This was so much fun y'all. I knew I was gonna love it from the title and I was oh so right. Nothing to say but it's great and I am so excited to read the next one.

Daisy wasn’t expecting to find a dragon when he and Wild-Eye were putting out a fire…and he certainly wasn’t expecting that dragon to have eggs that were about to hatch. Now, he’s hiding dragons from a German dragon-hunter and a local werewolf, and things are getting a little bit chaotic.

This book took me so long to finish, but I ended up really enjoying it. It was fun and quirky. I loved the dragons, especially Ace. The characters felt really well developed and the plot kept a nice pace throughout the entire book. Overall, it was really creative and well done.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for the ARC.

This book is very fun. It’s quick-paced, funny, has a premise I have never seen before, and strides that balance between teasing and redefining a culture. The two characters are both stereotypical "hicks" and also not stereotypical at all. They revel in the parts of themselves that they see as “good old boys” but reject the stuff such people are often assumed to be by outsiders - gut nuts, homophobic, etc. The book also has a huge plotline surrounding the opioid crisis, which I thought was handled in a way that was sensitive and balanced. It doesn't blame people but also advocates for determined self-detox. It also broaches other important topics, like the poverty cycle, disability, and unemployment. This serves to give the story weight but not tamp down on the fun aspects.

The world building was a little light. I wasn’t sure why dragons only existed in Germany, and it wasn’t clear how prevalent magical stuff was in the world and how magic factored into the way society functioned. Then again, the dragons themselves were an absolute joy.

The one thing I wasn’t sure about was the genre. It’s a fantasy, for sure, and it’s a bit of a comedy, but not really, and it’s cozy but there’s violence, so it kind of strides all these lines. I think it managed to pull these things off without having them compete or contrast. I would be tempted to call it a romp.

The prose is fun. It’s a very fast read, as it’s dialogue-heavy, but when there are action scenes, they are described well and are very fun (there’s a dragon truck chase ... twice!). The book provides what you need to understand the story and the characters, but I wouldn’t call it deep. Yet, I wouldn’t want it to be deep.

The characters are fun, especially Daisy and his buddy Wild-Eye. The best thing about Wild-Eye is that he’s self-admittedly unattractive, yet he somehow manages to get all the guys in town. Yes, Wild-Eye is gay, which was a wonderful bit of inclusion as it wasn’t something I was expecting.

Overall, this is a novel about sticking by your friends and sticking up for what is right. It was heartfelt and fun, and I very much enjoyed it. A great beach read
ChatGPT said:
ChatGPT
Here’s a review for Dragon Kings of Oklahoma by Ferrett Steinmetz:

Ferrett Steinmetz delivers a wildly original and thoroughly entertaining read with Dragon Kings of Oklahoma. The story’s premise is refreshingly unique: two old friends stumble upon dragon eggs in the Ouachita Mountains and decide to turn them into their ticket out of financial hardship. Daisy and Wild-Eye are both lovable and relatable as two “good ol’ boys” with an unexpected entrepreneurial spirit, but they’re anything but the stereotypes you might expect. Their friendship is the heart of the book, and their interactions are both humorous and touching.

Steinmetz does a great job tackling real-world issues, like the opioid crisis and poverty, weaving them into the story without dampening its lighthearted feel. These themes add depth to the book, making it more than just a fantastical romp but a story with substance. The inclusion of Wild-Eye as a gay character is handled seamlessly, contributing to the narrative in a way that feels both natural and refreshing.

The pacing is quick and the dialogue snappy, making this a fast and fun read. Though the world-building could be a bit richer, especially in terms of why dragons exist only in Germany, the dragons themselves are so delightful that it’s easy to overlook any minor gaps in the setting. This story straddles multiple genres, blending fantasy, adventure, and cozy moments with a dash of violence and action, which includes some unforgettable dragon truck chases.

If you’re looking for a novel that’s equal parts humorous and heartfelt, Dragon Kings of Oklahoma is a perfect choice. It’s a unique, adventurous story about loyalty, friendship, and doing what’s right—even when that involves a brood of baby dragons! A great read for those who love a mix of fantasy, comedy, and a touch of gritty realism.

This was fun. I requested it based on the cover and I'm so glad it was entertaining and decently written! Lighthearted but with good characters that I truly liked. And the dragons were great! Especially the baby dragons. I enjoyed the rural oklahoma setting. I grew up in a very rural area like that but in Oregon, there were enough similarities to really be able to picture the people involved in the story. Honestly I'll probably read the next book in the series!

I received this book on NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

This book is wild. I keep showing people the cover. Despite the eyebrow raises or the "what the heck" responses, all of them wanted to know the premise. So, if the cover intrigues you, give it a shot because it's almost exactly what you think it is.

This book is very fun. It’s quick-paced, funny, has a premise I have never seen before, and strides that balance between teasing and redefining a culture. The two characters are both stereotypical "hicks" and also not stereotypical at all. They revel in the parts of themselves that they see as “good old boys” but reject the stuff such people are often assumed to be by outsiders - gut nuts, homophobic, etc. The book also has a huge plotline surrounding the opioid crisis, which I thought was handled in a way that was sensitive and balanced. It doesn't blame people but also advocates for determined self-detox. It also broaches other important topics, like the poverty cycle, disability, and unemployment. This serves to give the story weight but not tamp down on the fun aspects.

The world building was a little light. I wasn’t sure why dragons only existed in Germany, and it wasn’t clear how prevalent magical stuff was in the world and how magic factored into the way society functioned. Then again, the dragons themselves were an absolute joy.

The one thing I wasn’t sure about was the genre. It’s a fantasy, for sure, and it’s a bit of a comedy, but not really, and it’s cozy but there’s violence, so it kind of strides all these lines. I think it managed to pull these things off without having them compete or contrast. I would be tempted to call it a romp.

The prose is fun. It’s a very fast read, as it’s dialogue-heavy, but when there are action scenes, they are described well and are very fun (there’s a dragon truck chase ... twice!). The book provides what you need to understand the story and the characters, but I wouldn’t call it deep. Yet, I wouldn’t want it to be deep.

The characters are fun, especially Daisy and his buddy Wild-Eye. The best thing about Wild-Eye is that he’s self-admittedly unattractive, yet he somehow manages to get all the guys in town. Yes, Wild-Eye is gay, which was a wonderful bit of inclusion as it wasn’t something I was expecting.

Overall, this is a novel about sticking by your friends and sticking up for what is right. It was heartfelt and fun, and I very much enjoyed it. A great beach read.

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

Arc from Netgalley:

This was SUCH a fun book. The premise seems like it will be pure ridiculousness and it is...to a point, then you start to get attached to the characters in a very real way that I was absolutely not expecting.

Urban Fantasy is a well worn, enjoyable trope, however I don't think I've read or seen any Rural Fantasy before reading this book. Steinmetz manages to create well rounded 3 dimensional characters that don't just feel like Redneck stereotypes, displaying their plight with a lot of empathy. The rural lifestyle isn't glorified but neither is it demonized with the positives and negatives of a small community portrayed excellently.

The fantasy stuff is SO much fun with a ton of really inventive usages of Dragons and the action set pieces near the end of the book are WILD.

High recommend!

A romping good start to a fun, fantasy themed series. Don't often read self published, but this one was a winner.

This book is just … fun. The writing is super smooth and polished, and the pace is tight and focused. The action scenes are never too long, and the story moves from one scene to the next without any lulls or drops of tension. The romance is nicely built up, and while the dragons are the focus, there’s also enough time given to the town itself, the dragon hunters and the werewolves to make all three plotlines come together in a nice, tidy bow.

The world building, like the characters, is done with bold, simple strokes, but it’s clear there has been thought put into how everything works together. From dryads, dragons and werewolves — and hints of a more complex magical system leading into book two — there’s a lot here, tucked between the lines.

The dragons are adorable, the characters sympathetic, the plot clever, and the ending sweet. Even if you think you know what this book is about, you’ll be surprised at how it gets there. Honestly, I had so much fun reading this, and I hope you do, too.

Thank you so much to Net Galley and the publisher for allowing me to read the ARC.

Funny and touching at the same time, this was a great weekend read. I definitely recommend that you give this book a try, its well worth it!!

Now this was just delightful. This urban fantasy is set not in a city but a country: small town, backwoods Oklahoma. It's a place with small town problems: wildfires caused by backwoods meth-cooking, having to deal in Oxy to get by because your disability is being held up and denied for no reason, thugs running the place out of the local all-mart, corrupt cops, everyone knowing each other's secrets. Except the thug who runs everything is a werewolf, and the protagonist and his best pal, "Daisy" and "Wild-Eye", the local volunteer fire-fighters, just found a dragon he smuggled into the country. And the dragon, of course, is also a metaphor for abusive relationships of the kind very familiar to small-town folks like Daisy.

It's incredibly fun and extremely hard to put down. Everything has respect for this small-town culture even while showing the problems there, the characters are charming and flawed, and the dangers are very real. People get hurt, badly, and I was never entirely sure how it was going to work out -- even while I was very sure it WOULD work out in some way.

My only issue with it was that a lot of time things worked out without the characters necessarily having put in the work -- characters coming by and instantly being on board with plans, or helping out before the protagonists could even ask for help. Likewise, the convenience occasionally comes through in the narration; Daisy will be thinking about something, and another character will immediately pivot to talking about that thing without it being prompted aloud (though that could be them knowing Daisy well). I like Daisy a lot, and I can see why a character would be into him, but I'm not sure why <i>Lily</i> specifically was -- not that I doubt the relationship, but I'd have loved to see more specifically about the specific things she liked in him. But none of these stopped it being incredibly readable, nor were the stakes ever lowered.

Queer content: I originally picked this up because I saw it was queer and thought the name was going to be a reference to the protagonists being drag kings, which they are not! It's just coincidental. Wild-Eye is gay -- and a great character, by the way. Just mentioning it because I imagine other people might make the same assumption!

Fantastic read, really great. 4.5 stars, rounded up.

One of the most entertaining spoofs of every action packed thriller you've ever read. I laughed as the characters blundered their way through the trials, tribulations.....and of course, dragons......that life threw at them everyday. I recognized far too many of the towns and characters for my comfort....I'm not sure the book does much for the reputation of Oklahoma and/or it's residents, but it was certainly a different tale to be told.

Sometimes I like to sit and think about what if certain magical or fantastical creatures existed in the world today. Naturally, one of the first magical creatures that comes to mind is the dragon. Dragons in myths are often reptilian in nature, with leathery wings, spiky tails, and fiery breath. What would it be like to have something like that exist in the world today? How would people react? Where would the dragons live?

Well, in the world of The Dragon Kings of Oklahoma that's exactly what has happened. Dragons exist, but they are only legal in Germany where they are kept under strict control for "conservation." Apparently dragons are going extinct, at least in part to their use as weapons during prior wars, but also because their habitats are endangered. It is strictly against international law for dragons to live anywhere in the world except Germany, and it is especially illegal to smuggle and sell said dragons for a profit.

So, when Daisy and his best friend Wild-Eye, the only members of the Douay, Oklahoma Volunteer Fire Department, are tasked with putting out a fire in the nearby Ouachita Mountains, they figure someone's drug lab exploded. It wouldn't be the first time, and in this dirt poor area of Oklahoma, it certainly wouldn't be the last. Rolling up to the fire, they see what they expect, at first. There's a burned out, still smoking trailer in a forest clearing, but upon further investigation, they see a dead body and a mother dragon sitting on a brood of eggs.

Naturally, this complicated matters. Not only do they have a dead body to deal with, but the presence of an illegal dragon and her babies threatens to turn this into an international incident. Wild-Eye immediately tries to convince Daisy they should raise and sell the wyrmlings themselves. Reluctantly, Daisy agrees, and thus begins a wild few days in rural Oklahoma filled with angry dragons, corrupt policemen, even more corrupt local business owners, and two down-on-their-luck "yee-yee's" just trying to survive it all...and maybe get a pay day at the end of it.

Dragons showing up in somewhere like New York would be one thing, but dragons in almost any rural area of the Midwestern or Southern US would likely result in a similar story to the one depicted in this book. The Dragon Kings of Oklahoma is simultaneously commentary on the struggles of rural Americans and a satire of Southern & Midwestern rural culture and stereotypes. Daisy is the latest generation in a line of farmers trying to stay afloat. All that's left of his grandfather's farm is the house, and Daisy has maxed out all his credit cards just trying to keep the taxes and bills paid to keep it. Daisy is also out of regular work due to an on-the-job injury, and he's struggling after waiting months for disability benefits.

Even if Daisy is granted disability benefits, he will never be able to work, at least not legally, if he wants to keep that money coming in. Also, since his injury, he's become addicted to opioids, and he's doing his best to manage both the addiction and the pain while keeping a roof over his head. These are struggles that real people face every day in the US. Even though the book mostly used these issues as points of characterization and world-building, these are very realistic struggles. To be honest, it made the whole story more amusing. Imagine having to worry about having enough money, food, and medicine to live while also now worrying about baby dragons and how to sell them. I feel the story managed to balance the more serious aspects with the fantastical ones in an entertaining and realistic way, even if it sometimes leaned into the stereotyping a bit more than was necessary.

Throughout the story, Daisy and Wild-Eye are the antiheroes, but the true villain is corruption. The owner of the local All Mart (a thinly veiled jab at Wal-mart stores) is struggling to keep the store afloat. This is a sweet bit of irony considering the All Mart is the only store in town due to its business strategies putting smaller stores out of business. This has driven many residents to move elsewhere, which means dwindling funding for the local police as well. Couple the need for funding with a wife at home who's dependent on the pain medicine controlled by the very same owner of the All Mart, and the local sheriff gets folded into the corruption as well. Once again, this is not a surprising situation for a small town.

The surprises in this book are all of the magical variety, and I would love to learn more about the magic in this world. It was mostly hinted at, other than what directly involved the dragons. For example, Daisy's mother was a druid. The way druids are described, though, is almost like they aren't totally human but humanoid magic users that are deeply tied to nature. Magic in this sense isn't explained, probably because everyone in the story just takes it for granted as being a normal part of their world. I'm hoping the next book will explore this world's more fantastical elements a bit more.

I gave The Dragon Kings of Oklahoma by Ferrett Steinmetz four out of five stars. I really enjoyed how realistic Steinmetz made the story feel, and even though Steinmetz leaned into the stereotypes a bit too hard at time, it made for entertaining reading and layered characters. The story also managed to address serious issues such as the opioid crisis, animal rights, and the struggles of poverty and disabilities. Rather than being mired down by these issues, the story still managed to inject humor that kept it in the satire category, and it didn't feel preachy. I would encourage anyone who is looking for a short, funny read to give this book a try!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I picked it up based on the amazing cover and couldn't resist the short blurb I read. I figured I'd be getting into a silly nonsensical book that was more filler than anything else, but I found that this book was very well written, the plot was engaging and I fell in love with Daisy, Wild-Eye and of course Mama Turkey and her brood. I found at multiple points of the book I was laughing, kicking my feet and even had MANY heartwarming moments! I loved getting lore surrounding how the dragons are a highly protected species in Germany and smuggling them is VERY illegal. I love that they somehow end up in Oklahoma. I love that at the beginning we get a scene right out of Breaking Bad but instead of finding a mess of meth, we find a dragon and her eggs!

We follow Daisy and Wild-Eye on their quest to help raise and hide a brood of rowdy baby dragons. They quickly find that the dragon that fathered the babies has stuck around and he is FAR more than anyone could have bargained for. We also run into a problem when the big-wig of the town, a werewolf of course, has big plans for the dragons that he thinks he's misplaced. The ensuing battles, skirmishes and unlikely friendships that form are all an absolute delight. We also have to add in that most of the characters in the book are addicted to Oxy and are also dealers. Now that they've decided to try taking on dragons they realize it just might be a bit more than they can handle. With help from a German dragon soldier and a town who bands together, we see the demise of daddy dragon, his vicious reign and an end to Dusty the Werewolf's terror.

I definitely recommend this book and plan to read the next in the series!

First of all, the cover is what got me. We love a redneck dragon wrangler with a pickup. This book was such a nice surprise. Genuinely funny and heartfelt.

This cover 100% caught my eye. I love old school covers like this one.

I started the book expecting a quick, lighthearted read, which it was! Quite funny with good-hearted characters that find themselves in some silly circumstances. A small, rural town steeped in community. Just regular ole' people trying to live their lives in a world much like our own, except with dragons and other creatures.

I was surprised by the depth in here-it's a commentary of sorts on living in rural America, which has its own issues. Nestled in these pages are issues like drug addiction and poverty. And there is an understanding of rural diversity which I believe is far more accurate than not. Somehow the author managed to include all of this without making the story feel bogged down or heavy. I really enjoyed it.

This was funny and unserious but reflective and absolutely serious at the same time. In some ways you get exactly what you expect with a title like that. But you also get a much deeper discussion on community and the lengths people will go to for the things and people they love. The fantastical side of the world is not really fleshed out. You just kind of have to accept the fact that there are dragons and werewolf’s and what not but I had such a good time with the story it didn’t even bother me. I’m very much looking forward to the next one.

Honestly, I wasn’t expecting a lot of Dragon Kings of Oklahoma. Curiosity got the best of me especially after someone told me that they actually enjoyed it…

And well I absolutely loved it. It was completely different than I expected. It was hilarious and I really liked the story and the characters….especially the dragons ❤️.

The ending made me drop a star. I wasn’t a huge fan. And I didn’t think anything supernatural was needed. I’ll definitely pick up the next book. I can’t wait to visit Douay again.

Thanks to Netgalley and Ferrett Steinmetz
for a copy of Dragon Kings of Oklahoma in exchange of an honest review.

What comes to your mind when you hear about rural Oklahoma? A town with barely 500 residents, the protagonist Daisy's family long lost their farmland to the bank, him waiting on a decision on his disability payments after an accident at a local meet-processing factory years ago and side-hustling as a dealer of prescription drugs as the only source of sustenance... Until one day, in the ashes of a fire he attended to as the town's volunteer firefighter, Daisy finds a dragon with five eggs about to hatch.
Because, you know, this is also a world where there are all kinds of magical creatures. Druids. Werewolves. And dragons. But the latter ones native exclusively to Germany's Black Forest mountains, carefully protected by a very serious special corps and strict international laws, since there's great interest for dragon eggs in the black market.
So, that seems to be Daisy's chance to finally make it: sell the eggs, salvage his house from the bank, and start a family. But the plan appears to be not as bullet-proof as initially thought, and very soon everybody is after our guy and his dragons: the sheriff, the local criminal boss whom the dragons were bound to be delivered initially, and the German Drachensichern corps. Oh, and Daisy starts doubting being able to part with the dragons because of the special bond he makes with the unexpected "pets."

This is a hilarious combination of these seemingly mutually foreign things. And that's not even that much a combination of rural Oklahoma with the dragon story but more so the fantasy adventure with the satire on the struggles in a capitalist exploitative society. And the combination of the aesthetics of this setting that cries "rednecks" with its every detail with a surprisingly inclusive ethics of the story. (I still haven't reached a final thought on what this latter discrepancy does in terms of a further-fetched cultural message, but that's outside the scope of this brief review).

And it's also nicely short. Don't get me wrong, I am not implying that it's badly written or anything so I am glad that it's not a long read. Quite to the contrary: by abandoning the current seemingly ubiquitous longing to reach the 300+ page range to be called a novel, this story is extremely well-paced, no scenes leaving the uneasy feeling of lack of understanding why they were necessary here.

There's a second installment announced, and I will definitely be on the lookout for that!

4.5 stars

I have been provided with a free eARC of this book through Netgalley, which I am grateful for; the review about is my fully independent opinion of it.

What a fun mixed bag! It has some pretty heavy topics, but I'm sure other reviews will list the content warnings more thoroughly than I could because I FLEW through this book! It was like looking up and realizing you ate a whole sleeve of oreos. This is my first book I've read by Steinmetz, but I can absolutely tell it's a series I'd want to read during fall/winter, some junk food reading you enjoy more than you wanna admit! I personally will probably wait until the right time of year, when that feeling hits me, and binge the rest of Steinmetz's work!

My recommendations:
1. check the content warnings-it is in a soft setting not a dark grimy realistic one, but it's still important no one gets blindsighted by a personal trigger
2. do not be too critical of the setting, this is a world where dragons exist, we don't need to take it too seriously
3. enjoy yourself! This is definitely a fluffy read, so amongst some admittedly heavy topics, enjoy the warm fuzzies that come with it.

Thank you to Steinmetz and Netgalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.