This book was quite fun at first. It gave off a lot of YA vibes with how the fmc acts and talks but it wasn't anything that bothered me too much. Arwen, though she was pretty naïve and simple-minded at times, was a decent main character. She did sound like a typical YA character and had some "pick-me" moments. Though she was a strong character, she repeatedly said a lot of things that were hurtful and cruel and the dynamic between her and Drae was just confusing. Drae is the dragon king but she just has no respect for his position. Also, there's a lot of slang in this book and it was quite jarring to read.

Arwen and Drae's banter was pretty cute but their relationship buildup happened too quickly and easily. I would have loved more development between them. I almost feel like after the 70% mark, everything that happened just wasn't crucial to the plot at all. The book seemed to have lost track of the plot. The ending was entirely confusing and I was so extremely disappointed with it. This book could have used some more worldbuilding. It was a very fast read but only because we honestly don't really get much about the world and the magic/different powers in it. The actual story could have been developed more and the characters could have had more growth. The ending was all over the place and it really felt like things were thrown in there just to awkwardly end the book. The story had so much potential but this was a very poor attempt.

These really remind me of the Married to Magic series by Elise Kova, including how the worlds are interconnected. and each group having their own abilities and land.

This is a good quick book if you’re looking for something to pull you out of a slump or to dip your feet in the water of another genre.

I really enjoyed this story. Original concept with the magical powers of dragons, and enjoyable characters.
I'm torn about my rating as I felt the story needed a little bit more world building, and "the baby saves everything" idea was a bit annoying.
My actual rating is 3.5, but will round up to 4 stars.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC

The description of this book intrigues me a lot.
The first part was really good, but then I kinda got bored.
I didn't really get attached to the MC, but it was a great read.

Exclaimer : I devoured this book
I was kinda busy preparing for the exams but after them I started reading and read it in about 3 hrs this book was awesome
I kinda got worried when the part about mmc having to cheat on the fmc but im really glad that didn't happen and they had a happy ending

The first bit of this book was SO GOOD and it had me racing through the pages excited for what came next, but ultimately I was incredibly disappointed. Our FMC felt *extremely* obvious with her "pick-me" type personality, and it pretty much felt like the only trait her character possessed. Our MC also wasn't anything special? You could literally put anyone in his place and it wouldn't change the story one bit.

The concept and book description was what initially drew me in, but that's pretty much where the originality and good execution ends. Which leaves me disappointed and bummed I didn't find a new dragon-based read to obsess over.

Was it perfect? No. But I still enjoyed parts of it.

Arwen is different. And that was my first problem. She is described as being "not like the other girls" because she hunts, doesn't like dresses, has no refined table manners, and likes to talk about her best kills. This seemed like a wasted opportunity to me, because she really isn't like the other girls in her village: she's self-sufficient, she's a hunter, and she's stronger than most people. Because she had to step up at 9-years-old when her father died and she and her family had no one to provide for them. And that experience makes her different enough without the need to look down at girls who don't live like her and, say, faint at the sight of blood and gore. But oh well.

The constant use of the term "purity" also made me wince a few times (girls talking about giving up their purity/virginity...).

But other than that, I liked the world-building and see a lot of potential for the coming war against the human queen who wants to rid the world of magic (someone else who loves to talk about purity, only this time connected to purity of the blood...).
I also enjoyed the slightly infantile humor and bickering (reminded me a bit of Gena Showalter) a lot, and Arwen and Drae in their own twisted way make a fun couple. But their very rocky road to love was, for me at least, paced a bit oddly, and especially the hole breeding magical heirs aspect was a bit iffy for me at times.

But flaws and all I enjoyed it more than it annoyed me. The writing was engaging enough to make me finish it in one sitting, and I am curious to see the brooding elf king find his match.

The Last Dragon King by Leia Stone has so many of elements that I love to see in books from dragon shifters to a marriage competition . I had a lot of fun guessing what the plot was going to throw at me next and adored the love interest of this story. Sadly I didn't care much for our point of view character. nothing was super off about her I just couldn't seem to get attached. I am certainly planning to read more by the author as found this writing style enchanting . The Last Dragon King will be a good read for fantasy readers looking for a bingeable read with a romantic dragon shifting love interest.

This is by far one of my most favorite fantasy reads, not just this year, but all time. Leia Stone really knows how to keep a reader guessing while giving them just enough angst to keep them interested. I can't thank her enough for how Amazing a read it was. The story was definitely a favorite of mine. The idea of taking all the available and fertile women of the kingdom to become the queen???? Without making it a competition?? WONDERFUL! Nothing against a little competition, but this focused more on him and why he made the decisions he made. The characters, I could kiss them(if they were real of course). The Dragon King is brave, smart, hopeful, and romantic, but he's also willing to listen to others and just do what he wants as a King. I felt he did take a little bit of a back step whenever big decisions needed to be made that had to do with just him, so I was a little disappointed in him then. But our heroine is by far the saving character of the book. She is BRAVE, TRUE TO HERSELF, OUTSPOKEN, and JUST LOVELY! She wants to be a woman without being known for just having children......can't say I blame her, but she stands up for everything she wants and even gets stuff she didn't say out loud was her goal. All in all, this is the AMAZING start to a series that can and will stand the test of time, at least in my books, can't wait to read the next one!

Did not finish, couldn't get past the unlikeable main character and the uninspiring plot! Felt too similar to other fantasy books and not well enough written to stand out.

This is a book that I did not finish. I just could not get into it and I hated the characters. I will not be recommending this book.

I really enjoyed this book! My students are always asking for more fantasy, and I think they will really enjoy this! Can't wait to add it to my shelves.

This fantasy read involves a royal wife competition, dragon shifters and an evil queen. I enjoyed the meeting of the two main characters and the learning of the dragon shifters and other magic. I would have like to see a bit more world building and details in the story because at times it felt that things were happening a bit fast to follow easy. Also, be sure to check trigger warnings in this one as there is a couple more possibly sensitive topics for some people.

So I finished this in a day and I had to take a moment to put my thoughts together.

I think the plot line was a great concept but I felt like it needed to be a bit longer for the development. I just couldn't find a defining moment when the characters love clicked. Arwen just always felt like the last choice and strung around.

I did enjoy how much the dragon king was willing to go to drastic lengths for his people. How he'd put his feelings aside for them. Also, Arwen with her strong will and skills was great. I'm always a fan of a FMC who doesn't need a man.

I'm excited to read the rest of the books because I did like the concept of this book and have high hopes for the others.

The Last Dragon King is the first in Leia Stone's Kings of Avalier series. The book follows Arwen a hunter who is selected by the king's guard as a potential wife for King Drae. The Kings late wife died in childbirth, and he needs a bride who will be able to carry the next dragon heir. Now at the palace Arwen gets to know the King whilst keeping the secret about who she is and what that means for her and the Kingdom.
It's an enjoyable fantasy romance read with some world building but definitely has some room to grow. 2.5 stars
For fans of Keira Cass's the selection series and Raven Kennedy.

I was very excited to have gotten this ARC based off the fact that I was still riding the Iron Flame high, and wanted to get into a dragon fantasy.
I was a *little* disappointed though, I felt like this could have been so much more if there were more editing. One of the things that had really gotten me out of the story was the switch of lingo between modern-day phrases and more historical. In the same chapter, the writer says. " It wasn't good enough to have any cool fire powers, but he was able to lift large rocks", and "Her fingers gnarled from the winter bone disease". I just felt that the switch between the two had confused me on what time period or different world this was suppose to be.
I also felt like how it was set up could have been much more intricate with the world building. I felt like we were kind of thrust into like getting to know her world, and then immediately the "problem" happens without much background. (Which is very wattpad- just the king taking higher magic folks to bear him a child.) And when the background is given- it's kind of info dumped. For instance, I would have liked to see some previous issues the MC had with this "big dark secret" that her mother has been hiding from her, like maybe she finds a box of old things that her mother left her including some questionable books or something in another language which she has to decipher. But instead she kind of just nervously tells her and then sends her on her way. Also,,,,,, the fact that the dragon king was in the kissing booth was giving wattpad as well. (Naturally, there is a long-standing tradition in the town that makes the eligible individuals stand in a tent where they are blind folded and you walk towards the opposite side, and whoever you kiss you are rumored to marry... ofc the king is there and he kisses her and then dips so that no one knows that it's him)
As far as the writing style goes, It's almost like the writing was rushed, but also didn't really give any substantial information until it was going to help the mc in some way. Like in the scenes with the mmc and fmc, they wanted to give tension but didn't have the time to build the tension. There was a lot of things I felt could have been shown and not told with this as well.
But, overall, I thought that the premise was really good and I felt like the main character was a great addition. I will say, the fact that the fmc does not immediately gush over the MMC was nice. She was the typical like I don't want to be here- so I'll make it everyone else's problem including the King's. Which I felt like the scenes where she was lashing out on him was a little out of pocket considering he was being so nice and like tried to get to know the fmc.
This book is a great start to the world, and they probably have enough to keep it going with another couple books. I don't think I'll continue the series, but it was a very quick and easy read so if you're looking for some like Zodiac Academy vibes but with just dragons, I would highly suggest.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!!

It took me a while because i coulnt connect. The world building was simple and easy to follow along but I didn't like the characters that much, but the story line was kinda interesting.

The Last Dragon King by Leia Stone is a popular new adult fantasy romance. It is the first book in a series and is now being traditionally published! It follows Arwen, a 17-going on 18-year-old from the Cinder village which is fairly poor. She is responsible for keeping her mother and younger sister fed since her father passed a few years prior. She lives a pretty simple life. News comes that the Dragon King is looking for a strong wife that can bear him children successfully after his first wife tried and failed four times, eventually dying herself.
It turns out Arwen has secret power where after she’s sniffed (yes sniffed) to see her strength she is taken back to the Jade City as a prospective wife.
This was very fast paced with significant time jumps between chapters. I found that you couldn’t connect with the plot as it was all moving constantly.
Arwen was also a frustrating character. She has the typical ‘I’m not like other girls I’m different’ because she wore trousers not dresses and enjoyed eating food. These were the only things explained time and time again. The King, or Drae, had the stereotypical brooding, suffering king that fell for the unique girl who could actually kill him.
One second they were marrying and he’d have a kid with one of the other prospective wives, the next the pair didn’t care that their baby could have significant deformities due to their magic merging. One breath then and she was pregnant but not early on, rather giving birth all of a sudden.
Nothing much happened in all honesty. This evil queen wasn’t explained that much and we all just had to accept that she was the villain without knowing much. This book was written in a way where all the stereotypical and common tropes was included.
Thank you for the eARC. I hope other readers found this book enjoyable.

An amazing start to a new favourite fantasy series...

I love this book. It gripped me from the beginning, i finished it in just a few hours. The characters were fantastic, I love Arwen. She is a strong female character, who hunts for her family. The Dragon King needs an heir, searching for woman's who can bare his child. Arwen tries to escape but she's caught and from there starts the unrevealing of secrets and burning romance between them. I can't wait for the next book. This was a great start to a new series.

4 stars