Magic 🪄, Dragon shifters 🐉, a Kingdom to save, romance… this book has it all!!!

The Last Dragon King is action packed with a twist, as some of part is based on (not identical to) the Selection series. I loved both of the main characters and how they changed throughout the book. I’m excited to see glimpses of them again in the rest of the series.

Overall, I cannot wait to read The Broken Elf King 🧝🏼‍♂️👑


#NetGalley

Rate - 5/5
Spice - 1

Honestly this was exactly the kind of book that i have been looking for.

This book was amazing. The writing was fantastic, the world building was clear and beautifully described. The love story was intriguing and full of ups and downs. The plot was oh my… had me hooked from the first chapter.

Thank you so much for this opportunity to ARC this beautiful fantastic book.

The Last Dragon King is a pleasant story with flowing and uncomplicated writing that grips you the moment you pick it up. This makes it a super quick read, as well as being unexpectedly fun in some points.
The premise has a perfect balance of all I look for in a fantasy story: an instantly likable, strong heroine from an underprivileged background with a secret past; a journey, magical creatures (including a dragon shifter MMC) and a beautiful castle city.
Unfortunately despite a very promising premise, the second and third parts of the book felt anticlimactic. Character development felt rushed, like many other aspects of this story, particularly the romance. Maybe I'm just too used to painfully slow burns, but I didn't feel like there was sufficient context to the MMC's character, nor enough insight into their budding romance, to justify Arwen's sudden change of heart towards Drae.
On a personal level, I'm not a lover of pregnancy tropes, especially with very young FMCs. Although in this book it's justified, due to this being central to the plot and as such it wouldn't have been a terrible thing in itself, but the purity culture element being pushed so hard blew it. What I found more than a little bit strange was how such a conservative outlook on relationships is pushed alongside many modern concepts such as the FMC's strength, her 'feminist' (and I use this term loosely) beliefs and the language, which in some points is so 21st century it feels out of place.
The beginning of the story carries strong Hunger Games tones, and the age, lack of emotional maturity and attitude of the FMC places The Last Dragon King firmly in the YA genre, which isn't a bad thing in itself, but in this context, the wedding night scene felt unnecessary. Personally, I have no problem at all with a closed door/ fade to black situation, and in this case it would have been preferable to the ‘neither here nor there’ love scene on offer.
The end of the ARC copy I was sent contained an excerpt of the second book of this series, which shifts the focus on a character who was introduced in this book and who felt more intriguing than Drae, so I look forward to giving this a go in hope that it will provide a satisfying development for this series.

2.00 stars
I was so invested for the first half of the book, and then it kind of lost me. The banter between Arwen and Drae started off super cute then flattened and then dived bombed to death. Arwen is very much a flat character, very pick me, I’m not like other girl’s attitude. Also, the purity culture was pervasive, this is very much not a spicy book, which is fine, but the purity culture was a massive turn off, and made the “romance” feel very stilted and fake. Drae was interesting for the first couple of chapters, but once they reached the palace, he just became a cardboard cutout figure.
This book was not my cup of tea. If you loved The Selection and wanted a dragon shifter, then maybe give it a try?

Thank you to Sourcebook Bloom for the opportunity to read this eARC, my opinions are my own.

This book was pure cliche. At the beginning I thought this will be a fun little read but I just couldn’t stand the main character. And all these predictable plots…

Sadly not my type of book but I think there are many readers who love these tropes like love at first sight.

I really didn't enjoy this one, it just wasn't for me. I don't want to be to mean or negative but I will touch on a few of the reasons why. The narrative needed more development. It was a bit underwhelming as a fantasy world and just not fleshed out enough. I found the main character to be a bit too immature and I failed to really connect with her. My main issue with this book was the writing style. It was not great for me. Some people would call it "Wattpad-y" and I'd have to agree. Not that there's anything inherently wrong with that, as many people love those kinds of books. It just doesn't work for me, it feels cheesy. For someone looking for a easy, escapist read, it might work for them. I won't be leaving a review/rating anywhere because I DNF'd it about 30% in.

I devoured this book ! I wish that there was more... It left me craving more to read. I do like the story and it was quick to get into.

This like many other sourcebooks bloom books is a fantastic book and I love most things they publish and it was one of my favs

I loved this book! I instantly fell in love with Arwen and Drei. She is the perfect feminist hero. I cannot wait to read the second book!

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Last Dragon King was very much all over the place. The pacing was way off. It lacked strong world and character building. One of my main issues with the book was the use of contemporary slang in a setting not of this time. Also, the purity thing, saving oneself for marriage, being chaste, etc. gave me the ick. And, attempting to build a female character up at the expense of nearly every other female character in the was also not for me. Most females in the book were very one dimensional and always described in opposition to the female lead. She was brave and strong. They were weak and fainted at the sight of blood. Her interests were bold and daring. Theirs vain and irrelevant. etc. etc. etc. It's just not an appealing way to tell a female led story.

Overall, disappointment is what I felt for this book. The concept had legs but the execution was bad. The story was rushed to a conclusion and used lazy storytelling devices to achieve it. Almost as if the author had painted herself into a corner and rather than go back and fix her mistakes, she took the easy way out (ie. killing Joselyn.) The characters not fully fleshed out. The romance lacked believability and there was ZERO spice.

Review will be posted January 5th

I have really mixed feelings about this book. On one hand, it was the kind of book I can be read in one setting, because it is short and easy to read. I think there was a lot of potential, and I still had fun reading it. It was a fun book to just read after work, when I wasn't in a mental to fully focus on a book. I mean that in a good way, because sometimes that's what you need. There isn't that much focus on the world building, and it is more about the characters romance than anything. And it was enough to make me want to pick up another book from Leia Stone (which I did), and give it another shot.
Still, there was a part of me that really struggled with some of the aspect of the story. Without spoiling too much, some of the choices made in the name of power and an heir were annoy to me, though I could see in the context of the story why they were made. Still, I wish things had been explored slightly differently, especially considering the book is on the shorter side.
Overall, it was still a fun and quick read, perfect for readers that don't need a lot of world building. Will I read more from Leia Stone? Yes, I will check out her other series. I'm not yet 100% sure if I want to continue this series, as the next book follows different characters, but I might at some point.

Diving into 'The Last Dragon Queen' promised a fresh take on royal romance, but the writing style didn't quite click for me. The plot, centered around a royal search for a magical queen, felt erratic and lacked the anticipated organization. Arwen's strength was commendable, but the romantic aspect with Drae felt somewhat underwhelming. The unexpected twists, though intriguing, left me wanting a more coherent narrative. While the book introduces promising elements, its execution falls short of creating a truly immersive experience.

I read this in less than 24 hours, so that should say something since I am not the fastest of readers and I get easily distracted. The story kept me engaged. While the pacing was at times fast, I could appreciate the passing over of fluff or filler. However, there are parts that I would have liked a little more detail of, particularly at the end. For example, the battle scenes could have been in more detail and the mid chapter time jump was a bit jarring.
That being said, I enjoyed the relationship building between Arwen and Drae. Drae wasn’t as swoony as I would like, but he is loyal and endearing. Arwen was so likable and good at making friends that we (thankfully) avoid any cattiness that could have come from the kind of ‘The Bachelor’ storyline. Although, that could have definitely made things interesting… I like that the book didn’t drag on to be more than a standalone within a series.
The magic system was cool. Only the royals can completely shift into dragon form and the others have having varying forms of dragon abilities.
This book is definitely YA, no spice.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Bloom Books for an e-arc. All opinions are honest and my own.

This book had me on the edge of my seat! I couldn’t put it down! I would highly recommend if you love fantasy romance.

When I saw this arc, I was fascinated by the cover. Then I read the description, and saw that the book is perfect for readers of:
🧝🏻‍♀️Holly Black
🏹Sarah J. Maas
🐉Rebecca Yarros
which sealed the deal.

Personally I don't like Sarah J. Maas and Rebecca Yarros' writing, but I hoped that it would be like a Holly Black book with fae and dragons. There was fae and dragons but... I had several problems with this book:

1) The writing
While I prayed that the writing would be like Holly Black's, it was giving wattpad. There was certain word repetitions and word choices that annoyed me to no end. An example was the word "kill". In the first chapter alone the fl used to word over 10 times. Another thing is when they present her as this girl who strays from norms and is seen as vulgar in the castle only to say "Lie" when she's talking about intercourse... and then she gets all shy about it.

In one of the first chapters there also was a hint of shaming women who don't save their virginity to after marriage. They ask Arwen if she's a virgin, and she says yes, and thinks something along the lines of: "I didn't know how they did things in Jade City, but here the young women kept their purity until marriage." I don't like this way of indirectly putting other women down for the purpose of presenting your character as pure or better in some way.

2) The main character Arwen
In the first chapter she seemed promising, but then she started acting like a pick-me. When she arrived at the palace there wasn't a chapter where she didn't emphasize on how different she is from the other women because she doesn't like dresses, hates gossip and eats however she likes. Other than that she didn't have a personality.

3) The male lead Drae
While Arwen had a bit personality, Drae had absolute none. How can the male lead have less personality than a side character? I know side characters from other books with more depth and personality. I know nothing about him other than the fact that he had a wife and 4 children, but that they all died. I absolutely HATED him when he suggested that he marry Arwen while trying to conceive a baby with the other women. And I hate Arwen even more for agreeing to marry him after he said that. Later on he may have changed his mind, but the thought itself is disgusting and a huge turnoff.

4) May day
This whole part of the plot with the kissing tent seemed unnecessary and freaked me out. Respectfully, it's a no from me. Like what do you mean they have a yearly tradition where they kissed strangers in the village blindfolded to find a spouse 🙅🏻‍♀️

4) The ending
The ending felt rushed. You're telling me that the entire book was about getting an heir, and when she finally gets pregnant (a pregnancy which they didn't even know would end well) they skip it and go straight to the birth.
Another thing that I didn't like about this book was the main characters relationship.
One of the major tropes the book is getting marketed with is the marriage of convenience trope. How come Drae is in a marriage of convenience with everybody but Arwen. When they finally get married it's in one of the last chapters ☠️

Let us sum up with the first thing I read about the book:
🧝🏻‍♀️Holly Black
- There is barely mentioned any fae

🏹Sarah J. Maas
- I haven't read a lot of her, but the only thing that reminded me of Sarah J. Maas was the bad writing style.

🐉Rebecca Yarros
- In the description it says that the series are perfect for Fourth Wing fans, but the only real dragon there is in the book are Drae and Arwen. It doesn't remind me of fourth wing at all other than the wattpad writing.

With all of this being said, this is my opinion. Maybe you'll like it more than I did, and that is alright because we're all different.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books, for this e-ARC. This review contains my honest opinion about the book.

I breezed through this book in a day—it was a real delight. There's room to dive deeper into the world-building, which could amp up the storyline. I liked how things wrapped up neatly, and the sneak peek at the next book with a different main character looks promising for keeping the plot going. If you're into those kinds of reads, it's worth checking out.

Y'all, this book had me hooked. I was so invested in the storyline and the outcome. I thought the pacing was excellent. The action and the tension built up nicely. I audibly gasped several times because I was so surprised by what was happening. I love it when that happens. I liked that important information was revealed throughout the novel instead of one giant info dump.

I enjoyed my time with the characters. I love that Arwen has such strong relationships with other women. Even if she's not close with some of them, she still respects them and is kind to them. A little bit of that "I'm not like the others because I hate dresses", but it doesn't feel like she's being condescending to them. I've read plenty of books where that is the case. The other women were supportive of each other despite competing for the King's hand in marriage. My only gripe with the characters would be that Arwen is too nice and too self-sacrificing. She has a personality, but she's so nice. I'm interested in the Queen of Nightfall and her mechanical machines. I know, she's the enemy, but enemies are always intriguing, right?

The ending felt rushed.

Things I didn't like: Lazy animal naming: bearin, cougarin, ratin, catin, bearin, etc. Are we just adding -in to real animals? Also, inconsistent usage of time. Are we working in moons or months? Winters or years?

I loved the feistiness of Arwen even from the very start where she comes into the village with a kill on her back. She has been supporting her family since her fathers death & has gained respect from others in her village.
Her mother is hiding a secret & with the impending arrival of the King’s people looking for potential girls with magical powers as the King needs a bride this secret is revealed. For Arwen it is a massive upheaval in her life.
The King needs to have a child as his magical powers & those of his people are diminishing which leaves them open to attack. His Queen has recently died after being unable to produce a live child many times.
The storyline kept my attention & I liked the characters. There were times when I felt it was a bit rushed or lacked detail but overall a good read

I finished this book in a day, so that should tell you how easy to read and fast paced it was. It did take me a couple chapters to get into it, but then I was hooked. I immediately fell in love with the FMC, Arwen, her ferocity, determination, loyalty and love to protect her family and friends very much gave me Katniss Everdeen vibes. I appreciated her character development throughout the book, from initially despising the idea of being queen, to prioritizing her duty to her people closer to the end. I wished I got to see some more character development from Drae, as he showed some red flags at points, and I felt that their reconciliation tied together a bit too quickly for my taste. I wanted more relationship development, and a bit more spice besides a few kisses and an underwhelming wedding night. Either way, I love Leia’s writing and the set up for the next books, which I look forward to reading.

What is this ending? I can't actually call it ending because there wasn't one! This is not even a cliff hanger. I checked the ARC several times to see if there's is another lost chapter or something!
At first I doubted that there's a fantasy novel less than 200 pages that could be good without rush in the events. I should have trusted my gut.🙂
I really was enjoying the drama and the intriguing plot but why?! Why this happen to me?!!!!😭
But far from the ending the world building and the characters were good. I was devouring the chapters to know what will happen. But I really don't like the trope of the-girl-that-is-not-like-other-girls and the trial to convince us it's okay to sleep with anyone if you can't get children with your partner!!!!
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with this ARC.