*** Thank you to Hachette Audio and NetGalley for the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I couldn't finish this book. The audiobook production was done well; however, I can't honestly recommend reading this book solely as an audiobook. The book was narrated with a very dramatic tone. I don't own the physical version, but I wouldn't be surprised if the dialogue was filled with italicized words punctuated with nothing but exclamation points.

I probably could've pushed through despite the narrator's chosen tone, but the culture and politics of the world were difficult for me to picture. I'm not sure whether it was that I was only listening to the story or if it was the writing style, but I could not wrap my mind around it.

Thank you Netgalley for the arc.

DNF’d the audiobook

All I will say is that I think it was just the case of my not connecting with the narrators.

I will, however, give the actual physical book a shot.

Ok first of all this ends in a cliffhanger so as I was finally getting into the book the narration ended and I was in my car going what??! No!
I think the next book in these series may be a little easier to get into now that all the characters have been differentiated.
This book does have a lot going on. Politics, dragons, poison, oppression, insult brides………
Go into it knowing it will probably take until the halfway point to get your attention and figure out what is happening.
Not a bad book at all, just very heavy, long and with multiple POVS.
I received a ALC from NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

Orbit has a sensational success on their hands with Between Dragons and Their Wrath. Tesha, Naili, and Ashati are easy to cheer for and well-balanced with realistic vulnerabilities and flaws. The three main characters never meet in this first installment, but their plots are excellently interwoven. Madson delivers exemplary political intrigue that keeps readers on their toes and gradually raises the protagonists' stakes higher and higher. With strong world-building, delicious secrets being unearthed, and discrimination presented in way that deeply resonates with contemporary, real-world issues, this series is sure to be as treasured as Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archive. Plus a dash of steam and slow burn romance ;)

I was excited when I read the title and premise of this book, especially because dragons have slowly but progressively made their way into one of my favorite, almost all the time auto by, plots. This book has a decent amount of characters and dragons, but I felt characters lacked a little more depth. For a bit I was having a hard time distinguishing them but was able to pull through. It was a decently paced story and Im hopeful it will continue, especially with how it ended. The audio of the book was well done and made me a new fan of one of the narrators.

4⭐️ for overall story / 4⭐️ for overall audiobook performance

Overall, I really enjoyed this story, but I will say, I don't think the title of this book matched the content of what was actually in here. Based on how the story ended and what we're being led to, it seems like this title might have been better as the book 2 title ? But again, I liked it. We just didn't get nearly the amount of dragon action I would have expected, considering the title. But we did get some decent action in other ways, some bits of magic, a good bit of world politics...this book definitely laid some good framework for the future.

I found myself wanting more world-building in this, but what we got was decent. I did feel like the descriptions of things in this was a little lacking, especially with the type of content we were getting. For example, I felt like I couldn't really picture what different people looked like (aside from the tattoos on certain people) or what Ashadi's dragon, Shuala, looked like or even how big she was compared to him. I also felt like this story had a somewhat slow start, but that's kind of to be expected with a new series, so I don't consider that a negative necessarily. Now I will say, I was only reading the audiobook format and quite often, things are lost to me if I'm not tandem reading with the physical/ebook, so this world-building/description lacking opinion could partially be due to me just missing some of it.

After reading this I felt like a lot of Tesha's background was missing and I wanted more. I did like her character, I thought she was smart and cunning, but I also didn't like the fact that she kept denying herself of true happiness (felt like). Naili's character seemed to be a giant horn-dog and also a little dense. It always seemed like she just had no clue what was going on. I also wanted more background on her. The scene with the alchemist seemed awkward and unnecessarily placed, in my opinion. I love a good spicy scene, but that one just seemed plopped in for no real reason. Ash was my fave; Ash and Mana's dynamic was GIVING and I wanted so much more of them! I'm very excited to see where and how things go for them. It also felt like Ash and Mana's portion of the story was more fleshed out and more complete, if that makes sense. Obviously their story is just getting started, but I didn't feel as confused by their background or what was happening in their immediate future as with the other 2 characters.

The audiobook performance for this was really good, though I thought the FNs did a little better at character accent/tonal changes better than the MN. I was already familiar with Soneela Nankani (Naili), but I believe Lauren Fortgang (Tesha) and Ron Butler (Ashadi) were new-to-me narrators. All did a good job, though and made the listening experience a great one. I'd definitely recommend the audio and look forward to the next book.

Recommendation:
So overall I would recommend this book, especially the audiobook. I'm giving the caveat though that this is NOT a dragon book. The story might become that eventually, but this first book in the series is definitely not that. Dragons are a tiny sliver of this, but not to the extent that the title implies. So just know that going into it. I do hope certain aspects of the story and pieces of the plot start to pick up a little more in the next book. Enjoy and happy reading friends! 🤙🏼💕

Thank you to Hachette Audio and NetGalley for an early copy of this audiobook. This review is my honest feedback and given voluntarily.

I got this as an audiobook arc on Netgalley and it has since come out. It took me a while to get into this but when I did it I got INVESTED. The queer bits are queering, the intrigue is intriguing, please just give me the next book. If you struggle with auditory processing like me, you might struggle a bit more with the male narrator, but otherwise the narrators keep the excitement alive.

This was an intriguing fantasy book with all the elements that will make for an excellent series. There are a fair number of characters and points of view to keep track of which was made much easier in the audiobook thanks to the incredible audio narration skills of Soneela Nankani, Lauren Fortgang & Ron Butler.

Any book with dragons will catch my interest but this one kept my interest throughout even when we weren’t with the dragon or her rider.

With this book you will get alchemical magic gone awry (or did it?), complex political intrigue, angsty forbidden romance subplots with a world balanced on the edge of a glass shard about to tip into all out chaos.

Devin Madsen, seemingly effortlessly, builds a complex and beautiful world with intriguing characters and a complex plot. The relationships between the characters are well written with subtlety and care.

I’m waiting on the edge of my seat for book two already!

Thank you NetGalley & Hatchette Audio for the audio ARC.

Longer Review to follow.

Disjointed and hard to follow through the multiple POVs.
Characters deep and real, story interesting.
Too few Dragons

I have had Devin Marden on my TBR for a while now, so was excited to get a chance to read this audiobook. The narration really worked for me.

I found this a big book in terms of complexity for a high fantasy series, there is a wide range of cast and a big set up. There are noble houses, political tensions, and mysterious circumstances. The book swaps between perspectives of several major characters. Tesha is a glassblower who ends up in a political marriage trying to bring down an oppressive government from within, Naili is a laundress for an alchemist who ends up under strange magic, along with her coworkers, and she is desperate for a solution for herself and her friends, and Ashadi is a dragon rider who discovers something he’s not supposed to know about in the desert.

On a personal level, I would have liked the pacing to be slightly quicker, but I recognise that the foundations needed to be in place for the depth of the story to really come across, and the individual people were all intriguing and I wanted to spend more time with them. I will definitely be looking forward to the rest of the series.

This is NOT how lesbians behave. They are not predatory.

The storyline was a mess. I couldn’t relate to the characters. The writing was okay however, the book ended abruptly.

The narrator did do a good job!

On the verge of war, nothing is as it seems. Caught in a game of intrigue Tesha finds herself married to the brother of the highest royal. Ash and his dragon are shot down and he finds himself trying to learn who is keeping a big secret before his reputation is ruined. Naili finds herself beholden to radicals. As all three characters lives intertwine can they learn the truth and avert war? Interesting story with good narration.

The worldbuilding is rich and lively. The mystery around the dragons is intriguing and I'm looking forward to there being more dragon lore in the next book. Each narrator handled their MC's and subsequent side characters with natural ease. They each were a joy to listen to.

Between Dragons and wrath is a new epic fantasy told from multiple POV. Each character is from different status and roles in life. As with most high fantasy books there is political strife between countries and monsters that must be defeated. We have Tesha, a glassblower who becomes a tribute bride placing her in court to be able to sabotage them. Then there is Naili, a laundress who is awakening to new powers that could potentially change the world. And last there is Ash a dragon rider who fights monsters and has to protect his own dragon from the new dragon hunters.

I received an ARC for the audiobook version of this book. It was very nice that each character was a different actor. That made it easy to go between the different POVs. Each actor did really well and brought each character to life. I did want a little more from Ash's story since he does deal with the dragon's but his story fell a little flat to me no fault to the actor though. The actors kept my attention for the whole book so I didn't feel lost at all.

The story is a little slow in getting started but once it does, it is an exciting ride.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for an ARC for the audiobook Between Dragon and wrath.

I really struggled with this one because I really wanted to love it because I loved the idea of it but ultimately I was really having a hard time keeping up with who was who and what was happening. The tone switched a lot and there were so many moving parts it became really hard to distinguish between characters. I think the world was really interesting and held a lot of promise and that’s why I’m not rating it lower.

For fans of:
- The Sky on Fire

I highly recommend this book to all lovers of dragons, magical mysteries, and/or complex politics.

This book includes:
- dragons, dragons, dragons
- 3 distinct POVs, each with their own story
- arranged marriage
- class disparity/class consciousness
- LGBT representation
- twins

"Between Dragons and Their Wrath" took me completely by surprise. What a fantastic journey, full of complex characters and political scheming. I really enjoyed following three very distinct characters (with very different personalities and goals) through their separate journeys while trying to puzzle out how it would all come together. There are so many satisfying twists to this plot line and EVERYONE has secrets/schemes. I also enjoyed the themes of class disparity, racism, exploitation of vulnerable identities, and ethnic cleansing. Often I see books with "rebel" plotlines ignore this aspect of political corruption, but the author does not shy away from these topics. This book manages to subtly force readers to reflect on these topics, while still being entertaining and engaging.

I received this audiobook as an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Hachette Audio, Orbit, and Devin Madson for the opportunity to review this book. This review is also available on my GoodReads - check out my profile https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/62314863

Between Dragons and Their Wrath
by Devin Madson

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨ (4,5)
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Between Dragons and Their Wrath is a captivating fantasy novel that masterfully intertwines the lives of three protagonists: a glassmaker caught in a perilous arranged marriage, an ousted lord turned dragon rider tasked with defending his homeland, and a laundress grappling with newly awakened powers. Each character’s story is vividly narrated, creating a rich tapestry of detailed, immersive storytelling. Initially, the storylines seem disparate, but as the plot unfolds, the intricate connections between them become clear, pulling the reader deeper into the narrative.

Set in a desert basin brimming with political intrigue, alchemical magic, and looming revolution, the novel excels in crafting a world that feels both unique and authentic. The culture depicted, with echoes of ancient Eastern civilizations, is presented without over-explanation, a refreshing and much-needed departure from the often Eurocentric settings in fantasy. This natural portrayal of a non-Western setting that is neither overexplained (nor need it be defended) highlights the genre’s potential for diversity.

One of the most striking aspects of the book is its representation of LGBTQ+ relationships. I'm serious, this book is so gay, and it's great. Same-sex relationships are portrayed naturally, seamlessly integrated into the story. This adds depth and inclusivity to the narrative, but what strikes me the most is how much it's not a big deal in the book canon, how "normal" it is. As a member of the LGBTQ+ community myself, this is how I think it should be. Within and beyond the romance Madson’s characters are complex and relatable, their flaws and growth driving much of the story’s emotional resonance.

While the book feels like a setup for the next installment, leaving some plotlines unresolved and lacking a traditional 'first novel in a fantasy series' climax, it's rich and engaging world more than make up for it, drawing the reader in and keeping them drawn.

The audiobook narration is exceptional, with each voice adding a distinct layer to the storytelling.
Each of the three narrators narrates beautifully, providing a rich array of character voices and tonality. I struggled to differentiate between the two female voices initially, but that seems more my flaw - they're not that similar, all told.

If you loved the Empire Trilogy by Feist & Wurts, you'll LOVE this. Although I have to say this book was even better - it has dragons, after all. Fans of immersive fantasy with a diverse cast and intricate world-building will find much to love here, and I eagerly anticipate the next book in the series.

Between Dragons And Their Wrath by Devin Madson is a unique fantasy novel with politics, queer characters but sadly a lack of dragons.

First I wanted to say the narration was fantastic. It was so good, I wonder if I would have like it less if I read it physically.

I was worried about the 3 POVS as generally too many points of view is not my thing. I ended up enjoying all of Ashadi's, Nailing's, and Tesha's POVs. Each main character were their own unique person that made them enjoyable. But sadly I felt like things got left out because of the anount of point of views and I ended up with more questions than answers and left wanting to understand more by the end of the book.

The political plot was enjoyable and I enjoyed how everything weaved together, even if it was a little too much.

The world building was lacking and made it confusing at times, but I can tell you that everyone wears skirts. I absolutely love that imagery, but I wished for more.

I feel like the best way to describe this book was "wanting more".

Thank you Net galley Hachette audio for this Arc. Everything in this review is my honest opinion. At this currently moment it is debatable whether I will continue the series, but I enjoyed my time with the book nevertheless.

Thanks to Orbit Books and Netgalley for the ARC.
4.5/5

Now this was a story I was happy to get lost in! Of course, with 'dragon" in the title that immediately grabbed my attention and then to get handed crazy plant magic and political shenanigans, I am all in on that. The story is told through 3 POV's, each distinctly different that introduces us to all the levels of society and all the problems that the characters are facing at the moment. Naili is a laundress for a reclusive alchemist who suddenly finds she has access to strange powers over plants but if she can't learn to control it, it may end up killing her. Tesha is an apprentice in a glass blowers' shop who finds herself in a My Fair Lady type of situation that puts her completely out of her element. And finally, there is Ash, a lord who lost his status as heir and was sent to become a dragon rider and protect the region from danger.
The world created here has so many wonderful layers and as you spend time with each character you learn the history and what the challenges are that has set the region on the brink of war. Getting to see everything from high society dinners to the criminal underbelly of the cities and how dangerous the job of the dragons and their riders is. Each of the characters feels fully rounded out and I just adored the relationship between Ash and Mana, I for sure need more of this please. And a snarky dragon who puts you in your place.......loved Shu so much!! And while I knew that eventually our characters would need to come together somehow, I liked that it hasn't been rushed and there is still so much that can happen that might keep them apart. All of the politics, backstabbing, betrayals and secrets upon secrets is delicious and the Reacher is a character that you love to hate. So many wonderful layers here and am so looking forward to what comes next.
I listened to the audiobook, and it was just terrific!! There is a different narrator for each POV and they all do a fantastic job inhabiting their character and giving each such a distinct voice. I definitely recommend not only the story but also the audio if that is how you choose to read this story. Looking forward to what Devin has in store for these characters going forward!!

3.5 rounded up.

The narrators for this were absolutely perfect, to start there. Each brings such a unique tone to the character they narrate and I so appreciate the choice to have three separate narrators for the three separate points of view. Even less exciting chapters managed to be attention-grabbing thanks to their work.

On the other hand, this book was difficult to rate in terms of story. Ash and Tesha's perspectives were particularly intriguing, giving us differing views of this world (one as a banished elite, and the other sneaking into the halls of the elite) that we've been thrown into. Naili's part was more complicated - there were odd consent issues throughout her story, and it really just didn't feel like as much happened throughout the book for her. Overall, the book as a whole felt much more like a prelude to the larger story, giving us so many questions and a large lack of answers. But the world-building was interesting, and I'm curious to see what happens in the sequel to these characters!