The Sky on Fire is a great fantasy adventure, where we follow Anahorad, a survivor in a solitary existence. After being rescued, her rescuers need her assistance to pull off a heist: stealing from a powerful dragon, who also has a vendetta against Anahorad.

What a great read for lovers of unique fantasy worlds, heists and dragons! It is fast-paced with fun and well-crafted characters, with rich worlds and their own powers and cultures. The main cast of characters are diverse and really make the whole story, even though the story is definitely more plot-focused than character-focused.

I really enjoyed this! Thank you for an e-arc, all opinions are my own.

The Sky on Fire by Jenn Lyons is an exhilarating fantasy adventure that plunges readers into a world brimming with dragons, magic, and high-stakes heists. The story follows Anahorad, a fierce and independent survivor living in the harsh jungles of the Deep alongside her titan drake. Her solitary existence is disrupted when a band of misfit adventurers rescues her from a local warlord's clutches. However, this is no mere rescue mission—these quirky characters, led by a charming dragonrider, need Anahorad's help to pull off an audacious heist: stealing from the hoard of the powerful dragon regent Neveranimas, who has a deadly vendetta against Anahorad.

Jenn Lyons' The Sky on Fire is a must-read for fans of dragons, adventure, and intricate world-building. The novel masterfully combines elements of fantasy and heist genres, creating a fast-paced, action-packed narrative that keeps readers on the edge of their seats.

The world-building in The Sky on Fire is unique and immersive. Lyons introduces readers to a richly detailed setting where societal structures and identities are intricately linked to magical rings. These rings reveal personal information about their wearers, adding a fascinating layer to character interactions and societal dynamics. The novel also explores various worlds, each with its own distinct powers and cultures. The presence of dragons and dragonriders adds an exciting dimension to the story, with their magical abilities playing a crucial role in the plot.

Anahorad is a compelling protagonist whose strength and resilience immediately capture the reader's sympathy. Her journey from a solitary survivor to a member of a diverse and dynamic group is engaging and heartwarming. The adventuring party, with their varying ages, motives, skills, and identities, forms a lively and entertaining ensemble. Lyons excels at creating quirky, distinct characters who bring humor and depth to the narrative.
However, while the characters are fun and interesting, they sometimes feel a bit flat. The story is heavily plot-driven, often focusing on actions rather than delving deeply into the characters' thoughts and emotions. This lack of character growth and transformation can make the emotional stakes feel less impactful, though the vibrant interactions and humor among the group compensate for this to some extent.

The plot of The Sky on Fire follows a classic heist structure, which, although predictable, is executed with flair and creativity. The stages of assembling the crew, planning the heist, and dealing with inevitable complications are all present, providing a satisfying and familiar framework for the story. The heist itself is thrilling, with twists and turns that keep the reader engaged. The action sequences are well-written, and the constant movement ensures that there is never a dull moment.

Lyons' writing style leans towards the young adult side, with a light, cheeky tone that makes the book an easy and enjoyable read. The descriptions are vivid, bringing the world and its magical elements to life. However, the inclusion of a sudden spicy scene late in the book feels somewhat out of place, disrupting the otherwise consistent tone. While not necessarily detrimental, this abrupt shift can be jarring for readers.

The novel touches on themes of survival, identity, and belonging. Anahorad's struggle to reconcile her past and her place in the world is a central thread, as is the concept of found family among the misfit adventurers. The heist plot adds a layer of excitement and tension, while the magical elements and dragons enrich the thematic depth of the story.
Overall, The Sky on Fire is an entertaining and action-packed fantasy novel that will appeal to fans of dragons and heist stories. While the character development could be deeper and the romantic elements more seamlessly integrated, the book's strengths lie in its imaginative world-building, dynamic plot, and quirky characters. For those looking for a standalone adventure filled with magic, dragons, and daring escapades, The Sky on Fire is a highly recommended read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to love this book, but I simply could not get hooked!

Chapter one started off so good for me and I felt like there was a true direction as to where the rest of the book was going. The problem is that after that you are thrown into the middle of action, in a different location, with a bunch of different characters. There’s no time to build the characters and learn about them and the complexities. There isn’t even time to fully grasp the world itself, which is such a shame because written correctly it would have been amazing.

The premise in itself was really good. The rag-tag team of heroes, adding a new layer to a typical dragon bonding, a world build by mythical beasts and monsters, the first fantasy I’ve read that explores a poly relationship in the romance.

I think there is a good group of people that would be able to get into this book if they didn’t care for the world building aspect and wanted to get straight to the action. For me, I was just unable to build it in my head and grasp what was happening, or feel any emotion to the characters. I wasn’t very invested.


*Thank you NetGalley and Tor for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Loved this! Nothing better than a good fantasy and dragons! But it also felt very unique and the characters were intriguing! Will be recommending for sure.

Note: I received an ARC of this book from the author in exchange for my honest review.

I *loved* this book. I am not much of a DND player, but I couldn’t help but imagine this book as a DND party adventuring through the wild. Anahrod made for a compelling heroine in her growth, as she went from hiding her life away to claiming the power that is rightfully hers. I loved our supporting side cast as well, who were all fleshed out and felt like real people. Lyons does an amazing job of reminding the reader that these characters are humans first before they are heroes, and I loved each person’s character arc. I only wished we had a bit more of Sicaryon’s story, as I felt his past was not shared enough. Sicaryon’s past would make for an amazing prequel, hint hint!

The dragons. I am in love with Peralon, and I was dying to see more of him each chapter! How wonderful, to have a godlike creature who never lost sight of what makes life worth living. Neveranimas is an incredible villain, and realistic aside from the whole being a dragon thing. Her motivations and desires mirror those who are corrupt and in-power in the real world.

I adored this book, and I know every fantasy reader and dragon-lover would too. 5/5 stars for me!!!

All I saw were dragons, and this was a must-read. I have never read Lyons before, but I own her other series. I can’t wait to start it now! I loved that this was a standalone! I didn’t even realize it until about halfway through the book. I was pleasantly surprised. I need more standalone fantasy books!

I’m going to start with the world-building because I thought it was unique. There are many things going on that took me a while to figure out. There are rings that people wear that disclose their identities – career, gender, sexual preferences, and so on. There are also a few different worlds that we are exploring. On top of that, we have the dragons and dragon riders. We have worlds with separate powers. There is a point in the book when we join the dragon riders’ magical school. We have a varied group of misfits that have become our core group and join to do a heist. The dragons have a lot of power and magic. A lot going on in this book, but it all fits somehow. The writing style in this book was a little on the YA side. It was an easier writing style, and a little cheeky at times.

I loved the main character- Anahrod. Her story is interesting from the get-go! You can’t help but root for her. She’s alone and in hiding, but finds a mismatched family. All the characters in this group were so fun and interesting. There is a lot of different personalities, and it made for some good humor at times. The romances were nice, even if there was some Insta-love. There is a moment in this book that confused me a bit. We have some closed-door romantic instances, which is fine. Later on in the book, there’s a very spicy scene. It threw me because it was not in any other aspect of this book! It was as if she threw it in there to hit the “spicy” crowd, but it did not fit. It’s not terrible or anything, but more perplexing.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book! I loved how easy it was, and it was so full of action. We are constantly on the go, and we get a lot of dragons! They are the main focus of this book, and I loved that. The magic was interesting too. I enjoyed the group that came together and their interactions with each other. If you like dragons, then you should read this book! 🙂

Thank you to Tor and Netgalley for an e-arc. All thoughts and opinions are my own!

This was a really fun read. Not my absolute favorite of the year but it got bonus points for being a standalone. At the end of the day, all that matters is enjoying the books and I enjoyed this one.

The Good
I loved the world and the different societal structures within it. The way the magic system worked was so cool and I loved how she incorporated the dragons. And I loved a heist, so the plot really worked for me. Of course when you follow a plot structure like a heist, it does end up making the story a tad predictable but I didn’t mind that. I love being able to recognize all the elements: assemble the crew, explain the plan, execute the plan, the plan goes wrong, make a new plan, execute the new plan. The heist could either successful or unsuccessful (I won’t tell you which this was) but either way, the characters have some consequences to deal with before the story comes to an end. The fun is all in the particular author’s twist on the heist and it really worked for me in this book.

The Less Good
While I did really love several the characters, they felt a little flat. The story was very plot-driven and so focused a lot on what they were doing and I really wish we got a little more of what they were thinking and feeling. None of the characters had a lot of obvious growth or transformation. And even though I shipped the heck out of the little polycule, it didn’t quite have the emotional payoff I was hoping for. It felt a little bit like the author wasn’t really sure how to really commit to the romance storyline and it just ended so up feeling clunky.

I definitely recommend this one if you’re looking for a standalone that has magic, dragons, and a heist plot. It didn’t top my charts but at the end of the day it was entertaining and that’s all that matters!

I would give this a 3.5 but I’m the queen of rounding up so final review is 4 stars!

this book had the puzzle pieces to make a perfect book. dragons, sapphic romance and an almost impossible heist!

i think i would have enjoyed this book even more, if it didnt take me almost 50% to be fully emersed in story. i struggled getting into the book. but once i was fully in, i couldnt put it down. i loved the action and the pacing in the later half of the book. also, i was impressed by how fleshed out the characters were, considering jenn lyons only had one book to introduce them to us and give them a proper character arc. the romance felt "natural" and beautifully woven into story, without it ever feeling out of place.

overall a really fantastic book and a near perfect standalone!

Anarhod is a bad ass FMC. She is strong, compassionate and all round a star. I loved reading about her.

And dragons!!! What not to love about dragons. This unfolded so nicely and the story had me intrigued and wondering what was going to happen next the whole time.

The story building was fantastic. It’s such a different idea of a world that you needed it to be able to understand the dynamic between the deep and the sky dwellers!

The live story also was a slow burn and I love the bi-representing with the characters.

I really enjoyed this read

The Sky on Fire was overall a very fun read with an engaging premise - a heist with dragons! It included dragons, heists, magic, developing romances, and a of group misfits. All of those elements were great; alongside the world in which the story unfolds - but I really enjoy descriptive, unique, and intriguing world-building.

The only place were it lost me was that I struggled to really connect to the characters, and felt as though something in their personal character arcs were missing.

So, overall a fun read with an intriguing plot and premise but I needed a bit more from the characters. I rate it a 3.75/5.

The premise of this book really drew me in, what could be better than a heist with dragons?! The characters were an entertainingly brash and quirky group of misfits, and the world building was great. I just struggled to really connect with the characters and the story. It had a great pace set, not too slow. I thought is was a good book overall but I think it would suit better as a stand-alone, not a continuation that is hinted in the epilogue.

Received an eArc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Sky on Fire is the first book in a new series by Jenn Lyons, author of the Chorus of Dragons series. I loved that series. It was crazy and often confusing, but I loved the ride. I was hoping for a repeat with The Sky on Fire. I love heist novels, as well, so it seemed right up my alley.

Unfortunately this book didn’t end up being the hit I was hoping for. It was definitely confusing at times, which I expect with Jenn Lyons, and it is clear there is a lot more about the world to be revealed in future books. The heist was fun and the end actually had me interested in picking up the sequel when it comes out. The beginning, though, was not great. The insta-love between Anahrod and Ris was really jarring. I felt like I kept being told things without any real understanding of how it was happening or why I should care. However, I feel like after the heist’s crew was fully formed and it started that the story was flowing better and it actually engaged me.

Overall, I will give it a 3.25 stars. I may hold off and see what the sequel reviews look like before picking it up, but I hope it takes the momentum from the end of this book and carries it on.

The audiobook narrator did a good job. I greatly enjoyed immersion reading this story.

[DNF] The Sky On Fire is a standalone romantasy heist story with dragons, and sounds right up my alley! I was so looking forward to reading this new release. In a world ruled by dragons, Anahrod and a team of misfits travel to the cloud cities to steal from a dragon's hoard.

I really wanted to love this story. The concept sounds great, but I DNFed at 40% due to the pacing being so slow. The world building was not enough for a standalone and needed a little bit of help. I would have liked to get history of the cloud cities and how they came to be, comparable to the "deep" where the humans live. We are introduced with too many characters right off the bad, and not enough stubstance to get to know them, therefore leaving me without that connection to keep reading. I was struggling to understand the main character, Anahrod, because should be a badass, yet she keeps getting caught by different groups of people! The repetition was off-putting.

I really liked how Jenn Lyons incorporated "garden rings" so humans can declare this sexual identity, status and sexual preference. I thought that was quite unique! I liked the start of our main character's queer romance, but the interactions were not even enough for a slow burn.

I stopped reading because after 40% of the way through, I was just not excited to keep going. I liked the idea of continuing but overall, this story fell a little flat. Maybe I'll continue in a few months, but maybe not.

The Sky on Fire is a triumphant standalone epic fantasy from Jenn Lyons. I am a huge fan of Jenn Lyons’ A Chorus of Dragons series, so I was thrilled to read The Sky on Fire. Jenn Lyons does such a fantastic job with character growth, world-building, and LGBTQ+ rep. Anahrod is a very lovable character who is fighting to stay alive and possibly save the world while she’s at it. The cast of characters is diverse, hilarious, and exist in a beautifully queer normative world. I loved the elegant system of rings to indicate status, preferences, and attractions.

Lyons is well-known for world-building and she absolutely delivers. I’m almost disappointed it’s a standalone, because I would like more stories from this world. The amber harvesting was so creative and reminded me of the lightning pirates from Neil Gaiman’s Stardust. The politics and magic of the dragons was fascinating.

Readers who enjoy excellent world-building, LGBTQ+ rep, dragons, and characters that will stick in your mind long after the last page should read The Sky on Fire. I can’t wait to see what Jenn Lyons writes next!

Thank you to Jenn Lyons, Tor Books, and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

For publisher: My review will be posted on Instagram, Goodreads, Amazon, Storygraph, and Barnes & Noble etc.

This book seemed like everything I wanted in a fantasy book, but for some reason I had a very time connecting to the characters. The cast of characters is very diverse and the pacing of the story is very well done, I just couldn't get immersed enough to care about the characters. I don't think that is the author's fault, just rather my own. Overall I do think the book was very good and narrator for the audiobook was great!

Okay I loved the world in this book! First of all, it's a world where dragons aren't just human pets, they have immense power and actually exploit humans. It just felt so realistic to what dragons would most likely do if they had that power (rather than just existing to serve human purposes). I loved how morally grey the dragons were. That was a major plus of the world. Second of all, I loved how queernormative the world was! It was so fun to see trans and poly characters accepted as a natural part of the world. I will say I felt like the story took a bit to get started. For a heist novel there was a lot of deliberating and very little action for the first half of the story. Once it got going (and once I switched to audio) I had a much better time. The audio really helped me feel more connected to the characters and feel the tension more which I greatly appreciated. I definitely recommend reading this book that way.

Thank you to NetGalley for sending me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Sky on Fire by Jenn Lyons is an epic high fantasy adventure following Anahrod, who is wanted by warlords and regents alike. While she just wants to fly under the radar, she's instead swept up with a group of misfits who have plotted a dangerous heist to steal a dragon's hoard.

Something I loved about the author's storytelling was her world-building. It really balanced the line of being intricate and lush without overloading the reader with too much information or slowing the pace of the book. I also thought each of the characters were distinct and interesting in their own way, which just added to how engaged I was while reading.

Overall, I gave this book four-stars because I loved the world the author created and the queer normative narrative taken. I think anyone who enjoys high fantasy will love this and even those who struggle with it, might find this is a good gateway book into the genre.

2.5 starts from me. I was so incredibly excited to start this book. It was built of everything that I love, dragons, heists, romance and a new fantasy world to dive into. Upon starting the book it really felt unpolished. I was surprised at how clunky the beginning felt and I almost DNFed it 20 pages in because it was rough. It fell into a decent cadence after that. I wanted to continue but I did eventually DNF the book in full transparency because I didn't like the direction of the romance being a poly relationship which is a personal preference. Overall I think the start of this book could have been smoother if I had read A Chorus of Dragons.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for a review.

This was a very compelling story for those of you looking for more books with dragons and high stakes. I liked the characters and the world was fascinating. However, since I didn't read the previous series set in this world, I often found myself feeling like I was missing something that would give a broader view of the world and the plot. The pacing of this story was well done and overall, I don't think I HAD to read the previous series, but it definitely would've made the plot broader and expansive.

Josie Moore has given the opposite sex—and love—plenty of chances. Four exactly, if you count all her failed engagements, and five if you include her no-longer-absentee father. Nonetheless, when the influential man decides to announce his retirement with a splashy magazine piece and Josie learns that her romantic history isn’t great PR for the family, she jumps at the chance to offer a solution.
Matthew Flanagan is in the mud. Literally. Not only has he been fired from his job, but after taking a wrong turn on his way to Green Oak, North Carolina, his car is stuck. So, he grabs a duffel bag with his essentials and goes in search of a place to crash until he gets his life (and vehicle) back on track. But instead, he stumbles upon his best friend’s sister, Josie, greeting him as her fiancé.
What starts as a big misunderstanding quickly turns into a fake engagement, with Matthew playing the role of the doting fiancé as he and Josie are swept into a PR whirlwind. The ring on Josie’s finger makes her stomach turn, but she knows this is only temporary. They have rules in place, and one of them is that no matter what, there will be no exchange of “I dos.” But that’s easier said than done, as lines soon start to blur, and the rest of the small town comes to believe the fifth fiancé is truly The One.

"The Sky on Fire" by Jenn Lyons was a wonderful adventure through a world filled with dragons, heists, and magic. Jenn creates a vibrant setting where dragons coexist with the rich and powerful in high society within the mountain peaks, while the less fortunate struggle in the lawless jungles below. Her imaginative depiction of dragon society, complete with complex politics, adds layers of intrigue to the narrative.

The novel’s plot-driven approach maintains a fast-paced and exciting rhythm, though its characters, while distinct and colorful, often rely on familiar archetypes without much exploration of their depths. The heist storyline unfolds with constant surprises and swift changes. I liked the idea of the garden rings and liked the LGBTQ representation within the story and, but the romantic dynamics between Anahrod, Ris, and Sicaryon felt hurried and lacked emotional resonance throughout the story. Despite these minor things, The Sky on Fire was a great high fantasy/heist adventure.