You know who can write the heck out of dragons? Jenn Lyons. This was really great. It had all the makings to be an exciting and great romantasy, and it really was. The pacing, the world, the magic, THE DRAGONS - simply lovely. Some of the characters were a bit flat, but I wasn't overly upset about it.

I really struggled to get into the world of this story, and it took me a while to feel like I understood the world that the author created. The beginning was very stilted in its' set-up, and I was grasping at straws to understand what was happening with the characters at the beginning. The narrator also did not differentiate between different voices enough, leading to some confusion on who was speaking at various points. I did enjoy the story once I got into it.

The Sky on Fire - Jenn Lyons

Pub Date: Jul. 9, 2024

The Sky on Fire is a unique take on a fantasy story full of dragons, magic, and found family. I really appreciated the unique lore of the world building as well as the queer representation. However, I struggled to buy into the characters as much because they all felt a lot younger than they were supposed to be. The teenagers sounded like children, and the adults sounded like teenagers. This made it extra jarring when there were a few spicy moments – I just didn’t find them believable. However, this was still a fun little fantasy, and I would recommend checking it out especially if you’re a dragon fan and/or looking for some queer representation in your next fantasy read.

The narration really brought this to life. I might have DNF’d the book if I had been reading a physical copy, but the narration was thoroughly well-done.

ARC received from Macmillan Audio via Netgalley.

Loved most of this book... Unfortunately it didn't quite come together for me. The dragons were great, the plot was full of interesting elements but there was never a moment where it all clicked for me.

Audiobook was fantastic!

Overall, I think the story was good and world interesting. However, it took me a while to get into the story and even longer to care for the characters. Even by the end I didn't have a strong pull towards them and wasn't sad to see the book come to a close. I don't think I will be reading the second book in the series - though that might change. I'm sad by this because I had such high hopes for this book - which is possible why I enjoyed it less as I went into it expecting to love it. If I would have gone into it with no expectations - while I know I wouldn't have loved it - I might have still been willing to go into the next book.

I did enjoy the found family and the heist. I just wish the heist would have come sooner to draw me in more.

This book was kind of a miss for me. I enjoyed the general world, the Deep, and some elements of mystery. But the way the story jumps in, it felt like a prequel or early chapters were missing (not literally). I'm all for subtle world-building and showing-not-telling, but in this case, it seemed like new details and new magical things were being sprinkled in so suddenly and randomly. New discoveries lacked impact because of the limitless nature. For this reason, I had a hard time feeling invested in the story. The tone of the character interactions go from very YA and cheesy, to very suddenly horny, while remaining closed door. The diversity of race and sexuality was appreciated, but I just could not care about the characters. Cool elements here and there, but overall, it was not for me.

Thank you Tor for the audio ARC!

3 Stars

The narrator for this audio book was amazing!! The voices she used for the different characters was top notch! That is why I am giving this three stars. This book wasn't for me but I enjoyed the audio a lot and that made it for me.

Thank you to Macmillian audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this book.

Unfortunately, I had to DNF this book. I tried my best with it but I must have started and restarted 20 times and none of them stuck. Not sure if it’s just wrong timing but I wish I could get into the concept. I think the world was a lot at first and I couldn’t absorb it. This may be one to read by eyes over listen to audio! Nothing against the author or anything, this was just personal preference!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

Anahrod is supposed to be dead, but years ago she survived a fall–execution if we are being specific– that should have killed her but didn’t, depositing her in The Deep where she has attempted to make a life for herself. This is made easier thanks to her special talent, the ability to communicate with animals and even take over their bodies. While this can come in handy, it is a talent that others fear. Now she has two separate groups attempting to kidnap her for their own personal, and selfish, reasons. To make matters worse, Neveranimas, the leader of the dragons, is eager to find her as well.

The Sky on Fire is a novel that has some great things about it, and some not so great things. I really enjoyed a majority of the narrative–it is action-packed and Lyons’ world building is amazing–as well as the characters, who were well developed and relatable to a degree, but there seemed to be a lot of fluff throughout. There were events and characters that added little to nothing to the story, which made some parts a little boring and slow. I also liked how there were characters who are a part of the LGBTQIA+ community, but at times I did not like the ways in which they were described or referred to, such as using the term “late-blooming” to refer to individuals who identify as trans. I believe that this is something that people might find offensive, leading them to abandon the book; I know I struggled with the terminology used. There is a great story in The Sky on Fire, it just wasn’t executed fully, nor was it done in the sensitive ways that it should have been.

The audiobook was absolutely phenomenal. I loved the unique voices that were used for the characters and the ways in which they were brought to life, as well as the tone and inflection changes; I could completely immerse myself in the adventures and adversities faced throughout the story. Fortgang really brought the story to life.

This was a fun read. I really enjoy it when a book has good world building and plenty of action and you get dropped right in the middle of it haha! I especially loved the take this author took on the dragon/dragon rider dynamics. That being said, I do feel like there was A LOT going on for one book and that it caused a bit of what I call reader whiplash 😂. This many elements would've been more feasible in a duology or trilogy but for one standalone book, it left me reeling a little. I also found that I didn't connect with the characters as deeply as I would've liked.

Either way, I think it was a fun read with plenty of action, a heist, dragons and queer rep!

I went between ebook and audiobook for this one and both were enjoyable! The narrator did a great job bringing the characters to life.

A big thanks to Tor books, MacMillan Audio and NetGalley for the ARC/ALC. All opinions are my own.

Dragons, a group of misfits, cloud cities and a heist make for an amazing adventure! This was advertised "for fans of Fourth Wing" and dare I say I think I enjoyed it more than FW! Highly recommend!

Thanks, Macmillan Audio, for the advanced audiobook review copy.

I love sci-fi/fantasy, especially with solid world-building and dragons. However, this audiobook didn't hold my attention, so I decided to abandon the story.

Thank you Tor, NetGalley, and Macmillan Audio for an ARC and advanced listening copy in exchange for an honest review!

3.5!

The Sky on Fire is a plot-forward dragon heist novel, and I had a lot of fun while reading it. I do quite like Lyons’ writing, and I think the world was really neat, though while I appreciate that this is a standalone, part of me wishes more time got spent exploring it. While I enjoyed myself while reading, afterwards I did find that it didn’t leave as strong of an impression as I had assumed it would. At the time of reading, I liked the characters, but after they felt more like broad strokes gestures than fully fleshed out characters. The bones of something I could be obsessed with are here, but ultimately they’re just bones. It was a fun and relatively easy read for me, but I definitely think this is in part because I was reading the audio and was able to flip through an ARC if I wanted to reference something.

I liked Lauren Fortgang’s narration, and I think the audio helped smooth out some things I would have been more bothered by had I been reading exclusively with my eyes.

It has been over a month since I received this audiobook. The narrator isn't doing it for me. I hope to complete it but unfortunately, their voice is not engaging enough for me to want to listen. Because of this I couldn't tell you anything about the book thus far. I think I'm two hours in (yikes).

First I would love to say that the narration of this book was great and I absolutely loved all her voices she gave the many many characters in this novel. She did an absolutely perfect job.

For me the story was dense, definitely one I’d expect from 2 or 3 book series. I do usually prefer stand alone but felt there was a lot of backstory that was a little hard to grasp when listening. I enjoyed the way the dragons were in power in this book and how that relationship worked and developed with the humans. It was certainly unique! Overall it was an interesting read that I wish had more time.

This book, I don't even know where to start with this one. I liked it, I actually really liked it; I think it's my favorite dragon book of the year so far.

Now, I will say there were some pacing issues. I don't like being dropped into the middle of a story, and we are in this one, but for some reason, it didn't bother me as much as some others have.

The world-building in this one is fantastic, and the characters and the story are great, and the magic, well, it's magical, no pun intended.

I had the opportunity to listen to the audiobook, and it's amazing; Lauren Fortgang is beyond amazing and was the perfect choice to narrate this epic tale.

Thank you to MacMillan Audio and NetGalley for providing a copy of this e-book. I have voluntarily listened to it, and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for sending me an early copy of this audiobook! All opinions are my own!

If you need another dragon book to sate your new obsession, here's the intriguing new book for you! I love the way the worldbuilding makes everything feel so unique despite the newfound "dragon renaissance" we've had going. The separation of the two worlds/cultures is the first intriguing part, and it just keeps going from there.

My one issue was that it took way too long to actually get to the heist part and then get me hooked in the story. Once Anahrod was with the others, it became super enjoyable, but before that, I couldn't find the point in it and it kept feeling like there was no plot, just a lot of worldbuilding for no reason.

My favorite part of this was the found family aspect. The characters were really loveable, even when they were flawed. The romance was also really well done and made everything feel so much more special even in the middle of a lot of chaos. Not to mention the plot twists that were beautifully crafted and added to all the excitement!

I can't wait to see where this series goes, I know it's going to be a great journey!

To my dismay, I did not appreciate The Sky on Fire as much as I would have liked to. I really wanted to love it. Still, apart of the elements that didn't work out for me so much, I did have fun reading it.

The cast of characters is incredibly diversified, and the narrative is really well-paced. Although I liked the characters, I would have preferred to see more character and world development. Given the sorcery, animal-talking people, and variety of magic, it would have been wonderful to delve even more into the realm of magics.

The fact that the dragons have control over the riders is something I greatly enjoy. This was, in my opinion, a really original perspective on riders and dragons in fantastical settings. The narrative of organizing and carrying out the heist was excellent. There were some unexpected turns in the plot, and I was always genuinely interested to see what would happen next. But since the majority of the book was devoted to establishing up the universe and backstory, I wish there had been a little more action. Instead, it felt like everything was wrapped up quickly.

The narrator of the audiobook was great! Her accents were a good fit for the characters. And since the narrator's distinct voices for each character made it easier to differentiate them in the audio version, which was helpful given there were a lot of different characters.

I believe this book would be interesting for readers who enjoy fantasy novels with dragons.

We need more Fantasy standalones like this tbh!

I really liked the concept for this book, and I did enjoy the characters. However, I was confused for the majority of the book. The book does just pick up in action almost from the first page so it was a bit hard to familiarize myself in the world and the story. The characters also were a little hard to tell apart in some scenes which did make it confusing.

I will admit I think if I would have read a physical version of this with the audiobook I would have been able to follow along a bit easier, just to have the character names and such in front of me.

Overall tho it's a solid fantasy book, filled with dragons and heists!

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for a copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review!

I have very mixed feelings about this book. I think many will really like it. I liked, but didn't love, it. Lyons drops you right into this world full of dragons and misfit characters. There is a ton of adventure and a great plot surrounding a heist. I really enjoyed how these dragons were different. They could take over the bodies of their riders. The relationships between humans and dragons were interesting. There is found family with these misfits. They felt so real in how they both argued with each other and fought for one another. While all of this really should work for me it didn't quite get to the "love" category for me. The book is long as is the case with many fantasies. In that length, I also got lost at times. There are a lot of characters and scenarios playing out. I read both in print and audio and really enjoyed the audio as the narrator helped me to stay engaged throughout. There was just a ton going on and it was hard to keep up at times. I started out thinking this was going to have more romance. While it does have some romantic elements that are deliciously queer-positive I would say this is more fantasy with a romantic element.

Overall, I would say that this one is worth a try. While it wasn't my favorite, I did enjoy it and genuinely believe there are some who will love it, especially if you are a fan of dragons in your books. These dragons really come alive on the page!