DNF at 12% - too slow of a start with almost 0.1% of dialogue or character introduction and way, <I>way</I> too many info dump and confusing world-building.

3,5*

this was quite a journey! at first i found it really hard to get into this book due to all the new terms that the author provided right from the start. however, once i got the hang of the magic system and how this world works, it became enjoyable. i loved both Arcady and Everen and how their naturally their relationship changed throughout the book. i also really liked the writing style, i thought it was beautiful and the story has been conveyed in an interesting manner. although i think that the way Sorin was interwoven into the events of the book, was a bit weird since the reader rarely got to read her POV and for the most part that made me question how she relates to what was happening. despite the slow start and a few odd bits, i enjoyed reading this book quite a bit and i look forward to the sequel.

thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinions!

4.25 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley for this arc.

The first 12% of this book, I wasn’t sure if I’d like it. But then, it picked up tremendously and I became obsessed. I read about 60% in one sitting.

This book has queer enemies to lovers to ??? and it’s the perfect slow burn. I also enjoyed the queer normative world where everyone is referred to with they/them pronouns until told otherwise. It worked well and I enjoyed that twist on reality.

I really love Everen as a character. He is so complex and I can’t wait to learn more about him throughout this trilogy. Arcady was also fascinating, I loved how they are always dressed in cool outfits and how they have taken on the most challenging magical tasks.

The bond building between these two is dynamic and I loved the way it was described.

The last 15%— phew! You’re gonna wanna read that in one sitting. My kindle died at 92% and I was devastated!! I had to wait for it to wake back up to be able to read more.

Overall, I loved this story and these characters and I plan to read the rest of the trilogy. I’m mad I have to wait so long for the next book!

trigger warnings:
Graphic: Death, Violence, Injury/injury detail, and Murder
Moderate: Chronic illness, War, Vomit, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Minor: Animal death

This book was very conflicting to read. I think it's supposed to be an adult fantasy but it def gives a very YA vibe that didn't sit right with me at times. The concept was very cool - Dragon (LOVE), Queer Fantasy - and I had a higher expectation than I should have going into this. There were definitely some eye-rolling moments that I wish could have been better and the different POVs also took a while to get used to
I'm not a huge fan of these pov changes usually but the characters were well-written and the tension and anticipation in the story was evident and understandable.
As a result, I have given this book 3.25 stars and I will be interested in reading the sequel as well

Thanks to Netgalley for the e-ARC

Dragons, magic, a heist, a forbidden attraction between the two main characters that can't physically touch, a genderfluid main character, what more could one ask for in a great fantasy book?

The world of magic quickly had its grip on me and I was unable to put this down. I loved the way it switched between different POVs and left you wanting more after each chapter. Many fantasy books seem to cover the same areas, but this book was truly refreshing in its approach to magic, dragons and gods. It was very interesting to learn more about the way the human world worked, and how the dragons got separated from it. I especially appreciated the bond between the two main characters, how they shouldn't and couldn't be attracted to each other. Had me kicking my feet, smiling to myself, and I might have shed some tears.

The ending had me holding my breath and I cannot wait a second longer to read the rest of this series!

I’m really sad to say that I didn’t love Dragonfall. This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and it really fell flat for me. I really likes the premise and the whole concept of the book but it was not a very satisfactory execution. I couldn’t get invested in the characters and the world. The POV of Everen and Arcady just sounded to similar to me, so I wasn’t able to distinguish their voices and that just ended up boring me. The world building was also a bit jarring. It wasn’t very developed and it felt like the author just was throwing a bunch of made up words at us to mimic the idea of a well built universe. I appreciate the inclusion of queerness in this book and I had no faults with that or the representation. Overall just wasn’t what I was hoping for.

It took me a minute to get into this novel and to start to understand the world, the magic and the dual narrative but once I did I got so invested in Everen and Arcady’s story and, of course, their chemistry! Everen’s narrative is written as though he’s talking directly to Arcady, in a letter or a story, recalling the circumstances that led to their meeting and everything after that and I found it added a layer of intimacy to Everen’s perspective. This pair has a lot in common but also a lot dividing them, including prophecy. Watching two lonely people, outcasts of their worlds, find what they needed and longed for in each other was beautiful and waiting for their secrets to emerge and the difficult decisions be made was a kind of torture. How do you know if you can trust someone? That’s the real question here.
Arcady is a character that feels emotions strongly, despite trying to shut himself away and protect himself. His anger burns, his tears pour and his loneliness aches. He definitely met his match in Everen and seeing their bond grow and change the more time they spent together, working towards their heist and with the countdown looming over them, made it so easy to connect to these characters and start rooting for them.
I’m yet to find a book with dragons that I didn’t love and I’m eagerly anticipating the sequel so I can get more of my dragon fix!

*I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for the free book.*

"Dragonfall" is a queer, high fantasy story about a thief trying to steal their way into high society and a dragon being taken from his realm. While I am in a terrible reading slump and parts of the story were a tad predictable, I enjoyed the novel, especially the queerness and normalised use of "they/them" pronouns as well as the inclusion of non-binary or genderfluid identities.

4 Stars

This book was amazing. I loved every second of it. I was completely hooked the plot was so good I'll definitely be doing a reread in the future and I already have a copy pre-ordered as well.

Dragonfall is not what I was expecting. This is a story of a bond between a dragon & a human. Our two main characters, Arcardy (Any) & Everen (He/Him) spend a good chunk of the book preparing/planning for a heist while slowly growing closer. Bonus points for it being a queer story.

There are multiple POVs throughout the book which I really enjoyed. Everen's POV is the most interesting in my opinion because he is writing his perspective of the events to Arcady. Outside of Arcady and Everen the other main POV is Sorin who is a priest/assassin. For the majority of the book, it felt unnecessary to include her POV. I don't feel it added much.

This book is well-written and after the first couple of chapters, I found it easy to follow. The word preterit is used a lot early on. It is actually used quite often throughout the story to describe the form between a dragon and a human. I never want to see the word preterit again.

The book is very slow moving which for many readers may be enjoyable. Unfortunately, I struggled to get through a lot of it. Since a large focus is on training Everen to assist with the heist the story doesn't progress quickly. It does have the enemies-to-lovers element which I am a fan of.

I did enjoy the twist towards the end of the book however I am unsure if it is enough for me to continue with this series.

I was expecting more action from a book about dragons and was let down.

Dragonfall, a fantasy novel by L.R. Lam, tells the story of Astrid, a young woman on a mission to save her kingdom from an ancient dragon. The book has well-developed characters and an intricate magic system set in a richly detailed world.

While the book is well-written, it may not be suitable for all readers due to its darker themes and depictions of violence. Additionally, the plot feels predictable, making the story somewhat formulaic. The book's pacing may also be slow for some readers, especially in the first half.

Overall, Dragonfall is a solid addition to the fantasy genre, with strong world-building and well-rounded characters. Fans of traditional fantasy stories may enjoy this book, despite its predictability and slower pacing. However, readers seeking a unique or fast-paced story may find it lacking.

This writing style wasn't for me. It's too character driven and there's no plot. I was bored. I gave up halfway through.

Pleasantly surprised by this book! I went into it expecting a lot of romance and it wasn't quite that. There was a lot of yearning though and that made up for it.
I enjoyed the world building and the magic system, but high fantasy novels tend to confuse me when they describe these systems and that was the case here. I won't go into it because I simply did not pay attention! Moving on.
I lovedddd Everen's POV. It was unique and it gutted me sometimes. It's as if he was writing directly to Arcady and it kind of killed me. The bit that bothered me was that while I understood where Arcady got their attraction to Everen, it felt like his only came once theirs did.
Arcady took a while for me to like but I eventually came around. I liked their personality and voice and the mission they were striving for. This book has a lot going on, that I don't really want to go into it, so it's not that there's a lack of action–it just feels like it takes a whil for that action to come about. Sometimes it just DRAGS with mundane things. That might be my biggest complaint. But I'm really invested with these characters so I really need the next book!

I loved this book! It's got dragons and thieves and romance and hidden identities. There's an enemies to lovers romance that's a slow burn, which I love. And very little spice, which it's a book 1, so I appreciate holding onto that tension.

Everen's personal arc was just, ugh, so good. He starts off truly hating humans and thinking they are so inferior only to find himself stuck with Arcady. And over time changing his mind about humans. Even with the weight of his whole species on his shoulders, he is still conflicted.

And man my heart just broke for Arcady over and over. They had a hard life and they are still a softie on the inside.

Pacing wise, it was a bit slow for a while after Everen comes through the Veil and is getting his bearings. It wasn't bad, there just wasn't much else going on. But once it picked up, it was sooo good!

I was surprised by the way this book turned out and the twist at the end. It left me wishing I already had book 2 and this one doesn't even officially come out until May. Overall, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes fantasy, heists, dragons, enemies to lovers, and/or slow burn romance.

It can be difficult to rate the first book in a trilogy before it's complete. Overall, I liked the story but there are definitely some underdeveloped plot points that will hopefully be flushed out with subsequent books.
Not sure if this is a YA book, but it read that way sometimes, particularly with the romance. I think if you like YA fantasy, you will probably enjoy this story.

This book ended up being a DNF for me at about 47%. I can see why people enjoy it, I just personally did not get invested.
First and foremost, I have to say the second-person narrative was confusing and felt like a strong choice by the author. I didn't mind it at first but once the two main characters met, it became confusing. Why would you use the word "you" to describe what someone is doing when they're in the same room as you? Why are you telling them what they did? Did not make sense to me. I understood it in the initial chapters when Everen was not physically with Arcady, because it felt more like a situation of telling Arcady what led Everen to this moment.
I thoroughly enjoyed that this book was so queer. However, it felt slightly heavy-handed at times. I think the author could have made gender neutrality the norm until someone decided otherwise without the spiel by the sex worker. I felt that scene might make the book easy for certain groups of people on the internet to criticize the book.
The beginning was very info-dumpy, which then confused me because I felt like I had very little idea of what the main plot of the story was. Was this about a heist? A prophecy? A romance? I wasn't sure. How did I not know when the author spent so much time telling me things? It was a bit overwhelming.
It was hard to feel like there was a large difference between the voices of Everen and Arcady, and honestly, sometimes I would remember which character was speaking purely because of the way they were speaking (first v. second person).
Generally speaking, I did not dislike it, I just couldn't get invested.

Firstly, Thank you to NetGalley and DAW for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I am DNFing this book at 20% and rating it 3 stars for what I have read thus far.

Things I liked about this book: Dragons coming to the human world and able to change into human forms. While I wasn’t able to get far into it, the magic and societal system sounded interesting and I was curious to know more. I would also like to see more of the Dragon’s realm.

Things I had trouble with: The world building in this book is DENSE, and it’s coming from 3 separate POV’s making it even harder to grasp… Had there been one initial POV, I think the reader would’ve connected better to the world. As it stands, it was very confusing and—if I’m being 100% honest—was putting me to bed. I couldn’t go more than a chapter without wanting to go to bed. It was too dense to connect with. And while I also appreciated Everen’s “alien” voice as showing he was just very otherworldly, it once again made it hard to connect because his voice was so STIFF and monotonous.

I usually do not DNF books but this being 400 pages and needing sleep after every chapter, it’s not going to be an easy read. I will probably come back to it and try to finish or read bits and pieces at a time, but I am not currently motivated to do so…

Thank to netgalley and all contributors involved for provided an arc of this book.

I might have set too high expectations for this one due to the enemies-to-lovers, soulmates tropes, which I tend to adore. Sadly Dragonfall didn't sweep me off my feet as I had hoped, and I had to abandon it midway because it just didn't spark anything for me, personally.
Despite that, I can say that it has the elements to be a good book. The worldbuilding is decent, the prose good, and for someone who -unlike me- doesn't have a very hit-or-miss relationship with first person POV, it can definitely work. The intro has a bit of a classical feel, which I thought was lovely and refreshing. Concerning the characters, I could probably have appreciated them more if we'd had more of a build-up to their struggles and abilities. As it was, this felt to me as being shove in a pot of steaming pasta. A weird analogy, I know, and not necessarily bad. Just not what I had expected, and I wasn't able to shake off my disgruntlement enough to complete this read. I might come back to it later, when the right mood strikes.

Dragons, queer enemies to lovers, a heist, dragons... what's not to love? Dragonfall hooked me right away. I can't wait for the sequel!

3.5 stars!

Thank you NetGalley and DAW for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Dragonfall is the first in a trilogy about Everen, the last male dragon, and Arcady, a thief who wants to go to university and clear his grandfather's name. Everen is dragged across the Veil separating humans and dragons by accident and must gain Arcady's trust in order to (1) return to his true form and (2) fulfill the prophecy that has his kind stressing.

It's obvious that Lam has put a lot of thought into this world and isn't afraid to get weird, and for that I think Dragonfall is worth picking up. The novel is inherently queer and is very unapologetic about it, which was very refreshing. Lam allows their characters to exist in ways I haven't seen as often in fiction and there's lots of cool gender things happening here. Also, I found the plot to be compelling and though it's a slow start, the end presents us with a lot of very interesting questions that I think will make the series as a whole very worthwhile.

Still, the writing is a little challenging to get into since the beginning is full of info dumps, and while I felt Lam knew exactly what they wanted from the story, there were times where I still struggled to fully understand what was happening. It's an odd feeling to have so much information thrown at you but still be left with a lot of questions, but this is a trilogy so I hope Lam fleshes some things out in the next book. There's some neat POV stuff happening with Everen's chapters, but I did find that I struggled to separate Everen's voice from Arcady's, and the POV chapters from side characters felt a little random at first, though by the end I felt they made more sense. I'm also not entirely sure I understand how the magic works (though the general attitudes towards magic are very well realized).

I definitely think Dragonfall is worth a look, and I also think it's worth getting through the beginning, because lots of neat stuff is happening and I think that the rest of the series will go a lot smoother. This probably won't be for everyone, but I thought the work I put into it was worth it, and I do think Lam sticks the ending.