I adored this novella, which can best be described as “The Mandalorian but sapphic in an east-Asian inspired fantasy with dragon lore.” The prose felt a bit like someone telling you a fantastic myth, making for a lovely read that I looked very much forward to picking up every time I had a chance. Wonderful themes of discovering yourself, nature vs. nurture, duty vs. love, and doing what is right rather than what is necessarily expected.

Thank you Tor for the ARC!

This 176 page novella made me feel more than some 400 page novels. There is so much emotion and inner turmoil packed within these pages that I was on the edge of my seat for almost the whole thing and could not put it down once I had started.

This is such a unique take on a dragon story and is infused with so much heart. Yang is amazing at packing so much action, emotion and growth into so few pages. By the end I was left wondering how I hadn't just read a full novel. Between the expertly crafted passage of time, emotion development and character growth, I don't know how it was all packed into such a small space without feeling cramped or rushed in the slightest.

My biggest concern when going into a novella or short story is that the plot or character development will feel unfinished or rushed, or that I will be left wanting so much more, and both of those concerns are for nought with this one. While I fell so deeply in love with these characters, I feel satisfied with their arcs and development that I am not left wanting for more. There is so much world building and, again, character development. done in these pages that I am amazed at how succinct and satisfying everything ended up being.

This is truly the perfect novella. Perfect characters that worm their way into your heart, perfect plot that leaves you breathless and wondering what comes next, perfect ending that has your heart aching in the best way possible. Perfection all around.

Amazing! This novella really packed a punch! I throughly enjoyed this book. I loved the characters and story and I wish there was more. This book gave me everything I was looking for. The Asian inspired medieval setting was great and I felt it really added to the mystery of the story. I feel like this novella is perfect for fans of the Mandalorian and the aesthetic of Blue Eye Samurai.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing this ARC.

Arc received from Netgalley for an honest review

3.5 Stars

We all love books about dragons don't we? Brighter than Scale Swifter than Flame is a fantasy novella that has dragons, but it also has opposites attract, queer romance, and a beautiful world set within.

At the start of this book I found myself really interested in these characters and the world around them. Yeva is our first character and the one we focus primarily on. A dragon hunter who's task it is to inquire about the secrets harbored by the neighboring Queen, Yeva is my personal favourite character of the story.

Yeva is a strong willed character with a soft heart. Despite the length of this book, you see her shift through not only her internal battles, but physical too. Alongside her we also read about Sookhee whom has her own difficult challenges that she faces alongside Yeva.

I liked the relationship between the two and enjoyed aspects of the culture situated in Sookhee's Court. The reason I didn't give this novella a higher rating is because the second half of the book was a little fast due to the shorter length.

If it was a little longer, there would be room for more character growth, world building, and slower build to the climactic scenes. That being said, I enjoyed my time reading this book and liked how fast it read despite my critiques. Most fantasy books are very long series that take me years to complete. Reading a fantasy novella that manages to properly pull off the relationship and plot of two characters is highly commendable.

Please check this book out in May 2025 if you're interested. The cover alone sold me, but the content within is also worth a try.

I really enjoyed this novella. It had great writing, great story, world, and characters. I kinda wish it was a little longer to develop some of the relationships in it, but I would recommend to novella lovers.

Thank you to publishers for an ecopy in exchange for my honest review.

A quick sapphic novella with romance, medieval Asian inspired world building, disability representation and of course, dragons.
While the ‘surprise’ was pretty evident it didn’t take away from the story for me. I still wanted to know about the kingdoms, the characters and their relationships.
Kudos for the disability representation that isn’t magically fixed and the queer representation in a queer normative world.
Fun fantasy read that would be great between longer reads when you’re craving some self exploration, some romance and lesbian knights.

This is a beautiful, Asian-inspired fantasy story. I loved the world that Yang has built and the way they portrayed the blossoming relationship between Yeva and Sookhee. The prose in this is poetic and I loved every second of it.

Yeva was thirteen when she killed her first dragon. She quickly became famous for being the best dragon killer and most mysterious guildknight in the kingdom. Then the emperor hears a rumor that there is a dragon living in Quentona, a neighboring kingdom. Rather than risk a war by sending a large group, he compromises and sends his best, Yeva. But Quentona and its queen were nothing like anything Yeva had known. In the months she’s there, Yeva learns to be more than a weapon, but this peace may be unsustainable. After all, Yeva is a dragon hunter and Quentona reveres dragons. For the first time in her life, the masked guildknight of Mithrandon must decide where her loyalties lie.

This is such a fun, wacky fantasy novella that left me wanting more. If the Mandalorian was queer and Asian - sounds like a great premise to me. I liked the romance in the story and the short nature of it made it a fun ride.

4.5

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with an eARC!

This story follows Yeva as they travel to the isolated nation of Quanbao, a nation that is rumored to worship dragons. Yeva is a strange being to this land as their face is never seen to the public, but also because their birthright has called them to slay dragons. We follow Yeva as they become accustomed to this new long while they attempt to woo the queen, Lady Sookhee.

The novella gives off old school fantasy vibes with a knight in shining armor, travels to faraway lands, dragon-slaying, and an enchanting queen. Yang’s smooth writing, engaging narrative, and shockingly well-paced plot made this novel incredibly enjoyable. Typically the world building can fall a little short in such a small book, but that’s wasn’t the case for this one.

At the very core of this story is a message of self-discovery, accepting who you are, and stepping out of your comfort zone while also interweaving a sapphic romance.

Overall, a lovely and comforting read!

A great queer fantasy - as expected from Neon Yang. Brighter than Scale, Swifter than Flame's worldbuilding and character work is amazing for ~176 pages. A slower ending would've made the tension of the last conflict more satisfying but Yang's focus on identity and integrity still shines through.

A lush fantasy novella with interesting worldbuilding and a sapphic romance, Brighter than Scale, Swifter than Flame is intriguing and unputdownable.

First of all, you can almost taste this thing. Food is described so often nd with such detail that it made me hungry. It was easy to picture what the places looked like, as Yang’’s descriptions were plentiful and concrete. I loved the world-building in that regard.

Yeva and Sookhee are great characters. We get a mini bildungsroman of Yeva’s life before the story starts, of how and why she became a dragon knight, which relates to her decisions/indecision later in the story. It also serves to explain certain world-building aspects. Sookhee is less fleshed out than Yeva, but is a great foil for her. She's the opposite to Yeva in a way, as she’s rather physically frail, confident, sensual, and cheerful compared to Yeva's stoic, closed-off, serious persona. Is it a grumpy-sunshine romance? A little bit.

In terms of the plot, I liked that it was languid. The tension behind Yeva’s growing disinterest in her duties and her growing love towards the nation she’s sent to keep an eye on was palpable and understandable. Yet, there isn’t really a twist. Something I assumed from the start ended up happening, though there were some minor red herrings along the way. Still, this didn’t stop me from devouring this book with my eyes.

For a story about a dragon hunter, there are very few scenes of actual fighting. If you were looking for an action fantasy, this isn’t it, but it also didn't bother me!

The prose is just lovely, which paired well with the tangible descriptions.

To wrap up, this novella was a lovely little treat, a scrumptious snack of a story, and I’m so happy I got an ARC! Love that cover!

Brighter than Scale, Swifter than Flame is a queer fantasy full of dragon hunting and sapphic romance, a new legend is unfolding

Overall I felt like the story moved a little too slowly and I found myself skimming through the pages to get to parts of the story that had more going on. I think it was a sweet story, very fairytale like. Pretty quick read as well.

4.5/5 stars
Recommended if you like: epic fantasy, dragons, sapphic romance, quests

This review has been posted to Goodreads as of 4/3 and my review blog as of 4/8, and will be posted to Instagram on 4/12.

Despite this being less than 200 pages, it had the feel of an epic fantasy novel. I really liked how Yang chose to narrate the story. The beginning and ending were told in a distance 3rd person narration, as if we were being told a mythical tale from long ago. The bulk of the novel is from the limited 3rd person and focuses on Yeva. We get to see part of her childhood and what led to her becoming the Masked Guildknight.

I liked getting to see a couple of different cultures in this book and the way each of them seemed to think of dragons. Yeva is a child when she first comes across a dragon, and at the time it seems mostly like a pest, albeit one to have a healthy fear of. As a guildknight in a different country, dragons are seen solely as threats, something that needs to be dealt with for the good of the people. Then, in Quanbao, dragons are revered and it is a sad thing that there are now so few of them.

Yeva definitely comes into the situation in Quanbao with a certain way of thinking. While she recognizes that Quanbao has very different customs regarding dragons than the Sun Empire does, she still has the set of beliefs regarding dragons that she grew up with. Part of her journey in this book is learning to expand beyond just one understanding of the creatures. Related to this, I feel like getting to know some of the people in Quanbao that her mother knew also allows her to open up new ways of understanding her childhood and who she is as a person.

The couple things that did take this rating down from 5 stars for me was 1) the twist felt pretty obvious from the get-go. I'm not sure whether this was intentional or not, but if it was, I don't think it really worked in this case. 2) The ending felt very quick and had a deus ex machina feel to it. I would've liked to see, at the very least, more emotional tension between some of the characters prior to the conclusion. Things just felt very clean. And 3), though this is perhaps the most minor of them all, people kept using the wrong term for Lady Sookhee. She is the reigning monarch, therefore she goes by majesty, not highness, and no one, not even her own court, seems to realize that.

I really enjoyed this book! It has sapphic love, dragons, secret identity. The world building was good for it being a novella, and i liked how well the story flowed! Highly recommend

thank you netgalley & the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review <3

I know this is a novella but I wish this was a full book! The story was so good but unfortunately it felt super rushed due to it being a novella. The romance and plot itself was faced paced to the point where I was feeling like I missing something at times, but I did enjoyed the romance and the unique plot!

This was a nice little fantasy novella with queer characters, dragons, and romance. It's more of a cozy fantasy, less emphasis on dragon slaying and more emphasis on the main character's internal struggles with identity, role, and allegiance, and their blossoming romantic relationship. If you're looking for an epic quest with lots of action and plot, I'd look elsewhere.

I'm not a full fledged fantasy reader, so a novella like this is perfect for me to just get a taste of fantasy without the massive worldbuilding, loads of characters, political alliances, etc. I haven't read Neon Yang's The Genesis of Misery yet, but it's higher up on my TBR after reading this.

3.75, rounded up.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy for review.

Wasn’t what I was expecting but definitely worth the read!
This novella is a rich Asian-inspired fantasy where our main character Yeva was whisked away as a child to another empire for slaying a dragon. Raised in a foreign land, Yeva becomes a deadly dragon hunter that’s lost all touch with her home country. When tasked to go back to her country to hunt a dragon, she finds herself struggling to realize who she is meant to be.
I really enjoyed this. From the writing to the characters and themes. The atmosphere and magic. I liked it all! What I really loved most was Yeva’s character growth through the story. She’s always been raised as an outsider that hides herself from the world in her armor. When she’s thrusted back into her home country, she’s filled with anxiety and fear of who she would be without the protection of her armor and sword. That was my favorite part.
The mystery in the book was predictable but still very enjoyable. And although I wished there were more to this story— more to the ending and world— it still was a great read.
Definitely give this book a try if you want a nice, feel good queer novella!
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in advance in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tordotcom Publishing for an eARC of this beautiful novella! What we have here is a queer, Asian-inspired fantasy with dragons, lady knights and lady kings (YES I LOVE IT), political intrigue, and a hero’s journey toward identity and self discovery. Yang’s writing is beautiful and the world building and magic drew me in immediately. The story ended up being fairly predictable (….like we all knew, right?) but I enjoyed the hell out of it anyway.