Review: Soldier

Soldier
Rating: 5/5 
Buy or Borrow: Buy 
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher, Mira Ink! 

When forced to choose between the sinister Talon organisation and being hunted by her own kind, dragon-human hybrid Ember fled. Even if it meant losing Garret, the dragon-slaying soldier she shares a deep bond with.

Now Garret has uncovered secrets that will shake the foundations of dragons and dragon-slayers alike. Can the danger reunite them?

It's nearly 2am and I have literally just finished this book. I finished it minutes ago. I am not over it, and I don't think I ever will be. I had such a bad feeling reading this okay, it's called Soldier, there's all these flashbacks to baby Garret and how he became 'the perfect soldier' and how he met Tristan and so on and as the book got closer and closer to the end I KNEW something was going to happen and then it did and the book just ends. It just ends. I can't even. I seriously can't. There was crying and swearing and book throwing and if it wasn't nearly 2am I'd be cracking out the ice cream. 

So. I just read page 373 of #Soldier by @Jkagawa my legit reaction? Well... pic.twitter.com/IEDg9mliYR

— Alisha Tarran (@realitysabore) July 29, 2016

Yep. That was me. Except the screaming was at a very low volume cause ya know....2am! I genuinely think this book might be the best in the series. But it's also the worst because of that ending. I loved where the book was going, there was the usual mix of plot twists you expect (I KNEW IT! I KNEW the whole thing with Dante at the end. I FREAKING KNEW IT!) and then there's the ones that you don't expect and you're kind of feeling all smug for guessing/knowing a plot twist and then this other twist will come out of nowhere and pretty much punch you in the face leaving you wondering what the hell just happened. 

The characters are going in some interesting directions, like I said, we get a lot of backstory to Garret this book and along with the usual POV's (Ember, Garret, Riley, Dante) we get the POV of Sebastian, aka baby Garret as I dubbed him. It was really interesting to see his childhood and how he came to the Order, how he was in the Order, how he met Tristan and so on and how he became the character we met back in the beginning of Talon. He's so determined in this book to atone for everything he's done. This book, I felt, was very Garret central. Ember in this book I loved. She's done a lot of growing up over the course of the books and when we see her in this book she's struggling to deal with everything that's happened and everything she's done. She's killed people and she's struggling with it because she still has so much empathy, but she's becoming more and more hardened to life and what happens, she's losing some of who she was in the first book. It's a brilliant change and I feel like Ember's reactions and how she deals with everything in this book is very authentic. 

Riley is trying to act more human for Ember, which was totally adorable, and he's still as determined as ever to protect his network and his hatchlings, however he's also determined to fight for Ember and it's an interesting dynamic between the two with no Garret around for a while, and then Garret coming back and shaking it up again. Wes. I have to mention Wes. He's my fave. Not just because I'm a fellow brit but because Wes cracks me up. Things are tense, they're emotional and it's all getting a little heavy and then there's Wes with one of his comments bringing a smile to my face! 

Dante was interesting in this book. I thought for a moment that he was possibly having second thoughts about Talon, he's been doing some thinking as he settles in to his new job and I actually started to root for him like 'woooo come to the dark side dude!' but then he was just...well..Dante. *sigh* We also have a brand new character this book and I'm super gutted we didn't get to see more of her! Jade is an incredibly awesome Eastern dragon and I LOVED HER. She's funny and badass and I felt for her and I just need more of her. She's totally amazing. 

The multi POV's I continue to love, because there's so much going on in the book, characters in different locations from each other then all these feelings going on and the POV's allow you to see what's happening with everyone, and what's going on with everyone, which was particular vital in the case of our love triangle. Baby Garret's POV added some extra intrigue too! I loved the changes. Just when you needed it to not change because OMG stuff was happening. BOOM. POV change to keep you on the edge of your seat! 

Soldier picks up close to where the last book ended. So we see Garret in London (woop woop!) hot on the trail of the Order and WTH is going on. Ember and Riley are tracking down the traitorous Griffin and Dante is....Dante-ing. Dante should watch his back, all I'm saying is....Dr. Olsen is totally shady and he's a little bit too in love with his little project. We all know how this ends up...except for Dante...because he's...well...Dante. Honestly that's all I can say about Dante. Damn him. There's some too spoilery but interesting stuff going on with Dante and Talon that's going to come in to play next book and I'm excited to see it unfold, especially as it'll be happening while everyone else is dealing with the aftermath of page 373. I'm intrigued to see if the Eastern dragons are going to be brought in to this more as well, I was fascinated by Jade and how her life had been compared to the Western dragons. 

Now I need to mention the romance and love triangle without being too spoilery. This is a love triangle that has a very interesting twist. Ember isn't human...not entirely. So she's kind of like two people and her dragon wants Riley and her usual self wants Garret. There's some revelations in this book that have a bearing on all of this and it's going to be interesting to watch it play out. The love triangle is dealt with in this book. Ember makes her choice and it's all great and you're cheering away because there's kinda like this TID Wessa/Jessa thing going on, to some extent. But then the end comes along to ruin your life and Embers. So yeah. The more I'm writing this the more I'm staunchly heading towards denial. So yeah. That ending never happened and it's ALL GOOD YO. 

Soldier is a fantastic third installment in a series that is proving itself to be original, fun, humorous, fast paced, action packed, filled with adorable romance and plenty of emotions. So many emotions. So many......feelings. Each book leaves you wanting more and like I said..this book is the best but it's also the worst. Like...I'm half tempted to recommend that you all wait for the fourth book before reading this but...I want everyone else to suffer too :') Either way this book is mind blowing and gives the insight in to Garret that we've all been craving, I'm excited for the fourth installment and to see the revelations and plot twists of this book play out. I will be sure to have chocolate and ice cream in the house when I read it! (If you've read Soldier.....TWEET ME BECAUSE I NEED TO TALK ABOUT THIS DAMN ENDING!)