Unfortunately this one was a big miss for me. There were so many things in this book that I thing had potential and I liked the idea of the idea, but overall everything ended up being half baked and under explained.

Starting with the world itself. Never have a I read a book that started off with so many info dumps and yet feeling like I have no idea what the world is. I almost DNFed after the first few chapters because reading this book felt so confusing, but I persevered on. Once I got past those first few chapters I did fell less actively confused, but not because those things were explained and made sense. I think this book would have been better served to have focused on a few of the most relevant bits of the world and fully explaining those things while leaving some things as a mystery for future books, but instead that page time was used to just mention a lot of things and expand on none of them. I left this book feeling like I couldn't explain how most of the world works. Like there's a whole society of exiled dragons and yet I couldn't tell you what they were like at all. There's a dragon worshiping religion, but also they exiled them? Not really sure what the story there was. There was magic, but I have no idea how any of it works. And while I don't need every aspect of magic to be laid out like a user's manual, I would have expected some level of expalanation at all about the bond between Everen and Arcady as that was a pretty pivotal part of the story.

Speaking of the story, this book could not figure out what the plot wanted to be. Was this book about fulfilling a prophecy? Was it about Arcady's revenge desires? These were the two things that were introduced in the two POVs initially but Everen especially seemed to go off script pretty quickly and it didn't seem like he was doing anything to further his goals. And then the plot pivoted to a minimally prepared for heist plot? And while the heist did tie back to a step in Arcady's goal to get into the university, it still very much read like a side quest. And you can't just do a side quest plot in the first book of a series. You have to wait until readers are entrenched in the world and characters to pull that off.

The writing overall was fine. I found it pretty quick to read through, however I did have an issue with how Everen's POV was done. He was written in first person but where he was telling the story to Arcady. Except this wasn't established until the last chapter so I didn't know this was supposed to be a letter or sorts to Arcady. This was okay at first when they hadn't met up in plot yet. But once they were together in plot they were together for most every scene at that point and so he just used "you" a lot in place of Arcady because she was in the scenes a lot. since it hadn't been explained this was a letter, and because honestly it didn't read like I would expect a letter would (too much of him just telling Arcady what she was doing, like hello she was there she knows) it just felt like I was reading poorly executed second person POV and I started to actively dislike reading Everen's POV as the book went on.

The last thing I want to touch on in this review was the romance. Or rather lack of romance. There is established physical attraction. And then that's it. That's the total sum of the romantic build up. When the first move was made between them it felt so completely out of nowhere and made no sense. And it didn't help that part of Evern's deal is that he was trying to manipulate Arcady into being close to her because of the bond and prophecy stuff. So that made the "romance" feel even worse with lack of actual build up.

Overall a book with some good ideas and a reveal at the end that almost blinded me into saying I was going to continue the series, but poorly executed and underexplained and unfortunately a disappointment for something I had high hopes for!

This book was a bit slow to get off the ground, with a distinct narrative voice that fits the style of the book. I am always down for a complex magic system based on dragons, which I loved in this book as well.

I also absolutely loved the LGBTQ representation, specifically the gender fluidity, and I'm excited to see even more representation in fantasy books this year!

Oh i love dragon and this made me happily jump when I saw the cover?! It’s so epic how the pretty words in fantasy books enthrall me and this is just one out of many. The mythologies behind the story and the realms described in thriving plots and fun narrative. Wnemies to lovers with dragon innit is such a combination I love! Such an interesting and thrilling read!

If you're looking for a book that gives you dragons, ancient curses, heists, and a sprinkle of enemies-to-lovers romance, then this book is for you! Lam takes readers directly into an age-old grudge between the banished dragons of Vere Celene and the humans who banished them and stole their magic. The main characters, Everen and Arcady, are brought together by a mysterious bond, sharing injuries and emotions across a golden thread tying them together.

I love soulmate/bond plots, especially when it extends to injuries and emotions. Neither of the characters can hide from the other, which escalates the tension between them and makes for some fun banter! The plot was exciting while still relatively straightforward to follow (as a college student preparing for finals, I appreciated this). I was engaged throughout the story and excited to pick it up again.

Also, one thing that tends to stand out to me in fantasy stories is the author's creativity in building the politics or culture of the region. L. R. Lam knocks this out of the park! Without setting aside pages for a massive info dump on the political system's hierarchy, Lam could articulate the pecking order and bring forth an exciting "royal" title in the Honorific. I loved this incorporation, and that it was such a cool small-detail way to distinguish the level of the character in society.

Overall, I would absolutely recommend this book! Can't wait for the release of the sequel!

This book was thoroughly original and had a fascinating concept, but it felt worn out about halfway through and overall fell flat for me. I really enjoyed how the author played with gender, and the slow burn romance was well-executed, but the book was about two pages too slow and draw out.

Unfortunately DNF at 20% just wasn't for me. I had high hopes for this book but I didnt really enjoy the writing style and how long it was taking to get into the story. There are so many information dumps that I found myself just skimming paragraphs and wanting more to happen. Disappointing as there were some lines that I loved but just a bit too confusing the lore for me.

Halfway in, I don't know why we're planning a heist and I don't really care. Clearly the writing didn't connect with me - not endeared to Everen or Arcady really? - but I have to give props to the author for two elements of world-building/story-telling that I haven't seen anywhere else.

First off, the story is told from multiple perspectives, with not only different characters, but different styles of POV - that is, first, second, and third person. Yes, second person, seeing the story through Everen's eyes, with the lens that he is telling it all to Arcady (who is referred to as "you" throughout these sections). It's neat, and definitely original, but I didn't feel it building toward anything special, beyond the novelty.

The other unique element is the care taken to craft a gender-neutral society (this may not be the most accurate term), and the effects this would have on language and etiquette conventions. I wish more of that care had gone into making Everen and Arcady generally endearing, but I appreciate the attention to detail, such as it is.

DNF at 50%

**Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC**

Many thanks to NetGalley, DAW and L.R. Lam for the chance to read and review this ARC.

This was middle of the road for me at 3/5 stars, but I am looking forward to book 2.

Once upon a time, humans took the dragons’ magic for themselves and banished them to another realm. Naturally. As humans do. Now dragons are revered as gods, and each human’s affinity to a certain type of magic is seen as a blessing from one of the great five dragons. The humans have forgotten how this tale went, but dragons surely haven’t. Long having searched for a way to return home, their hopes fall on Everen, the last male dragon. However, destiny has other plans, and tangles Everen’s path with thief Arcady. This thief has enough problems of their own, though, being the sole descendant of the most hated person in Lumet history, the Plaguebringer. On a mission to clear their family’s name, Arcady performs a ritual that accidentally draws Everen through the Veil and binds them together. In other words, this can only end well.

Let’s start with the good stuff.
- Gender-fluid society. Yes, it’s possible in a high fantasy setting! Take notes, folks.

- The premise is quite interesting. It relies on something entirely (and sadly) believable—that greed would cloud human judgement. But it also explores how stories are often embellished, through perspective, interpretation, and time’s own doing. Hopefully we’ll see more of this thread in future books.

- The magic system is driven by affinity and language, always a fascinating combo, and it takes a toll on its user. Depending on the kind and energy required, that will be hunger and fatigue. But too often that devolves into worse symptoms, and into a socioeconomic issue.

- I enjoyed the relationship dynamics between Arcady and their… frenemies, let’s say, and Everen’s with his family. This includes allusions to past relationships as well. Hopefully we’ll explore this further in book 2. On that note, it was interesting to see how the two main characters influenced each other’s arcs almost in the opposite direction.

- Lastly, I liked how the threads connected in the conclusion, though it didn’t feel entirely warranted or explained.

With that being said, there is no such thing as a perfect book, and I did have some issues with this one.

- Starting with the plot, which was tenuous and seemed to be more of a suggestion rather than actually something the characters influence and are influenced by. Mind you, I enjoy books that focus pretty evenly on plot and characters, but I didn’t connect enough with the main duo and the other two POVs enough to fall back on that when the plot threads were suspended.

- The characterization felt more like rough lines (broody hot dragon, jaded thief, brainwashed assassin) rather than people going through their fare share of hurdles. But the most jarring was how similar Everen’s (dragon) POV was to the humans’.

-The first part of the book was very confusing and also too slow. I don’t mind that the first book in a series takes a bit longer to establish the world (in fact, I enjoy the immersion), but this was done poorly here. I understand that part of the reason for the lack of dialogue was to create a sense of isolation, but that can be accomplished with dialogue and in a lot less pages. The worst part is that the world-building wasn’t very effective anyway, and could be reductive at times. (Certainly there are more than one kind of sweetspheres and saltspheres? Certainly dragon culture is vastly different, especially considering how long it’s been since their separation, regardless of how dragons manage to glean information from their scrying? And certainly we could use Everen’s perspective to our advantage here, highlighting those differences?)

-This book also suffers from wanting to do too much at once without striking a proper balance. Tying into that, it has one of the least prepared heists I’ve read to this day. For me, the romance is one of the culprits, but again this is entirely personal.

- Apart from that, there were some inconsistencies that were hard to ignore, like dragon reproduction (this is relevant because Everen is supposedly the last male dragon). Also, it’s a bit hard to understand why Arcady couldn’t have accomplished their goal in other ways when they can shapeshift so well. I won’t say more to avoid spoilers here.

Still, I’m looking forward to book 2. This series definitely has potential, and some of the issues I mentioned could be solved in future instalments.

Recommended audience:
- Intermediate fantasy readers. I don’t recommend this for beginners because some aspects are very much reliant on past experience with high fantasy stories set in medievalesque universes.
- Those looking for a queer take on said setting.
- Fans of romantasy, especially the kind with enemies-to-lovers and shapeshifter dragons.

I wasn’t sure about this book cause the first 30% was really dragging but once you hit that 30% omg

I loved so much this book. I just think the world building was a little bit tough and it might be putting people off.

The two main characters are amazing in their own different way.
I loved how they are supposed to be enemies but we know they are not
Also how tu e author managed to include also non binary character in a spectacular way *chef kiss

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

DNF @ 45%

I'm so sad. This was arguably my most anticipated read of the year, and I couldn't stop thinking about it after I saw the cover and read the blurb. Unfortunately, it didn't work for me. I found myself trying to force my way through it because I hate DNFing when I see promise in something, especially for ARCs.

I appreciated where it felt the author was trying to go, but so many aspects either fell flat or were bashed over the head. The worldbuilding felt really dull aside from the fact people require <spoilers>food</spoilers> to cast magic and people ask for pronouns before assuming gender. That's...sort of it? Everything else was super generic fantasy or just the same as our world but with magic, which is interesting it felt that way because lots of the prose is incredibly overwhelming with new vocabulary for this world.

In the end, I couldn't tell you the difference between dragon society/culture and human society/culture except one is dying more quickly than the other. I was really hoping having the POV of a dragon would bring some interesting, alien/outsider insight into it, but Everen's POV was so painful to read (this book made me realize I think I hate second person POV) I wanted to skip his chapters entirely. He was clearly curious about yet still disdainful towards humans, but his narration was *so* dry it was like reading a history textbook, and every chapter of his felt the same.

The biggest running question in my head was: "Why is Everen narrating this like he's reading it to Arcady even though they were there?" Wondering if some big event happened at the end that required Everen to retell the story kept me going for a while, but it wasn't enough curiosity to sustain my motivation. Both Arcady and Everen's actions felt predictable, and the general plot was really slow until near the point I DNF'd. It was about to turn into a heist, which doesn't interest me in the slightest.

Overall, I appreciate the ideas of fighting against gender stereotypes and the inherent corruption of power of the wealthy, but man oh man was this underwhelming.

This is a completely unique story featuring dragons and a NB/M enemies to lovers romance. The author has created a world where gender neutral language and gender diversity are the norm, as well as having a main NB character, which is so lovely to see. The prose is also so beautiful with lovely bits of description.
However, the premise might be exciting but the execution was... not. The first half of the book was just too slow for me with no real plot happening. One of the reasons it takes so long to get the story going is the world building, which has depth and complexity as Lam creates a unique world and unique take on dragons and magic from many other fantasy books. But it took far too long to get the story going and for me to understand what type of story this was going to be - heist? academia? adventure?
I can definitely seeing certain types of fantasy readers eating this up and I hope publishing houses see how a book which features a main character who is NB can do well because we need more stories like this in the fantasy genre. Overall, it was a unique story with amazing gender diversity, but the pacing was off and the book just wasn't for me, although I am sure many other people will love it.
Thank you to NetGalley and DAW for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Dragons always fascinated me so I want to thank @ and @ for giving me the opportunity to preview this book!

🐉 First of all I have to say that this trilogy starts with a bang! Initially I struggled to get into the story because we are given a lot of information related to the characters and word building,but trust me when I say that once I got past 30% I couldn't stop reading! In addition, Lam has created a society that embraces gender diversity in which people decide who they want to be without fear of being labeled and judged..starting with the protagonist herself.
🐉 I loved the writing: it is detailed,smooth and manages to make you feel what the characters are feeling:
During Everen's POVs I sensed his difficulty in getting used to his human form and acting like one. And when he is in his dragon form? Well I can assure you that I sensed what it's like to fly.
Arcady, on the other hand, would have been a perfect addition to Kaz's Crows! I loved her scheming , her strength and her insecurities.
🐉The relationship between Everen and Arcady was the slow burn made in person: they joke,the hate , they desire , they support and they betray each other... how can I not love them?!
✨ In conclusion we have dragons,a complex magic system,a heist,prophecies,two protagonists who are attracted to each other but that can't touch each other and an illegal ending... so what more can I want more if not the sequel?
#qotd Do you like books with dragons?

This was one of the most unique reads I have read in awhile! The world building was very cool, though there was a lot to keep track of in the beginning. At first the multiple points of view took some getting used to, but it did become natural as I continued. Her writing style really was beautiful and I loved reading from a dragon’s point of view at times. The cliffhanger is going to haunt me until I have the next one in my hands!

I think this ended up being a book that was good but just wasn't for me. The premise sounded exactly like something I would love, but the execution just didn't quite do it. This is a LOT of worldbuilding with a bit too much info-dumping for my brain to fully appreciate. However, I am intrigued enough that I'll stay tuned for when future books in this trilogy come out. The first book in a series can have a bit of an uphill battle in establishing a new fantasy world, so I'll give it the benefit of the doubt with that aspect!

This fantasy world has humans worshipping Dragons as Gods, while society doesn't remember that long ago they banished dragons to another world that is dying and stole their magic. Everen is the only male dragon who finds himself hurtled through the barrier into the human realm, where he is linked to a talented thief named Arcady who has plans of her own.

I really enjoyed this fantasy realm and the way magic works through literal pieces of ancient dragons. More detail could definitely be explored here in the next two books - but the basics are great. It was unique, interesting, and well written. It did take me a bit to make it through all the necessary info at the beginning, but the story picks up and I was drawn in and raced through the ending especially. I found the relationship between Everen and Arcady very complex, I loved their bond but just wanted them to come clean with each other and give into the chemistry. This book does great at building a society where gender fluidity is accepted, and I loved the sign language involvement that is common place here. The way the narrative switches between the two main characters (and the assassin who has a few chapters) worked very well and did not seem confusing. I really enjoyed the heist that takes place and the characters Arcady has such a history with.

I would definitely recommend this book to lovers of dragons and fantasy, or if you enjoy enemies-to-lovers relationships. I look forward to continuing the series and reading more of LR Lam's writing. The cover is beautiful! I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley for my opinions.

The read of this ARC honestly took me so much longer than it should have. Mainly because of pacing and writing style. The beginning felt a bit slow for my tastes. I didn't like the writing style much because of how it dragged. This book holds multiple POVs that started off confusing, but eventually you learn each is unique to the character they represent, and then I saw how Lam's writing fit these characters we are meeting and the ending. And, as uncertain as some of the characters are regarding fate and trust, you root for them long before they realize what they want. Pushing through the first half of the book was worth it. The magic system... I can't say much. You get some basics. I know there is limited magic and humans have seals to help them channel their magic. But, in all honesty can't tell you a thing beyond that. Definitely needs to be explored more for the reader. I enjoyed the world created and am invested in learning what will happen with all these characters futures, especially after that ending. This is most definitely a high fantasy that is LGBTQ+ inclusive.

This book was so much fun. If there's one thing you need to know about me it's this: I freaking love dragons!
And this book delivers on the dragon front.
Let me tell you why you need to read this book too:
It has DRAGONS
It has queer enemies to lovers trope
Oh and there's a heist...yeah, a HEIST!

3,5/5
This is one of those books where I can absolutely see why someone would love this but it just never managed to capture my attention completely.
While the characters were likable they also felt a little flat and I just didn't enjoy the world-building. The romance was ok but also both seemed to rushed and drawn out in a really weird way.
What kind off threw me off was also that in the beginning it seems like we were heading towards a school/university story line and then we got something completely different. Of course that will come back in the sequels but it just felt like at the end of the book Arkady wasn't any closer to that goal than in the beginning. In fact it felt like everyone ended up in the same, or at least very similar, place as they were in the beginning. As if the plot of the entire book had very little impact.
As I said in the beginning, I can understand why someone would love this, I just didn't.

Thank you to NetGalley and DAW for my copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was a difficult read if I'm being honest. The premise sounded so cool; ancient god-like beings returning to the world after a gutting betrayal from humans of the past. But I really struggled with reading this one. I had a difficult time connecting to the characters and there was so much info-dumping disguised as world-building that I found myself getting bored of the main narrative.

I'm also juggling my free time with reading arcs and general rest so I feel especially annoyed because of the time wasted on this one. If you have the time to maybe take notes and write up notes, I would recommend this but if you're looking for something that will draw you in, maybe skip this one for the time-being.

I still give this a 2/5 because the writing wasn't awful, I think it was just a misjudgment in what to focus on especially for a first book in a series.

Thanks so much NetGalley for the ARC!

Unfortunately, for now, this is going to be a DNF for me. The writing feels very plain, there is a lot of info dumping, and I’m simply not invested in the characters or plot enough.

It’s definitely not BAD - it’s just okay, which right now is failing to hold my attention. Definitely one I’ll keep in the wings to return to though!