Thank you NetGalley glue the audiobook arc. I worms have enjoyed the book more has it been a different narrator. This one seems like they were whispering while yelling and it was hard to follow along, and found that I would keep drifting my attention away from the book. I ended up DNF’ing at 43% and clubs not tell you a single thing that happened.

Overall this was a solid little novella. I'm a sucker for a lady knight protagonist; I just love some good old fashioned lesbian chivalry. I think that I would have liked this story more if it was a novel so that we could further expand the romance and the idea of reconnecting to a culture you were separated from as a child. The story is by no means bad, but more pages would have let things be fleshed out more. I wasn't a fan of Yang's sci-fi release from a couple years ago, but after picking this book up I'm planning to check out their future releases and I might even give the book I DNF'd a second try.

As far as the audiobook goes, this was a good narrator. Their work didn't exponentially add to the story like other narrators who I love, but they delivered exactly what I needed.

Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a free audio-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read/listen to this book in exchange for an honest review!

Yang does it again! Another beautiful but short tale of love and fantasy and most importantly… finding yourself. I had the usual issues I do with novellas, but overall, the story was great! I found the world building lush and exciting, and was left wanting more. The lead role was a mysterious female knight character, her love interest compelling, but again I felt a bit of a disconnect due to the length of the story and the lack of proper growth we would get in a true novel. There was a lot of telling and not a lot of showing, something I find true with a lot of mythology-based storytelling.

Overall, it was great. Nancy Wu was a fabulous narrator, even if she did startle me in the beginning by sounding like an AI. Another solid snippet of a story.

3.5/5 stars.

This was a good, enjoyable read but I think this is a book that would've benefited from being longer. I think the length of this hindered the plot and character development. This ultimately ended up feeling a bit shallow to me by the time I finished it.

That being said, I did really enjoy this. I loved the writing and the characters as well as the plot. It drew me in and I thought it was a really beautiful short story, but I just desperately wanted this to be longer. I wasn't prepared for the end by the time the end came. The start felt a little bit slow, and the end a little bit rushed. But who doesn't love a strong lesbian dragonslaying main character?

Thank you to NetGalley and RBmedia for the ALC. All opinions are my own.

I ended up DNFing this at 53%


I found myself spacing out and just listening to the words rather than absorbing and actually taking in the story and I couldn’t tell you anything that happened. I can definitely see myself going back and rereading this when I’m in a different mood.

Thank you Neon Yang, Tordotcom and NetGalley for this ARC.

Brighter than Scale, Swifter than Flame by Neon Yang was such a fun little novella, it reminded me of The Fireborne Blade, by Charlotte Bond and Servant Mage, by Kate Elliott, both which I loved.

I didn't love this one as much as those other two, but not because I thought it was bad or anything like that, but because I think it should have been longer. The story was so rich and lush that a few more pages would have helped things not to feel so… rushed?

But still, if you ever have the opportunity to read this one, READ IT!

It's giving sapphic Mandalorian dragon slayer, and I am here for it! This was overall a great read, even if the pacing was a bit too slow for my liking.

It's very enchanting and interesting!! it definitely has that Neon Yang touch where it's short but still good at expressing such a good amount lore, magic, and conflict. The audio made me fall asleep, sometimes sleepy too.

A good quick read!! The Asian Lore mixed w/ Dragons will always do it for meeee 👹 I enjoyed this a lot & the whole Mandalorian aspect of not removing the helmet? Ugh, I ate that up lol. Yeva’s whole character growth was so nice to see as well, esp the ending!! I was over here holding my breath-Gosh… I’m glad it ended the way it did ‘cause 😮‍💨 Overall, it was an amazing novella inspired by “She Who Became The Sun” which is also another book on my TBR!!
Nancy Wu gave such a how do you say it… She gave such an air to this narration. Idk if that makes sense, but she did good lol!

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for providing a free audio arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a short fantasy novella with a female protagonist who is a dragon slayer called into find evidence of dragons in a foreign land. It is a novella, so take from it what world building you can develop in something so short, but I feel like it was done well and was interesting. The politics within the story were also intriguing, and though the twist at the end was predictable, it was still good.

I think if you like Neon Yang's work you will not be disappointed in this one. It's a good quick read through regardless.

Thank you to NetGally and RbMedia for an early audiobook copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I have been recently obsessed with novellas and I really think this story was done really well for this size book. It takes a true craftsmen to identify how a story should be told, whether in trilogy or stand alone or in this case novella. I would be very interested in reading more novellas set on this world.

I think the FMC Yeva is strong and her story is well told. She kinda gets a raw deal when she is sent away to find out more about a land shrouded in secrecy. She has to gain the trust of the people there to find out more about them and their (very different) relationship with dragons while also not betraying the oaths she took. The romance was sweet and I enjoyed the different backgrounds they had. Would have liked to have seen even more of that included.

Full of emotion, sapphic romance, fantasy elements, I definitely recommend this if you’re looking for a short, fast paced fantasy bite, with the perfect amount of world building. I love the Mandalorian reference as well.

I think the audiobook narrator does a really great job as well.

On seeing the pitch 'She Who Became the Sun meets The Mandalorian, with dragons', I was instantly intrigued. I also loved the idea of seeing queer characters.

On getting halfway through, I realized the pitch might have set my expectations up for a very different kind of story than what I got. From the description and the cover I was expecting action, drama and adventure but this was a very quiet story that leans more into theme and romance. Which is totally fine—I actually enjoyed the scenes between the main character and the Lady King. I liked the mythological and cultural aspects, but felt like this could have used a bit more plot round out the experience.

Part of what detracted from this experience for me was how the initial promise let me down. Why set up a dragon-hunting character only to never show them hunting dragons? I felt like we are told the MC is a warrior but never really see this happen, and I think that would have gone a long way to underline their character arc.

And while I enjoyed the queer romance, I felt like it happened too quickly and conveniently. It felt like a matter of right-place right-time, and that a bit of conflict between these characters could have crafted a more hard-won love.

I really wanted to love this, but it just felt short.
___

Thank you to Tor, Net Galley and RBmedia for the advance listener copy.

To start, the cover of Brighter than Scale, Swifter than Flame is absolutely striking! It is a short read but it packs a punch with an engaging plot, excellent world-building, and wonderful characters! I love novellas and this one is so well done! The narrator did a wonderful job bringing the story to life and there is a clear distinction between the voices of the characters. Yeva, our main character, is sent from home at a young age to be trained as a dragon hunter then on a mission she grows close with a girl-king and ultimately must pick between her duty and her heart. If you are looking for a short, heartfelt, sapphic, engaging read with a dragon and dragon hunter this should definitely be your next read or listen! I cannot wait to pick up The Tensorate series by Neon Yang.

LESBIAN KNIGHT STRUGGLING TO MAINTAIN THEIR HONOR AND DUTY WHEN FACED WITH LOVE AND THE TRUTH. AND A DRAGON QUEEN!! AHHHH!!!

only issue i had was with the everstone and the blue fire, i feel like it wasn’t explained or used quiet enough

alc from netgalley and recorded books

Brighter Than Scale, Swifter Than Flame is a short fantasy novella with surprisingly strong world-building.

Like with many novellas, I had to work a little harder to stay focused and to get fully immersed into the story, but the character-driven plot made it worth it.
I really liked the main character, Yeva, and the tender sapphic romance between her and the girl-king Sookhee was sweet and well done.

The narrator did a great job bringing the whole story to life, and even though the ending was satisfying, I would’ve preferred had the book been longer.

Overall, a good, heartfelt listen.

The genre here is everything I could want, a sapphic, Asian-inspired fantasy about a dragon slayer where our MC has to choose between her heart or her sacred duty. Plus, the cover is GORGEOUS.

Nancy Wu delivers the narration with a lot of emotion. The character voices are expressed with a lot of personality and distinction between each character. This is a third-person narrative so most of the story is read is in her own voice which I found to be engaging.

I did find myself wishing this was a full length novel just so we have time to really build a connection between the two main characters. It is nicely written and a comforting story. I would definitely love to read more from this world.

Brighter than Scale, Swifter than Flame is a delightful novella that explores Yeva as she is taken from her home, trains to become a dragon slayer, and is brought into Quanbao and creates new bonds as a new guest in the Kingdom. I really enjoyed the exploration of Yeva's character and the bonds she creates in Quanbao espeically with Lady Sookhee.