readerofthenight_'s review
4.0
This book is the first installment of the Dragon Spirit series and like any other first book, I found myself reading carefully so I'll have a good foundation. In the magical world, I've always loved dragons and this book having dragon spirits was a plus. The world building was great; each place was described to paint a beautiful picture.
Absolutely love saying Bragalia and Porsenthia; sounds so classy. Another thing I love about this is the fact that is has multiple POVs, enabling me as a reader read the other character's thoughts: single POVs often make me feel trapped since I could only see how one person perceive something.
I immediately took curiosity and liking for Fenn; curiosity because he is an amnesiac which means MYSTERIES!! How did he get that? Why him? Is he special? And of course liking because Fenn is basically a blank slate due to his situation and he is a curious lad, if not careless at times.
If you want a new concept of a fantasy world where dragons, griffins, priests and priestess, royals, warriors and commoners are present, you should give this a shot.
Absolutely love saying Bragalia and Porsenthia; sounds so classy. Another thing I love about this is the fact that is has multiple POVs, enabling me as a reader read the other character's thoughts: single POVs often make me feel trapped since I could only see how one person perceive something.
I immediately took curiosity and liking for Fenn; curiosity because he is an amnesiac which means MYSTERIES!! How did he get that? Why him? Is he special? And of course liking because Fenn is basically a blank slate due to his situation and he is a curious lad, if not careless at times.
If you want a new concept of a fantasy world where dragons, griffins, priests and priestess, royals, warriors and commoners are present, you should give this a shot.
szeththeassassin's review
5.0
Please read my review at the following link:
https://escapistbookcompany.com/2022/09/30/review-the-iron-crown-dragon-spirits-1-by-l-l-macrae/
Thank you for taking the time to read my review. As always, happy reading and Stay Great!!
https://escapistbookcompany.com/2022/09/30/review-the-iron-crown-dragon-spirits-1-by-l-l-macrae/
Thank you for taking the time to read my review. As always, happy reading and Stay Great!!
dominish_books's review
5.0
* You can find my full video review here: https://youtu.be/5pp85xujOoM *
The Iron Crown by L.L. Macrae is a story set in a world where dragons are spirits, and this is a really interesting concept.
Dragon spirits will typically form where there’s a forest or a body of water or some such and they are like the gods and protectors of their realm.
They can also bless a person, giving them the equivalent of divine powers, which is another really interesting aspect.
The whole concept of the dragon spirits is one that really worked for me. I love dragons, and it’s nice to see a bit of a different take on them without taking away the essence of what a dragon actually is.
The ancient enemy, the Myr, have been beaten and exiled but there are signs of their return, against the terms of a peace treaty. There are also a number of lost souls turning with no memories, and who are being linked to the Myr.
Fenn is one such lost soul and he is helped by Calidra and Jisyel, who make a really interesting pair. Calidra is the daughter of a laird and her partner, Jisyel, has been cursed by a dragon spirit and can no longer feel, whether it’s pain, or hunger, or anything else physical.
These two young women are wary of Fenn and where one wants to palm him off on the Inquisitors and make him someone else’s problem, the other wants to help him find out who he was and what happened to him.
The book feels almost intimate in its storytelling, which works really well. You can see the impact of events on the characters, but you can also see the impact the characters can have on the wider world, which I really appreciate.
As for the story, I like the way that it slowly builds but you always can tell there’s more coming and when it comes, it does so with a bang. There are some really great and intense moments here and it all flows nicely.
This book is an early contender for my book of the year listing. It’s a really well-written tale with great worldbuilding and characters, and I highly recommend it to any lover of epic fantasy.
The Iron Crown by L.L. Macrae is a story set in a world where dragons are spirits, and this is a really interesting concept.
Dragon spirits will typically form where there’s a forest or a body of water or some such and they are like the gods and protectors of their realm.
They can also bless a person, giving them the equivalent of divine powers, which is another really interesting aspect.
The whole concept of the dragon spirits is one that really worked for me. I love dragons, and it’s nice to see a bit of a different take on them without taking away the essence of what a dragon actually is.
The ancient enemy, the Myr, have been beaten and exiled but there are signs of their return, against the terms of a peace treaty. There are also a number of lost souls turning with no memories, and who are being linked to the Myr.
Fenn is one such lost soul and he is helped by Calidra and Jisyel, who make a really interesting pair. Calidra is the daughter of a laird and her partner, Jisyel, has been cursed by a dragon spirit and can no longer feel, whether it’s pain, or hunger, or anything else physical.
These two young women are wary of Fenn and where one wants to palm him off on the Inquisitors and make him someone else’s problem, the other wants to help him find out who he was and what happened to him.
The book feels almost intimate in its storytelling, which works really well. You can see the impact of events on the characters, but you can also see the impact the characters can have on the wider world, which I really appreciate.
As for the story, I like the way that it slowly builds but you always can tell there’s more coming and when it comes, it does so with a bang. There are some really great and intense moments here and it all flows nicely.
This book is an early contender for my book of the year listing. It’s a really well-written tale with great worldbuilding and characters, and I highly recommend it to any lover of epic fantasy.
cassidee_omnilegent's review
4.0
Actual Rating: 8.5/10
Review:
First off, I want to thank L.L. MacRae for the review copy of The Iron Crown. Full disclosure, this is one of the books that was allotted to FanFiAddict for our part in judging SPFBO, but I signed up to review this before we announced that we were judging and before the books were sorted. I talked with David (aka the man behind FanFiAddict) and we decided it would be best for me to get my review out before the actual process starts, which is… June 1st. Just barely meeting deadlines, but I’m here!
“‘You know what it’s like to lose something, then. Some part of you that you’re sure should be there?’ ‘Yes.’ That one word from Jisyel endeared her to Fenn more than any action could.”
I was immediately intrigued by the description and that beautiful cover. From the first sentence of the book, I was pulled in. MacRae is a master in imagery, everything was described in vivid detail and it took me no time to become immersed in the setting. In the beginning, the imagery almost reminded me of reading Robin Hobb describe the different locations in The Liveship Traders. That isn’t to say that MacRae writes like Hobb, as they both have very distinct styles that are all their own. The Iron Crown is cheery and upbeat, but smart and polished. While there are tragedies that happen, there is still a hopeful tone. Here we have a fantasy book that takes you on quite the adventure from the first moment to the last.
This is a decent sized book, clocking in at almost 600 pages. One thing that I enjoy with fantasy novels of this size is the use of multiple POVs. We get that in The Iron Crown and I enjoyed that we got POV from the “good” characters and the “bad” ones. There’s some morally grey characters thrown in and I got quite a few surprises from some of their actions. MacRae does a good job of making us question whose intentions are pure, misguided, or sinister. I’m expecting some exciting twists and turns as the series continues. Our book starts out with POVs from Fenn, a wanderer who has lost his memories. We also have Calidra, estranged from her mother but hoping for reconciliation after her Laird father passes away. We get a bit of Torsten, the High Inquisitor who seems to be a bit touched by madness. There’s also a host of side characters that are just as endearing or infuriating.
I will say that towards the middle, I got into a bit of a lull but right as that happened, we were introduced to Apollo. I found Apollo to be one of the most interesting characters. I loved the way all of our POV characters had connections to the others, even if some of them took a bit to unwind. I enjoyed that MacRae doesn’t make us wait multiple books for them to figure out these connections either. A lot happens in this first novel to bring our characters together. The last thirty percent of the book takes off at breakneck speed and it was easily devoured in a short space of time.
‘I am going to peel back the layers of your mind, one by one, and see what dirty little secrets you have tucked away.’
Another thing that I enjoyed was the total incorporation of the Dragon Spirits from the beginning. Do you ever read a series and it takes you most of the book–or multiple books– to figure out why the series is named the way it is? Not in this one! I don’t want to ruin the magic so I won’t delve in too deeply, but the dragons in The Iron Crown occur and influence the lives of our characters in such a cool way. You will not be disappointed!
All in all, this was a great start to what I’m expecting to be a wonderful series. I can’t wait to read more and I hope that this novel gets some major attention!
Review:
First off, I want to thank L.L. MacRae for the review copy of The Iron Crown. Full disclosure, this is one of the books that was allotted to FanFiAddict for our part in judging SPFBO, but I signed up to review this before we announced that we were judging and before the books were sorted. I talked with David (aka the man behind FanFiAddict) and we decided it would be best for me to get my review out before the actual process starts, which is… June 1st. Just barely meeting deadlines, but I’m here!
“‘You know what it’s like to lose something, then. Some part of you that you’re sure should be there?’ ‘Yes.’ That one word from Jisyel endeared her to Fenn more than any action could.”
I was immediately intrigued by the description and that beautiful cover. From the first sentence of the book, I was pulled in. MacRae is a master in imagery, everything was described in vivid detail and it took me no time to become immersed in the setting. In the beginning, the imagery almost reminded me of reading Robin Hobb describe the different locations in The Liveship Traders. That isn’t to say that MacRae writes like Hobb, as they both have very distinct styles that are all their own. The Iron Crown is cheery and upbeat, but smart and polished. While there are tragedies that happen, there is still a hopeful tone. Here we have a fantasy book that takes you on quite the adventure from the first moment to the last.
This is a decent sized book, clocking in at almost 600 pages. One thing that I enjoy with fantasy novels of this size is the use of multiple POVs. We get that in The Iron Crown and I enjoyed that we got POV from the “good” characters and the “bad” ones. There’s some morally grey characters thrown in and I got quite a few surprises from some of their actions. MacRae does a good job of making us question whose intentions are pure, misguided, or sinister. I’m expecting some exciting twists and turns as the series continues. Our book starts out with POVs from Fenn, a wanderer who has lost his memories. We also have Calidra, estranged from her mother but hoping for reconciliation after her Laird father passes away. We get a bit of Torsten, the High Inquisitor who seems to be a bit touched by madness. There’s also a host of side characters that are just as endearing or infuriating.
I will say that towards the middle, I got into a bit of a lull but right as that happened, we were introduced to Apollo. I found Apollo to be one of the most interesting characters. I loved the way all of our POV characters had connections to the others, even if some of them took a bit to unwind. I enjoyed that MacRae doesn’t make us wait multiple books for them to figure out these connections either. A lot happens in this first novel to bring our characters together. The last thirty percent of the book takes off at breakneck speed and it was easily devoured in a short space of time.
‘I am going to peel back the layers of your mind, one by one, and see what dirty little secrets you have tucked away.’
Another thing that I enjoyed was the total incorporation of the Dragon Spirits from the beginning. Do you ever read a series and it takes you most of the book–or multiple books– to figure out why the series is named the way it is? Not in this one! I don’t want to ruin the magic so I won’t delve in too deeply, but the dragons in The Iron Crown occur and influence the lives of our characters in such a cool way. You will not be disappointed!
All in all, this was a great start to what I’m expecting to be a wonderful series. I can’t wait to read more and I hope that this novel gets some major attention!
thehamsterreads's review
5.0
The Iron Crown is spectacular epic fantasy! I enjoyed basically everything about this book, except for the fact it ended and now I have to wait to find out what will happen. It’s excellently written and I really like the writing style. It’s easy to read but not simplistic. The author does a fantastic job of world building through the story so the world feels real, but there are no tedious info dumps to slow the story down. I also loved all the characters. This story is told from multiple POVs but I didn’t find any of them boring like can sometimes happen with many characters. Fenn wakes up stuck in a bog with no memory of who he is or where he came from. All he knows is his name. When he manages to escape the bog and not get killed by the mischievous dragon spirit, he comes across 2 women, Calidra and Jisyel who agree to help him. They end up on a journey together and along the way we are introduced to more characters including Torsten (a Master Inquisitor for the queen) and Varlot (a former general). One of my favourite things about this book is the dragon spirits which I found really interesting and unique as far as dragons go. Overall this is a great read and I highly recommend it to anyone who likes epic fantasy!
I received an ARC from the author and I’m voluntarily leaving an honest review.
I received an ARC from the author and I’m voluntarily leaving an honest review.
wolfmantula's review
4.25
I received an advanced reader copy, provided by the author for an honest review.
This did not impact my rating in any way.
This did not impact my rating in any way.
The author provided me with a copy of the audiobook, and while I appreciated that sentiment, I struggle with audio’s only, so I decided to buy the ebook as well and follow along with the audio the author provided so that I can get the experience of Whispersync that I love so much.
When I read the novella, The Citrine Key, which takes place 5 years before the events of The Iron Crown, I mentioned that I got a few Elder Scrolls: Skyrim vibes. The vibes that I got came from a certain place and a certain spirit dragon, while the vibe that I got is no longer present, the story was just as fascinating. I mean, griffens that TALK! I was excited about seeing griffens in Thiago Abdalla’s Ashes of Avarin series, but now I get GRIFFENS THAT ACTUALLY TALK! I was pretty thrilled to see that since griffens aren’t used often.
The narration by RJ Bayley was very good, he had some great character voices and one of those had a very familiar sounding voice. Fenn’s voice reminded me a lot of a younger Ewan McGregor, so I instantly loved him. Speaking of characters, there were a few, namely, Jisyel, Sarron, Toriaken and Ashothka that could possibly been inspired by Joe Abercrombie, Tolkien and even… George Lucas?!? Maybe I’m just grasping at straws like I tend to do sometimes, but the do resemble popular characters. I also loved that Apollo and Malora from The Citrine Key novella, not only showed up, but had a part in the story. I really like Apollo and was happy to see him!
There’s a reason this was a finalist in the 2021 SPFBO-7, this was a very enjoyable multiple POV story that had, not only taking griffens as I’ve already mentioned, but as the series name hints… spirit dragons as well! This had such good story telling and characters and I would definitely recommend this to all readers, because MacRae is an author on the rise that should be on everyone’s TBR.
thehorrordude's review
5.0
Wow just wow. Its hard to believe this amazing book has been written by an independent author. I loved everything about this and at top of the list is the characters. This is something special the magic, dragons, world building, dialogue everything made this a page turner. If you love character driven fantasy please check this out. I need the second book to be released asap as I want to continue this adventure!