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kiwij96's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
lighthearted
tense
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
4.25
A fun and easy read, with relatively short chapters. An interesting concept for sure, writing both first, second and third perspectives, following a dragon chasing a prophecy, a thief trying to protect their family name, and a young acolyte torn between right and wrong. Good discussions on gender identity too. Fun fantasy heist with friendships, trust, betrayal, and morality.
Definitely could have done with more worldbuilding and plot written into the text. The characters were very "woe is me" at times where it wasn't needed. I appreciated how Everen's POV included the humans teaching him how their society worked in terms of how gender identity and pronouns worked. Also, was not a fan of the romance subplot. It would have worked much better if the characters just learned each other's surnames as an act of trust.
Definitely could have done with more worldbuilding and plot written into the text. The characters were very "woe is me" at times where it wasn't needed. I appreciated how Everen's POV included the humans teaching him how their society worked in terms of how gender identity and pronouns worked. Also, was not a fan of the romance subplot. It would have worked much better if the characters just learned each other's surnames as an act of trust.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Death, Violence, Death of parent, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, War, Blood, and Self harm
Moderate: Body horror
Minor: Sexual content
hollowpointe's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Holy shit
Okay I loved so much about this. One- the amount of world building alone was enough to keep me engaged. The dragon religion spawning off from vanishing them centuries ago? The discussions of caste and honorifics, the concept of becoming starving, the difference between countries views on gender- it all kept me very entertained and intrigued. Also, Everen and Arcady both having their own issues and having to work past them to even BEGIN trusting each other was a good thing to witness, mostly because a lot of what I've read recently is instant trust or one big feat creates trust.
All in all, the heist and the assassin plotlines were well balanced to me and I thoroughly enjoyed them both.
As for characters, Soren was an interesting arc as she very much is codependent on Magnes who is also like the worst and did actually make me angry. An antagonist that's truly despicable, he was perfect for the mood of the book.
The title alone also was very pleasing for me especially when it occurred to me it was a reference to whale falls- something that usually creates and maintains an ecosystem for years where they fall and decay- much like how Arcady is now thriving due to Everen falling.
Dear lord this one won't be leaving my brain for a while.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Cannibalism, War, Pandemic/Epidemic, Torture, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Genocide, Murder, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Ableism, Classism, Death of parent, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Ableism, Alcohol, Toxic friendship, Alcoholism, Grief, and Terminal illness
Minor: Cursing, Abandonment, Homophobia, Ableism, and Medical content
*Holy shit* *slight spoilers* Okay I loved so much about this. One- the amount of world building alone was enough to keep me engaged. The dragon religion spawning off from vanishing them centuries ago? The discussions of caste and honorifics, the concept of becoming starving, the difference between countries views on gender- it all kept me very entertained and intrigued. Also, Everen and Arcady both having their own issues and having to work past them to even BEGIN trusting each other was a good thing to witness, mostly because a lot of what I've read recently is instant trust or one big feat creates trust. All in all, the heist and the assassin plotlines were well balanced to me and I thoroughly enjoyed them both. As for characters, Soren was an interesting arc as she very much is codependent on Magnes who is also like the worst and did actually make me angry. An antagonist that's truly despicable, he was perfect for the mood of the book. The title alone also was very pleasing for me especially when it occurred to me it was a reference to whale falls- something that usually creates and maintains an ecosystem for years where they fall and decay- much like how Arcady is now thriving due to Everen falling. Dear lord this one won't be leaving my brain for a while.khakipantsofsex's review against another edition
dark
tense
slow-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Death
abookwormspov's review against another edition
adventurous
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Blood, Death, Body horror, Child abuse, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Violence, and Murder
cookiecat73's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
I enjoyed this, but I didn't love it. We have two main points of view, and one or two more which come up more rarely. The main two are Arcady and Everen. I liked Arcady a lot, their backstory was pretty dark but I enjoyed their personality and their motivations were cool and intresting, and it means a lot to me to have a main character who is canonically and openely genderqueer. Everen on the other hand was a superior brat. I know that's on purpose and he does improve and I did like him more by the end, but for the most part I didn't like him or enjoy his povs very much. The world building and plot were mostly just fine, I didn't have any major critisisms, gripes, or things I hated, but I didn't love it either. I guess it's just not completely my kinda book, and that's fine, I still liked it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Confinement, Grief, Violence, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Body horror, Cannibalism, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Classism, Death, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Alcohol, Child death, Grief, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Pandemic/Epidemic, Sexual content, Torture, and Self harm
Minor: Transphobia, Animal death, Drug use, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Fire/Fire injury, and War
dezzella's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- 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
2.5
I went in wanting to love this book, and there are certainly aspects I liked, but over all I felt the execution could have been done differently/better.
I did like the two worlds concept between the dragons and humans, and some of the magic pieces. I wish there was more clarity on some of the worldbuilding, it made sense for the characters to already know things about the magic and world. As a reader it felt like I was missing out on details, though the magic system was interesting and unique.
I also found myself a bit bored/losing interest while reading and had considered DNF'ing but ended up pushing through. I will admit that the last 10 chapters or so were better than the rest of the book. The training scenes started to feel repetitive and stretched out over many chapters. And the changes of perspective were unique but they were a bit jarring and felt strange when reading; it felt like the flow of the narrative was interrupted when the type of POV would change.
Also how pronouns were tackled for this world was very cool and I hope that more people will do something like it.
Overall this story wasn't really my cup of tea, and I probably won't continue the series as of right now, but I'm glad there are others who enjoy it and perhaps the author will improve the style in future books. :)
I did like the two worlds concept between the dragons and humans, and some of the magic pieces. I wish there was more clarity on some of the worldbuilding, it made sense for the characters to already know things about the magic and world. As a reader it felt like I was missing out on details, though the magic system was interesting and unique.
I also found myself a bit bored/losing interest while reading and had considered DNF'ing but ended up pushing through. I will admit that the last 10 chapters or so were better than the rest of the book. The training scenes started to feel repetitive and stretched out over many chapters. And the changes of perspective were unique but they were a bit jarring and felt strange when reading; it felt like the flow of the narrative was interrupted when the type of POV would change.
Also how pronouns were tackled for this world was very cool and I hope that more people will do something like it.
Overall this story wasn't really my cup of tea, and I probably won't continue the series as of right now, but I'm glad there are others who enjoy it and perhaps the author will improve the style in future books. :)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Death
Moderate: Gore
Minor: Death of parent
norwegianforestreader's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Animal death, Blood, Cannibalism, Child death, Gore, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Terminal illness, Alcohol, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Violence, Confinement, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and War
bookstarbri's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
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
4.75
Admittedly, I have a small obsession with dragons.
When it comes to books with dragons, I go weak in the knees because dragons are SO cool. And this book truly didn't disappoint me. I think it was very close to perfection. I had a few nit-picky gripes, which I'll get into in a bit, but first I want to talk about how much I loved this book as a whole. I know a lot of people will not like the way it is written, and I can understand why. There are 5 POVs total, with it mostly going back and forth between 2 (and a third a few times as well, though not as frequently). This back and forth may be a little jarring especially since the POVs are not just different characters but also different styles of POV as well. We have one that is standard first person, one that is first but is also sort of told like a letter so it dips into second. The remaining ones are all third. I thought this was really cool and a very interesting way to write a story like this, and I appreciated the experimental storytelling a lot and really enjoyed it. It made me especially love Everen's chapters!
Onto the characters, I thought they were (mostly) great! I LOVED Arcady and Everen. The side characters were interesting as well. One thing that kept me from giving this 5 stars was that I was bored with Sorin's chapters in the middle? There were definitely times when I just wanted to skip her POV and go back to the main story. Her story fits into this one and it all ties together, and I actually loved her POVs in the beginning, but those middle ones dragged on just a bit. Otherwise, I was really captivated in this story pretty much from start to finish. I thought the pacing was great and the events leading up to the finale were amazing!
This book had some great twists as well. There were three times when my mouth dropped because I hadn't expected something. Truly, it was awesome how easily L.R. Lam was able to bring something up and take it somewhere I hadn't expected at all without it feeling like a cheap surprise.
This is the start of a series and I am so excited that it is! I can't WAIT to read book 2. I loved this ending it made me feel so many things. This book is a new favorite and I have high hopes for book 2!
Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
When it comes to books with dragons, I go weak in the knees because dragons are SO cool. And this book truly didn't disappoint me. I think it was very close to perfection. I had a few nit-picky gripes, which I'll get into in a bit, but first I want to talk about how much I loved this book as a whole. I know a lot of people will not like the way it is written, and I can understand why. There are 5 POVs total, with it mostly going back and forth between 2 (and a third a few times as well, though not as frequently). This back and forth may be a little jarring especially since the POVs are not just different characters but also different styles of POV as well. We have one that is standard first person, one that is first but is also sort of told like a letter so it dips into second. The remaining ones are all third. I thought this was really cool and a very interesting way to write a story like this, and I appreciated the experimental storytelling a lot and really enjoyed it. It made me especially love Everen's chapters!
Onto the characters, I thought they were (mostly) great! I LOVED Arcady and Everen. The side characters were interesting as well. One thing that kept me from giving this 5 stars was that I was bored with Sorin's chapters in the middle? There were definitely times when I just wanted to skip her POV and go back to the main story. Her story fits into this one and it all ties together, and I actually loved her POVs in the beginning, but those middle ones dragged on just a bit. Otherwise, I was really captivated in this story pretty much from start to finish. I thought the pacing was great and the events leading up to the finale were amazing!
This book had some great twists as well. There were three times when my mouth dropped because I hadn't expected something. Truly, it was awesome how easily L.R. Lam was able to bring something up and take it somewhere I hadn't expected at all without it feeling like a cheap surprise.
This is the start of a series and I am so excited that it is! I can't WAIT to read book 2. I loved this ending it made me feel so many things. This book is a new favorite and I have high hopes for book 2!
Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death and War
Minor: Confinement
puttingwingsonwords's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I received an e-ARC of this book through Netgalley.
In Dragonfall a dragon, stuck in a humanoid form after falling from his homeworld in another dimension, has to work together with human thief Arcady — to strengthen their bond, and then kill them. The story is told through multiple perspectives, with the framing device of being compiled by an unkown archivist. This is one of the things I loved, but that put off a lot of readers in the more negative reviews I’ve seen.
Another complaint I noticed is the amount of ‘infodumping’ at the start, which surprised me because I thought the worldbuilding was set up in a very organic way for a high fantasy… So I’m guessing those last words are key. If you’re used to reading books from writers like Robin Hobb, or worse (/teasing) Tolkien, this kind of worldbuilding set up is probably second nature to you. If you’re me it’s one of your favourite parts of the genre.
I could tell you about the painfully slow-burn enemies-to-lovers romance (they can’t touch! because it hurts because of magic!), but I wanted to centre my review on the stuff I liked that some other people didn’t. Not to hate on those people, because tastes differ and that’s fine! Just to show that one person’s turn-off can be another person’s favourite thing.
I loved the setting, the characters, the magic system, everything and especially the ‘weird’ stuff. More please! Where is the fanart of dragons and dragon people! Send it to me! I will be over here, patiently waiting for the sequel.
Review originally posted on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cu1a8Lmrh_9/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
Another complaint I noticed is the amount of ‘infodumping’ at the start, which surprised me because I thought the worldbuilding was set up in a very organic way for a high fantasy… So I’m guessing those last words are key. If you’re used to reading books from writers like Robin Hobb, or worse (/teasing) Tolkien, this kind of worldbuilding set up is probably second nature to you. If you’re me it’s one of your favourite parts of the genre.
I could tell you about the painfully slow-burn enemies-to-lovers romance (they can’t touch! because it hurts because of magic!), but I wanted to centre my review on the stuff I liked that some other people didn’t. Not to hate on those people, because tastes differ and that’s fine! Just to show that one person’s turn-off can be another person’s favourite thing.
I loved the setting, the characters, the magic system, everything and especially the ‘weird’ stuff. More please! Where is the fanart of dragons and dragon people! Send it to me! I will be over here, patiently waiting for the sequel.
Review originally posted on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cu1a8Lmrh_9/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Classism, Death, Grief, Murder, and Violence
Minor: Confinement, Death of parent, Cannibalism, and Gore
abiofpellinor's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Classism, Death, and Death of parent