Anahrod Amnead has been hunted for the last sixteen years. Everyone thought she had died all those years ago, however she has been hiding and thriving in the shadows of the Deep. Now the dragons sense her presence again and they are after her for something she never did.
In a world where dragon riders were created to serve and are controlled by dragons Anahrod must fight against dragons, creatures and humans alike if she wants to live. When Anahrod finds a mysterious Deeper dragonrider, Ris, she forms a vengeful alliance to take down those that have taken their lives away.
Overall rating 3/5
This book’s premise hooked me right away. However, I felt so disconnected and not truly invested in the characters. For as lengthy as this book is I felt that there was very minimal character development and a bunch of side plots that were unnecessary. I do appreciate the relationship between Ris and Anarhrod, but felt that there could have been more of a slow burn to their eventual spicy scene. The world building was perfect and I felt as if I was in the Deep evading all the nasty creatures. Narrated by Lauren Fortgang who gave Anarhrod a unique and relatable voice.


*Thank you to Jenn Lyons, Macmillan Audio, and Netgalley for the ARC copy. I am freely leaving my honest review.

I wanted to like this book so much. I loved the summary and description, it sounded right up my alley. I am sad to report I had a lot of trouble getting invested into the characters. I also had trouble following what was going on. The book seemed to jump from situation to situation. The scenes just weren't connected and it didn't flow well for me.

This was my first by Jenn Lyons. Loved the short chapters, loved the dragons. Overall good book. Kept my attention. I saw people comparing it to Fourth Wing. it wasn't quite there for me because Fourth Wing is my Roman Empire but still a good read.

I would do 3.5 if I could but since I can't 3 it is.

This book has dragons and a queer normative society, I was pretty well sold from the outset, but the vibes also hit 👌 so an easy five star for me.

Starting with the couple things that didn’t hit quite right for me before I dive into all the things that did - given this was a standalone epic fantasy, the pacing was a little off. It started a little slow, but definitely picked up in the second half. Additionally, I would have loved just a bit more world building, particularly in the societal structure! There was also one scene related to the romance plot line that I thought didn’t fit in with the tone of the rest of the book, but that was just one minor gripe.

On to what I loved - the queer normative society! I loved the setup, where they use rings to indicate to others your job, identity, and romantic and sexual interests. I would love a guide to learn what they all mean, as it wasn’t fully explained, only implied in some areas. There was a wide variety of identities and relationship setups that I LOVED - definitely diverse rep in this area, including bi, trans, and poly rep.

I also loved the characters and their interactions and growth. It felt natural throughout the story. And the DRAGONS. I loved those interactions as well and how the various dragons were characterized.

I listened to the audiobook for this one and thought the narrator did an excellent job! There were a lot of characters to keep track of, but given they had unique names and spellings, I think I would have had some more difficulty reading it with my eyes.

Audience: New Adult / Adult
Plot: 4 out of 5
Characters: 3.5 out of 5
Spice: 1 out of 5, very mild romance, closed-door romance
Keywords: Fantasy, Dragons, LGBTQ, Redemption, Found Family, Save-the-world, Slow burn, Magic
I received a copy of this book through Netgalley from Macmillan Audio. Thank you!

This novel is a stand-alone fantasy that is centered around dragons. In this world, dragons are the rulers, and the human dragon-riders are there to serve them. But not everyone is ready to serve the dragons, in fact, some even resent it. Enter Anahrod, a young woman who is on the run from her past. But even hidden in the depths of the darkest jungles, she can’t hide forever. She is recruited by a group of unlikely allies to participate in a heist – because she had done something similar before – but had she really? Or is it a case of mistaken identity?

The audiobook was narrated by Lauren Fortgang, who I thought did a very good job. I particularly enjoyed Fortgang’s different voices of the dragons, as well as the various characters. The pacing of the narration was very good, and the pronunciation of the characters' names (especially the dragons), was particularly helpful for me as a reader. The audiobook was about 18 hours long, but it didn’t seem like that at all. The narrator was very engaging in her presentation, and made the time seem to fly by.

Overall, I really enjoyed listening to the audiobook production of The Sky on Fire, and would recommend it, and also the novel, to anyone who might enjoy a stand-alone fantasy story featuring dragons. Thank you!

Anahrod is in hiding from dragons, which is particularly difficult in a world run by dragons. Against her will, she gets roped into a heist to steal from a dragon's hoard. There's lots of chaos, a dash of romance, and some messy politics.

Got some mixed feelings about this...a lot of interesting ideas but nothing really grabbed my attention. Also, somehow the dragons weren't quite dragon-y enough for me, if that makes sense? Like they were there of course, but I wanted them to have more of a presence. I think this is partly because the descriptions were lacking for me and the world failed to feel alive. Narrator does a decent job but the performance doesn't stand out, probably because the story also doesn't stand out.

I really enjoyed the book! It had great character development and personality traits of the dragons. It was cool to read about how they could take over their rider but better how it wasn’t one sided with that aspect. Can’t wait to read the next book.

A very well done diverse world that made you feel like you knew the landscape and people. I also enjoyed the character development and the way dragons bonded with the rider and how the abilities did not always work one way. I am excited to read the next installment in this series.

This was my first book by Jen Lyons, and I enjoyed it for the most part. I did have some problems with the general pacing of the book as well as With the romantic relationship.

First, the things the book did well that I enjoyed. I didn't enjoy the separate personalities of the dragons and the interesting way in which they interacted with their writer. I really liked our main character. I felt like she was very well written and had a lot of depth and growth throughout her plot line. I was very interested in the characters and have interacted with each other and I thought that the building was pretty and definitely held my attention.

However, the book was paced very awkwardly. I felt like there was times when a lot was happening, and I felt like there was times when nothing was happening, and I felt a little bored. There was absolutely no chemistry within the polyamorous relationship contained in this novel. For the life of we understand why they were all in a relationship because there was just nothing between them that I can see that was palpable.

Overall, it's a good story and I'm glad that I read it and yes, I will read more lines in the future, but it just didn't set my world on fire the way I hoped it would.

The Sky on Fire by Jen Lyons is a fast paced heist story featuring a fun cast of characters. The chapters were all very short which helped keep the pace moving.

I really liked our main character Anahrod, she felt very real to me and I was very invested in learning about her past. The planning and execution of the heist was well done, nothing ever felt too convenient, there were plenty of times where plans fell through and we got to see the group brainstorming together on next steps. I especially like that we got to see everyone play a part in how the story played out, none of the side characters felt redundant.

The magic and the dragons were awesome and I’m left feeling like we’ve only just scratched the surface, there is definitely potential if Jenn Lyons ever decides to tell more stories in this setting.

Overall this book was fantastic and I could see myself rereading it in the future!

I loved the premise of this book. A bunch of dragons and a heist. Unfortunately, this fell short for me. We are thrown right into the action in the beginning, which I really enjoy in books. But the world was never really filled out after that. There were so many characters I couldn’t keep track of who was who. All the characters seemed underdeveloped as well. There were also some tropes in here that I just don’t enjoy which dampened my listening experience.

Overall, this book reminded me a lot of Fourth Wing for some reason. If you enjoyed that I think you would enjoy this. I can see/ understand why many people enjoy this.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan audio for an advanced listening copy of this audiobook for my honest review.

The Sky on Fire is a vivid fantasy adventure with complex world-building that had me entranced. There were so many thoughtful details that made me feel immersed and gave the impression of a real world. I liked the magic system and how unique the powers were. The level of interaction of the dragons within the story was very refreshing. The dragons were as much a part of the story as the humans. The main characters were also complex and the banter was top-notch. What I will say, is that the pacing is pretty inconsistent. Sometimes it dragged, and I will admit it took me a minute to finish this. I truly enjoyed the story, and was definitely entertained, but there were moments that went on too long, or just weren't needed. But the magic, the adventure, the characters, the dragons and the beautiful representation made me love this book. It may not have been a five-star read for me, but I think it's still a great book for those that love magic, heists, and dragons of course!

I think this is a solid 3.5 stars, and I did find it overall to be an enjoyable time.

The dragons and dragon riders had a really interesting bond that were unique and also seemed way less pleasnt than your typical dragon story. Some of the dragon's powers were insanely cool, and I thought that the idea of rampancy made a lot of sense. I initially went into this book blind and had no idea it was a standalone, but since this is all I'm going to get from this world I do feel like I wanted more (more dragons, more politics, more magic). For a good chunk of the story we are following the characters around on their quest and convincing characters to do things and following characters as they attempt to run away from things. I feel like this messed with the pacing for me.

I loved the idea behind Anahrod's character, but I didn't always feel like her personality was believable. This woman had been through so incredily much, she was betrayed by pretty much everyone she had ever loved, survived a brutal execution attempt and then basically lived in exile/hiding for a number of years. I feel like I was expecting her to be a little bit messed up but everyone who meets her instantly falls in love with her (insta-lust), and she forms her own attachments just about as quickly. I loved the dynamic of the little group for the most part, but I wasn't able to connect to any of the characters enough for any real emotional impact when something happened. I did like Overbite, who reminded me of a dog so therfore I loved her.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with the audiobook. I thought the narrator did a fantasic job:)

The Little House books are something special from my childhood. I always pretended I was one of the family. I loved the tv series as well. I loved listening to Dean Butler talk about his life and experiences and how Little House shaped him and his whole life. Such a gracious, wholesome man. The book was great, no cursing, no backstabbing and Dean acknowledges and is humble about the privileges' he has had in his life.
A fun and interesting read. I highly recommend this to all Little house on the Prairie fans- both of the books and the TV series/movies.
Thank you to Dean Butler, and NetGalley, for this audiobook to listen to in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Sky on Fire by Jenn Lyons has so many fascinating concepts but a very inconsistent plot.

The world building was amazing. I love what Lyons did with the magic system and the political system. I also loved the concept of a person visibly indicating their orientations and identity through rings. This was so unique. Honestly, the world building kept me going through this book.

Unfortunately I found the pacing and overall plot to be inconsistent. The beginning was strong and engaging. But as more of the backstory was revealed, it got less and less interesting and more random.

DNF at 41%

The Sky on Fire by Jenn Lyons had a very promising premise. Dragons, a heist, what’s not to like?

I enjoyed the beginning of the book. You’re thrown right into the action. Then things go off the rails a little. I felt that the pacing was off. Some parts are action packed and then there is a long lull. A lull in a book is ok and sometimes needed but there was no real character development during it. I felt like I never really got to know the characters and therefore didn’t really care. I also kept mixing up the dragons which made it difficult to follow at times. The story also bounces around a lot and I started to get confused on where they were and why. Due to those issues I was struggling to listen to the audiobook and decided to stop reading it.

Another great dragoneering book from the ages. A story of found family and growth. The pacing could've been a bit quicker in some parts but it overall immersed the reader in the story and did not let go. Will be rereading again.

Lord of the rings with extra dragons, and more dragons. The entire time I was listening to this I couldn't place why it was so familiar and it was because it really reminded me of the hobbit. But you know.... more dragons

I found the concept of this book fascinating, but ultimately it fell a little flat for me. I felt there was too much content for a standalone story. There seemed to be three separate story lines. Two of the stories probably could have been combined into one book and then the last story be the second book in a duology.
By making it into at least a duology, we could have had time to get to know the world, society and characters better. As it is, I had a hard time following and staying engaged. There was just too much there, which is a shame as I really enjoyed the world, or at least the parts I was able to follow.
What it came down to was pacing. If we could have had a little more time with the characters, I think this would have been a 10/10.

I am SO GLAD to finally read a standalone fantasy with dragons! This was definitely a little complicated in the beginning, but once we got going, I really enjoyed it! I'd highly recommend this as an audiobook because the narration is phenomenally done!