3.5 rounded down
"We cannot ignore this. We tried, and even so, we found our way back to each other. Is it worth fighting the inevitable again, Arcady? There is a way, to mend the dragon and human worlds. There is a way to mend us, too."

I almost declined to review this arc because I had such a painful experience reading Dragonfall, but the other early reviewers convinced me to give it a shot.

Emberclaw begins immediately following Dragonfall. Everen is imprisoned in the dragon world and the dragons are fighting back against creatures slipping through to their realm while facing the very real possibility that they may die in this other realm.

meanwhile, in the human realm, Arcady has successfully enrolled into university and is beginning to take classes - but Sorin, under the direction of Magnes, also enrolls in the university with the mission of keeping an eye on Arcady. shortly after beginning their studies, Arcady learns that the university will be hosting a set of trials. the winner will have their tuition covered for as long as they wish to study there, and the follow up winners will have a portion of their tuition covered.

I expected the shift to being in a school setting to be jarring and a weird fit for the story, but it actually worked really well and, imo, helped ground the setting a lot more. it made me wish we would have gotten to experience that in the first book.

that said, the first book was written with plans of the series being a trilogy, where the second book was written with the plans of the series being a duology. since Emberclaw is now the end of the story, the pacing and the plot are required to move at a much faster pace to include all of the story the author was trying to tell. this is a bit of a whiplash from reading Dragonfall, but I think it makes the story work a lot better. I felt much more engaged in reading this book than I did Dragonfall. but I think this duology as a whole would have become a HIT if it had been planned as a duology from the jump and then if Dragonfallhad been written with that plan in mind.

things I loved in Emberclaw that I wish we would have at least started to explore in Dragonfall:
· Sorin’s character arc as her own person, not just a weird lackey for Magnes (her character development felt sudden, but I think it would have felt more natural if we had gotten to know her more a little earlier)
· the university setting/magic trials - this added a bit of a H*rry P*tter vibe to the story, meaning a familiarity and something easier to wrap your head around in this world with an extremely layered background/world building. it was fun to see Arcady interact with other students and I feel like this humanized them and made them a more three dimensional character.
· the friendship between Arcady, Everen, and Sorin. I genuinely think these three could have been one of the next great book trios of friends. when they started to trust each other, their interactions became one of my favorite parts of the story to read.

plot: ★★★★★ (4.5 rounded up)
the plot was definitely more cohesive in Emberclaw. it did feel a little wonky as we came to the end - a little rushed and a little too neat. not gonna lie, I’m not 100% certain that I fully understand Ammil’s motives but the vibes were great. I really enjoyed the added layer of the magic trials in the school.

writing: ★★★☆☆
it’s hard for me to review the writing bc OBVIOUSLY the author has a talented voice and fantastic imagination. the idea of the story will always be something I think is super cool. but the execution continued to struggle.

I still feel like I have just a surface level understanding of the plague. I “got” it a little more after this book, so this one did do a better job at adding context to the plague, but I still find myself scratching my head when I try to think about the why of it all. if pretty much all humans use some magic, why is it so horrible that some humans overuse it and get sick? it seems wild to me that they’re sick with the risk of dying and then if they recover they’re essentially ostracized from society like?? huh?

the gods with names that Sorin spoke of meant nothing to me bc who are these people??? I have such a weak grasp on the world building for this story it’s kind of depressing. same thought for other countries in this world. many are mentioned in passing, but not really touched on ever again.

I also understand we are forcing what was meant to be 3 books into one final book, but whew the last 25% was a doozy to read. I would have liked to see it reworked a bit to focus the story back in on our core group of characters, instead of looping in more new people (like the other “Eye” towards the end; can’t remember her name). it also felt like Larkin was just thrown to the side after the halfway point. like Arcady decided that they couldn’t be bothered to care about what she was doing or threatening anymore and Larkin was just fine with that? lmao.

pacing: ★★★★☆
the pacing was definitely a night/day difference compared to Dragonfall. I am EXTREMELY grateful for that because I was low key terrified to try and read this book. as mentioned previously, we are fitting A LOT of events into this book, so there really isn’t any time for the story to slow its pace down.

romance: ★★★★★ (4.5 rounded up)
we get a bond that allows our main couple to speak mind-to-mind and I fear I will always eat that up when it happens in books. I love it.

Everen and Arcady get to genuinely explore their relationship in this book. I LOVED them together. especially when Arcady stopped being weird and prickly ALL THE TIME. once they lowered their walls and let Everen in, they were sooo enjoyable to read.

characters: ★★★☆☆
I genuinely believe that not starting the Everen/Arcady/Sorin friendship sooner is the biggest mistake this series made. there was SO MUCH potential for hijinks and inside jokes and just fun in general. especially when you factor in Everen and Arcady being able to speak through their bond, like. I can easily picture Sorin threatening to stab them both in their sleep for doing that too many times while they’re around her.

for as much beef as I have with this series, I must say, Magnes/Ammil is a horrifying villain. my guy, you’re going to convince people your own kind do not exist, and then chill in your weird tower with all these random dragon body parts from a dragon you dismembered YOURSELF??? you are so scary, my friend. his diabolical-ness fizzled out for me towards the end, but he was still a good villain.

I liked that this book introduced more friends for Arcady. I think this made them an easier character to read; to be able to see them have friends and coexist with other people and build new relationships.

I am also happy that we got to see more sides to Everen and Arcady other than “snobby dragon prince” and “lowly prickly thief”. they felt like real characters in this story versus Dragonfall where they felt more like “placeholder” characters that didn’t get fleshed out enough.

over-all: ★★★☆☆ (3.5 rounded down)
overall, this book was lovely. it’s just so disappointing that it had to come after Dragonfall. I think it will be a difficult sell to get people to read Dragonfall just to experience this book. I think if the premise of this story sounds like it would be up your alley, it is worth it to read the duology. I wouldn’t pick it up if you don’t have the time to dedicate to it. I don’t think this is a duology that you can binge read in a weekend without glossing over details.

if the author ever has the opportunity to rework the series (maybe a graphic novel format?) I think they should 100% do it. the story is really cool and I think if it were presented/executed in a different way, a lot more people would eat it up.

A couple years ago, I read Dragonfall, and I was lukewarm on picking up the sequel. When I had the opportunity for an eARC via NetGalley, however, I decided to give it a shot. I’m pleased to report Emberclaw is a strong conclusion to this duology (more of these, by the way). L.R. Lam improves on the first entry, and while I still don’t think I am quite their ideal reader, I definitely enjoyed this dragon tale.

Spoilers for the first book but not this one.

Arcady and Everen are (were?) joined by magic. One human, one dragon. With Everen exiled back to Vere Celene, Arcady is left to pick up the pieces of their con game: they want to infiltrate magic school and figure out who framed their ancestor. But there’s another dragon in Loc, and he’s hellbent on manipulating events to get Everen back here. So while Arcady tries to conceal their identity and lie low, this dragon’s handpicked assassin, Soren, cozies up to them and is ready to strike.

Basically, what makes this book so delicious is the way Lam has given everyone overlapping yet oft-conflicting motivations and desires. Arcady and Everen have a natural spark of attraction, yet they are different species and have different loyalties. Magnus similarly has his own motives—which initially don’t seem all that bad, and it’s just his methods that are objectionable, though this changes as the book goes on and his true depravity becomes clear. Soren really just wants to be loved. Sorry, girl.

This book feels like it’s more Arcady and Soren’s than Everen’s, which I am not sorry about. He’s kind of boring. I don’t think that is Lam’s fault—I’m just not a fan of his personality. In contrast, Arcady feels a lot more dynamic, and Soren’s tragic face turn story arc is beautiful.

Whereas the first book was a heist plot, this one is your typical quest trope: Arcady and Soren are competing in a wizards cup kind of competition to get tuition and prove they are magical badasses. It’s not nearly that straightforward, of course, but it is a good enough framework for Lam to use to build the overall story.

In the end, like the first book, Emberclaw didn’t wow me. I think Lam is one of those fantasy authors whose stories or writing style just aren’t for me—no shade on their ability as a writer, just not my cup of tea. If you love dragons or just want a complex fantasy story with a tiny bit of spice/romance and a lot of betrayal, then you should check out this duology.

I have been waiting to read this since the moment I finished Dragonfall, almost two years ago. I've thought back to the main characters since then, who seemed to be in the liminal spaces where they were left, simply waiting. I was so glad to get back to them, and Emberclaw was definitely worth the wait!

Like a lot of high fantasy sequels, this one gets more complicated than the first. We see more about magic, about mythology, about history and politics. Unlike a lot of high fantasy, I didn't find the villain unambiguously villainous, which was interesting. As in the first book, some of his actions are actually...helpful? In any case, it makes you think.

I actually liked how this book, the second in a duology, doesn't actually wrap everything up with a bow. There are clearly big things still about to happen. It ends with the feeling that the characters are going to go on and keep living. They're not done. Their stories aren't finished. I may not read canonical words saying exactly how they solve the problems they're about to face, but the book ends with the sense that they're definitely going on to face them.

4.5 stars!

This book flawlessly executes the enemies-to-lovers trope, set in a queer-normative world filled with dragons, a unique magic system, and alternating perspectives that kept me hooked from beginning to end! Dragonfall holds a special place in my heart, and the sequel only made me love it more 🖤

But what a fantastic conclusion to the duology! I’m so thankful to the author for creating such an incredible story. I truly hope they realize how profoundly it will resonates with so many readers.

Emberclaw was a fantastic follow up to Dragonfall. After the reveal at the end of Dragonfall, I could not wait to dig into this and at no point did it disappoint. The way the bond between Arcady and Everen is explored is beautiful. The esteem that He holds Arcady in oozes out of every word he says about Them. I loved every minute of seeing how their story played out together, how they reclaimed and strengthened their bond, and ultimately reunited their peoples. Truly a fantastic sequel and I greatly look forward to reading more from L.R. Lam in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an eArc in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed the continuation of this series, and I still love the magic system used here. This story is quite original and kept me hooked up to the very end.

What a perfect ending to this fantasy duology. I think this was somehow better than Dragonfall. And I loved that this started with a nice succinct recap of Dragonfall. It’s been a while since I have read it so I needed that refresher! We need more of this in fantasy books!

Sorin and Arcady have some incredible character arcs in this story - something that cemented this as one of the best sequels I have read. This queer, trans dragon series is a must read entry into the dragon/fantasy genre as Lam builds up their own dragon lore and magic system that is fun and intricate. I love that we even get a bit of time seeing how the schooling might go for those rich enough to pursue it and how those that normally would not have been able to attend handle the differences between the classes.

*Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for a copy*

L.R. Lam is one of my favourite authors, and I was nervous for Emberclaw. I LOVED Dragonfall, and I wasn't sure how Emberclaw would live up to my expectations, but man oh man, it DID. I loved Emberclaw so much. The characters just felt like being with old friends again, and the story wrapped up so nicely.

The use of tropes in this book was so good, because they weren't cliche. It goes to show that you can use tropes and NOT be cliche about it. I find more and more popular books use tropes in a cliche way, but this was so different and I loved it.

I absolutely loved this world I'm still not quite happy it is over. I savored this book as it took me two weeks to finish but glad I took my time.
We are thrust back into the world of Vatra, where Arcady has made it to the Citadel Academy, and Everen has been deemed a traitor. Sorin realizes that not all is as it seems with Magnes and Magnes shows his true feathers. While Cassia in Vere Celene must make her choice as to what type of queen she will be once her time comes.
The story wraps up in epic fashion with the storytelling taking you inside a world so vivid you feel you are right there with the characters.

Thank you NetGalley and DAW for letting me read this book early! All my thoughts are my own.

The Dragon Scales duology was such a blast to read! The dragon lore is so fresh and different from other dragon stories, and I loved the diverse gender identities. You definitely need to pick up both books for a truly unique read. 4⭐️

Emberclaw is a follow-up to the wonderful Dragonfall, and after loving the first book and reeling from that whirlwind cliffhanger, I was excited to delve back into Lam’s world of dragons and mystery and magic-starved humans. While the worldbuilding was a real strength of the previous book, unfortunately I felt it fell a bit flat in this one; the short chapters and alternating perspectives prevented me from sinking fully into the story, and both the magic university setting and trial challenges felt underbaked. The eventual conclusion was satisfying, but I couldn’t help feeling like I was being fed a lot of external info right at the end to make it all make sense. I enjoy Lam’s style of fantasy and their fluid representation of gender in this fictional society, but this sequel left me wanting more.

3.5 stars

Thanks to DAW Books and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

God, I adored this stunning conclusion to an absolutely beautiful duology so much. I received this book as an eARC from NetGalley, and this is my honest review!

I requested this arc before I had read book 1, since it was on my TBR and I was in my dragon era. This duology goes to show that you can pack your book with popular tropes and STILL make it good and not really cliche! The pining and the hate-longing absolutely sang to my soul. The deadly tournament?! Delicious. I’m normally not one for bonded mates/fated mates/etc, but god. GOD. This duology did that so, SO well. The sheer amount of tension and longing and slow-burn in both books was so exquisitely written. The characters are flawed and emotional and impulsive, and you can’t help but love them and root for them as they slowly fall in love. The supporting cast are all so diverse and fleshed out. No one really feels like a two-dimensional stand-in character who is there just to get the plot from point a to point b. All characters have a role and have personality and faults.

I didn’t care for Sorin much in book one and for about a third of book two, but baby girl eventually really, really grew on me. Her character arc? Chefs kiss.

The world Lam built is so lush and queernormative and full of life and culture and religious beliefs and magic and politics and clear castes. Nothing was done in half-measure. Every aspect had thoughtful detail and care written into it, and I was fully submerged in these worlds.

After the way Dragonfall ended, I couldn’t wait for Emberclaw. Emberclaw delivered on the promise of book one and quickly pulled me back into Arkady and Everen’s worlds.

L.R. Lam uses the first part of the book to lay the foundation. We’re reminded of what happened in book 1 through Arkady and Everen’s musings while they both deal with new challenges. Emberclaw also sets up new problems and goals that are woven into the story, and as the story progresses, the pace quickens while Arkady and Everen deal with challenges and obstacles from all sides.

Emberclaw contains many key story elements. The love story is excellent; Lam doesn’t shy away from having Arkady and Everen face doubts and struggles as they grapple with their feelings, past deception, and their uncertain futures. They both work through these things as the story progresses so that the evolution of their relationship feels real and earned.

We get more time with the dragons and learn more about the politics and conflicts amongst Everen’s kind. This was exceptionally well done and I had a lot of sympathy for Everen’s conflict, and the struggles his sister and others had with his actions in Dragonfall.

Arkady’s challenges bring back old foes and introduce new threats. This part of the story was excellent; it added a lot of action to the plot and it also delivered some stunning surprises. I definitely didn’t predict all the developments that were in store, and that kept me turning the pages to find out what happened next.

I did find it sad to say goodbye to this rich world and these memorable characters. Although I received an advanced copy of the book, I bought the B&N special edition so that I could enjoy the bonus content it included and revisit Arkady and Everen one last time.

I loved it! A beautiful conclusion to a unique romantasy duology. Lam did an excellent job weaving together all of the pieces laid out in book one and I highly enjoyed seeing how it all played out.

If you love magical trails, save the world stakes, dragons and romance than you'll love Emberclaw.

I f**king love this duology! The characters, the non gender normative society, the magic system. Chefs kiss.

I love how Arcady and Everen came back together after the ending of Dragonfall. The trust that was rebuilt and a bond that could not be broken.

This book also had some great friendships and well flushed out side characters ♥️

There was definitely a change of pace compared to book one, where book one was fairly centred around a heist, book two shows Arcady in a magical college.

However, although it was slower I found it no less engaging! This is a duology I will definitely recommend to anyone who is interested in fantasy, queer characters, and dragons. This is also I series I can see myself coming back to for a reread.

Full review to be posted tomorrow on TikTok @batty_books

Loved being back in this world and this sequel was fantastic, I think I might love it more than the first, I'm a sucker for magical schools and dragons, I'm sad its over I could read about these characters forever

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.

Emberclaw is the sequel to Dragonfall and the conclusion to the Dragon Scales duology! I read Dragonall in 2023. While I enjoyed the first book enough to anticipate the sequel, there were a lot of small things I took issue with. Emberclaw, on the other hand, was an easy five stars for me! Let’s start with the elements that I enjoyed in the first book that were also well done in this installment: Dragons that can shape shift into humans, a genderfluid MC and queernorm world, and a fantastic romance!

The author made the world-building more detailed and easier to understand. The main character, Arcady, must go through magic trials, which utilize elemental magic, and this was my favorite part of this novel! Arkady is attending classes at magic school, so the reader is taught the magic system alongside them, so it’s easy to feel engaged and understand it more. The school itself also has a fantastic gothic atmosphere.

Another strength is that the characters are far more three-dimensional! In particular, I loved the development of Soren. While Soren is seen as morally grey, almost a bad person, in the first book, I liked her in this novel. I was invested in learning about her background. She gets equal page time to Arcady and Everen, while her point of view in the first book felt disruptive and irrelevant.

This book was a satisfying conclusion to the series. There are several big reveals that I didn’t anticipate, with lots of action and suspense leading up to them. While I would have liked a bit more detail at the ending, it was not enough for me to give this book any less than five stars.

A powerfully emotional conclusion to the Dragon Scales duology, Emberclaw sticks the landing. While some may find the POV-hopping dizzying, I have never taken issue with it as long as those chapters give us a good character arc.

Arcady and Everen, the stars of the show, had me by the throat the whole time; even in chapters with no action or romance Lam managed to keep up the tension and pacing. Sorin's POV gave us so much more this time compared to Dragonfall, and her arc was incredible to see. The only POV that didn't really give much was Cassia, but her chapters ended up feeling more like interludes in the end so it didn't bother me too much. We needed to see what was happening in Vere Celene even after Everen left again, so Cassia was the only real option.

Special shout-out to the conlang in this book developed by Lam and Red Wizard, it was marvelous and perfectly fit the world for which it was developed. Fantasy authors really should put in the work to use conlangs in their stories instead of lifting real-world languages, it makes a huge difference!

A sequel which builds upon the first and leads it to a satisfying conclusion. I started and ended it in a single night, and it's hard to give better praise than that to a sequel.

The writing is much smoother than in Dragonfall (which often frustrated me with its choppy sentence structure), and this, perhaps combined with the backstory being out of the way from book one, allows the story to flow from start to end. I already liked Arcady and Everen, but with this sequel came an appreciation for our other POVs (Sorin's pretty cool now) and even some of the newly introduced academy side characters. It's funny; while Everen and Arcady are definitely still the draw of this series, a part of me wanted more of the academy crew -- perhaps even a chapter or two from them. While they weren't all winners and there seemed to be a few too many names spread across too few characterization efforts, at least a few were charming enough to be worth speculating upon, and I think it would have helped to make them feel more real.

Strengths:
-The bond between Arcady and Everen. Every chapter where they interact is a great chapter, and their romance feels earned. I'm a tough sell on romance, so for me to feel this way is strong praise. They're cute.
-The "magic school" aspects of the book. I'll admit that I just like this kind of setting in general, but it's nice to see it mixed in with dragons. It feels a little nostalgic.
-The approach to gender in this world continues to be refreshing. Both in the narration style itself and in the story's culture, it is a delight.
-Big fan of the dragons.

Weaknesses:
-The amount of action in the final fourth of this book is a bit much. The narration hops between a slew of POVs during a battle, and I'm not convinced we need them all back-to-back. In particular, the Vere Celene chapter felt thrown in there with no real reason. Its events are already implied in the other chapters.
-Some of the academy characters are too thin in character to be worth the importance they have in the story.
-I'd have liked more time on the ramifications of the ending. There are massive changes on the horizon, and I'd have loved a glimpse at what those changes would entail. The story felt almost incomplete without it.

Overall, if you enjoyed book one, there's no reason to not continue on, and if you were on the fence after book one but liked the overall concept, I'd say Emberclaw is worth a look because it's improved upon the shakier parts of the first book while keeping the same overall tone. Here's to more great dragon stories!

This review of Emberclaw was provided in exchange for an advance review copy through NetGalley. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity.