This was incredible! I can’t wait for the next one. This was a book I didn’t know I needed in my life but so happy I have it now.

Spicy, male female, multiple points of view, romantasy. This was a quick and easy read full of witches, dragons, magic, twists, and romance. I enjoyed the premise and worldbuilding. The characters were interesting - the female lead especially. I'm looking forward to the next book!

This new adult romantic fantasy series has a captivating world of dragons, magic, and high-stakes drama. In a kingdom where dragons are extinct and magic is dying, Tamsyn, a royal whipping girl, is forced into a perilous marriage with Fell, the Beast of the Borderlands, to protect the princesses she serves. Raised in the palace but treated as a servant, Tamsyn’s life combines privilege and punishment. Her journey from a pawn in a dangerous game to a key player with hidden powers is gripping and emotional. The intense romance and Tamsyn’s evolving strength make this a thrilling start to a series that promises even more intrigue and magic.

I’m DNF’ing this at 65%. I know it’s close to the end but life is too short to read books that bore you. The way the characters monologue everything, show me don’t tell me please. There’s no chemistry with anyone in this book. As a fan of Top Gear I can’t get over a character named Stig, and I really want to punch that man in the face. Half of this book could’ve been cut out with some more succinct dialogue and we could’ve introduced the action and blatant plot twist. I wanted to enjoy this but I don’t.

What a ride! I really enjoyed this book. The multiple POV’s were awesome and well placed. The plot had good pacing and the characters were just right. The backstory was told well without too much info-dumping which I always appreciate. The plot twists were twisty and that ending!!

This definitely has some spice! Not for the faint of heart. Overall, I really enjoyed it!

Originally had thought this was good time, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized this story was just not for me. I don’t really think the main couple had a connection, they could have explored the family dynamics more, and Stig was obviously written to be disliked but not in a fun way. Not to say there were no good parts (ie world building and what we did see between her and her sisters) but not enough to save it. Overall it has potential but did not leave up to them. May be I’ll pick up book 2 when it comes out in the library.

I remember reading and enjoying Sophie Jordan’s YA dragon series a couple of years ago so I was thrilled to get an ARC for her new adult fantasy book expanding on this world (I think at least lol). Thanks so much to NetGalley, Sophie Jordan, and her publisher, Avon for the ARC!
 
Fire in the Sky follows Tamsyn, the whipping girl for the royal family. She has 3 “sisters” that she takes the punishment for. When Fell, the leader of the border group that keeps their kingdom safe (previously from dragons, now thought to be extinct, and outsiders) shows up to court demanding a bride, the King and Queen trick him by giving him Tamsyn instead of one of the three princesses. This book follows their journey as they travel back to Fell’s home and deal with the sudden feelings between them as well as the betrayal Fell feels at not having been given a princess. This book was a short, easy, and fun read perfect for fall! I can’t wait for book 2!

I went into this book not really knowing what to expect, and I was happily surprised. My heart hurts for Tamsin, how could her parents do such a thing to her. I was happy to see her get married to fell, even if he was a rough man he was better then what her 'family' ever was to her. He saw a likeness in her. He saw she struggled and was treated differently but he also so a strong women that wanted to protect those she loved. I like this book it had it's ups and downs it had it's foes and betrayals and even a few twist! I'm eager to see where the next installment will take readers.

This wasn’t a bad book but also wasn’t a great book. The book was very predictable and some of the dialogue was repetitive. I don’t think I would read the next books

★★★★★

I heard so many people raving about it, so I preordered months ago. Let me tell you, it did NOT disappoint. I mean an arranged marriage in a world where dragons have been hunted to 'extinction' between the royal whipping girl and the famous brute from the treacherous border region? Count me in!

We get to see a lot of build up to the marriage, the actual marriage, and then the long journey back to the north. Definitely a lot of world building happening, but it's done in such a way that gets you attached to the characters and world to really prepare you for that cliffhanger. I'm a big world building gal, so honestly it was almost refreshing to take that time with the characters and see the things that a normally skipped over. And let me tell you, loved the characters. I'm obsessed with Fell and Tamsyn. I am upset about Stig bc I didn't automatically hate his character, but then his actions during the bedding ceremony flipped the switch which did making the ending with him less impactful for me.

It was a little predictable at times BUT it didn't take away from how fun and entertaining the story was.

The world building was decent. There wasn't really anything that was too complicated that needed extra elaboration, and everything seemed pretty simple and easy to understand. But parts of me also wishes that it was more elaborate. A lot of the middle of the book was pretty bland because it was of their travels to the Borderlands, and I feel like it had a bunch of wasted space that could have been better utilized trying to enhance the plot.

This book also had some good tropes in it: arranged marriage, touch her and die, and of course, shifters and dragons. For the most part, they were done well. The arranged marriage had a lot of twists and turns in the beginning, but everything settled so fast. I was expecting a lot more conflict considering everything that happened.

Speaking of expecting more, the romance was a bit lackluster. They went from not speaking, looking at each other, or touching each other for weeks on end, and then suddenly he's willing to break all of his rules for her, go against his greatest warriors, who he's been with for a long time, for her, and putting off their plans of getting home safe, just to find her, and putting everyone else he is with at risk. It just didn't make any sense to me and there was a great lack of build up.

I was a bit disappointed by the ending. At first, it caught me off guard and I loved it, but then something else happened at the very end and everything was kind of doubled down, and I was not a fan. I do think it would have been better if the 2nd thing didn't happen and it went in a different direction.

I really loved this one, it was my first Sophie Jordan read and it definitely will not be my last. I loved the world within and found the characters well written and multidimensional. The romance within was really lovely, I was shocked by how much I enjoyed it in all honesty. It has one of my least favourite tropes but it was so well executed that I loved it here. I cannot wait for book two, and I’m so going back and reading all of Sophie Jordan’s books!!

Some fantasy worlds take a bit of preliminary world building to get into, but that was not the case with A Fire in the Sky. I was immediately swept up in the story of Tamsyn. The heat and the characters and the universe it takes place in were all absolutely delectable and I actually slowed down my reading to make it last longer! I hope the author is working on the next because I WILL impatiently blow up her DMs until I get more!

This was a fun little romantasy adventure! Here you have:
- A fast paced read with plenty of action that keeps the pages turning
- Dragons 🐉 and witches and magical creatures
- Some favorite tropes including enemies to lovers and arranged marriage
- Spice 🌶️
- Lies and trickery
- Political intrigue
- And did I say dragons? Because dragons 🐉😍
Here’s what a wanted a bit more of:
- More intricate world building-I didn’t feel connected to the world. One of my favorite things about reading fantasy is feeling immersed in the world, and I just didn’t get there here.
- More description. The writing fell a bit flat for me. This also would have helped the world building. It lacked the rich, imaginative prose and vivid details that helps draw the reader in. There’s reading a story and then there’s feeling engaged in the story. Feeling a part of. I was the former.

That said, I truly enjoyed it and definitely want to read the sequel so 4 solid ⭐️ Thank you to Avon Books and NetGalley for providing the arc for review! All opinions are my own.

This book really had the potential to be incredible. I did enjoy reading it, but I just felt it had too many plot holes and a lot of it was just unbelievable. The FMC & MMC were just too indifferent about almost everything. They just went along with anything for the sake of going along to further the plot. Anything that happened? They just said okay and then went on never really questioning anything. For example, at one point something happens to the FMC and it seems super traumatic and this other person is able to help her it seems, but she just gets up and leaves and is like "this terrible thing is probably going to happen again and I don't know how to fix it, but whatevs, I'll just leave and not ask for any help or guidance" It was just unbelievable. She should have been relentless in asking questions and looking for the answers. Digging for even the smallest hint on how to fix the problem in the future. Also, it felt as if almost nothing happened in the book, the first third is an arranged marriage, the second third is a road trip, and the final third is fairly anti-climatic after arriving at the destination. I feel like it was really missing some larger conflict, and I would have liked to see more interaction between the MMC and FFC, more dialogue and interactions to build their relationship.

The story was really fun, and I loved the concept. I will happily read the rest of the series, although I will be hoping for more world building, dialogue, action, and less repetitive descriptions. It's a fun easy read, and while theres not many spicy scenes(3 I think), they were probably my favorite parts of this book.

OMG I was not expecting this! I love when the fmc and mmc are forced together by circumstances but they have a link to the other. A smell, a presence that makes their unfortunate situation so much better, at least for us.
Tamsyn had grown up as a princess but wasn’t one of them she was the one they punishsed when her “sisters” were bad. She has a great deal of strength and resilience.
But the Beast came and all sorts of fun was unlocked. I wasn’t expecting that forest scene and the tent was fun. Why am I not hearing more about this book!? And that ending? Are you serious? Love!
There are dragons, there’s mystery, there’s so much left to this world to explore. I need to go read the ya series that this is a spinoff from. This is adult.

This one took awhile to get into, there was a lot of background information. Once the story got going it was hard to put down. Tamsyn was sent to the king and queen at birth, she grew up with the king’s children as a whipping girl. When Fell the came to the kingdom demanding a princess, his reputation proceeded him and the king decided to him in Tamsyn sight unseen. On the travel to his kingdom something triggered in Tamsyn, something she didn’t know existed. Everyone freaked out that a dragon took her and that they still exist, everyone thought they were dead. Now they hunt for the dragon to bring her back, she returns to Fell, her husband changed and unsure how to feel about him and their relationship

I remember reading and loving the Firelight books in HS and while we may have been edged with the tension between Jacinda and Will, Sophie Jordan stays true to her romance roots and completely delivers (and gives more) with Tamsyn and Fell’s story. Not only was their chemistry lightning hot enough to be felt through the pages, it was also full of anger, longing, fear, and excitement, and all these emotions coalesced into anticipation so tangible it will take your hand, guide you and have you quickly flipping the pages to see if all that yearning gets paid off in full. (And trust me, Lord Beast always delivers.)

While the core plot revolves around Tamsyn and Fell (we do get multiple POVs in this book, which I loved because each character’s voice is so distinct and fascinating in their own way) and how they discover parts of themselves, whether it be together or individually, and how they perceive the world/shape themselves once those revelations come to light, I also enjoyed the subplots that further enhanced the story. From mythological creatures/lore to political intrigue and civil unrest to personal drama, @sosophiejordan carefully takes each puzzle piece and fits it into the perfect spot to form a bigger, more shocking picture.

Loved every moment of this book and found myself thinking about it constantly (if I wasn’t reading it, I was thinking about reading it). I haven’t had so much fun or been so stressed reading a book in a while. Fast-paced and brimming with fiery hot tension, characters you will root for, and a dragon-filled world you cannot help but want to get lost in, A Fire in the Sky is your next Romantasy obsession, one that will stay with you long after the last page has been turned. Come unravel the secrets this book has to share.

Listen, if a book is advertised as having dragons--I'm going to read it.

This was a super interesting story, even if it took about 40% of the way through to actually start telling it. The beginning of the book wasn't necessarily boring, but....nothing really happens. If you've read From Blood and Ash, it's very similar--40% of the book explaining the ridiculous indoctrination/essentially cultish behavior and purity culture standards before the FMC grows a small amount of spine and things start happening. It was interesting, but I wish we had cut that down significantly and built up the last 25% of the book SIGNIFICANTLY more instead.

I'm not 100% sure how I feel about Tamsyn by the end. She's definitely giving FBAA Poppy energy, so I'm withholding judgement to see if she gets the same sort of character development and growth before I say she's annoying and naive. Because, well, she IS, but it's understandable given her circumstances.

The story does end on a big cliffhanger, which isn't surprising because there isn't really a whole lot of action that happens in this book. Defintiely a lot of world building and character establishment vs action happening here. But I am curious to see where it goes, as there is a lot of potential here. And, you know, dragons.

You'll like this if you're a fan of:
- Romantasy
- Dragons/dragon shifters
- Arranged marriages
- Hidden identities
- A bit of spice
- From Blood and Ash or Fourth Wing

I haven’t had this much fun with dragons since fourth wing. Highly recommend! You’ve got enemies to lovers, friends to enemies, marriage of convenience, a journey that ends with surprising discoveries. Very quick and easy to read and left me longing for the next book.