I received an advanced copy for review. This is my own opinion.

I was so excited to get an early copy of this book! Like so many people right now, I'm <i>super</i> in my dragon book era and this really hit that spot!

Elowen is the lost princess, banished to the dungeons at a young age with her dragons after a deadly incident. Rescued by her uncle, she became an assassin and created her own kingdom. Now, the most feared commander of another kingdom has offered to help her rescue them in exchange for her alliance. They have to work together to pull off a heist to rescue the dragons and (fail to) ignore their growing feelings along the way.

The banter in this one was top tier. I freaking loved Elowen and Finnian's familial relationship from the start, and seeing how she started working with Cayden and how that grew to something so intense was an absolute treat. I really enjoyed this one, and if you enjoy fantasy romance, you will too! I'm really looking forward to the next one. And the tension between Elowen and Cayden sent me. Their spicy scenes were excellent.

Thanks to Netgalley, Olivia Rose Darling, and Ballantine | Delacorte Publishing for the ARC! I super enjoyed this one.

Dragons - KIngdoms - War - Love - Romance ----What more could you ask for in a book?

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Random House for sending me this amazing book to read.

It was a pleasure to get the offer and I have nothing but Amazing things to say about the Author, the writing, the storyline, and the passion this book gave me. The passion was more than just the sexual tension between Cayden and Elowen. It was the passion for the love of nonblood relatives that find you and you will die on a sword for them. It was the passion for righting wrongs and finding your place with people you love.

I loved everything about this book. The storyline keeps you engaged. The sexual tension and banter between Cayden and El makes you want more and more. It was enticing and I found myself smiling a lot. The war to get vengeance on those that betrayed you along the way and to find what is rightfully yours, whether it was for El's dragons, El's enemies, and Cayden's enemies. The friendships and family you built along the way not made by blood but by trust, loyalty, and a common goal to belong. All of them Ryder, Sas, Finnegan, Cayden, and Elowen found that in each other.

Oliva Rose Darling, wrote an amazing story that keeps you wanting more. The ending gave you sense of closure, happiness, love, and tears. It was well written.

I cannot say enough great things about this book.

Fear the Flames by Olivia Rose Darling
Rating: 2.5 stars
Pub date: 9/17

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Dell Romance for my advanced copy!

This book was a DNF at 25%.

The synopsis of this one seemed like the perfect romantasy read for fall! I was in the mood for some enemies to lovers, a lost princess, and lots of dragons! Unfortunately, this wasn’t it for me.

I’ve seen some amazing reviews for this book, so definitely give it a try if you like any of the tropes mentioned above! It’s a lot of fun right from the start. I immediately liked our FMC, and the adventure started right away. This actually makes the book pretty confusing because we’re introduced to lots of characters and places without any background. New creatures show up that we have no context for, and the MC is immediately in love with our heroine. Not really enemies, then.

Fear the Flames has clearly found its audience, and I’m sad that I’m not it.

With a nostalgic, classic fantasy vibe, Fear the Flames is a story about a princess trying to find her way back home, but instead of returning with open arms, she wants revenge against all who sought her harm.

Overall, this was a very fast-paced read with tons of flirty banter, a found family aspect, a knife to the throat scene (whew!), forbidden romance, and SPICE.

Instantly, I was drawn in by the premise, reminding me of one of my favorite storylines from Game of Thrones with Dany and her dragons. This story had that aspect, except in this book, Elowen is trying to find her dragons again after many years of being separated and doing everything she can to be reunited—even making a deal with an unexpected ally.

For me, the writing was a little too rushed, and I wished we could spend more time soaking in every scene before leaping to the next, but, as always, the lost princess/dragon aspect stole my heart. And with an ending like that, it left me just speechless.

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.*

Fear the Flames is a steamy, reluctant allies to lovers ramnatasy filled with action, assassins, and dragons.

Elowen is the lost dragon princess - after bonding with five dragons as an infant, she was tortured and fled her kingdom as a young girl, leaving everything behind, including her dragons. She has been in hiding, leading a small community on unclaimed land as Queen. To save her people from the harsh winter and ensure their survival, Elowen allies herself with Cayden Veles, the vicious and feared commander of a neighboring kingdom. She aims to rescue her dragons and take down the king, her cruel father. But working together puts a target on Elowen's back, again, and Cayden needs to keep her safe for his own means. But being forced to work together brings out feelings both of them would prefer to keep hidden. Will they give in to each other, or keep the mission purely focused on serving their respective kingdoms?

I enjoyed this story overall. The writing was a little less polished than I would have liked, but it made for an easy read. Overall the story was good and keep me interested throughout with a good balance of action, adventure, and character development.. The characters were richly developed - deeply layered and survivors despite trauma in their pasts. Elowen is a strong character, having been honed by her experiences into something lethal, yet she is kind and cares deeply for the people in her kingdom and her friends. Cayden has his own reasons for wanting vengeance, and will do what it takes to achieve his goals, no matter the cost. Yet he has the softest pot for Elowen, and she is breaking down all his carefully built walls. There is a strong found family element as well, with Finnian and Elowen's relationship being truly heartwarming and endearing. While we don't see the dragons for a good portion of the book, they are the driving force in this story, and the main motivator for Elowen and Cayden. Fans of Game of Thrones and From Blood and Ash will likely enjoy this series, as there are many similar parallels, yet this story is completely unique. I enjoyed Fear the Flames and I look forward to more in this series.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and to Random House Publishing Group for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

(Thank you to the publisher & NetGalley for the ARC) Was this a literary masterpiece? No. Did I have the absolute best time? Yes! ‘Fear the Flames’ follows the lost Princess Elowen as she makes a deal with Cayden, the Commander of Vareveth. She’s on the war path and will cut down anyone in the way of getting her dragons. This story is quite fast paced and jumps into their meeting right away with world building that never felt like an info-dump. As the story progresses you meet charming side characters and explore the more tender sides of both Elowen and Cayden. Anyways. I giggled for like 5 hours reading this. If you’re a fan of FBAA but wish it were written coherently and the brown girl wasn’t named Tawny, you should pick this up. I’m very much looking forward to book 2!

I honestly have more questions than answers after finishing this book.

So, Elowen bonds to 5 dragons when she’s born. They mention toward the end of the book that dragons have been around before, but we got literally no history or explanation about that. They also vaguely mention gods, but again, no detail. The world building was virtually non-existent.

Apparently the MMC can access magic even though it’s “banned” in his kingdom. But what does that even mean?? Why is it banned and how?

I also felt the dialogue was often awkward and felt too current. There were some very silly lines that took me completely out of it. I didn’t feel the chemistry between the 2 main characters.

The overall premise was good, but it just didn’t nail it for me. I think this could be a fun book for a non-fantasy reader.

This was unfortunately super disappointing. The fact that it was self-published and somehow got a trad deal is baffling. If publishers are looking for deserving indie authors who need a deal, let me know so I can pass their names along over writing like this.

I don’t like writing super negative reviews but I just can’t recommend this book to anyone. Let me break down the issues I had:

1. Worldbuilding - where was it? Why does Elowen have this dragon bond? Who are the gods and why did they leave? What ties all these kingdoms together (and also how do I keep the 49273 names of cities straight)? There are so many more questions than answers that should have been identified in the development edits stage.

2. The romance - again, I ask, where? The characters met, slightly hated each other for about five minutes, and then we suddenly all gooey over each other while putting on the most transparent facade of hatred. I genuinely don’t know how they got together. The whole thing was so forced and I didn’t even care when they did end up together.

3. The characters - Elowen’s only personality traits seem to be “likes coffee and pretty dresses”. I heard more about her drinking coffee and going shopping than I did about worldbuilding. Cayden was just a bland figure of a morally grey dude with a scar. And the side characters were so 2D I don’t remember their names.

4. The plot - AGAIN. WHERE WAS IT. The entire thing felt like a Frankenstein’s monster of Throne of Glass/FBAA/Fourth Wing/Game of Thrones but with nothing unifying them all to make the plot legible or enjoyable.

5. The spice - boring, predictable, felt like it was written by an AI program trained on the TikTok algorithm.

6. The action scenes - as beige as unseasoned oatmeal. Basically just “swords swords killing battle is over and we won.” The big plot event is supposed to be rescuing Elowen’s dragons from captivity and the entire scene was so anticlimactic I could barely stay awake through it.

At least this is a series I don’t have to worry about investing in.

All opinions are my own.

2.5 STARS - This book has a unique vibe: Game of Thrones meets Tangled and a dash of FBAA. Fun but ultimately disappointing. I felt like I was trying to follow a flip book that had a third of its pages ripped out—blink and you miss how a character moved from point A to B. Blink and the the build-up for a scene is gone. Blink and the action is over. Blink and they’re in a new environment. I went from giggling, smiling and excited at the start to pissed and desperately wanting it to be over at the end.

Things I liked:
- The premise! A lost princess reuniting with her dragons and falling in love with Commander Simp.
- Dialogue! There is beautiful dialogue that is immensely quotable with poignant exchanges and memorable passages.
- I was hooked at the start, prologue is intriguing and sucks you in.

Things I disliked:
- Too much telling, not enough showing. Important events and emotional developments don’t happen on-page, they are only referred to in past-tense.
- There is not enough suspense, build-up or anticipation. The pacing is terrible, and everything is too easy. You are not made to sit in the discomfort of an action sequence of the anticipation of a kiss or anything ‘thrilling’ — it just happens and then it’s over, hop skip and a jump to the next thing.
- Movement descriptions are lacking. This constant head hopping gives major whiplash and confusion and left me unable to get into scenes or enjoy the powerful dialogue.
- Commander Simp: at first I loved Cayden, but the insta-love/lust started to feel weird and the further you get into the book, the more it feels like a creepy obsession stalker vibe than love romance. He has no character arc or personality other than broody violent hero who is a simp for the heroine.

This book was everything. I love an unapologetic FMC that will do anything to achieve her goals. Elowen was everything I could have wanted rising from the ashes of a terrible childhood to become a powerful woman destined to do whatever it takes to free her dragons. From the moment Cayden graced the page, I knew the interactions between Elowen and Cayden would be absolutely entertaining. The banter was incredible. I can’t remember the last time I made as many highlights in a book simply for the banter than with this one. Olivia Rose Darling is officially the banter queen. The chemistry between the two was also off the charts. I love a stabby morally grey character, and both Elowen and Cayden fit that bill perfectly. I also really loved the world building. The plot was well paced with plenty of action and political intrigue to keep reader’s hooked from the first pages. I’m such a sucker for found family, and the friendship between Elowen and Finnian was truly special. I absolutely adored Finnian, and the sweet cinnamon roll needs to be protected at all costs. Additionally, I loved the addition of Ryder and Saskia to Elowen’s circle. Conveniently, there are five dragons and five friends. I have some fun predictions for the next book, and I can’t wait to see what Darling comes up with. I would highly recommend picking up this book if you’re a romantasy fan and a lover of great banter.

Could not put this book down! The action, the twists and the romance had me eating up every page. Absolutely loved Elowen and Finnian’s friendship. I loving seeing a M/F platonic friendship in a book. Cayden was perfection. Loved them together. I was hoping for a little more of a twisty ending setting up for book 2 but overall really loved every part of it!

WOW. I walked into fear the flames not knowing much about the book besides I had marked it as something I wanted to read a few months back. By the time I hit 25% I knew it was going to be a 5 star read.

The! Banter! Chefs kiss. This is some of the best written banter that I have ever read that adds to the plot.

I will be RUNNING to my local bookshops on release day to pick this book up because I have to have a copy to annotate & tab.

When the safeness of young Princess Elowen’s unique bond to five dragons was put into question, she and her dragons were imprisoned by her father, King Garrick. With the help of her uncle, Elowen escaped and has been hiding in a secret kingdom called Aestilian for many years, but her dragons have remained imprisoned in Imirath. When the Commander of Vareveth, Cayden Veles, offers Elowen an alliance, which includes a vengeful plan to break into the Imirath castle and free Elowen’s dragons, Elowen agrees to leave the safety of Aestilian, despite Cayden’s ruthless reputation. The longer that Cayden and Elowen work together, the harder it is for Elowen to remember that their growing closeness just an alliance against a common enemy, nothing more…even if Cayden, who is grumpy with everyone, seems to be a secret softy only for her.

Fear the Flames is an “enemies to lovers” fantasy romance featuring the boy obsessed, “touch her and you die”, forced proximity, and found family tropes. The characters, dragons, plot, and overall vibe in Fear the Flames were reminiscent of Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas, From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout, Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros, Alpha’s Burden by Luna Lark, Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi, and King of Battle and Blood by Scarlett St. Clair; so if you like any of these romantasy books, you should definitely check out Fear the Flames! Some themes and topics present in Fear the Flames include betrayal and revenge, quest for power, war and sacrifice, escape, love and heartbreak, family and found family, childhood trauma and abuse, abandonment, death and loss, heists and quests, secrets and lies, and court intrigue.

I added Fear the Flames to my TBR list after the author, Olivia Rose Darling, shared fan art of the main characters, Elowen and Cayden, shopping in a bookstore while carrying a huge stack of books; unfortunately, this is not an actual scene in Fear the Flames (although I think it would be awesome if Elowen and Cayden went book shopping in a future Fear the Flames book!), but Elowen is a huge bookworm. As such, there were some great bookish quotes throughout Fear the Flames, which fellow bookworms will love.

I appreciated that the story was only told from one viewpoint (Elowen’s) and the plot was relatively easy for me to follow as sometimes I find it’s hard to keep track of all the varying characters and plot lines in fantasy novels. Additionally, even though there was inevitably some violence throughout Fear the Flames, it wasn’t overly gory. It was also great that Fear the Flames didn’t really end in a cliffhanger, like a lot of other romantasy novels seem to do, as cliffhangers can often be stressful when the series is still being released. Elowen and Cayden’s spicy “enemies to lovers” chemistry was very addicting, and I loved the fun-loving dynamic in their found family friend group. Lastly, I found the heisting and adventure aspects of the plot to be very engaging and, since I loved Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros, the addition of dragons was a definite plus for me.

There wasn’t much about this book that I didn’t like, but I will say that it was a tad predictable; I didn’t think that it had any unexpected twists and turns that tend to be common in other romantasy novels, which could be a disappointment to some readers.

Overall, I really enjoyed Fear the Flames and would highly recommend it to fans of bookworm main characters, spicy “enemies to lovers” romances, loveable found families, dragons, and heist plots! Since Fear the Flames didn’t really end in a cliffhanger, I’m very intrigued to see what’s going to happen in book two and have already added it to my TBR list.

Definitely a great and fun read!

It was more a heist book than a dragon and war book but I’m thinking that’s going to be more apart of the next book.

The banter was top notch and Cayden made me kick my feet and giggle.

I also love a ruthless FMC “I’m an executioner and a healer” such a HARD LINE!!

I can’t wait for more of everything! More dragons, more found family, more love!! 🥹🥹🥹

2.75 rounded up

This was fine?

Idk I didn’t love it! The world building was really inconsistent so I really couldn’t immerse myself in the story. I kept wondering why they’re so obsessed with coffee and where they got watches. The dialogue was kind of cringe and just felt super basic. I feel like this was the epitome of “I need to put every popular trope in whether it makes sense or not” and honestly I skimmed the last 15% bc I just wasn’t super invested :/ everything was way too easy and the stakes were nonexistent imo

The romance was tough for me bc I really don’t enjoy insta love and this was INSTA but then coupled with my other least favorite “he doesn’t actually like me bc we’re just allies even though he’s not hidden how into me he is since the moment we met” and it just drove me a little nuts

I was excited about the dragons but they felt like cartoon characters (why are they rainbow? I kept picturing the dragons from dragon tails) instead of dangerous mythical creatures.

I’m sad I didn’t love this because I was really looking forward to it! I think if you enjoy Fourth Wing you’ll like this! They felt similar in terms of writing style and just bc it’s not for me doesn’t mean it’s not for you!

Thank you Dell for an ARC copy of this book!

LOVED THIS. I was in love with the first round, so this was EVEN BETTER!

The romance!!!!! The banter! It was all so delicious.

Elowen, princess of Imirath, is THAT BITCH.

There were some aspects that needed a little more work, like some typos and stuff, but I don't really care about that as long as the story is good and gripping like this one was. I seriously can't wait to read the second book in this series

Loved.

This book is easily one of my favorite reads this year. I’m so glad I dove right in! I can’t even count how many times I audibly laughed out loud! It was so perfect.

Dragons ✔️
Sexy commander ✔️
Found family ✔️
Forced/Close proximity ✔️
Banter - funny and sexual tension ✔️
Spicy scenes ✔️

I loved the republished material!

this book is such a fun read! it had found family, feisty FMC, banter and more!
I love a good f/m platonic friendship and elowen and finnian’s friendship is top tier! their scenes together were some of my favorites!
i’m always down for a stabby FMC and elowen didn’t disappoint! she’ll do anything to protect the ones she loves and is unapologetically herself! she’s such a badass MC and i’m in love ( and so is cayden) he’s absolutely obsessed with her and i love it!
i’m super excited for the next book and can’t wait to see where the story goes!

This book has to be my new favorite fantasy! I had had the best time reading this when it was indie published and had an even better time reading it this time around. Everything from the rooms to the outfits and pastries was done so well, it really felt like I was there in the book with them! This book has all the best parts of a fantasy book…the kingdoms, the dragons, the best found family and magic. One thing I'm super curious about for the next book is to see how magic plays more of a role in this world! Elowen and Cayden are everything to me and I haven't been able to stop thinking about them since reading this!

The tension between Elowen and Cayden is something else, from the minute they meet you can see a connection between them. Elowen has been through a lot at the hands of her father and now as protector of her people she is willing to do anything to keep them safe. She is so determined, cunning and caring - i really enjoyed seeing how she grew throughout the book and became more confident in herself and her choices. I loved seeing her with Finnian, you can really feel their love for one another - they're definitely the siblings they chose & it made me tear up a bit. It's so sweet seeing how he helped her with her anxiety and was there for her but also gave her room to grow and deal with things on her own. She's also a book girly and has the best fashion sense. It was so fun seeing her friendship with Saskia grow & I would totally love to go shopping with them.

Cayden is my top book boyfriend. He's a little broody and sarcastic but one thing is for sure, he's definitely down bad for Elowen. He is the commander who strikes the bargain with Elowen to get her dragons back but their relationship becomes so much more than just allies. They also become friends first which is so nice to see. Their banter was definitely one of my favorite parts about them. But genuinely I love them so much. I have so many highlights of their moments that I cannot wait to tab in my physical copy. ”I'll find a way to gift you the stars if you wish for them” has to be my favorite Cayden quote.
His friendship with Ryder and Saskia was also really nice and made for some fun moments with them all together. This friend group is everything. They're all so funny together, and their love language is literally sarcasm but they also always have each other's backs no matter what. They literally really cannot be separated and I'm so curious to see what they get up to in the next book!

This book has so much more of the dragons which has to be my favorite part! I really enjoyed seeing Elowen interact with her dragons and we get to know them a little bit more too, my favorite scene has to be the one with the apples!

Also… the ending?! I was so shocked and surprised by the turn of events. I'm so curious to see what the next book holds and how they deal with the aftermath of everything that happened! I'm also really excited to see what's in store for Elowen & Cayden's relationship and Elowen's bond with her dragons!

Overall, this was such a fun read! It was so atmospheric and had the best vibes. From the beginning it pulls you straight into the story which I really liked because it makes you feel like you're there with them right from the start. I definitely felt like I was rescuing these dragons with them and I wish I could spend a day with Elowen & Saskia shopping for dresses and eating pastries. I cannot wait for the next book and truly can't recommend this book enough! Especially if you like heists, dragons, lost princesses, found family and top tier banter!

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the arc!

Offers an intriguing premise of dragon bonds and fantasy romance, but falls short in execution. While the world-building shows potential, the rushed romance and underdeveloped dragon lore left me wanting more. The plot loses momentum early on, and the central conflict feels forced. Despite its shortcomings, the book sets up an interesting foundation for future installments, which may delve deeper into the rich dragon fantasy elements only hinted at in this debut.