This book was on my TBR before it was published and I’m thankful for receiving a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review. This story had all the things fantasy readers look for, dragons, fighting, character flaws, romance (without too much steam), and all the drama. If you enjoy Victoria Aveyard and Rebecca Yarros type fantasies, this would be right up your alley, but friendly enough to be YA. There are some insufferable characters but the premise of the story is strong enough to keep you entertained the entire time.
I’m interested to read the follow-up novel when it is published in 2026!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this copy!

3.5/5.0 Stars

Summary: Codebreaking with Dragons! Plus discussion of rigid class structures and a little romance.

Characters: I have mixed feelings about the main character Viv. I liked her internal struggle coping with guilt and the consequences of our actions as that resonated with me. However, in other parts she was very stubborn, selfish and not thinking clearly, despite being a smart and intelligent character. We didn't have a lot of time for the side characters to breathe, but I enjoyed the antagonist as she seemed to have a bit more dimension. I also liked the distinction between dragons, but wish there was more translation of the dragon languages.

Plot: This is where the rating fell for me. In the first half I was loving the Bletchley park vibes and enjoying the pursuit of research, however once the politics came into play the plot because really convoluted and messy. I couldn't understand why the political entities were aligning or taking the actions that they were, so the impact and severity was lost on me. The last quarter of the book was messy and I didn't understand why the characters were making their decisions.

Setting: I enjoyed the 1920's setting, although the plot is contained within a few acres for most of it.

Overall: This book has some great ideas but failed to impact me as intended due to the political plot lines and questionable choices of the characters.

The further I got through the book, the more I fell in love with the characters and their journey. If I had more free time in my schedule, I definitely would have read this book in 1-2 sittings.

S.F. Williamson's "A Language of Dragons" takes place in the fantastical Britain in 1923, and puts a twist on the codebreaking that took place during WWI and WWII. With a dystopian government equipped with a caste system and peace agreement between dragons and humans alike, teenager Viven Featherswallow is forced to make some questionable decisions in order to ensure the safety of her younger sister when her parents are suddenly imprisoned.

Vivien - the equivalent of a linguistic prodigy and fluent in multiple dragon languages - is blackmailed to work as a code breaker for the government alongside other intelligent teenaged misfits. As the story continues, Viv begins to question not only her government but her own morals as she uncovers the truth about the Peace Agreement, the perspectives and experiences of the dragons she meets along the way, and those she is sharing meals and rooms with.

Here are a few more things I wanted to touch on without giving away too much of the story:
Use of Languages: The way in which the author writes about the languages, how they are studied, and how they are "spoken" but the various humans and animals reminded me of R.F Kaung's "Babel", reiterating how powerful languages are and can be when given the proper respect.

Characters: I loved almost every single character. While I may not have agreed with some of the decisions Viv made throughout the book, I understood her reasoning as a teenage girl trying to survive while her sister's wellbeing is dangled in front of her like a carrot. With that in mind, I personally was not a fan of the attempts at romance, and tried my best to skim over the parts to get back to the actual storyline.

Plot: While many stories can be considered "slow" at the beginning while the author sets up the plot, settings, and characters, that was not the case with "A Language of Dragons". Readers are quickly sucked into 1923 London with Viv and her new and old acquaintances. However, once Viv settles into her new code breaking position, the story slows down a bit. Yes, Viv and her team are getting a lot of work down and learning new information and trying to navigate a life where you don't know who is friend or foe, but there is not a lot of action. However, the last 15-20% of the book takes a turn into action-packed, with dragons and people fighting, flying, and falling at every new paragraph.

I would like to thank NetGalley, S.F. Williamson, and the publishing company for providing me with an ARC of "A Language of Dragons" in exchange for an honest review. I look forward to what comes next for Viv and S.F. Williamson.

I was just drawn into this wonderful story and I just couldn’t get enough of it. It was just so easy to get lost in this great story. I just didn’t want it to end. I just lost myself in and I just couldn’t get enough of these interesting characters. I can’t wait to see what’s next from this author.

what a fun book! i’d say like a solid 3.5? i want to know asap if it was supposed to be a standalone or not! because i feel like that would affect my rating quite a lot lol. like.. this book was so good, but sometimes it was quite confusing.. also that ending!? suRELY it’s not a stand alone right?!

i liked the characters, and i felt like the longer i read the more i began to understand them. i wouldn't say i fully know what happened and why it happened, but in a way i think i like that. during the big finale ending i did find myself getting confused on who was who though lol. but like i said i quite enjoyed learning about each character. i liked the dragons a lot. and the main girl and atlus. i have so many thoughts about the main characters tbh. but also somehow no thoughts at all lol.

the plot of this book was so complex at times. it reminded me a lot of several other books i quite enjoyed if i’m being honest. it reminded me of things like fourth wing, only a monster, narnia lol. idk lots of things. i found lots of moments of intrigue but also there were so many times where i wasn’t necessarily bored, i was just confused how we got to certain parts. that definitely could’ve been on me though.

anywho i would absolutely recommend this book and i am so so so happy i got the chance to read and review this book for netgalley and HarperCollins Children's Books! thank you so much for the opportunity!

I love books that feature an alternate history, especially when there is a fantasy element thrown in. A Language of Dragons is a fine example of this and a very imaginative read. I’m a sucker for books with dragons so this book was a must read.

A Language of Dragons follows Vivien Featherswallow, who has been studying dragon languages. When her parents are arrested for being rebels, Vivien accidentally starts a civil war when she tries to help clear their name. Because of her knowledge of dragon languages, she is tasked with being a codebreaker with the promise that if she finds out how dragons communicate by echolocation, she and her family can go free.

However the closer she comes to figuring out the secret dragon communication, the more secrets she uncovers. She begins to realize the treaty between humans and dragons is not as great as she thought. It harms both species and needs to be changed. Vivien joins forces with her fellow codebreakers to stop the secret project they’ve been working on before the peace between humans and dragons is irrevocably damaged.

I loved the dark academia vibes in this one. The story seemed to flow well and I didn’t feel like it dragged. I really enjoyed the alternate history and the spy element of the story. There is a nice slow burn romance as well. The ending definitely left me wanting to see what happens next with these characters.

Promised to be Dark Academia with Enemies to Lover romance trope plus Dragons! and Languages! set in an alternative WWII setting, I was sure that A Language of Dragons was going to be a favorite.

Unfortunately, although this book did in fact contain dragons and languages, it did not really contain Dark Academia, but instead a not-so-super-secret government department charged with unlocking not-so-hidden-secrets of the dragons in order to win the war. Using a Hunger Games stylized approach, the recruits are asked to complete their tasks before other recruits else their loved ones and they themselves will be killed.

Now, I'm not an expert on war by any means, but recruiting and relying on barely legal young adults with criminal and suspect backgrounds to complete complicated codebreaking seems like a unintelligent idea from the start. The idea that they will imprison one of the best polyglots and instead recruit her daughter to complete her research seems implausible. Not to mention that Vivian Featherswallow is an absolute idiot. From the get-go, the recruits are told not to share their work with anyone else, yet at the first dinner they all talk openly about what they have been asked to do for the war effort. Where the spies and betrayals occur, the reader is completely unsurprised except our MC is all shocked Pikachu face during any "reveal".

Then we have the romance - or lack thereof. This was not in any way, shape, or form an enemies to lovers romance, but rather a forbidden love trope (he is planning on becoming a priest). To even call it a romance is a stretch. There is minimal kissing and the "love" comes completely out of left field. I did not buy their relationship at all and there was zero chemistry.

The politics between the dragons and the humans did not make any sense. If I was the dragons, I would have destroyed the humans and asked questions later rather than sign a "peace agreement" that basically enslaves dragons who are clearly larger, smarter, and much more powerful than human beings.

What I did enjoy about this book as the dragon lore and where I normally do not like academic info-dumping, in the case of this book I would have welcomed it. Language development and evolution is a strong interest of mine and I was fascinated by the dragon anthropology and physiology and wanted so much more information on that.

Overall, this is a great introduction into dragon fantasy for an upper Middle Grade reader (5th grade+) to early YA who wants a clean, political/spy thriller with dragons and minimal to no romance.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Collins, and S.F. Williamson for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to the author and HarperCollins Children's Books for a free advanced reader copy of this book.

Babel meets dragons in a YA fantasy that will keep you engaged from start to finish. I read this in one sitting.

my one critique is that I feel like the relationship developed a little too quickly for me.

Babel for teens with dragons and a softer version of Blood Over Bright Haven's incredibly flawed protagonist.

That’s it, that’s really it in a nutshell. But color me intrigued.

This story is somehow extremely engaging. We are dealing with a naive, academically minded protagonist who unwittingly stumbles into the revelation that her parents have been part of a rebellion and her family name has earned her a spot in a prison cell. Unless. Unless she agrees to join the Queen’s army as a codebreaker and use her vast knowledge of the various dragon languages for the greater good. But which side of the growing war is she joining?

A fascinating character study, Viv can be far too confident in her worldview while also owning a righteous sense of pride in her linguistic skills. Even with her parents’ secret place in the rebellion brewing, she refuses to question reality as she sees it until forced to – and then her life is turned haywire.

This was an engaging and easy read. Simultaneously frustrating reading Viv’s perspective while also enlightening and realistic how she struggles to second-guess the propaganda she’s been fed her whole life. It feels timely.

There are also dragons and while they are cool and unique, they aren’t quite present enough for a story that has the word “dragons” in the title. But that is my personal opinion.

I was very surprised how the end of this book played out. I will be quite frustrated if the second book manages to reverse that ending the way I think it might. But I will be reading regardless.

If you liked Babel but it was a bit too high-falutin for you, A Language of Dragons might be a better fit. If you liked Blood Over Bright Haven and for some reason enjoyed that protagonist’s journey enough to read a (simpler) version of it again, A Language of Dragons is here to serve.

Intriguing, but I wish it held more weight.

Thank you Harper Collins and NetGalley for the DRC of A Language of Dragons! All opinions in this review are my own.

I love the world that A Language of Dragons is set in! It did take me a little while to get into the story, but I love that it's a mix of codebreaking and dragons! My only complaint is that I didn't care for the love interest, specifically why they can't be together and how it plays out. Overall, A Language of Dragons is an excellent fantasy and I can't wait for the sequel!

The file wouldn't convert so I am unable to provide feedback. I was eagerly anticipating this book as it was highly recommended.

Babel but with dragons... kinda...

This is definitely for a younger audience than Babel, but I like the incorporation of language, linguistics, and the power of words/translation.

Representation: A few queer and/or BIPOC supporting characters, not much of note

Rating: 4/5 I immensely enjoyed this book about linguistics, language, and codebreaking. This is set in the 1920s, but it’s also an alternate version of Bletchley Park, which is known for its codebreaking during World War II. Bright teens are gathered there and given a few different tasks that will come together to help them learn things about dragons that’s been hidden from them. I wanted to strangle Viv multiple times, but how this imperfect character was written was excellent. I could really feel the multiple dilemmas she faced, and the big decisions that she had to make at her young, young age. This is a time of sweeping war, but we’re mostly insulated from it because we’re sequestered away with these young adults doing their work. I really enjoyed the worldbuilding of this, the history between humans and dragons, the political structures in place, and how things affected each other.

An interesting blend of historical fantasy and political intrigue, set in an alternate post-World War I London where humans and dragons coexist. The story follows Vivien, a young linguist thrust into a world of espionage and rebellion as she deciphers dragon languages. The intricate world-building and exploration of linguistics are captivating, but some readers may find Vivien’s naiveté and the pacing in the second half a bit challenging. It’s a compelling narrative that will appeal to fans of young adult fantasy seeking a fresh take on dragon lore.

First and foremost, I want to mention that I am extremely happy as a reptile owner (I own two ball pythons and one bearded dragon) and pleased to know that it was mentioned that the dragons do shed. I cannot explain how irritated I have been reading all these dragon books and no one mentions any giant pieces of shed! Dragons are reptiles! They have to shed! Anyway I liked the book. I will say I was very irritated with Vivian throughout the whole thing till the end when she finally realized maybe everyone does have a point maybe this is wrong, but I feel like that is the point of Vivian as a character. She grows as the book goes and that is I feel especially accurate with how people are raised in certain backgrounds and government situations and things like that as you get older, your viewpoints change and this expressed perfectly in the book.

Rating: 4.5/5⭐️

Thanks to @harpercollins @netgalley for the #gifted copy of this book.

“People shouldn’t fear their prime ministers. Prime ministers should fear their people.”

Summary: A reimagining YA Fantasy book of London in 1923 full of dragons, betrayals, secret identities and a slow burn enemies to lovers story. After her parents' arrest, Vivian Featherswallow breaks all the rules to try to get her family back together. She's offered a mysterious position at Bletchley Park as a code breaker for the war effort. Viv slowly realizes that she's been living in a very safe bubble and life is not as cut and dry as she's always believed. She finally has to decide as to what war she's willing to fight.

My Thoughts: Wow!! This was such a fun debut... After reading a few books based on Bletchley Park, it was so interesting to see it in a whole new light with younger people working in the different areas and, of course, dragons!! There were so many secrets and twists and turns throughout this book that it was hard to figure out who to trust and who was truly bad. Vivian was a tough shell to crack for her to finally see what had been happening in the world outside of her safe bubble. But I do love that as soon as she made a decision, she charged full steam ahead. Having the dragons as part of the society was such a neat concept, especially since Viv could speak different dragon languages. There was a slow burn enemies-to-lovers story along with lots of mystery throughout that held my attention. I'm hoping for another book in this world because of that ending...

Read if you love:
🐉Dragons
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿London
✨YA Reads
🌟Historical Fiction with a touch of fantasy

I really loved this book. I thought this book was so unique and so different and loved it. I thought this book was a unique mix of historical fantsay but also a war esce story it gave me world war two vibes.I also loved the dragons in this story and found my self captured by it and i wss so hard to stop reading. I am really hoping we get more books in this series because i am not happy with the clifhanger and would like more!! Such heartbreaking read but really addicting read!!

I would pitch this as a WWII-esque fantasy of Violet (From Fourth Wing) had entered the Scribe Quadrant.

I have mixed feeling on the romance because of Atlas’ calling, but I love banter. Also, WE HAD LOVE NOTES EXCHANGED BY BOOKS 🥰 One of my favorite tropes!

Knocked half a star cuz some of the writing was confusing because the MC would say one thing but then do another and left me flipping back to reread passages to see if I missed something.

Can’t wait for the sequel!!

Reader’s Notes:

– this is the first of a series & must be read in order (not sure how many books there will be)

-this is based in 1923, but with dragons & a cast system of sorts

– this is told from Vivien’s point of view

-it is mentioned & shown that a side character dates others of the same gender as them

-there is some fantasy violence & death (some mentions of blood, dead bodies, scars from past punishments, breaking bones, cutting with knives & killing – including a dragon’s head being removed from it’s body)

-there are about 19 curse words

-it is mentioned/insinuated that in the past characters exchanged physical favors (being touched inappropriately & sex briefly mentioned) in order to get where they are now

-it is mentioned that a guy’s hands go under Vivien’s shirt & onto her back during a kiss

Review:

I removed a star because of the points I made above, though the biggest ones for me were the curse words and the way the violence and death were portrayed (as well as the amount of it). For the violence & death, it wasn’t gorey or even described/talked about at a length but it was still not my cup of tea. I might continue the series despite these things as I’m curious how the characters will move forward with the ending that was given, but it’ll probably depend on how long it takes for the next one to release (& if I remember the events of this book by then).

Going into this story I only had a vague idea of what historical significance Bletchley Park has (secret location for code breaking efforts) and from what I know of this story matched that aspect. It was very interesting to see dragons thrown into the ‘real’ world and how it affected this version of earth’s history and human interactions. I liked getting to know Viv and what she was fighting for, but also seeing her struggle with a moral dilemma when it came to discovering the truth of what her ‘job’ could cost others. I also really liked the romance subplot and seeing Viv dealing with falling in love when she should be focusing on the work that could free her family.

Summary:

Vivien Featherswallow is determined to get a summer internship studying dragon languages. But when the opportunity to get her there turns her life into a nightmare instead, she finds herself accidentally starting a civil war. In order to get her life back on track, Viv agrees to joining a secret program at Bletchley Park as a code breaker for a newly discovered dragon language to aid in the war efforts. Her only option is to succeed or risk the lives of her family members.

But the deeper of an understanding Viv gains about this new dragon language, the more she realizes that the treaty between humans and dragons is not only corrupt but also hanging by a thread. And if she hands over what she’s discovered, Viv may just sever the peace the world has known…

⭐️⭐️⭐️.75/5
I went into this completely blind—no map, no glossary, just vibes and dragons. I thought I was signing up for a fire-breathing fantasy adventure, but instead I accidentally enrolled in 𝑰𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒐 𝒕𝒐 𝑫𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒐𝒏 𝑷𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒔 & 𝑫𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒐𝒏 𝑳𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒖𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒔 𝟏𝟎𝟏. And honestly? I wasn’t mad about it… just a 𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑙𝑒 overwhelmed. 😩💖

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞 𝐘𝐀 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭—imagine a 1920s, dark academia, 𝑩𝒂𝒃𝒆𝒍-𝒆𝒔𝒒𝒖𝒆 setting with 𝑑𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑜𝑛𝑠, corruption, rebellion, and a rigid class system holding everything in place. Throw in codebreaking to unlock a sacred dragon language, an almost holy war brewing beneath the surface, and you’ve got a recipe for 𝒎𝒂𝒋𝒐𝒓 𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏-𝒃𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒔𝒚 𝒗𝒊𝒃𝒆𝒔.✨

It’s definitely for readers who love 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡 𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛—like, if you enjoy the quiet tension of academia, the hush of candlelit libraries, and the thrill of decoding ancient texts… this will be your JAM. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝: 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐞. It’s not a fast-paced fantasy, but more of a slow unraveling of secrets, hierarchies, and long-lost dragon truths. 📝🙂‍↔️

Character development? A little underbaked for me. The dragons took center stage, and the cast kind of blurred in the background. 𝐵𝑢𝑡 there’s a thread of 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑏𝑖𝑑𝑑𝑒𝑛 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒—a priest-in-training + the fierce, codebreaking FMC that had me 😮‍💨

And that ending??
𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥. 𝐈 𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐝. 😱😱

𝐓𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝:
• Dark academia 🎓
• Dragons 🐉
• Forbidden love 💕
• Codebreaking 🔢
• Rebellion & corruption 🚩
• Morally grey institutions 🏢
• Slow unravel of hidden truths 😱

𝐀 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰… 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐚 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐲, 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐨𝐧 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐚.

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐬, 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐆𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐲, & 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐀𝐑𝐂!