Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book. I ended up buying the book to finish it since I was having trouble downloading the book, so I'm sorry that this review is a little late.

Reading the blurb, this book sounded exactly like something I would really enjoy. I even loved the main character's name! The book overall was a decent read and I enjoyed it for the most part. I'm not entirely sure what it was, but there was part of it that kind of kept me from fully enjoying the book. It kind of fell short from what I originally expected after reading the description. Again, still a good book!

Review excerpted from my blog post over at Titillated Termagant Romance Reviews (https://titillatedtermagant.wordpress.com/2022/01/28/a-dragonbird-in-the-fern-by-laura-rueckert/)

My Rating: 4 stars

Library recommendation: Recommended for public library fantasy romance collections.

Warning: Hereafter, you chance spoilers. I will try never to reveal major plot points, but to review any book, you must reveal some parts of the story.


________________


Number of titles I have read by this author: 1

Love story speed: Medium burn

Relationship dynamics: The Spare Princess (h) / The Foreign King (H)

Physical descriptions: Raffar is described as having light brown skin, broad shoulders, and a shaved head, with brown eyes, a full mouth, and face tattoos. Jiara is only described as having long, black hair.

Sexual content: A smidge; on-page, non-explicit, fairly vague language used

Triggers: Negative experiences with undiagnosed dyslexia (h)

Grammar/Editing: My ARC had a few typos.

Review: This medium-paced book is set in a fantasy realm and is as much, if not more, focused on Jiara’s growth as a character and solving the mystery of who murdered her sister, Scilla, as it is on the romance between the main characters. Indeed, the ghost of Scilla is present within the story and has the power to lash out, which serves to drive the urgency (and centrality) of the need to solve her murder. That being said, there was enough of a focus on the romance to classify this story as such. The worldbuilding is good – the context is described well enough to guide the reader, but not with sweeping descriptions. There is also a map provided, which is helpful, although it was somewhat blurry and distorted in my ebook ARC. The most well-developed aspect of this fantasy realm was the internal religious structure of the different kingdoms featured within the text. That is, there are two sets of nature gods at play whose natural affiliations may differ, but whose associated belief structures overlap in concepts and practice.

Raffar and Jiara are the main characters of this book. Theirs is a political marriage; Jiara takes Scilla’s place in the arrangement after her death for the sake of the trade relationship between their two kingdoms. There are cultural and language barriers between them, and Jiara has dyslexia (which is not something that this society has a concept of) which complicate their ability to communicate and understand each another, but the couple always likes and respects one another, and this grows into love. The supporting characters are interesting enough, but fairly generic, generally. The villain is also a bit of an archetype in terms of motive, but is still written in an interesting way.

Full disclosure: I received a free advance review copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. The pacing was spot on, and I loved the character's depths and how they interacted with everyone. It was such a fast, fun read, and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to get lost in a great story for a while!

This book took longer than I thought it would to finish, but I really did enjoy the fun, interesting plot and dyslexia representation that made this story unique. I did find some of the characters fell flat for me, making this a book I didn't necessarily find myself reaching for immediately. Still, I would recommend this to readers interested in a light YA fantasy. For a debut, Laura Rueckert really impressed me and I look forward to seeing what else she comes up with.

Back in 2020, I became ill for a good portion of the year. As much as I didn't want to, I had to stop reading books and writing reviews. Unfortunately, this book got caught up in that time of my life. So here I am, writing a review for a book I read two years ago and wondering what to say. But I have learned that if there is any benefit to my experience, it is this: books that have something to say will leave a lasting impression. A Dragonbird in the Fern is one of those books.

In some regards, the story is your typical YA fantasy - there is a kingdom, a romance, and an evil plot. It is an enjoyable read and wouldn't necessarily stand out as much, except for the fact that the author created a main character with dyslexia. But moreso it is that this fantasy novel doesn't just have a character with dyslexia, but that it becomes a central plot point to the story. In fact, I would go as far in saying that this story would not exist if the dyslexia had been left out.

The book starts off shortly after Princess Scilla's assassination. Scilla had been betrothed to the King of a neighboring country. She had spent many years learning the King's language and customs, but upon her death the betrothal transfers to Princess Jiara. But unlike her sister, Jiara has always had difficulty with letters and words and reading. As a result, Jiara does not know the King's native language. As the marriage starts with the newlyweds can only communicate through an interpreter.

If all there was to this story was a princess who had dyslexia and didn't know the language of her new husband, it would never have left an impression on me. I would have wondered why the author bothered to tell us at all if she wasn't going to use it. But that is not what happens here. Instead Rueckert has carefully plotted an entire story around the difficulties of learning new languages and the main character's dyslexia.

Through Jiara and King Raffar we explore the effort and amount of time needed to learn even the basics of a language. This couple is so cute. The most memorable scenes for me are of them eating dinner and Raffar helping Jiara learn the language. Instead of immediately graduating to Shakespeare level dialogues, the two of them stick with Dr. Seuss conversations: short, simple sentences. "I like rice." "I like sweet potatoes." There is a lot of miming going on too to help each other understand. I suspect this couple would have been great at charades.

With A Dragonbird in the Fern, Laura Rueckert has not only created a delightful book to read, but one that is also memorable. It's not perfect - I saw the ending/villain coming. But it is a nice read and one I can recommend if you are looking for a light-hearted YA fantasy.

Thank you Netgalley and North Star Editions for the advanced review copy and opportunity to provide an honest opinion.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this book.

I have found the worldbuilding, the characters, the plots, so interesting. Everything. It's hard to find books like this one, in which you love everything. I adored Jiara, it's a character so beautifully human, so well written.

The relationship between Jiara and Raffar was so cute and so beautiful to read. I loved them.

And Scilla. Her whole story was so emotional and so terrifying in some parts. I loved the way the author wrote it in such a perfect way.

The descriptions were so beautifully written.

This is a murder mystery, fantasy book about Jiara trying to find out her sister's killer, and trying to live a new, different life.

I highly recommend it!

This is a beautifully crafted fantasy with stellar worldbuilding and evocative writing. The main character, Jiara, faces some incredible challenges, moving unexpectedly to a faraway kingdom and learning a brand-new language, while also dealing with the aftermath of her sister's murder and fending off her vengeful ghost. I absolutely adore anything to do with ghosts or sisters, so this was my favorite part of the book. So unique and incredibly creepy. The pacing was excellent, and I sped right through the book. Highly recommended for fans of YA fantasy!

The Dragonbird in the Fern is a story about a girl who is thrust into a world she doesn’t understand. A foreign language, a foreign husband, foreign customs. Not to mention, everytime she tried to read words on a page, they jump and dance around.

Jiara is a try-er. In Afrikaans I would call her a “kannie-dood”. Despite failing multiple times at some things, she continues on trying. She keeps on trying to learn a difficult language, she keeps on trying to understand a new country and its people, she keeps on trying to find her sister’s killer.

Jiara and her husband don’t even speak the same language, but they manage to communicate.

I have to admit that I find the concept of Earthwalkers, one of the antagonists in the book, quite terrifying. The idea of ghosts going so mad with vengeance that they kill their families in a violent rage was intriguing, especially when an Earthwalker follows Jiara everywhere she goes.

I definitely felt there was some chemistry between Jiara and Raffar, but it still somehow felt like insta-love. The side-characters don’t feel very well-developed and although the villain’s character didn’t read as consistent, he proved to be a vicious antagonist.

Definitely a quick-paced, bite-sized, enjoyable fantasy for anyone who wants to get out of a reading slump.

*Thanks to Netgalley and Flux Books for providing me with a free arc in exchange for an honest review!

This was unfortunately not for me. I couldn't get attached to the characters, they felt flat for me. The worldbuilding was interesting though but again, a bit flat. What I did like is how the MC was resourceful with her dyslexia. I think that all the ingredients for a very unique story was there but the execution was a bit lacking.

It’s not a bad book but , for me, it is forgettable. Nothing crazy happens during the book and most of it is just the main character learning the language and while I did lile that at the beggining, seeing her struggle because she’s dyslexic, it became repetitive and boring.

The romance is… meh. There is nothing epic to it and there is also no tension or slow burn to it either, it just happens and you know it’s going to happen. It is really frustraiting because they have really cute moments but the kind of insta love with no develpoment thing ruins it for me.

The same with the character, they have no development through out the book. The author doesn’t develop the world neither which has a lot of potencial and could have made an amazing political intrigue plot.

I knew who the killer was very early in the book but I did like the ending since I didn’t see that coming. And the whole thing with the watchers was really interesting even tho the author doesn’t really explain much and I would have love to know more about their story.

Rueckert wrote a complex standalone fantasy that's simultaneously refreshingly original and full of the many tropes I love in the genre. It's even perhaps because of how well executed the stranger in a strange land element of the story is that I enjoyed this one as much as I did.
Princess Jiara's future was supposed to be simple, a marriage of convenience to a local lord and no pressure to learn a new language or deal with politics. Something she's very happy about because she's always struggled with learning. But when her older sister is murdered and she ends up getting married to the young king of a very foreign land she's suddenly tasked not only with learning a language and culture she has no grasp of, but also with figuring out who killed her sister and why. And she better hurry because her sister's restless spirit is demanding revenge by putting everyone she loves in danger.
I love how Rueckert made it so that Jiara's unrecognized dyslexia was only a minor element of her character that played no role in her being able to find her sister's murderer and save the day. Her difficulty learning is acknowledged, but she works hard and figures out a way that works for her.
Overall, it's a story of family, revenge, and politics (with some blossoming romance for good measure) that has some fun twists and turns while keeping the elements of magic and paranormal elements as a steady backdrop to the complex machinations that drive the plot forward. A quick, enjoyable, and memorable read that is sure to entertain.
Very happy thanks to NetGalley and Flux for the engaging read!

This was a really fun YA Fantasy adventure that has some fun ghost story vibes and great representation. Fans of AVATAR THE LAST AIRBENDER will appreciate the elemental nature of the magic. The plot twists and turns kept me enraptured until the very end and this was infinitely enjoyable.

First of all, if I could give this book five stars for just including a learning disability, you already know I would, especially since it’s a fantasy novel. However, the synopsis really made it sound like it was going to be an intricate part of the story, and unfortunately, in my opinion, it felt like it was only there for a diversity token. I also feel that this book was written for an extremely young YA audience. In fact, if the romance was cut out of the story it would probably be better marketed as a middle grade fantasy instead. I still think that this has potential to find it’s audience, so I’m holding out hope that if you try this novel, it works for you!🥰

DNF at 44%.
I (once again) didn't manage to read this on time, but I don't regret it that much. A Dragonbird in the Fern was written like a fanfiction by a 13yo who is imagining how she could marry her dream prince and go to his kingdom and blah blah blah. I'm always sorry to write a review such as this, but here's the thing: I wasted at least two hours of my life on this, plus the time it takes me to write this and aslo upload it to NG. Not to be too harsh, though, I think that the fact that the MC had dyslexia was interesting, but at the same time it made me so frustrated to read about the fact that she couldn't learn the new language. But it's something that could definitely be represented in books more, instead of performative LGBT rep etc.

At the start of this story, I really loved everything about the worldbuilding and the characters, how Jiara was dealing with the loss of her older sister and having to go marry the man her sister was meant for, the man she herself had felt a tug towards from the moment they met. Raffar was kind of great, and I really liked how the two of them got to be together. I also loved Pia and her sisterhood with Jiara and how she found her happiness with Marro. I just kind of wished we could have gotten a little more depth to our characters and the story overall.

Well this wasn’t what I expected but it was good. The character build was nice and you somewhat know who the villain is but are still surprised by everything that happens. I really loved Raffar and Freyad. Jiara was a well
Developed character too. I loved that the author included such a wide variety of people and issues in the story.

I really struggled with writing this review, because there were so many things that could’ve worked so well but just fell short. This book had such an interesting premise, but it fell short a little bit of my expectations. This is by no means a bad book, with this looking like a debut novel I think it shows a lot of promise for this author’s future works!

The entire reason for Jiara going to a foreign country to marry their king is to find her sister’s killer, but that plotline kept kind of getting lost and after the beginning felt like it fell to the wayside until the end. In fact, all the plotlines kind of felt like they were unfinished, and it was a bit choppy and felt like it focused on one thing then jumped to something else, then jumped back.

A lot of things seemed to be a little too convenient and predictable, for example in moments where the main character is content suddenly the ghost of her sister will lash out and attack her, making the main character worry about finding her sister’s killer. The inclusion of the Watchers – sort of like gods in the foreign country – felt a little bit like a cop-out because these Watchers keep people from dying if they approve of them which definitely lowers the stakes a lot and didn’t make me feel like any of the characters were actually in any danger.

The other downside to this is that things didn’t feel fleshed out enough and given enough attention. There was just enough to make me interested, but not enough for me to truly understand the characters or the world. This happened not only with the romance, but all the other relationships between not only the characters, but the different countries as well.

I also didn’t really feel connected to any of the characters, and I had an especially hard time when it came to Raffar who we were told was this great guy who wanted to make some advances in his country, but really all we got was he’s really good looking with tattoos and that really felt like the entirety of his personality. Jiara also was lacking in personality. It felt like everything that she was revolved around the fact that she’s dyslexic, because that’s really the only thing we were given about her other than her love for her family. I also kind of don’t understand the inclusion of her friend Pia since she only showed up for a handful of scenes and then was pretty much never mentioned again.

Right now I know it’s sounding like I didn’t like this book, but there were some aspects that I did really like! I loved the inclusion of dyslexia and the struggles that the main character faced, especially since that’s not something that you see often in fantasy novels. I also really loved the inclusion of a language barrier between the two love interests seeing as they’re from different countries. Often fantasy books take place across multiple kingdoms and it always seems like everyone speaks the same language, so it was nice for this to finally come up in a book!

It’s definitely a quick read and was fun, but didn’t wow me. I think this could be a nice book for an introduction to fantasy for someone new to the YA fantasy genre, but if you’re an avid fantasy reader you may find some things missing with this one.

This was a really fun standalone novel! I really enjoyed our main character and the mystery element of the plot. The fact that the MC was dyslexic was also a BIG plus for me as a mom to a dyslexic daughter!

I think this story had an interesting premise but was too busy with all kinds of ideas and plot lines that it didn't feel super connected, like the sister's spirit randomly showing up to throw a wrench in a happy moment- it felt like an abrupt reminder that the story also had a mystery to solve, not just a romance. The book also started very slowly, not getting legitimately interesting until the half-way point and by then I am not really sure I could get invested. The book did do a great job with the slow burning relationship, no instalove here but instead a romantic relationship built over time with people who could barely communicate. Another positive is that this is a complete standalone so no other books are needed to wrap up the plot (which though made me confused as to the tons and tons of world and culture building details that made up the first half of the story that were not needed since this is a standalone that required far less building for me to be engaged from the start.) Overall this was just an ok read that had potential but maybe some execution issues but I am sure others will really enjoy the story full of court intrigue and deception with a touch of magic and romance.

A dragonbird in the fern is a ya novel about murder, deception, and finding yourself in a new land.

You start the story after the death of princess Scilla. She has become a earthwalker, a spirit set on vengeance until her murderer is found. Now Jiara, her younger sister, has taken on the task of finding the murderer. This becomes more difficult when she is married off to the man Scilla was trained to marry with no knowledge of the language and customs in order to make the alliance that was planned. Once thrown into this strange new land and role of queen Jiara must now hunt down the killer before her sister becomes stronger and kills their family.

I love this story and the fantasy land that was created in it. The story follows a strong heroine as she tries to navigate her new world and bring peace to her sister. Jiara was a well thought out character and definitely one to root for. I think this is one for most young adult fantasy lovers. It’s not just a focus on the romance in the novel, which there is just enough of, but a strong young woman who really stands up for herself and is witty.

The story has a fast strong flow and a lot of action. I found it hard to put down and wanted more after I finished it. It’s been awhile since a young adult Fantasy novel  has excited me this much and it’s one I recommend 100%.

I received a copy through netgalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review