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A review by kitvaria_sarene
Between Dragons and their Wrath by Devin Madson
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Between Dragons and Their Wrath by Devin Madson is a queer epic fantasy that held me hostage from page one.
I absolutely loved the characters from the start, with a women working in a glass blowers workshop, a dragon rider, and a laundry maid with sudden strange plant magic creeping up.
All three of them felt so real, they walked off the page and into the real world, or at least it felt like that to me. Non of them are heroes or villains, they all have their strengths and weaknesses, their virtues and vices.
The world building was equally amazing, with different cultures, politics, drugs enabling speaking to dragons, science, poisons, magic and much more.
The plot was nice and twisty, with betrayals and loyalties as well as plenty of backstabbing, blackmail and spys everywhere. Trust no one, but find allies. Sounds fun right? I know I'd not survive a single week, luckily the characters are way better adjusted than me.
It's definitely an epic fantasy with spicy scenes though, do not expect a romance or romantasy, or you'll be disappointed.
The world is queer normative, and there's plenty of m/m and f/f attraction, with a few rather spicy scenes. Especially one of the female characters is rather horny, and keeps getting distracted by pretty bodies.
If you follow my review, you know I usually despise most romance (tropes) and sex scenes in my books, as most of them feel badly written to me. The ones in here I didn't mind, as they didn't follow the annoying tropes, and the sex scenes were straight forward, no "plowing the fields" or exploding beds.
My only tiny niggle is the end being rather abrupt, and so I felt like there should have been a bit more. I seriously can't wait for the next book!
I absolutely loved the characters from the start, with a women working in a glass blowers workshop, a dragon rider, and a laundry maid with sudden strange plant magic creeping up.
All three of them felt so real, they walked off the page and into the real world, or at least it felt like that to me. Non of them are heroes or villains, they all have their strengths and weaknesses, their virtues and vices.
The world building was equally amazing, with different cultures, politics, drugs enabling speaking to dragons, science, poisons, magic and much more.
The plot was nice and twisty, with betrayals and loyalties as well as plenty of backstabbing, blackmail and spys everywhere. Trust no one, but find allies. Sounds fun right? I know I'd not survive a single week, luckily the characters are way better adjusted than me.
It's definitely an epic fantasy with spicy scenes though, do not expect a romance or romantasy, or you'll be disappointed.
The world is queer normative, and there's plenty of m/m and f/f attraction, with a few rather spicy scenes. Especially one of the female characters is rather horny, and keeps getting distracted by pretty bodies.
If you follow my review, you know I usually despise most romance (tropes) and sex scenes in my books, as most of them feel badly written to me. The ones in here I didn't mind, as they didn't follow the annoying tropes, and the sex scenes were straight forward, no "plowing the fields" or exploding beds.
My only tiny niggle is the end being rather abrupt, and so I felt like there should have been a bit more. I seriously can't wait for the next book!