This story was beautifully told - in the style of a fairy tale or folklore. From the first pages, you understand as the reader that by the end of the story you will have learned an important lesson - so you must pay attention. The hero has a lot to lot to learn.

The prose, the sapphic love story, and the threads woven by the author to tell us this story were well conceived and well executed.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Neon Yang's Brighter than Scale, Swifter than Flame follows the story of a dragon hunting hero named Yeva who has never shown her face to the public. When whispers of dragons send her to Quanbao, she is faced with a fiery battle between love and duty.

Being a novella, this book is short and keeps it's focus on the most important elements of the story. Reading this will give you all the action that comes with slaying dragons and a beautiful journey of the characters finding their identities. Despite the short length of the book, it still has a world you can lose yourself in and characters that face challenges and grow. Although, I felt the middle of the book had room to do a little bit more. With the pages we had, some of them could have been utilized for a little more plot and character development.

Neon Yang's writing in this novella transports you into this stories world. Reading this made me feel like I was sitting in the world with the characters reading one of the legends they grew up with. It's the type of book that will make you forget you're reading as soon as you start it.

I fell in love with this books concept and soon as I read the synopsis. The execution was almost exactly what I was hoping for. With the main character being a dragon hunter, dragons obviously play a major role in the story. The way they're incorporated into every part of the world gives it all so much depth. There was just enough world-building to draw readers in without any negative effects from the shorter page count a novella allows. The character development is what stood out the most to me. We watch the characters grow and learn and change over such a short time, but it never felt rushed or unfinished. And of course, the sapphic love story was incredible. The way Yeva and Sookhee's love played into the plot and the development of the characters was wonderful. There were secrets and challenges they had to face, but they came out of them stronger than ever.

Every good story needs a strong ending. The last few chapters of this novella are everything I could have wished for. The action and the plot twist and that ending were as satisfying as any ending ever could be. My heart was pounding for the final chapters of this novella. This story starts and ends strong.

Even though Brighter than Scale, Swifter than Flame is under two-hundred pages, it will leave you with all the passion and feelings a full-length novel would. If you love dragons, flaming-hot action, and queer love stories, this is the novella for you.

Review on Goodreads (sophreadingbooks https://www.goodreads.com/sophreadingbooks) as of 1/19/2025
Review on Instagram (sophiesreading https://www.instagram.com/sophiesreading/) expected 2/25/2025

Dragons and lady knights and a sapphic romance? Sign me up.

In 180 pages, Brighter than Scale, Swifter than Flame accomplishes what some full length novels simply cannot. Neon Yang is a master storyteller whose prose is as poignant and beautiful as the world that they've created within the pages of this book is. The characters are easily the most compelling parts of this story though.

Yeva and Sookhee are fascinating on their own and incredible together. Though this book felt both longer (in scope) and shorter (because of my enjoyment) than it actually is, their individual and collective growth over the course of Brighter than Scale was incredibly well-paced. I also love, love, love lady knights (see my obsession with The Fireborne Blade and The Starving Saints) and Yeva is no exception to that. Her overall character arc was immensely rewarding and there was nothing that I loved more than seeing her reconnect with the parts of herself that were sanded away to be the perfect weapon that her empire demanded her to be.

I loved the dragon mythos as well and could easily see this world and the lore behind it setting the foundations for a longer story in the future (though I might just be hopelessly optimistic for more stories of this caliber).

That said, I do wish that some of the scenes had been fleshed out a little more. In particular, the moment that Yeva's face was revealed to Sookhee didn't feel as compelling emotionally as it had the potential to be. Her mask was a massive part of her character and I felt like the struggle she had with being revealed to other people was diminished in an otherwise charged scene. Then again, this might just be me projecting my belief that this could have been a fantastic full-length novel.

All in all, this is a book to add to your radar! Super excited to get my hands on a physical copy when it releases.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own!

While I loved the premise of this book: Sapphic, dragons, human connection, and a rich world, I honestly did not enjoy the writing. At times it felt choppy and short, and other times I felt it dragging on. While I feel there’s a lot of potential here, and some readers may enjoy the writing style, it was not for me.

What a well told novella.

Brighter than Scale, Swifter than Flame is an excellent read for those tired of recent trends of dragon use in fiction.

It's written in that way that feels authentically folklorish and the emotion imbued into each chapter is clear.

Honestly that is my favorite aspect of how this fantasy is written. Yeva is a character presented with an objective clarity to who she is and how she acts.

It's beautiful and cathartic. A story told as graceful and mighty as the dragons in It's pages.

There is nothing in this text that doesn't feel like an integral being to the beating heart of its story. To remove any piece would be to have it bleed out and that is why this is my first five star read of the year.

Thank you to Netgalley and Tor Books for letting me read this beautiful little book early!

A story of belonging, acceptance, and love set in a world with competing dragon lore, this book checked all of my boxes. Our main character, Yeva, is a legendary masked guildknight for the Empire and is committed to her duty that was thrust upon her at a young age. She no longer thinks about her home close to the border with the reclusive nation of Quanbao. But following rumors of a dragon escaping the guildknights by crossing the border in Quanbao, Yeva is sent as a envoy to the king, Lady Sookhee. Yeva is no diplomat and constantly finds herself wrong-footed in this country where she feels like she could belong (her mother being from there) but her customs from a lifetime in the Empire clash. Just when she feels she might not truly belong anywhere, Lady Sookhee takes an interest in her and through their emerging friendship, become even closer and Yeva begins to enjoy her new life and almost-but-not-quite forget her mission. Lady Sookhee has a recurring sickness that requires her to go into isolation once a month and Yeva uses this time alone to explore the caves under the palace. While she never finds anything of note, she remains suspicious. As a reader, you also quickly being to realize that all is not what it seems with Sookhee's illness. A dragon is being harbored somewhere in the palace and Yeva is determined to find and kill it, but little does she know that she was never told the whole truth. While I ultimately guessed the twist much earlier, I still enjoyed the story as it raced to its conclusion. Yeva and Sookhee's friendship and love was fast, but sweet and I knew from the get-go that I would root for Yeva to stay in Quanbao for good.

Fast-paced, intimate story-telling, and vividly portrayed settings and relationships, this is the perfect book for fans of Studio Ghibli and Samantha Shannon's Roots of Chaos series.

First off, the cover art is beautiful. The artist did a really good job with it - it was definitely one of the reasons I wanted to read this book.

I was already mourning how short this book was when I finished the first page. I loved the world-building of this eternal conflict between men and dragons, and an order of dragon slayers that became integral to society to surmount the threat. I also really enjoyed the main character's struggles with her identity. She forged a place for herself in the order, but felt like she needed to hide because of the way others perceived her due to her differences. She struggles to find meaning and balance to her life when she is left without constant duties to perform. The majority of the plot of the book focuses on how livelihoods can affect the core of our being, changing us forever, and how sometimes we get lost in upholding our sense of purpose. I also really liked reading this story because most "monster slaying" focused stories obviously have men as their main characters, so it was really enjoyable having a woman be a legendary warrior.

Really loved this book and finished it within a few hours of being accepted to read it - couldn't put it down. Thank you to Netgalley and to Tor for letting me read this beautiful story!

I feel so conflicted about this book. because on one hand I love sapphic books immensely. I also love books with dragons. The world and plot were super fun to read too. But the writing at times felt like I was being told things and spoon fed information. It felt a tad distant at the end. I wish I knew how to put it better into words. But overall, I liked it. I would def recommend it. I might give the final copy another go to see if anything changes

I loved this new novella from Neon Yang! I'm a huge fan of their Tensorate series - they're a great writer of short stories which can be hard to do with limited pages. I was extremely pleased with how this book turned out - it has some traditional fantasy tropes like the farmboy (girl, in this case) manifests powers and is whisked away to the kingdom to train. Still, it quickly diverges into themes of colonialism, power, self-confidence, and that good good sapphic love. And of course, DRAGONS! I definitely recommend checking this one out when it's published in May 2025.

🌈Queer rep: FF main couple, lesbian love interest. Secondary lesbian characters.

( smacks the novella ) this bad boy can hold so many treasures… alright so if you’re looking for lesbians, this is THEE novella. it’s a novella & novellas are always going to be tight & perhaps leave you wanting a little more, but there was also a lot of good stuff here both in worldbuilding as well as in delicious characterization (yall know i love when CHARACTERS are CHARACTER-ING). our mc yeva was a delight. more lesbians, pls, neon yang, i will read all of them

Thank you so much to NetGalley for an ARC of this novella!

I’ve never encountered this authors work before, and if you are in the same boat I highly suggest picking this up first before moving on to Yang’s full novels. This is a fast paced. dramatic and interesting sapphic fantasy, with dragonslayers and knights. Yang spun the classic dragonslayer fantasy into something fresh and new, and I really enjoyed it. I just wish this was longer; I feel as if the characters could be even more fleshed out with more pages to work with. I thought Yeva as a character was very interesting, and we could clearly see her motivations in her magic and abilities, but I just wanted a little bit more from our MC. The novella was full of women, sapphic romance, political intrigue, and magic — this was something new that is needed in the fantasy genre to freshen things up. It was believable, and magical; I will be sure to pick up Yang’s longer works in the future.

(3.5 rounded)

this will be a novella that a lot of people will love. it is about understanding, connection and creating your identity. there’s a lot more that this is about as well like loyalty, etc. but there’s something that pricks at the heart while reading this. i won’t lie, it was a short novella and i still skim read some parts that were a bit boring but that’s not all of it. i found joy in the relationship of Yeva and Sookhee but also wanted to dive deeper into her relationship with Emory. Because it’s a novella and you only get a snippet in time, i think the plot and the arc worked well for this novel.

Firstly, the people have spoken!! This is a stunning cover!! Secondly, it’s also a gorgeous novel!! There’s so much to like in this book! like there's lesbians and dragons… It literally contains a very interesting sword that activates with magical blood? like that’s so cool! I actually liked it so much I started to be sad that it was only a novella, which just means I need a spinoff book in this world, and I need to read more from Neon Yang. I also really liked how beautifully this was written. Ahh many compliments to this book! special thanks to Tor and netgalley for letting me read this as an e-arc! I really liked this fantasy lesbian novella<3 please support this book on its publication in May!!

3.5 stars rounded up.

If you are a fan of classic dragon slaying fantasy, but you want it wrapped in beautiful prose and metaphors...look no further. I will say some of the metaphors felt like they were there just to be there, but in such a short story it didn't pull me out of the story. If you are a fan of a story with the narrative framing device of someone telling you the truth behind a legendary figure...this is also for you. I really appreciated going on the emotional journey of self-discovery with the protagonist of this story. Taken from her home at a young age due to her ability to channel dragon-slaying magic she is weaponized by a foreign empire on their quest to slay all dragons in the world. She is sent on a diplomatic mission to a kingdom near her hometown and her training clashes with the worldview she grew up with, and it is such a poignant journey. I don't want to say more than that as it is a short standalone novella, if that at all sounds intriguing I would highly recommend you pick it up.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me a copy to review via NetGalley.

My first time reading Neon Yang and certainly not the last! This is a novella about a dragon-slaying knight who is sent to a neighboring nation to, of course, slay another dragon—but what she discovers during her stay there will change her life forever.

This is a very solid, short read. Yeva's character arc is emotionally satisfying, the prose flows smoothly, and there is a very sweet (if a bit surface-level) romance between her and the neighboring country's girl-king, Lady Sookhee.

I do think this book's page count falls at an awkward length; a touch too long to justify the telling-not-showing narration that crops up more than once, but too short to be able to properly expand on the worldbuilding, side characters, and romance. The twist at the end is wntirely predictable, but that didn't necessarily detract from my overall enjoyment. Overall, I think this is a short and sweet 3.5/5 stars, and I am curious to try Yang's other novellas in the future.

Brighter than Scale, Swifter than flame is a queer novella about a famed guild knight of Mithrandon, the dragon hunter Yeva, who is sent away from home at just thirteen after she’s discovered to have a magical gift. The story follows her as an adult as she is sent on a mission to a kingdom close to her childhood home. There, she soon finds herself drawn to the girl king and a culture similar to the one she was forced to leave behind.

There is a lot to like about this novella, but don’t go into it expecting a lot of action or dragon hunting. Brighter than Scale, Swifter than Flame is a very introspective little book that is primarily considered with Yeva’s internal conflict as a knight struggling to decide where her loyalties lie and a woman uprooted, now trying to reconnect with her culture.

Yang accomplishes a lot of worldbuilding in a very little space, but what ultimately hindered my enjoyment was the pacing and predictability of the plot. There aren’t really any surprises, and I was hoping for a little more out of the ending. I also struggled to connect with Lady Sookhee, whose character has a lot of potential but feels flat.

Oddly, this felt a lot like a gothic romance. It has all the right elements — secret tunnels, a powerful and mysterious lover who seems to be hiding something… If you want a high fantasy Crimson Peak with dragons, I’d give this one a try.

Neon Yang wrote this perfectly and enjoyed the world that was created. It had that element that I wanted from an Asian fantasy element. It was everything that I was looking for and enjoyed the characters and the way it worked with the plot. I was engaged with the dragon hunter element to this.

Thank you NetGalley and Tor/Forge for sending me an ARC!

I had such a great time with this story. It’s a short novella, but it packs a punch.

A queer, legendary dragonslayer falls in love with a girl-King, while a dragon-filled mystery unfolds. It’s a beautiful story about embracing your identity and questioning your beliefs.

I’m not a particularly huge fan of dragon books, but this changed that for me. I would do anything to have more books set in this world. I loved everything from the writing, to the dragon lore, to the pace of the novella.

I don’t really stop to read novellas, but I want to get to more in the new year. I find the pacing works better for me and my short attention span. It’s a game changer. But it also made me realize I avoided novellas/short stories because I thought they couldn’t possibly hold up against a full novel. Oh how wrong I was.

Highly recommend and I’m excited to check out more of Neon Yang’s writing.

Neon Yang is an author I finally got to reading recently, and I’m so glad they’re finally on my radar cuz their storytelling is so good! I love the world built in Brighter Than Flame and Yeva is such an interesting character. I love her journey and the way she smashes down who she was growing up when she’s sent to the Imperial city, and how going to Quanbao opened her back up to softness and her past. The romance between Yeva and Sookhee is almost quiet in its development, but I liked the way their care for one another came through. I guessed very early on what the situation was with the dragon Yeva was sent to hunt, but the execution was still satisfying, and the end was such a good conclusion. Loved this book, and looking forward to more stories from Neon Yang.

What a beautiful ride this was, short, sweet, and thought provoking.

This is a story we have seen time and again in the real world reimagined in a story rich in culture, fantasy, and dragons. Our main character Yeva is removed from her home as a child because of a power she possesses that is used to hunt and kill dragons. After an encounter where she kills a baby dragon leaves her handicapped she is transported to a world she doesn't know do become a killer for a kingdom she doesn't love.

Her life becomes a hollow series of duties where she pushes herself to the max to be more, better, legendary, to fill the void in her that was left after leaving her home and becoming disabled. In this new land her internal and external value is calibrated by what she can provide and not who she is. She truly identified as this powerful knight to the point where she can not take off her armour. She must hide her true self in order to fit into the mold she's made herself.

A fateful series of events has her traveling back to her homeland to investigate the potential of dragons there and she is met with the uncomfortable truth that her life isn't at all what she thought it was and the skin of her warrior self starts to feel too tight. Without ruining the story this part of the story truly is beautiful and a little heart breaking.

This is a story of self discovery, love, and about reclaiming lost/stolen identity. It is short and very powerful. I thoroughly enjoyed this magical journey, it will have me thinking long after I set down this book.