A review by nite0wl29
A Dragonbird in the Fern by Laura Rueckert

3.0

It was okay? The world building was fantastic, and I adored the main character Jiara. But the book was “very YA” which made it a light read after reading a much heavier story. I love a story that delivers the angst and feels, and that is where I think this story was lacking. For having just lost her sister, you’d think the reader would share Jiara’s pain. Well, you don’t...That made it hard for me to sympathize with her. Especially when her sister’s ghost lashed out at Jiara during her earthwalker “tantrums”. If anything I found her annoying and wanted to roll my eyes because she did it whenever Jiara seemed to have found a sense of happiness in her life after marrying someone from a foreign kingdom, where Jiara was forced to learn a complete foreign language. Not easy for a person with dyslexia.

The romance was kinda meh, but still kind of sweet. Her love interest just didn’t do anything for me. I think there should have been more chapters developing their relationship but....It is what it is.

The only thing that kept me fully engaged with this story was the mystery behind Jiara’s sister’s killer. The first handful of chapters drew me in. Until after 70-80% of the book, not much happens. Other than that I think this story has potential to be better.

**Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC.