This is a perfect blend of the drama, sizzling romance, and world building. There’s a deceptive arranged marriage, politics, DRAGONS, betrayal, and oh DRAGONS!!

Tamsyn is a royal whipping girl - the girl who takes all the punishments of her royal “sisters” since royalty cannot be harmed. She’s good at it. She has a sense of pride in her position, instilled in her by Stig. Stig is the captain of the guard who will do anything for Tamsyn, including try to save her from an arranged marriage. Fell is the Beast of the Borderlands, a brute who protects the wild edges of the kingdom. Fell demands a royal wife and he will have one… but deception abounds.

This book is a quick read that has many hard to stomach themes such as a whipping girl, arranged marriage, witnessed consummation, and death. Jordan handles these well. The horrors are highlighted but not glamorized. Intimate scenes are graphic but palatable. It’s been a while since I’ve read a book that was so straightforward with hard themes.

The writing is refreshing, fast-paced, and eloquent. The first few pages pulled me into a chokehold until the very last page. The world building is fantastic. The multiple POV’s really allowed me understand how each character processed the world around them. Fell’s character development is my favorite out of the main three. I’m amazed at how complex this book is for being under 350 pages. The last 25% of the book is pretty much perfect.

I loved the dragons. Can’t say much else without spoiling it. I have never read any of Sophie Jordan’s work, but I will certainly be reading more. I will be screaming from the rooftops about how much I enjoyed A Fire in the Sky.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins for an advanced digital copy.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to arc read this book!

Dragons, forced marriage, witches! I loved every second of this book and cannot believe the cliffhanger we’re left on. The chemistry between Tamsyn and Fell is perfect, and I loved seeing her grow as a person.
Book two is going on my tbr!

2.5⭐️

While the book had me intrigued by the end and I would consider reading the follow up, I found myself forcing my way through it. A lot of the book felt repetitive; with thought processes and turns of phrase being repeated from paragraph to paragraph and chapter to chapter. There were times I would find myself skimming the page to skip through the characters rambling thoughts and get back to forward momentum in the plot. There were moments I enjoyed and glimpses of potential for stand out characters but overall, it was just a book I found myself putting down in favor of something else more often than not.

This short fantasy book has been one of my favorites this year! The story really pulled me in, and I really loved the two main characters Tamsyn and Fell. Tamsyn is stuck in an impossible situation as she's married off to a "Beast of the Borderlands", but she holds her own and shows inspirational strength. And Fell is more complex than meets the eye. He's the perfect badass male character that shows gentleness with Tamsyn that even he doesn't expect. The dynamic between them, especially after the marriage twist, was full of tension but also had some really sweet moments. The romance was written so well, with just the right amount of heat.

I also loved how unpredictable the plot was. There were moments that genuinely surprised me, and now I have a ton of questions that I can’t wait to see answered in the next book. Overall, this book had everything—strong characters, a bit of magic, and a lot of suspense. Definitely a series I’ll be keeping an eye on!

Thank you to Netgalley and Avon/Harper Voyager for an eARC of this book!

It took a minute for me to decide how to rate this book. There were definite moments while reading when I was engaged and invested but I almost DNFed around 50%. I stuck it out and overall think the story was just ok.
I enjoyed the build up and set up involving the two main characters meeting, but I spent most of the book searching for their connection after that. I wanted to root for Tamsyn and Fell, yet something in the writing or the plot didn't quite cement them as a couple. Even with a cliffhanger ending I doubt I will be interested enough to continue with the story.
Thank you NetGalley and Avon for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

** I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review from Netgalley**

Rating: 2.5 stars

Plot: This book follows the FMC, Tamsyn, who is a whipping girl for the princesses (when they act out, Tamsyn takes the consequences = whipping). She is given as a bride deceptively to the Beast of Borderlands, Fell who obviously does not appreciate being lied to. Even with the betrayal he seems to quickly become enthralled with her as they travel back to his homelands. In Penterra, there is no magic as dragons are killed off and witches are basically in hiding.

Characters: Tamsyn was written to come out strong anf outspoken at times but her character seemed flat and annoying. She was a more immature character than I was expecting for an adult fantasy novel.

Fell was honestly just a brute who did not have much depth to him.

The characters honestly shared a few sentences the entire time but yet seemed to want to be together long term. Lust vs love ….

The big climax in this book was truly predictable as there were many indications in the beginning/throughout the book.

The book could ideally go through another round of editing as the sentence structures are choppy.

This book is definitely a YOUNG ADULT book with SEX SCENES. The entirety of the book is written as YA within its themes, characters, and plot.

Overall, the plot of this book was a great idea but fell very flat within its characters and execution.

This quickly became a book I could not put down. Had everything I enjoy in a Fantasy Romance book - unique story elements, interesting characters, surprises, a bit of romance and dragons! I am excited to see where the story will go in the next book.

I've been itching for a dragon fantasy so I was super excited to receive this one. Read if you like:
-Dragons (duh)
-Arranged marriage/enemies to lovers
Ummm idk if I have more to add because that's pretty much most of the book. Evidently this is a spinoff of a previous YA series, so maybe if I'd read that I would have enjoyed this a wee bit more. As it is, I liked it but I thought it lacked a major plot. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I wish romantasy focused more on the fantasy! I like reading this genre because it tends to be lighter and quicker than like 900 page epics, but I read them for the plot too and I wish there'd been just a bit more development. Even the romance went from "I hate you" to "omg I can't live without you" in .3 seconds. There were also a couple plot twists that had no explanation and while there will obviously be a sequel, they just felt carelessly unaddressed in this first book. Give me SOMETHING, please Sophie. It was fun for what it was so it's a solid 3 from me, but I just wish we had more plot and character development all around. It felt dated, if that makes sense. Lots of trembling from fear and such, if you catch my drift.

4 -⭐⭐⭐⭐

I had not met a more treacherous woman in all my days. I despised her and what she had done, and yet she held me in the palm of her hand.
It could not stand.

A Fire in the Sky is the first novel in the adult fantasy romance series following Tamsyn, a young woman who is the personal whipping girl of the princesses of Penterra.

Raised among the princesses as a sister but always reminded of being other, Tamsyn has accepted her life as a servant for the crown...though she never expected how much it would cost her. When the Beast of the Borderland attends the castle he provides an ultimatum: he will marry one of the princesses in return for his continued protection of the border...or else. To save the princesses, Tamsyn is sent to deceive the Beast at the risk of her life and all she knows dear, including her best friend and captain of the guard, Stig.

Yet when The Beast uncovers the deception after the wedding night he decides to keep Tamsyn...but no one ever expected that by leaving with her new husband would set Tamsyn on a new path...a path where secrets she doesn't even know exist will come free. Now, the fate of the kingdom is on the brink of change - will it burn the kingdom to the ground or awake magic that can save it?

This book was a fast paced adventure that creates promise for an amazing series.

Tamsyn is a woman who wants to do her duty. She loves her "sisters" but I also feel there is a bit of misplaced gratitude because she is an orphan. I feel like there is a lot more to uncover with her that even she is still unaware of and I like to see where that is going.

Fell is the Beast of the Borderland, an adopted son who seeks to do the legacy of his father proud. I found him to be a fascinating character as he tries to navigate politics (not always doing the best) but that he continues to persevere. He feels drawn to Tamsyn regardless of his frustration of being cuckolded and he definitely changes in ways that has me excited for what is to come.

There are a bunch of side characters that help keep the pace. Stig, to me, is a little annoying. I feel like he just hasn't got the memo and I am hoping either he ends up offed or that he finds a new path. The princesses I feel were a mixture of vapid and kind. The whole royal family gives me odd vibes that I feel need unravelling. There are also Fell's companions who challenge him, some for good, some for bad. Oh there is also another character I liked...but spoilers!

In terms of spice I would say this book is about a 2.5 spicy pepper out of 5 spicy peppers. We see spice around the 30% mark which is expected with the marriage. We get a few more steamy moments after that but these two characters are definitely not in the love stage of their relationship for a chunk of the novel so it has this more angst vibe. I felt the spice was well written and I liked seeing the progress in their relationship at the end. There is this connection between them that draws me and I cannot wait to see what it means down the line!

“Tamsyn, I’m a man. A warrior. Better with my sword than with words and manners. I’m not kind..”
“I like what you are, Fell.”

The overarching story is a bit slower than I expected. I felt like a lot of this was all a teaser for the big twists coming in book 2. I felt we got a good amount of time to understand the world and we also got to explore it a bit but I will highlight the first 40% is focused on the lead up of the marriage. After that we do see more movement with action, politics, secrets, and more. There were twists I expected but one I did not anticipate. I did find some of Tamsyn's pulling away was a bit dramatic but when she finally started working with Fell I was sucked in. Their time together as they got to know each other and the journey helped us better understand them. The ending leaves us with a cliffhanger that has me dying for me. I feel the story was cut too soon...or I am just like a child who's bedtime was called when I want to watch for another 10 minutes XD

Overall, a really good start to a series that has me oh so tempted!

Thank you Avon for this arc!

A Fire in the Sky is an exciting and captivating romantasy about power, magic, and love..

Tamsyn is the royal whipping girl - an orphan raised at the palace as a princess with one big difference - takes their punishments for her sisters as they cannot be touched. Her friend Stig is the captain of the royal guard, and reminds her that once the princesses are off and wed, she will be free to pursue her own life and make her own decisions. But when the Lord Fell Dryhten, the Beast of the Borderlands, arrives at the palace demanding to wed a princess in exchange for keeping the borders safe, the royals devise a plan. Instead of a princess, they will marry off Tamsyn instead. Once the deceit is revealed, it is too late, and Tamsyn and Fell are wed, and are set to return to the Borderlands as husband and wife, and enemies. Fell won't forget the deception and is planning his retribution, but he also can't stop thinking about Tamsyn. Is their bond stronger than their desire to remain enemies? In a land where dragons are extinct and witches are hunted down, magic is gone, but not lost.

It is so easy to be absorbed into this story! The prose flows easily and I read about 75% of the book in one sitting - only stopping there because I had to go to sleep! Tamsyn and Fell have a unique relationship - they should hate each other, but there is a spark there for sure that leads to some wonderful tension. There is a lot of "we can't ever be together" back and forth in the character's POV chapters, but you know they feel that spark too and there are plenty of swoony moments. The worldbuilding comes slowly, and I would have liked a little more of the history and lore. The ending is packed with heart stopping action, and I was on the edge of my seat while finishing this book. There is a ton of action, a history of dragons and witches, and kingdoms on the brink of war. I really enjoyed this treat of a book, and I look forward to reading more!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Harper Collins Avon for this advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

4.5 stars

This book blew me away! It was fast paced, lots of action, and gives the reader enough information, without feeling overwhelmed with world building! Dragons and magic!

I cannot wait for the next one already!

Truly an underdog story for both Tamsyn and Fell, but I really did enjoy that we got other point of view along the way to help build the story.

I’m a long time fan of this author, and she did a fantastic job with this one. This book does have a cliffhanger, but it’s not a terrible one.

I thought I would be getting the special edition based on how it was promoted on here. Nope. It was an ebook. Which I shouldn't have been too surprised. Don't promote it that way if you're doing ebooks. Nowhere did it say it was an ebook and not a physical copy. Anyways...Duel povs and it was the same details with no other information added to it. I had high hopes for this because of who the author is. This was a hard pass for me.

Tamsyn grew up alongside the princesses of Penterra as one of them, but not. She is the royal whipping girl and her role is to take the punishment for the princesses when they need discipline. The “Beast of the Borderlands”, Fell, protects Penterra against threats from the north and now asks for a Penterran bride as acknowledgment of the Borderlands’ contribution. The king is unwilling to hand over one of his daughters to Fell and decides to deceive him with Tamsyn. Now Tamsyn finds herself with a husband who hates her and she is being forced to move away from everyone and everything she knows.

This book really sucked me in. Tamsyn and Fell kept being drawn together even though Fell wanted to hate her for her part in the deception. I did guess the twists, but I don’t know that the author was trying to completely surprise us. Interesting storyline with some good tension and spice.

This was completely unexpected in the best way! I really enjoyed this book and now I need to go and read this authors back log!

I'm torn for how to rate this one. I went into A Fire in the Sky with expectations that it was going to be a fun dragon romantasy and while technically, yes it hit all of the marks, it really fell flat for me. I know starting any new fantasy series requires a lot of setup and world building but I feel like we were really missing a strong plot. I'm not sure if my problem was with the pacing or the world building or the writing itself but the story really struggled to capture my attention. None of the characters were particularly interesting and while I thought some parts had a lot of promise (i,e. the relationship between Fell/Tamsyn and Tamsyn hiding her secret from everyone) it all ended up feeling underwhelming. Even with a pretty interesting cliffhanger, I doubt I'll be reading any further in this series. There were just too many parts of the story where I found myself wishing for more.

Rating wise, I'm landing on 2.75. While it wasn't for me, I think this book would be fun for someone just getting into fantasy or anyone who is into shapeshifter fantasies.

This book looks absolutely beautiful went straight ahead to preorder! Since I was allowed to review the ARC I was hooked the second Lord Beast walked in and made his demand! I think it's worth the read if you like dragons and romance!

I loved this book!!! Thank you NetGalley for an arc for this book. It was so good!!! It was a very easy fantasy romance read. The plot focuses more on the romance than the dragons until the very end. The world building was not complicated or too much, easy to follow. There are a few plot twists at the end, I predicted one of them, but did not see the other. The story was good, I was picturing a tall Merida as Tamsyn. I feel like Fell was a little all over the place with his emotions like he couldn’t tell if he wanted to love her or not. The cover said it was a novel, I do not know if it’s turning into a series now or there will be a spin-off but she did say in acknowledgements that there would be more to their story, and thank goodness because after that bedding, I am unwell.cit was a good ending, but there is still so much unsettled. Highly recommend, if you want a quick fantasy read with dragons with not a complicated world building. And I have never been a fan of shifters, good book to ease you into it. Only reason it does not get 5 stars is I feel like it should have been longer or at least more info at least Tamsyn accepting herself or finding out about herself. She never really accepted she was a dragon.

Wow, I loved this story. I was reading something else when I started and got so hooked on this book that I ended up finishing this first. I honestly ate it up!! It’s got arranged marriage, betrayal, enemies to lovers, secrets, court politics, dragons, witches, and shifters. All the good stuff, what more could you want!

The romance between Tamsyn and Fell was central to the story and it was my favorite part for sure. The pull between them was so strong and I could feel that tension the more and more that they fought it. Their chemistry was so good, but they also stood strongly on their own as characters. Tamsyn might look on the outside like the average pampered princess but has dealt with lots of pain and abuse as the royal whipping girl. I loved seeing her strength come out! And Fell aka The Beast, has such a reputation as this scary and brutal warrior. And he has so much to prove, he could have been exactly that with Tamsyn. Seeing him soften for her was beautiful!

And the dragon twist! I am desperate to get the next book in my hands to see where this goes next.

I also really loved the world that Sophie created. I didn’t know that there were other books set in this world but I will be picking them up for sure.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Harper Voyager for an egalley of this title to read and give an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
Jordan has long been a favorite author of mine. I love that she is versatile and can write in several different genres as well as age groups. I have read many of her YA books and her new adult. I've seen how well she writes contemporary, historical fiction, and fantasy. So I had no doubt I would enjoy this new one from her. And I was not wrong!
The first thing that drew me to this book is the dragons. They are very in right now (sailing on the coattails of Fourth Wing). What I hoped for was something unique and I do think I got it. The book was reminiscent of the Talon series by Kagawa but with a bit of an older crowd and some twisting involved. I see it being heralded as a romantasy and I will give it props to that because there is a lot of centering around the romantic relationship in this book. But that is not all it's about.
The world building is a little lite with this one. I kind of wanted more depth. Jordan does seemlessly weaves in the background of our character's fates and how the current world we are reading about is formed. There is some historical fiction in the form of a whipping girl; a throwback to 18th century aristocracy. But, don't get me wrong, this book really is pure fantasy about dragons and their history as it pertains to the world we are reading about. There is a bit of repetitiveness with the story line. Characters having inner monologue that is the same over and over again, giving nothing to actually move the story forward. So those bits were slower to absorb for me.
Jordan's characters are well fleshed out enough. The story is told in alternating points of view from Tamsyn, Fell, and Stig. There is one chapter from another character that plants some background. I kind of wish we had a few more of those as they would have leant to more world building. The points of view give good insight into who the characters are. The romance was ok. You know there is some connection by how the characters react in each other's presence. The romance becomes forced proximity. I wanted there to be more of a build up between the two characters romance wise, though. I felt like the chemistry was just a bit off. Characters are too quick to accept things, as well.
If you like twists, this story has a big one towards the end. I sort of figured it out but wanted to see how it would be revealed. The pacing was a bit more slow than what I would have liked before about the last 25% but it was fast enough that I wanted to see where things would go.
I was entertained enough that I would move on to the next book in this series. The ending definitely leaves all the room for that as it's basically a cliffhanger scenario. I need to know what happens next.
3.75 stars

I am obesssed with this book! I hadn't heard of this book until the publishers reached out and I am so glad they did! This book was right up my alley and I instantly wished that book 2 was already available. The book was broken up into parts, and I enjoyed how each part played out. The two plot twists, especially the one at the end were incredible and I need more of the story NOW - PLEASE. The pace was a little slow in the beginning, but picked up quickly. If you love romantasy and dragons, check out this book asap :)

- Dual POV
- Arranged Marriage
- Enemies to lovers
- Touch her and die
- Dragons
- Cliffhanger