Okay my rating went anywhere from 2-4 stars depending where I was in the book.. It kept me reading and wanting to know more, while also being predictable and a little jumbled. I would’ve like to see more chemistry between characters.

This was a really fun read. It is quick and simple and had me entertained from the first pages. As a romantasy, I though it found a great balance between plot, world-building, relationship-building, and spice. I'm surprised that this one hasn't taken off as much as some of the other similar romantasy books. I am glad to see that the first print with the blue edges sold out! I expected to see more talk about this one on social media.

This ends on a cliff-hanger so I was excited to see the recent announcement of book 2: A Scar in the Bone.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for providing a digital ARC of this book.

Thank Net Galley for this ARC.

This was a fun read. The world building and magic system kept me interested. The deceitful marriage consummation was a bit much, but it really laid out the environment of this world. What little people thought of the FMC.

Okay wait, I loved this. I can't believe how many amazing fantasy books are coming out now. When is the second book coming out?

unfortunately i could not get into this book and ultimately ended up dnf’ing.

i think it was more me than the book. from what i read, i loved sophie jordan’s writing style!!

I'm SO surprised I'm not hearing more about this, I had so much fun reading it and absolutely blew through it!

This has a ton of fun aspects to it: arranged marriage, enemies to lovers, dragons, a warrior lord, a sheltered (not)princess, a wild snowscape, dying magic and witches. Its fast paced and the world-building is easy to digest but still expansive and exciting. I really enjoyed the writing style, and was totally taken by surprise by a good chunk of the plot points.

I really enjoy both Fell and Tamsyn as characters, they are distinct and believable, as well as easy to sympathize with and flawed in their respective ways. They have great tension and chemistry, and I really did believe the ambiguity they both have toward one another, as well as the struggle they both face throughout to manage their undeniable connection despite everything. I loved the lore and the direction the story is headed in. This gets a solid 4.5/5 stars for me, and I already cannot wait for the sequel!

Thank you so much to Avon & Harper Voyager and NetGalley for this eArc, I'm excited to look through this authors previous works and pick something up!

AHHHH I’M OBSESSED!!! The Scorched Court absolutely devoured me and I loved every fiery second of it!!!

Give me DRAGONS, arranged marriages, brooding warriors, and hidden magic and I will give you my whole soul, no questions asked. This book had EVERYTHING!!!

Tamsyn is such a compelling, complex FMC — caught between power and powerlessness, privilege and punishment. The whole “raised with royalty but treated like dirt” dynamic?? PAIN. Loved it. Ate it up. Her journey from invisible to ICONIC is just beginning and I am HERE FOR IT!!!

And the plot twist?? THE WEDDING?? The veil?? The deception?? I was GASPING. The tension between Tamsyn and Fell??? Absolutely feral-level stuff. Their dynamic is so intense, so messy, so deliciously dangerous — I couldn’t look away!!!

Also, can we talk about the WORLD??? It’s rich and deadly and full of secrets — the kind of setting where you’re always just waiting for something ancient and powerful to wake up… and I AM READY. The magic system, the history, the whispers of dragons still lingering?? I NEED MORE!!!

The spice?? Oh, it’s THERE. It’s not overwhelming but when it hits?? It hits. Slow burn with sharp teeth.

Yes, I saw a few twists coming — but honestly?? I didn’t care. I was too busy flipping pages and living my best “court drama meets dragon destiny” life.

5/5 stars. A firestorm of feelings. Would marry Fell under false pretenses too.

PS: Sophie Jordan, I see you. I respect the chaos.
PPS: I’m begging the book gods for the sequel.
PPPS: Tamsyn girl, light it up. Let the whole kingdom BURN.

READ IT. LOVE IT. LET IT CONSUME YOU.
(And then scream about it with me.)
Dragons. Secrets. Spice. YES PLEASE!!!

What might be my favorite dragon romantasy series, A Fire in the Sky, gives Tamsyn an arranged marriage, a stern borderland ruler, and a set of dangerous powers to deal with…and that was after a violent childhood as the royal whipping girl. Raised alongside the princesses as their adopted sister, the king sees the perfect opportunity to pass Tamsyn off as a real princess when a notorious borderland lord asks for a royal marriage in exchange for his continued military protection. Fell was looking to secure his people’s safety. Instead, he gets stuck with a fake princess he is incredibly attracted to. Fell and Tamsyn must quickly develop a secure partnership if they want to navigate a set of suspiciously dragon-like abilities that could doom them both.

This book had a few good things, but overall, it just wasn't it. Too much repetition and not a great plot. I also felt like I was just forcing myself to try and finish it. The synopsis was intriguing but the execution fell flat.

I honestly slept on this one. I did not expect it to be as good as it was. I don’t know what I was expecting, however–I LOVE Sophie Jordan’s historical romances and she’s one of my instabuy authors in that genre, but I guess it’s dragons? I’m relatively new. Late adopted to The Empyrean. I really need to stop being so hesitant to enjoy and indulge in less than cozy fantasy. This was dark fantasy at its finest, and so very spicy. I really love a good bonded couple and Fell and Tamsyn were delicious together. If I had to describe this book in food terms, I’d say it’s a dark chocolate lava cake with a dash of strong, spicy cinnamon. But that cliffhanger is going to kill me…

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the advanced copy in exchange for a fair and honest review!

Did not finish book. Stopped at 41%.
I'm disappointed because the book sounded really good. Witches, dragons, romance, forced marriage? Sounds amazing! Sadly, I'm almost half way through and nothing has happened. Both the MMC and FMC POV has contridicting writing that doesn't go with their personality. There's some sort of insta lust which I normally dislike. And then there was some weird having sex in a room with people watching that just felt icky. I can see why people may like this but this was just not for me.

Thank you Net Galley and Avon. I appreciate getting the chance to read this book and always appreciate any ARCs I get in trade for an honest review.

This was a fantasy with dragons, arranged marriage, unexpected romance, and action. I am looking forward to continuing this series. ##netgalley #dragons #romantacy #SophieJordan

I regret not getting to this book sooner! IT WAS SO GOOD IT WAS UNREAL!

Spoiler Free Summary:
A glorified slave is to be married to "barbaric" Prince of the border. One of his knights tries to kill her and her true form comes out. But then the end of the book, his true form comes out!

Feels:
This book had me glued! GLUED!!! The beginning and camping scene was a little tedious. But the consummation scene was amazing. There such a huge build up of events carried out through the whole book that you think she is going to be one creature but comes out as a different one. Also, when a certain character shows his true cowardly colors.. it checks out. The ending had me shook and it all fit together perfectly!

Tropes:
Dragons
Witches
Touch her and die
lovers to enemies
forced Marriage
Forced proximity

The first thing you need to know is that A Fire in the Sky is not a standalone prequel to the Firelight series. I didn't know this until reading the acknowledgments after the book ended. That being said, the pacing of this book felt completely off for me. The closer I got to the end of the book, I felt like the plot should be wrapping up more than it was. A Fire in the Sky ended in a cliffhanger, but other parts were left open. Knowing more books are to come makes this make sense, but not knowing it affected my enjoyment as I was reading. I kept getting pulled out of the story because it didn't make sense that this was a standalone. It's not.

Tamsyn has been raised like a sibling to the princesses of Penterra. Well, except for one large difference, she has been the royal whipping child for the princesses and has taken all of their punishments upon herself. I hated this for Tamsyn, yet I liked this idea with some historical backing used to create a strong female lead character. She is used to keeping her behavior and feelings under wrap so she doesn't incur more punishments than she already received.

Fell has been fighting on the border to protect the kingdom. He demands to wed one of the princesses not because he wants power so much as he needs his voice heard. He needs the council and king to understand what's happening on the kingdom's border. But Fell is tricked into marrying Tamsyn. He isn't happy to have been tricked, but he doesn't want to annul the marriage either.

I feel much more beyond that description enters into spoiler territory. The wedding night scene is the main spicy scene. I can't remember if there was more than that, but if there was I don't think it was much. However, cursing was abundant in A Fire in the Sky.

I didn't highlight much. Only three things and none of them are anything I want to share in this review.

The cliffhanger and the characters kept me interested in reading more. And since finishing A Fire in the Sky, I did see A Scar in the Bone on Goodreads. But not knowing from the beginning that this was intended to be the first in a prequel series threw off my entire experience of the book. Coupled with a couple of plot points that fell a little short of great writing in my opinion leaves me giving A Fire in the Sky 3.5 Stars. I enjoyed it, but it also blows my mind to see it recommended so frequently by some reviewers and influencers on Instagram and such. Hopefully, as the series continues my rating for this book might rise. Have you read A Fire in the Sky? What did you think? Let me know!

I’ve read my fair share of romantasy at this point, and while I’m still a fan of the genre, I’m also getting more picky. It’s not enough anymore for the book to be a quick and exciting read, hitting some of my favorite romantasy tropes along the way. I feel like I need something more now for the books to stick around for longer than the few days it takes me to read them, something to make them stand out from the rest.

A Fire in the Sky, while it had its moments, unfortunately, didn’t quite stand out for me. Everything ended up feeling quite shallow, from the world-building to the main character, to even the romance itself. While I can often ignore shallow plots or worlds in these types of stories, I need the romance to then truly stand out. It means I spend less time focusing on the things that are not as necessary for this main romance plot, like the functioning of the world or the depth of the main character’s motivations. The romance, while intriguing, just wasn’t developed enough for me, and I was frustrated by how little time the characters actually spent together in the latter half of the book. We had an interesting start, but we never really built from there. The feelings between the main characters still strengthened somehow despite this, which just ended up making things feel too quick on top of that.

However, I have to admit there were a few things I did like. I ended up enjoying how one of the reveals played out, even if the reveal itself was extremely obvious. It made for some interesting perspectives and moments, and I liked the dynamic it seemed to introduce between the two main characters, even if I’m not sure that’ll last after the ending. I can’t go into much more detail without spoiling though!

In the end, while I enjoyed the afternoon I spent with the book, I don’t see it sticking with me for long. I also looked into the synopsis of the second book, and I’m sad to say I probably won’t be continuing with the series. It seems like the things I had issues with won’t be further developed in the next book, and I’m not really a fan of where the series seems to be going after this. I might still change my mind though, only time will tell!

Tamsyn is the royal whipping girl with a fierce loyalty to the princesses who she considers sisters and grew up alongside. As she is property of the crown, she is pushed into an arranged marriage with Fell, the Beast of the Borderlands, to spare her sisters' fate.

I devoured this book in two days. I was definitely in the mood for this fast-paced romantasy. The ending was heavily foreshadowed but turned out exactly as I wanted it to so I didn't mind that one bit. The "consummate the marriage" scene was cringy but I feel like that is typical for arranged marriage tropes in this genre.

I received the e-book from NetGalley but I listened to some of the audiobook when I was walking with my dogs and thought it was very well done as well. It definitely kept my attention with multiple voice actors. To my surprise, I also received a beautiful hardcover copy of the book in my Romantasy FairyLoot subscription. It is a gorgeous shelf trophy and one of my favorites from the subscription.

Recommend to any Romantasy fans who like dragons and the arranged marriage trope!

A political marriage, travel to distant lands, and dragons all tied together in an addictive spicy romantasy

# A Fire in the Sky
# 3/1/2025 ~ 3/4/2025
# 5.0 / 5.0

I started Dragon's Veil with high hopes, intrigued by the premise of Tamsyn, the royal whipping girl, and the dark secrets lurking within her. The world-building and the dynamics between Tamsyn and the other characters were intriguing, but I found the pace to be a bit slow for my taste. While the plot certainly had potential, I struggled to stay engaged, and ultimately, I didn't finish the book.

That said, the premise of magic awakening and Tamsyn's hidden destiny is an interesting one, and I can see how it might appeal to readers who enjoy slow-burn character development and political intrigue. The idea of Tamsyn's relationship with Stig and Fell also offered an interesting twist, though it didn't quite capture me as much as I hoped. I may revisit the story at some point when I’m in the right mood for a slower-paced narrative, but for now, I’ll be setting it aside.

Thank you to Sophie Jordan, Avon, and NetGalley for sending me the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The concepts behind the book were really good, but I could not get behind the execution and the pacing - also this book for sure should have had trigger warnings at the beginning (I'm not sure if the final version has TWs, I read a Netgalley ARC, but even that *should* have had TWs).

TWs as much as I remember - on page physical violence faced by one of the MCs as a whipping girl, two MCs forced to consummate their arranged marriage in front of a crowd, general violence and death

There's a lot of gritty time spent in explaining Tamsyn's role as a whipping girl which was traumatizing to read without any warning (esp given the callously casual way the rest of her "family" treated her), but following her wedding to Fell, the story and emotions fly really fast. The consummation scene was extremely difficult to read, it was for sure two people forced into a sexual situation they didn't want to be in -- the sudden passion they felt for each other felt very out of place with the other emotions they were feeling at the time. The insta love (lust??) grew by leaps and bounds within the next few chapters and I was.. pretty confused with the change of pacing. The ending was a good twist, but I don't think I'll be picking up book 2 :/

-- ty to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy!

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.