Reviews - Of Flames and Fallacies

191 reviews for:

Of Flames and Fallacies

Courtney Whims

4.07 AVERAGE

mverbeek's review against another edition

1.0

yeah this wasn't very good!

alternativehippy's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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: Complicated

aotero's review against another edition

3.0

slow-paced

marylu412's review against another edition

DID NOT FINISH: 29%

I really wanted to love Of Flames and Fallacies—I mean, dragons, secrets, rebellion, and a bit of romance? Count me in. But I ended up DNFing this one at 29%. The premise had so much potential, and I was curious at first, especially with the whole forbidden dragon egg situation. But the more I read, the more I realized I didn’t care about the story or the characters. It started to feel like I was pushing myself through pages I wasn’t enjoying.

The biggest letdown for me, though, was the romance. Katerina and Cole are supposed to have this long-standing connection and unresolved feelings, but when they finally reunite… There was just no spark. Their interactions felt flat and awkward, and I couldn’t buy into the chemistry at all. For a relationship that’s supposed to carry emotional weight, it felt weirdly shallow. Once I stopped caring about them as a couple, it was hard to stay invested in the rest of the plot. I’m sure this book will work for readers who are into established romances or don’t mind a slower pace, but it just wasn’t clicking for me.

neria_'s review against another edition

4.25

adventurous emotional funny sad medium-paced

ashbatcher's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous mysterious fast-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: No

yodareads12's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous emotional funny tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

A world where dragons are illegal? Dragon riders extinct? And those rumored to have even touched the horn of a dragon executed? “Of Flames and Fallacies” by Courtney Whims brings all of this to our attention as we learn exactly what is going on in the Arterian kingdom. Katerina, our main character, finds herself in a precarious situation of choosing between potential starvation or risking execution when she comes across a mysterious artifact. When she wakes up one morning to the artifact broken and a dragon hatchling on her hands, her only option is to run and find the only person she trusts, Cole, who is deep in the King’s military.

I did not know what to expect with this book. Dragons have become extremely popular as of late, and so going into any dragon book, I always hold my breath. However, Whims completely shocked me with how unique and different this story was! I loved the adventure, desperation, and constant push to thrive that came through the words of the page. I’ve had many authors say the character was dying of hunger, but I truly believed it about Kat. The other characters in the book were also well rounded to me. They had their own battles and struggles, and each handled them in their own way. I also like that Whims didn’t lay all the cards out on the table. There is still so much for us to learn in the next book.

Something else about this book was that it has so many quotable moments for me. I’m not typically a quote person, but I am pretty sure I highlighted at least three different ones in this book! Most of it was banter between Kat and Darian. (You’ll just have to read to find out more about him). I remember laughing constantly throughout the funny moments and also being very invested during the more serious moments.

Another thing I liked about this book is that the dragon hatchling had to learn. She didn’t automatically know how to do things. She didn’t just understand stuff that she’d never experienced. It made her more real to me.

“Of Flames and Fallacies” by Courtney Whims definitely needs to be your next dragon romantasy read! I would recommend it for an adult audience as there is a lot of cursing and very explicit bedroom scenes. Now I’m ready for book two because that cliffhanger was absolute torture!!!!

Content Warnings