Reviews

When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill

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alexbirdreads's review against another edition

5.0

I am absolutely in love with this book. Where do I start? From the moment I began reading it, I was completely sucked in. Barnhill is really talented at making an immersive story that draws you in and keeps you hooked. She kept me in a state where I was getting just enough information to be fascinated and satisfied, but still hungry for more (much like the protagonist!)

I felt like the over-arching theme of the book was really well-done. This book was a spiritual criticism of misogyny, a love letter to queer and trans people, and poetry for those who grapple with the loss that comes with love.

From a writing standpoint, I enjoyed the way she depicted the setting, and I liked that none of her characters were two-dimensional. None of the characters were 100% loveable and even the worst of the characters had some understandable aspects to them. The ending wasn't an unrealistic 'everything is happily ever after' with a tidy bow - it left me with a quiet, realistic happiness and satisfaction. An imperfect, messy kind of love, just like the rest of the story.

This is one of my new favorites, and I can't wait to read more of the author's work. It engaged my whole heart and mind. It was really quite beautiful.

kkastrup2's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious 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? No

4.0

laurolly's review against another edition

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3.0

3.5 Stars. It took a while for me to fall into this book, the premise of it had me hooked but I thought that it had a very slow plot. I liked Alex’s growth and the exploration of a woman’s power. I found the writing hooked me and I was raging at the described injustices. I tend not to read historic based books, but I found this alternative timeline easy to follow. I think the mass dragoning event, followed by the loss of dragons, could have been better explored. Or better yet the magic system as a whole could have been better explained, I’m still confused about how the knots come in to it.