did her research with this one. I also love how she didn’t shy away from the ugly parts of life. Although it broke my heart and I cried at points, this story felt organic and raw. I love that about Carian’s writing.
I do want to mention that we get to see from the other characters in the series. Asher tends to always make an appearance within all the books so far. He seems like the level headed wise one in the group. I absolutely love his part in this book. Not only does he come out in the beginning and do an amazing thing for Asia, but he speaks wise words throughout the book. I cannot wait to read his story because throughout the series we were able to see glimpses of his life. It seems like he really wants all his siblings and cousins to be happy and find love.
Overall, I loved this book. This would have to be my favorite book in the series, which is hard to say because I loved Lukas. I did not find anything in this book I didn’t like. There was an amazing plot, two very well developed characters, and a lot of heat. I would recommend this book to my friends and others. Thank you Carian Cole for another AMAZING book. I cannot wait to read the next one.
Star Ratings:
Plot: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
Heat: 5/5
Writing Style: 5/5
Overall: 5/5
Favourite Quotes:
“You can barely find your glasses on your own head sometimes. Please don’t try to find me a man.”
“I found Rob, didn’t I?”
“You rear-ended him at a red light while you were texting and driving. You’re lucky you didn’t hurt him.”- Asia and Kat, Talon
“You were sheer perfection,” he says wistfully. “You know the vanity in the bathroom?”
I nod a little. “Yes. We’re not on a first name basis, but we’ve met.”
“Shut up, smartass.”-Asia and Talon, Talon
“Every part of you tastes delicious,” he groans. “I want to f’n eat you alive.”
“Mmmmm… sexy with a side of serial killer…” I tease. –Asia and Talon, Talon.
CLICK COVER TO PURCHASE:
No comments:
Post a Comment