Genre: fantasy

Anahrod has been in Exile for 17 years. Now in her 30s, she has lived in the jungle while people have assumed she's dead, and her name is equated with the darkest kind of treachery. But, it's kidnap Anahrod season, and a Dragonrider and random band of people have snagged her as a part of an elaborate heist plan... to raid the dragon lair Anahrod was originally put to death for allegedly robbing 17 years ago.

The Sky on Fire is a standalone fantasy novel with a strong sapphic romantic arc, but the romance isn’t the central plot-driver. The central plot revolves around planning the heist, and the central conflict revolves around the dragon’s protecting their hoard and controlling their riders. Dragons require riders only to maintain their own sanity, their minds balance on the razor thin line between control and the unhinged plunge into uncontrolled rampage and destruction. Nothing is worse than a rampaging dragon who has lost their mind.

For a standalone novel, The Sky on Fire has expansive worldbuilding. Jenn Lyons is a seasoned writer, and she gives us the right amount of detailing for daily life and the backdrop of this world dominated by dragons. She weaves more modern components, such a rings to signify gender and sexual preferences, into a classic-feeling fantasy with mountain and cloud dwellers.

Living in the Deeps means living a life full of danger - but at least it's a life that doesn't include dragons. It's why Anahrod has spent nearly two decades surviving on her own in the deadly jungles far below the mountainous peak cities where dragons rule. In the mountains, humans live at the whims of dragons, with the threat of a dragon going on a murderous rampage constantly hanging over them. But Anahrod's past catches up with her when a group approaches her with a bold plan: they plan to rob the hoard of the dragon regent, and they believe Anahrod is the missing piece to pull of the heist. But it's going to take a lot to convince Anahrod to go along with a plot she believes is near suicidal - especially because the dragon regent will personally kill Anahrod if she ever lays eyes on her again.

THE SKY ON FIRE is a roller coaster of an adventure ride, throwing readers into a world where humans live only so long as the dragons of the world tolerate them. The story is one escapade after another, as Anahrod has to survive everything from mercenaries to trapped vaults to riding through a storm in a sky ship. The author has a knack for writing great action, and from the moment the actual heist kicks off until the final pages, I was thoroughly hooked on the race to the finish.

The book was weaker when it came to the actual characters. We get a lot of time to understand Anahrod, as the story is largely told from her perspective. The rest of the crew, however, is largely left to be one dimensional side characters. One character for instance, speaks purely by quoting various plays (think someone from our world who only speaks lines of Shakespeare), while another is neural atypical in a way that sometimes leaves him debilitated from overstimulation - but aside from these two broad descriptions, I could tell you almost nothing else about their personalities or backstories. Other characters have a bit more depth to them, but not much.

The other thing I wish had been engaged with more is delving into the dark nature of dragon bonding as presented in this world. I read a quote from the author where she said she wanted to explore the inverse of how dragon bonds are normally presented. Instead of humans either taming a wild beast or entering into a partnership with an intelligent creature, what if the dragon was the dominant force in the relationship, and the human was little more than a slave?

But aside from a side character who is a dragon rider, we don't really get an extensive first hand look at this bond in a way that makes it personal. Anahrod herself is someone who ran away from being a rider; only one significant side character is in one of these toxic dragon rider relationships, and they're off screen for large chunks of this book. I would have loved to have seen these bonds explored in a way that was more personal than what we got.

On the flip side, the idea of living in a society where dragon rampages are so commonplace that there are built in bunkers and evacuation protocols in place is terrifying. One such attack towards the end of the book is truly breathtaking in its devastation. The author made the high level stakes abundantly clear, and that helps balance out some of the areas I wish I could have seen more of.

THE SKY ON FIRE is a great standalone that will whisk you away for the time that you spend with it. While the characters aren't memorable, the action set pieces definitely are. If you're fine with a plot-first-everything-else-is-gravy kind of story, THE SKY ON FIRE is worth picking up.

Note: I was provided a free ARC by the publisher in exchange for my fair and honest review.

After the blazing success of her epic A Chorus of Dragons series, Jenn Lyons is now back with another delightfully queer dragon adventure in The Sky on Fire. Set in a richly imagined world ruled by moody dragon overlords, this brand-new standalone is a flaming fun take on a heist fantasy!

The Sky on Fire opens with one hell of an intriguing prologue which immediately sets the stakes and reassures the reader that: yes, here there do indeed be dragons, and they have dark demands about a certain previously believed dead woman. Enter Anahrod, our wayward protagonist with animal communion skills who has quietly been surviving in the murky jungles of The Deep for the past seventeen years. When a motley crew of morally grey misfits saves her from capture by the local warlord, she realises that the time of running from her past has come to an end. Against her will, she is whisked back to the deceptively lustrous cloud cities and conscripted into their schemes to rob the most powerful dragon’s hoard; a dragon that wants Anahrod dead.

Look, with the ambitiously epic A Chorus of Dragons being one of my all-time favourites, I was nervously excited to see what Lyons could deliver in a contained standalone. And honestly, while this story is not nearly as complex as her previous series, Lyons’ wild imagination and quintessentially quirky storytelling is still on full display in The Sky on Fire.

A divided society ruled by tyrannical dragons with all kinds of unique magical powers, an religion based on humans being thrown out of heaven to serve the dragons, a twisted history written by the victors, and an extremely nuanced and refreshing take on the familiar dragonrider trope which explores consent, co-dependency and power in terrifyingly fascinating ways; how there is so much rich world building packed into such a fast-paced standalone is truly beyond me, but I was gobbling it all up!

Not to mention, Lyons has once again crafted a casually queer-normative world full of beautifully diverse characters who are embraced just the way they are. I especially loved the concept of people expressing their gender, sexuality, and bedroom preferences through wearing different types of rings; we should do ourselves a favour and steal this idea to make dating infinitely easier.

All that said, I personally would not have minded if the pacing had slowed down a bit to let us fully appreciate all these amazing concepts in their full glory. The Sky on Fire zooms along at breakneck speed, and there is truly not a single dull moment to be found. On the one hand, I really liked the utterly addictive ‘just one more chapter’ quality, but on the other hand I found it a bit exhausting that neither the characters nor the reader gets any time to just sit, breathe, reflect, and process for a while.

Don’t get me wrong, I think Lyons has a true knack for creating vibrant, quirky and distinct characters whose clasing identities and motivations make for a very fun dynamic. Yet I also have to admit that I never felt overly invested in any of the characters here, as I barely got any time to get connected to them. Moreover, while I loved the little teases of a beautifully queer poly romance here, I personally think that relationship deserved a lot more development; the feels just weren’t feeling.

Ultimately, the fun factor and highly engaging storytelling made up for some of these quibbles for me, and there’s no denying that Lyons delivered an impressively ambitious standalone story here. True, some of the plot beats and resolutions might have felt a bit overly convoluted or suspiciously convenient, but I think Lyons gets away with it by delivering a story that is just so refreshingly unconventional and inventive in every other way.

If you liked the dragonrider bond in Yarros’ Fourth Wing or Novik’s Temeraire, but also want some heisty action and queer goodness like in M.J. Kuhn’s Thieves duology, then you better try The Sky on Fire. Filled with loveable anti heroes, complicated family drama, brutal beasties, immersive settings, exhilaration action, and a dash of queer love, this fast-paced and action-packed fantasy heist is a smoking hot adventure from start to finish.

4.5⭐? 5⭐?

I recently finished Jenn Lyons' A Chorus of Dragons series so I was more than hyped up for this, and it did not disappoint!

The Sky on Fire is set in a world where dragons rule in cities high in the mountains, where it's preached that the goddess of creation made humans to serve dragons and help them not lose control of themselves by bonding with them.

Anahrod was pushed off a cliff when she was 15-years old and has been living on the world below, the jungle-covered surface where everything can and will try to kill you. Until, in the middle of a particularly risky situation, some skylanders show up, and she’s kind of forced to help them. And then gets kidnapped…for a heist. What’s not fun and exciting about this book?

Similarly to her other works, Jenn Lyons expertly writes a cast of diverse, quirky characters and relationships among them. People wear rings to express what their gender, sexual, etc preferences are, or if they want a monogamous relationship or are single. And the characters themselves are all amazing,Ris, who flirts shamelessly with Anahrod from the first moment they meet. Claw, who is way too knife-happy and the only one who can understand Kaibren, because he only speaks in quotations...just to name a few.

It's refreshing to see such an intricate high fantasy as a standalone, though it did leave me wanting for more. Maybe just another 50 pages, I really wanted to see more of the aftermath and get to know that character that was introduced at the end (iykyk, no spoilers).

Overall, it’s just such a fun, exciting book. I stayed up until 1am last night finishing it and it was definitely worth the loss of sleep. (Might be a new favorite of 2024?) If unconventional dragon riding bonds, sky cities, and quirky characters are your thing, I strongly recommend The Sky on Fire.

Note: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. Thank you, NetGalley and publishers.

The Sky on Fire is a romantasy perfect for those who loved Fourth Wing or the Dragonriders of Pern. There’s why choose romance, found family, love and loyalty in all forms, a mystery, conspiracies and characters you can’t help but cheer on.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

✨dragons
✨heist
✨queer normal world
✨tons of action

Wow, this book is not what I expected but I definitely enjoyed it! This is an epic fantasy filled with action, corrupt dragons, and beautiful world building 🙌

I think my favorite part about this book is how wonderful the world building was. I loved learning about the different cultures between the Deepers and Skylanders! It was fun to get to know characters across this world. And the garden rings? Genius! The magic system and bonding of dragons was so cool too! The idea that dragons pretty much own humans was so interesting and I haven’t read something like this before.

The plot was so full of twists, suspense, and action. I couldn’t wait to figure out what happened next! Fr so much happened in this book, but I didn’t feel like we were losing the plot at any point! The high stakes heist was so fun and I loved all of the build up to it and watching the characters solve problems.

There were so many characters I loved in this book! Individually, I think they are all so well done 🤭 however, something that kind of lost me was the dynamic between pretty much all of the characters. The relationships (platonic and romantic) all felt pretty superficial and I wasn’t really invested in the development of these relationships. There was something about the dialogue that just didn’t feel natural to me as well.

I also think this would’ve been better as a series because the ending didn’t give me the closure I would’ve liked. The epilogue really makes me want to see more from this world! Perhaps even just a novella!

Overall, I really enjoyed this book! I think having better relationships between characters really could’ve taken this book to the next level for me bc everything else was so entertaining!

*I want to note that this is not a romantasy. The romance is a subplot and doesn’t get much development. It’s marketed as being similar to fourth wing so I wanted to throw that out there for anyone who thinks this will be more romance heavy like fourth wing.

Thank you to Netgally, Tor Publishing Group for the gifted e-book and Macmillan Audio for the gifted audiobook.

This was a great book centered around dragons, magic, a heist and political intrigue. The story follows Anahrod, who has been living in the Deep since she was sent by the dragon-ruled sky cities to be executed. She survived, and now she is being hunted. Until she is rescued by a group of misfits. Little does she know they need her to steal from the dragons, and the ruling dragon thinks she is dead.

The world building was phenomenal. The author created a world where dragons rule over humans. The descriptions of the animals, cities, and people were amazing. The small details like the rings one wears determine their preferences. The school where dragon riders are trained and the details about the training was amazing.

The characters were very well rounded. The FMC was one tough girl. She was smart, funny, and could transport herself into the minds of animals. The dynamics within the group that came together were funny and entertaining. The banter between these characters was engaging. The development of these characters created a realistic story of their determination to steal from the dragons, the character names were developed with so much originality.

I read the book and listened to the audiobook at the same time. This experience made the book come alive for me. The narration was amazing! Lauren Fortgang has such a range of voices that each of these characters came to life and made the story amazing. Her tone and tempo and inflections were spot on. I will definitely be listening to more from Lauren.

The story was well written and I found myself immersed in this wonderful world. The ending felt abrupt, but it was still an amazing book. I highly recommend this book if you love dragons, dragon riders, suspense, and intrigue. It will be published on July 9.

The Sky on Fire is an epic fantasy featuring dragons and high stakes heists. Given that this is an epic/high fantasy novel, the pacing is on the slower side to start due to sheer amount of world building. Lyons did a masterful job creating an imaginative and unique world system both above and below. I especially loved the ring system used to designate individual preferences. I also loved Lyons magic system and unique powers the different dragons possessed. Once the world was established, the pace picked up quite a bit and kept my interest. I loved all of the elements of the heist from the planning to execution to pivoting for unexpected outcomes. There were also plenty of plot twists, world changing revelations, and betrayals to keep my interest. In terms of tropes, I love the found family trope which was well done from unlikely allies to family. The enemies to lovers trope was also well executed. I combo read this between the eBook, physical book, and audiobook. I especially enjoyed the audiobook narration by Lauren Fortgang. I’ve found Fortgang does well with fantasy audiobooks and this was no different. She does so well at exemplifying the anxiety and tension that comes with high stakes novels. I would highly recommend the audiobook for Sky on Fire.

After seeing an early reader of this book post a glowing review on Twitter and gushing that it was perfect for fans of FOURTH WING, I came running to NetGalley to slam the request button.

This was my first experience reading anything by Jenn Lyons, though I did score the first book in the Chorus of Dragons series to work into my TBR at some point.

Dragons, magic, betrayal and a heist - all ingredients for a potentially spicy fantasy - except that none of the potential was executed well, or at all in some cases.

There was little to no depth to the characters. Lyons intrigued me with this "late-sprouting/late-blooming" element, yet never explained it in any detail, just small, confusing references. Same with the rings the Skylanders chose to reflect their personal choices/preferences. It got to a point where I just didn't want to pick this one back up, but still tried to soldier on because I didn't want it to be a DNF and tank my NetGalley ratio, but I did finally throw in the towel 63% of the way in.

I do still plan to give the Chorus of Dragons series a go at some point.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Pub Date: July 9, 2024

4 stars
Heists and dragons, so fun! I loved the world and the characters though I didn't feel as connected to them as I would have liked. I think this book may have suffered from putting too much into one book and it would have worked better as a duology or trilogy so that we could feel more connected to the characters and not rushed from one action scene to the next. If there was different pacing of events in the book I think that would have helped too.

This book is chock full of things I like: dragons, heists, sneaky women, surprising family members you didn’t know about, diverse cast of characters, a secret past. There were chunks of the book I really liked and some characters (Anahrod, Gwydinion, Ris, Sicaryon) and moments that were pleasant surprises. The world itself if so well done, there is some really great worldbuilding.
Unfortunately I found the book to be too crowded. Most side characters never make much of an impression, the plot moves pretty slow, and so many interesting things get glossed over. Simply too much happening in a standalone.

Stunning book for fantasy and dragon lovers with a strong queer rep!

What a rollicking ride of a book! It starts off with a bang, or perhaps a rumble, as a party is interrupted by a dragon with an ultimatum: find Anahrod Amnead (our FMC, presumed dead!), or ELSE. This book did not let off the gas pedal at all. Plot and pacing were amazing. Loved the heist, political intrigue, queer cast of characters and found family who were stabby, sassy, sarcastic! Anahrod was a breath of fresh air as a FMC - survivor, reluctant heroine, can talk to animals!!

Beyond these attributes, my favorite aspect may have been the cultural commentary woven into the story. By depicting cultural norms in a fantastical worlds, the author makes a point about how our own society could be more accepting. In this world, characters wear rings that denote not only relationship status, but also sexual preference, gender identity and more. And these things are simply accepted -not judged.

I loved that the story wraps up neatly but with a chance for expansion in a sequel. My only critiques were that the worldbuilding is hard to keep up with for the first quarter or so before you can really settle in. I also would've loved more character development to really get the full story behind these character's personalities and traumas, it would've made the relationships more natural and believable. Also would've loved a little more on the romance side.

Really enjoy this world building. I appreciate the attention to detail regarding cultural details that separate the Skylanders from the Deepers.

The rings denoting basic personal information- sexual orientation, marital status, etc is something that would make real life socialization so much easier.

Initially the confusingly written character introductions made it difficult to remember who was who in the party. Readers more used to that flash in the pan type of start to a novel aren't going to find that an issue though.

The Sky on Fire is a masterclass on developing multiple types of relationships throughout a standalone novel. Through the well constructed worldbuilding and character interactions I got that sense of scale and wonder that a lot of adult fantasies lack. The only achilles heel I find is the romantic pairing of Ris and Anahrod. At least to me I feel like there is rarely any connection between them that doesn't feel spurred on by base physical attraction and that makes their connection feel a lot more hollow in comparison.

I think people do this book a huge disservice boiling it down to just being about a dragon hoard heist. It's a lot more than that.

What an incredible and epic story! It started off really fast-paced, and I was hooked from the start! What I thought i was getting myself into was totally different from what was actually happening and how the story unfolded.
Most books have beautiful and unique magic systems, which this book definitely does. But what intrigued me more was the social cast system and the use of wearing rings where each different symbol in a ring indicates a person's class, status, and sexuality. It's something I've never come across in a book before and loved the idea of it! The romance in the book is a minimal subplot, so if you're expecting a romantasy, this is not the book for you.

The story itself was so intriguing. An epic fantasy revolving around stealing from a dragons hoard. I loved all of the characters, I think Sicaryon has got to be my favorite. I found that even though the story followed two characters specifically, there was equal spotlight on all the supporting characters, too.

I did find that near the middle of the book, it got a little but slow. However, it was all context and world building for what was an incredible ending.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and I'd highly recommend it to any fantasy lover.

Oh my dragons! I really wish this wasn’t a standalone novel because I want to see more of this world. I want to know what happens next and to see more of the dragons and how their hierarchy works. It’s such a lushly described world with so many interesting things happening in it.

The society is built around humanity preventing dragons from going on rampages due to their own magic, by bonding with humans to share this magical burden. I really enjoyed this concept and the implications of what this means for humanity. I also love that there aren’t just dragons in this world but there were also wyrms and drakes!

And then the characters were all so fun and interesting! I love the complicated relationship between Anahrod and Sicaryon, as well as the bond that develops with Ris too. And all of the side characters have their quirks and create a fun group full of banter and interesting dynamics.

I didn’t expect The Sky on Fire to be one of the most unique dragon books I’ve ever read. There are dozens of stories about people becoming dragon riders - from Eragon to Fourth Wing, but The Sky on Fire focuses on someone who is trying very, very hard to avoid dragons and their riders entirely.
This follows Anahrod Amnead, infamously known in the Skylands as Anahrod the Wicked. We are first introduced to her as she and her six-legged titan drake are trying to outrun hunters sent by a man named Sicaryon, the self-proclaimed King of the Deep and Anahrod’s former friend. Rather unexpectedly, Anahrod runs into a group of Skylanders who are willing to pay a huge sum of scales for her to act as a guide. Even more unexpectedly, this group (Gwydinion, Ris, Naeron, Kaibren, and Claw) are actually after Anahrod herself and they kidnap her and take her back to the Skylands, where she was originally from. You see, they need Anahrod’s help to break into the vault of Neveranimas, the terrifying dragon that is currently ruling things because Anahrod supposedly broke into the vault years before and that’s why she was thrown off the side of an airship.
If that isn’t enough to pique your interest, then all hope that you’ll read this book is lost. This book is next level. There’s so much going on with the plot and the characters that I could never hope to summarize it well and I wouldn’t want to because it would spoil all the fun! Needless to say, there is a heist segment, but there’s also a brief stint on a leviathan hunting ship, and a rather important section at the school for potential dragon riders. There’s also some fantastic worldbuilding and cultural elements that added so much richness to the story. I don’t usually expect something so vibrant from a standalone because worldbuilding takes time and it has to be balanced with plot and character development. I love the dragon lore, the tidbits about religion, the description of the cities, and the exotic locales found in the Deep. Oh, and the concept of using rings to describe oneself - from basics like careers to more personal things like sexual preference - there’s a ring for just about everything!
I am honestly so pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed The Sky on Fire. It was action packed and had a great group of characters all around. Anahrod and Gwydinion were by far my favorites, but I certainly appreciated Claw and her violent tendencies. I can’t forget to mention Ris and Sicaryon as well, and while they were certainly important to the plot for a number of reasons, I think the most standout reason was how their fondness for Anahrod helped bring the two halves of her life together. Plus, the dragons are just damn cool. They rule things, overuse of magic can drive them to madness, and they horde all sorts of oddities. Overall, this book was definitely a win for me!

this book is perfect for fans of fourth wing and six of crows.

the first thing, besides the stunning cover, that caught my attention was dragons. the second was heists! who doesn’t love a book about dragons and heists?? two of my favourite things.

sky on fire is filled with great world building and strong characters. i really enjoyed the inclusion of lgbt+ individuals.

unfortunately, this book is overshadowed by the writing style. i couldn't get into it despite it being everything that i wanted in a book. while i love the idea of dragons and heists, it didn't make up for the slow pacing and lack of plot. the characters were enjoyable, and that was it's saving grace.

Thank you to Tor and NetGalley or the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I will start off with the positives:
1. I enjoyed the world this story was set in and the two faction of people occupying this world. Most importantly, this story is quite unique as it is set in a world where the dragons are the superior species. The dragons can actually speak through their riders. I really liked the concept.
2. The main character has a very cool ability of being able to communicate with animals and sense them, as well as embody her dragon.

Now the negatives as sadly, this book was not for me.
1. The writing style was difficult to read. It was clunky and many sentences I had to re-read just to make sense of them. This is not because this was an ARC as I am not referring to any grammatical errors but the writing style across the book. It was as if the writer was trying too hard to made it very wordy but the effect was just pure frustration.
2. The main character's dragon was called Overbite and once I saw that, all I could imagine is a massive flying put. I appreciate this is a me problem but it broke the immersion for me.
3. The reader gets dropped in middle of action, with a bunch of characters present already and it makes the starting reading experience very disjointed. We don't have any time to care about these characters of even learn about them properly. That is also true of the actual main character too. It was hard for me to care about any of them. They were all very one note.
4. Many characters were only dumped into the story as a plot device to move it forward. This lead to an over saturation of characters I cares little about.
5. Main plot points were happening as a result of coincidence or luck as opposed to character actions, which for me is a deal breaker in any book.

I am giving too starts as I think there are readers who would enjoy this as an easy story, if you can get over the difficult writing style.

This book has a lot of potential, and maybe should have been broken down into at least a duology. There are a lot of nuances to the world and I think some of the detail was pushed aside to make room for more action. As a consequence, I found myself forgetting who the characters were and what their roles/relationships were. There are a lot of people to keep track of (on audio this becomes especially challenging).

I love the fact that the dragons hold the power over the riders. For me this was a very unique take on dragons and riders in the fantasy world. There is of course a bond between the dragons and the riders, but this book introduced some new concepts about the relationship and power dynamic.

There is basically a band of ....friends? allies maybe? who are working toward a common goal. It wanted to be found family, but without a lot of background on each character it was a little bit of a miss for me.

There are some hints at romantic themes, some queer love, but no true romance (which is fine - but don't go in expecting it).

I would definitely read more by this author - especially if it is a series. I think with a little slower world building and character development, I would really enjoy her books. It is definitely challenging to stuff world building, romance, action, and a unique plot into one book in the fantasy world.

I am a lover of dragons, especially books with dragons! This was a hit for me. It was my first Jenn Lyons book and I really enjoyed it! What I found that I really enjoyed was the representation for sexuality! The ring system was wonderful and interesting way to represent your lifestyle and sexuality. It was different from other books that I have read and it was great! The world building was beautiful and done wonderfully.

Thank you so much for allowing me to read this book early! I will definitely be recommending this book to others :)