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gdonahue's review against another edition
4.0
Well, I flew through this book, barely stopping since the preorder arrived the other day. I really enjoyed this story. This is a fantasy debut novel about dragons, politics, and found family with nice helpings of romance (sometimes pretty steamy) and mystery/intrigue. If you like character driven fantasy that isn’t grim dark and is set in cozy academic locations, then this story is a real treat. The sapphic romance is very sweet and pretty spicy, and the dragons are a very interesting component of the story. I enjoyed the inclusion of dragon lore from the world, and found the feeling of this book to be super positive and hopeful, while also realistic about actual issues in the society of Albiyon. This book does read like a (very strong) debut, and there were some writing mechanics that I struggled with a bit in the story. In particular there was some telling instead of showing that sometimes took me out of the moment, and the big bad was a bit obviously bad. But to be honest, bad people in real life are also often obviously bad, but are protected by their money and power, which I think was one of the points of this story. Overall, I am super happy that I preordered this book, and now I cannot wait for book two in this series.
shadowrocks8's review against another edition
4.0
Lovely sapphic and dragon fantasy by my favourite booktuber
jade_courtney's review against another edition
3.0
(More of a 3.5?) This was so sweet and (funnily enough) full of hope!! I especially loved everything to do with the dragons and got so attached to the character that I actually teared up towards the end. The writing itself can be a bit clumsy and there are definitely missing comas, but this very rarely actually took me out of the story so I guess it's down to personal preference.
elspethjulia's review
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
silversparkles50's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
duck1e's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
illiumbluebell's review
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This was an enjoyable read but there were some issues for me.
The plot was ok, but very slow and filled with info dumps that stopped my immersion into the world. The characters were also fine, though a bit one-dimensional.
Good points: the dragons were fun and the LGBTQA+ representation was well done.
Don't regret reading this, but not sure if I'll ever pick up the sequel
The plot was ok, but very slow and filled with info dumps that stopped my immersion into the world. The characters were also fine, though a bit one-dimensional.
Good points: the dragons were fun and the LGBTQA+ representation was well done.
Don't regret reading this, but not sure if I'll ever pick up the sequel
lenirlcosta's review against another edition
2.0
I’m saddened to give this such a low rating. I love Jeans YouTube channel and this was one of my most anticipated reads this year (plus, I really wanted to support this self-pub) but it just wasn’t for me. I thought there was no subtlety to the prose, no depth to the characters, no chemistry in their interactions and, most importantly, there was basically no conflict. Besides the whole dragon egg hatching thing, which starts in the first chapter, nothing happens until the last 40 pages and then it’s over already. I wouldn’t have minded the slow pacing if at least the characters were more developed. To me, this read like a too long fairytale with snippets of adult scenes. In my opinion, it was much too obvious. For real, it was so obvious I spent the whole book trying to spot the red-hearing, trying to figure out who “really” was the villain because it just couldn’t be so simple. Turns out it could.
So yeah, this one was not for me. But I do wish Jean all the luck in her future writing endeavors. I’ll give them another go.
So yeah, this one was not for me. But I do wish Jean all the luck in her future writing endeavors. I’ll give them another go.