I really liked the concept of this story and connected well with some of the characters, but I was completely put off by the number of POV’s at the start. I think they’re’ around seven? Either way, it was too much for me. It made the story drag and then by the time we got back round to the earlier POV’s, I’d forgotten everything about them! 🙈

I completely lost interest, because I just couldn’t keep up with all the characters and in the end the story was just ‘ok’ for me. I think if the beginning had more action and less POV’s to try and follow I probably would have really enjoyed the rest of the story because the plot itself was very interesting.

I need book 2 now. Right now. I could not put this fast paced story down. And I have to know what happens next!! I'm obsessed with this.
I just reviewed The Dragons of Deepwood Fen by Bradley P. Beaulieu. #TheDragonsofDeepwoodFen #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

Never read Beaulieu before but I have to say this was a strong start to what could be a fantastic series!

I am a little bit sad writing this review, because I am a fan of Beaulieu's other series, and I thought this sounded exactly like my sort of thing. This is a world with magic, religion, secret groups who live in the wilds, dragons, politics, secrets and more. I thought this would be absolutely my thing, and yet I never really loved it.

I think at the end of the book I felt as though the largest issue for me was really the slow pace, this world is entirely new and so it does need explanation, but this book has so many PoVs that it feels hard to get to grips with. Personally I read lots of books with lots of PoVs and this isn't anything out of the ordinary, but the pace meant I never connected that much with any of them.

I did like the dragons, but then, I always enjoy seeing dragons. They're used as mounts for certain people, and also some people who bond with the dragons in this world are shunned or even killed. We, of course, have a secret bond character as one of our PoVs and I liked him (Rylan).

We're also following Lorelei who is investigating some tips about undercover plots. I would say that she and Rylan were by far the most interesting characters for me, the others are a little forgettable to me.

The last 15% of the book was probably the most exciting by far as the pacing really picked up and I found that I was actually excited to get back to the book and find out what was going to come next. The stakes of the book really suddenly ramped up, and I liked that a lot but I just wish it had maybe happened a little sooner. I think if there had been a little less telling and a little more doing and developing then I might have got into it. The weird thing is that the blurb of the book basically says what happens, but that all happens quite far into the book and up until that point it was a slow-moving story.

In the end, I have to give it a 2.5*s, very middle of the road as I did enjoy some of it, and it has potential and is well-written, but I just thought the pacing and the world and characters moved too slow for my liking.

The Dragons of Deepwood Fen is the first book in a new series that has adventure, fantasy, with multi point of views that grabs your attention from the very beginning.

In a mountain city of Ancris, Lorelei is one of the smartest people there and when she gets a tip that leads her to a meet up, she discovers a peril that could endanger not only her but the entire empire. Meanwhile Rylan, an infamous thief, uncovers the same mystery as Lorelei. When their paths cross, Lorelei decides to free Rylan in order to stop the Red Knives from fulfilling their goals. The two flee into the forest known as the Holt where they find out that the Red Knives, along with the Church, are planning on raising a high-powered demigod. They must bring the same people who condemned them together before it is too late to stop the Red Knives and the Church from accomplishing their nefarious plan.


I loved this book so much. The plot was great, there was drama, you wouldn’t think of a drama with a high fantasy book, but it works well. (At least not me, when I think of a drama I think of a contemporary normally) I flew through this book, even though it was almost 500 pages, it took me no time at all to read.

Thank you to DAW and NetGalley for this early review copy in exchange for an honest review!

My review can be found on my blog:
https://wellreadnovel.blogspot.com/2023/10/review-dragons-of-deepwood-fen.htm

Bradley is back with that new series! What a comeback! Fantastic world and crazy story! I can't way for the next one!

First of all dragons, I've been obsessed with dragons since always, and this book had a lot of dragon detail I loved

There is a LOT of information to take in early on. This world had a fully realised government and religion and military among other things, the roles and groups and hierarchies are all fairly complex. We also have magic and lore and rebellion and controversy and history.

And dragons.

But it's worth the time, the universe the author has created is absolutely stunning.

Love the concept of a dragon singer and I think Rylan is my new book boyfriend.

And dragons.

We follow various characters throughout the book, switching between their POVs and it's done so well. The story progresses at the good pace, without feeling hectic or forced. With a nice dose of plot twists to keep us guessing.

And the characters evolve through their experiences and encounters in ways that feel so natural and organic.

We touch on themes like drug use, mental health, racism and trauma.

And dragons.

The way magic works and can be used in this universe is fascinating and terrifying. The comparison of bond and bind was such an interesting concept.

I really enjoyed the way that we are left with so much story left to tell, but it wasn't a jarring cliffhanger.

I cannot wait for the next one and I desperately want a dragon bestie.

Did I mention dragons?

Happily give this 5 stars.

Thank you to net galley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
The author put A LOT of love into this one and it shows.
This one has it all. The world building can feel pretty heavy at first & the story is told in multiple POV. (Think GOT) It takes time to settle into this one. I felt the pacing was pretty even keeled & the amount of conflict was engaging. The real stars here, are the dragons. I think the author did an incredible job of making these dragons unique compared to other fantasy stories.
I will definitely read the next one in the series!

"The Dragons of Deepwood Fen" by Bradley P. Beaulieu is an enthralling adventure that transports readers into a meticulously crafted world teeming with dragons, magic, and intrigue. Beaulieu’s storytelling prowess shines through each page, crafting complex characters and an engrossing plot that dances gracefully between action and emotional depth. The dragons themselves are not mere monsters but fully realized beings that add layers to the story. This book is a masterclass in fantasy writing—absolutely captivating from start to finish. A must-read for any fan of the genre.

I grabbed this book as quickly as I could. A new book and a new world by Bradley Beaulieu.
The depth and breadth of this world is fantastic. The characters are compelling. Also, dragons. What’s not to love?
The world is another great creation from Mr. Beaulieu. I’ve come to find that that is something he excels at.
The start of this book was a little slow for my taste, but after that initial first dozen chapters or so, it started moving along well.

I was so excited for this book based on the plot, unfortunately it was not for me.

The world was super cool in this, however the story felt super slow and confusing with all the POVs. It took quite a lot of time to get into the story and by time time it started to pick up the pace I had already lost most of my interest. I really wish i enjoyed this way more than what I did.

I still think that a lot of people are going to love this so if you’re looking for an epic fantasy series give this one a try.

Thank you NetGalley and Daw for allowing me to read an arc of this story.

3.5
Thanks to the author/publisher for providing me with an ARC via NetGalley for an honest review.

This book is a bit of a mixed bag for me. Many things worked well, but others really didn't. For starters. this book took a while before it really hooked me. There are a couple of reasons for this, one of them is the fact that there are so many PoV characters, and while that's not a problem in and of itself, the first eight chapters (plus prologue) contain seven different PoV characters, that is a lot, especially for such a slow-paced story.

The pacing increased a bit as the book went on, but the book still felt very long, I couldn't believe it when I checked the length of the book and said that it's only slightly less than 500 pages, because it felt like a book twice that length, for better and for worse. There's a lot going on in the book, everything is really dense, from the worldbuilding, to the characters and the dynamics between them, there's just so much, so if you're into something dense and slow, then this would be perfect for you.

Because there's just so much of everything, including the characters, it means that there are some memorable characters in the book, and even though there are a lot of perspective characters, they're all fleshed out. Of course, this comes at the cost of the glacial pacing of the book, but at least the final 10-15% of the book is a page turner, at least compared to the rest of the book.

One final thing I want to touch on is the worldbuilding, even though it is very thorough and unique, the way it's presented is a bit weird. It felt like half of it is explained in almost a textbook-y style that spoon-fed the audience in an annoying way, while the other half is not explained at all, so you have to glean information from context clues and inferences. In other words, it has both the best and worst of both worlds.

Overall, it's a good book and an intriguing series starter, but probably not one I would revisit simply due to the pacing.

It's been years since I read this style of full-on epic fantasy, where innocents die brutally in the prologue and then we get a lot of (initially) unconnected POVs all centering around a Big Bad Thing, and it's all very serious.

What I'd forgotten in those years is that I don't actually enjoy that kind of book very much, as a matter of personal taste; I like multiple POVs, but in a more connected, intimate arrangement, and prefer my fantasy to have at least some lightheartedness somewhere in it.

But if you like this kind of thing, this is definitely one, and an above-average one if a careful editor adds in all the missing words and takes out the many unnecessary coordinate commas before publication.

I received a pre-publication review copy via Netgalley.

Great fast paces story for anyone who enjoys their fantasy with a Healthy dose of Dragons!

The story moves quickly and quite strikingly introduces two characters who won't be seen again after the books beginning.

The magic was expected but cool with idea of ferryman.

The story was detailed and well written, and I enjoyed the descriptions.

The characters were not lacking in depth and was an enjoyable book overall.

The Dragons of Deepwood Fen is texturally rich—the cultures, the descriptive characteristics of the dragons, and the essence of geography and topography in which the story takes place. As is often the case with books in the fantasy genre, it has its own verbiage, lending credence and authenticity to the world it is establishing. The wording style has an archaic feel, which functions very successfully in bringing the story to life, though as to be expected, there is somewhat of a learning curve to assimilate the style into your mental picture. One note, however, is that this factor, along with the three individual cultures, each having its own key characters and a wide diversity of dragons, each with its own characteristics make it so detail oriented that there are a lot of moving parts. Consequently, it takes longer to pull all the pieces together in order to really become invested. Though my investment was slower to develop, the writing was excellent, driving my forward, momentum, and about the last 20% of the book, it became a page turner. As a side note, though there may have been one or two expletives, they were clearly used for emphasis. There was no gratuitous use of expletives. I believe having the ability to weave words without using any one tool overabundantly indicates skill. The bottom line here is that, though later in developing an investment, now that the stage is set, I would read the next book in the series.

I received this book as an ARC reader from NetGalley, and offer my honest review of it.

I loved this book. I devoured it. I 100% recommend it.

I honestly had trouble putting this book down and stepping out of the world to attend my daily obligations (children). I went to bed thinking about this book, that is how much I loved this.

The plot itself. Amazing. It was evenly paced between character and plot development, and the political scenes and actions sequences paced and pushed each other in the most perfect way.

The world building while at first intense, was absolutely stunning, and slow enough throughout the book that I wasn’t overwhelmed by information, and left me hungry for more.

The characters in this book - chefs kiss
This is a multi POV book, and I want to note, I don’t normally like multi POV. However in this case. It worked, I loved it, being able to read this story from every angle, only added to plot development and the intrigue.

This book has the potential set up for romance in following books, and 0 spice, and I do normally like my books a little spicy. But it absolutely was not missed in this book.

This was a beautiful, chaotic, romantic love story with a series of twists and turns that spice the story up. Wonderful, exciting read! Could not put down until I finished!.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.