Claire Evans is a small town Indiana gal with a heart for adventure. When a wounded dragon falls from the sky, she runs into a cornfield to rescue it. This isn’t just any dragon, he’s a shifter, one of six royal protectors. Helping him has consequences. She must fulfill an Unbreakable Promise but to do so, she must face Dragonwall’s king. King Talon is not like those before him. Troubled and temperamental, he is scarred by more than the events that shaped him. Worst of all, he is mateless. With no queen and no heir, his subjects are demanding he abandon tradition and marry into nobility. There is a rising threat upon his borders. He will soon have far greater problems than that of finding a wife. Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book.

I revieved a free digital copy of this book from the publisher BooksGoSocial via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Honestly i really wanted to love this book but i made it to 6% before i dnfed it. It just wasn't for me at all..

I love dragons and shifter stories but this was a twist on usual story - normal human world with a seperate world with dragons.
But there were things about the female mc that really annoyed me. First she went through someone elses belongings like she owned then simply because she helped a guy and saved his life - I'm sorry that doesn't give her the right to go through his stuff.
Second she is an avid reader - now it doesn't specify a genre but in the current world there are a shit ton of shifter books and dragon books that I'm aware of - I've only read a few - but they are all over and she must have seen some, somewhere! Surely?! I mena yeh I'd be shocked but it wouldn't be all that shocking... 🤔
Third, has she never read anything to do with history, did she learn nothing in school? I mena not knowing what a chamber pot is?!? Does she live under a rock? How does she not know what that is?! Granted I'd not really expect someone to start using the term in a conversation but going by the way he talks and the way he dresses it can't be all that shocking... Surely?

So yeh sadly this was a dnf for me it just annoyed me a lot 😔

I really wanted to like this because it involves dragons (who doesn’t like dragons?) and it’s fantasy! However, it was just way too slow in the beginning. It felt unnecessarily wordy, with scenes that felt like stock characters instead of fleshed out people. It started to get better further I to the book but I ended up skimming, which I hate doing. It was just really hard to hold my attention. I don’t think this is the novel for me.

I did like how we followed different points of views and learned about them, I just wish there was a better way to fix the pacing throughout this story.

I received a copy of this book for a fair and honest review. This is the first book in a series and I could not wait to get my hands on it. There was just something that told me I was going to love this book. I was not disappointed. It was a mix of fantasy and the modern world. Claire is a girl who loves the thought of fantasy is all to real. She save Talon she rescues, but he is no ordinary male he is a dragon shifter. Her mission it to help him save the Kingdom of Dragonwall. The borders have been attacked. It is an epic start to an adventure. I am ready for the second one.

ARC from NetGalley

4.5 stars

This book was a bit hard for me to get into, mostly because the beginning was a bit stereotypical and comical to me. "What is this strange device? There are small men behind the glass. How did they get in there?" That is not a quote, I am paraphrasing, but it was much like that, and there was more of it, and it was a bit cringey at the time.

That said, the story becomes more complex and interesting. We read from a few different perspectives, and the main story was interesting enough that I started skipping certain chapters because IDGAF about them, which I later regretted. It turns out IDoGAF about them.

I dropped half a star because the ending was so irritating and unfulfilling. Things happen in this book, but there isn't a true climax. The entirety of the book is serving to set up the rest of the series, which I mean of course it has to, but it can do it with a plot and climax of its own. It just kind of petered out with a bunch of hints of what's to come. I don't like saying "are you fucking kidding me?" when I finish a book, and yet here we are. Still, if the next book was out I would buy it immediately, so I suppose the author has done her job.

The first book in a new series is always a wonderful gift. Melissa Mitchell has built a world where dragon shifters are the main residents and given us the beginning of a far reaching cast of characters that all have a thread to be woven through the series. The story begins with a young woman, Claire, rescuing a dragon that has fallen from the sky. He has shifted into his human form and the story is off and running. As an avid reader of fantasy books, Claire now finds herself inside a shifter kingdom, Dragonwall, where she will use every resource to keep this world from ruin at the hands of a sorcerer determined to shape this kingdom to fit his fantasy.
Talon the Black is the king of Dragonwall, facing challenges from all sides, he must decide who he can trust and how he will protect his home and the shifters who depend on him. Talon, along with Claire, are the main characters in this volume, but far from the only interesting "people" who live in Dragonwall. Ms Mitchell has written an excellent example of what readers want in a series, a world and a community that is so well defined, you "see" it, a story line uniquely built around a race of dragons and principle supporting characters and that cast of characters that fit so well into the story line and the fantasy built in the reader's mind. I loved the story and am looking for the second book already. Join Talon and Claire on their journey and you won't regret it.

I got a feel similar to the talon saga by Julie Kagawa based on the cover art.
You had me at dragon but with such vivid imagery, and a fast paced plot... I'll be reading any sequels!

If ever there was a time where you wanted to curl up with the beverage of your choice and a good, long book. This is the book. What would you do if a hunk of a dragon shifter fell to earth on your farm? Claire finds out and is thrust into a slow building romance with a King. You won't be bothered by the length of the book. Winter is coming. Curl up and fall in love with all of the characters.

I enjoyed this book quite a bit, I love dragon PNR stories. The world-building is fantastic, I really like the dragon worked, how it all goes from medieval times to today. Lot's of action, dragons, and a good storyline. The world of Dragonwall is one I would love to see. I would recommend the author getting this series done on audio, would love to hear them and experience it all over again, this is my first book by the author and I will be looking forward to reading more.

I was excited to read Talon the Black after finishing Mitchell's For the Crown. Both are set in the same "world" with For the Crown taking place long before the beginning of Talon the Black. I thoroughly enjoyed For the Crown and was excited to read more about the world that Mitchell had created. When beginning Talon the Black, I was a little disappointed because the story started off very slowly. The main character lives in our world when her life is suddenly changed when a dragon falls from the sky. While this is not a bad beginning, the set-up drags for a while. If I hadn't already read For the Crown, I might have been tempted to abandon this book during the first few chapters. Thankfully, I kept going because the story gets increasingly better as the book goes on. I'm glad that I kept reading because I enjoyed this book, and I plan to read the next book in the series as soon as possible.

The synopsis was very promising I mean dragons, shapshifters and a heroine... count me in!

I liked how it showed the struggels that where going one with different characters. I connected with them very easily and they felt very real to me. I mean somethimes characters are to good or too bad. But in this some showed more of a mix, they made mistakes an have to make up for it.

The only thing that i'm not sure what I feel about it is the extra pov characters. I could not really make out their role in the story directly and at first they felt to be intruding the story. But later on it seemed they showed some extra pare of eyes to help tell the story of Dragonwall.

Over all I loved it and I can't wait to start reading Reyr the Gold.

Talon the Black is an epic fantasy about dragon shifters, a trope that I haven’t often seen let alone read, but god did I enjoy this.
The story focuses on Claire, who witnessed a dragon fall from the sky but later finds a man where a dragon should have landed. She is whisked into a world of dragon shifters, sprites, and evil forces at work and away from her home.

This book pleasantly surprised me in the end. I did struggle to get into it at first but by chapter 10 I was hooked, and read the remainder in a day. The different perspectives within the book made the world building so much richer, and allowed me to understand better the world of Dragonwall and its moody King Talon. The characters were well rounded with well thought out backstories supported by the different perspectives and I honestly can not wait to get stuck into book 2 of the series. 5 stars!

I did not anticipate enjoying this book as much as I have and I have absolutely loved it.
The book begins with the protagonist (Claire) living in an ordinary world where suddenly a dragon crashes into her life (literally and figuratively). Clare goes on to a grand adventure to save the Dragonwall kingdom throughout the series and as it turns out even though she lived in a mundane world, Clare is anything but.
Admittingly, the beginning left me questioning whether this book was worth it but following the first slightly rough chapter and writing, it drifted into a well written and magical story. The more I read, the more I wanted to read. The book left me wondering what's in store next? And is this going to become an ultimate enemies to lovers story between Clare and Talon? I'm eager to read the next book in the series and hopeful that the following book (on Wattpad) will be completed equally as quickly. Mitchell has become one of my new favourite authors.
Highly recommend for a book filled with magic, dragons, love, friendship, and adventure.

Fantastic journey to another world. This book will transport you and you will want to stay! Compelling and complex characters keep you on your toes. Must read!

Here's the thing... this book read like it didn't have an editor. Did I hate it, not really. It has a good skeleton of a story, but there were a lot of plotlines that were introduced and didn't feel like they headed anywhere. There were also several grammar errors. I also got bored what felt like very early on, but I was roughly 30% into the book and I still felt like nothing was happening. that is a long time to introduce us and the MC to the world of Dragonwall, and they weren't even there yet.
I ended up skimming most of the book. Nothing really grabbed me, and some of the dialog didn't fit some of the characters, and most of the dialog felt forced.
The characters weren't particularly engaging, the MC is the typical "smart" character who seems to lack common sense. She's also supposed to be in her early to mid-20's but the way she talks she sounds more like a teen, and not someone who has finished college and an undergrad, granted I can't recall what she went to college for, if it was ever mentioned.

There were a bunch of characters introduced very early on, that I think could've been introduced a little later in the book, or maybe not all at once. There wasn't any context of who they were, and why they mattered before they were introduced.

I don't really know what to say, nothing about this book really grabbed me. I think if it had several rounds of editing it would be a lot better.

I have no idea who this book is for. If I was younger and new to fantasy, then I might like this book more and have fewer criticisms for it.

When I received this book I had no clue that I will be so pleasantly shocked.
I LOVED this book. It is one of the best fantasy stories I have read so far. While reading it you understand that the author has such clarity and vision of this that the world building is meticulously woven. There is not a fault in it and she has thought the very last detail of the environment the story is in. The love for magic and dragons is radiating all along. The characters literally come alive from the pages and I felt like I was standing right there.
I cannot fathom how someone can imagine a whole new world the way the author did here, as the book describes laws, traditions and customs to the detail I can really talk for hours about this. My excitement will last for days and it’s much needed! I am so impressed and I will read the sequel as soon as possible.
Do yourselves a favour and read this please!

I can’t pass up a book with dragons so when I saw this It was a must read! And I’m glad I read it.

I really enjoyed the first instalment of this series. The story flows well and is told from the perspective of many characters which helps paint a picture of the ‘world’ of Dragonwall.
The world building so far is impressive, the reader knows not just about the world but the history which brought it to be as well. I’m sure there will be plenty more to come in the following books!
My favourite place so far has to be the sprite forest, it sounds truly magical!

I felt that Mitchell could have afforded to push the characters feelings more, it would have given the characters more depth and I hope it’s something we see more off as the series goes on.

I can’t wait to read the rest of the series!

I liked the fantasy setting and how the characters were written. However, it’s too wordy in some parts and this takes away from the plot. Also, I think it would be a good read for teens but it might not be suitable for YA due to the pacing of the story.

I believe I first read this book on Wattpad.. It blew my mind then, and it blew my mind now. Melissa Mitchell knows how to grab your attention and keep it from the first page to the last, never giving you a moment to take a breather. Talon the Black is full of complex characters in a complex world. The main character is everything I adore in a heroine - feisty, sarcastic, and probably a little too curious for her own good. And please don't get me started on Cyrus.. He's as adorable as he is fierce. As for the other characters, I've still yet to decide on my opinion of them!
I LOVED THIS BOOK.

Thank you BooksGoSocial for sending me a copy of Talon the Black by Melissa Mitchell.

The book follows Claire, a normal small town gal (because really, isn't that how they all start out?) who sees none other than a DRAGON falling through the sky. Now as the odds would have it, she's whisked off to a dragon kingdom to confront the dragon king.

I'm a big fan of dragons (hello inner Dungeons & Dragons nerd darya) and mythical creatures in general so when I heard of a book centering around them I just had to read! Now, usually I have a big love hate relationship with slow burn romance because on one hand, yes for the suspense and tension but also WHY CAN'T THEY JUST BE TOGETHER RIGHT NOW AHHHH. So you see my two sides right? This book didn't disappoint in the romance plot line (and what story wouldn't be even better with the threats of an impending doom!)

Overall a quick and interesting read, the cover art is also amazing.