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.

Dragonfall is my first book written by Lam. It if the first book in a trilogy. In this story we have Everen, the last male dragon, and Arcady, a thief. The plot immediately takes off when Everen gets pulled down to land when Arcady’s spell bonds them. Humans and dragons don’t know the others exist. Humans think dragons are gods and died many years ago.

What actually happened is that humans stole magic from the dragons and forced them to live in an area above the veil. Dragons are able to shapeshift their features to mirror humans.

Everen’s mission is to “complete” the bond with Arcady, siphon her magic and create an opening in the veil so that dragons can once again rule the land. The only issue is his growing feelings for Arcady.

I really enjoyed the story building. The characters were memorable. The ending was good and definitely left you wanting a sequel.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC.

"It's easier to blame those you already fear."

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.

Short Review
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!


Extended Review
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.

I am excited that this is the start of a trilogy. I mean queer enemy to lovers WITH dragons! Can you ask for more
The world-building is great but it does take a little bit to get into the story- however i almost expect that with the start of a fantasy seriers.

3.5 stars rounded up.

This is one of those novels where the action only picks up a little after the midpoint. After that, it's a roller coaster ride.

This is also one of those novels where it took me around the 60% mark to actually understand the world building. For the longest time, I thought the Starveling and the Struck where the same thing. (They're not.) I didn't quite understand the magic system, and I'm the kind of person who 's absorbed in the fantasy genre 24/7, so this shouldn't have been confusing. People channel their magic through their seals? And if they use too much magic, they can turn into a zombie monster thing called a Starveling? Something like that.

At least the plot itself was easy enough to understand.

I'll start with what I liked about Dragonfall. I actually really liked that one of the MCs, Arcady, wasn't a cliched and tropey Chosen One. The other MC, Everen, was pretty much a Chosen One for his people, but at the end, he subverted his own fate, and honestly, I'm here for it.

The relationship and chemistry between Arcady and Everen, and the subsequent romantic buildup, was well done and felt very realistic. They were both great characters and it was great to read the stories from both POVs so you could understand both sides of the story and relationship. This was my first dragon shape shifter romance, and I won't lie, I'm hooked.

The last ~70% was great! There was so much action that it pretty much made up for the meandering plot in the first half of the novel. It kept me hooked that I'm down to read the sequel just to see what happens with Arcady and Everen.

So what didn't I like about Dragonfall?

I didn't like the writing style. It felt very stilted and stiff. The words didn't flow well on the page, so that might be why I didn't really understand the world building until the halfway mark. Everen's POV in particular was really formal and he barely used contractions, so that might be one of the reasons why I had such a hard time reading it. If the words flowed better and sentences didn't feel so stunted, I would've given this a 4 star rating. Usually I only take a few days to read a novel, but this one really dragged.

Secondly, I didn't like how the other POVs (that aren't Arcady and Everen) were written in third person. It was annoyingly jarring to go from first person to third person whenever one of these side characters showed up. Since the POV characters' names are written in the chapter name, why not just use first person throughout the novel? Idk. This is just a personal pet peeve of mine, so that this with a grain of salt.

Another reviewer mentioned the whole Gender Studies 101 crash course info dump that happened here and there. I was only confused about the honorifics (They vs. they), but it just felt really unnecessary, especially since this is a fantasy novel.

And the character reveal at the end... I didn't understand why Everen or any of the dragons couldn't sense that particular character. The novel made dragons out to be really strong when it came to magic, so this didn't really make sense to me. Idk.

Those are my biggest complaints, but other than that, I liked this novel and I'd definitely read the sequel.

Thank you to DAW and NetGalley for this arc.

Are you looking for a queer enemies to lovers, hidden identities fantasy romance featuring dragons, heists, and political machinations? This is the book for you! We are set up with 3 main POVs (though there are a couple other POV chapters sprinkled here and there): Arcady, a thief trying to scrounge up money to go to a school to hone his magical abilities, Everen, a dragon who accidentally sets in motion a prophecy that could rip the barrier between the dragon realm and the human one, and Sorin, a spy and assassin for a mysterious community leader. What I love about this book is that the reader is plopped into a world and given snippets of the society and cultural norms but it steers away from a ton of info dumping. Sure there are moments, but it is so well integrated that I never felt like I was being bombarded or that the story was bogged down by it. I also really liked the discussions and normalization of gender and gender expression and of sex workers in this book. One of the main characters, Arcady, is referred to mainly as just Arcady. I don’t remember Arcady having any pronouns? Except very technically in Everen’s POV where it is in second person written as if Everen is speaking to Arcady and saying “you” and I guess when other people are speaking to Arcady and saying “you” or “yours.” I also loved the integration of signing and that it felt a majority of people had basic sign language knowledge. I was totally hooked from the start and it helps that this is a relatively fast-moving and shorter book (less than 400 pages!). I think this will appeal to a lot of people as a slow burn enemies to lovers fantasy romance, but will also appeal to people who like a fantasy world with interesting politics and religion. This book could be a good transition from YA to Adult fantasy. I really enjoyed this one and can’t wait for book 2!

Overall I was quite disappointed about Lam's Dragonfall, and considering it was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. I mean, who could resist Adult SFF, a queernorm world with a non-binary main character it sounded like it was made for me.

But after a few chapters I realised it was going to be a struggle to finish it, and I did consider DNF'ing as it felt so young and the writing style didn't work for me. However, I have always enjoyed Lam's work so I thought it might get better.

I did enjoy both the world and the magic system and how it connected to the dragon tongue. I enjoyed reading and learning about the bond between our main characters. The plot felt a little all over the place and its one of the reasons why I do want to carry on with the series because I think book one felt like set up and hopefully more will come to light as we see more of the world and the books figure out what they want to be. a heist? A prophecy? Or maybe about forbidden romance? Probably, all of them or none.

I did enjoy the enemies to lovers aspect and it was one of the main reasons I was so excited to read this book. Yet I never felt the characters were fleshed out enough and didn't feel the tension between the two. This might again go back to the writing style which made me feel so disconnected.

Overall, although this won't be my favourite book of the year, Dragonfall is a book that has a lot to offer to the fantasy genre. It salvages some of the things that die-hard fantasy fans enjoy while bringing fresh new ideas to the genre. And I do think that Book Two might be able to salvage some of the aspects that I didn't enjoy this time around

3.5/5 ⭐️
I think this book will be good for anyone who enjoyed Priory of the Orange Tree or House of the Dragon (I listened to the score music while reading). You could tell the author put a lot of attention to detail for the worldbuilding, and I really appreciated that. It made the story feel more immersive and real, despite the magic and dragons. Also, they wrote a society that was completely non-binary. The citizens called each other they/them unless the person told them they preferred he/she. And I liked that for the character who was not from this society, they initially went by their gendered assumptions until taught otherwise. I liked that cause I’ve read books where a character somehow automatically knows only one person goes by they/them without being told or it being the base assumption in that society.
The writing style was interesting. I didn’t mind it, but I think it might turn some people off. For example, most of the POVs were written in the typical first person we are used to. But only one was written where they are writing to a particular person, so they used a lot of “yous.”
Overall, it was a very interesting read with a very rich world. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone that likes the slightly higher fantasy as found in Priory of the Orange Tree and House of the Dragon, but with a Six of Crows-esq heist.
Thank you to NetGalley & DAW Publishing for providing an advance reader copy for my honest review.

I made it about a third of the way through this book before deciding to give up. I don't like the writing style, it's more telling than showing. The plot is interesting, but I don't care about the characters.

(Goodreads)

I received this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I’m a huge fantasy & enemies to lovers fan, however I just couldn't get into Dragonfall. I tried to read it on two separate occasions, and I ended up DNF’ing it in the end.

As others with similar reviews have stated, it is not an awful book by any means, and I certainly saw the potential in it and can understand why some highly rated it. I just think it might be one of those books that are a hit or miss based on personal preference.

Sometimes when I read, I’ll lose interest as the book progresses, but I was extremely apprehensive about this book from the start. I was not very fond of the writing style and the pace felt a little slow, making it challenging for me to get invested in the characters and their story. For me, the rough start prevented me from paying attention to the world building enough to ever fully comprehend and appreciate what I was reading.

Maybe if I found it in myself to get through the whole book my opinion would have eventually changed, but I’m one of those people who have a limited attention span and find it hard to concentrate on books without being captivated from the start.

With that being said, if you have an opportunity to read the book, I say go for it! You may be one of the people who have a completely different experience than me.

This was an overall excellent read. Hitting all the right checkboxes for an epic fantasy without feeling too grim, Dragonfall has a rich history, stellar cast, and exciting plot. The book is definitely a set-up for the remainder of the trilogy, but I liked learning about the dragons and the humans and their tumultuous histories, and how the book's main characters navigate that legacy. A huge thank you to Astra Publishing for sending me an eArc of this novel in exchange for my thoughts!

I've fallen in love.

Lam's writing, worldbuilding and characters are amazing! It's queer with enemies to lovers and dragons. Do I need to explain more? No, I don't. I was hooked since the very first moment. It was a hell of a ride and I enjoyed every part of it.

I love a good dragon tale! And to get one from the dragon's POV was very fun!

I found this book to a very fun time. The worldbuilding was great and the pacing was very well planned out. I thought the characters were extremely compelling and had a great arc. Plus you can't go wrong with an enemies to lovers story. Great work L.R. Lam!

Thanks Netgalley!!

Great fantasy but unfortunately struggled to connect with the writing style and story. I would still recommend if you enjoy dragon centered fantasy. I can see talent, it just was not my cup of tea.

Thank you to Netgalley for the eARC of this book. I was very excited to be able to receive an arc of this book, however I had to DNF very early on in the book. The writing style was not for me and I had trouble connecting to any of the characters. I hope to try to finish in the future.