Dragon overlords, a heist plot, and a lovely group of misfits? The perfect mixture. The prologue had me hooked, and I found myself going on an incredibly pleasant journey--a fast paced plot, some kinkiness (we love to see it), and a really well-rounded diverse cast.

I AM BEGGING PUBLISHERS AND AUTHORS TO PUT OUT MORE FANTASY NOVELS FEATURING BADASS WOMEN AND DRAGONS. IT IS ALL I WANT.


anyways, I obviously thought this was incredible. Was really impressed with Jenn Lyons’ previous series and this is off to a promising start.

This one is a must read for all readers after a standalone adult high fantasy with "talking" dragons. This is in no way a fantasy romance before anyone else thinks its another Fourth Wing type story.
Jenn Lyon has managed to craft a fully fleshed world with fleshed out characters, epic battles and simple but effective plotline in under 500 pages. I loved every moment. In the same slightly humorous and quirky tone as Chorus of Dragons, this is a story with a heist on a tyrannical dragon's hoard. Dragons are the dominant egotistic species and are only bound to humans in order to starve off madness that takes them over their long lives. Jenn Lyons has again managed to craft a queer-norm world full of diverse characters. We have a hodgepodge group, anti-hero's, snappy dragons, dragon riders, lost families and shock betrayals.
this is one of those books i wished was longer!
Thanks so much to @netgalley and TorBooks for a eARC.

The Sky on Fire is a fast-paced dragon fantasy with a twist. The relationship between dragons and human dragon riders is not equal, dragons are essentially the masters and use their riders as a way to conduct their magic through in order to keep themselves from going rampant.
If you are looking for a fast-paced standalone, this is a fun book to pick up.
Pros
-The dragon and Dragon rider relationship was very interesting and I enjoyed that it was deeply explored.
-There was never a dull moment! It was incredibly entertaining, which definitely helped me keep reading when I didn’t know what was going on.
-I really enjoyed the relationships within the plot. I was unsure at the beginning because I thought it was a little insta-lusty, but I ended up really liking where it went.
-Anahrod has to deal with her complicated feelings towards her family and navigate new & past relationships with those around her, familial, platonic, & romantic. It added to the character development.
-The way that their society views gender, sexuality, and how they use rings to signify these things was also super interesting! I would have loved even more info on that.
Cons
-I felt like I was always missing something. One of my notes at 53% was “I feel like I’m just now learning info I should already know and still expected to know things that haven’t been explained.” Once I accepted that I was just going to be kinda confused, my enjoyment definitely increased.
-The characters didn’t feel very fleshed out. Besides Anahrod, Gwydinion, Sicaryon & Ris, the other characters had very little personality aside from their one defining characteristic.
-The story starts off with a bang and is flying from the beginning, but I was constantly thinking “wtf is going on” for the first 20% of the book. And then the ending was also confusing but for different reasons. Instead of feeling like I was missing something, the explanation of the magic was going way over my head. It felt like when my roommate tried to explain her organic chemistry homework to me. My brain could not compute.

Overall this was a really fun world with an attention-grabbing plot. I had a good time and would recommend to those who don’t mind being a little confused in exchange for a compelling plot.

Stars: 3.5/5

The Sky on Fire by Jenn Lyon starts strong with the epilogue hooking you in to an execution under unusual circumstances, as well as a dragons wrath and determination to find a human who has betrayed her. Neveranimus will destroy everything in the Crystalspire if Anahrod is not returned to her.

Anahrod has found a way to survive in the Deep which is full of predators, death, amazing creatures. That is until she is near kidnapped and her animal companion is injured. She finds herself helping a group of people through the Deep.

This little rag tag team of found family was the best. The banter brought by Claw and her relationship with Kaibren was really heart warming. I loved the way they all had saved each other and stuck together.

There were a lot of surprises I didn’t see coming and I really enjoyed the relationship between dragon and rider and the political fights between them.

This has a little bit of a romance subplot and a tiny bit of implied spice - more of a wake up in the morning and some kissing during the book. It didn’t take away from the main part of the story but added to it. It features a unique relationship and was interesting to see the dynamic change through the course of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.

I had such high hopes for this. Dragons, a heist and a band of misfits? Sign me up! However it fell a little short for me. I really enjoyed the premise and the set up of the story, but I felt like it never quite followed through. I think the pacing was off and nothing was ever fully allowed to play out and develop. Because of this I felt I couldn't connect with the characters & therefore didn't care what came of them. I felt there was no chemistry between the love interests and I outright did not like Ris.

I feel like this would have benefited from being a duology so we could have focused on the character development and the dynamic between the characters. I do feel it a had a great baseline story and plot, however it just needed expanding and furthering developing.

This book gave me quite a ride! I absolutely loved that the dragon/rider aspect was discussed so much in the story. It allowed me to really feel the strength and need for the connection and explained WHY going rampart happens. What can I say other than I truly loved it?

Oh, and the reconnecting with the MC (I’ve tried to write her name and autocorrect sucks) and her mother at the end HAD ME SOBBING.

This book was so intriguing! I loved the magic, the dragons, the characters. It all flowed well for me, and the storyline itself was amazing.

The Sky on Fire is the standalone fantasy novel that I have been searching for.

Dragons, magic, intrigue, and captivating characters—plus daring heists—make this engaging from the very first page and will keep you turning page after page. I’d happily take more stories set within this world but did really love the standalone component of it.

The premise of this book reminded me of Six of Crows mashed up with The Hobbit. It was something else entirely, but I loved the themes of a found family, unique sexual/relationship dynamics, and some witty banter.

I have been searching for a standalone fantasy book for a while, so I was so excited when a friend told me about this one as she read the ARC.

One of the things I adored about this novel was the unique twist on dragons. We had dragons manipulating and controlling humans, each with different powers (from breathing acid to ice and everything in between).

Another thing I thought was well done was the world-building. I could smell and see the bog. I could hear the sounds of Crystalspire. It was all richly described with vivid imagery. This is so hard to do in a standalone book without info dumping, so my hats off to Lyons for conquering this obstacle with mastery.

The pace is one of the things that made this only a 3.5-star read for me. While Lyons puts the reader right into the action (literally), I had whiplash at some points and had to reread sections to figure out what was going on. First, we had a political drama. Then, a jungle adventure. Then, a heist. Oh, wait, now we’re on some kind of flying ship crew. Then we have mega lust? If you think that’s fast-paced, wait until you read this one 😅 I almost wish this book was longer so we had more character development and some slower-paced sections to breathe.

I need to call out the relationship dynamic in the book. While it was an incredibly unique system that I have never seen in a book, I did not enjoy the throuple aspect of this one. It felt like insta love and I wanted more development or at least a discussion around the relationship dynamics.
Overall, this book was entertaining; the plot twists and reveals delivered, and I was invested in the dragon-rider relationships. If you want a standalone fantasy book with tons of action and a found family, try “The Sky on Fire.”

This is my favourite book of the year. Dragons, found family, heists, sexy drama, magic and secrets. This has it all
I adore Jenn Lyons work already, but I know her other series is long and can be difficult to approach, and that's where this book shines. Its a standalone and a beautifully approachable size. I will recommend this to anyone I can.
The queer rep is phenomenal, and in this world gender and sexuality are flexible and open to everything and changeable, and it is all accepted. You truly get to figure out who you are and be yourself.
There's also a good element of class views and discussions on prejudice and privilege, and how views can be distorted depending on where and how you're raised. Add dragons this conversation and it will always make for an interesting take!
And in my opinion the additions of dragons, riders and bonding will always add to a story!

I have fallen in love with so many of the characters, and already want to be a part of the ragtag crew, and spend more time with them all. They all have their own goals and motivations and are very distinct which I liked, I could tell everyone's reasoning for their actions and loved uncovering more about their pasts.

An absolutely fantastic book overall, and my only complaint is I want more of this world, its so fantastically crafted and in-depth I hope we get more adventures in this world, both with the same characters, but also with characters in different times!

This story was very interesting. It has dragons and heists which are two things that always convince me to read a book. Unfortunately I didn’t get to emotionally connect to the characters also think the the Poly relationship could’ve been left out. I was very excited to read this story but I wasn’t drawn to this book... I’m able to overlook that a little bit since the world building was very detailed and well thought out. But apart from that the story didn’t draw me in to read and find out what happens next, hence why it took me almost three months to finally finish this book … this book put me in a really deep reading slump.

Such a thrill! I really really enjoyed this one. Such a fabulously developed world and amazing characters who jumped off the page. I loved it!

Dragons, check. Group of Misfits, check. Heists, check. I’m a sucker for a good heist story and the cast of characters was diverse I just felt a disconnect between some of them. Overall I enjoyed the story and the world it was set in.

This was great! The sky on fire was exactly what i wanted in a dragon book. Everyone needs to read this!

They Sky on Fire is the latest from Jenn Lyons who wrote one of my favourite Dragon series of all time - so there was a lot of pressure on this book to continue the trend.
But have no fear, Lyons manages not only to create a fantasy world that feels unique, fresh and most importantly distinct from her previous books, but also manages to maintain a large number of tropes and ideas that make fantasy books with dragons feel fun. There are so many cultural, geographical, small and large world-building details within this book that I won't spend hours naming here. One that stood out for me was the idea that no two dragons could hoard the same thing, so dragon hoards become increasingly esoteric- genius.
Alongside that world-building, there is a wonderful plot - who wouldn't want to read a dragon heist? This is paced and planned out perfectly for maximum excitement and tension. Finally, Jenn Lyons her trademark deeply queer and messy (positive) romantic storylines throughout. I just thought that was wonderful and I'm pleased those elements continued on from Chorus of Dragons.
Overall I'd recommend this book both to existing fans of Jenn Lyons' work but also to those who might have felt intimidated by reading a five-door-stop fantasy series.
I received a free digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

What a fun read and ride this was. I hadn't read any of Jenn Lyons prior to The Sky on Fire, but now I'm going to have to! The dragons were great, the pace was fast and fun, and I really enjoyed this. It's currently in my Amazon cart to purchase because I enjoyed this so much and will want to share it on my tiktok and display on my bookshelf.

Thank you to Netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Do you like dragons, camaraderie between a group of misfits, heist adventures? Then you will enjoy this book! The story and idea behind the book was so fun to read about, and unique to other fantasy books that involve dragons. While I did enjoy this book, it took me a hot minute to get into it between the world building and characters you are introduced to right off the bat but once I got into it I was hooked.

Two of my biggest takeaways from the book would be the characters, and how I wished they had more depth to them. I felt as if they lacked development and the book dragged on a little too long and could be trimmed in a few areas.

As a final thought, I would absolutely read more books from this Author and still recommend this book if you are a huge fantasy lover! Thank you Net Galley for the copy!

3.5 stars
“Dragons don’t see us as equals. We’re slaves, we’re pets, we’re things. As far as they’re concerned, our only purpose is to keep them from going rampant.”

In this world, dragons rule and humans are pets. Anahrod is a loner, she prefers it that way. But when a group need her help to steal a dragon’s hoard, she’s the only one that can help. The problem is, this dragon will surely kill Anahrod if given the chance.

I loved the unique premise of dragons ruling over humans. There are a few dragon riders in this world but if one is chosen, the riders are that dragon’s slave for life. Not all the dragons are self-serving and Anahrod has the ability to connect to them through their minds. This added in with some magical virtues of some dragons made for a great story.

The oddball characters come together to form a team that is a high-stakes adventure, the biggest heist anyone has seen and banter to keep everyone laughing. It was never short on life threatening moments and moved quickly through plotting, friendships and new knowledge. There were times I felt a disconnect with the story where I couldn’t quite pinpoint the purpose, but this may have been due to switching back and forth from e-book to audio.

🎧AUDIO REVIEW: Lauren Fortgang did a great job alternating between the different characters but also the dragon voices. The dragon voices portrayed whether they were friend or foe to the characters and it was done with great flow.

Thank you to Tor Books, NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the copies!

"Six of Crows" meets "Fourth Wing" - dragons, magic, a heist, found family, action and a whole lot of things going wrong!!

This action-packed novel follows the adventure of a girl who is suppose to be dead- the misfits who need her help and dragons who can control their riders!

A great read, though I needed some more romance in there to completely draw me in (personal preference only and not a comment on the book itself). The plot was well developed and the characters are broad that everyone will have a favourite no matter their preferences.
I thoroughly enjoyed the storyline and all the twists and turns that came with it!
🌟🌟🌟