A satisfying conclusion to the Dragon Scales duology! With the worldbuilding already accomplished, Emberclaw picks up more quickly than Dragonfall. We get a very healthy dose of yearning from our main characters without it feeling too prolonged or overdone (bless). The side characters really shine here, too—both the old and new. This book connects a lot of the unresolved mysteries from the first book to new characters in book two, which makes every part of Emberclaw feel intentional. There is a lot going on in this book plot-wise, but I never felt lost, and everything came together smoothly.

I’m so charmed by the society’s treatment of gender, the enemies-to-friends storyline, and the dragon lore in this duology. If I see the Barnes & Noble in employee who recommended Dragonfall to me, I will surely thank them.

Also, shout out to DAW for the perfectly formatted ARC. It really makes a difference to the reading experience, especially in a book like this, where the use of italics is an important signifier.

4.5 stars ⭐️

Firstly, I’d like to thank Daw Books and Netgalley for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This is a fantastic and satisfying conclusion to a unique and epic fantasy duology.I read Dragonfall about a year ago and enjoyed it enough to want to pick up Emberclaw as I was curious as to where this series was going to go.

I definitley enjoyed this more than Dragonfall, particularly the academic setting and the trials following Arcady’s storyline. Once again, the world and lore is rich and beautifully done, and the use of different tenses between the three/four perspectives really adds to the emotions and connections with the characters. Everen’s perspective especially really helped unwind the romance aspect, but Arcady’s perspective was a firm favourite of mine. Arcady is witty, determined and headstrong, yet still had their flaws.

Generally, some aspects and terminology was difficult to follow. Because the world is so rich, it is challenging to keep up with a lot of things, particularly with the backstory of Loc. however I did end up grasping it more halfway through and this really let me enjoy the rest of the story, a lot more than I did with Dragonfall.

The romance aspect was well done, and I certainly enjoyed the slow burn, yearning of it which is actually very rare to find in fantasy books nowadays. The queer-norm world is also something I’m pleased to see, especially as a reader who enjoys queer romance, and an author who also writes queer romance.

Overall Lam writes with an exquisit, lyrical story with complex characters, beautiful romance, and rich worlds. Lam is a talented author, linking everything back in to a satisfying conclusion to a fantastic duology!!!

I was so excited to be approved for this! I read Dragonfall last month and had already lamented that I would have to wait til Spring for Emberclaw.

Emberclaw was a worthy follow up to Dragonfall. The beginning felt a little slow to me, but I think that’s because I was anxious for more of the energy Arcady and Everett had when they were together. I was not disappointed!

I liked the addition of the three trials to focus on while plot lines developed. They all came together for an ending that was worth the wait.

Important to note there were some editing mistakes and even some large errors, such as Lowe first being referred to as, “she”, but then switched to, “he”.

Emberclaw
by: L.R. Lam

My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This sequel to the brilliantly crafted Dragonfall did not disappoint. We pick up right where we left off with our favorite nonbinary thief, Arcady, and our favorite grumpy dragon, Everen. They are exactly where we left them at the end of Dragonfall, which is to say, things are not going great. However, over the course of the book we get action, adventure, and even a bit of romance. This multi-POV story is epic and the world that Lam has built continues to astound me! This is not one to miss!

Note: The author was kind enough to create a recap chapter for all the events of Dragonfall at the start of the book, so a reread is not necessary (though surely would be enjoyable)!

A must read if you like:
🐉 Multi POV
🗡️ Rich World Building
🐉 Academia Setting
🗡️ Prophecies

Thank you to NetGalley and DAW Books for providing me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

*Emberclaw* by L.R. Lam is a dazzling finale to the Dragon Scales duology! Arcady’s daring infiltration of the arcane University of Vatra and their fight to prove their worth are gripping, while Everen’s struggle to reclaim his place among dragons is both heartbreaking and inspiring. The magical trials, intense stakes, and rich world-building, complete with dragons and wraiths, kept me hooked from start to finish. The bond between Arcady and Everen adds a layer of emotional depth, making this a perfect read for fans of epic fantasy with heartfelt character arcs and thrilling action!

Now that Arcady has been able to chang their seal and been admitted to the Citadel its all magic classes and making allies in an effort to fit in. But then the chancellors announce they will be holding trials for full and half scholarships, which Arcady cannot afford to miss. There’s just a few problems: they are being blackmailed by Larkin to investigate one of their professors and steal their research into The Elixir of Life, they’re dreaming about Everyn in increasingly realistic scenarios that might not just be dreams, and their lab partner is probably the assassin that almost killed them before.

There’s a wealth of new chatacters in book two—or should I say just a bunch of wealthy characters since all the nobility’s children attend school with Arcady now—but also the return of some of the old ones we were already familiar with. I wish I could say that I grew attached to them but to be quite honest I found them to be rather out of touch and self-absorbed. I wasn’t even particularly interested in Sorin’a pov chapters until she began to rebel from Magnes’s control and that was halfway through the book. I was far more invested in Arcady and Everen’s reunion and the mending of their relationship.

The romance here was perfect. Despite betraying each other in Dragonfall, Arcady and Everen spent the first half of the book hopelessly pining and longing for each other. It was so sweet. The fact that their bond even let them share dreams (although at first they were just guilty fantasies) just proved how deep their love for each other ran. When they did reunite their devotion to each other was unbreakable. They shared each others’ fears and albitions, the trust between them finally healed. I would have prefered a bit more of an epilogue detailing what happened to them after they defeated Magnes and brought the dragons back to Loc—perhaps LR Lam may write us a short story or novella about this? Did Everen and Arcady just live apart while he continued his studies? Did the dragons join the ruling consuls? Was war aboided with Jask? Who is raising the baby hatchlings and will they get bonded humans of their own? So many questions without answers!

My only issue with this book was the setting of the Citadel. It actually progresses very well with plenty of character development and action sequences, but honestly I am over the magic school lessons and the deadly trials the students end up facing to prove their knowledge and ability(it has always felt a little too much like Harry Potter to me). I understand it was all a trap set up by Magnes to capture Arcady and Everen but I wanted less magic lessons and more actually figuring out how to stop the Dreamer from awakening. Also the plot with Larkin’s blackmail kind of just fizzled out, making me feel like it was forgotten and just wrapped up quickly to avoid the plot hole.

Overall I enjoyed the book and would reccommend this duology to my friends and followers.

As a big fan of DRAGONFALL I was absolutely thrilled to receive the ebook of this sequel! This is the completion of the duology and it was such wonderful fun to read. Magical academia, heist, dragons -- what more can you ask for? I can't wait to get the hard copy - this was fantastic and I can't recommend enough!!

Thank you to NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book is captivating! I was fortunate enough to read it this week, and I simply couldn't put it down. Without a doubt, it’s my book of the year—it's that amazing!

Although there’s a long wait until the release of Emberclaw, it will definitely be worth it. The story is addictive, intense, and deadly delicious. Personally, Emberclaw is my favourite in the duology.

Reading it brought me joy, especially as I learned more into the lives of the characters, particularly Arcady, Everen, and Sorin. The writing is beautiful, and the story lingers after you turn the last page.

A big thank you to NetGalley and the author for providing an eARC!

At the end of Dragonfall, I knew that it was not the end of Arcady and Everen; I knew that Sorin had a bigger part to play; I knew that Magnes was plotting something; and I knew that there was a reason that the alternating narration in the book was done in first person for Arcady and Everen and third person for all of the other character's view points. Last things first, the narration continues the style as in the prior book and the explanation to my question is provided at the end of this story (I had guessed it, but won't spoil for anyone who hasn't). Emberclaw picks up with a quick summary of the prior book which I appreciate in a sequel if it has been a while since I read the previous books (it is a bit of an info dump but as a separate section, skip it if you don't need it). The writing and pacing were better than Dragonfall and it was easier to get absorbed in the action and plot of this book. There is a good blend of action, adventure, romance, magic and dragons to the tale and I found the ending satisfying. Anyone who liked the first book of this duology will surely enjoy the conclusion. Those that haven't read Dragonfall but want a different take on dragon rider fantasies should start there.
I received access to this eARC thru NetGalley (for which I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher, DAW) for an honest review. The opinion expressed here is my own.