Not the best novel Devin Mason has written but decent enough to warrant a read. Characters are always her strong suit.

The world-building was kinda weak and made the story hard to follow. The political intrigue was pretty boring as well.

This is a thrilling entry into the realm of epic fantasy filled with political intrigue and fierce battles. The story follows multiple protagonists, including skilled warriors and cunning strategists, as they navigate a world on the brink of war amidst the looming threat of dragons. Madson’s world-building is rich and immersive, painting a vivid picture of cultures, conflicts, and magical elements that keep readers engaged.

The characters are well-developed, each with distinct motivations and arcs that intertwine throughout the plot. Their struggles and growth resonate, making you genuinely invested in their fates. The pacing is tight, with action sequences that are both exciting and impactful, driving the narrative forward.

However, some readers may find the multitude of perspectives a bit overwhelming at times, requiring a moment to reorient as the story shifts. Despite this, the captivating storytelling and emotional depth make it easy to overlook any minor confusion.

Overall, Between Dragons and Their Wrath is a captivating read that balances adventure, character development, and moral complexity. Fans of high-stakes fantasy will appreciate this gripping tale and eagerly anticipate Madson's next installment.

anything with dragons and count me in - this book is no exception! I found myself enraptured in the world and invested in the plot.

3/5 stars! The cover of this book was so pretty, and I was beyond excited to read about dragon, ancient magic, and forces of evil. It took a really long time to get into this story, without enough clear world-building to draw me in. Also, said to the tone of "more cowbell," there needed to be way more dragons. They played a very minor role in this story. It had a lot of promise, but fell flat.

Thank you NetGalley and Orbit books for the EARC.

This was a solid three star read for me. I loved the politics and the characters. The scheming is top notch. My major complaint is that for most of the story it seems disjointed with the hopping of POVS, and some of the world building i feel could of used more fleshing out.

This book was good! I liked it but didn’t love it. I definitely see potential in it and look forward to seeing what else the author does.

Between Dragons and Their Wrath is a high fantasy epic that combines dragons, political intrigue, and spicy romance. With multiple points of view, the story weaves together themes of anti-colonialism and anti-imperialism, set in a world full of fascinating characters and power struggles. The book’s stunning worldbuilding is complemented by its diverse cast and strong LGBTQ+ representation. From western-inspired dragon-riding adventures to bio-horror and forbidden love, each POV brings something unique. If you enjoy complex characters and immersive, multi-layered stories, this novel is a must-read.

I love the combination of dragonriders and political intrigue. I found the multi POV a little hard to track in the beginning but then I got really into it. I loved the subtle suspense, the tinge of horror, the at times dry and at times overt humor, the snark, the dragons. I can't wait for the rest of the trilogy!

This book originally caught my eye for the promise of dragons, and one of the main characters is in fact a dragon rider. I will admit the story being split between 3 main characters all in the first person perspective was somewhat hard to adjust to. It felt like when I was finally getting into the character and the plot around them there was an abrupt switch which I didn't enjoy. The story itself really did follow a lot of fantasy tropes which made it somewhat predictable, though the twist was decent. Overall it took me a long time to get through this book because I wasn't all that invested, but it was decent.

Between Dragons and their Wrath did have a bit of a slow start for me; however, once it picked up, it didn’t quit. Why have I never heard of this author before?!? The way they build a fantasy world is amazing and reminds me of John Gwynne and S.A Chakra’s style to slowly bring characters together in a mysterious world full of magic and entwined romances and DRAGONS. It also contained so much amazing LGBTQ+ representation. AND plant magic, did I mention the plant magic? I can’t wait for the next book in this series and I need to get a hold of this author’s published works ASAP.

Thank you to Orbit Books and NetGalley for an E-ARC copy of this book.

As promised, I came back to this at a later date when I was feeling it more. This ended up being a solid read. While it wasn’t necessarily my taste 100%, I will certainly recommend it to friends looking for epic fantasies. For the next one - more dragon time please!

This book wasn't bad, but from the title and description I expected more with the dragons. It took me at least halfway to figure out who was who and how our POV characters were connected, which may have been intentional. The last 30% ish was the most interesting to me because things started to happen beyond stage setting.

My thanks to Orbit Books, Devin Madson and Netgalley.
I've been reading this book slowly for a few months now. I fully expected that I'd still be reading it for a few months after too.
Why keep track of a book that I probably won't like?
So, 3 or 4 months on this story revved up.
Dragons? Ridiculous.
.....
.....
Maybe not so much.
The last 45% of this story? Loved it.

Soft DNF at 50%

I'm not disliking this book by any means, but I have a lot of books to get to by the end of the year and this one is just not really gripping me, and the characters are not compelling.

Interesting worldbuilding, so-so characters

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

I thought the writing was done well, however the plot left me wanting more. If you like dragons though I would pick this book up.

This book was fine. It was a good story but didn’t suck me into the world. I wanted to be fully immersed in this dragon world. Maybe it just wasn’t for me.

You give me a book with “dragons” in the title, and you instantly have my attention. I love dragons. Sometimes, this obsession works in my favor and I discover books I completely and utterly fall in love with. Other times, I’m left feeling very “meh.” Unsatisfied. Between Dragons and Their Wrath by Devin Madson unfortunately, falls in the latter category. The characters were unmemorable, the plot forgettable, and for having dragons in the title, I really wanted more dragons.

For such a politically motivated story, Madson didn’t explain the dynamics very well. I felt lost from the start and needed an explanatory prologue. With having three characters, three points of view, and in three different places, it took me far too long to understand the full background of the world that probably should’ve been better laid out from the start. Madson also rarely stayed on one character’s view for more than one chapter at a time. It sometimes made it hard for me to follow. There’s so much packed into this novel that you can forget things. I did.

Madson also failed to explain certain aspects of the characters’ wardrobes: veils and skirts. And then sometimes the veils were there, and other times they weren’t? Why? Why did everyone—men and women—wear skirts? Why are certain people treated less than others? I just had way too many questions, and they were left unanswered. Then what…year is this supposed to occur? Some characters have guns. Others have bows. Others have swords?

I have read none of Madson’s work previously, so I went into Between Dragons and Their Wrath totally blind. I did not like the sex scenes. I did not like the references to so much sexual content. I do not care that character X envisions—in graphic detail—sleeping with character Y. Granted, this is also coming from someone who does not like smut. I skip it. If you like that sort of thing, more power to you. But if so much of your plot revolves around libido, then the plot isn’t strong enough. Period. I don’t feel those scenes are needed, and they just add unnecessarily to your word count. I also didn’t like the LGBTQ content in the novel. While that is fine for some, it’s personally not my preference.

Between Dragons and Their Wrath had potential; however, it didn’t meet it. The world felt too narrow, and the dragons were hardly there! That’s one of the things that irritated me the most. They played such minor roles, and we really only encounter one. But even that dragon, she’s not heavily featured because of something that happens in the novel. Maybe there would be more dragons in future books in the series. Probably. But I won’t be reading it.

Between Dragons and their Wrath is an excellent fantasy read for anyone feeling the need to absorb even more dragon stories during this wonderful year of dragon hyper fixation triggered by recent popular stories.

The characters all feel well fleshed out and pacing worked particularly well with dialogue falling into sections that helped dramatically with breaking up longer walls of text.

I will be recommending this title for inclusion at our local libraries and book stores.