What an amazing captivating fantasy book filled with found family, heists, DRAGONS, magic, and a pinch of romance. Anahord was smart, clever, and badass. Her relationship with Gwydinion was so sweet and cute that my heart was soft for them. Also, her relationship with the whole team was the perfect found family. And lastly, the romance between her, Ris, and Sicaryon which could have been a love triangle (and thankfully it wasn't) was turned into the perfect thruple and I could have not been happier about that. All of the adventures and the heist were so fun and it continuously showed how smart and powerful the group was. The dragons were great as always, Peralon specifically was one of my favorites and I loved his bond and dynamic with Ris. The epilogue did leave me with some questions about "what now" but this book was so well done and thought out that I enjoyed every minute of it. I laughed, swooned, blushed, suffered, stressed myself out and just had an amazing time while reading this book! If you like Six of Crows or Fourth Wing then definitely give this book a chance.

This was a DNF and wasn’t a good fit for me. The writing style, and magical concepts built were confusing and was unable to keep interest up to 40% of the way through. I wish this would’ve have worked since I like Dragons and heist // mission-esque plots in books, yet it wasn’t hooking me enough with the direction it was going.

A fun story with dragons and other magical creatures, an intricate world resembling (kind of) hell and heaven and a bunch of misfits.

Anahrod was cast out of the Skylands for crimes she did not commit. Years later they are visited by a dragon rider who affirms she is very well alive and justice has not been made. It turns out, that our main character has survived her fall and now lives in the Deeps with her "pet" Overbite and soon will have to choose who to side with, a self-proclaimed king who is also her ex or a sexy dragon rider, the choice is a no brainer but oh well.

The book is fairly slow-paced, especially in the beginning when it focuses more on the heist, this is something to have in mind if you don't enjoy slower books. However, if you don't mind, you are in for perfectly developed characters with lots of backstories, a credible romance, great chemistry between characters and a great story which almost reads as epic fantasy at times.

If you're often concerned with the lack of representation in books or where the representation falls into stereotypes then this book is also for you, The characters are real, loveable and represent the community well.

I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

3,5 rounded up

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.

I devoured The Sky on Fire and could not put it down. I recommend this for fans of fantasy, dragons, heists, and complex worldbuilding.

The Sky on Fire is an exciting and thrilling adventure.

Anahrod is on the run - from everyone. Cast out of her home and in hiding, she runs into a pack of misfits when trying to evade a local warlord with whom she has a bit of a history. When it turns out that the group is actually planning to kidnap her and return her to the Skylanders at the behest of a dragon, Anahrod is furious, especially at the gorgeous red headed dragonrider Ris. But then they turn around and let her go. Back to surviving, Anahrod is later enlisted to help participate in a heist - the only downside, they are trying to steal from a massive dragon - the one who wants to see Anahrod dead. When the stakes are this high, who can Anahrod trust, if not even herself?

While this was an enjoyable story, I had a really tough time with this book. Even up to about 25% in, I was still really confused by the characters, the worldbuilding, and the direction of the plot. Normally I can settle into a fantasy series quickly, but something about this book was tough for me, despite really enjoying the writing style and fast pace. We have an unreliable narrator in Anahrod, who only gives us bits and pieces of her history, which made it tough for me to connect with and root for her as a character. We have multiple love interests and a really interesting queer/poly set up, but the connection between these characters was somewhat lacking. The plot seemed to meander quite a bit, and it took a while for me to settle into the direction of the story. Given my early confusion, I simply had a tough time connecting with this story and these characters. That being said, the premise was great - we have dragons, magic, and a heist, along with some steamy moments and a unique romantic set-up. All the loose threads do come together at the end, with some exciting revelations and plenty of action. The writing was really good - the prose was excellent and I enjoyed reading it, despite my early struggles. So do not discount this book - the issues I had are my own, and I did enjoy most of the book.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for the advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

10/10!!
I don't think I was even halfway through this book before realizing The Sky on Fire was going to be a 5-star read and trying to see if there was going to be a special edition I could add to my collection.
I loved everything about this! The dragons are dangerous and powerful. One in particular seems to be the most of both and happens to be the one our ragtag little group is going to be robbing. And is the one behind what happened to our main character Anahrod. The setting is amazing from the Deep, to Crystalspire to Duskcloud and beyond each differnet place was unique and perfectly described and I felt like I was right along side Anahrod and the others. I loved the characters Anahrod was an great MC. She is a survivor, and a total kickbutt heroine that you can really rally behind. The secondary characters are all unique and felt like real people. Gwendinion and Sicaryon in particular are my favorites. Although everone else is a pretty close second.
This book was so much fun from beginning to end, full of action, adventure, and a heist of a dragon hoard that could lead many kind of gruesome deaths.

A fun heist book that involves dragons and a ragtag team that would never find themselves together under typical circumstances. The world is rooted in dragon politics with dragons clearly presiding over the human population. Dragons have magic, as do their riders and some other trained people including sorcerers. The "Deep" feels like our own world in its more natural state, and the "Skyland" area feels like an advanced society that grew out of the modern world. I loved how the narrative began at a brisk pace and never truly slowed down. Romance is very light as a slight subplot but does end up as a minor driving force for some characters' motivations to persevere and keep loyalty. Anahrod is the epitome of a survivor who stops at nothing to continue on. While several obstacles steadily block the team from their goals or force them to alter courses, many solutions seem very (too) convenient to not be planned ahead when they could not have been foreseen. I had a great time reading and enjoyed the shorter chapters. Even longer chapters move quickly with the amount of action and dialogue. One qualm I have is Gwyndinion being 15 years old but most of his behavior and language portrays him as closer to age 10, so picturing him as a teenager was difficult at times.

4 stars. I was drawn to request The Sky on Fire partly because of the gorgeous cover, but also because I've been reading and enjoying a ton of fantasy/ romantasy lately, and I am truly a sucker for dragons. And I have to say, this is one time where picking a book based on the cover did not let me down! I know that the blurb describes that this would be perfect for fans of Fourth Wing, but apart from there being dragons and dragon riders, I don't necessarily see the connection. To me, this felt more similar to Assassin's Blade (from the Throne of Glass series) or Six of Crows, given the heists, the twists, the turns, and the found family vibes.

It's hard to truly describe The Sky on Fire because there is SO much going on. A friend of mine who also received an ARC stated that it's oddly super fasted paced but also simultaneously a slow read, and I think that's 100% true. This book is non-stop action. Literally, something excited felt like it happened in every chapter. But, there was a lot of world building, a lot of characters, and a lot going on, and I think that ultimately made it a slower read for me. But being a slower read does not mean this was a bad read, it just meant that there wasn't much fluff, and I needed time to absorb what was happening. At the heart of this story is essentially a conflict between dragons and humans. Humans do learn to ride dragons, but in doing so, they become essentially subjugated slaves to the dragons, and what should be a symbiotic relationship is really more parasitic. So the crux of this story is about a power struggle between dragons and humans, and this manifests in heists but also all out battle. I wouldn't classify this a romantasy, but there is a romance. In fact, it's a bit of a throuple, and I was TOTALLY HERE FOR ALL OF IT. Honestly, I really enjoyed this book. I would totally read more books in this world, and in fact, I'd love to read a prequel book about a certain red-headed dragon rider to learn more about her and her dragon's past adventures. All in all, I think fans of fantasy, especially those with dragons, heists, and found family vibes will find a lot to enjoy about The Sky on Fire.

Thank you so much to Lyons, Tor, and Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I'm so sad I didn't love this! I really wanted to. I love the premise and the world building but the characters lack so much depth to me. I could not truly discern motivations or truly much about them at all.

Genre: fantasy

Anahrod has been in Exile for 17 years. Now in her 30s, she has lived in the jungle while people have assumed she's dead, and her name is equated with the darkest kind of treachery. But, it's kidnap Anahrod season, and a Dragonrider and random band of people have snagged her as a part of an elaborate heist plan... to raid the dragon lair Anahrod was originally put to death for allegedly robbing 17 years ago.

The Sky on Fire is a standalone fantasy novel with a strong sapphic romantic arc, but the romance isn’t the central plot-driver. The central plot revolves around planning the heist, and the central conflict revolves around the dragon’s protecting their hoard and controlling their riders. Dragons require riders only to maintain their own sanity, their minds balance on the razor thin line between control and the unhinged plunge into uncontrolled rampage and destruction. Nothing is worse than a rampaging dragon who has lost their mind.

For a standalone novel, The Sky on Fire has expansive worldbuilding. Jenn Lyons is a seasoned writer, and she gives us the right amount of detailing for daily life and the backdrop of this world dominated by dragons. She weaves more modern components, such a rings to signify gender and sexual preferences, into a classic-feeling fantasy with mountain and cloud dwellers.

Living in the Deeps means living a life full of danger - but at least it's a life that doesn't include dragons. It's why Anahrod has spent nearly two decades surviving on her own in the deadly jungles far below the mountainous peak cities where dragons rule. In the mountains, humans live at the whims of dragons, with the threat of a dragon going on a murderous rampage constantly hanging over them. But Anahrod's past catches up with her when a group approaches her with a bold plan: they plan to rob the hoard of the dragon regent, and they believe Anahrod is the missing piece to pull of the heist. But it's going to take a lot to convince Anahrod to go along with a plot she believes is near suicidal - especially because the dragon regent will personally kill Anahrod if she ever lays eyes on her again.

THE SKY ON FIRE is a roller coaster of an adventure ride, throwing readers into a world where humans live only so long as the dragons of the world tolerate them. The story is one escapade after another, as Anahrod has to survive everything from mercenaries to trapped vaults to riding through a storm in a sky ship. The author has a knack for writing great action, and from the moment the actual heist kicks off until the final pages, I was thoroughly hooked on the race to the finish.

The book was weaker when it came to the actual characters. We get a lot of time to understand Anahrod, as the story is largely told from her perspective. The rest of the crew, however, is largely left to be one dimensional side characters. One character for instance, speaks purely by quoting various plays (think someone from our world who only speaks lines of Shakespeare), while another is neural atypical in a way that sometimes leaves him debilitated from overstimulation - but aside from these two broad descriptions, I could tell you almost nothing else about their personalities or backstories. Other characters have a bit more depth to them, but not much.

The other thing I wish had been engaged with more is delving into the dark nature of dragon bonding as presented in this world. I read a quote from the author where she said she wanted to explore the inverse of how dragon bonds are normally presented. Instead of humans either taming a wild beast or entering into a partnership with an intelligent creature, what if the dragon was the dominant force in the relationship, and the human was little more than a slave?

But aside from a side character who is a dragon rider, we don't really get an extensive first hand look at this bond in a way that makes it personal. Anahrod herself is someone who ran away from being a rider; only one significant side character is in one of these toxic dragon rider relationships, and they're off screen for large chunks of this book. I would have loved to have seen these bonds explored in a way that was more personal than what we got.

On the flip side, the idea of living in a society where dragon rampages are so commonplace that there are built in bunkers and evacuation protocols in place is terrifying. One such attack towards the end of the book is truly breathtaking in its devastation. The author made the high level stakes abundantly clear, and that helps balance out some of the areas I wish I could have seen more of.

THE SKY ON FIRE is a great standalone that will whisk you away for the time that you spend with it. While the characters aren't memorable, the action set pieces definitely are. If you're fine with a plot-first-everything-else-is-gravy kind of story, THE SKY ON FIRE is worth picking up.

Note: I was provided a free ARC by the publisher in exchange for my fair and honest review.

After the blazing success of her epic A Chorus of Dragons series, Jenn Lyons is now back with another delightfully queer dragon adventure in The Sky on Fire. Set in a richly imagined world ruled by moody dragon overlords, this brand-new standalone is a flaming fun take on a heist fantasy!

The Sky on Fire opens with one hell of an intriguing prologue which immediately sets the stakes and reassures the reader that: yes, here there do indeed be dragons, and they have dark demands about a certain previously believed dead woman. Enter Anahrod, our wayward protagonist with animal communion skills who has quietly been surviving in the murky jungles of The Deep for the past seventeen years. When a motley crew of morally grey misfits saves her from capture by the local warlord, she realises that the time of running from her past has come to an end. Against her will, she is whisked back to the deceptively lustrous cloud cities and conscripted into their schemes to rob the most powerful dragon’s hoard; a dragon that wants Anahrod dead.

Look, with the ambitiously epic A Chorus of Dragons being one of my all-time favourites, I was nervously excited to see what Lyons could deliver in a contained standalone. And honestly, while this story is not nearly as complex as her previous series, Lyons’ wild imagination and quintessentially quirky storytelling is still on full display in The Sky on Fire.

A divided society ruled by tyrannical dragons with all kinds of unique magical powers, an religion based on humans being thrown out of heaven to serve the dragons, a twisted history written by the victors, and an extremely nuanced and refreshing take on the familiar dragonrider trope which explores consent, co-dependency and power in terrifyingly fascinating ways; how there is so much rich world building packed into such a fast-paced standalone is truly beyond me, but I was gobbling it all up!

Not to mention, Lyons has once again crafted a casually queer-normative world full of beautifully diverse characters who are embraced just the way they are. I especially loved the concept of people expressing their gender, sexuality, and bedroom preferences through wearing different types of rings; we should do ourselves a favour and steal this idea to make dating infinitely easier.

All that said, I personally would not have minded if the pacing had slowed down a bit to let us fully appreciate all these amazing concepts in their full glory. The Sky on Fire zooms along at breakneck speed, and there is truly not a single dull moment to be found. On the one hand, I really liked the utterly addictive ‘just one more chapter’ quality, but on the other hand I found it a bit exhausting that neither the characters nor the reader gets any time to just sit, breathe, reflect, and process for a while.

Don’t get me wrong, I think Lyons has a true knack for creating vibrant, quirky and distinct characters whose clasing identities and motivations make for a very fun dynamic. Yet I also have to admit that I never felt overly invested in any of the characters here, as I barely got any time to get connected to them. Moreover, while I loved the little teases of a beautifully queer poly romance here, I personally think that relationship deserved a lot more development; the feels just weren’t feeling.

Ultimately, the fun factor and highly engaging storytelling made up for some of these quibbles for me, and there’s no denying that Lyons delivered an impressively ambitious standalone story here. True, some of the plot beats and resolutions might have felt a bit overly convoluted or suspiciously convenient, but I think Lyons gets away with it by delivering a story that is just so refreshingly unconventional and inventive in every other way.

If you liked the dragonrider bond in Yarros’ Fourth Wing or Novik’s Temeraire, but also want some heisty action and queer goodness like in M.J. Kuhn’s Thieves duology, then you better try The Sky on Fire. Filled with loveable anti heroes, complicated family drama, brutal beasties, immersive settings, exhilaration action, and a dash of queer love, this fast-paced and action-packed fantasy heist is a smoking hot adventure from start to finish.

4.5⭐? 5⭐?

I recently finished Jenn Lyons' A Chorus of Dragons series so I was more than hyped up for this, and it did not disappoint!

The Sky on Fire is set in a world where dragons rule in cities high in the mountains, where it's preached that the goddess of creation made humans to serve dragons and help them not lose control of themselves by bonding with them.

Anahrod was pushed off a cliff when she was 15-years old and has been living on the world below, the jungle-covered surface where everything can and will try to kill you. Until, in the middle of a particularly risky situation, some skylanders show up, and she’s kind of forced to help them. And then gets kidnapped…for a heist. What’s not fun and exciting about this book?

Similarly to her other works, Jenn Lyons expertly writes a cast of diverse, quirky characters and relationships among them. People wear rings to express what their gender, sexual, etc preferences are, or if they want a monogamous relationship or are single. And the characters themselves are all amazing,Ris, who flirts shamelessly with Anahrod from the first moment they meet. Claw, who is way too knife-happy and the only one who can understand Kaibren, because he only speaks in quotations...just to name a few.

It's refreshing to see such an intricate high fantasy as a standalone, though it did leave me wanting for more. Maybe just another 50 pages, I really wanted to see more of the aftermath and get to know that character that was introduced at the end (iykyk, no spoilers).

Overall, it’s just such a fun, exciting book. I stayed up until 1am last night finishing it and it was definitely worth the loss of sleep. (Might be a new favorite of 2024?) If unconventional dragon riding bonds, sky cities, and quirky characters are your thing, I strongly recommend The Sky on Fire.

Note: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. Thank you, NetGalley and publishers.

The Sky on Fire is a romantasy perfect for those who loved Fourth Wing or the Dragonriders of Pern. There’s why choose romance, found family, love and loyalty in all forms, a mystery, conspiracies and characters you can’t help but cheer on.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

✨dragons
✨heist
✨queer normal world
✨tons of action

Wow, this book is not what I expected but I definitely enjoyed it! This is an epic fantasy filled with action, corrupt dragons, and beautiful world building 🙌

I think my favorite part about this book is how wonderful the world building was. I loved learning about the different cultures between the Deepers and Skylanders! It was fun to get to know characters across this world. And the garden rings? Genius! The magic system and bonding of dragons was so cool too! The idea that dragons pretty much own humans was so interesting and I haven’t read something like this before.

The plot was so full of twists, suspense, and action. I couldn’t wait to figure out what happened next! Fr so much happened in this book, but I didn’t feel like we were losing the plot at any point! The high stakes heist was so fun and I loved all of the build up to it and watching the characters solve problems.

There were so many characters I loved in this book! Individually, I think they are all so well done 🤭 however, something that kind of lost me was the dynamic between pretty much all of the characters. The relationships (platonic and romantic) all felt pretty superficial and I wasn’t really invested in the development of these relationships. There was something about the dialogue that just didn’t feel natural to me as well.

I also think this would’ve been better as a series because the ending didn’t give me the closure I would’ve liked. The epilogue really makes me want to see more from this world! Perhaps even just a novella!

Overall, I really enjoyed this book! I think having better relationships between characters really could’ve taken this book to the next level for me bc everything else was so entertaining!

*I want to note that this is not a romantasy. The romance is a subplot and doesn’t get much development. It’s marketed as being similar to fourth wing so I wanted to throw that out there for anyone who thinks this will be more romance heavy like fourth wing.

Thank you to Netgally, Tor Publishing Group for the gifted e-book and Macmillan Audio for the gifted audiobook.

This was a great book centered around dragons, magic, a heist and political intrigue. The story follows Anahrod, who has been living in the Deep since she was sent by the dragon-ruled sky cities to be executed. She survived, and now she is being hunted. Until she is rescued by a group of misfits. Little does she know they need her to steal from the dragons, and the ruling dragon thinks she is dead.

The world building was phenomenal. The author created a world where dragons rule over humans. The descriptions of the animals, cities, and people were amazing. The small details like the rings one wears determine their preferences. The school where dragon riders are trained and the details about the training was amazing.

The characters were very well rounded. The FMC was one tough girl. She was smart, funny, and could transport herself into the minds of animals. The dynamics within the group that came together were funny and entertaining. The banter between these characters was engaging. The development of these characters created a realistic story of their determination to steal from the dragons, the character names were developed with so much originality.

I read the book and listened to the audiobook at the same time. This experience made the book come alive for me. The narration was amazing! Lauren Fortgang has such a range of voices that each of these characters came to life and made the story amazing. Her tone and tempo and inflections were spot on. I will definitely be listening to more from Lauren.

The story was well written and I found myself immersed in this wonderful world. The ending felt abrupt, but it was still an amazing book. I highly recommend this book if you love dragons, dragon riders, suspense, and intrigue. It will be published on July 9.

The Sky on Fire is an epic fantasy featuring dragons and high stakes heists. Given that this is an epic/high fantasy novel, the pacing is on the slower side to start due to sheer amount of world building. Lyons did a masterful job creating an imaginative and unique world system both above and below. I especially loved the ring system used to designate individual preferences. I also loved Lyons magic system and unique powers the different dragons possessed. Once the world was established, the pace picked up quite a bit and kept my interest. I loved all of the elements of the heist from the planning to execution to pivoting for unexpected outcomes. There were also plenty of plot twists, world changing revelations, and betrayals to keep my interest. In terms of tropes, I love the found family trope which was well done from unlikely allies to family. The enemies to lovers trope was also well executed. I combo read this between the eBook, physical book, and audiobook. I especially enjoyed the audiobook narration by Lauren Fortgang. I’ve found Fortgang does well with fantasy audiobooks and this was no different. She does so well at exemplifying the anxiety and tension that comes with high stakes novels. I would highly recommend the audiobook for Sky on Fire.

After seeing an early reader of this book post a glowing review on Twitter and gushing that it was perfect for fans of FOURTH WING, I came running to NetGalley to slam the request button.

This was my first experience reading anything by Jenn Lyons, though I did score the first book in the Chorus of Dragons series to work into my TBR at some point.

Dragons, magic, betrayal and a heist - all ingredients for a potentially spicy fantasy - except that none of the potential was executed well, or at all in some cases.

There was little to no depth to the characters. Lyons intrigued me with this "late-sprouting/late-blooming" element, yet never explained it in any detail, just small, confusing references. Same with the rings the Skylanders chose to reflect their personal choices/preferences. It got to a point where I just didn't want to pick this one back up, but still tried to soldier on because I didn't want it to be a DNF and tank my NetGalley ratio, but I did finally throw in the towel 63% of the way in.

I do still plan to give the Chorus of Dragons series a go at some point.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Pub Date: July 9, 2024

4 stars
Heists and dragons, so fun! I loved the world and the characters though I didn't feel as connected to them as I would have liked. I think this book may have suffered from putting too much into one book and it would have worked better as a duology or trilogy so that we could feel more connected to the characters and not rushed from one action scene to the next. If there was different pacing of events in the book I think that would have helped too.

This book is chock full of things I like: dragons, heists, sneaky women, surprising family members you didn’t know about, diverse cast of characters, a secret past. There were chunks of the book I really liked and some characters (Anahrod, Gwydinion, Ris, Sicaryon) and moments that were pleasant surprises. The world itself if so well done, there is some really great worldbuilding.
Unfortunately I found the book to be too crowded. Most side characters never make much of an impression, the plot moves pretty slow, and so many interesting things get glossed over. Simply too much happening in a standalone.