Dragons. Gender-fluid main characters. Queer relationships. It is safe to say that Dragonfall by L.R. Lam might be the most inclusive high fantasy book of 2023. If that isn’t enough to sell you on this book, then the vibrant characters and fantastical world-building will.

Dragonfall by L. R. Lam is an adult high fantasy novel that presents a world where dragons and humans once co-inhibited. Long ago, dragons would bestow knowledge and wisdom to their human companions, however, one day, humans turned their back on them and betrayed the dragons. The dragons vow revenge on their betrayers, but were trapped in their world, stopped by a magical barrier. Many years pass, humans have forgotten about dragons, viewing them as mythical creatures.

Arcady is an orphan thief, trying to make a living in Vatra. Everen is the only male dragon alive, destined to destroy the human world. Everen has one mission, to convince Arcady to trust him enough to steal their life to set all dragons free to wretch havoc on the human world and complete their revenge. The two find themselves in a dangerous entanglement with a pull to one another that they can’t resist.

Thank you to Netgalley for an e-arc of this book so that I can share my unbiased review of the book.

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Plot
Dragonfall is told through three perspectives: Everen, the last male dragon destined to take revenge on the humans for betraying dragonkind, Arcady, an orphan thief with a dangerous relic, and Suran, a quiet assassin with a heart of gold. Each person has a different agenda, but they are tied together when a long-lost artifact is found.

The story unfolded naturally, describing the history between the dragons and humans which drives the story’s plot line while learning room for curiosity for future books. L.R. Lam did a fantastic job at creating believable stakes for each character which explained the motivation for their action. My only concern was that the pacing slowed down in the middle, due to character and world-building, but the ending was enticing.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Characters
The strongest point of this book was that each main character felt unique to their own. In each point-of-view switch, the voices of each character are distinct. I was expecting the point-of-view of just the two main love interests, but we got a glimpse into four characters. Suran, is a trained assassin that is loyal to the church. From her point-of-view, we see the perspective of the church and its motive for acquiring dragon antiques. We also get a peek into a mysterious fourth character, which I won’t be discussing since it would be a spoiler.

Multiple POV books are challenging because it requires that the writer has an understanding of every character, their drives, thoughts, and mindset. If the writer is not intimately aware of all the facets of their character, the book can risk sounding monotonous throughout the story. Lam shows great dedication in understanding and describing their characters, making each of them compelling and loveable.

Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐

World-Building
For those experienced with the fantasy genre and the world-building process, this high fantasy world-building shouldn’t be too hard to grasp with its familiar elements. Newer fantasy fans might have trouble with the first 100 pages of the book that builds up the world.

Lam does a smart move of introducing Everen, the last male dragon, into the new world of Vatra. As Everen travels to this new world and uncovers its traditions and customs, the readers are experiencing it for the first time. As Everen learns, the readers learn, so the world-building is not as daunting with a main character that is also unfamiliar with the world.

As an adult fantasy, this fantasy world introduces the beautiful and majestic side of the world as well as its dirty and grimy under-city. In this world, dragon-human relationships were a thing of the past, and dragons are regarded as mythical creatures. Humans are not aware of the existence of dragons or that they are responsible for their banishment in an alternate world.

Lam’s world-building is honest and realistic. The world is parallel to real life, with unique touches of magic, history, and culture. The world is not so whimsical that it is unbelievable, but it is also not bland enough that it cannot be an escape from our real world.

Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐

Writing Style
L. R. Lam’s writing could be described as descriptive yet realistic. There are fantasy books that are whimsical and magical. That is not the case here. Lam’s writing creates a world that is rich but real. There is magic and dragons, but not without the consequences of both. There is an understanding in the writing that the element of fantasy cannot exist without a thorough acceptance of its positive and negative impacts. I appreciate how well-developed Lam’s writing is and how much thought was put into conceptualizing the book and the world.

Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐

Romance
If you are reading this book and expecting it to have an epic romance that drives the story of this book, you would be half-wrong. Yes, there is a queer star-crossed forbidden romance that pervades every element of the story, but it doesn’t overshadow the book. Arcady is an orphan thief, trying to make a living in Vatra. Everen is the last male dragon, who broke through the veil between the human and dragon world. The two are tied to one another and their love can only end with betrayal or the death of the human world. With so much at stake, the two still cannot deny their attraction to one another.

As the reader watches these two fall in love, you can feel the tension and the angst that comes with forbidden romance. The characters understand the stakes at hand and in turn, so do the readers. That’s what makes the romance so compelling and addictive. With their romance, there is such an unconditional understanding and acceptance that provides a strong foundation for their relationship.

If you enjoy angsty, slow-burn romance, check out the one in this book.

Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐

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L. R. Lam’s book Dragonfall was a great start to my reading year. It positions itself as one of the most inclusive fantasy books of the year with not only a gender-fluid main character, but also a queer main romance. Although Dragonfall is the first book in a trilogy, it stages a fantastical world that is ready to be explored. You can expect me to continue reading on with the series.

If you enjoy high fantasy with found family, forbidden romance, and complex world and characters, check out Dragonfall by L.R. Lam, the first in The Dragon Scale trilogy, releasing May 2, 2023.

First of all I would like to thank the publisher and the author for sending me the ARC copy of “Dragonfall” by L.R. Lam.

Our story is set in Vatra from where dragons where banished by humans, who stole their magic. Different centuries after humans worship Dragons like gods, ignoring the real truth.
In the meantime, on Vere Celene, Everen the last dragon male wants desperately save his own kind through fulfilling a strange prophecy.
Arcady is a human thief with a painful past, who wants desperately revenge. During the night of Locked Tombs they connect with the dragons' world and start an uncomplete bond with Everen.
Suddenly he finds himself in the human world searching for the human that brought him to.
For fulfilling the prophecy he must bond with Arcady completely and then kill them.

I have been in love with the world created by the author as soon as I started my reading. Vatra is full of magic, creatures, gods. Particularly I liked the idea that everyone can be whoever wants. I mean all the characters can choose to be a he, she or any (like our protagonist Arcady) and I found very useful the explanation through a character of the book of Vatra society.
Every character is well described and they seem to come to life with their actions and decisions. I really liked also the way in which the bonf between Everen and Arcady develops and tightens more and more everyday.
The narration is quite inclusive thanks to the point of view in first person of Arcady and Everen. Everything felt almost real.
Also, I found interesting the way in which the POV of Everen was written, like a sort of confession to Arcady. Even though they couldn't read it.
The ending was quite painful to read for me, I mean I hope I will read about the second book very very soon. I need it. Such a plot twist in the ending is like a dagger in the hearts of readers.

My favourite character is Everen, as you know I love dragons in every shape. He is strong, devoted to family but he becomes attached to Arcady during the way. And this could be a real problem.

I enjoyed a lot reading this book, it was a wonderful and intriguing voyage in old legends and magic. I have the feeling this would be one of the best book of the year.

I suggest this book to fantasy readers that love dragons and magicians. Perfect for Targaryen fans.

My teen provided this review:
Disguised as a human, Everen soon learns to regain his power and fulfill his destiny. He trusts a thief, but the farther they go the more they lose trust. This story is interesting and the first few chapters pulled me in. It keeps going to amaze me. The ending lacked the excitement I was hoping for.

Dragonfall was a unique take on the popular fantasy trope of bonds between human dragon rider and dragons. The relationship between Arcady and Everen is a slow burn enemies to lovers, and their relationship development really drives the book along. As they slowly learn to trust each other, the two plan a heist bringing characters and stories from their pasts to the forefront. I did struggle a bit with the perspective, as the narrator often addresses the reader as you, as well as the world-building which became clearer as I read on, but was confusing and difficult to initially immerse myself in.

Sadly, I can't finish the book, it's just not for me. I really liked the start, when the MC describes what it's like to fly. For that and for the world building I've seen so far I'm giving it 2 stars, because I did like the world building. But there are parts during the dragon MC chapters where he talks about a second human character in second person singular when describing what the character does that felt weird and creepy.

This is a brilliantly written novel. The characters have depth and the world vibrancy. It drew me in from the beginning and carried me through the entire book. I loved it. The main country has a wonderful acceptance of gender diversity and one of our main characters is non-binary. I very much enjoy when my characters are realistic like that. I cannot wait for the next book in this series. A bit of background is dragons are thought of as gods in this world, where they originated. But in reality they were driven into another world/dimension by humans who betrayed their magical bond with these personable creatures. Now they are in a dying world and need to get back to their home world or they will go extinct. Due to magic and fates one dragon is ripped from this other world and returned to a much changed world. A bond is formed by between the dragon and his "summoner" and they must navigate this bond and each other for each to survive and achieve their goals. Since the summoner is a thief trying to further their magic to find out the truth behind their ancestor's "betrayal" this leads to all sorts of adventure. I recommend this book as I could not put it down. I received an ARC in exchange for a fair review.

Sadly, I’m dnf’ng this book :(

book - dragonfall
author - l.r. lam
rating - 2/5 (did not finish)

I really really really wanted to like this book. I think my reading style & the authors writing style just aren’t on the same page, which is totally fine! Ultimately the biggest disconnect for me was I could never stay focused on the text, I kept having to reread sentences because I would get bored and drift off.

Fantasy is my favorite genre and dragons are always a must-read for me, the confusion of narrators is where I got lost.

I would recommend this to readers who enjoy a slow-paced story, intrinsic world building, and dragons.

Thank you to NetGalley & DAW Books for sharing this reviewers copy with me, all opinions are my own!

This 2023 begins pretty badly with this dnf. I downloaded the e-book of this book thanks to NetGalley letting the cover snd the plot inspire me. First of all, I didn’t like the fact that it was written by a first person narrator (seriously you authors can’t write a book with a “neutral” point of view?) but it could be interesting since the narrator is a dragon who falls and, by falling, turns into a human, if it wasn’t for the fact that the key of the plot is a prophecy and its text is pretty unclear. I gave two stars because I felt generous.

Unfortunately, I did not love this book. I struggled to get absorbed into this fantasy world and to care about any of the characters. While there were a lot of interesting features of the world, the writing style just did not draw me into it.

I do think that some people will love this, it has a main character who doubles as a thief, a heist, some romance, LGBTQ+ themes, enemies to lovers to enemies tropes.

Thank you NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for an eARC of this book.

I loved the description of this book and it sounds like an amazing and unique world however; I really struggled to get absorbed into this world, I had to reread the first set of chapters a few times but I still felt myself confused in parts, mostly about the different types of magic and who was who in this world. It was also quite slow and took a while to get into the action, I feel like the ending of the book should have happened earlier maybe and some of the middle was not needed. I really wanted to enjoy this but it wasn't for me sadly.

I was sold from the moment I read, "long-banished dragons, revered as gods, return to the mortal world..."

So thank you to L. R. Lam, the publishers of this book and NetGalley for this ARC. I was granted a free copy of this book prior to its publication date in return for an honest review.

Okay, so I read a lot of books. A lot of them fall under that fantasy genre. So I have read many books about magic, dragons, and danger. Now this book had all of that, but it had more. There was this modernised, inclusive feel to the writing. It was passionate, and you could feel that the author put a lot of work into making this story unique.

A dragon posing as a human, he is the last male dragon with the hope of saving his kind. All he has to do is gain his true power, but to do that, he needs to bond... in all possible ways... and then kill them. But lines blur, and the danger amps up, and there is a risk to both of their worlds now.

There were quite a few unique ideas in this story that I hadn't really heard of before, and I want to blurt them all out and tell you all about them, but that would take the joy out of reading the book completely blind.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for this ARC. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I loved the description of this book when it looked to be right up my alley and was so excited when I was approved for the E-ARC, but has ended up being a bust for me. I just can’t seem to get into the story so far and am struggling to follow along and enjoy. It’s a no for me, but maybe I’ll come back later and try again another time and hopefully it’ll work better for me then. Sad that I’m just not getting into this one.

You know how there are some books that enchant you from the very beginning? Well this is one of them. When I realised what I had in my hands I made myself read it slowly so that it wouldn't end too quickly. This is a story that works in so many different ways. There's magic and dragons yes but also it's a heist and at its heart its about families - your own and your found family. There are obvious themes of gender fluidity (you are never quite sure if Arcady is male or female) and it's also a passionate and unfulfilled love story between this human, looking to redeem his family name and restore his lost future and fortune through a daring heist and the unexpected twists and turns that the dragon trapped in human form, Everen, brings to him through the feelings they share in a magical bond, And Everen himself has his own secrets and his own people to save, at enormous and unexpected cost to him.
I loved this book and cannot wait for part 2 - how long must I wait?!

The premise of the book was interesting enough but unfortunately, I did not finish the book. I read 40% of it, but found it too slow paced and, at the same time, I did not connect with the characters.

[ ] This is a story that is woven so beautiful that the description of her words captivate you with each paragraph.
- [ ] It is a dragon theme story,a prophecy’s .. the last male dragon of his kind..
- [ ] what an interesting world.. sometimes world can be repetitive.. not this one

- [ ] extremely intriguing magic , nicely thought out
- [ ] Great world with Lots of intrigue
- [ ] Fulfilling a prophecy meeting two great POV’s

- [ ] Gently woven piece of Fantasy

Includes: dragons, magic, slow slow burn (like sloth slow), enemies to lovers (kind of), end of the world!

Synopsis: long ago, humans betrayed dragons, stealing their magic and banishing them to a dying world. This story is about a human and dragon who were destined to be together.

This was an interesting story to follow. First you have the only male dragon that has literally the dragon world on his shoulders. Second, is a lone thief who steals from the dead. On this night, they become connected and what follows is one chaotic event after another.

So many unique ideas involved in this story. That they have magic that is connected to the stones in their chest, but not enough can cause them to starve and turn into monsters (my head conjured up zombies/vampires). And that this connection between Everen and Arcady can allow them to be injured in the same spot and feel each others pain. They also refer to each other as they/them unless the person specified they want to be he/she.

This story has multiple POV. I counted 5 but I was definitely lost at times throughout the story so there might be more (Everen, Arcady, Sonia, Cassia, and the last chapter).
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There was just a lot of information that would confuse me at times and I didn’t really understand Arcadys’ reasoning for staying. But that was my opinion. All in all, a good fantasy read.

In a spell gone awry, Arcady finds himself bound to Everen--a dragon disguised as a human in a world full of those who banished them. Though they are used to being alone, Arcady finds use in Everen in their career as thief. But perhaps Everen has motives for staying by Arcady's side as well...

This book was such a unique take on a high fantasy world that stands apart from the rest. Often in fantasy, authors create worlds very similar to our own, and I was pleasantly surprised to see a unique world built with different rules. Gender in Dragonfall exists with looser rules, breaking away from the binary and general misogyny and toxic masculinity that often comes with gender roles. The book also normalized sign language as a common way of communicating.

The beginning was fairly slow with a lot of world building and info dumping, but the payout was so worth it. I quickly found myself rooting for the characters, and I loved how the plot and each characters' backstory and motivations were revealed slowly over time, adding so much mystery and intrigue. The ending had me wrapped up throughout the night (when I should have definitely been sleeping), and left me wanting more.

I was given this as an arc from DAW publishers. It is available May 2,2023 to buy.

First off the premise is interesting but the execution falls very flat. The pacing of the book is incredibly slow then bam! Action then goes back to a snail’s pace. There are 3 POVs and in one POV the language is so odd it takes you right out of the story. It is told in this weird mash up of first and second person while the other main characters are in first person. And it is so odd and something I have never read before that it literally takes me out of the story and I cannot get back into it. I really wanted to like the story but the constant flipping of pov language and the pacing stole my enjoyment. I would honestly say that perhaps changing the Male POV language would greatly help getting people back into the story.

The humans stole their magic. Banished them to a world that was dying. Forced them where they didn’t belong. Centuries later the dragons are seen as gods by the human descendants. Worshipped. Little do the humans know, these dragons don’t forget … or forgive.

I’m a sucker for a good fantasy series and that is exactly what this is! If you enjoy fantasy worlds, and dragons especially, do yourself a favor and get this book ASAP! I am itching for the next book in the series to be released so I can see where this story takes us.

Love, love, love fantasy books that don't stick to gender rules !
The MC is clearly genderqueer, and the way the topic is discussed is really good : we don't have to know if by our standards, they would have been assigned male or female at birth !!

The worldbuidling is well done and feels really new