This book was quite.. interesting. By the end of the book, I found myself going back to the synopsis with one question in mind- What was that?
The synopsis sounds so promising - a divided kingdom, a tribute bride, poison-making, magic, ruthless gangs, monsters, dragon riders, and of course, dragons. Unfortunately, this book did not dive deep into any of that. It focused mainly on the divided kingdom, but in a very mild manner- there are mentions of war but no first-hand action of the war, no uprising, only talks of it, basically none of the action and suspense we usually get when we travel into other divided kingdoms. We have a tribute bride who spends half the book practicing mannerisms, and the other half wishing her master was there to teach her about poisons. She mentions poisons quite a bit and in her current role as an infiltrator, she is heavily reliant upon it, however, when the poison comes into play, it is very, very brief. It was along the lines of "He took another sip, turned blue, yelled, then fell." Very uneventful.
I was also excited for the magic, but that too was very lackluster. One day, Naili finds out she, along with the other laundresses, have powers, unsure of how they came about, but can only assume it was the alchemist's doing. Naili gets tricked by another laundress into going to meet the alchemist, where the laundress later kidnaps her and brings her to a gang, which she is later initiated into. That all sounds great on paper, but the execution was done poorly. How and what goes on in between all of that are just little filler details - too much for such little action. The magic could have been great, however Naili only used it once, and it was to basically play Jack from Jack & the Beanstalk & shimmy down a plant. Once again, very unexciting. Naili spends half her time in the book picking flowers off her arms, and the other half lusting over everyone she lays eyes on. After she is forced to enter the gang, you would have thought some action would have happened there, but it remained flat. I'm not even sure where Naili's story ended to be honest- it wasn't quite memorable.
Most of the book centered around Ash, a dragon rider, who we know rides a dragon. (Dragon riding, divided lands, war, monsters.. great.) But he's ridden his dragon twice in the book - once when we first meet him (no action), and the second time when his dragon is pierced through her scales. We don't get any real edge-of-your-seat dragon action however. It felt like Ash was joy-riding on his dragon, viewing the ground from above, and then his dragon (whom he spoke to by the way, although all she did was insult him), was shot. And then the dragon disappears and we have no more of the dragon for the remainder of the book up until the very last paragraphs.This would have been alright, had this not happened in the first half of the book. Most of Ash's storyline is centered around his watcher. He has a crush on him but he's questioning his potential role in his life because of his nobility.
Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this book. It felt like I was listening to a very, very, very long backstory or introduction. A 15-hr long introduction to be exact, while waiting for it to get good. There was no action, and I found it difficult to find a climax or suspense from each POV. The way the book ended was also very uneventful and flat, and when I was done, I was left feeling disappointed. After completing the book and gathering my thoughts, I read over the synopsis again, as well as the title and studied the cover. Unfortunately, my feelings remained - everything inside did not deliver what the outside seemed to promise.

I received this ARC courtesy of NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

So first of all if I were only to rate the narrators, I would've given this 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. They did an amazing job bringing the characters to live and have absolutely pleasant voices. It was a joy to listen to them.

Now rating the book. There were parts of the story I really enjoyed. For instance the concepts of dragon riders, the eyesore that takes its toll on the riders and the political elements were intriguing and quite original. I will say Ashs storyline was probably my favorite and the friends to lovers Arc really cute.

Teshas story line was also interesting, I enjoyed her as a character, though we've seen the send to kill a King storyline before it was fun. Here comes my main concern with it because a sex scene between her and her ex lover didn't sit right with me (especially because we get one just like it later with Niley). In those scenes both girls tell their lover NO, to stop and they ignore it. Niley as well as Ash have a non consent kink which is fine when it's voiced and practiced safely. In both scenes Nileys and Teshas no is just ignored and them being hot for their lover doesn't make it okay to me. Because the book also didn't include any trigger warnings I had to take a star off.
The fact the author includes non-consent in all three storyline (kinks for Niley and Ash and a scene for Tesha) makes it seem like this is the authors personal preference, and if that's the case she really should know better to make the scenes less rapey or include trigger warnings. Same goes for the constant threat to get raped Niley has to live with when she enters the gang.

I liked each individual story, but they didn’t weave together very well until the very end. It made me a little impatient because I had a hard time grasping why we needed these three POVs - particularly since each unfolded rather slowly.

I also think I needed more dedicated worldbuilding: class differences, cultural differences (particularly since the “unification” is such a big factor in one POV), science and magic explanations (alchemy? Dragons? What else is magical - or scientific - and how much does the average person know or understand), education…

It was hard to really see the impact of what our characters learn without understanding the baseline of where they started.

But to have Soneela Nankani and Lauren Fortgang narrating the same audiobook was a definite treat!

I'm a sucker for a good romantasy with dragons so when I saw this latest from a new to me author I couldn't help clicking the request button. Luckily it did not disappoint. It was good on audio and perfect for fans of The fourth wing series by Rebecca Yarros. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

I listened to the audiobook provided as a NetGalley ARC, and it was very well done! I really enjoyed this!

At first, I really enjoyed the novel, but by the end, I felt as if I had already read this novel. The plot and magic system felt cliched and unimaginative. I felt like the author took a couple of different books and put them into this one. The ending of the novel left me wondering what truly happened because it ended when the twin figured out that the main female character is an insult bride for his brother, and I was left like is that all.

I was blown away by this audiobook. I went into this really blind and just cannot wait for it to be released and everyone to read it. The political intrigue was so well written and I couldn’t wait to see where the story was going and how the three main characters we follow will all intersect at some point or how they’re all connected. I love the mystery around Tesha and am dying to find out in the next book how her story will continue. I love that this book also has LGBTQIAP+ representation and the tension between some of the characters was layered and beautiful and sexy, no spoilers though! I immediately purchased the other series Devin Madson wrote because their writing was just so interesting and intriguing. I was hooked immediately!

I thought the narrators did an amazing job, it was cast perfectly. The voices seemed to match the characters well and their cadence and flow really swept me into the story within the first chapter.

Thank you Net Galley, Hachette Audio, and Orbit for allowing me to read this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

Unfortunately I found this one quite boring. None of the characters truly captured my attention. The only perspective I looked forward to was Ash's. I found myself not wanting to continue with this book. The narrators were excellent.

This book managed to hook me from the get go and my interest didn’t sway once. When i was 30% through I went a preordered a signed edition ( something i almost never do. )
The book's prose is beautiful yet easy to read which is something I find preferable when I recommend books.
The story is split into three povs. All which I found intriguing and interesting. I loved the little references to how everyone is connected and I can’t wait to see more of that in the next book. I honestly can’t pick a favourite since they all had such different things keeping my interest.
I found all the characters fun and unique. They all got very different personalities making it easy to differentiate them and their journeys.
The book handles all its topics in a graceful way in my opinion. I liked seeing the native representation but also all the different queer identities.
The narration of the audiobook was also a delight. No real notes there.
I already made my friends pre-order. If so it's safe to say that I recommend this book with my whole heart. Please read it. Please.

Between Dragons and their Wrath explores a fantasy world filled with politics, spies, unique magic, and of course dragons, although less dragons than I thought there would be.

We follow three different characters, Tesha, a glass blower's apprentice who poses as a bride for a political plot, Naili, a laundress of an alchemist who slowly realizes she has an affliction that she doesn't know how to handle, and Ashadi, a dragon rider who realizes there are schemes and truths not shared with the warriors.

Although this book started out slow, as I continued I got more and more drawn into the stories. At first the three characters seemed completely unconnected, although as the stories unfolded we learn of the interconnections. This was definitely a denser fantasy than I normally read, but once I understood more of what was going on I found myself swept along for the story. I thoroughly enjoyed all the characters and I also appreciated the queer representation in this book.

The three narrators of the audiobook did an excellent job and really drew you into the story. They also made the fairly long chapters go by fairly fast. They also really personalized and gave more depth to each of the main characters.

4 stars

Sadly, I did not enjoy this one as much as I thought I would. The characters were so confusing to me that I had a hard time keeping my focus and couldn't keep pace with the story. As for the premise of the story, it seems very interesting, so I'm sure other people will also find this one very intriguing. Also, as a reader, I think it would be better for me to read it than to listen to it.

P.S. If you are expecting a book filled with dragons this is not the one. Though they are mentioned there isn't a focus on them as suggested by the Title and cover.

La verdad es que el nuevo libro de Devin Madson, Between Dragons and Their Breath me ha parecido entretenidísimo, divertido y con un punto picante que le viene bastante bien, pero adolece de un caso grave de comienzo de saga, por que los tres cliffhangers con los que termina la entrega son más escarpados que los acantilados de Dover.


En primer lugar me gustaría alabar la labor de los tres narradores del audiolibro, uno por cada punto de vista,a ya que se nota que Soneela Nankani, Lauren Fortgang y Ron Butler se han metido en el papel a fondo, en su representación de Tesha, Naili y Ash. La elección de la dirección del audiolibro ha estado muy acertada repartiendo los papeles, además me complace especialmente que haya variedad de voces para representar cada papel, creo que el hecho de que haya más de un narrador implicado lucha contra la monotonía del audio. También este conjunto de narradores ayuda con la extraña idea de la autora de utilizar múltiples puntos de vista, pero todos escritos en primera persona.

Como decía en el párrafo anterior, los protagonistas son tres, Tesha, Naili y Ash. Tesha es una sopladora de vidrio con inquietudes políticas que se acaba ofreciendo voluntaria para espiar al autoproclamado poder supremo de la cuenca en la que viven. Naili es una lavandera en la casa del Alquimista, donde se ve que hace ya tiempo que no pasa un inspector de riesgos laborales, ya que el tratamiento de las distintas sustancias del día a día la dota de “poderes” que serán de gran ayuda en el futuro desarrollo de la serie. Y Ash cabalga dragones defendiendo la cuenca del ataque constante de los monstruos del exterior.

Aunque en principio parecen historias muy separadas, lógicamente van confluyendo como afluentes de un río más caudaloso, la trilogía del Shattered Kingdom. Sin entrar mucho en la propia historia, Madson deja entrever una construcción de mundo bastante interesante, pero plagada de misterios que no verán su resolución en las 17 horas del audiolibro. Ése es mi principal problema con el libro, que no lo veo como una unidad completa e independiente en sí misma, si no como un prólogo alargado de lo que vendrá después.

Los personajes, tanto principales como secundarios, son muy atractivos y está muy bien llevado ese tono salaz de algunos capítulos. Es un placer ir descubriendo todo el trabajo de creación que ha habido detrás de la historia y me encanta el recurso de ir contando las noticias de cada día con los titulares más destacados de los periódicos, que no se imprimen habitualmente si no que se vocean por la calle para que la gran mayoría de la población, analfabeta, pueda tener acceso al contenido.

También me gusta el tono algo reivindicativo, de lucha obrera de clases, que se deja entrever en algunos capítulos. El colonialismo de aprovechar los recursos de los demás, el imperialismo de creerse superior solo por haber nacido en un sitio determinado… la corriente política subyacente a la trama es bastante importante y estoy segura de que estas intrigas seguirán a la orden del día en las siguientes entregas, que espero impaciente.

I'm not sure this book knows exactly what it is.

In parts, it tries to be fantasy. In other parts, it tries to be romance or romantic fantasy. At still others, it dips its metaphorical toe in the smut genre and wiggles it around a little.

In short, it's like a teenager putting on several different personalities to try to figure out who s/he wants to be when s/he grows up. Unfortunately, that made the book suffer.

If it had been a full-blown fantasy, I think it could have done really well. As it stands, though, it just seems like it's trying too hard.

The multiple attempts at racy sex scenes felt forced and really threw me out of the flow. And not to be "that guy," but many of these sex scenes were queer, so it almost felt like the author threw them in there to check off the representation box and appear hip. (Disclaimer: As a general rule, I have no problems with queer sex scenes. "The Song of Achilles" is one of my all-time FAVORITE books. It just didn't work in this particular novel.)

If you can get past all the thirsty characters, the plot is actually not bad. And the ending set up what I'm assuming will be the second book in the series quite nicely. As for me, I just couldn't do it. The thirst was too much for me.

I finished the book, but I won't be reading the next one.

Between Dragons and Their Wrath is an epic fantasy read that will keep you guessing until the end. The story follows three different individuals with vastly different status and roles. In true high fantasy fashion, the story is slow to start since there’s a lot of groundwork to lay. It also takes a significant portion of the story to see how the different POVs truly intertwine. Like with many multi POVs reads, I was drawn to certain characters over others. I was particularly fascinated by Naili’s plot particularly her interactions with the alchemist. I also really enjoyed Tesha’s POV. I was least drawn to Ash which was unfortunate since he dealt with the dragons. I also which they were featured more prominently. The plot pacing could use some work as well. I did really enjoy the ending, though, which was enough to make me want to read book two. I read this via audiobook. I appreciate the choice to use three separate narrators to match the three POVs: Soneela Nankani, Lauren Fortgang, and Ron Butler. I think it would’ve been a challenge to keep the characters straight if one POV had been used. I felt all three did well with their narration and were able to bring their respective characters to life. They were also able to keep my attention throughout the story.

NetGalley Review

Star Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

If I could've done zero stars I would have. I made it about a quarter of the way through and gave up. I kid you not, every character relates everything to sex. Don't get me wrong sex is a beautiful thing, but this is awkward, clunky, and just perverse. Nothing beautiful about it. Really expected the author to be a middle aged man. It starts off with this guy talking and randomly interjecting his personal carnal thoughts about this other guy that's he's talking to. I thought, not much is happening here, just stretching out a 2 second scene so the author can show they can talk about love in lots of different ways. Whatever, it's the opening It'll get better. It doesn't. The best though had to be when it gets to the maid. I kid you not, with little to no exaggeration needed. This made is walking down the hall and is like "Oh, she smells nice I'd like her to go down on me ." Then she sees someone picking their nose and is like "wow, I'd like her to touch my slit " yes she says :" slit ", ", with those fingers".

It is so forced and awkward. Like the author is just slowly going down the list to make sure that she's got all of the alphabets present and is being as diverse as possible.

Like always though, read it and decide for yourself

Unfortunately this one wasn't for me. I found myself getting super confused with all of the characters and couldn't focus on what was going on. The premise of the story seems very interesting, so I'm sure others will absolutely love this one. I also feel reading it vs. listening to it would be better for me.

An Epic Fantasy with some spice!
In a world at war, with dwindling resources and lots of classism, we have three main characters with three unique points of view. Tesha finds herself in a situation to leave her lover behind to offer herself as a tribute bride for the enemy. Naili is a laundress that finds she has been gifted with a new and mysterious alchemy magic. And Ash is a dragon rider navigating where his place is in the the conflict.
This book spent a lot of time world-building, like many other EPIC fantasies. The scenes were so detailed you could put yourself right into them.
I struggled with the multi-POV and the switching back and forth between them just as I was understanding what was going on from that perspective.
Thank you NetGalley and Hackett Audio for this audiobook ARC!

This was a interesting fantasy book with politics, dragons and magic.
Following 3 different people on there journey. There is romance and action. Even so it did'nt really "hit my vibe" BUT not because it is'nt a great book. Aruond halfway through it got fascinating.
3,5 stars - and I'm probably reading the next one ;)

I think this is a really solid fantasy in some aspects but in others it’s lacking. The characters were developed well throughout the book and none of the 3 POVs bleed into each other, they are all on their separate journeys but you can start to see the threads of when the author will (hopefully) weave these together.

This being said, I’m not sure where the author is going in terms of the plot? It felt a bit all over the place. The ending also felt a bit too abrupt, and I felt like it was supposed to be wrapped up a bit more. I’m interested in reading the sequel.

I also wasn’t a fan of the male narrator.

Super fun high fantasy book with dragons, political intrigue, and dual POVs. You'll be hooked from the first chapter. From the cool plant powers, the bisexuality, the enemies to lovers, and the LGBT+ rep, everything about this book is perfection. If you are a fan of Game of Thrones you will like this, especially if you want the female characters to have a personality.