Unfortunately, I found this novel to be very boring and slightly underwritten. I nearly put this down several times but managed to push through by skimming the last few chapters.

On the brighter side I did appreciate the depiction of dyslexia and found it very relatable as something with autism.

The world created by the author, strong female characters, earthwalkers, a bit of who dunnit mixed with fantasy.

I cannot believe I put off reading this book for so long! I was apprehensive about it for so long and I have missed out big time. This book was an absolute joy from start to finish. Following Jiara's story from a princess to queen of a foreign dignitary was just wonderful. Her care for the new land and its customs played such a massive part in my love for her. A young girl of 17 who struggles with reading and writing moving away to solve her sisters murder and has to learn an entire new language. It was simply a wonderful book and i devoured it

While I do feel like I outgrew YA fantasy but this one was a light read and such an immersive read. My only complaint would be that the suspect was easy to predict and the story towards the end felt rushed.

The Dragonbird in the Fern offers exciting characters in a fantastic world on a thrilling quest.

I found Jiara very inspiring. I could empathize with her struggles with dyslexia and went trough all the ups and downs, eager to find out how the story ends.

Great YA fantasy novel! Strong recommendation! I can’t wait to read more from Laura Rueckert.

This book was a blast; I couldn't put it down! While it seems like a standalone, the last chapter neatly ties up the story, leaving room for more exploration in the captivating world Rueckert crafted. I can already imagine another tale from a different character's perspective. Despite rounding up my rating to 3 stars, acknowledging it as a debut with room for improvement, the book was a solid start.

Following the untimely death of her sister, Scilla Princess Jiara of Azzaria is betrothed and wed to the neighbouring King of Farnskag - her country's allies. But there is a problem: she hasn't trained for a life of politics and diplomacy, she doesn't speak the language and, due to dyslexia, cannot read. She relies heavily on the court translator until a translation error puts her life in danger and forces Jiara to take her learning into her own hands. Meanwhile she is also dealing with the unquiet ghost of her sister demanding justice Eventually Jiara uncovers the killer, along wth treasonous plots against her new kingdom. Will the Watchers - guardians of Farnskag - be able to save her before it is too late?

This was a fun read with lots of strong worldbuilding in it. I enjoyed the mythology of the Watchers and the two different cultures within the story. Jiara did seem at times to be a bit of a "Mary-Sue" type character, being the one to unearth plots and discover key things otherwise hidden to the locals, but as this is a YA novel this was not exactly a bad thing. As the main character was 17 and her husband older, there was a interesting tangent relating to consent and the age of majority which was refreshing.

Overall, this was an enjoyable fantasy with believable worlds and mythologies. 4 stars

~ Many thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review~

Thanks to NetGalley and publishers for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

I don't remember why I request it when it was published but I recommend it if you like YA fantasy, stand alone with a story that hooked you since the begining.

I quite enjoyed this book, it swirled me in the story from the start as I picked it up. Loved how it mixed romance, fantasy and thrill not knowing what will happen next.

I was following every word, sentence to figure out who was responsible for her sister death.

Really recommend the book to fantasy/romance lovels

Enjoyable read. Loved the dyslexia representation in this book. Big fan of ghost element.

All in all an enjoyable read

Unfortunately after multiple attempts at reading this book, I simply couldn't get on with the writing style. I tried so hard as I loved the synopsis, and even bought the audiobook to see if I would get on better with that, and sadly even that didn't help. I wish the author well and hope that others enjoyed it more.

I will not be giving feedback on this book as I couldn’t really get into it but I think others may enjoy it.

This book was fun to read and I couldn’t put it down. I don’t know if it’s a standalone but the last chapter wrapped up the story. There’s still much to explore in the world Rueckert created. I can easily imagine another story told from a different character’s pov. This is an incredible debut by YA author Laura Reuckert.

I don't think this book is for me. I stopped halfway through. It's good, I'm just not digging the YA vibe. I knew it was YA going into it, but I guess I'm just not a big reader of YA like I used to be. I will still recommend this book and our library has purchased a copy.

I couldn't put this down!
I love a vengeful main character. going after and searching for her sister's murderer is where we meet princess Jiara. The ghosts in the story played a significant part in the development of the plot and add a unique aspect.
The characters are easy to like, the story is faced-paced...you would get bored. And if you are looking for a great YA fantasy but don't want to commit to a full-on series, this is your book!

I did not expect A Dragonbird in the Fern to enchant me with its gripping plot and loveable characters.

When I read the synopsis, it seemed to me that it would be like the usual fantasy books I have read. It has similar tropes, but the story is distinct and unique, which sets it apart from other books. For one, the murder mystery aspect was one of the things that kept me flipping the pages, curious to know more. It also involved ghosts!

Second, Jiara deserved to be the main character. She had to dance around the court intrigues while also struggling with reading and learning because of her dyslexia. Her bravery and determination made me adore her all the more.

Third, the relationship between Jiara and Raffa was something I hope would appear more in young adult books. It was beautiful in its innocence. The way they care for and support each other, I could not get enough of their scenes together!

And fourth was the language difference. I saw moments where it made me realize the importance of language in our lives. There were moments of the characters lost in translation and strumbled to learn the language. The language learning process was one of the things I liked about this book.

Overall, A Dragonbird in the Fern was a great YA fantasy book filled with mystery, cuteness from Jiara and Raffa, and paranormal events. If you are looking for an easy and fantastic next read to devour, I suggest you try this one!

Thanks, NetGalley and the publisher for the free e-ARC! Here comes my sincere thoughts on this book;

4,5/5
Strongly recommended if you like reading about;
Murder mysteries
Royal families
Tricky politics
Paranormal events
Language learning processes
True love


First of all, I love how our main character has difficulties with reading and learning. We need more representations of these kinds of characters who have different strengths.

Secondly, as a translator, I love reading about the language learning process, translators, lost in translation, the importance of a reliable translator, etc. So this book amazed me with how important language takes place in it.

Also, the murder mystery side of the plot was just *chef's kiss* it keeps me on the edge of my seat yet I have some issues about Scilla (aka the freaky ghost sister) but for just being in safe I'll write them under spoiler title <spoiler> I think if we could read Scilla's POV and see how she becomes more and more unreasonable from her mouth it would be so much more tense and captivating. And I was expecting her to kill her murderer because she was already killed her beloved sister already yet when they found out who was the murderer she just scratched him and 'found peace' frankly it didn't sit right with me </spoiler>

After all, I love it so much and I'm pretty angry at myself for waiting for that much to read it!

First thanks to netgalley and the publisher for an arc of this book.

Princess Jiara's older sister have been murdered. Now Scilla ghost is doomed to walk their city until her murderer is brought to justice. The kingdom is murning their lost princess but this betrothed is arriving in the kingdom and his now asking for Jiara's hand instead for the alliance of both their country. Jiara is really stress about this. Moving to a different kingdom, but also she doesn't understand their language. With her dyslexia she struggles to learn. But when she learn that her sister assassin is in this country, she knows that if she marries the king, she could hunt him down and brought him to justice so her sister rest in peace.

This book wasn't something I would normally pick up. Though I actually really enjoyed reading it!

I love the representation this book has for dyslexia, which is something we unfortunately don't see often. This added such an important depth to the development of the story and Jiara.

The pacing of this book also held me, which I loved. I hate when books drag, so I was excited that this one kept me on my toes.

Initial Thoughts
I was super excited to be chosen for this tour. I’ve been eying this book for a while and was thrilled when I received a copy in the mail. I’m obsessed with the cover and I adore the arranged marriage trope.

Some Things I Liked
The arranged marriage trope. I love it and I feel like it’s entirely underused. Every book should use it. No, that’s crazy, but it was really well done here.
Murder mystery. I love a murder mystery and I love to puzzle out a crime. I enjoyed the political intrigue as well as the idea of solving the actual crime. For a standalone story, I found the world building and setting to be rich and I’d really like to read more set here.
Darker themes. This story is YA but the elements of the story are a bit dark in nature. I also really appreciated that. So many of the YA novels I’ve read gloss over reality and I enjoyed the realness here.
Dyslexia representation. I loved that the author included a representation not often seen in literature in this book. Again, I think this just added to the realism and gave a richness to the main character that I strongly connected with.

Series Value
I really enjoyed Jiara’s POV. I think this story is pretty much concluded but I’d enjoy revisiting this world as well as reading more from Laura Rueckert.

Final Thoughts
I loved this book. I read it all in one sitting and am so glad I applied to be on this tour. Definitely add it to your TBRs for August 2021.

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