2.5/5 🌟🌟🌟 Oof, I really wanted to like this, but I just don’t.

Arla Reinhart is a brash, hot-headed and immature assassin, who at the age of 18 has managed to become King’s Assassin despite not eating and sleeping properly and lacking basic manners. She hates (loves) the very handsome and snarky ambassador from the neighboring kingdom, because he is the bane of her existence. To be fair, his kingdom killed her parents in the past resulting in her being taken in by the King and his lover (who seem kinda nice and wholesome at first). This is likely how they came to the conclusion that she needed to have some title, to occupy her.

So what went right in this book?

+ The writing is good, the cliches we meet are more due to romance tropes than due to bad writing. But it is romance, make no mistake. Much romance, less of the typical romantasy.
+ The world building is interesting. There is something here to build on, for sure. It’s a little overkill with magic, dragons, evil kings and so on.
+ Despite being incessantly annoying, I kinda like Arla in a weird way. At least, I’m rooting for her even though she is kind of dumb and stubborn.

And why don’t I like it?

- The pacing is… off.. There are plot holes galore and more time is spent on Arla’s not so subtle obsession with Hark. The romance takes over and the world building falls to the way side, which makes the plot feel thin and lacking.
- She’s too young. I think this is more YA than anything else. If it’s your thing, have at it, I just can’t deal with another wonderkind 18 year old. She’s barely adult and her love interest even thinks that at one point (gag).
- The romance is laid on so thick that it’s hard to believe that they’re anything else than hormone driven teenagers. Which is basically what they are. This turns the book more into a classic romance that just happens to have dragons, than an epic fantasy with romance, lust and spice.

If you’re a romance girlie dabbling in fantasy, this is for you! If you’re a fantasy girlie dabbling in romance, skip and move to the next.

Dragonhart is an exciting fantasy romance. The story follows Arla Reinhart, a skilled assassin with a tragic past, who must reluctantly team up with her sworn enemy, Hark Stappen, as the kingdoms collapse around them. Packed with thrilling moments, from royal dinners to tavern brawls, Dragonhart blends enemies-to-lovers tension, magic, and high-stakes adventure. Arla’s journey of revenge, betrayal, and unexpected discoveries will keep readers hooked, especially as dragons and ancient magic rise to the forefront of the kingdom’s survival. An unforgettable read for fans of fantasy romance!

ARC Review: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you for the ARC Netgalley and HarperCollins UK.

Powerful, beautiful, and deadly, my favorite combination for a female lead. I adored the seemingly contradictory traits the female lead had that gave her character more depth. Not afraid to get down and dirty, full on rage mode - then glorious gowns of silk and soft smiles.

The romance in this fantasy book was such a great balance. I enjoyed the slow burn and the banter was 🤌. Fantastic tension between the characters that blended into the story seamlessly.

This had great action scenes - I had so much fun and the pacing of this book could make this a finish the whole book in one go kind of read. Hard to put down.

I enjoyed every twist and turn of this story and CANNOT wait for more.

Highly recommend.

I enjoyed this book; it was easy to follow, the writing was accessible and the plot line good. It had all the makings of a good romantasy.

Our FMC gives all the Celaena Sardothien vibes - she's deadly, stubborn, proud and a little bit vain. She is sold as the kingdom's top assassin who can be beaten by nobody yet throughout the book she seemed to miss really obvious things which I found a bit annoying. She wasn't the easiest character to like but as the book wore on she definitely wore me down. I do love a character with a strong moral purpose, and weirdly for an assassin, she definitely had one of these.

I loved the male main character - he was likeable, swoon worthy and quietly got in with it in the corner. At the beginning he was set up to be the bad guy but you could always sense that there was far more to him than that.

The writing and plot were easy to follow. I do think the pacing was a bit off - lots of important stuff happens in the last 30% of the book and some of it felt a bit rushed.

I am looking forward to reading more of the series - it feels like there are many secrets left to be uncovered and I really want to get to know the side characters more.

DNF @ 30%

I should have known right when I read the word “swagger” this book wasn’t for me. But I pushed to around 30% and I had to stop. I really, really tried but Arla was insufferable. I read reviews in hopes that she character eventually became likable but the majority vote is: she does not.

Thank you HarperCollinsPublishers & NetGalley for this ARC opportunity.

This book and it’s writer definitely have potential (e.g., kings’s assasins, dragons, enemies to lovers are all great things), bur for now unfortunately it’s falling short.

For starters, the story’s flow did not work for me (events that fell wrong for me, plans that seem a bit weird (saving slaves one group at the time, and then deciding that destroying one camp will destroy the whole slave trade?).

Secondly, the premise also didn’t really fit to me, dragons were part of the story in a way, but the premise made them sound to be way more present, yes there is a reason for them not being there but it feels a little lazy.

Moreover, I never really understood people who said a FMC irritated them and that that made the story difficult for them, but this book (unfortunately) made me understand. To be clear I am not an assassin and would not survive a day, but Arla’s (FMC) attitude and behavior are just so out of place and child like that I just cannot get into her. The dual point of view made the story a little better, but not enough to save it for me.

Lastly, the relationship between Arla and Hark (MMC) didn’t feel naturally to me either unfortunately, we hate each other, we are intimate, oh I hate him/her, wait I hate that I kinda don’t hate them, etca.

All in all, the writing in itself doesn’t feel to bad and the ideas are there but there is definitely some room for improvement. Or maybe this book and the author just aren’t for me, and that’s also okay.

Thank you onemorechapterhc for providing me with this arc trough netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Not yet 21, Arla is a ruthless assassin who doesn’t believe in love or magic or dragons. In this book she gets all three of those things. She goes from being a pawn in the hands of her king to finding her own power; she goes from being alone to having friends, and along the way she learns to care for other people. On its own it’s a decent YA story with a rather archetypal main character. The relationship between Arla and Hark is heavy-handed but not poorly done; and that’s kind of my review of the whole book.

The writing is good, the pace is fine, but there’s a lack of subtlety or nuance to a lot of the interactions and events that take place. Black is black, white is white, and the villains are as easy to spot as the good guys, which is fine in a YA read. The plot is also a bit derivative — which is fine, really! — but some of the familiar story beats weren’t given much to make them unique. As this is a debut, I’m looking forward to seeing future books from this author. They have a very readable writing style, and I’m curious to see them develop their own voice, as it were.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC.

Excellent read,
So many twists and turns to keep me hooked.

First time reading Abbie, looking forward to more!

Dragonhart is an enjoyable debut novel with a lot of potential. I read this book in a day as I didn’t want to put it down! If you like strong FMCs, enemies to lovers, forced proximity and political intrigue, I think you would enjoy this book.

The enemies to lovers was well-written and felt gradual and realistic. I loved the journey Arla and Hark went on together. I enjoyed getting some chapters from Hark’s POV too.

I was intrigued by the world and its lore but I do think this could have been developed further. I would have liked to spend more time learning about the dragons but I can see this might come in future books.

Thank you to NetGalley and One More Chapter for an early copy of Dragonhart.

I thoroughly enjoyed this slow-burn enemies-to-lovers story. Arla is a kick-butt assassin for the King of Hadalyn, and Hark is the Ambassador of Kastonia, a neighboring kingdom. She harbors deep hatred for his kingdom after they raided hers years ago, killing her parents and leaving her an orphan.

When Arla is sent on assignment with Hark to investigate missing shipments from both kingdoms, their snarky banter reveals her deep-seated resentments. Together they must unravel political intrigue and betrayal.

Hark is steady and harbors secrets of his own, but he clearly admires Arla for her wit and strength. The chemistry sparks whenever they're together.

This well-written enemies-to-lovers tale maintains excellent pacing throughout—I was never bored. While it doesn't end on a major cliffhanger, there's definitely more story to be told. I will absolutely be waiting for book two.

Thank you to NetGalley and One More Chapter for this copy.

I had an okay time with this. I liked the authors writing style and the premise of the story but something was just missing that would make me love it. I think the FMC didn’t help with this as I just couldn’t get on with her and it just kept taking me out of the story.

“If you’re dying at anyone’s blade, sweetheart, It’ll be mine.”

Dragonhart is an easy to read romantasy that could be a great introduction to the genre, with a lot of potential for this debut author going forward.

Its pacing is steady, and keeps the reader hooked throughout.

Features:
Dragons 🐉
Enemies to Lovers ❤️‍🔥
Easy World Building 🌎
Strong, no nonsense FMC 🗡️
Political Intrigue ⚖️
Magic 🪄

Dragonhart starts off slow, with a heavy emphasis on Arla’s assassin title and her deep hatred for magic and the opposing kingdom—repeatedly so. At first, I struggled to connect with her, finding her character a bit one-note and lacking chemistry with others. However, as the story progressed, I found myself drawn in by the twists, the evolving journey, and Arla’s eventual growth.

While the pacing in the beginning was a hurdle, the latter half of the book delivered engaging moments that kept me hooked. It may not have been a perfect read for me, but it was a solid debut with strong world-building and an interesting arc. If you can push through the slower start, there’s definitely an enjoyable story waiting on the other side.

I was initially pretty intruguied the premise of the book (we need more dragons in literature!), and normal I love the strong woman archetype. Unfortunately this book did not live up to my expectations. The writing was overly simple, and the main character was brash and violent without purpose, it seemed like her position as an assassin and her violent and explicit behavior was merely used for shock value. Despite the attempt at backstory, I really felt no connection to her or her emotions. Her relationship with the king seemed to make no sense, as another reviewer mentioned, a king raising a child as an assassin would not allow her to behavior like she does. Her anger with the main love interest seemed to spring out of no where, despite her proclaimed prejudice against the kingdom he was from and their role in the death of her parents, their arguements would escalate from zero to sixty with seemingly no catalyst. Overall, I didn't feel connected to the writing or any of the characters, and despite the explicit violence it read like a YA novel. I am sad that I was so disappointed because the premise seemed great as I said! Unfortunately, it read less inspired by Throne of Glass and more like an attempt at a recreation (with the addition of dragons and their bond like Fourth Wing). I hope to see Eaton's growth as a writer though, as I can see that she has great ideas and lots of potential!

This was unfortunately not for me.

It felt a little too similar to other fantasy books. I wasn’t interested in the FMC enough to be compelled to read the next book.

There are some really good ideas here, and I can see the author's talent. However, the protagonist, Arla, actively detracted from my enjoyment. I found her to be inconsistent, overly angry, and frustratingly illogical. The world-building and plot had potential, but Arla's character made it difficult to appreciate them. It's a shame, because the bones of a great story are present, but the execution of this main character was a miss for me.

4 stars ⭐️ loved the dragons!! This is a fast paced book but I would have loved a little more time on the romance. Overall I really enjoyed the book!

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins OMC for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

💕 DragonHart by Abbie Eaton 💕

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

✨️ Review ✨️

Abbie Eaton’s Dragon Hart is an ambitious fantasy novel that weaves together themes of destiny, identity, and the enduring bond between dragons and their riders. While the book presents an intriguing premise and engaging world-building, it struggles with pacing and character depth, making it a mixed reading experience.

Set in a world where dragon riders are revered and feared, Dragon Hart follows the journey of a protagonist bound by fate to a powerful dragon. Eaton excels in crafting a rich, immersive setting, filled with lore that hints at a well-thought-out history of dragon-human relationships. The descriptions of dragons, their abilities, and their connection to their riders are some of the book’s strongest elements. Fans of dragon-centric fantasy will appreciate the attention to these details.

However, while the world itself is intriguing, the execution of the plot is uneven. The book starts with an exciting hook, but the momentum slows significantly in the middle, leading to sections that feel repetitive or overly drawn out. Key events sometimes lack the emotional impact they should have because the pacing doesn’t allow for enough tension to build.

The protagonist is likable but doesn’t stand out among the many dragon-rider heroes seen in fantasy. Their journey of self-discovery is engaging, but their growth feels predictable rather than deeply transformative. Side characters, including allies and antagonists, are often underdeveloped, leaving their motivations unclear or one-dimensional. This is particularly noticeable with the villains, who sometimes fall into typical fantasy tropes without enough complexity to make them truly compelling

I unfortunately had to soft DNF this book around 25%, I do want to come back to it at a later date to try it again however I am finding the writing a little immature for the plot of the book and the FMC is very confusing, she is so young and acts it but she has this great position due to her skills...but her skills keep getting beat?? The dynamic between the FMC and MMC is also very awkward but that is the part that makes me want to come back to it later to see how their relationship develops because right now it is just a bit too cringey for my taste,

Dragonhart is a stunning debut filled with warmth and humour balancing intensity, loss and some difficult themes (please check trigger warnings but be aware that they will come with spoilers).
I instantly liked our FMC Arla, who is unapologetic in what she has done to survive. This is a unique fantasy in that our FMC does not believe in magic, and the reader is left wondering whether we agree with her. There is plenty of political intrigue, more than one found family, and a beautiful slow burn enemies to lovers romance. Arla’s POV is cut with snippets from MMC Hark, which perfectly balance out the reader’s knowledge and the yearning is exactly what you want in a slow burn.