This book was above and beyond amazing! I do wish that there had been more to the story after the end but overall it was an enjoyable read with plenty of angst and fantasy to keep me going.

Absolutely recommend!

Thank you to the author, NetGalley, & publisher for the eARC! I was thoroughly entertained!

So, I'll preface this review with the fact that I had just finished reading "Iron Flame" (if you know, you know) and I was still in the mood for a story with a dragon in it. Dragon being in the title and this being a romantasy, I WAS IN!!! This novel starts out with a desperate Arwen, her villages only female hunter, returning from a hunt where she has scored some BIG game. Her family is poor and they come from the farthest village in the kingdom. Arwen's village is so far removed from events that happen closer to Jade City, where the king lives and where the magic of the dragon (for those who are blessed) that when the King's guards arrive the very same day the village has no clue that the King has sent out a decree that he is looking for a wife strong enough to bear him a magical child. In the fashion of Cinderella, he is asking for all the eligible females with a certain amount of power in their blood to come to his castle and be tested. The one who wins also gets to be his Queen.
For reasons unknown to Arwen her mother says she can't be tested and finally after giving her the devastating reason why, Arwen tries to escape the village under the guise of going out on another hunt. Of course she's caught and is thus tested. No spoilers here, she's on her way to the castle for testing.
If I'm being honest, when I read the part about a competition to become the queen, I almost put the book down. I am just tired of the competition troupe. my annoyance was unnecessary, this is NOT that kind of competition and that part of the story is minimal.
After events unfold, there is a very happy ending and borderline cliffhanger for the King of Dragons. Although, this is a standalone story in a series of books in this world.
Do I recommend it? Yes!
Will I keep reading? Yes...after I get through this gigantic stack of books I am back logged on. ;-)

NO REGRETS!!!!
4 out of 5 stars

The Last Dragon King is the first book in Leia Stone's new Kings of Avalier YA fantasy series. And while it does leave off on a hook to Stone's next book, it is perfectly sufficient as a standalone. As for whether it's a solid read — that all comes down to what you're looking for.

Our heroine is Arwen, a human with (as far as she knows) the scantest of dragon magic lineage in her blood. She lives her life as a hunter in a small town, long ignored by the kingdom's Dragon King. But now the King is looking for a new wife: one with enough inherent magic to give birth to an heir without dying. Despite her desire to find a boy to call her own, Arwen is not especially interested in becoming queen, and initially believes she's not even in the running. But she soon discovers that her lineage is not at all what she thought. Not only is she a top-tier candidate, but the magic lying dormant inside her could potentially be catastrophic. Now if only she hadn't gone and fallen in love with her royal suitor.

While The Last Dragon King has interesting characters and a unique fantasy setting with potential for interesting expansion, much of its drama rests on the characters' sheer inability to communicate. Also, while it's refreshing to see a female protagonist who doesn't have to choose between married life and military badassery, it's a little disconcerting how quickly any other interesting female character falls under one blade or another along her road to achieving that.

While the story itself has interesting threads and the prose is solid, The Last Dragon King is a very by-the-numbers YA fantasy. The promise of an overarching story of kings of many types and the upstart heroines who love them, combined with an interesting setting, is enough to make this an interesting casual read.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinions.

Oh my goodness! Did I read this book in one sitting? YES! I am so ready for the next one.

This book was wonderful. I absolutely loved the storyline it was very unique. I did feel like some of the parts were rushed but I didn’t feel like it took away from the story at all.

Arwen is from the Cinder Village and is taking care of her mother and sister since her father died. But now the king from Jade City needs a new bride and heir and she finds out she has enough magic to possibly be the next queen.

4/5 stars would highly recommend!

The Last Dragon King sets up a new fantasy world with dragons, fae, and young girls with attitudes as big as their powers.

It took me a bit to figure out whether I really liked this book or not. I loved Drae. You could feel his pain after losing so many children and his wife. He wanted to be a good leader and treated Arwen with respect and understanding.

Arwen was a fun character to follow. She wanted to live a simple life in a simple village and was thrust into a possible position of power.

My issue with the book was two-fold: 1) the way Arwen spoke. The book has a very medieval feel, but she spoke like a modern woman and even said "dude." 2) there were several indications that cheating would be involved in order to save the territory. It didn't happen, but I almost stopped reading because of it.

I waffled between giving this book 3.5 and 4 stats, and eventually settled on 4 because I couldn't put the book down once I started it even with the issues. I'll be checking out book two to see how the author has furthered the story!

Thank you, NetGalley and Bloom Books, for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was a pleasant surprise of a book. The FMC is a top fave for me. I love when they know their worth and strength and don’t shy away from it, and that’s exactly how this one is. It’s was eventful with a fantastic amount of banter and buildup. I can’t wait to see what happens next.

4 ⭐️
.5 🔥
YA Fantasy Romance
Dragon Shifters
War/Battle
Lost/Forgotten Queen
Magic
Bride/Mother for the Next Heir
Fading Magic
Kingdom in Trouble
Great on Audio! 🎧
⚠️ This story does contain dark subject matter. Please check content warnings. ⚠️
This was a solid YA fantasy romance. I enjoyed the characters and story line. The MMC made some questionable decisions due to his title and responsibilities, that I didn’t know if I was going to be able to get over, but it all worked out in the end. I really liked the FMC, she was strong and provided for her family, then had to make some hard decisions about love and duty. I liked that the FMC was the true heroine in this story! I’m looking forward to the other stories and kingdoms in this series!

Thank you Leia Stone, Sourcebooks Bloom Books and NetGalley for the ARC! These were all my own words and opinions.

The Last Dragon King was a good story…at first. I really like the premise of the story, magic and dragons are a favorite of mine, but I had a hard time connecting with this book, which really bummed me out. Since this is the first in a series, I think I’d like to read it again when the second book is out to see if it picks up a little more. It felt like a lot of world building and I was hoping for a little something more, I guess.

Ⓑⓞⓞⓚ Ⓡⓔⓥⓘⓔⓦ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕃𝕒𝕤𝕥 𝔻𝕣𝕒𝕘𝕠𝕟 𝕂𝕚𝕟𝕘
𝗟𝗲𝗶𝗮 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗲
YA Fantasy
288 pages

Sʜᴏᴿᴛ Sʏɴᴏᴘsɪs

Arwen is thrown into a wild ride when she finds out she has magical abilities and is in the running to marry the King.
He needs an heir and must find a woman with enough magic to withstand a pregnancy carrying a magical baby.

Mʸ Tᴴᴼᵁᴳᴴᵀs

I was enthralled with this story from the first word to the last and had an overwhelming feeling of sadness when it was over. 😜Thank goodness there are more books in this series.

Arwen is a badass eighteen-year-old woman who speaks her mind, hunts to feed her family, and stands up for herself. She also deals with the angst of young love. The King is strong, kind, and handsome but fiercely protects his people, doing what is necessary.

There are dragons, magic, and a bit of romance as this story leads us from a young hunter living with limited means to living in the castle as the King tangles with picking the right woman out of a hundred prospects.

I zipped through this book because I absolutely loved it. 😍 The story flowed smoothly, and I became attached to the characters right away.
Although I am 52, I read lots of YA books, especially fantasy. I am thrilled that I’ve found a new series to look forward to.

💕Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for providing this ebook for me to read and review.

💻Check out my website for easy access to book reviews by genre or author. Latishaslowkeylife.com

Overall the book was very fast paced and a good quick read. The characters weren’t my personal favorites, but the story line was interesting. The world building was simple and easy to follow along!

CAWPILE score 7.86/4 stars

I really enjoyed this book and almost read it in one setting (but I had stuff to do so I had to stop), however I think it could have been better.

I have mixed feeling about the main characters, mostly because we don't really get to know them more. The FMC is described a lot (and I mean a bit too much) as different than other girls, but she gets attached and befriends other females really easy, so I think she's a girls girl too, but it feels like she's a pick me sometimes. I liked the fact that she accepted to follow the norms in social circumstances, but was more like herself when she could, but I also feel like saying that this was different than what other girls would do was overdone.And about the MMC we know almost nothing, there were some hints (like why he isn't visiting poor cities, but also he did not change the traditions, so he was also part of the problem) but we know almost nothing. Actually, we don't get to know much about the characters or the world itself, so a bit more world building would have been nice.
I was disappointed that the shifters and the dragons are actually the same, and we only get two. I was hoping that the dragonfolk would be more interesting, but they felt like simple humans.
And lastly, the whole idea has that he must get a heir, so a pregnancy was to be expected, and I know that some people really really don't like the trope, but I was the whole point of the book and we got to skip from the decision to try and have a baby to the labor.

All in all, as I said, I really enjoyed the book and I think it's great, especially after book hangovers. It was easy to read and immersive for me and it has a lot of potential, so I'll give the other books a chance as well. Another bonus point goes for the TW list. I've seen more and more books with it and I hope soon it will be a normal part of all books.

If you're looking for a book to overcome that Fourth Wing hangover while we all wait for book 3...you HAVE to pick up Leia Stone's The Last Dragon King. It's the perfect romantasy with epic worldbuilding, I immediately rooted for our FMC, Arwen. She's strong, independent, and has so much personality. This felt easy, breezy, and fun, and I loved the chemistry between her and Drae. And I mean, it has dragons. What more can a girl want?

My only critique is that at times Arwen's dialogue felt a little too modern. I get what the author was going for (and I also had a similar issue with Fourth Wing), but there were some times I really stumbled reading it.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, SourceBooks, and Leia Stone for gifting me this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Did I totally forget to download this before it got archived, rush out to grab the published version, and immediately give it a prized spot on my shelf? Oh, totally. Even though this is a standalone, I can't wait to see where Leia Stone takes this world next.

This book drew me in quickly and had me hooked! I enjoyed the setting and chemistry of our two main characters, Arwen and Drae. This book is quick, trope-y (in a good way!), and a fun read.

A good opener for a series of standalones. The idea of a bride competition has been used before BUT to have it also done away with so quickly with the king so obviously obsessed with her and barely even putting on a show of trying for the dozens of others? Less common. Everything moves forward quickly from that abrupt end to the bride competition and honestly that’s where I felt myself settle in easier for the story.

I did get extremely frustrated at times with the treatment of the girls and people just looking at them as though they were vessels to be filled. I don’t know why I didn’t see it coming, but the heavy emphasis on providing an heir really rankled me. Like it’s in the synopsis so I shouldn’t have been as surprised but I guess I hoped for more despite that. And don’t even get me started on that whole “arrangement” at the end; even if it didn’t fully go forward, it made me mad to read and my heart hurt for Arwen. Bonus points for making me feel deeply for the character.

One thing I felt was lacking just a bit was the development of relationships between a lot of the side characters. Like Drae and Arwen I can write off as quickly bonding due to not being fully human, even despite their disagreements. But the others? I’d wish there had been more. More interactions. More dialogue. More growth. I especially wish I could’ve seen more girl-warrior bonding between Arwen and Regina. That would’ve brought me joy. A lot of the relationships were told rather than shown for development and I missed that aspect of the story.

Overall it was an interesting fantasy tale filled with fascinating mythos for its dragon kind and the surrounding kingdoms. It may not have fully won me over, but I did enjoy reading it for the most part.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (3.5 stars)

I really enjoyed this book. For a fantasy book I found it was a light read and thoroughly enjoyed the characters and world building. Sometimes fantasy books can be hard to wrap your head around but this was not. Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone who loves fantasy and romance.

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.