Viv Featherswallow seemed to have everything figured out in her life. She had just passed her exams with flying colors, earning her a place at the University of London to study Dragon Languages and guaranteeing that she wouldn't be demoted from Second to Third Class. Her biggest problem was how to prove her excellent Dragon Language translation skills in order to get a prestigious internship. Overnight, everything changed: Her parents were arrested for allegedly participating in a conspiracy against the class system and other government-imposed restrictions. Viv hopes to make things right by recruiting a criminal dragon to destroy the evidence against her family, but this becomes the last straw that sets off a civil war. Viv is given a last chance: she can help the government gain an advantage over the rebels by cracking the so-called "dragon code" and save her family, or face the death penalty along with them.

So, dragons and a girl who saves the world with her knowledge of languages. I was really intrigued by the comparison to R.F. Kuang's Babel and Naomi Novik's A Deadly Education promised by the blurb, as those books are among the best YA fantasy/dark academia with dystopian overtones in my reading experience, as well as among my highlights for 2023 across genres. Interestingly, though, I might have rated "A Language of Dragons" higher without the constant comparison to such beloved favorites. Just because it gets too crowded in the 5-star range, you know.

It looks like we have the first installment of a YA dystopian trilogy (I'm referring to a YA dystopian trilogy as a genre form with a defined structure, as described by actual scholars of the genre - regardless of the number of planned installments, which I know nothing about).

The worldbuilding of the dystopian world felt pretty solid, even though I had some issues with the historical setting (as I did with Babel and Novik's Temeraire series - that's my problem with primary-world fantasy with historical settings: I just don't find it believable that with changes as profound as dragons co-inhabiting Europe with humans, or the existence of silverwork magic, the historic event still evolved in exactly the same way as we learned about the real world).

I also really liked that the protagonist is not a ready rebel who just accepts that the system she has been indoctrinated into since birth needs to be overthrown (the pitfall of some of the YADF). In fact, she is quite stubborn in holding on to what she believes about society - perhaps even annoyingly so, for some readers.

I am less of a fan of the trope according to which some of the worst traitors and criminals (especially juvenile "criminals" and rebels) are gathered together to work on something the government desperately needs. I don't understand what could logically be expected from such a setup in any fictional world other than more rebellion. Since the setting is very reminiscent of that associated with experts involved in deciphering German secret communications during World War II, the direct comparison would be if British intelligence had used some interned German citizens whom they suspected of being loyal to the enemy in the first place. But that's an existing trope in YA fiction, so S.F. Williamson is definitely not to blame for inventing something so unbelievable. In both "Babel" and the Scholomance series, there is at least a good reason why what is happening is happening to teens/YAs.

Now, the linguistic aspect... And I should probably mention here that I have a minor in Translation Studies as part of my Ph.D., so when I'm judging the portrayal of translation, it's from this ivory tower. I would say that while the depiction of deciphering (i.e., establishing linguistic equivalence) didn't seem entirely convincing to me, I really liked the sociolinguistic and psycholinguistic aspects involved - how languages function among different social classes (human and dragon) in this fictional world, and how the acquisition of language (language as such, not "a" language) is part of a personality's coming into the world.

Will definitely be looking for the next installment!

4.5 stars

I would like to thank HarperCollins and Netgalley for the free eARC of this title. The opinions in the above review are my own.

Dragons all over 1923 England, a secret rebellion against a class-driven government-run society, a girl who can speak to dragons, a forbidden romance; it all sounds fantastic, right? If only any of it were true.

First, at no point during the whole novel does it occur to me this is taking place in 1923. There was nothing to indicate this time period, not in the locale descriptions, the atmosphere, nothing. Not sure what the point of setting it in 1923 was. At one point, one character even calls our so-called 'heroine' a dragon-whisperer. Really?

Viv, our FMC, is distraught over her parents' sudden arrest for being part of the rebel alliance trying to overthrow the class system in England. It pits First class against Second class, and Second class against the Third class, the lowest and most horribly mistreated people of English society.

Viv is a terrible person. Self-centered, zero empathy, willing to cheat her best friend in order to get ahead herself. She does feel bad for sending her friend down to Third class, but only because she feels like it makes her a bad person, and she doesn't like feeling like a bad person. At no point does she feel bad for her friend, who endured some pretty horrible consequences form becoming Third class.

All the characters are barely one dimensional except Viv, who, at most, is only two dimensional. We never feel any deep connection to anyone because we are given only the barest minimum of background of any of them. The main focus is on Viv, which made this so hard to read because she is so awful, you do not root for her. At least I didn't. At one point, I was rooting for the guy who broke her arm. Yeah, she's that bad.

And don't get me started on the 'romance'. Quick glances, occasional pinkies brushing together, 'no, we must stop' when all they did was look deep into each other's eyes; this couldn't have been any more milquetoast. Made worse by the fact that Viv's love interest, Atlas, is a priest in training who falls immediately in love with her, even though she continually talks down to him, argues with him, expounds on her 'me, me, it's all about me' viewpoint. Who would love someone like that?

I almost put it down at the halfway point due to the dry as dust story and lack of plot development. And Viv literally only talks to dragons twice at that point, and very briefly at that. I pushed on through and it got marginally better in the second half. Still very little talking to dragons, still very little meaningful interaction between Viv and Atlas. Things do come together, sort of, by the final few chapters, but again, Viv, oh boy. I got whiplash from her seeing the light and being on the side of the rebels, then changing her mind and agreeing to give up the dragons' 'code', then back to the rebels, then changing her mind again, then... By this point I couldn't have cared less what Viv did, but I did hold out hope for the rest of the characters. The ending tied up most of loose ends, with a bit left over for a sequel. But if it involves Viv, not sure I care what happens next.

4.5⭐️ This book is incredible! I was a little skeptical at first because some of the dialogue was strange and then the sudden releasing of Chumana threw me off a bit, it seemed like it was too easy, but man was this a page turner.
I really enjoyed the character development of Viv, she was a hard person to like throughout this story. She seemed very at war with herself.
I do wish there was more time spent with the dragons too, I really feel like there’s so much more we could have gotten from them.
But overall I would highly recommend this book!
Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for this ARC!

I had so much fun with this first book of this new series! A 1920s England vibe with dragons and class divides? Such a cool twist, and it made for a really interesting story. The characters were great, and the pacing kept things moving nicely. Can’t wait to see what happens in the next one! I truly liked it, it’s extremely entertaining.

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for an advanced reader copy.

this masterfully blends fantasy and historical fiction! There were elements similar to some of my favorite books of all time and I could not get enough. Seriously, I need more! It took me a little to get into but after that I was hooked in

I adored this read! Historical London, with dragons, is definitely my jam. This book was so much fun!

Title:  A Language of Dragons  
Author:  S. F. Williamson        
Genre:  Fantasy       
Rating:  5 out of 5

Welcome to Bletchley Park… with dragons.

London, 1923. Dragons soar through the skies and protests erupt on the streets, but Vivian Featherswallow isn’t worried. She’s going to follow the rules, get an internship studying dragon languages, and make sure her little sister never has to risk growing up Third Class. By midnight, Viv has started a civil war.

With her parents arrested and her sister missing, all the safety Viv has worked for is collapsing around her. So when a lifeline is offered in the form of a mysterious ‘job’, she grabs it. Arriving at Bletchley Park, Viv discovers that she has been recruited as a codebreaker helping the war effort – if she succeeds, she and her family can all go home again. If she doesn’t, they’ll all die.

At first Viv believes that her challenge, of discovering the secrets of a hidden dragon language, is doable. But the more she learns, the more she realizes that the bubble she’s grown up in isn’t as safe as she thought, and eventually Viv must What war is she really fighting?

Viv is a great character, and I liked her from the first page! Granted, she was generally clueless about reality and quite gullible when it came to believing everything the government said—but at least she eventually learned better. I found the world fascinating and I really liked all the characters and the complexities of human-dragon relations.

S. F. Williamson lives in France. A Language of Dragons is her debut novel.

(Galley courtesy of HarperCollins in exchange for an honest review.)

(Blog link live 1/10.)

3.5/5 stars

Academia and dragons?? Sign me up! In 1923 after her life and academic goals are seemingly destroyed in one night, Viv makes a life-changing decision to free a criminal dragon, which breaks the truce between dragons and humans in one fell swoop. Due to her talent in languages, both human and dragon, Viv is then recruited to become a codebreaker to help the Prime Minister win the war. But what Viv learns along the way may forever change the way that she interacts with her peers and dragons alike.

This book was carried by Williamson's passion for languages. In the acknowledgments, Williamson notes that the inspiration for her book comes from her roots in languages and this is a core theme throughout the book that I really enjoyed. The varying dialects, cultures, and emotions that span across languages are special and often taken for granted. However, I wholeheartedly disagree with the author's statement in the intro on how her characters carry this story. Viv was almost the reason that I DNFed this book. She is supposed to be the most "human" and flawed of all the characters, but she was insufferably obstinate and the self-loathing for her "heinous deeds" was far too much for me to enjoy her as a character at all. This also took away from my ability to connect with any of the other characters because I couldn't look past the loathing I had for the MC. For a standalone, this was an okay book, although, I didn't love the ending and it felt like it provided an opening for a book to follow, so we'll have to wait and see what Williamson will come out with next.

As always, thank you so much to NetGalley, Harper Collins, and S.F. Williamson for allowing me early access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this political historical fantasy. Dragons, war, language and translation-this book is full of intrigue. Fast paced and full of adventure, this is Babel for a younger audience-with dragons! Highly recommend.

If you are a fan of Fourth Wing it’s worth checking this one out!

A Language of Dragons by S.F Williamson is an exhilarating young adult dystopian read set in post war England in the early 1920s — we follow our morally grey FMC Vivien Featherswallow after her family members have been arrested under suspicion of being rebels. She decides to take matters into her own hands and accidentally starts a civil war between the dragons and humans, whoops. To avoid her own punishment and set her parents free, she is recruited by the government to assist in better understanding & translating the language of the dragons.

This book was fast paced and high stakes - there was always something wild happening and never really a chance to just chill out with the characters. Every character is pretty stressed out and facing their own moral dilemmas which impact their decisions. I found the politics within this novel to be intriguing and I was captivated by the story as a whole. I think the dragons were the most interesting part & learning more about the depth of their communication was fascinating. I would have liked to have more dragon interactions within the piece, but I’m pretty satisfied with what the story provided.

I will say I was a bit disappointed by the ending, but I am invested in these series enough to continue and see what’s going to happen next.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Harper Collins for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. I look forward to reading more from S.F. Williamson!

A Language of Dragons is an exciting dystopian read that feels like a younger Fourth Wing meets Babel meets The Hunger Games. It has a historical London setting, political intrigue, rebellion against an oppressive government, academia focused on linguistics, and of course dragons. Our MC Viv is morally grey and not always the most likable, but I appreciated the author’s note about how she intentionally made her this way. There was a lot of good character development in this book and I found myself sympathizing with a lot of the initially unlikable characters by the end.

The romance was certainly not the main focus but it added a lot to the story and the slow burn was great. I’m assuming this is a series because what was that ending?! Overall I enjoyed how easy this was to read for a book that covers heavy topics and am definitely looking forward to reading more!

Thank you to HarperCollins and NetGalley for the ARC!

A political Fourth Wing mixed with Divine Rivals.
I usually dread a naive main character, but the entire plot line is the FMC growing out of her naivety and creating her own original thinking.
I loved it. At times, it was very sciency and slow, but I think the author did a good job of blending in the educational moments with action and attention-grabbing moments.

Thank you HarperCollins and NetGalley for this early review copy.

This book was a great mix of fantasy and alternative history. After reading The Rose Code I became very interested in Bletchley Park. Add some dragons into it and it was a fun twist on the codebreaking! This book was a lot of fun to read, and it was set up like there would be a sequel so I'm looking forward to more of this story in the future!

This was fine but ultimately just not for me. I think it had some good ideas but it sometimes felt a little on the nose / shallow. However it is a YA book, so I get that it won’t be as complex as an adult book. I also think the writing could be a little info-dumpy, but I’m generally interested in what this author writes next since this is their debut.

eARC.

I enjoyed this book! The characters were flawed, and therefore, felt very real. Viv was blind to the suffering around her, and only focused on herself and her family for 75% of the book which felt age appropriate for someone who grew up in the class system. I appreciated that ultimately empathy radicalized her as I went through a very similar journey of self-discovery at her age.

The dragons were wonderful, they were some of my favorite characters, and the emphasis on linguistics held my interest.

I wish the romance subplot was fleshed out a bit more and the pacing at the end felt a bit rushed as the author seemed to be squeezing A LOT of action into the book. For a debut, this was impressive and I will absolutely read more by the author, and hope she has an opportunity to write a sequel!

I need the sequel.

But honestly this book tore my heart out. I don’t have words. Viv was the type of FMC who grows on you even though she gets so self righteous you also understand her. Atlas, my dear boy, you are too good for her.

The Arrival meets Imitation Game, but make it YA and dragons.

Honestly, this story goes in so many unexpected directions. Linguistics and academia. Dragons and bombs for a flash of steampunk. Dystopian class segregation, individuals struggling against the oppressive hand of government, espionage and nihilism of modern war. A heavy list, and that’s not to say there isn’t fun or humor, but for some reason this book struck a chord that made me keenly aware of the small-burning hope and the subtle brutalities which intrude on the mundane (an oversimplified example - parents physically harm their children when they get bad grades). It’s a story that lingers after the reading.

Alright, something happy…Aha. Languages. As a daughter of refugees and linguists, Vivien speaks several human and dragon tongues, and I love how her love of language depicts it as more than a series of words, but rather a family bond, a shared understanding, a useful tool, and still an academic joy. For anyone perhaps wary of word-talk, fear not, there isn’t much about the hows and whys of linguistics, and the focus is more on the applications in life.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘴, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘈𝘙𝘊 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯.

I enjoyed the book, but I have to admit I struggled to get through some parts. Vivien was a little frustrating. I liked the dragons, the adventure, and the little bit of romance thrown in.

This was a very interesting read. I could tell that it was written by a debut author - between the names of people and places, along with inconsistent tone in prose there was a bit of an amateur feel . However, the story itself was captivating! Even though the story is set in the past, it has a very dystopian vibe that was unique and interesting.

Also it read like the first book in a series, though I haven’t found any information on a sequel, I would be very keen to read one.

This book was an enigma, it was the perfect blend of historical fiction, young adult, and fantasy. It was filled with morally gray teens who are all criminals, LOTS of dragons, and a race to solve the "puzzle" laid out to them so that they and their families can be pardoned. It was made for readers of The Hunger Games, set in a post war England in 1923 following the POV of our FMC, Vivien Featherswallow.

There was a time in this society where dragons and humans live together in peace, they were mutually respected. This all came to a screaming halt when the Great Dragon war started by the genocide of the Bulgarian humans by the Bulgarian dragons. In some societies throughout the world, they still live peacefully together but in Britannia they created a Peace Agreement that would put an end to the war. This Agreement put humans and dragons into classes based on their wealth and status. As everyone in the book and reading the book knows a class system will never work for long. A rebellion of humans and Dragons rises up to put a stop to the class system and the unjust treatment of dragons and lower-class humans. Vivien is a second-class citizen and was raise on propaganda and the belief in the peace agreement. She has made questionable choices and definitely got her friend kick out of the second-class and put in third-class, but she has never been involved in the rebellion. Little could be said about her parents and uncle. They are arrested one night for being a part of the rebellion along with her cousin and she is left alone with her little sister, Ursa. Her mother tells her to run away but she is a stubborn hardheaded fool and does the exact opposite of that which lands her in jail. And that is where her journey of this book begins.

Vivien is ruthless in getting what she wants despite her nasty little conscious that haunts her at every chance it gets. Vivien will do just about anything to save family even if that makes her the villain. She is fiercely intelligent and speaks various human languages and dragon languages, she is your regular polyglot. Throughout this book her only fighting motivation is to save her family from death and make sure she can get her sister back. Never once through the terrible things she is forced to witness or do (unconsciously) does she think about how she could help her people and that her family might have to be her sacrifice for the betterment of the world. The romance subplot really helped to develop Vivien past her own cowardly thinking, having someone she could trust that was just as angry as she was made it easier for her to open up about her mistakes and change her way of thinking.

In the prison her and other teens are held in there is no class rank and among them is every walk of life and it really is eye opening for the upper classes on the lies they have believed from their government. Even when they are deconstructing the years of lies and propaganda, they still cannot change their point of view on their Prime Minister. It takes many of them a long time to see through all the propaganda. I think this theme in the book is probably the best. I think it really shows the reader how deep the brainwashing goes and even if the truth is staring them in the face they cannot and maybe will not change their way of thinking. I think this theme is extremely relevant to the times that we live in.

This book is hard to compare to other books because it is so unique, there are definitely facets from other books but nothing that I would say they are very comparable. I think Williamson is a new writer to look out for and I am very excited for the next installment to this series.

I want to thank NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.