This book was initially on my radar for the cover art, the subject matter including dragons, and for the overall description. For lovers of all things dragons and high fantasy, this title is worth trying. I enjoyed the plot and thought the premise for the book was creative. However, as someone who enjoys fantasy with only a few years of experience diving into the genre, the book was a bit inaccessible.

The main problem I found that prevented me from becoming immersed in the story was how the world building and norms of this realm were presented to the reader. Within the first couple chapters, there are already dozens of terms that are either completely made up or perhaps have a language origin that is not my forte. It was rather confusing having so many unknown words thrown at you that either had implied meaning or would be delved into later. I do appreciate that there was a more organic approach to the world building, but it was also so much that the more natural presentation of terminology was on the more chaotic side.

At the same time that the terms were not outright explained, a ton of the history of this world was info-dumped in the same first few chapters. One one hand, I was completely lost in the new words but also overloaded with really long sections of backstory that were interrupting the characters' actions.

I found the jumps to the two main characters and the switch from first to second person POV a bit jarring. I've seen this creative decision work well in other stories. Maybe it would not be an issue for others but it was one that I struggled with in this instance.

I can understand why some readers would enjoy this book but the approach to world building and the stylistic choices in the design were just not really for me.

I Read Dragonfall as an arc in exchange, for my honest opinion, so here's what I think about this book.  I feel pretty neutral about this book, which is pretty uncommon for me because either I like a book or I hate it. Likewise, I normally love dragons books, but Dragonfall didn't catch me. The writing style and characters weren't it for me, and I just couldn't get used to it, but that's just my personal opinion, and maybe you would love the writing style and the characters. The book was carried by characters and tropes, which is not my thing and I prefer if the focus lies on the plot. But overall it wasn't a bad book and I would still recommend it if you enjoy dragons.

I want to say the world building was amazing, but took me a while to get into it. There were new terms which I understood through context but some are still not entirely clear. Like Starveling, I hope it was explained a little better.

The story has a good blend of dragons, magic, prophecies, betrayal, schemes, and a heist. But, it's kind of slow. It felt like the first 75% of the story was just a build up leading to the heist, and that said heist happened really fast. However, that twist at the end was shocking.

Also, the exploration of queerness and gender was wonderful. Every character was introduced with the pronoun 'they', until such character acknowledged which gender they identify with.

The thing I disliked the most is it is told in switching POVs and in different persons. It confused me too many times, and had to check the chapter page to check on whose perspective I was reading.

The romance of the two main characters was not the focal point of the story, which is great. However, I found it not that believable on how they eventually fell for each other. But, once they got together, I was rooting for them.

I don't think this book amazed me enough to look forward for the sequel, but I might still read it just to know what happens.

Thank you so much DAW and @netgalley for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

It took some pushing forward to get into this story, but once I was in it, I loved it. The conflicts, the tension, the plotting, and a slow burn that finished still very much up in the air leaving a lot of potential development in books to come. The pace, past about 13% in, wasn't slow nor too quick. It was well balanced.

It was an enemies-to-lovers on one side and a forced-proximity-makes-friends-to-lovers on the other. And the friendship was real, to the point where I felt what happened to that bond. Honestly, when I requested this Arc, I had not expected the romance aspect, which was a welcomed surprise.

Now while I did love most of it and I can't wait to get my hands on book 2, I did have problems with the beginning that might have stopped short my reading had this not been an arc read.

The first few chapters were a little bit of a trial to get through. First, the prologue definitely should have been chapter 1. It's needed for an initial understanding of Everen. But beware, it is riddled with heaps of purple prose. Same goes for Everen's following two or three chapters, then suddenly the flowery prose clears up. Arcady's first two chapters are basically info dumps. Again this clears up and information is then evenly distributed. Lastly,
while an aspect I did enjoy, the gender fluidity of Loc's culture was not explained until 19% in, which made me wonder for waayyy too long why the them/they was applied in many situations but not others.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this book, and I want to know what happens next, but at the same time new readers need to be willing to overcome those initial hurdles in order to dive fully into this story.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this arc. My opinions are my own.

I received a digital copy of Dragonfall through netgalley in exchange for my open and honest review:

DNF at 24%

The following contains mild spoilers for the first quarter of the book, so proceed at your own risk.

There was a lot that I liked about this book settings wise, but there was just an absolute failure to launch for me. I was hoping for a dragon based high fantasy: instead I got dragon stuck in human and/or humanoid shape while they must find the person they have accidentally become bound to.

The primary human character, Arcady, is just kind of…there. They exhibit no real elements of personality, like they do things and they consider things and consequences, but there is just no reason to care and the character doesn’t make you.

The worldbuilding and magic system has a large amount of potential, although it came in a disappointing trickle, and I could not sit through these bland characters and yet another ‘promising dragons and not delivering dragons’ story.

Also, despite the progressive (which is good) stand on world-building, a stuck polymorph really comes off as making fun of neurodivergent people by having a character clearly not able to parse social cues (with the excuse of being a dragon) and not sufficiently going into differences of culture between the species when in the “Dragons” point of view.

Everen is fated to save the dragons' dying world. Following a prophecy, he falls into the human world, bonded to a human, a thief, Arcady. Dragons despise humans thanks to their history, while humans unbeknownst to the facts, revere them as gods. With his actions, he'll either save the dragons and give them their world back, or doom them all.

Everen's plan and duty definitely don't include falling for Arcady, but the way they obliviously end up longing for each other... chef's kiss.

Getting into the book was a little bit hard at first thanks to the overwhelming amount of world-building info dump at the beginning. The history is detailed and the magic system is beautiful but a little complex, which doesn't make it easier on you at the beginning. I also felt that the style of writing aspires to be beautiful and sophisticated but ends up a little hard to read. Oftentimes I felt myself wanting to skip ahead, so we could get to the point finally.

But once you get going it's a great queer fantasy romance, with dragons, magic, and the "I should kill you but I'm falling for you" trope. So if that's up your alley, then give it a go, and don't give up after the first few chapters.

I really wanted to love this book. The premise is super interesting (hence the 2 stars instead of 1). Last male dragon in the world needs to save his dragon planet from eventual destruction and take their land back through the fulfilment of a prophecy? Yes, please! However, within the first few chapters the dragon thing kinda disappears because he ends up trapped in a "preterit" form, which was never fully explained so I can only imagine it as a somewhat humanoid / unevolved dragon. The language confused me. There were words that were never defined - maire, paire, taire, which you eventually figure out through context but with the lack of definitions this was really off putting initially. I had to DNF at 52% because this was moving at a snail's pace and the "love story" was less of true love and more of a planned manipulation to enhance the "bond" (this will make sense if you read it). I didn't like the manipulative aspect or how disingenuous it was. I didn't really feel anything for any of the characters and they didn't have any truly defined personalities. The plot was slow and had a really boring reason behind it (steal expensive thing to make lots of money to avenge one's family name... But go to school first). I'm not sure if this is a debut novel for this author but it reads like one. Overall very disappointing and nothing pulls you in to keep reading. I hate dnf-ing and have only done it a few times in my life. I usually try to push through it to see to the end, but this just wasn't for me. I hope you all have a better experience!

Thank you netgalley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

At outset, I was struggling with the multiple POVs, gradually I managed to get adapt to the writing style.

It's set in a outstanding world building with dragons! AND the eccentric magic systems is what intrigued me the most, not to mention the enemies-to-lovers (which is the "I was supposed to betray you" trope ugh) + queer representation.

Once, the humans and dragons lived together peacefully in the land until the day humans betrayed and exiled dragons.
Leaving a group of outcasted dragon hiding and surviving in a corner of the world. But when Everen-a dragon was forced back to the human land as a consequence of a spell, he has to gain the trust of Arcady-a thief, human and outcast, to complete the bond in order to save his family.

A very interesting take on dragons, humans and magic, and what happens when the three intersect. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Some things are left for the reader to interpret early on, but I had no trouble following along. I applaud the nonbinary representation but felt some of the passages explaining it were clunky and unnecessary. I found the way the 2 countries built up their respective lore about dragons to be very interesting--very different views of the same events and how time has changed the meanings. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.

Thanks to Netgally and DAW Publishing for the chance to read an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Dragonfall is a fun fantasy book that is the start of a series about a human and a dragon from two different worlds that bond, ruining plans for their own species. Everen by way of a spell spoken by Arcady, ends up on the human side of the veil. The rest of the dragons left behind see this as the perfect opportunity to break out of the prison of their land, which is dying. In Arcady’s lands the dragons are viewed as relics of the past and gods. But their return would upend those in power, both in wealth and influence. And meanwhile, the partial bond between Everen and Arcady leaves them both more than a little testy. Everen increasingly feels conflicted about the role the dragons expect him to play in opening the veil for them, and Arcady reluctantly recruits Everen into the world of thievery as he tries to pull off the ultimate score that would allow him to go to school and educate himself enough to leave. The story is fun and the dynamic of the relationship between Everen and Arcady is enjoyable. The story tends to drag some. I read an advance copy in digital format and was surprised when I found out the story was only 400 pages long. I like the diversity among the human characters, but I also felt like Arcady’s motivations tended to be muddled and complicated. I felt like it would have been tighter if it had been more focused on clearing his grandfather’s name. And as the book is part of a series, the ending wraps up much of the events of the book, but leaves other things open-ended to have a starting point for the next book. A complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Really enjoyed this story!! I have always been obsessed with Dragons, so having this book in the POV of the dragon was a really cool perspective! Can't wait to get my hands on a physical copy, the cover is beautiful!
Thank you so much for sending met he ARC of Dragonfall!!

4.5 stars, hot damn!

Let me tell you one thing that’s going to make you read this book even before you read this review: It’s queer enemies-to-lovers with dragons.
Bonus point: It also has the “I’m supposed to kill you but now I’m in love with you” trope too.

All right, back to the review.

So first let’s talk about what didn’t work for me, which is not a lot but they still need to be mentioned.

THE INFO-DUMPING
This book, like many other fantasy books, fell victim to this. The first few chapters were ONLY written for info-dumping. Not only that but they were also way too confusing. I felt like an idiot, and I am an idiot most of the time, but believe me when I say even Einstein would roll in his grave trying to understand what was happening. I get that it is needed to set the world and the scene but it could’ve been written better. I’m glad they were short though.

THE MAGIC SYSTEM
Now now, I rather enjoyed the magic system but it could’ve been explained and explored way better. It has been three days since I finished this book and looking back at it, I can’t tell you a single thing about the magic system or how it worked. And it’s not because it was insignificant, it just took a backseat in this book when it had so much potential.

THE WRITING STYLE
It was different from most of the writing styles I’ve seen through the years. It was fascinating but it was dragging A LOT sometimes that I found myself skimming more than I’d like to admit. There is a thin line between poetic and “get to the point ffs” and this book played jump rope with it.

And that’s about it. Now let’s get back to how much I loved this book.

THE WRITING STYLE, AGAIN
Yes, the writing style gets two mentions in this review because I’m having a love-hate relationship with it. I already explained why I hated it, now let me tell you why I loved it. It was unique and reading most chapters felt like watching a painting being made if that makes sense. I also did enjoy how the chapters were handled. This book has dual-POV, triple if you count the assassin girl who likes to pop up from time to time. I saw some reviews not liking this, specifically not liking how Everen’s chapters felt like letters to Arcady, and do not listen to those reviews because it all ties together. I promise you will love it in the end. You will cry but you will love it.

THE ENDING
Speaking off, THAT ENDING?! I need the next book now. It is not up for debate. I hate how I can’t talk about it since I’m trying to keep this review spoiler-free but come on man. Leaving us hanging like this must be a hate crime.

THE ROMANCE
Without giving a lot away, I just wanna say I can kill or be killed for Arcady and Everen. They have a hold on my heart none can break. Their banter, longing, and overall interactions got to me right from the start. They were oblivious to how much of a simp they were for one another and it was honestly adorable. Again, I NEED MORE.

So in the end, stop reading this review and go read this book. If you know me, you do know I hardly ever like books or leave positive reviews since being an asshole is more fun but I honestly can’t find anything to hate about this book.

Writing: 4/5
Character Development: 4/5
World Building: 5/5
Plot: 4/5

Warnings: Language

Themes: Fantasy, Adventure

Dragonfall is about a thief who steals an artifact that triggers a dragon to come threw the veil and they must learn to work together to fullfill their destinies. The world building was my favorite part of the story. The dragons, magic system and lore was so much fun to read. Arcady and Everen were the perfect adventure duo. I can’t wait for the next book to come out.

This book is great for anyone who loves magic, dragons and characters who fight for what they want.

I received a free copy of this book and am leaving an honest review.

This is like a solid 3.5. It was a nice introduction to a new fantasy world, but it didn't necessarily stand out. It was a fine, enjoyable read, but when it ended I didn't feel any great loss.

This follows a dragon trapped in a human world, who is bonded to the human that unintentionally drew him there. There is magic and some romance and politics, and, pleasantly, there was a moment when it became a heist novel. Which is a win. On the other hand, the secondary point of view characters did not feel like they added much to the plot, and some of the driving motivations in the book felt weak and contrived.

TLDR, you should pick this up if you're in the mood for a new fantasy world that feels like traditional fantasy (but with queer characters).

Drama, desire, desperation and dragons… the beginning of something that at times had a BIT TOO MUCH sniveling for me. 🫣

𝗠𝘆 𝗧𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲: Thieves and Dragons
𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿: L.R Lam
𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗿: DAW
𝗙𝗮𝘃 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿: The Strike
𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆: Normal
𝗧𝘆𝗽𝗲: Novel
𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗿𝗲: Fantasy
3.8/𝟱

🌱THE EXCELLENT
~ Unfolding fantasy world
~ Gender conceptualization & discussions
~ Boy love (if you likey)
~ Dragons with society
~ Interesting diseases & mysteries
~ LOADS of corrupt ppl (if you likey)

Arcardy lives a life that needs to be changed. Cheated by the wealthiest out of an inheritance of magic & monies, due to the supposed ‘evils’ of the past, they attempt to regain the honour due their grandpapi by establishing themselves at the prestigious academy. To do so, they will need to do one last job with the thieves they betrayed, a merchant friend & bonded to a dragon prince with a mission to kill.

🪷🦖 A slow building relationship between a dragon & a gender fluid thief, living in a world where sickness causes permanent damage & using too much magic can turn you into a zombie-like creature. Although this love form is not my cookie, the enemy to lovers, forced proximity, forbidden love & hide-my-terrible-defects tropes were well done. There’s heavy attraction & slight heat, if that’s your thing.

✨𝗚𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱.

🌱THE MEH
~ first non-pale warm honey brown human & it’s a fat teak skinned woman? 😔🤦 sigh
~ the story & events unfolded a bit too slowly
~ more of the worlds could have been fleshed out, I felt somewhat trapped 🤔 This should improve with the other books though

♡🌱 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝗲 ;)

I was excited by the premise of this book, but at times it could be hard to follow. I feel that there was a large gap in the history of howe we got to where this book takes place. That may be remedied by later books, but I had a hard time being largely invested and wanted to know more about the before. I did like the character of Arcady and how the author builds a world where gender is not something a person is defined by. I also really loved the character of Larkin and I hope we hear from her again later.
I found myself skimming over large parts of the story to get to more action, there was a lot of internal dialogue that seemed to drag. However, I did enjoy this book overall and will likely ready the rest of the books when they come out.

I went into this story originally because of one thing. Dragons. But this fantasy story has much more to it than simply dragons. L.R. Lam has woven a world that stands out, a unique magic system and queer representation I have not seen before.

Everen is a dragon, the last male dragon of his kind on a dying world where all dragons have been cast out to by humans. Arcady is a thief and the grandchild of the one they call the plaguebringer. Driven by their determination to prove the title false and leave their hard life behind. One fateful night Everen is thrust through the veil into the land dragon's once called home by a spell. Where he finds himself half-bonded to Arcady. Everen must hide who he is, Dragons thought to be myth and Gods in this world, and find a way to earn Arcady's trust to complete the bond all while fighting the engrained hatred all dragon's have of humans. For the only way he knows for Dragon's to escape their dying world and come home is to steal Arcady's magic through the bond and then end him, only then can the veil be torn open and the Dragon's can be free.

We are introduced in the beginning of this book to Everen's POV, which is written uniquely, unlike the other POV's in this story Everen is talking to someone. The rest of the POV's lean to a more traditional third person writing style but the transition is not hard though a bit jarring at first. By the end of the book you get a clearer picture as to why this is written in such a unique way.

I struggled at first with the world building, the lack of translation for the made up language used in the beginning of the book for spells and felt dropped in the middle of this world without a clue, much like Everen was, which I assume is the point but was still a struggle.

Overall, I think Dragonfall is a great introduction to a unique fantasy series that has some surprising twists and turns, particularly at the conclusion of the story. The magic system is entirely unique with humans possessing "stolen magic" that could very well drive them to madness, subplots that could lead to political intrigue, and many worlds still yet to explore. It was also a breath of fresh air to find a fantasy book that let the relationship between Everen and Arcady feel natural, be a subtler plot to the story and help the character development rather than being the main plot point of their developments.

This is definitely a series worth following to see how much farther it can go.

Thank you to DAW and NetGalley for letting me read this ARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this book, but unfortunately I DNF-ed it at @39%.

The premise of this book is pretty interesting and it's probably why I kept on reading it for so long. I've always loved prophecies and dragons and everything this book probably has but I will never see. But something about the writing style just made me lose focus and eventually interest in this. On one hand, you have the character speaking in first person but on the other, the character referring to the other as "you". It makes for a very confusing time reading.

4.5 stars!
The first chapter instantly grabbed my attention and never let go. This is a multi-pov book, however most of the chapters center around Everen and Arcady, with a bit of Sorin in between. There are a couple of other characters that have their own chapters show up, but it's mainly Everen and Arcady. Everen's chapters are written in second person pov while the rest are third person pov (at least that's what I remember) and I think I love second person pov. The pov narration shift might not be for everyone though, but remember that it's mostly Everen's chapters that are second person.

Spoiler territory ahead!

Everen is the last male dragon that has been born and is foretold to save his kind, the world they currently live in is Vere Celene, a harsh and volcanic place. Arcady is a genderfluid character and they are the first genderfluid character that I've had the pleasure of reading about. Everen's first meeting with Arcady results in a half bond that both of them are both are not too happy about. They must both navigate around each other and the world in order to break the bond (or in Everen's case, complete the bond). I loved that this book had a heist that our characters were working up towards and it was interesting to see how it would work with the magic that the characters of this world possess. There were a few fantasy words that I had trouble understanding and I wished they were explained a bit more.
I loved reading about how Everen's and Arcady's relationship grew, as both were hesitant towards each other and Everen as a dragon was grown up hating humans. The world building is interesting with the way the magic works in this fantasy world. I will definitely be picking up the sequel, especially after that ending!

I am declining to review since I found that this title was not a good fit for us, and I don't like writing negative reviews. Best of luck with this book!