I was excited to try this one since it has such a loyal following but it really fell flat for me. I couldn't buy into the FMC at all....plus I wanted more dragons.

The Vibes: Game of Thrones but make it contemporary, secret princess shenanigans, mysterIOUS man

Heat Index: 6.5/10

The Basics:

Ever since her father took and locked away her dragons, Princess Elowen has been an outcast. First imprisoned and now living in exile, she's created her own forces and is determined to take back her dragons and save her people. That brings her into an alliance with the dangerous Commander Cayden Veles, whether she trusts him or not. He'll help her—as long as she helps protect his nation from her father in return. She more than up for it; but their simmering attraction may be more of a problem than she bargained for.

The Review:

I shall be honest: When I read this summary, I focused a lot more on the "secret princess" thing than the "dragons" thing. Now, I don't necessarily dislike the dragon trend in fantasy romance. It's kind of to be expected, after the huge success of Fourth Wing and, you know, the huge success of that other franchise that probably helped usher in the FW content.

Dragons are not my THING, but they CAN work for me. I have no anti-dragon bias.

I will say... as someone who watched Game of Thrones, one of my least favorite characters was the dragon lady. It just is what it is. Elowen is not like the dragon lady. She's more of an action girl, she's quippier, she's less... a lot of things. I liked her more. But nonetheless, there is a lot of language and setup regarding the dragons that does read as rather close to GoT. It's a surface level closeness. Nonetheless, a few phrases here and there did raise my eyebrows.

So... I did like Elowen more than Dany. But I didn't... love her. While I'm not inherently opposed to an action girl, there's gotta be some depth in there that goes beyond it. To me, Elowen felt pretty superficial. Cayden wasn't that much deeper, but he wasn't burdened by Elowen's constant quips.

I also found the language surrounding certain things a bit jarringly modern compared to the general setting of the book. Elowen at one point is described as "having anxiety". Which is great, I enjoy the representation, but it just didn't feel very natural as dialogue.

That being said, the general story is entertaining and I liked the setup. I foresee this working for ACOTAR readers.

The Sex:

You get a few sex scenes, and they are good. I did like the chemistry between Cayden and Elowen. The issue is that when I'm not connecting with the story, I do find sex scenes a bit forgettable.

Wish I'd liked it more, but in this case, it was a bit too tropey. Not enough substance.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book had a major facelift! I DNF the indie version because I felt that the writing was a bit too juvenile for my tastes. It kind of felt like a teen wrote it. This version cut out the fluff and added extra spice (four stars for the spice) and a bonus heist scene I loved! Great romance and chemistry between FMC and MMC. The reason that this didn’t get five stars from me is because I didn’t emotionally connect to the characters like I wanted to and the world building was very minimal and basic. If you want a light fun, romantasy, then pick this up!

This is a wonderful fantasy romance that brings in the dragons and an allies to lovers vibe. The world building in this one was spectacular and I didn't want to leave! You'll love Elowen and Cayde's relationship and watching them team up to rescue her dragons in this thrilling read!

I hate giving books this low of rating, but this wasn’t it. I was so excited to dive into this book. I love enemies to lovers romantasy and add in some dragons, and I am usually a goner. But this book felt like it was trying too hard to be other popular fantasy books. There were POPULAR lines almost verbatim from other fantasy books. It honestly almost felt like plagiarism. Even the MMC has a scar on his face and has a super similar name to one of the most popular fantasy characters of recent years. It was unoriginal, the world building was nonexistent and why do the characters even like each other beyond them being “hot”?

I LOVED THIS EVEN MORE THE SECOND TIME AROUND!!!
Olivia turned an amazing book into a perfect one with the trad publish version and I am truly in awe of her capability to create a world and characters that I found myself thinking of all the time. I loved the way we got more of the dragons and their connection with Elowen and I am so excited to see what is in store for the future of this series.

Elowen is truly a soul character for me. She is so strong, confident, independent, and just overall a character that you'd rather have on your side because she fights for those who she loves so fiercely. I adore her. I love myself a stabby fmc who doesn't take crap from ANYONE!! And she's a book girly? More specifically, she loves to read smutty romance and she's just genuinely so real and fun to read about. She deserves the entire world and I just know she's going to get what she deserves in the future of this series.

CAYDEN VELES!!! What a freaking man. He is genuinely the love of my life and if I were Elowen I would've folded after their first interaction. He is the definition of a man obsessed, "touch her and you die" mmc and I eat that up every single time! He is such a fun, flirty, and HOT character that I would do anything for to be completely honest. His depth and background was beautifully written and I adore the way he is loyal and protective for the ones he cares about. I LOVE HIM!!!

The romance in this book is literally TOP TIER. The banter, tension, chemistry, and interactions between Elowen and Cayden had me giggling and kicking my feet!! The one-liners from Cayden had me sweatingggg. I need a man like him. I loved how they challenged each other and worked through their grief together. They were both so loyal to each other and demonstrated how much they understood each other's faults and histories so beautifully. They truly saw the darkest parts of each other and didn't shy away from it, they loved each other for who they were. Also, the smut was so good oh my gosh!

Overall, this book is one of my top favorite fantasy books ever. The found family was so heart warming to read about and I hope we get deeper dives into Saskia, Ryder, and Finnian in the future! I loved getting more details on the dragons and I can't wait to learn more about their personalities. This world is so unique and fun and I genuinely can't wait for the next book. These characters and stories are going to stick with me for a long time and genuinely feel like a family to me. This book is a bright light and it truly deserves the hype it will receive when it is released into the world!

read if you like:
-reluctant allies to lovers
-found family
-heists
-banter and tension
-strong and stabby fmc
-charming and swoon-worthy mmc
-dragons

I absolutely devoured this. It had all of my favorite tropes and elements: stabby FMC, allies to lovers, touch him/her and be unalived, found family, dragons and a great balance of tension/spice and story.

I do wish there had been some more world building, I’d go feral for a map of this world. I have aphantasia so I can’t picture the layout of the continents just based on a few passing comments from the characters. Sometimes it did feel strange how easily our characters moved across countries simply by walking or on horseback.

The pacing was quite fast feeling as a result of minimal world building. We just right into the action and get our stabby little found family together very early. Only from comments from the characters do we know that months have passed during the course of our reading. It does make the relationship between our FMC and MMC more believable. While it may have been insta-lust it wasn’t entirely insta-love. It also gives enough time for real connection to develop among our 5 feisty friends.

I’m very much looking forward to seeing where our story goes from here. While I did suspect how some of these relationships would develop (or end in some cases) I was pleasantly surprised to not know exactly how we were going to accomplish the necessary goals. I’’m just so excited for Elowen and her dragons to absolutely kick butt in the upcoming war!

This was so much fun to reread and was easier to understand for me lol, loved the development of elowen and finnians relationship and how cayden felt more fleshed out and so much more obsessed with elowen which i love

So I read this book when it was indie and screamed like a banshee when I saw Delacorte Press and NetGalley selected me to have the new ARC. Truly grateful to read this beautiful story PLUS all the new tweaks and changes! Elowen fits my fave typical FMC- strong, beautiful, powerful,
relatable (to me), and has a great sense of humor. I absolutely LOVE her even more, and seeing her growth again throughout the story was so special again. Cayden (zaddy!!!!!!!!) continued to keep me swooning and blushing over him in this book-AGAIN! Olivia did so well adjusting the characters enough that I still felt like this was the Elowen and Cayden I remembered, just better. The banter and the tension, dare I say was even better! LOVE LOVE LOVE the slow-ish burn and to see their relationship grow throughout the book. The found family continues to bring this book in for a well rounded book that doesn't all depend on our MMC. I literally DIED when I saw that the brothel scene was salvaged into this new publishment, it was one of my favorite scenes in the indie version and definitely one of my favorite scenes in this one too! READ THIS BOOK OMG!

Thank you so much Olivia Rose Darling, Megan Whalen, and Penguin Random House for the eARC of Fear The Flames. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I first heard of Fear The Flames in my b/s/t groups. People have been RAVENOUS for an ARC of this story. When the opportunity for me to read an eARC presented itself, I just had to see what all the fuss was about. Having recently finished the book, I can now say that I absolutely get why this book is getting so much hype!

Fear the Flames is romantasy at its finest. I was immediately drawn into Princess Elowen’s story and I couldn’t put it down until I reached that jaw dropping ending! To be fair, I really didn’t stand a chance between the broody MMC and the dragons!!! 🐉

I don’t usually gravitate towards novels that feature heists, but I absolutely did not mind it in Fear The Flames. For those that feel the same, this book is “heist light” and has the added bonus of being a secret mission between Princess Elowen and the intimidating Commander Cayden. This brought an entirely new sizzling tension-filled dynamic that I didn’t know I needed in my life. 😍

Speaking of tension 🔥. The slow burn is extra satisfying in Fear the Flames. I love how Cayden and Elowen are both independent, but at the same time, are never too far from each other throughout the book. I always get a bit irked when an author keeps the love interests separate for a good chunk of a story, so I was thrilled that wasn’t the case here.

Also, that ENDING!!! I have thoughts so please read the book so we can chat!

In the pages, you will find:

🏰Kingdoms at odds
💪Strong FMC
🤝Found family
👀Betryals
❤️Romance
🔥Spice
⚔️Touch her and dïe
🐉Dragons
🤯A “didn’t see that coming” ending

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

5 glittering stars!!😭⭐️💚

I didn’t read the indie version (by the time I read about it, the new published version was announced) but I truly ADORED this book!!🥹🩷 the world building was so easy to understand and follow along, the moments of strength and vulnerability from Elowen, the delicious spicy moments between Cayden and Elowen, her sweet dragons, Elowen and Finnian’s relationship, everything was *chefs kiss* PERFECTION! 😍😍😍

And Cayden?! PLEASE HE HAD ME DROOLING because a man with “touch her and die” vibes, literally makes me weak at the knees!!!😍

And the ending?! I’m already so SAT for book 2 and the rest of the books!!🥹

Thank you endlessly Penguin Random House/Dell Romance and NetGalley for the published ARC version of this masterpiece 🥹🩷

Ok great fantasy. I like the elements included on it. Strong female mc, dragons, steamy scenes , banter and so mich more. I liked the plot and how it goes . One to look out for

Thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte for the ARC!

I enjoyed the indie version of this book, but I like the traditionally published version even more! There's new content, more DRAGONS, great found family, and addictive tension between Elowen and Cayden. I still have some issues with the pacing, plot, and writing, but I think this is an improvement from its previous edition, and I think fans will love it!

Ok first things first, this cover is beautiful! One of my biggest complaints in fantasy books is that there is too much world building. I feel the opposite in this one. There wasn’t nearly enough. I felt like I was just dropped in and told to figure it out without any context. I couldn’t get a handle on family relations, plus Elowen just trusted people too quickly. People want her captured and kept back in prison but she’s willing to meet people and travel with them with no qualms. My other complaint would be that the setting seemed almost medieval but the FMC is speaking like she lives now. I don’t like when language doesn’t match the setting. It pulls me out of the story to have things not match.
Anyway, I feel like this one just didn’t work for me but I know I’m an outlier.

Book Review: Fear the Flames by Olivia Rose Darling

Fear the Flames by Olivia Rose Darling is a fantasy debut that shows promise but falls a bit short in execution. As an ARC reader, I was intrigued by the premise, and while there were some strengths, the book overall left me feeling mixed.

The plot had an interesting foundation, but it didn’t fully develop in the direction I was expecting. The story had a strong underlying idea, but much of the world-building, especially when it came to the magic system and dragon lore, felt underexplained and left me with more questions than answers. The setting was also fairly underdeveloped, leaving the world feeling somewhat hollow.

Character development was a weak spot as well. While the protagonist had potential, I found the relationships, particularly the insta-love between the main character and the love interest, felt rushed and didn’t have the buildup I’d hoped for. On the plus side, I did enjoy the twist involving Alliard, the uncle, whose shady vibes paid off with a solid betrayal. The ending was actually one of the book’s highlights, with a thrilling setup for the next installment and a satisfying dragon rescue that left me curious about what comes next.

Unfortunately, the book’s readability was impacted by disjointed sentences and paragraphs, along with abrupt scene shifts that took me out of the flow. Dialogue transitions were also inconsistent, especially during action sequences, which made some scenes feel stilted and awkward.

For a debut, I do see potential in Darling’s writing, and I hope the next book delves deeper into magic-building and world development. The torture scene was executed effectively, even making me wince, so the intensity in some parts did hit the mark.

Overall, Fear the Flames was a moderate read. While there’s certainly room for growth, the foundation for a compelling series is there. I’ll be interested to see how the author’s storytelling evolves and if the next book can bring more depth and clarity to this intriguing world.

2.5⭐️ sorry

This was clearly not for me, I'm sorry. I know it's very popular and most people love it, I can see the appeal, but... uh. I had such high hopes but it left me drained and disappointed. 😪

Later edit:

Now that I got over my initial expectations and feelings, I can say that this is indeed a great addition to the Romantasy genre. It ticks so many of the boxes we usually love, fierce heroine, badass hero, dragons, found family, banter, heists, dragons, magic, slow burn, spice ... Plus the writing is addictive and easy to follow. Elowen and Cayden have amazing chemistry and dialogue from the getgo. They start with a knife to the throat situation, enemies (or at least main characters on the opposite fronts of a bigger world) and go back and forth from there.

For me, personally, it did feel like it was a bit too much, like this book tried too hard to appeal to the popular booktok/bookstagram hype. I needed something more, something that blew my mind, something original, more spark... Maybe I am a bit burnout.

*I cannot believe I went through all those pages I didn't realize it was that long, I just thought I was slow reading and my kindle was deceiving me. I almost DNF so many times but I kept waiting for that something to happen.

I will say this: it's the tropies Romantasy book I have ever read and if you want all the popular quotes/mottos/tropes from your fave authors/series (ie ToG, Book of Azrael, Plated Prisoner, Fourth Wing etc) then you will love it. ✌️

*I received an ARC copy of the revised traditionally published edition in exchange for my honest opinion... Thank you. I did enjoy some of it, but overall it wasn't for me and I'm sorry :(

"There once was a princess born on a crisp winter night with enough fire in her soul to rival the frost that covered the earth".

I had the absolute privilege of reading this book as an eARC. I was hooked from the very beginning - the story building, the world building, and the little glimpses of information you get are beautifully woven throughout the story. Elowen is a fierce FMC, who has been through so much yet is still so strong despite the hardships she has faced. Cayden is a delightfully broody MMC, and their banter is top notch. Kicking my feet and giggling when they interacted. The tension was so well written. I loved this book from start to finish and have already recommended it to all my bookish friends!

Thank you Dell Romance and Netgalley for the ARC!

I read and fell in love with indie version last year so I couldn’t wait to read the updated trad published version. This book is just INCREDIBLE!! It has everything you could want in romantasy book. It has dragons, tension, banter, pining, political intrigue, found family, two morally gray main characters. I love how down bad Cayden is for Elowen from the very start of the book. 😩 He would literally go to war just to protect her. I also love all of the side characters and how all their interactions are just so fun to read about. So excited to see where the series will go!

I haven't read an allies to lovers novel in a while and Olivia does a great job of not making it too close doored. The dragon bons were so cool and I loved the quest aspect.

First off, thank you so much to Netgalley for the ARC. I adored the Indie pub of this book and I was so excited to read this!

that was so good. i LOVE the characters. the found family is everything. i loved how finnian was actually elowen’s best friend and it didn’t turn into some stupid love triangle. i love ryder and saskia too. and obviously cayden and elowen. their relationship developed a lot quicker than i expected though. i was expecting a full blown enemies to lovers but they became friendly much earlier than i thought. i won’t lie and say i didn’t like it because frankly i hate the usual push and pull and slow burn. their banter was so good. bonus for the knife to throat scene!

and of course the dragons. i can’t wait to see more of them in the next book. i love dragons.

an absolute delight of a book. i’m so excited for the next one whenever that comes. 4.8 stars.