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A review by prisoner_of_books
Dragonfall by L.R. Lam
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
<i>"It's easier to blame those you already fear."</i>
If I had to summarise this book in one sentence it would be: queer dragon and human enemies to lovers romance with a heist and looming prophecy.
<b>Short Review</b>
I can't believe how good this book was!! It started off slow with a lot of worldbuilding and info-dumping but after the first few chapters everything clicked into place. The author has a way with words and the prose just left me speechless! It flowed wonderfully and I had no trouble picturing all the scenes in my mind! Also the idea of a genderless society where everyone chooses their gender and no one judges? And sign language is the second language?!! Like such an amazing concept! Told in Dual first-person POV the story really comes alive in the second half of the book as the characters plan a HEIST?!! and the bond between Everen and Arcady grows, so does the tension and slow burn! These characters were so wonderfully written, each with their own secrets, lies and confronting pasts. I cannot wait to see where this story goes in the next book! BEcause that ending, omg I need the next one!!
Read this if you love amazing queer representation, dragons, heists, forced proximity, fated bond, prophecies, thief lessons, amazing slow burn, hidden secrets which will ruin everything, unique plot, magic system and world, forbidden attraction, a priest assassin, plot twist, and lovable characters!
<b>Extended Review</b>
THis book. THIS BOOK!! Just so amazing and like nothing I've ever read before! The magic system was a bit confusing at the start and it did suffer from the classic info-dumping of fantasy books, but after the first few chapters and I had settled into the writing style and world it just blossomed! I am not used to first person POV and I will admit I was very confused because of the use of all the You and They, but after it was explained everything just clicked and was so interesting to read about!
Now the world was very complex and like the magic system had a lot of different components which took a while to fully explain. But basically the humans think of Dragons as gods and they gifted magic to humans. But the plaguebringer brought a plague after the dragons 'disappeared' which they called the Strike. Now i'm not totally sure about other elements of this so you'll have to read the book to find out more!! The world building was complex but at the same time was written beautifully and I didn't struggle at all with imagery throughout the whole book! The author has some wonder prose which gave the book a great flow of events. Another standout aspect of the world was the idea of gender! It was so entrepreneurial! Basically there is no set gender, you choose what you feel like or not to identify and be gender-fluid like one of our mc are. And to tell what your gender is you use sign language! Like sign language is normal everywhere and it was such an eye-opening idea which could really be amazing in our own community!
The characters were AMAZING! I loved Everen and his conflicting thoughts and it was so cool to learn about the world through his eyes as a dragon who was stuck in a human form. Then Arcady who had such a deep backstory which is still not even fully developed! I love seeing how contrasting their POVs were, not to mention the slow-burn romance from both their perspectives! I just immediately loved both their characters and loved watching them as they grew closer! Also the fact that they couldn't touch just made the tension and romance all the better!!! There was also a few POVs from a preist/assassin Soren and Everen's sister Cassia, both were interesting but I was left wondering what part Sorin would play because they only had a small relation to the main story line so hopefully that gets developed!
Lastly the plot. This had to be my favourite part! It was so intricate and that ending left me REELING!! Like OMG loved it so much! Also the heist! Like dragons and a heist! This author just knows exactly how to please me! Just such an amazing read which I recommend to everyone!!
Thank you to the author, netgalley and DAW publishing for the eArc in exchange for my honest review.
If I had to summarise this book in one sentence it would be: queer dragon and human enemies to lovers romance with a heist and looming prophecy.
<b>Short Review</b>
I can't believe how good this book was!! It started off slow with a lot of worldbuilding and info-dumping but after the first few chapters everything clicked into place. The author has a way with words and the prose just left me speechless! It flowed wonderfully and I had no trouble picturing all the scenes in my mind! Also the idea of a genderless society where everyone chooses their gender and no one judges? And sign language is the second language?!! Like such an amazing concept! Told in Dual first-person POV the story really comes alive in the second half of the book as the characters plan a HEIST?!! and the bond between Everen and Arcady grows, so does the tension and slow burn! These characters were so wonderfully written, each with their own secrets, lies and confronting pasts. I cannot wait to see where this story goes in the next book! BEcause that ending, omg I need the next one!!
Read this if you love amazing queer representation, dragons, heists, forced proximity, fated bond, prophecies, thief lessons, amazing slow burn, hidden secrets which will ruin everything, unique plot, magic system and world, forbidden attraction, a priest assassin, plot twist, and lovable characters!
<b>Extended Review</b>
THis book. THIS BOOK!! Just so amazing and like nothing I've ever read before! The magic system was a bit confusing at the start and it did suffer from the classic info-dumping of fantasy books, but after the first few chapters and I had settled into the writing style and world it just blossomed! I am not used to first person POV and I will admit I was very confused because of the use of all the You and They, but after it was explained everything just clicked and was so interesting to read about!
Now the world was very complex and like the magic system had a lot of different components which took a while to fully explain. But basically the humans think of Dragons as gods and they gifted magic to humans. But the plaguebringer brought a plague after the dragons 'disappeared' which they called the Strike. Now i'm not totally sure about other elements of this so you'll have to read the book to find out more!! The world building was complex but at the same time was written beautifully and I didn't struggle at all with imagery throughout the whole book! The author has some wonder prose which gave the book a great flow of events. Another standout aspect of the world was the idea of gender! It was so entrepreneurial! Basically there is no set gender, you choose what you feel like or not to identify and be gender-fluid like one of our mc are. And to tell what your gender is you use sign language! Like sign language is normal everywhere and it was such an eye-opening idea which could really be amazing in our own community!
The characters were AMAZING! I loved Everen and his conflicting thoughts and it was so cool to learn about the world through his eyes as a dragon who was stuck in a human form. Then Arcady who had such a deep backstory which is still not even fully developed! I love seeing how contrasting their POVs were, not to mention the slow-burn romance from both their perspectives! I just immediately loved both their characters and loved watching them as they grew closer! Also the fact that they couldn't touch just made the tension and romance all the better!!! There was also a few POVs from a preist/assassin Soren and Everen's sister Cassia, both were interesting but I was left wondering what part Sorin would play because they only had a small relation to the main story line so hopefully that gets developed!
Lastly the plot. This had to be my favourite part! It was so intricate and that ending left me REELING!! Like OMG loved it so much! Also the heist! Like dragons and a heist! This author just knows exactly how to please me! Just such an amazing read which I recommend to everyone!!
Thank you to the author, netgalley and DAW publishing for the eArc in exchange for my honest review.