As a fan of the Going Down in Flames series which featured Brynn who was a half Blue and half Red Dragon as she navigates the Dragon world and her school life, I was looking forward to reading Star-Crossed Dragons as this is a prequel to the series and is the story of Brynn's parents and how they got together and how they ended up in the "real world". Sara Sinclair is the Blue Princess and is currently matched to be married to Fenix Westgate, who she can't stand and we learn that Fenix is almost as bad as his son, but a tad worst. Sara isn't your typical Blue Dragon and not the Ice Princess everyone wants her to be. She just wants to be normal and doesn't believe in the Caste system and just like her daughter Brynn, we can see Sara causing ripples amongst the different castes. We then have Ian who is Red Dragon aka Brynn's dad who starts to fall for Sara even though she is Blue as he wants more as well. Along with their new Green friends Einstein and Julie, the foursome will become close friends and start learning about each other's Clans, and with the help of Miss Enid - the Librarian, Ian, and Sara will have their eyes open to the world of Hybrids and marrying different clans which are forbidden and the world is told Hybrids can't exist as dragons can't crossbreed which of course we learn is a lie with Brynn being the product. I did find it fun to read the parents' story and how they ended up together and how Brynn came to exist. Star-Crossed Dragons can either be read as Book #0 or Book #6. If you love dragon shifters and haven't yet discovered the series "Going Down in Flames' by Chris Cannon - then what are you waiting for and spread your wings and read today.

Absolutely and perfectly amazing! I LOVED this book. Forbidden love is always an interesting read but adding magic, dragons, and a completely different style of life than we are used to and you get an amazing new spin on a classic love story.

I love the description of the dragons and their clans and I love that it is sort of set up in our world, but also, not. The main characters, Ian and Sara were well written and I loved that it kept switching back and forth between the two of them.

The set up of the dragon society is different for sure and I love that the fantasy books that they are reading help to influence the two characters. Ferrin is absolutely a terrible person and yet, I do feel like in that sort of society, it is more a fault of upbringing and roles than fully his fault.

I thought throughout that there was a a lot that everyone had been lied about. .the past of the dragons, why the Blue's were the top of society, why marriage between clans was not allowed as well as the fact that having children cross clans was impossible.

I really want there to be a second book to this so that I can see what becomes of all the characters and their new little that is growing!

Well written, well thought out and executed and a lovely magical love story of forbidden lovers!

My Thoughts:

Star-Crossed Dragons tells the story of Sara Sinclair, a well off member of the blue dragon clan. She has been promised to another high ranking blue dragon clan member, and she is struggling with the idea of this union and her role in the blue dragon clan as a whole. She runs into Ian, a member of the red dragon clan, while she is fleeing her intended. Ian is like no one she has ever met before. She likes that he actually listens to her and involves her in things, unlike Ferrin, her intended, who believes the role of blue dragon women is only to bear children and support their husband.

The story starts off very strong. The world building is fantastic and I was quickly pulled into the world of the dragon clans. I loved how every color dragon had their specialty and their role in society. I think I would have been a black or green dragon. I would have loved even more about their difference and how their society came to be. However, I was often caught wondering why the clans were kept so separate. Why can't they have relationships outside their own color?

I felt there were explanations missing for many things, like the directorate. Why were they formed. Why did the rest of the dragon society allow it. Why do the rest of the dragons not fight against the amount of power and fortune the blue dragons hoard? What was the punishment for being out past curfew? Why was there a curfew? What is the extent of their powers?

The writing was pretty basic throughout the majority of the book, and for some reason it got worse as the book progressed. The first half was wonderful, but the second half dragged in places, but then the epilogue raced through so much where I would have liked more details. The pacing was just awkward overall.

I also felt like parts of the book were missing that dangerous feeling that I felt it should have had. Sara and Ian are doing things that could get them killed. Yet even though it's mentioned, the danger isn't really felt. I don't feel them being careful, sneaking around. There should have been more people that were curious about their actions. There should have been that rush of the directorate coming after them, the actual chase, but I just never felt it. The ending was just too slow, too basic, too much back and forth, should we, shouldn't we. Just not enough drama/action! It just seems too much happily ever after with not enough fight/suffering. Too easy.

I was also left wondering what happened to the characters left behind. I would have liked a little focus on their reactions, maybe how they handled the directorate questioning them (because I am assuming that would have to happen). Maybe there will be another book? Hopefully?

Overall I enjoyed the story, it was a light easy read, and I would be interested in reading more from this world.

The Pros:
The world building is fantastic.
Ian was my favorite character.
Sara's attitude and her always wanting to shift and bite off Ferrin's head.

The Cons:
The writing is basic, almost feels like a rough draft, especially nearing the end.
The back and forth, should I, shouldn't I gets tiring fast.
Sadly seems to be a one off, I would like to read more in this world.

Star-Crossed Dragons weren't quite what I expected it to be, it's very much a Romeo-Juliet-esque love story between dragons of two different classes. The author gives us a pretty decent understanding of the world they live and what each class of dragon represents.

Honestly, I was expecting a huge conflict with Sara's dragon class because she's a blue dragon, which is essentially the superior class that seems to run the show. And with Sara breaking rules and betraying her family, I was expecting some major backlash. And I was kind of hoping for it since love does conquer all.

But instead, we get a very straightforward love story of two that aren't allowed to be together, but they forgo it for love.

The end felt pretty open-ended and I would be interested to see if the author plans to write more from this world especially about Sara and Ian. I feel like there's more to share about their story and with them being on the run. There were quite a few moments where it was a bit repetitive, which made the story a bit longer than I hoped.

Wasn't quite my favorite story, but I'm still interested.

This was a great book, but I think I would have loved it even more if I had read the series that it precedes. I was unaware going into this book that it was a prequel, which makes a lot more sense given the epilogue lol!
So let's talk plot! First of all - I love dragons, love stories about dragons, and think there definitely is not enough books about dragons out there! You can imagine why I was super excited when I came across this one! Basically, all of the dragons live in this community dictated by the Directorate. The dragons are grouped based on their color/abilities e.g. Blue Dragons breathe ice, Red Dragons breathe fire, etc., and being with anyone outside of your clan romantically is forbidden. Cue the forbidden romance! Sigh. I will NEVER get tired of this trope. Never. I love the feeling a forbidden love gives me, and this one did not disappoint! What's interesting is that the plot of this book is the romance itself... this makes much more sense now that I realize this is a prequel but regardless, I wasn't disappointed because the book was written so well.

The main character, Sara, is strong-willed, rebellious, defiant... all the traits I LOVE in a leading lady. She isn't afraid to speak her mind, regardless of what those around her think. Her fiance Ferrin on the other hand... Oh. My. God. I thought I was going to break my Kindle because I wanted to punch something whenever I was reading this arrogant snob's lines. It is a testament to the skills of Chris Cannon that I felt so riled up by this character. I mean seriously, she wrote him in such a fantastic way - he was horrible, controlling, rude, stuck up... the list goes on. I couldn't believe how many chances Sara kept giving him! I was like girl, come on! But his presence just made the spark between Sara and Ian that much better. I was rooting for him before I even knew he was a possibility lol! I was rooting for ANYONE other than Ferrin, honestly. And alas, I got my wish!

The only thing I will say is that the epilogue threw me off a bit. It seemed so rushed and a bit out of place... kind of off from the rest of the book you know? But now that I realize this is a prequel to another series, I understand the need to fill in the gap from this story to where the next one starts rather quickly. If anyone is reading this first, however, it may seem a bit confusing. Maybe confusing isn't the right word... just sort of rushed and detached from the story they were just reading. Just something to keep in mind to anyone picking up this book!

Other than that though, I really enjoyed this book! It was fun and easy to read, didn't take me long to get through. When I put it down I found myself thinking about what was coming next and that is always a great sign! I think younger readers are going to love this, and love the romance between Sara and Ian. Definitely recommend!

❗Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for sending me this ARC in exchange for an honest review❗

The story is about shapeshifter dragons in an urban fantasy setting. In this world there are five clans of dragons; blues the wealthiest ones who run the law, reds the militia type, greens the smart ones, orange the earth type dragons, and blacks the creative. All clans are under Directorate power (their government).

the whole of the story fell pretty flat for me, it was just very basic and way too predictable, i'm all for star crossed lovers but do it in a unique and give the characters some depth. it was all very stereotypical character stories.
the MC is rebellious and running away from her fiance, who is this horrible person who you don't even meet till a few chapters in and the main LI is just stoic and bland.

i love strong MCs and all but something about her didn't really click with me.

i love stoic, brooding and distant with a tough family background LI but he was just not it, he doesn't even respect or listen to her till near the end of the book. he may have potential for growth but it'll have to be alot.

everything at the end is very flat too, there is no big fight for their lives its a very anticlimatic. they just get an HEA and get away which is very blah and not very exciting or thrilling.

all in all if you like romeo and juliet and fantasy, you may like this. i did not

What a wonderful new addition to the Going Down in Flames series. Dragons, romance, and quirky goodness. What else do you need? Thankful to NetGalley for allowing me a copy of this book.

I did like this book, as someone who reads a lot it's nice to just have a easy read every once and a while. If you need a easy read, or need to get out of a reading slump, or are a newer reader, or want to get into more romance books, I think this is a great book to get into. But if your someone who loves reading complex plots, with deep characters then I would go for something different.

This book was a very fun, and new twist on dragon, and I like the thoughts put into each clan.

Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC of Star-Crossed Dragons in exchange for an honest review.

Star-Crossed Dragons wasn't the book for me, but it also isn't the kind of book that's targeted at me so that's perfectly okay. I was expecting a fantasy with a heavy romance element, but it read a lot more as a romance with characters who just happened to be dragons with little else going on plot wise. If you're a fan of straight, dramatic teen romance, you might love this. That's just not my genre, so I didn't.

The general premise is a forbidden love romance between a female dragon shifter in the blue clan, and a male dragon shifter in the red clan. I love this kind of trope, but this book just didn't do it for me, and I think that's because it would be better suited to the younger ages within the YA age bracket (roughly 12-14 years). As someone that's at the peak end of YA fiction, and now entering more into New Adult fiction, the writing was a little young and a little too easy for me.

I feel a bit mean writing this review, because the story really wasn't all that bad. It has everything you want from a paranormal romance, and it's also an area of paranormal fiction that isn't particularly explored all that often by publishing companies. I haven't read a lot of dragon books, and previously I didn't particularly like them, but I did genuinely enjoy the relationship the characters had and how the writer didn't make the 'shifter' element of the book seem too forced in nature.

Thank you to the Author, publisher and Netgalley for providing me this book in exchange for my honest review

Rather than calling this YA fantasy, this more like a YA paranormal romance.

The story is about shapeshifter dragons in an urban fantasy setting. In this world there are five clans of dragons; blues the wealthiest ones who run the law, reds the militia type, greens the smart ones, orange the earth type dragons, and blacks the creative. All clans are under Directorate power (their government).

I don't know why it feels like racial boxes irl. I mean each clan has its appearance characteristics, like all blue dragons have blonde and blue hair, while green dragons have dark-skinned and dark hair. Each clan cannot be married to another clan, and it's rare to see different clans mingling with another, even in school.

As for the star-crossed lover between Sara (blue dragon) and Ian (red dragon), I don't know, I don't feel their connection. I don't really into Sara, since she's trying so hard to be 'not like any other girl'. Ferrin the blue dragons that contracted to marriage Sara, is portrayed to be such a douche and ignorant, so it's super easy not to care about him and root for Sara and Ian.

The book is too long in my opinion. Too many repetitive scenes. And there's no conclusion for the ending. The world has the potential to be an adventure fantasy book. Maybe dragons rebelling and trying to throw down the Directorate. I'm down for that!

❗Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for sending me this ARC in exchange for an honest review❗

I received this novel as an ARC from NetGalley. Thank you to the publisher for the early copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Star-Crossed Dragons is in a world similar to our own. Dragons are broken up into Clans based on their scale color, and these Clans determine what roles you play in society. Reds are the militia, Greens are the healers, and Blues are the rulers. Our main character, Sara, is a Blue with expectations loaded onto her. She is arranged to marry Ferrin, a Blue that shows no respect for her. However, when she meets Ian, a Red with a heart of gold, will she be willing to throw everything she knows aside for love?

I first want to make note that the worldbuilding in this story is pretty well-done. It may be done in a basic, expositional way such as students in class reciting the different roles each clan plays in their society. It gives us a simple outline and builds on it later on in the story, which I personally appreciated.

However, the rest of the book felt pretty basic to me. Sara was the pretty stereotypical "I have everything I want but I don't want to live up to the expectations of my Clan" main character. She starts off a bit rebellious and doesn't build up to anything more than that. We see her at the very beginning running away from her future fiancé, who we don't even meet until 2-3 chapters in. So we don't really know why she's so afraid of this guy and why she doesn't want to give him a chance. We just have to assume that she's in the right. She remains pretty stagnant across the book in that she has to put on a façade, act like everything is okay, and constantly jumping back and forth on what's the right thing to do.

Ferran, her future fiancé, is very one-dimensional. I understand he is supposed to be this very stoic, narrow-minded individual who was raised in a tough Blue household with many expectations. But he stays as that. We get some potential means of growth, like the way he actually starts to listen to what she likes and to actually treat her with respect, but then it all gets thrown away in the matter of one paragraph. He goes from being kind of a gentleman to this controlling person who threatens to get the Directorate (the government) involved and take his side, basically demoting her just because of her gender and lack of respect to men. His entire arc was an absolute fluke and did not help the story.

In terms of the whole romance plot of this story, it follows the same issues as a lot of the other characters, which was it was extremely one-dimensional and had almost no depth to it. The only reason Sara falls in love with Ian is because he's not Ferran. All we get is that his hugs are comforting and that he smells nice and that he listens to her and makes her feel safe. Sara knows him for like a week before she kisses him about 20% of the way through the book. After that, a majority of the book is just them plotting to run away to potentially be together.

Now let's talk about the big antagonist hidden amongst our main characters: the Directorate. They want order to be maintained, and if anything strays from that idea of order, they want to snuff it out. This is the basic gimmick we are given, and it is hinted at several times throughout the book that if Ian and Sara are caught, Ian could potentially be thrown in jail or executed. Given this, you think they would be a huge presence at the climax, right?

WRONG. The main characters don't get this huge fight for their lives. They don't really run into the Directorate directly. We don't know if people are coming after them because of the laws they broke. They just... get away and live happily ever after. For how often it's brought up, you think there would be more build-up and tension that they would be caught before they even escaped. One of the characters literally says they have eyes everywhere. So where were they?

The epilogue was extremely cut and dry and didn't really make sense with the rest of the story. The writing was very bland and basic at points. It was very much something I could skim and was very jumpy at points, especially towards the very end of the story. It made me feel a bit disconnected.

Overall, if you like Romeo and Juliet retellings in fantasy settings, this book may be for you. However, this didn't strike it for me, especially as a hardcore dragon fan.

Loved the overall premise but for me the story didn't deliver. I believe this would be good for newer YA fantasy readers. I think the pacing was a bit off and needed a bit more overall development for me.

I liked this book a lot until it got closer to the end. After that the time frame sped up and it left a ton of questions. I really did not like the ending either. All in all I expected it to be better then it was, but it would be good for young teens to read. It just was not the book for me.

Star-Crossed Dragons follows Sara and Ian, a couple from different dragon clans that fall in love. Social rules forbid their romance, and Sara and Ian must choose between love and duty. Will they risk their lives and all that they know to seek a future together? Can love conquer all?

The story is told from both Sara and Ian’s perspective, which I liked because it provides a fuller look at the society and the events in the story. Since Ian and Sara are from different clans, their lives don’t intertwine. Having both perspectives shows how vastly different their worlds are. It also shows the major disparities between the different clans and how inequitable their world is.

Though Sara lives in the most elite clan of dragons and is privy to all the fineries and comforts in life, she constantly questions the society in which she lives. She wonders why people are separated into specific clans and not allowed to mingle. She hates the oppressive duties expected of her as a woman in the Blue clan and rejects the future that awaits her. I like that she questions and doesn’t just blindly follow the unjust and inequitable dictates of her family and society.

I also like the forbidden romance between Ian and Sara. As members of different clans, they are not supposed to have a relationship. On top of that, they are both promised to other people. However, they didn’t choose the people they are betrothed to, and they can’t fight their deepening feelings. They are a passionate young couple with a tremendous amount of love for each other. They’re both willing to abandon all that they know in order to have a future together, even though they both have many doubts and worries.

One of the biggest obstacles in their way, other than the harsh and restrictive rules of society, is Sara’s intended Ferrin. Ferrin is a spoiled, domineering, arrogant person who treats Sara poorly. Sara’s interactions with him grow increasingly painful, and I detested him on so many levels! I think I rooted for his demise as much as I rooted for Sara and Ian’s happy ending!

I enjoyed the story, though there was a lot of build-up, and the pacing was a bit choppy at times. Much of the story takes place while Ian and Sara are at school and trying to figure out their feelings. Some parts felt like they went on and on, while other scenes felt rushed, especially toward the end. Also, I was hoping to learn more about the world and society that they lived in as well as the history of the clans. That being said, the romance, the dystopian society, and Sara’s character were fantastic.

This is a quick and entertaining read that will appeal to readers who like teen romances set in a supernatural world. Thanks so much to NetGalley, Entangled Teen, and the author for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

When I saw this book on Chris Cannon's Facebook page, I was hoping that it would be offered on NetGalley because I loved reading about Sara and Ian's daughter. I was so excited to see it listed and requested it right away. Sara is a Blue that has a hard time following the rules expected of her. Ian is a Red who is inexplicably attracted to her. Only one problem: dragons cannot date or marry dragons that are not their species. The Directorate will not allow it. When Sara hides behind Ian to avoid her intended husband Ferrin, she starts a friendship that turns into something more. Ian loves Sara, but Sara has to decide if she loves him enough to defy her parents and the law.

Star-Crossed Dragons by Chris Cannon definitely filled me up with a variety of emotions.

First off, we follow our MC Sara, a member of the Blue Dragon Clan who's forced to marry a man she absolutely despises, Ferrin. Right off the bat, I assumed it was going to be an enemies to lovers, but I was mistaken when we meet Ian, a member of the Red Dragon Clan. In this world it is law to be matched up with another member of your own clan, however both Ian and Sara start slowly feeling things for one another.

To be honest, I didn't particularly like any of the characters other than Lavinnea. I felt as if Sara was incredibly spoiled, granted, that's how one would be if they grew up surrounded by wealth, but it constantly bugged me that she would never entirely give Ferrin a chance. Now, I'm not saying Ferrin is perfect, but I would have liked to see more insight into his thoughts. He was raised and born into perfection and obviously expected the same from himself and his soon to be wife, Sara. So while I don't agree with his behavior, I feel as though it should have been treated differently by Sara, especially when he was trying his best to put in effort.

Now, Ian. I don't particularly have an entire opinion about our main MMC but I didn't particularly like how rushed his and Sara's relationship was. I will never be first in line for a friends-to-lovers, but if built correctly I could stand behind it. At times, I felt as though Ian's only trait were his emotions for Sara. I would have loved it if we got more scenes of Ian alone, or with friends without the need or goal being Sara.

All in all, there wasn't necessarily a plot but I will admit I enjoyed the romance much more than I expected.

Star-Crossed Dragons was a very interesting and confusing book. It's target audience is definitely young to mid teens. To me as an adult reader, the story felt disjointed. There were a lot of opportunities for expanding on the world of the dragons and the Directoriate, but that didn't really happen. Most of the focus was on Sara and Ian in a "will they won't they" tug of war. I wasn't quite sure what this book is supposed to be. Is it a romance? Fantasy? Coming of age? The answer I found was a bit of each, but lacking in all three. The ending felt rushed and unsatisfying. In the epilogue I felt like the author was maybe setting it up as a prequel for a continuation, however I'm not sure I felt invested enough to be interested.

If you're a young teen who loves teen romance with a fantasy element, you may like this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Entangled Publishing for providing me an advanced reader copy. I voluntarily read and reviewed this copy, all opinions are my own.

Step aside werewolves, shapeshifting dragons is where it's at

Fair warning: don't go into this expecting a fantasy romance. This is very much a romance set in a fantasy world. There's no adventure, quest, overarching plot, enemy, etc.

Nonetheless, I enjoyed my time reading this! It a nice, light-hearted romance. I liked the relationship between Sara and Ian, it wasn't rushed or forced. It was natural and realistic. I also enjoyed Sara as a character, I loved how outspoken she was and how she wasn't afraid to stand up for what she believes in.

My only critic is that the novel ran a bit long. I don't know actually how long it is page-wise but the middle certainly dragged.

Overall an enjoyable, forbidden romance read :)