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anilein's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Toxic friendship, War, Torture, Cursing, Death, Grief, Misogyny, Murder, Bullying, Death of parent, Drug use, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Vomit, Animal cruelty, Mental illness, Ableism, Chronic illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual content
orakuruno's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, War, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Misogyny, Death of parent, Animal death, Bullying, Cursing, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Murder
Minor: Body horror, Classism, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, and Death
nak34's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Graphic: Sexual content, Bullying, War, Blood, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Toxic friendship and Misogyny
cheruphim's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Like many who probably approached this book, I've heard of it through its rampant popularity, from BookTok to BookTube to "Top 10 Fantasy Books That You Have To Read" on places like Book Riot or [Insert Website Set Up Purely to Soak Up Google SEO Revenue]. So, eventually when I was able to get my hands on the audiobook version through Libby/Overdrive, I had to give it a listen. And what did I think?
Ehhhh, probably a 7/10.
I compare this to ACOTAR for being a super popular entry in the romantasy genre. Its premise is appealing for any current/former 'dragon girl' or fan of video games like Panzer Dragoon or Drakengard: students are enrolled at a military academy where they are trained in combat as well as developing a spiritual bond with a dragon. Our protagonist, Violet Sorrengail, is a woman with an unnamed disability (but I imagine Ehlers Danlos disease, as the writer has said she based her disability off her own, which is Ehlers Danlos), but is forced into military academy life by her commander mother (never says why outright, but as you read along you can sort of infer as to why that happened). She goes through an arc of becoming a stronger warrior in a life she didn't expect, along with bonding with a powerful dragon, falling in love, and becoming aware of corruption afoot in the confines of this super lethal military academy. There is fantasy politics intrigue, will-they-won't-they relations, and of course, smut.
I really dug the premise of this book, and the author does a good job of incorporating the logistics of dragonflight and living alongside dragons. The author does a solid job portraying them as magnificent yet adorable creatures. I liked the variety of dragon sub-species based on attributes like their tails or size. The eventual smut scenes are very well-written and don't have the overly flowery prose that has plagued romance novels. I liked seeing the relationship between Violet and her enemy-turned-lover Xaden Riaorson develop, as well as the wedge that forms between Violet and her childhood friend Dain Aetos for getting close to Xaden. How Dain evolved from being set up as the childhood friend love interest to a cop-like character refusing to budge on the rules and constantly babying Violet is interesting. Violet's relationship with her dragon Tairn is cute too, and the dynamic she has with her general mother is also a fascinating dynamic.
However, this book isn't without its faults, and as I kept reading, I found myself finding more flaws that kept mounting. The character dialogue and Violet's narration really feels too 'contemporary' for the setting, and often times I found myself cringing at how so much of the dialogue feels like a teen dramedy, a Twitter thread, or a Marvel movie (overly snappy and trying to be witty). And much like ACOTAR, the character motivations feel juvenile and unreasonable at times. Like yeah, let's refuse to kill the psychokiller guy that has been gunning for you since day one, let's refuse help from people who obviously care about you,see you struggling, and ARE NOT trying to baby you.
Outside of Violet, Xaden and their immediate circles, the rest of the cast feels "Harry Potter"-esque that's there to fill tropes - there's the girl best friend, the sadistic rival, and the other friends that hover around them in their clique to pad out the cast. I like how Rhiannon, the girl best friend is bi, as well as other LGBT+ shoutouts in the book, but I also can't help but feel like these side characters are filler that's there to banter with the main character and eventually get killed off for the sad factor. The book also ended rather abruptly for my liking - I liked the twist but things really started moving suddenly towards the end, almost too fast for my liking, and I felt that a lot of the 'big reveals' at the end got introduced way too late. The twist comes, and you feel the satisfaction of seeing it, only to realize there's only twenty pages left and most of it is spent on a fight scene. I know it's book one in a trilogy, and you want to keep them hanging, but also I wish these revelations were given more room to breathe, as opposed to the attention put on extended grueling academy exercises.
In conclusion, I found this book entertaining, and despite its faults it did have me binging it towards the end. It's not perfect, obviously, and I think people looking for a more refined and mature high fantasy experience should look elsewhere, but if you're willing to sift through some corny YA-esque dialogue and tropes for the world building and romance, or want to see what the fuss is about, it's worth a peak. If you're not into young adult fantasy and romance this book isn't for you, but if you are, try it out.
Graphic: Ableism, Murder, Death, Physical abuse, Violence, War, and Chronic illness
Minor: Misogyny, Death of parent, Xenophobia, and Sexism
Dragon Fantasy, Military Fantasy, High Fantasy, M/F Romance, Smut, Romance, Ehlers Danloscozy_gremlin4's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Bullying, Torture, Emotional abuse, Murder, Misogyny, War, Sexual content, Classism, Death, Grief, Hate crime, Blood, Confinement, Death of parent, and Violence
beltari's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
This book was fun but I enjoyed it the same way I enjoyed Sharknado. I can see why some less experienced readers would love it too. It was written so that young female readers will identify themselves with the "not like other girls" protagonist and if that's your cup of tea, go for it. It has cool fight scenes, Mexican novel levels of drama, and smutty scenes worthy of AO3. It's a light read and made me laugh with all the cringy dialogue and obvious plot twists. I'm giving it 4 stars because it fulfilled my need for a popcorn book.
Graphic: Murder, Cultural appropriation, Classism, Domestic abuse, Animal cruelty, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Ableism, Toxic relationship, War, Racial slurs, Misogyny, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Death of parent, Body shaming, Animal death, and Gore
jenniferbowman's review
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Ableism, Death, Misogyny, Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Bullying, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Cursing, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Murder, and War
thebibutterfly's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
The couple were cringey at best, but her weird obsession with his looks is incredibly creepy. He was controlling and obnoxious. Kind of hated both of them, to be honest. The cliff-hanger ending was cheap and entirely unearned.
Graphic: Blood, Gaslighting, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, War, and Violence
ursimae's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Body horror, Medical content, Cursing, Sexual content, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Death, Bullying, War, Xenophobia, and Violence
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Misogyny, Gaslighting, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, and Genocide
Minor: Torture, Classism, and Colonisation
pbuzzard's review
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Bullying, Death of parent, Misogyny, Violence, Abandonment, Ableism, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Blood, Death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail