This book has all of my fav things! Dragons who are badass, evil queens, a fun love story, heists, adventure, and more dragons and beasts! I also loved all the banter and overall humor this book gave. This is a standalone novel everyone needs because sometimes we just need a kick ass dragon story to get us through the day!

3.75 Stars

Full transparency: A Chorus of Dragons is one of my favorite series of all time. Because of that this review is probably going to be biased both in a positive and in a negative way. In a positive way because I might be more lenient towards Jenn Lyons in ways I might not realize. In a negative way because I have to admit that I somehow felt slightly disappointed by this book and I am not quite sure if it might not be because I wasn't as obsessed with this as I was with her debut series.

First for the negatives. I almost want to pick up this book right away after publication to see what of this was due to it being an ARC. The reason for that is that my main gripe is that a few things about the writing and worldbuilding/storytelling details just felt unpolished. Every now and again details were mentioned (or on the other hand didn't come up again) where it felt like a step was missed in telling the reader. Nothing that was important to the story tho.
My other main thing was that I just could't stand one of the love interests which made the romance kind of uninteresting to me (a tragedy since Jwenn Lyons is one of the few authors that writes romance I enjoy /j). And while I don't mind some instalove in the right books, those right books are not epic high fantasy, so that was also an aspect of the romance I didn't love.
I do also think some of the nuances in the worldbuilding and oppressive dynamics between skylanders, the people from the deep and dragons were lost in it being a standalone and could've benefitted from a series.

Now for the things I loved. To noones surprise the characters (aside from the afore mentioned one). I am not a reader who gets heavily emotionally invested in characters a lot, but Jenn Lyons just doesn't miss. I loved Anahrod. Gwydinion was adorable as heck and Sicarys was to die for especially.
I also really enjoyed the way the dragons were done, which imo was fairly new and unique.
I loved a lot of the details to the worldbuilding, especially when it came to queer worldbuilding.
And the last one: while the big "twist" was set up fairly obviously (on purpose) I did really appreciate how Lyons managed to make the exact details of that storybeat playing out interesting and unexpected.

** Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Books for providing me with an advanced reader's copy in exchange for a honest review. All opinions are my own**

I am a huge fan of this author and I love her Chorus of Dragons series. This is a very different book than that series. This is a heist novel, that takes up the majority of the story. If you do not like heists you will not like this story. I appreciated the queer representation that this author has in all of her stories and this one is no different. My favourite part was the dragons! The dragons can possess their riders and talk through them and talk to them telepathically. I still love this authors Ruin of Kings books more as they are favourites but I enjoyed this new world and that its a standalone...I think. I will continue to read anything this author writes.

Epic High Fantasy ✅
Dragons & Dragon Riders ✅
A world where Dragons rule ✅
An evil Dragon Queen ✅
An outcast rebel thought to be dead ✅
A ragtag crew set to attempt the biggest heist in history ✅
LGBTQ+ representation ✅

I loved this book! Thank you Tor Publishing, Jenn Lyons and NetGalley for this ARC because it’s been one of my favorite reads of the year!

If you are a fan of banter/bickering, found family, loveable characters, humor and a dash of spice…you’ll love this.

It’s also so rare to see high fantasy standalones that truly tie the entire book up with a pretty bow at the end. But I’m really hoping we’ll see another book set in this world.

Much like Jenn Lyon’s other fantasy series. The Sky on fire is a very unique fantasy novel, so much so that I haven’t read anything similar!

The novel centres around a whole were dragons are seen as god like creatures and human are bonded to them as a sort of servant to stop the dragons going crazy and killing. I really like this angle of dragon riders as it’s more of a servitude bond rather than one of affection that is often presented in these novels.

Another element of this book that I really enjoyed was how people’s pronouns and sexual preference were stated through the use of “garden rings” where each flower/vines/leaves would represent a certain preference. This was highlighted throughout the novel and really added an extra layer to the society that Lyon’s presents us with.

I have seen some reviews saying that the characters in this story weren’t as strong as her previous novels.
I did find this to be the case in the first half of the novel, as within the first hundred pages we are shown three separate locations. Due to that pace it made it hard to connect to the main cast of characters.

However by part 3 the pacing and locations of this world have been explained and connecting to the characters became much easier. There is definitely a found family/ rag tag crew trope within the main story line.

I throughly enjoyed this and will be looking forward to continuing this series.

“The Sky on Fire" by Jenn Lyons is a riveting tale that transports readers to a realm where dragons reign supreme and the struggle for survival is as fierce as the creatures that dominate the skies. The story unfolds through the eyes of Anahrod, a character whose very existence is a testament to resilience and tenacity. She thrives in the perilous jungles of the Deep, with a titan drake as her steadfast companion. Her life, a solitary dance with danger, is upended when a band of adventurers rescues her from the clutches of a warlord—a rescue that is far from altruistic, as it entangles her in a plot brimming with intrigue and treachery¹.

The characters in Lyons' world are etched with a fine brush, each stroke revealing their multifaceted personalities. Anahrod, independent and wilful, is a beacon of strength, her ability to communicate with animals underscoring her connection to the wild world she inhabits. The adventurers, a motley crew of misfits, bring their own quirks and charms to the narrative, creating a dynamic that is both bold and endearing¹.

Set against the backdrop of the cloud cities, the novel's setting is as grand as it is imaginative. The sky cities, ruled by dragons, offer a contrast to the untamed jungles below, highlighting the dichotomy between civilization and wilderness. The problematic at the heart of the book is the heist—a daring attempt to steal from a dragon's hoard, a feat as dangerous as it is alluring. This central conflict drives the narrative forward, weaving a tale of high-stakes adventure¹.

Lyons' writing is fluid, her prose carrying the reader along with a rhythm that mirrors the beating wings of the dragons that fill her pages. The editing is sharp, ensuring that the story's pace never falters, and the reader is kept on the edge of their seat. The dialogue crackles with wit, and the banter among the characters adds a layer of levity to the otherwise tense proceedings¹.

In terms of critique, while the novel is a page-turner, some readers might find the plot occasionally predictable. The tropes of dragon-riding and heists, though well-executed, are familiar grounds in fantasy literature. However, Lyons' fresh take on these themes and her ability to craft a world that feels both expansive and intimate is commendable.

Rating this book, I would give it 4 stars out of 5. It's a solid addition to the fantasy genre, offering a story that is both entertaining and thought-provoking. The minor predictability does not detract significantly from the overall enjoyment of the book. Lyons has created a world that is sure to captivate readers who are drawn to tales of dragons, adventure, and the eternal quest for freedom and survival¹.

This book had the allure and promise of dragons and all the things I love about fantasy, however I found it to fall short in the storyline. I enjoyed the fantasy elements and creatures and abilities, but as far as a comprehensive plot that I could follow and find intriguing? This just wasn’t the case for me the majority of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor for providing me with this ARC.

The Sky on Fire is a supremely fun book centering around heists, dragons, and magic with fantastic world-building. In a year when books can barely hold my attention, I was immediately hooked on The Sky on Fire and never wanted to put the book down.

For me, the standout of The Sky on Fire was definitely the world-building. The world is divided into high and lows, with the rich and powerful living high up in the mountains, where dragons like to live, and the poor and otherwise undesirable living down on the hellishly hot and lawless jungles of what is called The Deep. The Deep is where people go to disappear and that's no exception for our protagonist, Anahrod, who hides there from a world filled with dragons who want her dead.

Ever since playing Skyrim for the first time, a game where an evil dragon, Alduin, seeks to take over the world, I have always wondered what it would be like to exist in a world ruled entirely by dragons. What kind of decisions would they make? How would they view humans? What would their ruling system or class divisions look like? The Sky on Fire gives an incredibly intriguing version of that world. In this world, humans are considered lesser than dragons, largely in part due to religious reasons, and humans with magic potential are forced to attempt to become a dragonrider in a pact that usually looks a lot like lifelong enslavement for the human.

“To become a dragonrider was to be all but a slave, perpetually locked in obedience to a single master, from whom one could never be parted. Not in the human's lifetime, anyway."

I really enjoyed this more nuanced portrayal of dragons, which I fear are usually depicted as wise and benevolent or malicious and greedy with no in between. The Sky on Fire imagines a world where dragons have different breaths, religions, and attitudes on humans. It was nice to see dragons depicted as actual characters over mythological beings that merely offer human characters something. I especially loved that each dragon has his or her own designated item that they—and they alone—can hoard. That's the kind of unique quirk that I love about Jenn Lyons's works. It also adds another interesting challenge to the already daunting premise of stealing from a dragon's hoard.

Even with all of the layered world-building, The Sky on Fire is definitely a plot driven book. As someone who typically lives and breathes for character development, you'd think I would consider that a negative, but I was so enthralled by the world and the fast paced events that I wasn't bothered by the characters not being the most developed. Characters have one or two defining traits, mostly from much-loved archetypes, and there's just not a whole lot of actual depth to go around. The idea of all of these characters are great, but their execution is not—simply too much of the writing relies on the reader recognizing these familiar types of character and knowing what that trope typically entails to know the idea of the character.

Even though the character building in The Sky on Fire as a whole is not ideal, I really enjoyed seeing multiple female characters at the forefront of a heist novel. So often books featuring heists are always run by men, with maybe one female character involved as a love interest or as a side character who is clearly not a love interest and has a quirky ability, like hacking. This is not at all the case in The Sky on Fire, which features three female characters involved in the planning and carrying out of the heist itself, and the ultimate final say on the plan goes to a female character.

Despite my joy at having all of these female characters wearing the pants of this operation, I felt like I had whiplash from a lot of, "but actually" moments concerning the plot and the heist itself. There were constant surprises, quick changes, and last minute discoveries, which kept things incredibly exciting. However, the characters were always able to pivot in order to meet new challenges with little to no panic, no matter how dire the situation. Their reactions and ability to meet any possible catastrophic situation or knowledge bombs being dropped felt quite unbelievable to me.

I also struggled to get on board with the romance of the novel. Anahrod has insta-lust for the sexy female dragonrider, Ris, but still has a thing for her ex, self-proclaimed king Sicaryon. As someone who really love a slow burn romance and the build up of characters realizing and later acting on their feelings, I was disappointed with how the romance played out. Instead of Anharod picking between the two characters, these three characters are all coincidentally mutually attracted to one another and have no problems sharing one another with each other, without so much as having even one single serious conversation about pesky things like feelings, expectations, or boundaries. While it's nice to not always have to read a love triangle and the jealousy and other complications that come with it, I honestly think this novel could have benefited from some of the tension and conflict that results from a love triangle.

"She groaned and rubbed a finger into her eye. Why make a single bad decision, she supposed, when could make two at the same time. Much more efficient. Ris and Sicaryon both. Why not?"

The romantic relationship between the three characters just felt way too random and easy, even if the author threw in what felt like obviously contrived moments of Anahrod telling herself that she shouldn't get involved with either Sicaryon or Ris. And with all of the characters rather underdeveloped, I was rather indifferent to who ended up with whom and the constant "will-they-won't-they," when it was very obvious that they were all going to act on their urges. It just didn't work as well for me as the throuple relationship between Khirin, Janel and Tareath in Lyon's other series, A Chorus of Dragons. This could be because there just isn't as much time in a standalone novel compared to a series to do the same amount of setup to make this type of relationship feel natural.

Regardless of the parts of the novel that didn’t work as well for me, such as the character building and romance, I really enjoyed The Sky on Fire due to its unique portrayal of dragons, interesting world-building, and fast-paced story with lots of surprises. I would wholeheartedly recommend The Sky on Fire to people who are looking for a more light-hearted and fun fantasy read that doesn't take itself too seriously. I think fans of Rachel Aaron’s The Legend of Eli Monpress and James Logan’s The Silverblood Promise would enjoy this novel as well.

This is a super fast paced book and the world building was wonderful! However - with most fast paced books, something is going to fall short because of the pacing and to me that was the characters! I feel like just a couple of more pages on certain characters or with them, would have really made this a 5 star read! Overall would recommend!

I was given the opportunity to be an ARC reader in exchange for a review.

I was honestly excited to read this, it is about dragons and found family. However, between requesting to be a reader and receiving the book - I had burned myself from reading so much fantasy.

With that said, the book overall was interesting but it did take quite a bit of time to get into. There were also various elements that were confusing and I would try to reread for clarification. Eventually I just pushed through and kept reading. Although there were some good parts of the book, that ebb and flowed. However, the last 20% was very interesting.

If you're looking for a mostly YA, but there is one more obvious adult moment, that is found family, finding yourself, fighting against a big evil, and dragons...you might like this.

Anahrod is a fiercely independent woman who thrives in the jungles of the Deep. Her solitary existence is disrupted when a local warlord captures her. Just as things seem dire, a group rescues her. These rescuers have a plan that involves Anahrod's unique skills and her past. The group intends to take Anahrod to the Skyland, where they need her help to steal from a dragon's hoard. This hoard belongs to Neveranimas, the current dragon regent, who has a vendetta against Anahrod and wants her dead. Anahrod, who initially seeks to return to her life of solitude, is now forced to confront her past and navigate the treacherous politics of the Skylands.

The author does a great job of creating tension and suspense. The story is imaginative and creates an immense world. I enjoyed each character's development. The book is fast-paced, and there is constant action. The dragons are in control, which is different from most fantasy stories. The book is a captivating fantasy adventure that takes readers on a journey through richly imagined landscapes and complex dilemmas.

My issue was that there were so many characters, changes in environment, and POVs that it took a lot of work to follow. I should have taken notes because I did not always know who the players were. I want to make reading a relaxing process. I think fans of epic fantasy and adventure will enjoy this story, which deftly explores the themes of power and redemption.

I received an ARC ebook from Netgalley and Tor Publishing for my honest review.

This book had the potential to be amazing, but it unfortunately fell flat in several areas. A heist where a band of misfits need to break into a dragons lair is IMPECCABLE. However, this book never got to live up to its hype because of the issues with the construction of the story.

This book falls flat in two key areas. First, the character interactions, and two, the transition between different plot points. I found that most of the characters didn’t interact naturally with each other. It felt like AI wrote the dialogue. The flow wasn’t natural at all, which took away from the development of these characters. The prologue was so unnecessary. All it did was give away the books first twist. If I was the editor, I’d cut it from the final version of the book completely. The book jumped from plot to plot so quickly you never had time to acclimate to what the story was telling you before you had to go somewhere else.

This book does a great job of integrating LGBTQA+ characters in a way that feels natural to both the world and the plot. The culture of representing one’s true self through wearing different types of rings was cool and inventive. There were several subplots in this book that would have made a better story than the story that was actually told. I would love a story about Anahrod when she was a teenager, or Neveranimas when she was younger.

Thank you to Tor Publishing Group for the ARC!

Love this book!!!!!

I’d heard great things about Jenn’s other series and I will definitely be getting to that following this one 😍. I loved the world, the magic, the dragons. Eee so good

This was a fun one. I generally liked this one but felt the character arcs were underdeveloped. I could never fully find myself invested. Maybe needed to be more of a series with shorter books so the characters and the story could have been developed better.

Overall thoughts:

I thought this was a fun and engaging story. I loved the main character, she felt strong and independent. Also, I enjoyed that Anahrod was not a 16 year old chosen one. She her fellow characters felt quite real throughout the story, though I did have some hangups further into the story. I loved the plot and the idea of a heist/overthrowing an evil empire but I don't know that I ever felt the severity or how high the stakes were within the story. Oh, I loved the world building and how the dragon society used scales as money, the religion being based upon a goddess creating dragons, humans being kicked out of heaven to serve the dragons etc. OH! And the garden rings to declare preferences, identities, and status. Brilliant.

That all said, I will definitely keep an eye on Jenn Lyons and check out all their other books because I loved the descriptions and how detailed the dragons were here. I want to know more about all the dragon books!

Rating the book:
1..Characters? Nope. Everything just kind of fell together if that makes sense. I didn't really see the main character, Anahrod, has some pretty intense preferences at the beginning but they seem to just fall away instead of her making a conscious choice. 0
2. World-building/setting? Check. Loved the world! The socieity living and serving with the dragons were within the mountains at serious elevation. While those that lived at sea level, were in an inhospitable and quite dangerous jungle. Also, the garden rings that people decide on as they grow was brilliant. I want my own lmao. 1
3. Plot? Loved it. 1
4. Originality? - CHECK - loved this new way to visualize the dragon/dragon-rider bond. And how a society would look if it was beholden to dragons. 1
5. Writing? I thought the writing was good, I had no issues with the words pulling me out of the story. 1
6. Pacing? I finished the book in a couple days, the pacing kept me wanting to know what would happen next. 1
7. Themes? Idk, it felt like there was an attempt to address the serious gulf between the power of dragons and humans, and the humans upholding that gulf. For me it ended up feeling quite surface level. 0
8. DID I CRY/WILL IT STICK - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯? I did not cry and I honestly don't think this one will stick with me, it just felt too surface level. BUT the world building and new take on dragon/dragon riders will. 0
9. Enjoyment? check - This book was fun, and it kept me engaged throughout the story. 1
10. THE end. It felt kinda flat for me? idk. It was an ending but it just felt kinda blah. .5?

6.5/10 = 3.25/5 but I'm the boss so I'm rounding up to 4

(I borrowed Elyse Meyers' breakdown because it's too good)

Also, thank you to Tor and NetGalley for providing me with an early copy of the book and the chance to leave an honest, voluntary review.

The Sky on Fire is great if you are looking for a fast paced fantasy adventure with very complete world building. Lyons continues to impress me with her ability to create complex worlds that absolutely drag you in. Economics? Yeah there’s a unique monetary system and a whole fantasy industry. Political structures? Yep, there and complete. Religious mythology? Check. Nuanced gender and sexuality… I WANT MY OWN GARDEN RINGS.

There is so much going on in this book that I loved, and it’s an action packed book. Dragons/ Dragonriders, revenge plots and a heist! My only teensy issue is that I wanted the time to get to know characters better and maybe the characters could have gotten to know each other more too. I liked the characters, I just didn’t get the time to form an attachment to them in this single book.

Read for:
- A fresh take on dragon/dragon rider relationship
- Standalone fantasy
- High-stakes heist
- Queernormative world

The dragons are in charge in this standalone fantasy that flips the dragon rider relationship on its head. Rich worldbuilding lends itself more towards the higher side of fantasy, but not too complex to dissuade casual fantasy fans. Inclusivity and queer representation is done well, and I loved the genderfluidity of this world. I wanted so badly to connect with the main characters, but I felt as if the book only scratched the surface with much of their development. Unfortunately, this also made portions of the romantic subplot not as strong and convincing as it could have been. I applaud the rare standalone in fantasy, but perhaps in this case a series would have given way to better pacing and more depth for the characters. This one will fall in the middle of the road for me- loved the imaginative world, representation, and unique dragon concepts, but the pacing is inconsistent and the characters underdeveloped.

I somehow still haven’t read Jenn Lyons’ popular “Chorus of Dragons” series. And, as it is with all multi-book series, at a certain point it begins to feel a bit intimidating to start! So I was thrilled to see she was releasing a standalone fantasy book this summer! What better way to get on the bandwagon without having to commit to an entire series right from the start! It was helped by the fact that the book itself has an excellent cover. It’s eye-catching enough on its own, but it gets even better the longer you look at it, when you start noticing the details of the castle and city. So definite props to the artist on this one!

Unfortunately, this wasn’t quite the homerun of a read that I was hoping for. I will say that it’s easy to see how this author could be capable of producing a beloved fantasy series, and, given some of my problems with this book in particular, some of the weaknesses I found here could easily translate into strengths in a longer format. Some of these strengths include excellent world-building.

I loved the idea of flipping the entire “dragon rider” concept on its head. This is a hugely popular trope in SFF fiction, and, while enjoyable, myself and many other fans are often left scratching our heads when reading about some of these partnerships. Why, oh why, are the humans the more powerful members of these societies when so often the dragons are described as having more powerful magic, greater physical abilities (obviously), and often a much higher general IQ than their human compatriots. So I loved the what Lyons did here by flipping this relationship around to show a society where the dragons, not the humans, are the more dominant members of this society.

I also liked the expanse of this world and that we travelled to numerous locations throughout the story. Yes, this could also feel like a bit much at times, especially given that it was all packed into one, stand-alone book, but it was also incredibly interesting and made the world feel lived in and worth exploring to discover what else might be in store.

Where things began to fall apart was with the characters, and the problems were twofold. First, there were simply too many of them. As I read on, there seemed to be more and more characters added to the list well-past the point of reason. This increase in characters also resulted in a love triangle quickly rearing its head. The story took a different tact here, shifting the traditional love triangle into a polycule as the story went on, but as I’m not personally a fan of polycule romances, this sadly wasn’t an improvement. The characters all quickly began to fall flat as well, each seeming to only be defined by one or two overall traits with little other characterization to be found, either in the beginning or as the story progressed. I also felt no chemistry between any members of the romance, which really put the nail in that coffin for me. At times, some of these interactions were downright cringe-y.

That said, there was potential to be found here, even in these fairly stale characters. Again, given a longer book or a series, perhaps the author could have built out these characters better, helping them feel as full and realized as the world itself. So, while I didn’t love this book, I’m still very intrigued to check out the author’s other work. If you’re a fantasy reader who enjoys polycule romances, this might be one to add to the list! But I do think it fell a bit flat, overall.

Rating 7: A lot of potential to be found, but weak character ultimately let this one down.

Link will go live on The Library Ladies blog on June 12

For those who love Throne of Glass and Six of Crows

The Sky on Fire is the story of an outsider thrust into a high-stakes heist. In a realm where dragons reign and humanity serves as their subjects, a few humans become dragon riders, forming unbreakable bonds with these beings. To escape her past and save her new friends, Anahron must pull off an impossible feat—steal from a dragon and redefine her destiny.

This book is for readers looking to escape into a realm of fantasy. With easily understandable world-building and magic systems, readers find themselves rooting for this band of misfits. The Sky on Fire is perfect for anyone craving a fun fantasy to keep you on the edge of your seat.

I very much enjoyed reading this ebook! It was a very good experience. I liked the characters, the Worldbuilding and the plot very much.