Centuries ago dragons ruled until humans betrayed them, stole their magic, and banished them to a dying world. Today the dragons are worshiped as gods by the humans. But the dragons remember the betrayal and desperately want to return home. Everen is the last male dragon and destined to save the dragons. He escapes through the veil between the worlds and finds himself bonded to Arcady, a human thief. Everen knows he must complete the bond to tear the veil open and free the dragons but he also knows thousands of humans will die in the process. What will his decision be?

The beginning of this book was a bit slow. There was a lot of world, magic, and character building. It didn't really pick up until we met Larkin in my opinion. Although the tension between Arcady and Everen was palpable the whole time, despite the distrust and hatred brewing on the surface. I loved all the characters and they were very well fleshed out. One problem I had was sometimes I struggled keeping things straight. As the author used their own terminology for some things I think a glossary would have been nice. That all being said, I did enjoy the characters and the story. Cannot wait to see what happens next.

Rating 3.5 stars

I'll be honest, I struggled to get in to this at first because of the strange terminology without any sort of key or explanation for it. But once it got going I loved it! I really loved the representation going on in the book regarding pronouns and not making assumptions just based on gender. I thoroughly enjoyed this and am very excited for the next book to see what is going to happen next.

First, thank you so much for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Unfortunately, this book wasn't for me.
The writing style made the reading experience like I was wrestling with it and made it really hard to read. Combined with the gender fluidity pronouns (make no mistake, I love when there is diversity in a book!) made it even harder for me to concentrate on the story and I had to go over some paragraphs a few times.
The new words and terms that are used also didn't have much of an explanation, and you had to figure it out as you go.
All this wrapped up prevented me to connect with the characters and the story.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read one of my most anticipated reads of the year!

This is an incredibly queer fantasy unlike anything I have read before. The plot moves at breakneck pace but it was the characters that kept me hooked. Arcady is everything I love in a protagonist—witty, wonderfully chaotic, and a true survivor. But I loved all the side characters that drove the story home as well. Their development, which allows them to grow into full-realized, complex characters, perfectly aligns with the book’s plot and the conclusion already has me begging for the next installment.

For fans of the wonderful queerness and otherworldly dragons of the ‘A Chorus of Dragons’ series, Dragonfall is a book (and series) that you will not want to miss.

Dragons were formerly deceived by humans, who took their magic and exiled them to a dying world. Their descendants still revere dragons as gods hundreds of years later. The gods, however, do not pardon because they remember.

Arcady, a thief, ekes out a living on Vatra's streets. He, the most despised person in Lumet history, snatches a potent artefact from of the Plaguebringer's bones out of desperation. Only Arcady is aware that the artefact's enchantment offers the key to a chance for vengeance as well as a new life among the aristocrats at court.

Everen, the final male dragon prophesied to save his people, is connected to by the magic, which drags him through the Veil. Everen, who has assumed the identity of a human, discovers that all it will take for him to realise his destiny and reclaim his actual strength and form is to persuade one small thief to bond with him entirely (body, mind, and soul), after which he must kill them.

Tropes:
• Enemy to Lover
• Supposed to kill but in love.

My thoughts: Intially, I thought that the book is going to be a boring read because early chapters are full of world information that could have been written better. But middle of the book just glued me. So, it takes time to cook a good story but is delicious in the end. Writing style is unique. Though sometimes it streched a little bit but I enjoyed it more or less. The book mostly uses two point of views. The romance part is cute and adorable. The magic system could have been explained little bit more properly. The plotline is unique. The language is easy and conversational. Overall, it's a good read but had more potential.

Thank you Netgalley for providing this ARC

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for offering this book to me as an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A journey through a world of banished dragons and gods, fulfilled and pending prophecies, great heists, and magic. Follow a pair of reluctant bonded souls on their journey to their fated destinies.

A dragon attempts to bring his kind home from a dying world. A thief aims to study at university and clear the name of an innocent party framed for the deaths of thousands. An unlikely alliance is created to restore their magical abilities to their full potential.

Queer enemies to lovers, dragons, and magic. What's not to love?

"Maybe it was time to admit that sharing myself, even the parts I thought were ugly, dark, and broken, wasn't going to send everyone off running."

"I was a good thief, but I still did not like being reminded I was not always a good person."

I would like to thank @NetGalley and @dawbooks for the opportunity to review this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

🐉

Dragon and heist lovers, UNITE! You're gonna love this one!

Bonus: an ennemies to lovers to ennemies kinda forbidden love.

What you get? Dual narration with occasional third character chiming in. One of the MC is a dragon and narrates his point of view in the second person. The other ones are first POVs. You get non binary representation in general and with the main character and it's so fluid!

To summarize, magic was once share by dragons to the humans. The greed pushed the humans to steal more magic and eliminate most of the dragons. The remaining dragons hid in another dimension waiting for their return. Meanwhile, centuries later, humans celebrate dragons as gods. Everen is the last male dragon and is designated to travel back to the human realm to find the person that will help him break the curse and free the dragons. He will find that person in a group of underground thieves. Together, they will pull a heist to retrieve an ancient relic.

Ugh Dragons… freaking love them and LOVE dragon books! This deserves 1000/5 stars for me because I couldn’t get enough!

A queer, enemies-to-lovers tale...with DRAGONS?! Yes! And then include a heist as well? A very enjoyable read. Also, how can anyone say no to dragons??? Definitely getting this for our collection.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Daw in exchange for my honest opinion.

Genre: Fantasy, Fantasy Heist, High Fantasy, LGBTQ Fantasy
Gore Level: Low
Romantic Elements: Low (kissing)
Representation: Lots. Consistently uses "their, they, them, and any" through the story.

The first time I started the book, I was so thunderstruck by the dragon calling me, the reader, "YOU", I paused before the second chapter. Then in the second chapter the main character of Arcady didn't match what I look like so the "you" was throwing me off. And I took a break.

The second time I started the book, I was not able to get over the honorific capitalizations and it threw me off as I figured out if I had missed the beginning of a new sentence.

Third time was the charm. I got into it and read the entire thing at lightning speed.

I think it was hard to get into for me because it wasn't what I expected, and I had to become accustomed to several author choices—such at the second person-ish references and capitalizing pronouns sometimes and other times not. You must read the chapter titles to know who is speaking.

Now that I've born all my picky problems, let's get into the actual review.

I was fascinated with Everen as a dragon and how he viewed the world. Everything made sense that he saw life through a different lens. And as the only male dragon, I can only imagine the pressure he is under from the queen and his sister, the future queen. I was also interested to see his character arc. *Chef's kiss!* Ever since reading Pern, I've loved reading about dragons, and this one has a new twist.

Arcady is wounded from the death of her grandparents and the legacy left behind. She literally trusts no one because when she has, she's always burned. I feel like she's had an interesting arc here and am anxious to know where else she'll go in the future. I have a soft spot in my heart for scrappy, morally gray heroes.

The world building is stellar! There are multiple countries, different religious views, and casts within the the main society we are following in this book. There are moments when the characters discuss what it means to be male and what having a variety of choices is like when understanding yourself and sexuality. I also liked how we got to be in so many different places with characters: caves, woods, city center, monastery, ocean. In addition to all of this, the dragons also have a different take on history and their role. They also have a complex system, and I feel like we've only scratched the surface.

I feel like there is so much room for growth in this novel. It's fascinating on so many levels.

Even though I had a hard time getting into it, I'm only marking it down 1 star, and I'm definitely recommending it.

Happy reading!

Within the first few pages, I got the feeling that the writing style of this book was not going to be for me. I kept reading in hopes that I would be proven wrong, but the more I read, the more sure I was. I ended up DNFing at 38%.

You can tell reading this that the author really knows the world, its history and geography, and how the magic system works. Unfortunately, the explanations (in the instances where there were even any given) rarely succeeded in transferring that knowledge to me. A whole speech was dedicated to explaining the non-binary/genderfluid society, which was about the only thing I didn't actually need explained. By that point in the book, I felt I should have understood how the magic worked, but I was more confused than I had been at the beginning. However, there was a prevailing feeling that this could be a real world somewhere—I wish the author had managed to make sense of it for me.

The writing style was the biggest hang up for me. It was very straightforward with little to no exploration of anything beyond surface level. Arcady and/or Everen go there and do this and feel mad/annoyed/angry about it, and then we move on. It didn't work to get me to care about the characters or the plot. I liked the use of first and second person POVs, but even with that Arcady and Everen's voices were too similar, and I struggled to remember whose chapter I was reading. This is definitely a preference thing. I know some people prefer this style of writing, so your mileage may vary.

This one wasn't for me, but there are tons of people who loved it, so don't just take my word for it. It very well could be that some of my confusion and issues with the worldbuilding may have become clear if I had continued on. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough of a connection with the characters or plot to find out.

Dragonfall may be for you if you like any of the following:
-heists (I didn't get to that part, but it seems to be the direction it was going)
-forced proximity romance
-queernorm societies
-prophecies
-dragons as gods

Thanks to NetGalley and DAW for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

With the first page I knew that I will fall in love with this book. It is unpredictable in the best sense possible, beautifully written and the style is just… something else.

Multiple POV, but not overwhelming. Giving you more insights to one full story in different emotional aspects.

The magical world is just stunning, the idea is something I’ve never read before but also the way it was given life is just brilliant.

Everen and Arcady are two characters that I will not forget for a long time.

Dragonfall is a fantastic fantasy novel that is unique and whole developed. While there was an initial confusion in the beginning, with a lot of worldbuilding and terminology thrown at you, it eventually softens out and becomes more manageable. There is a lot to enjoy in this first installment and I will def be checking out more of this author in the future!

Everen, the last male dragon who is prophesized to save his kind, finds himself in human form on the other side of the Veil and he must fulfill his destiny to change his form back and get his true power. But when his destiny becomes intertwined with a little thief things become desperate, he must earn the trust of the thief to get the artifact and that is no easy task.
This is a good book, lots of action and suspense. Those who grew up with other dragon series will find this a new and refreshing series for the more adventurous of readers.

After seeing the stunning cover on this one, I just knew I had to read this book. I mean... look at it. It's gorgeous. Then I read the synopsis and was even more excited. Dragons and a queer enemies to lovers romance? It seemed like the book was written specifically for me. lol. Unfortunately, the execution of the story faltered a bit too much for me to love this one.

One of the main problems was the world-building. It was a mess. The first 15% of the book was nothing but info dumps. I can get behind a good info dump, though, if the stuff I'm learning is fun to read. The info dumps in this book felt like a boring lecture that went completely over my head. None of it was super clear, but I was willing to give the author a chance to make it better as the book went on. They didn't. So much about the magic and world-building felt contradictory or nonsensical, especially the bond between Arcady and Everen. It seemed to do whatever the plot needed at the time with little real explanation. I did enjoy learning about the history of the civilization, though, and I wish there had been a bigger focus on those aspects of the world-building. The premise of it all was fascinating. It just didn't pay off in the story in a way I found satisfying.

The most positive thing about the world-building was its queer normative focus. It had a cool take on gender that I enjoyed learning about. The language system also centered sign language as the trade language used by different cultures. Many of the characters were hearing impaired, and I liked how the entire society accommodated those with disabilities. I don't think I've ever read anything else quite like it, and I appreciated the unique setup of those aspects of this world.

My favorite thing about the book was the characters. Once the story switched out of lecture mode and started focusing on them, I enjoyed it so much more. Everen was a fallen dragon prince who hated humans for what they'd done to his people. I had a lot of fun just watching him learn how to be human. He was arrogant and believed himself to be better than humans. He resented being bound to one, and I loved how he slowly learned to value human life, which led to a massive internal conflict of whether he could put his people's welfare ahead of the existence of humanity. Arcady was a thief who had lost almost everyone they cared about in life. They were on a mission to make something of themself and prove their family's dark past wasn't true. Along the way, they got accidentally bound to Everen. They slowly grew closer as Arcady taught Everen how to be a thief in order to pull off a great heist that will change their life. I loved their slow burn relationship and how they developed a true friendship over the course of their time together.

The plot was a bit hit or miss. It had some exciting moments, but it definitely dragged and meandered at points, especially as Everen was learning to be a thief. Some of the planning steps of the heist seemed forced and somewhat pointless. For example, the need for the card game and attempting to get close to the mark at church made no sense at all when they were planning to break into the person's house beforehand anyway. In general, I thought the heist part of the plot was pretty boring, which is odd because I usually enjoy heist stories. I did like the opportunities it created for character interaction, though. So, I didn't hate it even though I wasn't super invested in the heist story itself. Finally, the ending was exciting despite it being mired in confusing world-building like the rest of the book. Things definitely went out on a high note, and I'm curious to see what a sequel could bring.

Overall, I didn't love this book as much as I thought I would. The info-dumps, fairly boring plot heist, and confusing world-building really put a damper on things. However, I did love the characters and had fun getting to know them and watching their relationship grow. So, I'll probably pick up the sequel just so I can spend some more time with them. Therefore, I rate this book 3.25 out of 5 stars.

Thanks to #Netgalley and #DawBooks for access to an ARC for an honest review.

Writing Style: 7/10
The book is told in mostly 3 POVs in a style I thought was different and fun. Everen’s POV is addressing Arcady in second person, while Arcady’s is told in first person. The third main POV is Sorin, an assassin, who at first seems outside of the main plotline and I was curious to see how it would connect with it.

Characters: 8/10
I enjoyed the characters a lot, especially the interplay between the non-binary nature of Arcady and Everen’s perspective on the world as the only male dragon. Their conversations and even the world-building included a lot of commentary around gender roles & all the societal expectations that come with that. I also adored Everen’s characterization, I’m a big fan of the shape-shifting style dragons, which I think was executed well here.

World-Building: 7/10
Where I had some issues is the world-building and magic system; I wish it was clearer in some ways as I had various questions kind of niggling at me throughout but not enough to affect my enjoyment.

Themes: 9/10
One aspect I was fascinated with was the religion. Humans in the past exiled the dragons but now they worship them, forgetting their past and having no clue that dragons remember! The way this religion interacts with the seedy underbelly of selling dragon artifacts, how that affects the economy & the connection between the two worlds was one of my favorite parts of the story!

Plot: 9/10
What kept me turning the pages most was the plot. Arcady and Everen had to build a very fragile trust & learn about each-other’s magic through a series of heists and cons. It almost felt like a flushed out training montage to me and I loved it.

I encourage you to pick up this book if anything I said tickles your fancy! Pub date is May 2nd.

Overall Rating - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Spice - 🌶️
World Building - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Character Development - ⭐⭐⭐
Trigger/Content Warnings - plague, murder/death

Overall Thoughts; I like it. I'm very interested to see what the next book will bring. I feel like this book did a LOT of setting up the world and characters, as it needs to, but especially in the beginning it was really hard to get into. Once I got into it I was really invested, but yeah, it's hard to make the push. I definitely think this is a great fantasy read though, overall.

Plot; I really like the plot of this. It's a more original take on a dragon story, it has a very clear beginning middle and end, and it's flows nicely (after part one). The only thing I think was lacking was the setup. Them meeting was interesting, but the part between the first and second meeting was needlessly long. That's probably my only complaint about it, although it is also my biggest compliaint.

Characters; I like them. The side characters are endearing, and there's history and growth between them and the main characters. They all are very individual, and they're very different. I don't think there's a terrible amount of growth, mostly just a constant state of should I or shouldn't I, but I think because of the multiple povs and how fast the plot progresses (after part one) it works. I definitely think they're memorable.

Romance; The romance was... Weird? I think it was just not delved into as much as I wanted it to be, maybe? It just felt like there was two points where it was only there to move the plot forward, and everything else was an after thought. I wouldn't say this is a romance anyways, so it's not that detrimental, but I kind of wish it had been looked at more. I think it could have made for a deeper build/tear down for the characters, and I probably would have cared more about that portion, cause yeah I wanted them to be and have more.

Writing; I think the writing itself was fine. The multi pov is very obvious, even without the characters name in the chapter titles. Each character talks and thinks in their own specific ways, so it's not like you get lost in the chapter forgetting whos pov it is. The author also does a good job of setting up events and thoughts to make a frustrating type of miscommunication that can only be achieved by seeing both sides of the same situation, and it's done wonderfully. There's a few points that I find the writing a bit confusing, since there's a few times that it jumps back a little bit without telling you, but aside from that, great. A few curve balls that kind of came from nowhere, but it doesn't take away from the book.

Thank you Net Galley for sending me an ARC. I was not able to read it at the time but look forward to purchasing this book and reviewing it soon.

I normally love dual pov books. However, one of the povs in this is written in 2nd person which is something I’ve never been able to get into. Dragons are probably my favorite fantasy creature (in the top three for sure) but even that didn’t interest me enough. I wanted to like this so bad, especially considering everyone on bookstagram seems to love it. Just not for me. Oh well.

I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Dragonfall is a story of a dragon Everen who gets pulled in the mortal world by Arcady, a thief with magic because of a seal (something worn on neck). This is a world where Dragons are Gods but in the past those dragons were made to move to a distant world and dragons are trying to exact revenge.
This book is a little hard to follow for multiple reasons; heavy use of archaic words, very confusing storylines, all characters using similar words and voice tone making it difficult to understand the difference. It would have been really helpful if it came with footnotes regarding some things in the dragonfall world or even an appendix to explain characters and stuff. It has an interrupted ending and leaves you wanting more. It gets really interesting in the last 30% of it but till then it's a bit dragged.

After getting past all the other problems, the book doesn't seem bad. It has a good queer love angle and thriller story. Reminds me of Ocean's 8 with all the heisting. I would really love to see the second part of the book.
Reasons to read this book:
Humanized dragon
Magic
Queer enemy to lovers because the are forced to work together
Ocean's 8 level heist planning
Archaic words (if you like that kind of thing)

Just get really old styled for this and go for a consomme and old fashioned (virgin if you are not of age) and enter the magical world of dragons.