I am only giving this book four stars because I personally struggled to read it. It isn’t hold my attention long and I kept not wanting to come back to it. However, the story itself and the characters were all solid. So you can make your own assumptions on if it’s truly a four star read or not. If it had kept my attention it would have been five stars. But it didn’t.

In a world filled with magic dragons are considered gods and any relics (bones) are highly prized by the church. Arcady is non-binary (and I absolutely LOVED that they were no binary) and in an effort to clear her grandfather’s name they set themselves up on a path to do just that. There’s only one hangup. Everyone has a seal, that dictates their name for all to see, and arcady’s name is tainted by their granfather. So they perform a spell for a new one. Only it doesn’t exactly go as planned.

Everen is the only male dragon in the world where the dragons were banished many years ago. In an effort to fight against his fate he thrusts himself into a void in the world and ends up bound to Arcady. Neither of them wants the bond but both need it in ways they can’t even imagine. Arcady needs to clear their family’s legacy and everen needs Arcady to die to bring the dragons back to their world.

This story is filled with puzzles and intrigue between two beings who have every reason to distrust the other. And yet they find common ground. Mixed in is a good old fashioned heist and the chief cleric and his ward who are out to prevent the dragons from ever coming home.

The magic system here is solid and so is the story. I loved seeing Everen and Arcady interact and the aspect of a sickness that plagued the world have echoes of our own world and how it effected each and every one of us. If you love dragons and magic and two people destined for each other but fighting it all the way, you’ll love this.

Dragonfall by L.R. Lam is the first book in the new unapologetically queer, epic fantasy trilogy The Dragon Scales. Divided into 4 parts, Dragonfall explores the worlds, cultures and customs of Lumet and Vere Celene by following the stories through the point of view of 4 interconnected characters: Arcady Dalca (Eremia), Everen Emberclaw, Sorin and Cassia Emberclaw. Although the majority of the book focuses on Arcady (a human thief from the city of Vatra) and Everen (the last male dragon) and the exploration of their characters and the (magical) bond that forms between them, Lam’s masterful writing manages to weave these intimate, chamber-like scenes to a grander tale.

The book’s playful experiments with narrative perspective and technique, while jarring at first, serve to draw the readers’ attention to the queernorm world of Dragonfall. This intentional choice makes the readers deeply aware of gender and issues surrounding this topic, the assumptions, prejudices and preconceptions people have on the subject. It forces the readers to focus on this issue, to think and question themselves and the world, their attitudes, thoughts and feeling about this topic.

“Gender is both so important and yet inconsequential, in the grand scheme of things. The more you think about it, the stranger it all seems. Trying to unpick what feels innate to you and what is put upon you by others.”

Dragonfall is not only an extraordinary successful writing experiment with narrative positions and focuses on queernorm, but it’s also a book with bewitching, well-developed world and characters and a plot that will keep the readers glued to the book even if they find the aforementioned experimentations with narrative positions difficult to navigate or get used to.

“Knowledge was escape. Books were thresholds, and you could cross them and leave yourself behind, or use what you found inside to transform into someone else.”

L.R. Lam gave birth to a marvellous fantasy book that contains a fascinating world filled with interesting characters that I am eager to know more about. It is quite difficult for me to describe my experience of reading Dragonfall. Due to its experimental nature, Dragonfall might not be the easiest read, but the reward of reading a great book is certainly worth putting the effort into it.

Dragons and a heist? What more could you ask for. This book was a lot of fun. The world building was great. The magic system is unique and has interesting elements of danger. The romance is fine. I am sure we will get more in later books. Overall I liked this book and think it’s worth any fantasy readers time.

I read the first 22% as an eARC and it’s everything I wanted it to be. I have a finished copy now so I will be rereading the first part I’ve read and then finishing it, but LR Lam has knocked it out of the park. They are an amazing writer and Dragonfall solidifies that they are my favourite author.

Thank you to DAW books and NetGalley for the eArc of this title!

This book is SO special and unique. We’ve got a queer normative society, a world of magic wielding humans who worship dragons, said dragons that are trapped in another world with a vendetta against humans, a genderqueer MC, a dragon shifter, a magical bond, and all manner of thievery and antics. Not to mention SUCH a diverse, complex and FULL fantasy world.

I overall really enjoyed this book. I found myself having a difficult time getting into it in the beginning, but the more time we spent with Arcady in particular really endeared me to the story, and everything picked up once Arcady & Evereb officially met. I loved how well crafted and complex this world was, but I did find it getting info dumpy at times, and It was easy to zone out for a paragraph or two and realize later that you’ve got to go back and try again. This also made the pacing a bit awkward, as we would have a great relationship moment or action scene which would often quickly turn into another info dumping session right afterward and it would suck me right back out of it.

Ultimately, this was a book I had to read and enjoy in small doses rather than long stretches, but it really does have a lot of great things to offer. I’m looking forward to the sequel, and can see the awkward/clunkiness clearing up as the story goes on. It already did adjust itself quite well even just by the end of book 1.

I’d definitely recommend this to fantasy fans, especially ones who want to read ALL the dragon books AND to those who want to fully emmerse themselves in a queer normative, high fantasy world unlike many I have read before.

Dragonfall is a gripping, tension-filled ride full of the many, many secrets the characters keep from one another. Everen, the last male dragon, falls into the human world and is apparently destined to re-open the rift connecting that world and the world where dragons live -- at, of course, a cost. I held my breath as Everen was confronted with the complicated, messy reality of humanity and still found something to care about. His relationship with Arcady is complex and compelling: equally full of vulnerability and fear of that vulnerability. While the story took a little while to get rolling, it was difficult to put down once it did. I can't wait to see what happens next!

Unfortunately, this book was a miss for me.

The writing throughout the book was decent. Detailed, not overly flowery but descriptive, with some cool choices of words. I particularly liked the first few chapters in Everen's (the dragon's) POV, where he uses very distinctively "dragon" concepts to describe things. But that detailed writing didn't hold up its charm for long. As the book went on, the descriptions became more and more generic and unmemorable, hard to tell apart from any other typical medieval-esque fantasy setting. The lengthy details didn't add much to the worldbuilding, and it only made the plot drag.

The characters also felt a bit dull. I'm not sure if this is a result of their personalities or a matter of writing, but every POV character sounded passive and glum, and their voices became less and less distinguishable towards the end. As a result, I just really couldn't feel connected to any of them.

To end with a high note, however, I did like the very few intimate scenes. They were short and far in between, but done gracefully, and that rescued the book to a great extent for me.

Yep. Dragons, again.

𝘓𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘨𝘰, 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘥𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥. 𝘊𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘥𝘴. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘥𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦.

It is rare to read a book that also has the POV of the dragon so this has been an enjoyable experience. After Eragon, and the usual appearance of some dragons on other books, I haven't read anything thus far that is dragon-centric so this is probably why this book appealed to me.

One of the things I enjoyed the most about Dragonfall is the vivid and imaginative world-building. Lam creates a rich and complex society, full of diverse characters and intricate power dynamics. The dragons are portrayed as sentient beings with their own culture and traditions, which makes their plight all the more compelling. The magic system is also well-developed and adds an extra layer of depth to the story.

Reading through the story might be a little confusing at first because of the historical background but as you go deeper into the story, the immersion to all that is wonderful was a treat to experience

This is a queer epic fantasy, which I instantly loved that. The characters are written beautifully and the world building is amazing. I love that it has an action aspect to it and it seems to be enemies to lovers, which is one of my favorite things. The slow pace can get a bit tiring, but overall the book is great.

Headlines:
Power and magic struggles
Bonds that pull
Sulphur and sneak

I found myself totally pulled into Dragonfall within a couple of pages because of a striking outset to the plot and dragons are always going to intrigue me. The narrative was a little unusual to start with but I quickly settled into most of the POVs and the way that the two MCs Everen and Arcady narrated. I particularly liked the styling of Everen's POV, the way he voiced as if recounting back to Arcady. Sorin's POV was a little less easy but it carried a small yet important thread.

The idea of dragons banished to a volcanic and inhospitable land, fighting to return to the world inhabited by humans was fascinating. It was intereresting to see the power imbalances in a way I didn't expect. There's minimal insight into the background Dragon characters like Cassia, Everen's mother and Milagrist; I am hoping for more about them in the next book.

Arcady and Everen, connected by a distant bond, couldn't have been more opposite. Both were hiding much from the other but a kind of trust slowly built. One was a thief, the other a killer steeped in magic; I was hooked to the page through the plot but moreso through their growing connection. These two were a couple to cheer for.

Readers are left in longing with how this completes. My final thoughts are that Everen has my heart and that I'm desperate to read more.

Thank you to Hodderscape for the review copy.

I have started and stopped this multiple times in the last few weeks, and something about the writing style makes me feel like I’m hitting my head against a brick wall. Idk if the author is trying to be intentionally dense in the first few chapters, but something about the word choice and formatting made it difficult to understand what was happening. It felt like it was trying to be casual/familiar and fantastical and vaguely Greco-Roman and all of that together just muddled the tone for me. Idk if this book is good or not, maybe I’ll come back to it in the future, or try listening to on audiobook, but it is not something I can read right now.

First of all, the cover is stunning. The red dragon is a beautiful contrast to the dark background of the cover, and the gold enhances everything.

Second of all, wow. Let's start with the things I really liked.

The tropes
This book had a lot of interesting tropes that drew me in. There is:
* ⚔️ The classic enemies to lovers (you can rarely go wrong with this trope)
*🐉 Dragons (I LOVE dragons in fantasy books, so this was a huge plus.)
*💎 A heist (I love me some action in books.)
*🔥 Slow burn romance (I hate insta romance, so this was also a plus).

The world building
I really liked how unique the idea behind the world was and how different the magic system was from other fantasy books.

The ending
While the ending shook me, I liked how eager I were to continue the series and get answers. I love when books have plot twist/open endings that gets the reader excited for the next book.

The only critique I have is that there was a lot of info dumping. I would have preferred if the info on the world was introduced more smoothly throughout the book, instead of introducing it all in the first few chapters. The info dumping (a long with some heavy descriptions sometimes) made some of the chapters feel very heavy as the pacing became slow.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, DAW, for this e-ARC. This review contains my honest opinion about the book.

It took me 9 days to read a 400 page book, and I think more than anything, that is indicative of what my experience was with dragonfall.

I found the first 30 pages to be a flood of information, and my biggest issue with that is knowing what information is necessary to enjoy the book, and what is just world building. This book didn’t differentiate between the two, so already at the start, I felt bogged down by making sure I remembered history that wasn’t actually necessary by the end.

Having finished the book a few days ago, I almost barely remember what my opinions refer to. I’m not writing this series off completely (nor this author!) but I think the next time I try it, I will speed read all three books.

Plot: 9/10
This plot could be a little slow in places, but it was really interesting. Despite a lot of this book being dictated by an old prophecy, the one concerning Everen saving the dragons, a lot of it felt character-driven. I appreciated that a lot of the decisions felt pretty reasonable. Before they meet Everen, Arcady is already looking for a partner, someone to trust during their planned heist. The book takes place over two months, so none of the decisions or developing relationships feel particularly rushed. Everen is trained by Arcady for quite a while, and there was a natural progression from event to event.

The worldbuilding of this book was so much fun. Everen being about as foreign as one could get means a lot is explained to him about Loc and the surrounding world. There's a good amount of information about daily life in Loc and the political situation, and I really like the way Lam made gender work there, even if some of the explanations were a little clunky. I loved the way magic worked, draining energy and causing literal hunger. Repercussions for careless use of magic is immediate and visceral, turning people into Starvelings that attack mindlessly. Arcady's family's involvement in the history of Loc is also quite interesting; I have a feeling there will be some good reveals in that area.

Speaking of reveals, there are some in the last few chapters that really work. One of them in particular strikes a great balance between a little bit of foreshadowing that still took me by surprise. I think the ending of the book as a whole is very good. It wraps up nicely with the contained plot (the heist and the thing they're stealing), but there's still so much going on that it definitely makes you want to continue. As someone who struggles with read-one-book-of-a-series-and-never-pick-it-up-again syndrome, it was great.

Characters: 10/10
The characters are so strong in this book. Arcady and Everen are likable protagonists, and their motivations are clear and easy to understand and root for. Despite the fact that they're on different sides of an ancient conflict (though Arcady doesn't really know that), they have surprisingly similar goals. They both want to get revenge for the people they care for—Arcady's family and the dragons—and that drives most of the plot.

Their bond situation is one of the best written ones I've read in a while. The bond forces them to spend time together since any injury to one of them affects the other, but it doesn't cause them to like each other or anything like that. Instead, Arcady and Everen spend a ton of time together over the course of multiple months, and their relationship builds slowly and realistically. One crucial part of the bond is that any skin-to-skin contact drains Everen's magic to Arcady, so they avoid touching as much as they can, which leads to them literally dancing around each other at some points. The tension between them is just so well done, and I was thoroughly invested.

As for the side characters, there are two major ones who regularly get their own POVs. Sorin, an assassin trained by a mysterious priest with a very complicated relationship to him, and Cassia, Everen's sister stuck back in the world of the dragons, Vere Celene. I found Sorin in particular very interesting since her verging-on-worship devotion makes me hesitant about the man she serves, Magnes, but I really can't get a read on him. Cassia was a great look into how things were going back in Vere Celene, but I do think her own personality isn't quite a fleshed out.

Of the other side characters, I want to mention the Marricks, an organization of thieves that Arcady has a contentious past with. Arcady's relationship to their leader, Larkin, was complicated to say the least, and I can't help but hope that they get an opportunity for reconciliation at some point.

Writing Style: 9/10
I absolutely love how Lam worked with perspective in this book. First, the two main characters, Arcady and Everen, have their chapters in first person while any extra POVs, such as Sorin and Cassia, are in third person, which is a strategy I've seen used before. However, one unique trait was that in Everen's chapters, Arcady is referred to as 'you' instead of by their name or any third-person pronouns. First, it's a clever way to work with Arcady since they use any pronouns; even though most characters default to they/them for them (hence my use of it in this review), a true representation of their identity would be switching, which can get confusing for a reader. Second, it makes Everen's perspective much more intimate, hints towards the end of the book, and helps the reader connect to Arcady that much more.

As for the writing itself, it didn't blow me away or anything, but it was still great. Like I said before, the tension between Arcady and Everen is immaculate, and I also really like the descriptions of magic, especially the hunger that accompanies it.

Overall: 9/10
I'm really glad I got an ARC of this book because I really enjoyed it! I particularly liked Arcady, Everen, and their relationship, but the plot is solid and interesting, and the writing does something new. The only downside to this is that it's going to be at least a year before the next book comes out. While there's some intense cliffhangers at the end of this book, I don't really know how the next one is going to go, and I am very curious. In the meantime, I do recommend this book, especially for anyone looking for a slow burn fantasy romance with a bit more substance to it. And dragons, which is a good enough reason alone to read any book.

This was a great read for any fantasy fan. I loved Lam's writing and the entire thing was an adventure from start to finish!

Dragonfall was an enjoyable and unique story that fantasy readers and dragon lovers will find compelling and enjoyable. The different point of views do a great job of getting into the minds of both human and dragon alike, and really help to enhance the world that was created. There are so few books that I've read that use dragons this way, and it is incredibly exciting to see into their mind and other forms. I completely recommend this book for fantasy readers!

Thank you to NetGalley and DAW for the aARC.

I know I love Lam's writing, and going into Dragonfall I knew I would be in love from page one.

Their ability to write such a rich world that slowly brings itself together is something that may not be for everyone, but this is the type of fantasy I fall into so easily. This world stands out - it is this beautiful canvas that lets characters develop in ways that aren't narrowed by some artifical scope (in this case, gender being a big one).

I loved watching Arcady and Everen together. I loved the way dragons have intense and large personalities. I loved that the supporting cast felt like they belonged.

And that twist? I did not see it coming and it made me genuinely gasp.

Lam has put so much care into their world and this story and I cant wait for what comes next.

This had potential for a four-star book, but I had such high hopes for it that when it failed to engage me and I ended up DNFing it, I gave it an emotional downgrade. The rating is based on the first 20% of the book.

I liked the premise and the magical system, but even the best world won’t engage me when I don’t like the characters enough to follow them. I can’t even pinpoint what it was about Arcady that made me dislike her from the start. Something about her motivations. Wanting to find the truth about her grandfather should’ve been a perfect goal, yet I couldn’t get behind it.

I might have persevered, however, if it hadn’t been for the language. It was forced to work overtime for the worldbuilding with its made-up words, capitalization of pronouns, and the changes between first-, second- and third-person narrative, which made for a tiresome reading experience. I especially disliked how Everen narrated the story to Arcady beyond the events taking place. It yanked me off the story every time and became so aggravating that I had to stop reading.

I truly do love books about dragons. However the only parts I truly enjoyed in this book were just that, the parts where one character was actually a dragon. I did like a couple other parts with the family drama and the world building was quite lavish and I could really see it. This just wasn't going to be one of my favorites. Someone who is more into fantasy than me would adore this one. I liked it but it was just meh for me. However I am deeply appreciative of the publisher and Netgalley for letting me read this one early.

Source: DRC via NetGalley (DAW Books) in exchange for an honest review
Publication Date: May 2, 2023
Synopsis: Goodreads
Purchase Link: Amazon

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Why did I choose to read this book?

I’ve never read anything by this author, so when it popped onto the first page of Most Requested on NetGalley, I decided to give it a go to expand my repertoire.

What is this book about?

The dragons were cast out of the world into a pocket universe, and a prophecy is close to becoming fulfilled that says they will return and reclaim the land as their own. The dragon the prophecy revolves around (Everen) discovers the prophecy, read it, and then tries to run and fulfill it himself, but he falls through a rip in the veil and becomes bonded to Arcady, a shapeshifter whose grandfather was accused of something terrible and he seeks to clear his name. The book follows their bonding, Everen’s attempts to fulfill the prophecy, and Arcady’s big caper which should net them enough money to go to the university and learn all they need to know to clear their family name.

This book is about the bonds we form when we don’t have a choice, and how we discover if those bonds are true or simply forced.

What is notable about this story?

The gender bending and pronoun emphasis throughout the story was handled much differently than I’ve seen it in any other book. About halfway through I realized that I didn’t really know who was any gender and at that point it didn’t really matter, it was just about the characters. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I love a story that does not attach trauma to things like gender identity and instead incorporates it as a normal part of society, and L. R. Lam does this so well.

Was anything not so great?

I have said this about Sarah J. Maas’ work (i.e. the idea of someone only having one Mate/forced to bond or be together) and I’ll say it here: the idea that Everen and Arcady are chained together throughout the book made me very uncomfortable. That Arcady steals Everen’s magic and causes him pain, that they are attracted to each other but not sure if it’s the bond or if they are actually hot for each other, that Everen is a dragon and the cross-species physicality of it is weird…just all very uncomfortable. I think the heart of all of this is the idea of consent. Neither Arcady nor Everen chose to forge this bond, and their actions toward each other are harmful by default, so it was just kind of cringy. Not so much that I didn’t want to read it, but enough to comment on it.

What’s the verdict?

3 stars on Goodreads. I liked it, but I didn’t need it. I will say though that I would highly recommend this book if you have a person in your life who identifies as trans. It’s an excellent example of gender fluidity and Lam writes so well that, like I mentioned previously, you’ll experience it as though it was a completely normal part of society. Representation is important, and while this book did not grab me, I could see it being very important to many people. Definitely check it out for yourself and see what you think.