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cassie7e's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.0
A decent YA book that could have been reworked into an excellent one. It subverts many tropes (damsel in distress, knight saves princess from dragon, obviously - also evil stepmother, patriarchy, good vs evil), which admittedly have been subverted long enough that their subversions are now tropes in themselves. It uses magic sparingly but coherently. Everything I wondered about early on that seemed forgotten was *eventually* addressed or referenced or relevant again later. I just wish it hadn't taken so long to do so.
I read this because people said it added enough more than the movie to be worthwhile. It does make the humans more nuanced in motivation, less purely villainous, though it takes ages to develop the dragon's motives. There are a few more details throughout but overall this book felt longer than necessary considering the straightforwardness of the plot (amplified by my having seen the movie first and knowing what's coming). I also didn't feel the extra POC sections added much, and were shoehorned in to provide Elodie or the reader with key information that could have been delivered differently. I was questioning whether it was worth reading vs just watching the movie until the very end, which had a more fun and magical resolution than the film.
Also I love a world with a con-lang! It was hard to pick up much word meanings from the audiobook but I totally would have pored over the sentences to learn it on my own if I had the physical book, plus help from the notes in the appendices! (The extensive appendix is not really necessary for the story but is fun if you're a linguistics nerd, and the author details how it was her daughter* who came up with it!)
*Edit: so much discussion in reviews about whether it's a developed enough or purely derivative language, and Tolkien-this and Tolkien-that; who cares!! What an honor for a language-loving kid to have their work featured in their parent's story to share with the world, and other teens their age!
I read this because people said it added enough more than the movie to be worthwhile. It does make the humans more nuanced in motivation, less purely villainous, though it takes ages to develop the dragon's motives. There are a few more details throughout but overall this book felt longer than necessary considering the straightforwardness of the plot (amplified by my having seen the movie first and knowing what's coming). I also didn't feel the extra POC sections added much, and were shoehorned in to provide Elodie or the reader with key information that could have been delivered differently. I was questioning whether it was worth reading vs just watching the movie until the very end, which had a more fun and magical resolution than the film.
Also I love a world with a con-lang! It was hard to pick up much word meanings from the audiobook but I totally would have pored over the sentences to learn it on my own if I had the physical book, plus help from the notes in the appendices! (The extensive appendix is not really necessary for the story but is fun if you're a linguistics nerd, and the author details how it was her daughter* who came up with it!)
*Edit: so much discussion in reviews about whether it's a developed enough or purely derivative language, and Tolkien-this and Tolkien-that; who cares!! What an honor for a language-loving kid to have their work featured in their parent's story to share with the world, and other teens their age!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Death of parent
Moderate: Gore
savreads28's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Blood, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Grief, Genocide, Gore, Torture, Violence, and Confinement
bookishmillennial's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial
Thank you PRH Audio for the free ALC, this was such an incredible audiobook! The narrator, Imani Jade Powers, did a fantastic job, and I will listen to anything Imani narrates from now on lol.
This is a new adult (main character is 21) high fantasy set in a fictional land called Inophe. Elodie accepts a random prince’s hand in marriage in exchange for protection of and care for her land. She is then taken to his kingdom, Aurea, and begins to prepare for the wedding. However, married life isn’t all Prince Henry promised it would be. He actually throws her to her certain death into a centuries-old dragon’s lair. Turns out, the kingdom of Aurea has a bargain with the dragon to feed it three princesses every harvest season in exchange for their kingdom to be unharmed, and Elodie is just their latest sacrifice 😭 Now Elodie must take the written advice of the princesses who came before her, navigate these tunnels and caves, and fight for her life.
This was a wild ride and every single minute of this audiobook kept my attention. I listened to it in one day because I simply had to know what happened! It didn’t hurt that I knew there was a movie coming out, and I imagined Millie Bobby Brown as Elodie lol. I loved the shorter chapters from the late princesses who came before Elodie, and their stories of how they left certain clues behind, and how they learned of the knowledge they were now inadvertently sharing with Elodie. The chapter of one princess finding out how a certain plant was poisonous wrecked me in the middle of a Target grocery aisle, how dare you embarrass me like that, Evelyn Skye?! I just had so much fun with the worldbuilding! Now even though this seems like a one-woman story, it’s actually the story of all the women who came before Elodie. It honors their memories so well!
The dragonlore was an excellent touch because I always appreciate commentary on how humans ruin everything (because I agree hahaha). I was rooting for Elodie every step of the way, and was delighted to see her familial dynamics (a not-so-evil-stepmother?!) come into play in the latter half of the book too. So real! 😩 Anyway, I can’t wait to watch the movie!
I noted trafficking as a content warning because what the royals are doing is essentially trafficking these young women in exchange for their own safety, and they are sending them to their deaths under the guise of *marriage*. Trafficking technically means dealing or trading in something illegal and yeah, they’re trading human lives for safety so I’d say that fits the bill.
Also, I included torture because they are also essentially torturing these young women because the dragon likes to play with its food and being chased to the death is torture to me!
Lastly, I included toxic relationship as a content warning because whatever relationship the royals have with each other and the young women they trick into marriage is toxic as fuck. It’s beyond fucked and unforgivable! All of the other content warnings listed should feel a bit more self-explanatory and as you’d imagine.
Lastly, it’s so cool that Evelyn Skye’s 13-year-old daughter made up the language of the dragons 🥹 Now it’s gonna be in a movie?! That’s so dang precious. You go Glen Co Co!
Thank you PRH Audio for the free ALC, this was such an incredible audiobook! The narrator, Imani Jade Powers, did a fantastic job, and I will listen to anything Imani narrates from now on lol.
This is a new adult (main character is 21) high fantasy set in a fictional land called Inophe. Elodie accepts a random prince’s hand in marriage in exchange for protection of and care for her land. She is then taken to his kingdom, Aurea, and begins to prepare for the wedding. However, married life isn’t all Prince Henry promised it would be. He actually throws her to her certain death into a centuries-old dragon’s lair. Turns out, the kingdom of Aurea has a bargain with the dragon to feed it three princesses every harvest season in exchange for their kingdom to be unharmed, and Elodie is just their latest sacrifice 😭 Now Elodie must take the written advice of the princesses who came before her, navigate these tunnels and caves, and fight for her life.
This was a wild ride and every single minute of this audiobook kept my attention. I listened to it in one day because I simply had to know what happened! It didn’t hurt that I knew there was a movie coming out, and I imagined Millie Bobby Brown as Elodie lol. I loved the shorter chapters from the late princesses who came before Elodie, and their stories of how they left certain clues behind, and how they learned of the knowledge they were now inadvertently sharing with Elodie. The chapter of one princess finding out how a certain plant was poisonous wrecked me in the middle of a Target grocery aisle, how dare you embarrass me like that, Evelyn Skye?! I just had so much fun with the worldbuilding! Now even though this seems like a one-woman story, it’s actually the story of all the women who came before Elodie. It honors their memories so well!
The dragonlore was an excellent touch because I always appreciate commentary on how humans ruin everything (because I agree hahaha). I was rooting for Elodie every step of the way, and was delighted to see her familial dynamics (a not-so-evil-stepmother?!) come into play in the latter half of the book too. So real! 😩 Anyway, I can’t wait to watch the movie!
I noted trafficking as a content warning because what the royals are doing is essentially trafficking these young women in exchange for their own safety, and they are sending them to their deaths under the guise of *marriage*. Trafficking technically means dealing or trading in something illegal and yeah, they’re trading human lives for safety so I’d say that fits the bill.
Also, I included torture because they are also essentially torturing these young women because the dragon likes to play with its food and being chased to the death is torture to me!
Lastly, I included toxic relationship as a content warning because whatever relationship the royals have with each other and the young women they trick into marriage is toxic as fuck. It’s beyond fucked and unforgivable! All of the other content warnings listed should feel a bit more self-explanatory and as you’d imagine.
Lastly, it’s so cool that Evelyn Skye’s 13-year-old daughter made up the language of the dragons 🥹 Now it’s gonna be in a movie?! That’s so dang precious. You go Glen Co Co!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death, Trafficking, Murder, Confinement, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Torture
zombiezami's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
4.5
I had more fun with this than I thought I would! I thought from the cover that it was a retelling of Maleficent, but it was much cooler than that.
I saw in some reviews that people didn't like that Elodie was portrayed as "different from the other girls" in that she was smarter. I interpreted her as being autistic-coded (e.g. struggling to find the right response in conversations, having to script dialogue ahead of time, not being interested in arbitrary requirements, etc), so to me, she was different because her mind focused on things that others would not have.
I saw in some reviews that people didn't like that Elodie was portrayed as "different from the other girls" in that she was smarter. I interpreted her as being autistic-coded (e.g. struggling to find the right response in conversations, having to script dialogue ahead of time, not being interested in arbitrary requirements, etc), so to me, she was different because her mind focused on things that others would not have.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Blood, Child death, Confinement, Murder, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Grief, Cursing, Animal death, and Body horror
Minor: Sexual content, Alcohol, Police brutality, Suicidal thoughts, and Bullying
schnaucl's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I liked it. I particularly liked how the princesses helped each other to try and survive. Which of course, made the betrayal by the first princess more impactful.
I also liked the contrast between Elodie and her sister. Her younger sister is, of course, in love with the romance of the story being told and the opulence of the palace. Elodie is more skeptical and aware of the huge disparities between their kingdoms.
There's also some lovely development with her stepmother.
I also really like that so much depends on Elodie learning the dragon's language.
The ending doesn't make a lot of sense however. I kind of get Elodie becoming a dragon or at least half dragon after her blood merges with the dragon's. I don't really get the first dragon suddenly being able to lay viable eggs. There's certainly no suggestion that Elodie contributed to creating the eggs and they're eggs, so it's not parthenogenesis.
She also seems to have focused entirely on her new kingdom at then end instead of also helping her old kingdom, which didn't sit quite right.
But the lesson that she shouldn't have to entirely give up her life in service of others was a good one. There's a balance to be struck between caring for others and always putting yourself last.
I also liked the contrast between Elodie and her sister. Her younger sister is, of course, in love with the romance of the story being told and the opulence of the palace. Elodie is more skeptical and aware of the huge disparities between their kingdoms.
There's also some lovely development with her stepmother.
I also really like that so much depends on Elodie learning the dragon's language.
She also seems to have focused entirely on her new kingdom at then end instead of also helping her old kingdom, which didn't sit quite right.
But the lesson that she shouldn't have to entirely give up her life in service of others was a good one. There's a balance to be struck between caring for others and always putting yourself last.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Death, Death of parent, Child death, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Minor: Animal death
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