This book just tries to do too many things at once when it’s not necessary. Its worldbuilding isn’t as vast as it thinks it is, and if the author committed to a more limited scope it might have been better.

In the House of Dragons, five kingdoms will send a contestant to compete to become the next Emperor. I thought the opening chapters were quite strong; I liked the atmosphere and the set-up to this big Trial. But as the chapters continued I realized  … oh no … it’s not stopping. There are a total of five viewpoint characters and it is completely unnecessary. Five POVs would be difficult to do at the best of times, and it should be used to provide new information to the reader. But these five characters are together for literally the entire novel since they are all gathered on this island for the competition. Why on earth would we need all these perspectives? This novel acts like it has this vast world but we essentially only spend the opening chapters in these other kingdoms. There should have been max three POV instead of spreading the plot so thin over the five of them.

Because every contestant is a POV character, the reader literally knows everything all the time and it makes it so dull. You don’t ever need to wonder about a character’s motivations or personality; you get to know it all. As readers there is no discovery. Characters will occasionally gather together at dinner and talk about their feelings but for whose benefit? We know how they feel and how they’ll react. These convos are literally just so the characters learn a bit about each other while the reader learns nothing new. It is so frustrating.

Another big selling point of the novel is the dragons and you’d probably forget they are there. They pretty much function like horses and I forgot what they looked like after the opening chapters; some extra descriptions here and there wouldn’t have gone amiss. The characters don’t even interact with their dragons that much. It's difficult to discuss without spoilers but I felt the ending was way too overtop and unearned.

The plot wasn’t that complex and the world wasn’t interesting enough to hold my attention.

I really enjoyed this book. The concept was really cool to me and I did enjoy the execution of it as well as the complicated and diverse relationships between all of the characters. Some scenes it was a bit difficult to understand what was happening until you got more into them but overall it was a pretty easy read.

If Game Of Thrones was set in Ancient Greece, and tamed down a little bit, you'd have this book. There's everything a YA fantasy fan could want: rich worldbuilding, deep lore, a bit of romance, and of course dragons!

Enticing and intriguing!  Trials to test for a new emperor or empress and how well they know their dragons will show their worth!
Very good read that captivates the reader from beginning to end!!

I loved this book. Each of the POVs was different and engaging. It was such a great read for fans of How To Train Your Dragon and of high fantasy epics. It was a fantastic darker YA take on dragons and dragon training. I also especially loved the relationships and character arcs. Particularly Vespir and Antonia who made my lesbian dragon obsessed heart swell eight sizes.

When the Emperor dies, the 5 houses of the Empire send a representative to try to win the throne. Usually, it's the first-born, but for some reason, the Great Dragon has called others: Emilia, who has been hidden away for her magic powers; Lucian, who was days away from becoming a monk; Vespir, a servant and dragon handler; Ajax, a bastard of his kindgom's Lord; and Julia - or rather it would be Julia except her older sister, trained for this battle from birth, kills Julia thinking that she is saving her younger sister from a less courteous death. Hyperia is the only warrior among the group, and it's clear that she's there to win and not play nice. But each character has useful skills, and Hyperia's not the only one who wins a challenge.

But will she win the whole thing?

I predicted the end of Jessica Cluess' young adult novel House of Dragons way in advance, but there was at least one element of the book that I didn't guess. And that element seems to set this book up for a sequel.

But this book first. I had trouble keeping track of the characters' last names and their dragon names. Maybe that's because I just wasn't that invested in the story. It was an interesting read, but I think it felt like build-up for what was to come in future books. I've also never been a dragon person - never watched Game of Thrones - so I might not be the intended audience for this book.

I could not get into or finish this book. The similarities to Game of Thrones in the early pages were just too much for me. The writing also was entirely too modern. There are a couple books -- I'm calling them my "pandemic books" -- that I wanted to like and perhaps my mood just didn't permit it. I might come back to it at a later date.

It’s hilarious, intriguing, exciting, and extremely compelling. I did not want to put it down, and I can’t wait for the second book to come out. If you love high fantasy as much as I do, this is your next up-all-night read.

I would like to think it’s impossible to dislike a book with dragons and I’ve yet to be disappointed by one, so I’m happy to add House of Dragons not only to my “Read” list but “Recommended” as well!

I adored Cluess’ Kingdom on Fire series and was so excited to hear that she had a new fantasy with DRAGONS releasing. This YA fantasy features five characters, each with their own point-of-view chapters spread throughout the book. I have a love/hate relationship with multiple perspectives. There’s always (at least) one character I like and want more of, and at least one I’m annoyed or bored with. The rest tend to fall somewhere in between.

In this case, I found Emilia’s character and her internal struggle the most interesting, the one I wanted to follow the longest. She’s been taught that her power is wrong. Evil. And it’s not something she can control either. Watching her grow and shift her view of herself and her power was my favorite of the character arcs.

I liked Lucian and Vespir’s perspectives as well, but always felt a bit distanced from them. Lucian’s scenes often centered around his past as a solider or Emilia, and started becoming a bit one-note in that regard by the end, but still enjoyable. Vespir offered a different perspective than the others and I found it refreshing, and her romance with the noble daughter of the family she had served was the sweetest. But I didn’t get as strong a sense of her goals and so didn’t make that connection.

Then there’s Ajax and Hyperia. The former is the bastard son and one of many, and he makes a lot of bad decisions. The one thing I loved about his scenes were his obvious love of his dragon (and there’s a scene near the end with said dragon that had me cackling). I just wasn’t as interested in him as a character. Same with Hyperia. Each time I thought she had a bit more depth it was back to the same old thing. Rather than grow as a character, I felt like she remained steady, if not regressing, by the end until she’s forced through a huge change.

All that said, I didn’t hate any of the character perspectives (which has happened for me before) and actually look forward to another book that hopefully features the same individuals. Some of that is because of the cliffhanger ending which was set up quite nicely throughout, and some of it is the characters themselves.

As to the story, this is a competition. Each dragon rider is fighting to be chosen as emperor or empress, called forth by the Great Dragon to compete in a series of challenges. I was all there for the fantastical challenges. And the dragons. The world itself wasn’t terribly special as far as fantasy goes but I liked the glimpses of the magic system we got (beyond the dragons themselves) and hope more of that is explored in the next book.

I will say this book doesn’t pull its punches when it comes to violence and abuse. There are a few fairly graphic scenes in terms of gore and torture, whether described or visually depicted. And at times the story gets a bit darker. This might not appeal to all readers. I think it only added to the story as a whole, but something to be aware of.

Despite its size, House of Dragons moves quickly. The shifting of character PoVs combined with a fairly action-heavy plot made it a quick page-turner when I was reading. I like Cluess’ writing style, I did in her last series too, but something about this book in particular left me putting it down fairly often. I would read a few chapters, then find something else to do. And thinking back, after I finished, while I had favored some characters over others while reading, I still felt distanced from all of them. It wasn’t a book I was up reading into the early hours of the night. A great first book in a series, but missing that extra something that hooked me from start to finish.

All that said, I would absolutely recommend House of Dragons to fantasy fans, especially any looking for books with a competition or race, and/or multiple points-of-view. I can see this book appealing to a wide variety of readers, and it’s definitely worth checking out!

This book was wonderful! 
I really enjoyed the dragons (I’m a sucker for books with dragons), the characters were so interesting and real, the plot was dynamic, and I love how there were LGBTQ+ romances and characters.
This was just a really good book and I’m excited for the sequel.

Do you like dragons? Then this is the book for you! Not only were there dragons, but we got detail into the different types and each one had its own personality (I loved Dog the best 😍). The dragons were what really made this book stand out. Essentially, we’ve got five different people competing for the throne. The story is told from each of these competitors perspectives. Honestly? They all kind of blended together for me. There didn’t seem to be much diversity between them and their inner monologues. The competition also fell a little flat for me. There wasn’t as much excitement and action as I had hoped for.⁣⁣
The writing style seemed geared to a younger audience, which is totally fine, but made everything feel a bit one dimensional. ⁣⁣
The ending is what really brought it all together and redeemed the book. I can’t go into detail without spoilers, but I will say that the ending made me curious enough that I want to pick up the next book and carry on. ⁣⁣

I loved this book so much! I had no expectations going into it and now I can’t wait for the sequel. Dragons, a competition for the throne, misfits, grey morals are all big draws. It was great and such a fun time to read. It’s done in short, snappy chapters alternating through the five competitors perspectives. It well written so that the multiple perspectives are not overwhelming and we do get sufficient backstory on each character.
Would highly recommend.

I put this review on Goodreads and Indigo.ca

This book is so magical it is at times hilarious at times heartfelt and has such rich world building.  This is one of those YA that would also work well for adults making it a great title. Very intrigued for the sequel!

Incredible! Intriguing! I loved the character development, the world building, and of course THE DRAGONS! I will be highly recommending this to anyone who wants a good fantasy or dragon read!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-ARC review copy!

In HOUSE OF DRAGONS, Jessica Cluess delivers a non-stop thrill ride that dives deep into politics and breathes life into action-packed scenes.

Normally, when the Emperor of Etrusia passes away, the Great Dragon calls the eldest child from each of the five Houses to compete in the Trials with their respective dragon. The winner becomes the new Emperor or Empress and they rule successfully until their passing, where the cycle restarts. It’s the same every single time, until now. Suddenly the younger siblings are being chosen, and there’s nothing anyone can do to stop it.

When I first saw that House of Dragons was told from five different points of views, I became a little concerned. From past experience, multiple points of views start bleeding into each other and the character’s personalities start blending. I’m no longer able to tell them apart and end up getting frustrated. Cluess makes sure that every single one of her characters are completely different so that doesn’t happen. From the start, I was able to differentiate these distinctive characters. They all varied with their emotions and actions and stand apart from each other. You could literally open the book at any page and within seconds know who’s point of view it is.

Their voices mirrored their arc that takes you on this wild journey and you see their progression the further in you go. I found myself questioning every single person and wondering which of them would win the Trials and take the throne by the end. Even the side characters play a large part with their depth and complexities. I found myself wanting to know more about everyone and hoping that we would get more stories out of them. I honestly liked every single character in this unique cast and wanted more.

One of my favorite parts had to be the story itself. Because of the Trials, we see the characters doing their own things and going about their business. But the story makes sure that they cross each other and fits them into this larger puzzle. It was almost like a game of chess, where if you take out one characters action, nothing else can happen. The entire time I was reading, I was literally having fun. Through the happy moments, the action scenes, and even the sad times, I was having as much fun as if I were watching a blockbuster movie.

I thought the world building was intriguing. While the novel focused more on the characters and their dragons, I thought that what we saw of the world was beautifully done. It made me want more, and want to dive deeper into its lore and cultures. I’m not sure if it’s because I really like the novel a lot, but I want to know about the past, present, and future. I want to see in-detailed passages about all the lands. I just want to ask for too much honestly.

While reading, I did get little hints, almost easter eggs, to Game of Thrones. At least I hope they were easter eggs, what with one of the main characters being called Emilia, and especially with the way things ended. It gave me the same vibe except I wasn’t disappointed this time. I was Excited with a capital E. I found myself almost wanting the “villain” to continue with what they were doing.

At the end of it all, Jessica Cluess is smart and witty and has easily given me one of my favorite books of the year. She introduces us to this almost modern fantasy world, with current “moods” and “sayings” that sets it apart from others. It wasn’t trying to be this classical fantasy novel, but gave us what we know today. It’s a little difficult to explain but that only means you’ll have to buy the book and read it to understand. And hopefully, she decides to write more worlds set in Etrusia aside from the sequel.

3.5/5 stars

Told through the perspective of 5 main characters, House of Dragons is less about dragons, and entirely about the people who ride them.
That's right; people riding dragons! 
There is a tournament, chaos, politics, secrets and lies, and a sprinkling of love/family/friendship issues. 

Despite a lackluster ending, and barely any world building, the story quite obviously leaves us on a sequel-prepping cliffhanger. I'm left with questions I can only hope will be answered in a potential sequel.
I would recommend this book to any reader looking for a quick, easy read, but likely not without the presence of the sequel...hopefully

3.5 stars
You had me at dragons. I can honestly say one of main reasons I wanted to read this book was yes, the dragons. And no, they did not disappoint. Moving on I also really enjoyed the setting and the book had excellent actions scenes that kept me interested and invested in what next and to the characters. For the most part the characters and their respected POV’s were different enough that you did not mind having five POV’s on the other hand a couple characters could be quite irritating. House of Dragons not only boasts dragons, but it also has an interesting magic system. If your looking for romance, there really was not any in the book but does set up that there could be more in book two. 
Overall, House of Dragons is an action-packed book, filled with amazing dragons, and interesting characters.

Hands down one of the best YA Fantasies I have ever read!

House of Dragons takes us into the Etrusia empire, where the emperor has perished and now a new emperor/empress must rise to take the throne. Five compete in The Trial, a series of tests to prove their worth of the throne. The rest? The rest fall to The Cut - to death.

I can not say enough good things about this book. It was The Breakfast Club meets Hunger Games weaved with the Chronicles of Narnia with dragons in flight. It was all you can love in a fantasy.

I loved every character for their purpose in the story. It was such a great mix of cast that every chapter was intriguing as you got the perspective of all five competitors. You had your cursed child, the illegitimate child, the unworthy son, the common help, and the worthy warrior. Each character had a depth and storyline that had you sucked into each page. I couldn’t stop reading.

Immediately add this one to you must-read shelf!

I can not wait for the next book in this series!

Wow this book blew me away. I thought that following 5 different characters would be too much, but the author crafted such a distinct voice and backstory for each that I felt attached to all of them. The world was so gripping and the stakes were so high. It also explored themes like war trauma, colonialism, class...so well done.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3262423738?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

Dragons, magic and found family is what I loved most about The House of Dragons! 
It was a fresh fun new fantasy and it’s just what my heart desired! 

Fans of Game of Thrones and dragons in general will love this book. The characters were all amazing in their own ways and I think everyone can relate to at least one. 

I overall really enjoyed this one and would recommend it to others.