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carriebp's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Animal death, Death, Xenophobia, and War
unsuccessfulbookclub's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Basgiath has to be the world’s worst military school - it seems like it exists simply to kill off its cadets which seems counterproductive? Call me crazy but there are stakes higher and fates worse than death. In a book written in first person POV you know from the jump that the narrator isn’t dying soooooo the tension I wanted in the first part of the book simply wasn’t there.
In the year of our lord 2024, I simply cannot get into a hero named Xaden, even though I liked him just fine in terms of his actual actions/personality. Tairn was the best character in a SEA of named characters who were interchangeable and forgettable. Violet is very much a 20 year old dystopian fantasy heroine.
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, War, and Injury/Injury detail
indigoa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, War, and Classism
ericiusm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
0.75
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and War
stitchbooks22's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
sagesanctum's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Xenophobia and Death of parent
mojo918's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Bullying, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Gore, Sexual content, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, War, and Injury/Injury detail
imds's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
cheruphim's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Like many who probably approached this book, I've heard of it through its rampant popularity, from BookTok to BookTube to "Top 10 Fantasy Books That You Have To Read" on places like Book Riot or [Insert Website Set Up Purely to Soak Up Google SEO Revenue]. So, eventually when I was able to get my hands on the audiobook version through Libby/Overdrive, I had to give it a listen. And what did I think?
Ehhhh, probably a 7/10.
I compare this to ACOTAR for being a super popular entry in the romantasy genre. Its premise is appealing for any current/former 'dragon girl' or fan of video games like Panzer Dragoon or Drakengard: students are enrolled at a military academy where they are trained in combat as well as developing a spiritual bond with a dragon. Our protagonist, Violet Sorrengail, is a woman with an unnamed disability (but I imagine Ehlers Danlos disease, as the writer has said she based her disability off her own, which is Ehlers Danlos), but is forced into military academy life by her commander mother (never says why outright, but as you read along you can sort of infer as to why that happened). She goes through an arc of becoming a stronger warrior in a life she didn't expect, along with bonding with a powerful dragon, falling in love, and becoming aware of corruption afoot in the confines of this super lethal military academy. There is fantasy politics intrigue, will-they-won't-they relations, and of course, smut.
I really dug the premise of this book, and the author does a good job of incorporating the logistics of dragonflight and living alongside dragons. The author does a solid job portraying them as magnificent yet adorable creatures. I liked the variety of dragon sub-species based on attributes like their tails or size. The eventual smut scenes are very well-written and don't have the overly flowery prose that has plagued romance novels. I liked seeing the relationship between Violet and her enemy-turned-lover Xaden Riaorson develop, as well as the wedge that forms between Violet and her childhood friend Dain Aetos for getting close to Xaden. How Dain evolved from being set up as the childhood friend love interest to a cop-like character refusing to budge on the rules and constantly babying Violet is interesting. Violet's relationship with her dragon Tairn is cute too, and the dynamic she has with her general mother is also a fascinating dynamic.
However, this book isn't without its faults, and as I kept reading, I found myself finding more flaws that kept mounting. The character dialogue and Violet's narration really feels too 'contemporary' for the setting, and often times I found myself cringing at how so much of the dialogue feels like a teen dramedy, a Twitter thread, or a Marvel movie (overly snappy and trying to be witty). And much like ACOTAR, the character motivations feel juvenile and unreasonable at times. Like yeah, let's refuse to kill the psychokiller guy that has been gunning for you since day one, let's refuse help from people who obviously care about you,see you struggling, and ARE NOT trying to baby you.
Outside of Violet, Xaden and their immediate circles, the rest of the cast feels "Harry Potter"-esque that's there to fill tropes - there's the girl best friend, the sadistic rival, and the other friends that hover around them in their clique to pad out the cast. I like how Rhiannon, the girl best friend is bi, as well as other LGBT+ shoutouts in the book, but I also can't help but feel like these side characters are filler that's there to banter with the main character and eventually get killed off for the sad factor. The book also ended rather abruptly for my liking - I liked the twist but things really started moving suddenly towards the end, almost too fast for my liking, and I felt that a lot of the 'big reveals' at the end got introduced way too late. The twist comes, and you feel the satisfaction of seeing it, only to realize there's only twenty pages left and most of it is spent on a fight scene. I know it's book one in a trilogy, and you want to keep them hanging, but also I wish these revelations were given more room to breathe, as opposed to the attention put on extended grueling academy exercises.
In conclusion, I found this book entertaining, and despite its faults it did have me binging it towards the end. It's not perfect, obviously, and I think people looking for a more refined and mature high fantasy experience should look elsewhere, but if you're willing to sift through some corny YA-esque dialogue and tropes for the world building and romance, or want to see what the fuss is about, it's worth a peak. If you're not into young adult fantasy and romance this book isn't for you, but if you are, try it out.
Graphic: Ableism, Chronic illness, Death, Physical abuse, Violence, Murder, and War
Minor: Misogyny, Sexism, Xenophobia, and Death of parent
Dragon Fantasy, Military Fantasy, High Fantasy, M/F Romance, Smut, Romance, Ehlers Danloshannahcstocks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
TLDR: Overall, kept my attention, and I found the pacing to be done well. If you can’t handle the internal monologue of a somewhat rebellious lovestruck high schooler (I know that’s not the age of the characters but it is how it reads) or relatively predictable but intriguing enough plot, this book isn’t for you. Even you want an easy read to take you out of your own head and world for a while, and you can take the aforementioned characteristics in stride, then give it a shot.
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, War, and Injury/Injury detail