Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC.

I really would give this a 3.5 stars and I want to say, I love the narrator. She always does a fantastic job. That being said, she couldn’t quite save this novel for me.

It started out strong but a little over halfway the pacing slowed down and it just kind of dragged for me. The plot was interesting and I loved the idea of social rings and rings showing your sexuality and orientation. That being said, I wish it had been explained better. I don’t know if the physical or ebook had a glossary, but when things like “leaves” and “roses” were brought up, there was no explanation of what they meant. Some things I got just by context clues but others I just wasn’t sure. That was really frustrating. It was such an interesting concept that I hadn’t seen before but I wish it had been explained better.

I think this could have been a higher star rating if the pacing had maintained throughout the book and some characters and the world had been built up more.

If you love dragons, heists, and queer love, this is a MUST-read this summer. Absolutely delightful, and especially loved that it's a standalone!

I am so sad that I ended up DNF'ing this at 50%. First off, the best part of this book - the audiobook narration was phenomenal. The different character voices and the pronunciation of ALL THOSE names and places - excellent. The narrator was the MVP here.

Unfortunately, I felt no connection to the characters or plot. We are dropped directly into the action which usually works very well, but it left me feeling disconnected and like I had missed some critical introductions. I was always a bit confused who the characters were and the connections between all of them. I also had trouble following the plot at times. I thought I had a good understanding of the end-goal, but then other twists or side quests would pop up and I'd get distracted and wonder how this is getting us any farther along.

Combining all of these aspects, and them all still being prevalent at the 50% mark, I decided to DNF. I honestly kept forgetting I was reading it, I had such a meagre connection with the characters and plot.

I do not take this as an indicator of Jenn Lyon's work by any means. The Ruin of Kings is still firmly on my TBR!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced listener copy. All opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Unpopular opinion: this book is WAY better than Fourth Wing. If you're looking for a book with dragons that actually has soooo many dragons - this is it. And the dragons have a bigger role! *sigh = heaven*. The story was fast-paced and suspenseful. The characters were vibrant and well-rounded. Did I mention that the dragons were epic? And the dragons were flawed. Flawed dragons who hoard things... like dragons do. *swoon*. I could go on and on about the dragons: they struggle with power structures, they fall in love, they all have different powers.

Anahrod finds her life uprooted in the worst way. She edges out a living with her titan drake in the Deep until she's kidnapped several times. Thus a merry band of misfits is formed. A wizard, a sage poet, a barbarian, a few dragon riders, a king in disguise and the most nefarious and sinister of thieves (who never actually stole anything, but can communicate with animals...) - this is sounding like dungeons and dragons campaign, right?

What I loved:
the dragons. I LOVED the dragons.
The band of misfits.
The heist.
I loved the narrator.
The romance level was just right for me. Implied spicy, but not explicit.
The world building.

3.5⭐ rounded up to 4. I finished this book almost a month late, but the truth is that I struggled with the first 70%. Fortunately, the rest was awesome.

❤️ The last 30%
❤️ Interesting worldbuilding
❤️ *Daddy Sicaryon* and the dragons
❤️ The “why choose” MFF romance
❤️ Voice actor performance
❤️ That COVER! 🐲
❌ Too much worldbuilding / happening for a standalone
❌ Bland FMC
❌ Inconsistent pace
❌ Underdeveloped romance

Trigger warnings: violence, death, public execution, attempted murder, blood and gore, kidnapping and slavery, poisoning, fire and fire injury.

Plot:
As a teenager, Anahrod was sentenced to death for a crime she didn’t commit. Against all odds, she survived the deadly fall into the Deep and has lived there ever since. 15 years later, a strange group saves her from being captured by the local warlord, then spirit her away to the cloud cities, where they ask for her help in stealing from the hoard of Neveranimas, the current ruling dragon. But there is a catch: Neveranimas knows about Anahrod’s secret powers and wants her dead at all costs.

There are so many interesting things about this book: a demonized FMC, an endearing group of misfits, tons of dragons, a dragon rider academy, MFF romance, an impossible heist, sky cities and deep kingdoms, magical powers, LGBTQ rep, etc. Unfortunately, there’s just *too much* happening—so many plots and subplots, and new goals, and new obstacles to overcome, and lore/info drops, and new characters, and betrayals and and and.

Now, give me this world and main plot and character set, but make it a duology or a trilogy, with more direction, more consistent pacing, and more fleshed-out characters/relationships… and you’ll probably get the next big hit. Unfortunately, it sometimes felt like a DND campaign where the DM spent a lot of time and care building the world, but then lost control of the plot lines and started to “wing it.”

Characters:
Anahrod’s background was interesting, but her personality was a little bland and it felt like she was simply carried by the plot for the whole book. The secondary characters, on the other hand, were awesome! They had very distinctive and fun personalities, and I absolutely loved the heist team and their dynamics. Sicaryon was definitely my favourite character. The romance was a bit of a tease though—I wanted moooore.

Writing:
The writing seemed fine to me, but the storytelling would have benefitted from more thorough planning, questioning, and editing.

Audiobook:
Impeccable narration. I loved how the voice actor changed her voice for *every single character*. I could have listened to her talk as Ris for hours and hours.

This was such a good read! The story was easy to follow, the world building was perfect! Everything about this has me wanting more!

THE SKY ON FIRE by Jen Lyons was a cool book. If you tell me a book has a heist and dragons in it, I want to read it. But add snarky characters, lots of puns, and dragons talking—you have given me a book with many things I adore! Not to mention, Lauren Fortgang, who is an exceptional narrator, narrates the book. She gives voices to all the characters and brings the story to life in exciting ways with those voices.

This is my first Lyons book, but not her first book with dragons, which she writes so well. If you are a fan of dragons, you will love this book. How they were described with their magic, used as characters, and moved the plot along made it so exciting to read—some of the best wow moments happened during scenes with the dragons!

Then there is this ramshackle bunch of characters that shouldn't work well together, but they do. And I shouldn't love them, but I do. They don't have a name like the Crows for their little heist group, but they work well together. And the heist is intense and nail-biting!

I'm sad this heist is over. However, with that epilogue ending, could I possibly leave my fingers crossed for more…please? It is supposed to be a standalone—a fantastic fantasy standalone. I definitely recommend it!

Thanks, Macmillan Audio, for the ALC!

Content warnings: animal death

I'll admit, I had trouble really connecting to the characters in this story. It felt a little rushed when it came to character development. Of course Ana was well developed, but I would have loved more backs story and development of the other characters. The narrator did a good job. If it weren't for the narration, I may have DNF'd the book. I did love the dragons and the world, but needed more to really dig into it. It may have been better stretched out into a duology to develop the world and characters for me.

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I was looking forward to this book based on its synopsis but while reading it, it lacked so much. I was unable to connect to any characters, the story seemed all over the place, and the none of the characters were properly developed. I was barely able to get through parts of this book. I am disappointed as I really was hoping to enjoy it.

The Sky on Fire has everything anyone could possible want from a fantasy adventure story. There's a ragtag cast of characters, a unique magic system, interesting world building, heists, side quests, a school for dragon-riders, and romance. The story follows Anahrod, used to being on her own in the jungles of the Deep, who is suddenly swept up in adventure. After being nearly kidnapped by a warlord of the Deep, she is kidnapped instead by a group of adventurers who want her help stealing from a dragon's hoard. I enjoyed the characters and they all had unique voices. The plot feels a bit scattered in the beginning, but every part of it is there for a reason and they all get tied together in the end. The audiobook was excellent and the narrator did a great job voicing all of the characters. This will be a great one for people who enjoy adventure stories.

Even though this book states it’s the next fourth wing, it’s not. Sure there’s dragons in it. But it doesn’t have the easy readability that fourth wing has. And then it goes and adds weird sexual preference things. Not my jam. I feel like this book would be good for a niche audience, not a wide range like fourth wing. Thanks NetGalley for the chance to try this book. Next time I won’t fall for a cool cover and hype book endorsement.

Thanks to Macmillian Audio for gifted access to this audiobook. All opinions below are my own.

This is a fun dragon filled adventure. It starts in the middle of the action so give yourself some time to settle in. There are lots of characters and mythical creatures and unique world features. It is genuinely immersive. What I liked the most was the relatability of our main character Anahrod. Her backstory and the heist she leads are both really entertaining. In this world dragons without a rider can go rampant and be uncontrolled monsters, how they select their riders and figure out how to deal with the rampant dragons are big plot points and both were very unique.

The only thing I didn't like was the completely unnecessary sex scene in the middle, I feel like that was hammered in to appease The Fourth Wing fans. It didn't make any sense other than to check the "romance" and "queer" boxes to attract those readers. 

The narrator was great and I would definitely read another book in this world.

I had such a good time with this book. I had never heard of it before and decided to request it on goodreads and I am so glad i did. Dragons, a heist, queer representation, a crazy unique and interesting world, and fun and sassy characters.

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.