Arrrgh so conflicted about this book. I did enjoy the first 2/3 of it. Going into it knowing it held a lot of purity culture in it helped me to kind of tune that part out and just enjoy the story.
Overall I think if you go into it knowing that it is definitely NOT spicy and that’s the FMC is basically every cliche of every pick me girl in the world you can still enjoy the book. Overall I would say 2.6 but I rounded up to a 3.

This was a very unique story, but it was just okay for me.

This story features "dragon folk," which was a first for me! I was super intrigued by how this book would play out. In this story, the dragon king is looking for a queen. This book had character art throughout, and I loved the visuals; they were done so well.

When I say the setup for this story was FANTASTIC, I mean it! I was so excited about it. Unfortunately, It just fell flat in the last 3/4 of the book for me. I think it would have been great if there was more chemistry between the characters, and it wasn't so rushed. I wish it were longer, and we could have really gotten to see the characters and plot develop.

Thank you, NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Started off promising, but I couldn’t stand the main character. She’s a pick me. I will not be continuing this series unfortunately due to her character I do not like the whole “I’m not like other girls” thing. The magic system seemed really interesting and I liked the world building but at times the language was just too immature for my tastes.

Thank you to SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books, Leia Stone, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 3/5

This was a great start for a new series, giving potential for future storylines while paying attention to the main characters, Arwen and Drae, as they navigate their journey as individuals and as a couple. Now, I want to start off by saying I absolutely LOVED the premise of the books—I’m most definitely in my dragon era, and the main plot line of this book just drew me in. And while I loved both the main and side characters, I do think that there could have been more done with their stories. In all honesty, I could’ve read 2-3 books that were more in-depth about the plot lines that happened in just this one because I was genuinely invested in the story. I felt like important plot points were rushed and some very crucial interactions were not drawn out enough—it sometimes felt more like a stop-and-go of information rather than an intricate dialogue between complex characters. I also do think that the world-building was done in a manner that was more like a “lore dump,” and while I think it was important to build the story and the universe, it could sometimes feel like a lot at once. There was also a sort of “not like other girls” narrative, which is more than fine, but I just think it’s a very fine line to write about, and the character of Arwen could’ve been perceived as that without explicitly saying so continuously throughout the book. And again, while I am critiquing the book, I’d really like to emphasise that I did read this book in one sitting and genuinely liked it, even if I didn’t necessarily agree with some of the stylistic choices! :) I think there’s great potential with the series, and I’m excited to see where it goes.

This an absolutely amazing and hard to put down! I want more! I want a longer Drae and Arwen (ok, I admit not so great name choice there) story and a longer romance! I want an evil schemer determined to become the Queen and take down her rivals even if she doesn’t have enough magic! Most of all I just want more!

I mostly enjoyed this book, but the language read a little bit too young for the story. Even though it is a YA I feel the story looses a lot of impact because of this.

The pacing also seems a bit off. Parts where I would have loved to see the development is rushed. I honestly would have preferred the book to be longer so that the story could develop at a better pace.

As for our MC:
Arwens “I’m not like other girls” doesn’t sit well with me, but that might be expected from an 18 year old. I do appreciate how she doesn’t actually talk other girls down though.

All in all a good start to a series. I will be continuing in hopes that the language and phrasing develops with the story.

The Last Dragon King by Leia Stone

If you gravitate towards a strong female main character, magic, elves, and a mysterious dragon lord—go read this book now! Leia Stone always delivers a fun read. This particular book is a mild enemies to lovers romantasy (imo).

Arwen is an 18 year old living in Cinder Village, a city on the outskirts of the kingdom of Embergate, which is full of hardworking residents of mixed breed descent. We’re talking fairies, elves, dragonfolk, wolven, and humans. One day, the city receives notice that the king is searching for women of childbearing age with magic for the sole purpose of being strong enough to bear him an heir. Every woman tested and found to have enough magic will be sent to the capital city where they will get to know the king, and he them, and undergo a process of elimination. Arwen has basically zero magic so, no biggie right? Enter Drae, Dragon King of Embergate. I won’t spoil how he and Arwen first meet (it’s hilarious lol). The book goes on to chronicle this journey and process of choosing which of the women found will bear the king his heir. There is drama. There is angst. There is fighting! My personal favorite character trait of Arwen’s is how she skillfully needles the king and provokes him. HA!

What I liked about the book:
The plot—come on, romantasy for the win here!
I ADORE a strong female main character! Arwen is no wilting lady, waiting on others to help her. She chose to become a hunter to provide for her family (is actually one of the only recognized female hunters in Cinder Village), and doesn’t act oblivious about the signals men send like weaker fmcs—ie if he’s kissing someone else, she acknowledges that and works to move on.
I loved all the secrets that came out and her desire to be a soldier (haha)

What I didn’t like about the book (and why I only rated it 4 stars):
There were several points in the story that I felt could have been fleshed out much better. I won’t detail the exact spots because spoilers, but it really seemed to move too quickly, and that made some of the relationship movement feel fake. This book could have easily had 100+ more pages to provide for more development between characters, more plot development, and more time to develop tension. O.M.G. there is so much potential in this book for there to be a crazy amount of TENSION. So really, my only complaint is that I wanted more of this story—more fleshed out bits, more tension, more time with Arwen and Drae. Would not have been mad to have more time witnessing Arwen by herself too—you know those scenes where the FMC just SHOWS UP and is FIERCE and independent and GETS. IT. DONE?!?! IYKYK.

Overall I would DEFINITELY read this book again! Go get it. No regrets.

This started off so promising but it seemed to go downhill rapidly to the point I was only finishing it because I hate DNFing.

I loved Arwen’s character at the beginning. Was the opening very reminiscent of the hunger games? Yes. Did it hinder my enjoyment? No. I loved that Arwen had learnt to hunt to take care of her family and I felt like we were getting to know a strong willed and capable FMC. Unfortunately as the book went on I feel like we lost this Arwen completely. Once we get to the capital Arwen just seemed to blurt out whatever she wants and is just irritating. The big reveal about Arwen’s powers was disappointingly skipped over. We’re told it’s a huge deal and yet there’s barely any explanation around this? It’s just skipped over and at one point we’re told that a huge chunk of time has passed and suddenly she can do all this cool stuff - umm what?? Also she becomes such a ‘pick me’ girl which just doesn’t feel necessary.

The king, Drae, started off seriously promising but he quickly became boring. All the side characters are just blah and barely have any substance other than to push along the weird plot.

Basically, all the characters are painfully one dimensional and don’t really have any depth to them at all. There wasn’t a single character I actually bought into or felt like I knew anything about.

I did not enjoy the purity culture being pushed here. I don’t know there being purity culture in fantasy worlds, I can absolutely see how that can factor into world building etc. etc. but this felt like the author had her own agenda and was making it clear so that really didn’t sit well with me. Also the whole section on sleeping with other people to have an heir - WHAT? There was so little explanation around why an heir even matters, and this was just gross and unnecessary. Again it really felt like the author had their own views they were pushing here?

In short, the concept is one I love despite it being overplayed and cliche, but the execution was poor. Characters are one dimensional. There’s no real world building. Plot is boring and predictable (when it even exists). There’s clearly going to be more books in this series looking at different couples but this definitely isn’t going to be a series I’ll be picking up again.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an E-ARC

The concept of this book was very fun but the execution was poor. The story was very rushed and lacked any real world or character building. The mc is a very much a “pick-me” girl. She is not like other girls because she wears pants and hunts.

Very quick read. I will say I definitely thought there would be more spice given the plot is needing an heir but I still managed to like it. It kind of game me the selection combined with fourth wing and a hint of acotar and the hunger games vibes. Overall it was a good read and I will read the next book in the series.

I was so excited to get this eARC. Unfortunately, my head isn’t in a place for navigating the content warnings right now, and I’m so grateful they are there.

I did read chapter 1 (8%) and the writing is definitely on the narrative side and slightly slow. I’d expect three stars for the target market, four to five for the right readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the ARC.

I thought this book had a lot of potential. The world building was interesting and the relationship between the different kingdoms is a smart way to set up a series with multiple couples. This book was very bingeable and I read it in one setting. I was immediately sucked into the world. The writing was well done and easy to read.

However, I had a hard time understanding the actions/behaviour of the two main characters. I felt that the way Arwen justified Drae’s often cruel actions didn’t make sense with who her character was set up to be - someone independent, fierce, and strong. I really didn’t enjoy the use of her as a backup, nor did I enjoy the arrangement she and Drae came to regarding mistresses. For this to be the main plot line felt disappointing given the more interesting political aspects of the plot that could have been further explored. I love a breeding trope but felt this wasn’t executed in a way that made me as a reader love Drae as a male lead. I think the breeding conflict could have been done differently to built tension between the characters that didn’t diminish Arwen and make her appear naive.

Overall I still am interested in the rest of the series, but this wasn’t written for my taste.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

This had an interesting premise but fell flat for me. Basically the selection but dragons. Too immature. Sometimes YA romantasy is still good but here it just wasn’t enough.

I got lost in this story really nicely. It was intriguing and I read the series to get out of a slump from TOG and it was perfect.

When the Dragon King announces his search for a wife with enough magic to produce a heir, and sends out sniffers to do so, Arwen is on the radar with a secret of who she is.

However when she finds out a little secret — it puts her in more danger where the king would end her himself if he knew. I really loved the amount of potential danger within these pages where it creates tension you could cut with a knife.

This book definitely gives off The Bachelor vibes with how Arwen is not the only one brought forth, all hoping they’re the next queen the sit in the lap of luxury. With Arwen being such a strong female lead she doesn’t remotely fit that mold.

I enjoyed the plotline and the story building was wonderful here. It is well written and perfect for a YA romantasy read.


Thank you Bloom Books and Leia Stone for the eARC!

In The Last Dragon Queen, Arwen Novakson lives in a land where Fae with diluted magic live and money is scarce, and Arwen only has a little magic herself. When a the Dragon King announced that he's searching for a wife who has enough magic to produce the next royal heir. The king sends out the magic sniffers and Arwen's mom begins to rush Arwen out of the city. Now Arwen's mom is faced with telling her of a secret about who Arwen really is. Arwen is chosen to present herself to the Dragon King's castle as a possible wife only to find she is not the only one selected. She must have more magic than all the other possible young women.

As she spends her days in the castle, Arwen learns a terrifying secret and of the Dragon King finds out, he would kill her himself.

I really enjoyed the set up for this book with some The Bachelor TV series vibes. All these girls hoping they are the next Dragon Queen - to live a royal life of luxury where money will never to be an issue while being on the arm of the gorgeous and powerful Dragon King. Arwen is a strong female character that is the ying to the Dragon King's yang. Story perfection!

Thank you to @sourcebooks and @netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Read The Last Dragon King of you enjoy:

👑Romantic fantasy books
🐲Marriage of convenience
👑Dragons and shifters
🐲Magical lands

I love dragons, so I was excited to read this one.
However, it turned out to be a bit of a letdown. Despite being a fan of the author and having enjoyed several of her series, I found Arwen's character to be somewhat immature and indecisive. Her choices seemed contradictory at times. Regarding the male character, his connection with her felt more like an obligation due to the demise of others, rather than a genuine affection. While they do find happiness in the end, the conclusion unfolds in a somewhat predictable manner.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it has a great plot and story line, some really loveable characters and a lot of twists and turns that were not fully expected.
It’s well pitched for a YA Romantasy read and hits a lot of well loved tropes such as competition for love, rags to riches, and enemies to lovers, it’s full of deceit and heartaching decision making which made it a lot of fun to read and put down.
It’s not without its flaws, the female lead is ‘not like other girls’ to the point where the other females around her are fainting at the sight of blood or prancing around in pretty dressing with nothing else to talk about than the gardens, there is the exception of the captain of the guard who is a great character and displays good strong female representation in a well rounded way.
The writing isn’t matured but I don’t dislike that, I quite often enjoy writing that’s not overly poetical or complicated, the writer keeps things simple but there is a lot of telling and not always a lot of chance to work things out as a reader, great for teens but those looking for a story with something to get your head around may find this off putting.
I picked this up at the right time. It’s perfect for a late night read where you want to feel some emotions. The extreme decisions to be made and situations characters are put in did make my heart hurt and I love that in my reading.
For me a great experience, il definitely be continuing the series to see how the authors writing progresses.
Thank you for the opportunity to read and review.

With all of the romantasy books coming out lately, and some really great YA dragon-specific novels in existence, this book needed to stick the landing on everything: writing style, world building, character development, interesting and new plots, etc. I really wanted to love this book, but unfortunately, it fell flat for me.

The premise sounded great: the dragon king needs an heir, but his wife has to be magically powerful enough to birth a dragon child. Arwen is certain she doesn't have enough magic to be in the running, but a long-kept secret about who she really is threatens to up-end everything.

The writing felt immature and there was a lot of telling-not-showing. Arwen has "not like the other girls" syndrome: she doesn't like dresses, she wears pants and hunts, and has zero social graces and seems rather proud of these facts. She treats other women kindly, but seems to look down on them if they like different things than her or are squeamish about anything.

I could possibly recommend this book to teens just dipping their toes into the romantasy genre that specifically wanted books about dragons, however, there are better-written books out there.

Arwen is such a likeable character and is so strong, both physically and her will power. She is determined to help her family and her people, and that made me a huge fan of hers as the FMC. Drae gave me mixed feelings about him as the MMC. I enjoyed how dedicated he was to his people and that he did seem to truly care about and love Arwen but leaving her constantly on the backburner and making her feel like a backup turned me off a bit.

For me it was a quick and light fantasy read and while I enjoyed it, I do wish that it was a bit longer so that the plot could have been more developed. It just felt rushed at certain times in the book. There wasn’t really any spice in this and would probably be perfect introduction into romantic fantasy for a teen or as a New Adult book. Overall, it wasn’t bad, but I felt like it had the potential to be so much more.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!