𝑾𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑫𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒐𝒏𝒔 6⭐️

✨ Spoiler-Free Thoughts ✨

Olivia seriously outdid herself with this one. Prepare to swoon, scream, and suffer. The writing is absolutely captivating—you’ll want to devour it in one sitting. The plot is fast-paced and full of that perfect blend of yearning, banter, and delicious romance that leaves you on your knees begging for more. And the ending... It's been days and I still catch myself staring at a wall, mentally spiraling into the void.

I don't even know how to write a spoiler-free review of a book that wrecked me, resurrected me, and then left me emotionally shredded all over again...

All I can say is:
Cayden Veles.
Cayden Veles.
𝑪𝑨𝒀𝑫𝑬𝑵 𝑽𝑬𝑳𝑬𝑺.

I was already down bad for him in 𝑭𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑭𝒍𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒔... but now... I’m absolutely feral. His chapters are EVERYTHING! The dual POV delivers, hard.

And Elowen… our sweet, fierce QUEEN. She’s climbing fast to the top of my favorite FMCs list. I adore her. She’s the perfect mix of twirling in a pretty dress and stabbing someone without a second thought. Easily one of the most likable and fierce romantasy heroines out there.

Topes we all love!
-Dragons with attitude
-DUAL POV
-Morally black MMC
-Burn the world for her
-Fierce found family vibes
-“My wife” energy
-Celestial symbolism, gods & goddesses

"𝑰 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒐 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒆 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒆𝒏, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒆."

WHAT DID I JUST READ?! A cliffhanger?!😫
Wrath of the Dragons was everything I wanted it to be! I read this one slower [than Fear the Flames] because I wanted to SAVOR every last bit. That ending was so unexpected!👏

The writing is excellent and the story is captivating. There's love woven through every relationship, a found family that will do anything to protect eachother, battles that get your pulse racing & speeches that make you feel empowered. There's smart politics, exciting magic, revenge, death, and DRAGONS! Honestly, what more could you want?!

Elowen and Cayden's love is one of my favorites. She's the light to his dark and they're each stronger because of it. I said it after the first book and I'll say it again, I love every one of their little found family. Their bond is deep & they're also funny together. I love the dragons so much!

I'm so happy I got this ARC! Thank you Olivia Darling, Dell Romance, & Netgalley!

🔥"𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝑮𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒌 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂 𝒅𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆."

Cayden’s POV 😍 his I’ll burn the world down for you vibes 😍 screaming crying throwing up unwell at the cliffhanger I CANNOT WAIT for book 3 and this one isn’t even officially out yet 😭😭 Literally amazing in every way i am obsessed.

Wrath of the Dragons is everything I hope for in a sequel! It expands the world in so many different ways, further exploring the kingdoms of Ravaryn, building on the initial lore and history, and so much on page time with the dragons!

I adored the found family Elowen and Cayden created with Ryder, Saskia, and Finnian. I could read pages upon pages of their banter. I enjoyed the additions to their crew/alliance and hope to hear more of their stories in the next books.

The yearning and tension between Elowen and Cayden is the stuff of ballads. I loved getting both their POVs and thought it added great depth and balance to the overall narrative. This series truly scratches that romantasy itch with epic battles, a unique magic system, feminine rage, and a world-ending love.

Spoiler alert: the story ends in a pretty epic cliffhanger! (How could you leave us like that Olivia Rose Darling?!?!) I cannot wait to get my hands on book three and see where the story takes us next.

Thank you to NetGalley, Dell Romance, and Random House for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I knew I was going to love this novel—but I didn’t realize just how much I’d love it.
Fear the Flames was great, but Wrath of the Dragons? Absolutely phenomenal. A show-stopping continuation of a series I’m full-on feral for.

Cayden officially takes his place in the Romantasy Love Interest Hall of Fame—and he does not care if you approve.
He’s so down bad. Like, Fear the Flames Cayden could never.

So yeah… prepare to fall in love, friends. Hard.

The dragons? Flawless.
The secondary characters? Deepening in all the right ways.
The world? Expanding faster than my emotional capacity to handle it.

And that ending?
Awful… in the best, most agonizing way possible. (But also—why?!)

You’re going to love this book—so get your hands on it the moment you can. Wrath of the Dragons by Olivia Rose Darling releases on July 29, 2025 . Preorder now and prepare your heart.

A million stars!!!!

I highlighted so many parts of this book I should’ve just done the entire thing. I LOVED this from start to finish, and OMGGGGG that ending. Keeping this spoiler free for now and will post a more thorough review once it’s released.

If you loved Throne of Glass, Game of Thrones, Kingdom of the Wicked, you will LOVE this book.

The plot, pacing, spice, characters are all amazing, and the DRAGONS!??! Love all their personalities!!

I already NEEEEED the next book! Olivia, girl, you are amazing, and I cannot wait for more of this amazing world you’ve created!

I’ll share a few snidbits while keeping it spoiler free, needless to say Cayden has rocketed up to one of my top book boyfriends.

“She’s the poison I’d willingly lift to my lips without an antidote in sight, and force myself to survive, knowing death would offer me no relief if it cleaves me from her.”

“I’ll sacrifice myself at your altar a thousand times over to be the man you deserve, knowing I’ll always fall short because a man good enough for you doesn’t exist.”

“She’s the life that stems from the death that’s plagued me, and the light that breaks apart the darkness encroaching me.”

•• ”𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘯, 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘥𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘬𝘦”

Well I’ve pulled myself off the floor, dried my tears, found the kindle I threw, and now I might finally be able to form coherent thoughts about this book. I thought I couldn’t love this story and these characters any more than I did in Fear the Flames, but I was happily proven wrong.

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘁. 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆.
Elowen and Cayden have a love that is all consuming, everlasting, and absolutely beautiful - and the addition of Cayden’s pov makes it even sweeter. We get to be truly immersed in his obsession with Elowen and it leaves no room for uncertainty in his devotion to her. He truly loves her not for her dragons or her power, but is in 𝘢𝘸𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨.

•• “𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥𝘴”

The definition of a man obsessed. His pov is truly breathtaking and I hung on to every word and thought he had. The sweetness between Elowen and Cayden is the perfect balance to their fierce personalities and I truly loved getting to see the softer side of them both. But have no fear, they haven’t lost their edge and remain relentless in their quest for blood and revenge.

•• “𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘐’𝘥 𝘣𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 - 𝙀𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙣 𝙑𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙨 - 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘬𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘴𝘰 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴“

And while the beauty of this love story increases, so does the complexity. This is not just a simple story of forbidden love and revenge, and the layers of the plot really expand in this installment. Breadcrumbs and hints are scattered throughout and I loved how the lore and history of this world weave into the romance seamlessly.

As the end draws near, the feeling of foreboding becomes impossible to ignore, and I my heart was racing waiting for the worst but hoping for the best. You’ll truly feel the heaviness and unease and will fully expect tragedy, but the ending of this book will still take you by surprise. 𝗜𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗿𝘂𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗲𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗲, 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀. I’m truly hard pressed to express just how much of an impact this book has made on me, and it will be special to me forever.

ARC Review-

I have been eagerly awaiting this release ever since reading and loving the first book in the series, Fear the Flames. I, admittedly, found the book slow to start but once I found my footing and finally remembered everything that happened in book 1, I ultimately really enjoyed the book! I loved the expansion of their found family and really loved the dual pov in this one. One of my favorite minor scenes was absolutely Cayden meeting little Ollie, and it was little interactions like that which really sold the story for me. I definitely cried at the end (iykyk), and my reaction honestly took me by surprise. I was not expecting to have such a strong reaction to that scene but I sure did, and if that’s not credit to Darling’s writing prowess then I don’t know what is. I now impatiently await book 3, fully aware that I have read books 1&2 as ARCs which means I will be waiting quite a while.

Thank you to Olivia Rose Darling, Penguin Random House, and NetGalley, for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Ugh that ending. 🖤 I loved this book. The perfect amount of fantasy and action that just makes you NEED more after it's done. When I heard about the first book, I bought it right away and devoured it. I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of book 2 and DEVOURED it. That ending, ughhhh. I need more!! If you loved the 1st Book there is no way this will be less than a 4 Star for you. This was beautifully written.

4.5 🌟

It feels so amazing to be back in this world with Cayden and Elowen 🥹 this book was everything I needed and more. It immediately picks up from where book one ended and had me hooked from the first page. I just want to say the lore in this one is too good. We learn SO much more about Cayden and Elowen as individuals and about the dragons and the magic system, it was so beautifully fleshed out. The pacing was absolutely perfect I literally devoured this book.

Cayden, Cayden, Cayden. Y’all, the YEARNING?! Omg I was quite literally screeching 🤣😭 Cayden is a man down bad and we LOVEEEEEE to see it. The king of yearning and pining 😭🥹
And I absolutely loved seeing Elowen fight for what she deserves she is one of my favorite fmcs and I just love this world so so much. Ryder, Saskia, Finnian and some new comers that I’m curious to see more of in the next book 🤭 the found family in this series is one of my favorite things ever.

The ending was absolutely crazy I did not see that coming 🫣 & I cannot wait to see where this storyline goes in the next book!

I enjoyed Fear the Flames and I was excited for the second book in this series! I am deciding to dnf at 38% for now. I am having a hard time staying invested in the story and connecting with it. It feels a bit slow to me. While I enjoy the characters, I think I've realized this may not be my favorite fantasy series! Thank you so much to the publisher for the arc!

oh i enjoyed this heaps more than the previous one!! i feel like this had more of a creative direction and it was so much fun to see these beloved characters again!! while maybe not my most favorite fantasy series ever, i would still recommend potentially for a beginner trying to get into fantasy 💫

I would give this 4.5 for the ARC - only reason for the half star is the grammatical errors - usually this does not bother me, but there was a lot of them.

The story overall though is 5/5 stars !! This one absolutely blew me away.

This book nailed the balance between rich world-building, high-stakes plot, and swoony romance. Action-packed, politically charged, and full of DRAGONS. I adored the *fuck the patriarchy* vibes in this one.

The banter was everything, the spice was just right, and that ending? Liv stabbed my heart and twisted the knife. I need the next book yesterday.

This book intense from start to finish!

So much political maneuvering with Elowen and Cayden trying to get as many kingdoms on their side before taking Elowen's rightful throne.

So many little (and big) battles! So much love between Elowen and Cayden, though it had to be worked at after Cayden's little betrayal at the end of Fear the Flames. He takes such good care of Elowen and is honestly just perfect. He would also destroy anything and anyone in the way of his wife.

Since Fear the Flames was all about the heist to rescue the dragons, this one had a lot more of the dragons in it! We got to see a bit of all of their personalities too and I loved all the images of my mind of Elowen being surrounded by 5 dragons!

The ending is a HUGE cliffhanger and also had me sobbing. The next book can't come quick enough!

Read if you love:
-Political intrigue
-Burn the world for her MMC
-Dragons!
-Fierce found families
-"My wife"
-Celestial symbolism and gods/goddesses
-Anxiety rep

Thank you Dell Romance books for the eARC! My thoughts are entirely my own.
Finish date: 4/15/25, Release date: 7/29/25

Great story development and world building. Kept a good pace and I was fully engaged throughout the whole story. I’m just sad that I have to wait for the next one!!!

Oh. My. Gosh. This was the perfect book two. I’m obsessed with this story and these characters. The world building was spot on, the characters are more developed. It’s just so so so good. I can’t wait for more people to read this.

In the highly anticipated follow-up to Fear the Flames, Cayden and Elowen are about to be husband and wife in a marriage of convenience. Elowen is furious about being used by Cayden, and Cayden is determined to win back Elowen’s heart and gain revenge at the same time. Elowen has also been reunited with her beloved dragons and restored as the rightful queen. However, nothing can be easy for these two and they face peril at every turn.

I really loved this sequel as it dove further into the lore of this story. I loved getting more of Cayden’s backstory along with Elowen’s, and getting introduced to new characters and learning more about the dragons and magic. The marriage of convenience was such an excellent addition to this series and the start of the book had such great enemies to lovers banter and groveling from Cayden. I cannot wait for the third book after the cliffhanger of an ending we were left with! Fans of romantasy, dragons, marriage of convenience, found family, and latent magical abilities will love this book.

Thank you to Olivia Rose Darling and Dell for the arc and chance to be an early reader and reviewer.

5⭐️
3🌶️

Thank you NetGalley and Ballantine for the e-arc of this book.

When I got the notification that I received this arc, I literally jumped out of my chair and jumped for joy!!! Fear the Flames was one of my top reads of 2024 and could not wait for Wrath of Dragons 🐉 and it did not disappoint!!!

Book 2 kicks off right where book 1 ended and we see Elowen and Cayden navigate through their new lives of becoming rulers, plotting their revenge against Elowen’s father and kingdom, and their now complicated relationship.

Elowen doesn’t know what to feel. She’s second guessing everything that happened between her and Cayden, wondering if any of it was real. Cayden is doing whatever he needs to prove to her that it was. Their love story is one of my favorite of all time! The devotion they have and how they build each other up to stand on their own while knowing they don’t have to.

We see Elowen’s relationship with her dragons continue to grow as well, learning about each one individually, as well as trying to find out more about their history and connection to the long asleep gods.

We also start to dive a bit more into the gods and how they weave into the story despite the fact they’ve been gone for centuries and very few people still necessarily worship them still.

One thing I love about this series is the found family. It’s one of my favorite tropes for a book. We continue to see the closeness of the core group while adding a few characters I know we’re going to grow to love as well ❤️

The spice 🌶️🥵 ahhhh, the spice! I love how the spice is intertwined in the story without it feeling forced. And there’s a good amount and good quality (also, I always love spice with dialogue going on vs just telling us what’s happening).

This book once again doesn’t necessarily end on a cliff hanger in a sense of cutting a scene off in the middle but rather perfectly leading us as readers to the next book.

I had every feeling possible reading this book! Kicking my feet, yelling at the characters, crying my eyes out, just everything! I didn’t want the book to end!

I have my theories on a few things and interested to see if I end up being correct with any of them come book 3! Haha.

It is safe to say that Olivia Rose Darling absolutely BROUGHT IT with book two. Seeing this arc in my inbox instantly brought me joy. I love this world and its character’s so much. Elowen was just as fierce and bold in book two. I loved seeing her character develop as her revenge arc progressed. I also loved seeing that the banter between Cayden and Elowen was back and better than ever. I found myself grinning down at the pages at each and every encounter they had. This is a fictional couple that will fight fire, water, hell, and earth for each other and I absolutely adore them. Book 2 definitely does focus a lot more on world building and expanding on what we know already. I think the author allowed this to progress in a natural way that did not feel like info dumping. It felt very natural to the story and the sequence of events. That being said, I did feel like due to the need for information that this book was a little less fast paced. Take that with a grain of salt because I do consider the pacing adequate due to the need for this new information.
I will always be a sucker for a good high fantasy filled with dragons and badass female main characters. The only thing that makes this so much better is when it leaves me feeling emotionally wrecked. By the time I reached the last page I knew this one would haunt me for quite some time. For the readers who love a good emotional roller coaster, this one is for you.

Many thanks to the publisher for the e-arc. I’m glad I got to continue in this world and see the characters embrace themselves and their realities. I was a bit surprised with the ending being a cliffhanger, but look forward to reading the next book just as much as I did this one.