A romantasy with dragons, I thought this one would be right up my alley. The chemistry between Elowen and Cayden was electric and the sex scenes were definitely spicy. The dragons, once we finally got to meet them, were gorgeous. I loved the depiction of the bond enhancing ceremony and the connection between Elowen and her dragons. I also liked the group of friends (Ryder, Saskia, Finnian, Cayden and Elowen) standing together against the world vibe. The character development was fairly good, at least as far as the two main characters. However, the world building was a little weak, and some of the scenes didn't flow well for me--for example, there was a battle scene at some point that felt like it was thrown in without being tied properly to the overall storyline and then all of sudden Cayden and Elowen were having mind-blowing sex. Also, some of the dialogue and some of the explanations of character motivations felt repetitive. That being said, this was a fun read with a quick pace.

Fear the Flames by Olivia Rose Darling launches a new fantasy romance series filled with warring kingdoms, dragons, and a slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers romance. This book will definitely appeal to fans of the genre, but while it offers some enjoyable moments, it also highlights why I can only indulge in fantasy romance in small doses. The romance aspect will likely satisfy many readers, though the storytelling and world-building feel weaker in some areas.

The story centers around Elowen Atarah, an exiled princess from the kingdom of Imirath, who formed a powerful soul bond with five dragons after their long-dormant eggs miraculously hatched in her presence. These dragons became her protectors, as close as family. However, her father, King Garrick, fearful of her growing powers, imprisoned and tortured her to keep her from them. After being rescued by her uncle Ailliard, Elowen flees Imirath, leaving the dragons behind.

Years later, living in the newly formed queendom of Aestilian, Elowen still feels the pull of her bond with the dragons and is determined to rescue them and exact revenge on those who wronged her. To do this, she reluctantly makes a deal with Cayden Veles, the military commander of the neighboring kingdom of Varaveth. In exchange for his help, she must assist him in waging war against King Garrick. Though their alliance is strained at first, their mutual attraction grows as they work together on a daring mission to infiltrate the fortress that holds her dragons captive.

For romance readers, the enemies-to-lovers dynamic between Elowen and Cayden will feel familiar. However, the romance, while promising, is somewhat predictable and rushed. The tension between them is engaging at times, but the emotional depth of their relationship is lacking. Cayden’s overprotective and possessive behavior, typical of the "alpha male" archetype, can feel grating, and while there’s undeniable chemistry between the two, it often feels more superficial than I’d hoped for. The banter is fun, but the story could have benefitted from a more nuanced exploration of their emotional connection.

The world-building in Fear the Flames shows potential but falls short in fully developing its universe. While we’re given glimpses of the magic system, the history of the kingdoms, and the dragon lore, many important aspects feel underexplored. Questions about Elowen’s special connection to the dragons, the nature of their bond, and the broader implications of their world are left unanswered, which can be frustrating. Some plot points are glossed over, leaving the reader wanting more context and detail. The story has a bit of a "fan fiction" vibe, with key elements feeling incomplete, though I’m hopeful that future books in the series will address these gaps.

Overall, Fear the Flames is a solid start to a promising series, especially for readers who enjoy fantasy romance with dragons and high stakes. While it falls short in some areas, the potential for growth in both the romance and the world-building is there, and I’m curious to see where the story goes next.

Title: Fear the Flames by Olivia Rose Darling
Genre: Romantasy
Pub Date: September 17, 2024

"They may think they found me powerless, but I'm never defenseless."

🔥 Forbidden Romance
🐉 Slow Burn
🏰 Mythological Creatures
🔥 Political Intrigue
🐉 Enemies to Lovers
🏰 Forced Proximity
🔥 Touch Her and 💀

📖 Exiled Princess Elowen seeks to reclaim her dragons, stolen by her father. To achieve this, she forms an unlikely alliance with the ruthless Commander Cayden Veles. Together, they embark on a dangerous mission filled with intrigue, betrayal, and a sizzling forbidden romance.

💭 Okay, seriously, if you're looking for a new book bf, Cayden is pure 🔥🔥🔥! This morally gray commander is sassy AF and a shameless flirt. Did I mention he calls Elowen "angel" and uses brutal violence against anyone who even looks at her wrong? 😮‍💨❤️‍🔥

Elowen, our stabby exiled Dragon Queen, is all kinds of badass, but she's struggles with self-doubt and resists their undeniable chemistry, creating a delicious slow-burn tension. The banter between these two is pure gold – sarcastic, witty, and full of salicious sparring!

The ending left me wanting more (in the best way possible). I NEED to know what happens next! If you loved Fourth Wing and you're into enemies-to-lovers, morally gray heroes, and dragons, you NEED to read Fear the Flames.

⭐️ 3.5/5

Thank you so much, Delacorte Press and NetGalley, for the digital review copy.

⚠️ M 18+: explicit sexual content (consensual), (early) implied torture, (later) graphic torture

Rating: 4/5
I received an eARC for my honest opinion.

I won’t lie, I almost DNF this book because it was so slow at first, but I am happy that I did not. This book has a lot of potential for it, and I think the next book will be better than this one. In this book you will meet a runaway princess, who was held prisoner by her father. Why was she imprisoned by her father? Well because she is a princess who is linked to not just one dragon but five of them. Now that it has been a while since she has escaped from her prison, all she wants is to find a way back to her Dragons and to finally be free. When a handsome Lord Commander comes to her with a proposal that is too good to turn down, she takes it. It will not be easy to lie to the ones that she has come to think of as family but with all lies there is some good to come out of it. Will they succeed in freeing her Dragons and removing her father from his throne or will there be more issues that come up?

As I said at first the book is slow, but it does pick up and you will finally see what the plot and the characters are going to do. I liked that this book was fun, I got lost in the world that the author made. I loved that this book had the FMC that was linked to dragons, I loved that she was a fierce character, but she also had anxiety, and that was what really made me like this character. People don’t understand, just because you’re fierce doesn’t mean that you don’t fear things, that you might not have anxiety in situations, and that you can’t just be strong and be flawed too. I loved that about Elowen. I liked that once she was set on what she wanted and knew a plan she would try to learn everything that she could, not just so she could always have a backup plan, but so that she could learn. I love that we have a dragon queen here and now she will make sure that all her enemies fall and are burned with her dragons’ flames.

Cayden, He is the definition of falling first. He is cutthroat, handsome, and attentive to Elowens needs (he was always watching her and noticing things about her, he knew when she was in a bad mood and if it was due to her not eating or something else). I liked that he cared for her, but he always made sure to still treat her like a lady. Like with the broken glass on the floor in the bathroom. I found the banter between Cayden and Elowen to be funny, but it was the chemistry between these characters that really brought the readers some steamy scenes. I found the side characters to be interesting and the perfect fit to round out this book. I loved Finnian and I would love to have a male friend like him. Ryder and Saskia were Cayden trusted friends but easily connected with Elowen’s and Finn. I liked that with the side characters you get to see more of found family tropes in this book as well. This book didn’t leave off with a major cliffhanger and that is something that I haven’t seen in a while in a fantasy romance book.

If you like fantasy books with romance, steamy scenes, touch her and die, enemies to lovers, forbidden romance you need to read this book.

I want to thank NetGalley and Random House for the opportunity to review this book.

I really enjoyed every aspect of this book. I read a lot of fantasy and romantasy and a lot of times the stories can seem very similar but this one felt fresh while also keeping a lot of the elements that draw me to the genre. The characters were all likable and the relationships were built in a way that I was truly invested in by the end of the book leaving me wanting so much more. Olivia Rose Darling is now an author who I will check in on frequently for new reads. Sign me up for more!

Fear the Flames by Olivia Rose Darling is an absolute page-turner that will keep you hooked from the very first chapter! I really enjoyed Laela’s journey, as someone struggling with dangerous fire magic in a world full of betrayal, is both intense and emotional.

The characters are well-portrayed, mostly flawed, and so easy to root for (or hate a certain someone 👀) and the twists were really solid, somewhat unexpected.
The world the author created is dark and vivid, pulling you in completely, and the mix of action, romance, and secrets is perfectly balanced. If you love fantasy with high stakes and characters who make your heart ache, you’ll love this one!

If you like:
🔥Found family
🔥Enemies-to-lovers
🔥Forbidden magic
🔥Secret identity
🔥Betrayal

5 Dragon Queen, Demon loving, fire breathing stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this early review copy(apologies so late).

This was a unique read taking on dragons and myth and adding a twist to the myth. I loved every word from the first to the last and cannot wait to devour more works by this author.

Fear the Flames is an absolute disaster of a book, and I honestly don’t know how anyone can look past its glaring flaws. It’s a total mess—a textbook case of a book trying to capitalize on trendy tropes without any real substance or purpose.

Let’s start with the characters. Elowen -she’s described as a badass assassin over and over, but we’re told this, not shown it. She constantly wears tight, sexy clothes and calls men "territorial bastards," but there’s nothing compelling about her character. She has anxiety, but it’s barely acknowledged or explored, just a superficial trait to tick a box. And then there’s her obsession with vanilla frappuccinos...really? We’re supposed to buy into this high-fantasy world, but her penchant for modern, sugary coffee drinks pulls you out of the experience. It’s one thing to have a quirky character trait, but this feels out of place in a world that’s supposed to be magical.
The love interest, Cayden, is just as bad. Their "enemies-to-lovers" dynamic is nothing more than insta-love with a sprinkle of toxic possessiveness. They start calling each other pet names ("angel") almost immediately after meeting, and there’s no real tension or emotional build-up. It's supposed to be a slow-burn romance, but it lacks depth or anything remotely engaging.
And then we get to the world-building—or rather, the lack of it. Elowen is supposedly a princess bonded to dragons, but the “kingdom” she rules is a joke. She’s somehow a queen, but her "kingdom" consists of a tiny hamlet, and it’s hidden away somewhere, with no real infrastructure or sense of scale. How is she a queen with no kingdom? The lack of consistency in the world-building is staggering. And don’t even get me started on the dragons—the thing this book is supposed to be about. They’re barely even relevant to the plot. The book teases a dangerous heist, but the stakes feel non-existent. The entire first half of the book is just Cayden obsessively declaring how much he wants Elowen, while the dragons and heist plot only show up in the last 100 pages.
Finally, the writing is juvenile and repetitive. These characters are supposed to be in their late twenties, but they read like early teens. The constant repetition of phrases and the lack of any meaningful development makes this book feel like it’s padding out a high word count in the hopes of appearing more substantial than it really is.
This book doesn’t have any real plot, character development, or world-building, and it’s painfully aware of its own clichés. If you're into books about dragons, enemies-to-lovers tropes, or badass heroines, Fear the Flames will only leave you disappointed. Honestly, save your time and money. This is one book that doesn’t need a sequel, and it’s better used as kindling than for reading.

Olivia Darling's Instagram really hyped up this book and I kind of did enjoy it in some parts. This gave me feels from throne of glass, the bridge kingdom, and game of thrones! I truly loved the dragon's aspect and the heist part! I'm not sure wich cover it's suppse to be but the one with the dragons and gold is so great and reminds me of what terrasen is suppose to be. For a debut novel you can tell the author put her soul into the making of this! It does read like a self-published because of some errors I noticed like a few things didn't add up at the end or grammar, but I wonder if that's because it was sold like that. the group of side characters reminds me of six of crows and in a great way! I really feel like Olivia took all the best parts of her favorite novels and put them in one which is awesome! Thank you so much for this book & author, the publisher, and Netgalley!

I really liked this one! I liked the plot and the world a lot.
The pacing was great, I feel like things moved along quickly. I just wish we had gotten to know the characters better. I feel like they all lacked any kind of dimension.
However, I look forward to seeing what happens in the next book!

An exiled princess, Elowen Atarah, who escaped the imprisonment imposed by her father and hellbent on getting her dragons back becomes a reluctant ally with Commander of Vareveth, Cayden Veles, the most feared and dangerous man in all the kingdoms of Ravaryn. Elowen has spent years building her own kingdom in secret and plotting a way to free her dragons. When her path crosses with Cayden he vows to help her with the ultimate heist in return for her alliance in standing with him in a pending war against Imirath.
The banter between Elowen and Cayden is top tier and will keep you turning pages.
“You don’t need to surprise me with knives, angel. I’ll bleed for you if you ask nicely.”
I loved the found family in this as well. After battles that have decimated villages the people who were left behind built their own families. Elowen and Finnian have a special sibling bond that is so sweet and really added to the story.
There was a perfect amount of plotting and scheming in order to build a plan to the ultimate heist. The one that will get them into the castle to free the dragons. I really appreciated the way the bond began to grow with Elowen and her dragons even at a distance and become stronger the closer she got to them. I can't wait for the next book and where I am sure we will get more of the dragons, supreme banter and more steamy chemistry between our favorite reluctant allies turned lovers.

I loved this from start to finish. Elowen and Caden are chefs kiss. I am absolutely obsessed. The author seamlessly built a riveting world to support the incredible storytelling. I can’t wait for the next one.

3.75 ⭐️ 3 🌶

In this corner, we have a Princess (and heir apparent) formerly kept as a prisoner by her father. And in this corner we have the Lord Commander of a neighboring land who is absolutely obsessed. The first 30% was a bit bland, i was half debating on DNF'ing until I finally got to the blood magic scene, that intrigued me more than anything By 50% I was extremely invested, but I really wanted a bit more resolution. I understand we have Elowyn looking for her dragons, but I just imagine that scene from GoT "Where are my dragons!". The world building fell a little flat. There wasn't much distinction between the lands and other characters that made me interested in them.

The tension was top tier for the romance. I had so much fun in the final half of the book. The growing relationship between Elowyn & Cayden escalated into multiple fiery, spicy scenes. I loved the amount of detail and how feral these two were for each other, it feels like every time they were in a scene together after about 50% they wanted to bang.

No major cliff-hanger, which is a nice change of pace for the first in a Romantasy series. Definitely interested in the sequel, but not necessarily frothing at the mouth for it.

🔥 Dragons
🔥 Forbidden romance
🔥 Royalty x Bodyguard
🔥 Morally questionable actions MCs
🔥 Spicy scenes

Thank you to NetGalley & Delacorte Press for an eARC of Fear the Flames by Olivia Rose Darling.

I absolutely loved this book! The BANTER is top notch and made me laugh out loud more than once! The tension, the spice, the longing…all so good! The dragons were so fun once they made an appearance! I would read book 2 immediately. If you like Fourth Wing, you should pick this one up!

I loved this book so much! This book reminded me Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon! I was on the edge while reading this book. There's so much that happens! This book was everything and more!! From the epic battles, the love and spice, side characters, to the DRAGONS! I can't wait for the next one!

This is it. This is THE romantasy book. A forbidden romance. Dragons. PRINCESS AND BODYGAURD. Do I need to say more??? I loved every second of this and cannot wait for the second book!!!

I read this when it was indie published and really like it! But reading it again, I still really enjoyed it and am so impressed with the fine tuning without taking away from the core of the message. I enjoyed the anxiety rep for the FMC and Cayden...oh he is still and will forever be so wonderful!!

enemies to lovers
forced proximity
witty banter
found family
insta-love
touch her and......
dragons x5

How is this book not being talked about more?? Elowen is the strong FMC searching for a way to free her dragons, Cayden is the MMC who has the plan. Cayden falls head over hills for Elowen and will do anything to protect and secure her spot on the throne. I love the way Cayden admires, respects, and just loves Elowen. This book has a very strong found family theme with the additional characters of Finnian, Cayden, Ryder and Saskia. The group of six have formed a bond nobody can break, their banter had me laughing out loud! I can't wait to read book 2!

**A huge thank you to Net Galley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review!**

This book's premise (imprisoned dragon princess comes back with a vengeance? Awesome.) I was expecting fourth wing level dragons, but as the story progressed, there were nothing but hints of dragons. In fact, the glimses didn't make sense. The reader is TOLD the dragons are important and their bond with the main protagonist, Elowyn, is close, but the writing and plot doesn't support the claim. Though there are 5 dragons, 2hen we meet them at the END of the book their personalities were non-existent.

I was unimpressed with the plot and character development as well as the countless anachronisms. The main character embodied GenZ culture (cofee, smut, and sweaters). The writing fell short (a lot of telling rather than showing). The plot was scattered and a lot of it felt like page filling rather than actual action.

What this book DID have was many, MANY sex scenes. Full disclosure: sex scenes are NOT my thing, but I found myself skipping far more chapters than was expected even for a book in this genre. I read somewhat that there were supposedly only 2 scenes. Based on my categorization, there were AT LEAST 5 that I skipped. I can't remember exactly how many. Some of them were absurd. One in particular was, in effect, "Oh, we are in the middle of battle? Let's pull off into this alcove. So sexy." Nonsensical and cringe inducing. Additionally, I felt ZERO chemistry between the character leads. I was confused as to WHY this was enemies to lovers. It didn't make sense. FMC meets MMC and decides she hates him. She cannot explain why. He immediately is in love with her, and seeks only to please her. She cannot trust him because the author says she can't, but their interests are completely aligned and he gains nothing in betraying her.


One last qualm **spoiler**
At the end of the book, the Male lead "does something he has never done before: he kneels and pledges fielty (to Elowyn). Excuse me, was this man NOT captain of the guard? Are you telling me that he lead armies of a king and NEVER kneeled to him? Ridiculous.

I don't think I will read the sequel unless there is a strong case that it is far different than this one. My husband keeps teasing me that people don't read smut books for the plot, and while that's true, this one was empty and disappointing.

I wanted so much to love this book, but unfortunately, it fell incredibly flat for me and I had a difficult time getting through to the end. I appreciated some of the twists and turns towards the end of the plot, with many betrayals and alliances in unlikely places. There were far too many tropes utilized in forced and unsubtle ways. My biggest grievance was the blood thirst of the main protagonist that often felt like it came from nowhere and left as quickly as she mentioned it. It was always startling and didn't seem tied to the main characters except to be shocking or particularly violent. 2 stars.