I wasn't able to get to this book before it got archived. so sad, because I really wanted to read it.

I really enjoyed the storyline in world building in the novel. I also really liked the characters. I thought this was a solid read, and I will definitely be reading more by this author.

I had received this from Netgalley an embarrassingly long time ago in a protected PDF that never opened on my reader. I finally tracked it down and for me it was about a 3.5 read though I rounded up because my main quibble was some of the choices the protagonist makes.

Maren and Kaia are young lovers in a conquered territory. Huge bonus points for having normalized queerness in a fantasy setting. Seriously, you don't know how happy this makes me because it's not usually the case.

Once a year the Aurati, the seers of the Emperor come to a festival to dole out vague fortunes and to recruit more girls to their numbers whether or not they want to go. When they tear Kaia away from her, Maren promises to get her back. Maren has always seen herself as not as brave or able as Kaia (in spite of what her dad says) so this is very much a coming of age story where Maren grows into her capabilities.

Once her people had a bond with the dragons the emperor has now enslaved. Maren's rather hairbrained, ill-thought out plan is to get herself a dragon and rescue Kaia, with no clue how to do this other than she has to go to the fortress where they're trained. She has kin there (that's the other quibble, there are a lot of coincidences that this story wouldn't work without and it does give it a bit of a contrived feel).

Maren's uncle does allow her in as the food taster to the royal who runs that place. She meets Sev, a young man bitter about how the dragons are treated and Tilin a young woman who is much more in line with the Flame of the Empire emperor is great. Maren, however, manages to get herself recruited by Neve who is key to training the dragons. From there she has to enact her plan with only Sev to help her.

It's not that hard to figure out Sev's big secret (and was a bit annoyed at Maren for being angry he kept her in the dark because logically who would trust this secret to anyone) It's a close third pov so we get to know Maren well and Sev to a lesser extent. Kaia we mostly only know through Maren's eyes.

The action is good though the world building has a bit of a weak point in Neve and what she does because if she's the only one who can do so then how did the emperor manage all these years (or maybe it's less years than I think) Sev and Maren are both very interesting characters and Maren is actually bi which I'm sure will play out more in book two.

While it does wrap up all the plot points set forth in the first book, it does end on a cliffhanger which annoyed me because they always do. That said I would read the next book (and would have done so without the cliffhanger)

Wowzers! Why did I wait so long to read this book? It won a Bisexual Book Award for Speculative Fiction in 2019

The best set up for continuation I have ever read. It was immersive and had Dragons!!

That word needs to be capitalized. Because ya know… DRAGONS! I love them. The lovable mythical creatures that have so many characteristics and that we booknerds identify with the most.

Maren was a very interesting character and I absolutely loved her characterization. Welles absolutely killed it with Maren’s growth and I can’t wait to see what happens in the second book… Which is already out because I am a perpetual procrastinator…:D

I was unable to read this book due to file issues. I’m also unable to submit that I will not be giving feedback, because the option isn’t available.

3.5 Stars

I love dragons so that was the biggest draw for me regarding this book. Some of the main plot ended up being a bit forgettable for me but otherwise it was a good read. It was also nice to see a strong and resilient female protagonist. I am likely to continue with the series at some point.

I received an eARC via netgalley and the publisher; all opinions are my own.

An immersive fantasy involving dragons! (And who doesn’t love dragons?) Maren has let her life and plans revolve around her girlfriend Kaia. She sees Kaia as the stronger, more vibrant of the two of them. But when Kaia is taken away by the emperor’s prophets, Maren takes it upon herself to rescue her—suddenly she has no one else to rely upon. My favorite aspect of this book is how Maren learns to trust in her own strengths and abilities. I also appreciated the bi representation (though I’m not 100% sure how I felt about the love triangle setup—or the idea that’s hinted at that Maren could possibly end up with both of them? I guess I will have to see how things come together in the next book). Overall, I would say this book felt a bit like setup, but I really enjoyed the worldbuilding and learning about the way that Maren is connected to the dragons. I was also a fan of Sev and his passion for rescuing the dragons from the emperor’s harsh treatment. I’m eager to see what the next book has in store!

I read “sapphic” and “dragons” and immediately picked it up. It was an interesting concept, and while I do believe it started out strong (like many YA fantasy books do) I found myself not really connecting with the plot later on. The characters, however, I fell head over heels with. When I first read the blurb, I pictured a damsel in distress being saved by her knight in shining armor, and the fact that the author turned that trope around made me really enjoy this book.

What sold me to choose this was dragons, but sadly I did not connect with this book. I am not a fan of love triangle tropes and this really left me feeling that way. I was glad there was so much diversity in one book, but ultimately it didn't work out for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the advance review copy.

I have some issues with the book, sure, but let's celebrate the fact that LGBTQ characters aren't inherently suppressed in this society! Plus, there are dragons! And a Sapphic romance! I'll take all of it.

Review: Entertaining YA — I am getting too old for this genre – general fantasy with lesbian YA 🙂 Downloaded from Netgalley — free simple review.

On one hand, there's enough about Shatter the Sky to finish reading it. On the other hand, I am not sure it is worth investing my time in the inevitable sequel. I love that it is inclusive and diverse and gay but it is very much a standard fantasy fare -- the plot is rote, the world is barely built, the antagonist one-note and dull. Wells could grow into more mature plots and characterization but I just don't think I want to spend the time and pages.

Shatter the Sky by Rebecca Kim Wells surprised me with its immense world building and strong characters!
Maren and Kaia have a good relationship and Kaia wants to travel and explore when she’s old enough to. Maren plans on traveling with her. Plans change when Kaia is taken as a seer to possibly be a dragon trainer. Maren decides to leave too by telling her parents that she needs to be out on her own and independent. She’s not completely honest with them. She’s planning on rescuing Kaia. She heads to the dragon fortress and asks and then manipulates her estranged uncle for a job. She becomes the new food taster. Maren is noticed by the Aromatory, Neve, who raises baby dragons until they bond with their lords. Neve uses scents to train and appreciates Maren’s ability to pick up scents that most people can’t detect. While working, Maren meets Sev, who seems friendly but with a hidden story of his own. Things progress and Maren and Sev find each other running away to escape capture and probably death. They decide to help each other and end up discovering so much more about the empire than they ever could have guessed! The ending left me worried about the characters and their safety and I’m looking forward to the sequel, Storm the Sky. A fantasy adventure that will take you for a ride, 5 stars!

Shatter the Sky follows Maren, a young woman who must get herself a dragon so she can retrieve her girlfriend from the secret society that abducted her.

First off, I'm always happy to read wlw SFF, and that's primarily the reason why I requested this title. Add dragons to that mix and I'm instantly hooked. That being said, as exciting as the premise was, the overall execution was a little lackluster. Maren spends a lot of time with other characters, which is understandable, but this means that the romance didn't get as much attention as I would've liked. The pacing was also inconsistent, fast then slow then repeat, and some of the foreshadowing was too on the nose for my tastes.

I was a little frustrated by the fact that Maren developed a somewhat romantic relationship with someone else while she's training to save her girlfriend. I don't mind that she's bisexual or that she shows attraction to men as well as women, but I do mind the sense of infidelity at play. Bisexuals so often get stereotyped as flirtatious cheaters so I am tired of seeing this in media.

Still, I liked the overall concept of this story and the worldbuilding, even if it felt a little too much like a YA debut at times. I look forward to reading the next book, especially because this one ends on a cliffhanger!

This is a gloriously fresh take on dragons and magic and oppression. Maren's journey is a familiar one, but every twist that Wells has added in here makes it surprising and delightful. It also has quite possibly some of the most interesting and unique forms of magic I've ever encountered - including a people whose songs connect them to the land and each other, and an entire dragon training division that is devised on oils and chemistry.

I came here for the story of a bisexual girl who sets off to steal a dragon and bring back her girlfriend, and what I got blew my expectations out of the water. This is an amazing debut and a start to what I'm sure will be a fantastic series.

This book had a lot going for it that drew me in from the summary, but the execution of some of these things did fall a little short from what I expected. Needless to say, it was a decent read. The passion Maren had for reaching her goals and saving her girlfriend was well done and made them memorable. The world itself was really intriguing to me and I must say, gave me many ideas and expectations of this world that more or less did come true. Much of the rest of the story, however, was a bit too cliche for me at times and it took me a long time to read it; I'll admit that much. I also did forget a couple of events that happened in the past and had to go back and skim to make sure my interpretations of certain actions were correct. Overall, a decent read if you are into young adult novels where one will do whatever it takes to save the person they love. I mean, c'mon, who doesn't love dragons and ladies?

This title was archived and I missed the download. As a result of this, I won't be able to review it.

This book was even better than I expected. It was very obviously a debut - there were some technical problems, and at times, the connections between points in the story and some of the characters felt weak - but the emotion and worldbuilding made up for all of that.

Shatter the Sky is the story of a girl, her dragon, and a mission to save her girlfriend. Honestly, does it get better than that? Maren is such an incredible character who feels everything so deeply. She is smart, determined, strong, and loving, and while the reader can experience her fear for Kaia, you someone know she is a mighty enough person to overcome it.

I don't want to speak on the rep in this book too much, as I am a cishet white lady, but it was so refreshing to read a book with a QPOC MC that was natural. This book didn't have a giant neon sign hanging over it that said, "YES EXCUSE ME I AM HERE TO GET ATTENTION FOR TACKLING REP APPROPRIATELY." These characters just WERE, and I would like to think that's the point.

Going forward, I would like to see Wells grow beyond a pretty typical fantasy story. She has all the building blocks for something masterful, and I completely believe her future works will do nothing but get better.

I thoroughly enjoyed this new adult story about doing whatever it takes to save the one you love. One of the most exciting aspects of this story is that the main character's primary motivation is love, and yet this does not make her weak or stupid, but rather brave and harrowing. Give me dragons and an exciting journey to save the ones you love any day, especially if it's written as well as Shatter the Sky.

When Maren's girlfriend Kaia is taken by the Aurati to join their evil ranks, Maren decides to save her girlfriend the only way she knows how—by infiltrating the emperor's dragon fortress, stealing a dragon, and then storming the Aurati stronghold. It's impossible, but Maren is determined to be reunited with her love.

This is a story that I probably would have adored 4-5 years ago.

Dragons. High stakes. Rebellion. A bisexual heroine in a fantasy world where queerness is accepted and normal.

And yet.

Maren has absolutely no personality beyond "I must save my girlfriend!" Absolutely none. Which made me roll my eyes at everything else that happened to her, because it just felt like she was going through the motions of the plot—and is suddenly good at everything she does.

She has an amazing sense of smell. Somehow learns enough of what the Aromatory does (after that women dedicated her life to her work) in like, a month to recreate vials and potions well enough to train dragons—and oh, learns enough to be able to control dragons and know what is best for them. Everyone she meets wants to flirt with her or kiss her (for the most part, but it happened enough that I rolled my eyes so hard I felt like they were going to fall out of my head), and she is weirdly attracted to Sev for no real reason I can see? I dunno. Plus, in a turn that should surprise no one, in a leap of really blessed logic, this Mary Sue magically deduces (view spoiler)

None of the other characters were developed enough to really pay attention to. The only ones I found partially interesting where the Aromatory and the SPOILER, but they had such a small role in the entire book.

As for the rest of the story. I just. I don't know.

I wanted to love the world-building, but it felt all over the place and contradictory at times. Maren's understanding of the world waffled between ignorant little mountain girl to all-knowing savant, and it complicated the world-building and how everything worked.

Plus, her attitude towards the rebels (of course there are rebels and of course Maren meets them), is, "OMG you people are such phonies! You only want dragons for your own selfish reasons", hypocritically ignoring the fact that 1) she just met them 10 minutes ago and 2) for the past 2/3 of the book she too had been trying to acquire a dragon for her own selfish reasons—chiefly, rescue her girlfriend.

So. Things I appreciated:

1. Super queer world.
2. People of color prominently featured, even if the cover feels lacking
3. Dragons

Things I really did not like at all:

1. Bland, Mary Sue MC
2. Bland, generic plot (but with dragons)
3. Bland, half-assed love triangle

This is not a bad book, but it was definitely one that I should have DNF'd 50 pages in. But I didn't, and while things perked up around page 100 (when Maren finally finagles her way in as the Aromatory's apprentice), things devolved considerably once she leaves the dragon fortress.

However, my experience isn't one-size-fits-all.

This might be the book for you (did I mention there were bisexuals and dragons??).

It just wasn't the book for me.

I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.