Talon - Book Review

By 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?!

Review

Can two strangers, evaluated by a relationship “expert”, get married at first sight and stay married? After months of interviews and questionnaires, can this expert really find the one person you’re meant to spend the rest of your life with? That’s what Asia and Talon hope to find out when they sign up to participate in a marriage experiment, where they must get married and live together for six months, at which point they’ll either stay married or get divorced. They both have their dream partners in mind, but when the big day finally arrives, things get off to a rocky start because Asia and Talon were not what the other was expecting.

Asia is a young woman who has had no luck with dating – her most recent date dismissed her as girlfriend material after just a quick glance – and every rejection cuts a little deeper than the last. She also had a rough childhood that left her with trust and abandonment issues but despite that, she grew into a very kind, giving and loyal woman who craves love and stability. Talon also wants to be loved and is sick of women who are only interested in him for what he can give them in bed. I didn’t like Talon too much in the beginning as I thought he was extremely shallow and was very hurtful to Asia simply because she didn’t look like what he wanted. But as he got to know her, his feelings and affection for her grew and thankfully he stopped being a dick. Talon wasn’t exactly what Asia was expecting either, but at least she was more diplomatic with her concerns, at least out loud anyway.

Asia: This is not my dream man. This is like rock star hippie Tarzan.

Yes. Yes. YES!!! TALON is a perfect addition to the Ashes & Embers series and what I’ve been waiting for since reading STORM. There are no twisty surprises, hidden deceit or withheld truths in the epilogue like the previous two books. It was a beautiful story about two people needing to stop being so focused on what’s on the outside and see the real beauty that can only come from the inside. Did I think that Asia forgave Talon too quickly and that the ending was a little rushed? Yes, I do, but the ending was still beautiful and sweet. TALON is told in dual POVs, comes with a HEA and while it is part of a series, it can be read as a stand-alone.