Didn't realize this was YA and not adult with the comparison to Samantha Shannon. I read a very similar book recently and enjoy the premise of that one more. Writing style felt short and choppy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled for the ARC of Hearts Forged in Dragon Fire!

Lotte, a dragontongue, has been called to the village of Morwassen's Pass to deal with a dragon who has taken up residence in an abandoned castle and is terrorizing the village. Although only dragontongues can speak with dragons, another girl, Maryse Basvaan, from the village has been getting along with the dragon well enough to tamper its rage momentarily. Can Lotte rid the village of its problem and also win the girl?

This book was a bit of a disappointment for me. The cover made me think it was going to be a sweeping fantasy epic but it mostly takes place in the village and the dragons are glorified lizards, other than Ker’Kachin, the dragon Lotte has been called in to deal with. I was able to guess the plot twist way early, which I normally cannot do. This book is definitely more about relationships than about dragons and I was really hoping for dragons. Overall it was an ok book, just not what I had been looking forward to.

"Hearts Forged in Dragon Fire" presents a gripping tale of survival against a cunning dragon threat. While the premise is promising, the execution may feel somewhat predictable, and the romantic subplot lacks depth. Overall, an enjoyable read for fans of dragon-centric fantasy, but it doesn't quite reach its full potential.

This was a great YA fantasy book, If your in your dragon era then snag this one. It was pretty good. I would definitely have my daughter read this one. I think that she would really enjoy it. Action, romance, and dragons oh my.

Welcome to the world of moody dragons. This gave me some Eragon book feels with the communicating to dragons with a little side Dragonheart the movie with all the dragon tude. I did have to remind myself with the way the story read that it is YA. But again I enjoyed the ride and was excited to get back to it when I was done adulting. For a debut book the author really has a given us a treat.

I love how the story its own. I loved that the dragon took someone hostage that even though its an animal its almost not. The journey and connection between the characters kept me hooked to want to continue to see how the story was going to unravel. It was a fun ride and is great for those that love YA reads like I do. This is also great for young readers coming into the YA group and wanted to test the fantasy waters.

I had trouble getting through the book. It wasn’t what I was expecting with the way it was marketed. The characters were unlikeable.

I enjoyed the storyline of this one, but it read really, really YA. The dragon-tongue and communicating with dragons was awesome and with a bit more fleshing out, this could have been a really great read. Giving it grace since it's a debut. Loved the Sapphic romance as well.

For a book called Hearts Forged in DRAGON Fire this really didn't have as many dragons as I was hoping for. People have told me that this is what to read next after Fourth Wing and Iron Flame and well after reading this I kind of want to slap them upside the head and ask them WTF this is NOTHING like those two books.

This story lacked world building and real character development but the romance was petty good. I liked the LGBTQ elements of the story. But overall it lacked direction and execution. I think this is going to be one of those stories that you either love it or hate it. If we get anymore books set in this world I do not think I would pick it up. And I am not sure if I will try anymore books by this author.

I loved literally everything about this title. Hearts Forged in Dragon Fire is a fairly fast paced fantasy story with the terrifying majesty of dragons paired well to the strength of human adaptability. While marketed to me as a Young Adult story I do believe this book works well for general audiences and will be trying to get some physical copies pulled in at my book store.

***The sapphic story elements were a nice surprise as well**

I did not enjoy this book as much as I thought I would. I thought it was an interesting concept others might enjoy.

Sapphic romance and dragons? Yes please. Sign me up. It was entertaining and fun. It was nice to see a fresh perspective on dragons, but I did want more out of them.

When I started this I thought I would love it. Everything about this (the cover/synopsis) should’ve given me all the reason to love it and devour it in one or two sittings. Except it took me days to finally finish the book and I didn’t have a good time throughout. Since I juggle multiple reads, if I’m not super interested in a book, I tend to take longer to read it. However, this is under 300 pages, so I should’ve read this in like 2 sittings.

I only cared for two (supporting) characters. If the book would’ve followed them instead of Lotte and Maryse, I would’ve (maybe) rated it higher. I found them both to be annoying and boring. Even when they were in danger or got hurt – I wasn’t interested in it. The book is very dialogue-heavy – which I’m not bothered by in the slightest because I love dialogue – but since I didn’t care for most of the characters – I was less interested in that.

I saw the plot twist coming a mile away and I was annoyed because of how it all led up to it and then everything afterwards. I think one of the biggest issues I had was the pacing and the plot twists. It was so incredible slow – and remember, it’s under 300 pages. It should’ve flown by. But it didn’t. A plot twist would happen and I’d look at the percentage and think “really? At this %?” like why are you putting a big plot twist at like 60% in the book?

I really wanted to like the book and I did really like the whole Dragon Tongue thing and I was interested in that. It was just everything else that wasn’t working for me.

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. this was fantastic, just what i have come to expect from this author and look forward to carrying in my book store.

Thank you to Entangled Teen & Netgalley granting me a copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Really enjoyed the story. Felt the characters could haveve been a bit more developed. I did enjoy Maryse and Lotte, but would have enjoyed more if their story.

A bit more mystery in the plot would have been nice. Felt to much was revealed to soon.

It was a fun book to read. The book cover is beautiful and who doesn't live dragons?

Overall recommend

A cute and fun YA romp with stakes much higher than they seem.

Lotte is a dragontongue, one of those few individuals *lucky* enough to be able to communicate with the dragons that roam her country. She’s hired to negotiate with one particularly tricky dragon currently holding the biggest city in the land for ransom, demanding a tithe from its population that grows exponentially each week, so much so that people are starving just to avoid making the dragon angry. What Lotte encounters is a dragon like no other, hoarding more wealth than you could possibly imagine, refusing to bend an inch. There’s definitely more than meets the eye to the situation and it’s Lotte’s responsibility to figure it out.

This was a quick, engaging read! There was a lot less action and dragons than the synopsis led me to believe, and instead a great deal more focus on family dynamics, political moves, and the gush of first love; neither a bad thing, just certainly subverting expectations based on what was advertised. The overall vibe was youth youth youth, so I’d initially recommend it for a younger YA crowd – except for certain scenes that contained such descriptive gore I found myself (a twenty-something) cringing at the violently graphic pictures they created.

The romance was lovely and sweet, if underdeveloped and initiated by a case of insta-attraction. I didn’t quite care but I didn’t not care either. This is a very talky book. People talk a lot a lot a lot, far more than they need to at times. But the twists were surprising and I found myself wanting to know how everything would figure itself out, so this was definitely a solid 3 star read for me. I liked it, but it could have gone further, too.

Content warning: graphic depictions of death and injury, gore.

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I pick it due to having a dragon in the story. It is my first time reading a book by Erica Hollis. I enjoy the story. I liked how Erica explain the dragontongues in the story. I like the main character named Lotte Meer. I like the other characters in the story.

Dragons and a YA sapphic fantasy? It's a match that is meant to be! This was a read that dove into some deep parental relationship themes that could very easily be relatable for a large portion of the YA crowd.

A great read that led us through some mystery and complex themes of relationships within families, at times I wished this story was aimed more in the NA or adult audience because I craved the deeper connections and some more mature dissections of the themes that are present throughout. Overall, it keeps the attention and holds a fabulous cast of characters.

I was pleasantly surprised by this Sapphic YA Fantasy tale.

I'm always a sucker for books about dragons and quests so I was thoroughly entertained throughout my read. Hollis' worldbuilding and creativity wasn't too outlandish to make me scoff which is a bad habit of mine when I read fantasy or paranormal story. That alone really impressed.

Thank you to Entangled Publishing, LLC, Entangled: Teen, and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

"The most important thing to do before approaching a dragon is to establish yourself as a total non-threat."

Lotte is the kind of hero we all want to be.

Smart, but also snarky & sarcastic.
Fearless, but also broken.
Lucky, but also hardworking.
Definitely not a damsel in distress, but also not above being rescued (or doing the rescuing).

And up against a dragon that even his own kind despise. With a hidden identity I didn't expect.

It's always fun to find a queernorm and dragon-norm world to play in.

"No matter how many times you watch it, there's nothing quite like a dragon in flight."

Must be why I keep reading dragon books! 🐲

This book was good. I'm giving it some grace as it is a debut book. I think that the writing was well done and it kept my attention. The story overall was good but I think we could have cut some out and with a shorter book have been great. I enjoyed Lotte and Maryse as characters and really appreciate the LGTQIA+ representation that wasn't just added to cover a base but was thoughtfully integrated in a more holistic natural sense. Overall I feel like this book just suffered some from an identity crisis of whether it was young or older YA. The characters overall are young with the FMC 16 but they were acting like adults which was just weird to me especially when you have side characters only a couple years older calling them kiddos. Some editing was needed for that. The dragon aspect was well done and I enjoyed that new take and getting to meet the smaller dragons. I would have liked them to be incorporated more in general or in fighting back but that's alright.