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bluejayreads's review
4.5
Graphic: Kidnapping
Moderate: Confinement, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal cruelty, Torture, and Colonisation
talonsontypewriters's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5
Graphic: Violence and Kidnapping
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Death, Xenophobia, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Animal death and Vomit
bisexualwentworth'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
4.25
This book's setup feels very familiar: a teenage girl leaves her small mountain town to rescue her girlfriend from a magical organization that serves the emperor whose empire is occupying their lands. In the process, she makes new friends, learns new skills, and experiences personal growth. Dragons are involved.
I predicted every major plot twist in this book because it's following such a familiar formula, but I wasn't mad about it at all. I love this formula. It's one of my favorites. It's exactly what I was looking for when I said I wanted gay dragon books.
The dragon stuff gets more interesting as the book progresses, which makes me very excited to hopefully learn more dragon lore in book two. I'm very interested in where the essential oil stuff came from. Not sure if we're going to get more information about that, but I hope we are.
The queer aspects are very much what I wanted, as well, which I know is going to be a controversial opinion. Maren and Kaia love each other, but they're also teenagers with teenage issues, and their dynamic is very unequal. If Kaia had not been taken, I probably would have wanted them to break up. And I love that Sev is someone who actually sees Maren and pushes her and encourages her to grow. So no, I'm not mad at the bisexual love triangle. In fact, this is some of the best casual bisexual representation I've ever encountered. I really don't care who Maren ends up with (one, both, or neither all seem like valid options at this point) so long as the characters talk through their various issues first.
Additionally, this book is set in a queer-normative world, which is a choice that I really respect and appreciate in YA fantasy in particular. Sometimes it's valuable and important and interesting to explore issues of homophobia and transphobia, but sometimes I just want to enjoy a fun queer story without dealing with those issues (and of course the characters have all sorts of other issues to deal with, not least imperialism). Kaia has two moms, and there's also a nonbinary side character near the end of the book.
Honestly, the only reason I see why anyone would have an issue with the queer aspects of this book is if you're biphobic and you think that Maren should be a lesbian. If that's you, maybe think about that for a minute.
Was this a good book? I don't know. Objectively, I think it was fine. It didn't blow me away, and it probably won't blow you away either. But I liked it, and if you enjoy dragon books and want one where the main character is in a bisexual love triangle on top of all of the usual tropes, then you'll probably like it too.
Graphic: Violence and Kidnapping
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Torture, and Fire/Fire injury
foreverinastory'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
4.5
Rep: Bisexual biracial BIPOC cis female MC, sapphic BIPOC cis female love interest, BIPOC cis male side character (possibly a second love interest not sure yet), multiple BIPOC side characters, queer-normative world.
CWs: Violence, kidnapping. Moderate: Animal cruelty and death (dragons), death, xenophobia, blood, vomit, medical content, fire/fire injury, torture.
Graphic: Violence and Kidnapping
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Torture, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, and Fire/Fire injury
booksthatburn's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
The worldbuilding is good, it errs on the side of not giving much information. It suits the somewhat sheltered protagonist but does mean that I didn't come away feeling like I could say much about the setting beyond a history of conquest, imperialism, and the use of dragons to consolidate and maintain power. Since this is a quest undertaken by someone leaving home for the first time with rescue of a loved one as the main goal, it didn't need a whole lot more than we get, and it works. As for that quest, Maren matures and changes at a significant but believable pace, I like the relationship that develops, and the stuff with the dragons is handled pretty well. If you want a queer fantasy about subterfuge and dragons that doesn't overwhelm with backstory, definitely try this. I generally prefer something a bit denser, but this was a lot of fun. My favorite part is right after Maren enters a town for the first time and has to figure out how to look and behave in a new place pretending to be someone she's not. A lot of important context is conveyed very skillfully and quickly in a few brief scenes, and it's great.
I love the ending, I'd been worried that one of the relationships was going to get dropped once the questing portion was done but it looks like this book sets up the possibility of even more in book two. I'm looking forward to reading whether the sequel delivers on that promise.
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, and Fire/Fire injury