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A review by thekibbs101
House of Dragons by Jessica Cluess
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
4.0
The beginning was a bit slow but I really enjoyed how the rest of the book had all of my attention, I was always invested and interested in the story. I have had a hard time recently with finding books that keep me interested and invested, so I’m happy this one finally could do that for most of the book. And there’s dragons!! And they are actually prominent to the story!! I hope more people read this.
The politics in this book were so interesting, and I have never said that about a book before. Normally I don’t care about the politics, I even dnfed ‘Fireborne’ because I thought it focused too much on it. I liked the characters, at first I only really favored Emilia and Lucian but as the characters start to bond, I gradually started liking all of them. I love how the characters start forming an alliance and could bond and kind of become friends. I liked the premise of this. I still like Emilia and Lucian the best. I wasn’t really liking Hyperia until she’s in the second trial and for a whole page tells off Tiber for what he asked for. That was amazing and more men should get talked to that way for asking for that. That is the best response I’ve literally ever read and made me love her.
I love when Emilia tries to get a family on her side by being so smart and brave. That’s why she’s one of my favorite characters, she’s strong and courageous and I always like strong female characters. I do like Vespir but not nearly as much because she doesn’t really do anything herself (until the end) Lucian is so sweet. I started liking the book more during the second trial. I liked after the third trial when they all drank wine and started talking, it’s nice that they all just wanted to spend time together after they didn’t have a winner for the dragon race. It’s cool that even though everyone is competing they all just are kind of friendly towards each other. There are some descriptive lines that are really nice and made me want more descriptive lines. “She sat in the imperial library, at a long table with the soft glow of candlelight to guide her reading. The moss-green carpet was lush under her shoes. Two cream silk-upholstered chairs with wooden feet carved to look like dragon talons hunched before the fireplace. The smell of moth and vellum lay heavy in this library, the scent so comforting she would have worn it as perfume.” I enjoyed the rest of the book consistently after the second trial.
Spoiler thoughts //
Some of the authors lines are so so good, when I read, “This was Chara, her soul. Her beloved friend, condemned to a lifetime of servitude and silence. No one should ever condemn a woman to stay quiet.” I closed my eyes and had to take a moment to write that quote down because this author is so good. I loved when the great dragon spoke to Emilia and told her how to free the dragons and chaos. I love that Emilia frees them, I knew I liked her for a reason. When the dragons say their rider’s names it’s so sweet, especially this part, “"Vespir! My little Vespir!" It was a voice of baking bread, of calm nights in front of the fire, of warm hands smoothing her hair, of home. Over-whelmed, Vespir pitched forward, only for Karina to break the fall. As Vespir clung to her dragon's neck, she heard that voice once more: "I've got you now."” I had tears in my eyes when I read that ❤️ the ending was good. Lately at the end of books is when I get most starched to the characters so it makes me want a sequel, so I’m glad this has one.
The politics in this book were so interesting, and I have never said that about a book before. Normally I don’t care about the politics, I even dnfed ‘Fireborne’ because I thought it focused too much on it. I liked the characters, at first I only really favored Emilia and Lucian but as the characters start to bond, I gradually started liking all of them. I love how the characters start forming an alliance and could bond and kind of become friends. I liked the premise of this. I still like Emilia and Lucian the best. I wasn’t really liking Hyperia until she’s in the second trial and for a whole page tells off Tiber for what he asked for. That was amazing and more men should get talked to that way for asking for that. That is the best response I’ve literally ever read and made me love her.
I love when Emilia tries to get a family on her side by being so smart and brave. That’s why she’s one of my favorite characters, she’s strong and courageous and I always like strong female characters. I do like Vespir but not nearly as much because she doesn’t really do anything herself (until the end) Lucian is so sweet. I started liking the book more during the second trial. I liked after the third trial when they all drank wine and started talking, it’s nice that they all just wanted to spend time together after they didn’t have a winner for the dragon race. It’s cool that even though everyone is competing they all just are kind of friendly towards each other. There are some descriptive lines that are really nice and made me want more descriptive lines. “She sat in the imperial library, at a long table with the soft glow of candlelight to guide her reading. The moss-green carpet was lush under her shoes. Two cream silk-upholstered chairs with wooden feet carved to look like dragon talons hunched before the fireplace. The smell of moth and vellum lay heavy in this library, the scent so comforting she would have worn it as perfume.” I enjoyed the rest of the book consistently after the second trial.
Spoiler thoughts //
Some of the authors lines are so so good, when I read, “This was Chara, her soul. Her beloved friend, condemned to a lifetime of servitude and silence. No one should ever condemn a woman to stay quiet.” I closed my eyes and had to take a moment to write that quote down because this author is so good. I loved when the great dragon spoke to Emilia and told her how to free the dragons and chaos. I love that Emilia frees them, I knew I liked her for a reason. When the dragons say their rider’s names it’s so sweet, especially this part, “"Vespir! My little Vespir!" It was a voice of baking bread, of calm nights in front of the fire, of warm hands smoothing her hair, of home. Over-whelmed, Vespir pitched forward, only for Karina to break the fall. As Vespir clung to her dragon's neck, she heard that voice once more: "I've got you now."” I had tears in my eyes when I read that ❤️ the ending was good. Lately at the end of books is when I get most starched to the characters so it makes me want a sequel, so I’m glad this has one.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and Blood