I thoroughly enjoyed this first installment in a new YA Fantasy series. Using a fantastical setting in 1920's England with class systems and dragons to present a social/political commentary was brilliant. I love the characters, and the story moved along at a good pace. I will definitely look forward to the next book in the series. Highly recommended

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for an advanced reader copy.

I received this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This would’ve been great if there weren’t so. Many. Politics. I can appreciate a political book, but this just got too bogged down in details for me personally.

The main character Vivien, is very selfish and stubborn and difficult. She is kind of hard to like at the beginning of the book, but by the end she finally redeems herself. The secondary characters are fairly memorable and all have different motivations. Everyone is just trying to survive in this book, and each character has a different way of doing so.

The setting seems to be in an alternate reality. London, but not quite in current times. In this world, dragons have lived alongside humans and the atmosphere is very charged as a lot of things are in motion. The class system and dragon rights are the main catalyst of this strife, and rightfully so. Dragons have been subdued throughout the years and are considered second rate citizens. As dragons are powerful, this is hard to believe for me personally. I understand that rulers can do what seems impossible by repressing certain citizens, but it was very unbelievable that dragons wouldn’t have risen up by the point the events in the book take place.

The writing isn’t hard to read, but some parts are a bit detailed. Code breaking is a big part of this book, and there’s quite a bit of terminology that goes with that. Parts of this read very slow, but the last quarter of the book was very easy to read and action packed.

All in all, I did enjoy this book, but it wasn’t my favorite dragon book. The politics got in the way AND there’s no HEA for Viv and Atlas 😭

4.5⭐️

This book was amazing! Reimagined post WW1 Britannia but where dragons and humans coexist. Now add political intrigue, rebellion, corruption and mix in languages and linguistics. Plus a bit of dark academia (which is my favorite) and some very interesting characters and you have an incredible book!

I was hooked from the beginning and couldn’t put it down! The book was fast paced and action packed and the plot/story is so unique. I have never read something quite like this before. There are so many dragons in this and it’s such an original take on them that you don’t see in most fantasy books. This book is technically YA but it never came across that way. In my opinion the only YA aspect was the ages of the characters. This book is a great read for adult and younger readers!

I’m afraid I had to cut off my reading of LANGUAGE at the 31% mark (before Chapter 10). Neither the writing nor the story gripped me. The writing was fairly broad - lacking in specificity and nuance. A third of the way into the book, and I hadn’t learned much more about Vivien outside of what was told to us in the Author Note at the start. As a result, she - and the rest of the cast of characters - felt one-note and wooden. Never popping from the page. A major hang-up for me was that we were told that Vivien’s number one personality trait was being a rule follower. And yet we were expected to get on board with the fact that she launches a war mere hours after her parents’ arrest? It didn’t make sense - for her to travel from 0 to 100 in no time at all.

The narrative lacked color in general. It felt like the world wasn’t even sufficiently set up before Vivien was on a train to Bletchley Park and we were already in Act II. It’s difficult to care when the world still appears as a sketch. Nothing about Vivien’s surroundings felt rich or three-dimensional. The one exception was the library in which Chumama was imprisoned. That scene in Chapter 3 is quite vivid - but the rest of the story just wasn’t measuring up to that standard.

In an alternate London in 1923, one girl accidentally breaks the tenuous truce between dragons and humans in this sweeping debut and epic retelling of Bletchley Park steeped in language, class, and forbidden romance. Perfect for teen fans of Fourth Wing and Babel.

Dragons soar through the skies and protests erupt on the streets, but Vivien Featherswallow isn’t worried. She’s going to follow the rules, get a summer internship studying dragon languages, be smart, be sweet, and make sure her little sister never, ever has to risk growing up Third Class. She just has to free one dragon.

By midnight, Viv has started a civil war.

With her parents and cousin arrested and her sister missing, Viv is brought to Bletchley Park as a codebreaker—if she succeeds, she and her family can all go home again. If she doesn’t, they’ll all die.

As Viv begins to discover the secrets of a hidden dragon language, she realizes that the fragile peace treaty that holds human and dragon societies together is corrupt, and the dangerous work Viv is doing could be the thread that unravels it.

I loved this book! I don’t read a lot of YA books, but Dragons! The FMC is flawed and has made mistakes, and is very stubborn. Viv is very book smart and in this book she fights back to save her family. Viv learns not everything is black and white and sometimes you need to break the rules. This book is very fast paced and I didn’t want to stop reading. Great suspense and likable secondary characters. I can’t wait for the next book!

I was not expecting to like this book as much as I did. It’s more academia than fighting (until the end). FMC’s journey grows throughout the story. She can frustrating but she’s learning. This is squarely a YA book. The ending is such an emotional roller coaster. I can’t wait to read the next book.

I received an arc from Netgalley and the publisher.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and was pleasantly surprised.

On the cusp of war, Vivien’s parents, uncle, and cousin are arrested under the allegations that they’re rebels who don’t support the peace treaty between the dragons and Britain. As a book smart teenager, Viv excels with languages and is recruited to help the British government against rebels, human and dragon alike.

Overall, Viv really did annoy me a chunk of the time. On one end, I see it- born and raised one way for so long you’re set in your ways but once people start pointing out what might not have been obvious to you…come on. Start gaining some perspective and stick with it instead of backtracking.

I loved the ending and can’t wait to explore what comes next.


I received an eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Although this book started slow, and I almost stopped a few chapters in, I am glad that I stuck with it. This is a great new series for teens interested in dragons, languages, post-WWI Britain, or some combination of the three.

Although the book is being marketed as dark academia and enemies to lovers, I don't really think that it fits in either category. While parts of it are referential to other recent big hits, it stands on its own, and is certainly better written then some of its peers. It is also a little more mild on the romance, which makes it better for younger teens. The biggest content considerations are a few swear words and some violence.

Thanks Netgalley and publishers for the free e-arc in exchange for my honest opinion. While this doesn't top the list of my favorite books of the year, it is certainly a worthy addition to its genre.

Thank you to Net Galley for the arc.. This book has the perfect proportion of everything that makes up a goodfantasy book.
And is also set in past with a dystopian setting. It is 1923 London, and there are peace protests against establishing harmony between dragons and humans.
Peaked your interest, right?
On one hand you see the protagonists quest, and is awesome how the author has used the concept of languages and translation in the story - unparalleled, and extraordinary. On the other side, is a backdrop which is political, and shows n era where media is controlled, there's widespread propaganda. The author has subtly intertwined so many paradoxical concepts, that it makes up for a great narrative.

It may be a children's book, but it's not only a children's book.

rating - 4.5

“The learning of languages—and translation in particular—is about giving a voice to people, to species and countries who have yet to be heard by the world. To learn nothing but human tongues would be to turn in on ourselves, would be like erasing the dragons and their history.”

I’m a simple person: describe a book as "dark academia," and it’s on my TBR in an instant. I’ve always been drawn to books with academic settings, dating back to my middle-grade days and my obsession with the classic magic school trope, so when I read my first dark academia book, I was hooked. Dark academia has become one of my favorite subgenres, not just because of its academic settings or vibes, but because of the richness and complexity of the themes presented.

I've noticed an issue happening a lot lately, especially with YA books: many so called "dark academia" books are NOT dark academia. In my opinion, there is a difference between the dark academia aesthetic/style and the subgenre that people read, and I think many books coming out recently fall into the former category. Though I do enjoy both types of books, I wish publishers wouldn’t treat every campus story as synonymous with dark academia.

A Language of Dragons had the potential to explore dark academia themes, but it doesn’t fully commit to them. It touches on themes similar to Babel like class, language, rebellion, and whether translations require sacrifice, but leans into being a standard YA fantasy with a campus-like setting (the setting isn’t actually a school, it’s like one though), which is fine in its own right. The problem, is that publishers take any trending phrase on social media and immediately run with it without a second thought. In A Language of Dragons, it’s more than just dark academia that is used as a buzzword for marketing (ex: enemies to lovers and slow burn - There is not a HINT of enemies or even hate to love between the characters and I’m so confused why the blurb says this.) I don’t think this is a fault with the content of the book itself, and hey, I can’t even blame the author for marketing her book in such a way. This is entirely a problem with the BookTok era of publishing, where a potential viral book is more important than anything.

My little rant aside, I still found A Language of Dragons highly entertaining, at least for a significant chunk of the book. Take it from someone who hardly read thirty pages in the span of four months: you will fly through this book. If you’re in a reading slump or need a quick, exciting book to help you meet your reading goal, A Language of Dragons is an excellent choice. It demands your attention from the very beginning and keeps the momentum going until the end. I feel like this is rare nowadays. The action begins on page one and you don’t have to slog through heaps of dense worldbuilding or complicated names. The writing is accessible, the pacing is tight, if not a little disjointed, and the side characters and plot are fun and engaging.

Many YA books nowadays feel more catered to an adult or crossover audience, and I appreciate that A Language of Dragons stays true to its intended audience. I think that teens who are new to political/revolution-inspired fantasies will really enjoy this book. If you’re already familiar with such themes in books, though, I think you’ll already know how the story panes out, and might not get much out of it.

Although I liked the side characters, the main character, Viv, is a difficult character to connect to. I wish Marquis, my star of the show, was the main character instead, or at the very least, we got to read from his perspective. Williamson even acknowledges Viv in her author’s note saying that, “For all her good intentions, loyalty, and ambition, she is selfish, impatient, and blinded by privilege.” Knowing this, however, didn’t make Viv any easier to like. I’m all for complex and realistic characters, but Viv was a whole other level of insufferable. And yes, that is precisely the point of her character, I understand, but that doesn’t mean I need to enjoy her.

Early on, it is revealed that Viv’s parents joined the rebellion, and she couldn’t comprehend why they could do such a thing, and sees it as a betrayal. Yet, ironically, her entire motivation for the role she is given is done supposedly “for her family.” She frames the reason why she needs to solve the code for them and for her sister’s future, but she hardly considers why her parents might have chosen to “switch sides.” She is siding with a cause that her own parents did not support. For most of the book, she refuses to challenge her worldview, even when told by others about the clear prejudices embedded in the Peace Agreement. Viv’s character arc isn’t particularly satisfying, though. While her opinions grow by the end, I feel they come too late, and even then, it feels incomplete. That said, I do applaud Williamson for crafting such a timely and relevant character. Viv is firm in her beliefs, of the propaganda she’s been fed by her government, and clings onto these comforting lies because challenging them would mean deconstructing the basis of her entire identity and what she has been raised to believe. She doesn’t begin to care about the flaws in her government until they impact her directly. We see this exact dynamic playing out in the world today and throughout history, where people turn a blind eye to injustices in the world until they’re impacted, which gives Viv’s character some merit, though it doesn’t make me like her more.

One of my biggest frustrations with Viv, aside from her personality, is how she is easily forgiven by another character after doing something harmful. If I were thar character, I don’t think I could ever forgive her. It felt like too much of a big deal to brush aside, and I didn’t think Viv being forgiven felt very deserved.

Overall, A Language of Dragons is a conflicting book. On one hand, this book ended my months-long reading slump and I had a fun time reading a good chunk of this book. On the other hand, Viv’s character ruined the experience for me. I didn’t mention this, and I don’t want to go too into depth, but I found some of the revelations Viv had with her code pretty obvious and unsurprising, even as someone who knows nothing about linguistics. Also, the book felt too similar to another book (I don’t want to name it because it would be a major spoiler), and so I feel like for a book with such an interesting, unique topic, it felt too familiar. I can see why some readers might love this book, and I might be in the minority in this one, but unfortunately, I didn’t love this. A Language of Dragons presents a unique idea, but ultimately falls flat.

*Bookstagram post pending* This book was a slow burn start for me, but the ending had me wishing I could have book two immediately. The story starts off quickly with a dramatic shift for our main character Viv. Until I would say about the 60-70% mark, the book is relatively slow as the world is built and we get to know the characters. The last 30-40% or so of the book was a sprint to the end as everything people have been working towards (or so they think) comes to a head.

Viv is a truly flawed main character. She has made choices many would say you would never do, but she could be considered a true representation of what can occur when a person feels like they have no other option. It took awhile for me to enjoy her character because inherently she makes choices I would like to think I would also never make. Her growth in the book is slow, and when she finally starts to understand those around her, a lot changes in a short time.

Atlas as a side character and love interest was good, but I wish we could have seen much more. For example, maybe less Ralph? I get he is evil, and I am not looking for a redemption arc for him lol.

Honestly, my biggest annoyance with this book is the secret Viv is holding regarding her friend Sophie. Since it is hinted at so heavily during most of the story, when the reveal finally occured it did not have a big impact for me. Sophie was an okay character.

I think for me I care about this book and what will occur not necessarily because of the characters, but I think the world itself is very interesting. I just don't feel very connected to them despite everything they endured.

Thanks to NetGalley for this eARC :’)

4.5 🌟 (rounded up)

WOW. Dragons. Politics. War. This book was amazing! Atlas and Marquis are my favs. Viv was honestly a bit insufferable but it worked for me.

The ending had me shed a little tear (and if you know me, it’s hard to get me to cry reading a book!).

This book genuinely had me fully immersed from the start.
The characters are flawed but still enjoyable. And the dragons and their language systems are so interesting.
I wish the character appearances were described a bit more, but it leaves more room for imagination I suppose.
I also wish we saw more development of the relationship the fmc forms with another character.
But overall I feel this book was well written and I very much enjoyed it

DNF @ 25%

I loved the idea of this book but unfortunately, the FMC started to become insufferable to me. I could not bear to see Sophie's name or anything closely resembling or seemingly related to Sophie as it resulted in the FMC telling us how she did something terrible to ruin Sophie's life. I wanted her to stop complaining about it and show me she was actively trying to fix what she did, if she truly felt that distraught over it. Other than that, I truly enjoyed the plot and the premise of the story but I could not bring myself to keep reading.

(I may pick this back up at a later time but as it is now, Viv's character is unbearable to read).

This was a fun read
I was a little disappointed by the romance subplot but that didn't stop me from enjoying the overall plot. I loved the dragons and the whole language concept of it
3.5 Stars
Will look forward to the next one

I would give 3.5 stars but think it’s a better read than 3 stars so I am inclined to upgrade to 4 stars though I admit this is generous. The setup is intriguing and the world feels flushed out with the history of the dragons and introduction of the dragon languages but I found the main character not that interesting and didn’t believe in her character journey in the final third of the book. I liked the secondary characters but the lead was bland. This very clearly felt like an opening to a larger story so I think the series has potential. I do plan to pick up the sequel despite these reservations.

This young adult novel blends historical fiction with fantasy, and I’m here for it! If I'm being honest, the author had me at the mention of dragons. 🗡️🐲

The story revolves around a war involving dragons and young linguistic experts who are desperate to decode the dragon language for an advantage in the conflict. It is surely an addictive, dark academic tale, that features a (very) slow-burn romance and morally gray, flawed yet lovable characters. This book was right up my alley. I loved every bit of the buildup, I enjoyed the plot, the characters, and of course, the dragons.

This is so close to being a five-star book but it fell flat in the high-tension moments. Just a little bit more and some of the scenes could have been epic. The other bit that I didn't love was the inconclusive ending. My understanding was that this is a single/standalone book and the way it ended just wasn't for me. However, if this is meant to be a duology or a series, then I could perhaps understand the cliffhanger.

Regardless, a huge thank you to HarperCollins for providing me with a copy of this e-arc. The publication date is set for January 07, 2025, and I still highly recommend this book to my fantasy lovers.

As always, all thoughts are my own. ✨🖤 Can't wait to share what I think with you all!! xx

I really enjoyed this book. It felt easy to follow along with plot wise and the characters were likable. Very interesting storyline. I have no read many books with dragons so I can’t compare it to the other ones out there. But a very nice YA fantasy. Thank you NetGalley for the arc!

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

A Language of Dragons by S. F. Williamson is a first person-POV YA historical fantasy. In this alternative history, dragons walk amongst humans and have entered a shaky peace agreement with Britain after the Massacre of Bulgaria which wiped out most Bulgarian humans. Viv is the daughter of a Bulgarian mother and a British father living in London in 1923 in a restrictive class system that has dangerous consequences for those who fall into the Third Class. When her parents are revealed to be rebels, Viv releases a dragon in exchange for them burning down the prime minister’s home.

The class system is going to be familiar to most readers who are aware of the upper, middle, lower class system. The Third Class has very few protections or opportunities and it is extremely difficult to rise into the Second Class. Viv’s family is Second Class and her parents have done whatever they deemed necessary to keep their children from being demoted, including physical punishments for poor grades which could lead to eventual demotion. The First Class has the most protections, but even they are at risk of falling a class lower and almost everyone in the First Class is implied to be white with little upward movement for people of color beyond Second Class.

Viv’s strongest platonic relationships are between her and her younger sister, Ursa, her best friend, Sophie, and her cousin Marquis. There is very little that Viv wouldn’t do for Ursa, including possibly betraying her ideals or sacrificing herself. We learn early on that Viv betrayed Sophie, sending her friend into the Third Class from the Second, something that eats at Viv constantly but what makes it worse is that Sophie is unaware of what Viv did. Marquis is half-American and believes in a lot of the ideals of the rebels due to his mother’s influence. Like with Ursa, Viv would do anything necessary to save Marquis but because he is older and has more autonomy than Ursa, he can also take care of himself and moves fairly independently from Viv’s plans.

Viv’s love interest is Atlas, a Third Class priest-in-training who is tasked with zoology in the war effort. Viv doesn’t learn exactly what this means until later as she is part of the team of codebreakers, focused on deciphering dragon echolocation, a job she is uniquely prepared to do due to her high aptitude for dragon languages. Viv’s job is intertwined with Atlas as they’re both forced to work on a team with Marquis, Sophie, and several others to defeat the dragons attacking England or else they will be sent back to the situation they were pulled out of, which, for some of them, means death. Atlas’ ideals and compassion for others is constantly at odds with Viv’s desire to save her sister, Marquis, and parents no matter the cost, but he sees past her drive to find her desire to do the right thing and she finds in him someone who refuses to bend his convictions: breaking the class system down brick by brick and a world of peace between humans and dragons.

Content warning for mentions of child abuse, torture, and child death

I would recommend this to fans of YA fantasy that like excerpts that give details of worldbuilding, readers looking for a historical fantasy focused on class warfare, and those who love fantasy that focuses on linguistics

I wanted to love this book and hate that I couldn’t get into it. The writing is very well done and the linguistics are very interesting and I would love to read more of that, unfortunately the main character just made it unbearable to read and the book itself was very uneventful. I liked a few of the side characters and want more of the dragons but I just don’t think I can read anymore of the main characters thoughts.