Melanie K. Moschella's debut novel, The Iron Bound Flames, is a riveting read that perfectly blends exhilarating dragon adventure with heartbreaking emotional depth.

What distinguishes "The Iron Bound Flames" is its vividly envisioned environment and dynamic combination of characters. From the majestic raek to the enigmatic rider and the conniving courtiers, each character is carefully designed, providing levels of detail to the plot. Moschella's narrative is so powerful and evocative, bringing me to this gorgeous, mystical world where magic and danger lurk around every turn.

At its core, the work examines themes of devotion, sacrifice, and the struggle to do the right thing in the face of overwhelming circumstances. As I read this novel, I had to consider my own morals and whether, if I were in the shoes of the characters, would I decide to go to tremendous lengths to get justice.

In conclusion, "The Iron Bound Flames" is a mesmerizing fantasy tale that has me eagerly anticipating the next Raek Riders novel. Melanie K. Moschella's debut novel, with its captivating characters, thrilling plot, and thought-provoking issues, is one that readers like me and those with a love of fantasy literature can be proud of and delighted to engage with in a beautiful world. She did an incredible job with this book, and I know the rest of the books are going to be even better.

Thank you netgalley for the ARC

Thanks Netgalley for my e-ARC!!

4.5 Stars!!

I give a whole star to the plot—it felt kind of Cinderella-y. I don’t really know how to explain that, I feel like you need to read the first few chapters and you’d understand what I mean. I give another whole star to the pacing because I was never bored while reading, I could sit down for two or three hours and just read the entirety of this book (again, because I did the first time). I give half a star to the characters, the characters around the female MC were… well, about what you’d expect if you had the plot of dragons, political unrest, and all that jazz. None of them stood out in any way shape or form and felt very background character-ish. The Chef had more personality than the potential second lead. I will, however, give a whole star to character development.

I like how the second lead (I don’t remember his name, but I’m pretty sure he’s going to be the second lead lol) male MC was partly influenced by her to change his stance on something but that he wasn’t fully convinced or brought over because… he did protect the king in the end at his peril. I will give another whole star to re-readability because this was a good book and I’d buy it to have it on my shelf!

Melanie K. Moschella's Iron-Bound Flames takes readers to an intriguing world where a kitchen maid, Meera, takes on unexpected roles as a spy, interrogator, and even a weapon. The story focuses on Meera's snap decision to care for a menacing dragon-like creature locked up in the castle. The novel is overwhelmingly filled with details, which slows down the plot significantly, almost to a glacial pace at moments.

While the world and concept of Iron-Bound Flames is interesting, Moschella's writing falls short in some regards. There is a lot of telling, not showing and clumsy interactions. Even with the drawbacks, the story holds promise. The ingredients will hopefully set a good foundation for the story to evolve in the remaining books of the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the eARC!

First off, the cliff hanger that this book ends up makes me ready to devour the next book!!

Meera is a lonely scholar’s daughter who misses her father enough to go be a servant at the palace. She is done being alone, but loneliness isn’t quite over as she is there. She doesn’t fit in the kitchen and people aren’t that kind to her. An opportunity arises where she feels a pull to volunteer to do the most dangerous job in the kingdom, feed the raek that has killed the first two men that have tried. By volunteering for this job Meera gets herself into more than she bargained for.

This book was a bit slow and that is why I rated it a three out of five. Overall, the story was interesting, but I feel like it took until the end for me to get really into it. Now that I have read the first I will be patiently waiting for the second to be released because I need more of Meera and her friend’s stories.

ARC Review ~ Iron-Bound Flames ~

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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book had me at dragons, more specifically a raek, and the storyline kept me. The first book of five this was a splendid introduction to the world. The author’s writing built up the world and her characters and the action left me wanting more. I was especially thankful to see the first two chapters of the sequel at the end allowing a peak into what’s to come. I can’t wait to dive into more of the world and see what’s next for Meera!


Thank you NetGalley and Melanie K. Moschella for this ARC!

Melanie K. Moschella starts a fun fantasy about Raek (dragon with pretty feathers) riding warriors. Meera Hailship was working in the palace kitchen when the King captured a Raek and its rider. After the Raek killed a couple of soldiers, Meera volunteers to feed, and manages to convince the intelligent beast not to kill her. The Iron-Bound Flames (paper self-published) may be kept from her, but she chafes at the torture of the beast’s rider. Not only that but the king has her spying on a visiting nobel. It’s a fun tale that is available for free on Amazon. The next four books are being published at the same time.

Thank you NetGalley and Melanie K. Moscaella for an advance e-readers copy!

This was pretty good and I would like to continue the series. I feel as though there is so much more that is to be explored and I’m intrigued. The beginning of the book, it felt a little messy, there was a lot of things that were happening that was just kind of unnecessary. It seemed like there was nothing going on. The story had a lot of telling us what happened instead of showing us what happened. I wish we got more interactions with Cerun, with Shael and more of her spying. It was quite lack luster. I feel as if it can be so much better. But I have a feeling the writing will become so much better throughout the story. It was a good story, but with a tad bit of boring.

For me this book was more on the chiller side. We still get plenty of intrigue, spying, treason and dangerous situations, but not a lot of adventure.

Meera is an interesting character, mostly because she does things that she didn't have to, just because she needs something to do. And that's actually kinda weird considering that she's putting her life in danger when she could have lived comfortably at home. And that's why I wanted to read more and find out what's she gonna do.

The raek is interesting as well, and I want to see if he's gonna be a softy or not, because I think he is (at least for Meera)

The ending was kind of annoying, but it kinda makes sense, but the series is finished, so nothing stops me from finding out more.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy in exchange for my honest review

Thank you NetGalley and Melanie K. Moschella for sending an Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Iron-Bound Flames is Book 1 of the five-book Raek Riders Series. In this debut fantasy novel, we explore the life of Meera Hailship, a palace kitchen maid and scholar’s daughter who volunteers to care for a raek—a dragon-like creature that was captured as a war prize.

She will play many roles for her king: spy, interrogator, even weapon. But what if she wants to be a hero?

Included within the novel is a map of the world, a prologue, and a preview of the second book of the series. Melanie K. Moschella has very kindly provided a list of potentially triggering topics within the Raek Riders Series on her website.

Personally, I loved the fantasy and political worldbuilding introduced in Iron-Bound Flames. As the first book of the series, the political landscape was not greatly expanded on, but I expect this will be explored in its sequel books. With a slow opening that closely followed the inner workings of the palace and Meera’s internal narration, she presented herself as a fresh, self-aware female protagonist. The setting felt immersive with a particular emphasis on vivid imagery and mundane, daily life within this medieval fantasy.

“It’s a raek! They caught a raek!” someone yelled. Sure enough, over the heads of the others, Meera could see a writhing black shape being dragged through the palace gates into the courtyard. In its hulking presence, the uniformed men trying to maneuver the struggling animal looked more like toy soldiers than flesh and blood.


Written in third person limited, Meera Hailship’s internal narration voice as the daughter of a scholar is pleasantly strong and I consider it one of the novel’s strongest qualities. She is a character deeply concerned with morality and often challenges her own worldview.

While I found myself thoroughly enjoying the beginning of the novel—hooked and unwilling to put the book down—I felt myself grow frustrated with Meera as the novel progressed.

For all that I enjoyed the first third of the novel, I found myself less immersed as it continued and forced myself through the middle. Although scenes involving the raek and knell were beautifully written, paced, and fleshed out, other scenes felt underdeveloped in comparison. Certain resolutions of conflict and tension felt quick and light-hearted, such as reconciliation with Cook. In particular, I found the character of Linus to be unrealistically convenient despite his backstory—shallow and scattered. Therefore, some character interactions outside of the raek and knell felt flat and uncompelling.

Although Meera is clearly driven by her desire to ‘do good’ with modern introspection and frequent reflection of her decisions, she can be inconsistent and naïve with her actions. Her insistent criticism of morals became tiring and felt more alike a YA novel, which I was perhaps unsuited to. This may, however, appeal to other readers.

Finally, Meera’s resolve toward the climax of the novel seemed flimsy, marred by a decision taken lightly. While I enjoyed the climax, I found the lead-up disappointing.

I have rated this novel 3.2/5, rounded down to three stars. For me, it was a bittersweet read with clear potential but had underdeveloped sections of writing which may have benefitted from further editing.

I recommend this novel to readers who enjoy:
• Well-written medieval fantasy setting and worldbuilding.
• Worldview and moral introspection themes.
• Prose-heavy writing.
• Reading an entire series in full, as Melanie K. Moschella has set the whole series for publication on March 19th.

The preview of the second book in the Raek Riders Series at the end of Iron-Bound Flames intrigued me, but I do not believe I will be continuing the series for now.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy, all thoughts are my own!

It was an enjoyable story but I felt like something was missing. I understand that it's the first in the series and it must introduce us to the world and characters, but it was as if that was its only purpose and little action happened. However, it was very interesting to read and I'll be reading the next one to know more about Meera and her story.

I really liked this book!
The plot was very interesting and it kept me gripped throughout the book.
The main character was okay. Quite likeable even. Though she was annoying at times and she made some questionable choices. But to be fair that made her even more real and I liked reading from her perspective.
Great introduction to the world and I can't wait to read the next books!

ARC reader for NetGalley

This series is off to a great start! Meera is well written. I loved how the story followed her thoughts and actions. She has so much heart. This installment follows Meera as she starts from being a kitchen maid (out of boredom after her scholar father goes to war) to volunteering to take care of a Raek( a dragon but with feathers, but not a griffin) and his rider, getting noticed by the king, spying for him and learning where her moral compass lies. I would almost deem this a prequel novella as it's not so much about the action and storyline as it is a building block for the series and an introduction to the main characters. Ecstatic I don’t have to wait forever to continue the series either as all 5 were released simultaneously. The covers of the series are gorgeous and super unique. Will definitely be adding this to my kindle collection ASAP.

I cannot resist a girl and her dragon book, even if it isn’t technically her dragon or a dragon.

Meera Hailship, a lonely, awkward, well read kitchen maid who is just trying to find a way to spend her time when she volunteers for a dangerous job of caring for dragon-like creature.

What I Liked:
-The resentment of the servants towards her because she doesn’t need to actually work. Meera is cosplaying kitchen maid while the actual servants need their jobs to survive.
-Meera doesn’t have magic or is some chosen one (so far). Her power comes from reading and knowledge.
-I loved that there wasn’t instant trust between Meera and Cerun and his rider.

What I Disliked
-Meera is lonely but seems to do everything she can to not interact with anyone.
-Meera’s relationship with the king. I don’t think I can even accurately describe it.
-The book does have an issue with pacing. I felt the first part of the book was slow, but it does pick up in the last third.


I am interested to see where the story will go after reading the first 2 chapters of the second book.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

I really enjoyed this book! I read it in one sitting on the airplane and was captivated by what might happen next.

I enjoyed the plot and getting to know the FMC. She is strong-willed and beginning to learn more about her boundaries. She seems young and a bit naive, but she is also learning and growing as an individual without anyone to help her.

The story had a lot of emphasis on personal moral ethics. It was interesting to see this from different characters’ viewpoints. Though the story was only in the POV of the FMC, we got a great bonus chapter from the MMC’s POV!

The more I learned about the prisoners, the more intrigued I became. I am really excited to read the next 4 books in the series (which are all released today as well!).

•

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Melanie for this ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley and Melanie K. Moschella for an advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

Iron-bound Flames is about Meera, a young woman who starts working in the castle kitchens after her librarian father goes to war. During her stay, a raek and its rider are captured, and Meera ends up volunteering to take care of the raek. As the story continues, Meera must decide if she should act for the good of the country or do what is morally right.

I enjoyed most of this novel. Meera is a fairly interesting main character, and the side characters are as well. I think, as others have stated, this book gets bogged down by very slow pacing in the middle and an ending that feels inconclusive. I wonder if the second novel and first could have been made into one book? While I also found the plot fairly predictable, I did find the story enjoyable and plan to see where the story goes in the next book!

The concept of Iron-Bound Flames was a lot different than any fantasy I’ve ever read. As someone that gravitates towards more romantasy than pure fantasy, this was an experimental read for me just going in.

I don’t think the plot in this book was particularly heavy, and was more of an exploration of Meera’s personality, and her bond with the raek, which directly reflected on her as a person, closing the circle. When I caught on to the pace in the beginning, I expected my interesting to fall through, but the book kept it pretty consistently till the end, which was a pleasant surprise.

I liked Meera as a character. She was the right balance of courage and gentleness, contributing to her ability with the raek. I believe the best parts of this book involved her journey understanding the creature, and building a relationship with it. To some extent, I might’ve enjoyed this book more if it was just Meera and the raek, but I wasn’t necessarily put off by the other elements of it either.

The plot with the king was predictable, and I found myself annoyed with Meera occasionally with the way she handled their interactions. However, I think it added a lot to the story, especially dialogue, since there isn’t much of that between Meera and the raek. I also did enjoy her arc with Linus. I think this book could’ve done more with the fact that his brother had suffered due to the raek. There were possibilities with the plot there that I think could’ve been explored further, but I still liked how he showed up for Meera, and their dynamic grew very organically and satisfyingly.

I understand that this is a five-book series with the other four books also all coming out on the same day (March 19). I suppose I still haven’t made up my mind on whether I was intrigued enough to read the whole series. But Iron-Bound Flames was a fun, easy read with a good amount of historical fantasy elements, that I ends up liking a lot more than I initially thought I would. Also, points for the gorgeous cover!!

Thank you NetGalley for gifting this copy in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this. Everything about it. I enjoyed watching Meera's evolution through the story. I enjoyed watching her fears, and her anger, and her insecurities flare up. I really loved the Raek. Love love love him. I was excited to watch how everything unfolded and I can’t wait to see how Meera handles the situation she finds herself in at the end of this first story. I hope we get more of the Raek and the prisoner. Possibly multi pov?? That would be wonderful.

Wil definitely be continuing in the series

This book reads like a text based video game from the 1980's. Meera breathed in and out and then walked into the room. Meera looked up at the stars. Meera did this and then that. It felt more like someone was dictating a movie to a blind person than reading a novel. To be honest, I couldn't finish it, I DNF'D it.
This book feels rushed and unfinished, and I notice that the whole series is being published all at once? That just feels premature. The author should have focused more on their first novel and perfecting it before finishing the whole series for publication.

Meera…Meera…MEERA! Holy inner dialogue - this poor girl was all over the place. Not only were her action self-admittedly rash, but she just wanted to find her purpose in the world and have a real friend. She needed a hug that wasn’t from Linus (he gave me the icks to be honest). She was giving me anxiety nearly the whole book, but at least she was mostly self-aware. I hope the second book causes her to gain more mental and physical strength rather than dwelling on her whereabouts and trauma, but if she does, honestly, I understand. She went through a lot and could barely trust anyone.

A lot of the book seemed to be driven by Meera’s feelings, which is why I think dual pov (preview!) will work great, especially given their current state of affairs. I think we’ll get more world building and backstory about the knell, which I’m interested in. Are they similar to another fantasy creature or their own new magical being? I need to know!

I also love the idea of releasing all five books at once - it certainly helps with a tolerance for cliffhanger endings.

A slow-going YA fantasy. I thought there were too many details that held it back. Definitely could've moved faster. A fun read, but not one I'd pick up again.