A thief stealing dragon eggs and a heart. It was such an adventure. The story was entertaining. I like the idea of extracting a liquid from the dragon eggs and having abilities from it.

I also found myself swooning sweetly with the moments between Andor and Brylan. Their relationship went from prisoner to the best kiss he's ever had. They had an instant chemistry that only grew.

I can not believe the ending. It was a happy ending, and then bang, the rug was pulled from under me with that secret. I can't wait to read what will happen next.

Great romantasy with medium-ish level spice.
Loved the plot, and the idea of the dragon egg thieves. I really liked the MCs. This story line felt a little different than other romantasys I’ve read lately and I loved that!
Been a Karina fan for a while, and if you’ve liked her previous books- you’ll love this.

Realm of Thieves
by Karina Halle
432 pages

Book 1 ✦ Thieves of Dragemor
Pub Date: June 10, 2025
ARC: @netgalley

Illegal dragon egg trade
Teleporting animal sidekick
Jurassic Park vibes but with dragons
Mafia-esque vibes
Splash of spice

A medium paced, adventurous romantasy that is highly entertaining!

I enjoyed the Jurassic Park vibes with the thieves going to the island where only the Dragons live to steal their eggs. They extract a liquid from the egg to ingest to get abilities/powers. This story also has mafia-esque vibes with the illegal trade amongst the competing cartel/criminal houses.

I felt there was a good balance of action and romance. The romance felt a bit rushed, but it was sweet and swoony with a splash of spice. The couple gets a HEA and then we get hit with a juicy epilogue. It looks like Vidar (Andor’s oldest brother) will be the MMC in book 2. He was an interesting character in this book that I couldn’t quite get a good read on. I enjoyed Andor’s siblings and am very curious to see how they’ll pop up for the rest of the books. It looks like this is going to be a series of interconnected standalones.

Brynla’s teleporting dog sidekick, Lemi, totally stole the show. I love him.

If you enjoy cartel type stories with dragons, romance, and magic then I highly recommend this book to you! This was my first book by this author and it won’t be my last.

Thank you to @netgalley, Karina Halle and Berkley Publishing Group | Ace for a #gifted eARC.
Rating: 4.25/5

Okay, WOW!! I have been completely enthralled by Karina Halle and Realm of Thieves. I’m going to be honest here, and say that I have never read one of her books. UNTIL NOW!!!

This book is everything I expect from a magnificent Romantasy book! But also unique with the cartel vibes. I was sucked into this book hook, line and sinker! This is such an intriguing world with the most unique magic system, rival cartels, black market thieves, a teleporting sidekick dog, and dragons (and not your typical ones at that). This book is teeming with the vibrancy of a well crafted world. It’s fast paced with heart pounding action that left me on the edge of my seat at times just waiting for the hammer to drop. I loved Brynla and Andor’s dynamic - kidnapping, enemies to lovers, banter and the most delicious sizzling spice - all perfectly balanced to tell an incredible story.

I cannot wait for the next book to see how this story continues because we got a nice little twist there at the end.

I can’t thank NetGalley, Berkeley Publishing Group and Ace Books enough for allowing me the opportunity to read this advance digital copy.

Being part of Karina’s arc team is an absolute dream, and this book is why! She is a chameleon, and I didn’t see dragon fantasy on my 2025 bingo card for her, but I should have. She really can do it all! Brynla escaped from a convent where daughters of criminals are sent to be punished, and has turned to stealing dragon eggs. During a raid, she’s presented with an “opportunity (ie she can’t refuse, she’s coming with me)” to steal for a family in a rival territory, along with her magic dog, Lemi (who is believed to be the real key to her success). Turns out her captor is Andor, the son of the head of the Kolbeck syndikat, a dangerous player in this game. Soon, lines blur and the goal of the mission turns from the original one to making sure Brynla never leaves Andor’s side.

This was such a great venture into dragon fantasy! I ate it up and left absolutely zero crumbs. Even though it’s shorter for a fantasy novel, the world building is great and woven seamlessly into the narration. I love the whole family. I love the animals. I love every action taken. I even forgive Andor for a lot of his dumb stuff. You’ll find out soon enough. There’s a lot that needs to be forgiven. The twist was incredible! I could have never. There was obviously something going on with Brynla, but I never would have guessed what it actually was. Y’all are not ready for this to drop!

3 stars for Realm of Thieves!

I really did enjoy this book. The pacing was good and I liked the main character. The main relationship I don't know if I necessarily fell in love with it, since it felt that the FMC got over being kidnapped pretty quickly, I was hoping for some more tension and conflict between her and the MMC, especially being from rival houses. I also was really interested in having a FMC with a chronic illness but it very much felt like it was a build up in the first half only to be forgotten as not a huge deal in the second half. I think some of the side characters were a little one dimensional so I'd like to see them fleshed out some more and more exploration of the relationship between the FMC and MMC. Overall I did enjoy this book and I think it would be a great introduction into the romantasy sub genre.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️
🐉🥚
🐕‍🦺



Romantasy set in a cartel-inspired world where magical powers are extracted from dragon eggs? Sign me up! Throw in a heist, a fantastic cast of side characters, an amazingly intelligent magical dog (as all dogs are, in this world and the rest) and I’m a very happy reader.

Brynla is an orphan barely surviving by stealing dragon eggs for one of the cartels with Lemi (best dog ever, or BDE) when Andor steals them both away to further his own plans for himself and his family. Despite coming from vastly different worlds, these two can’t fight their growing love and attraction.

The world building was fantastic - both the history of dragons, magic and religion and the political and geographical maps of the current world are well thought out and explained and so very rich.

The storytelling is fast paced and keeps you hooked from the start. I especially loved how delicately the author deals with Brynla’s grief - her emotions are so raw and overwhelming and I truly felt Halle’s understanding of the emotion. Grief can be a deluge but it can also be a river.

I almost threw my kindle across the room at the beginning when our BDE was in mortal peril, but thank the goddess i kept going. I can’t wait for the next book in the series. Vidar looks to be the MC based on the epilogue and I look forward to learning to love him cause right now I really love not loving him.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC! All my opinions are my own

5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Realm of Thieves
Author: Karina Halle

A book based on Dune and aspects of Jurassic Park? But with dragons? Karina’s first dragon book? IT WAS AMAZING! Brynla is a hired thief that steals dragon eggs with the help of her magical dog, and on one of her hunts she is kidnapped. Andor kidnaps her with the plan to have her steal eggs for his family instead. It’s important to note that dragon eggs are magic and worth A LOT, and it’s also illegal to steal them. Something is special about Brynla but he can’t quite figure out what it is. All he knows his he can’t let her go. This book is told from the POVs of both Brynla and Andor. It’s full of magic, political intrigue, dragons, and a splash of spice. This book really had it all! I loved reading the authors note at the end. Queen Karina!!! Thank you so much for this ARC. This book releases 6/10/25!

Unfortunately, Realm of Thieves ended up being a DNF for me. I was initially drawn in by the intriguing premise and was excited to dive into a new fantasy world, but I found myself struggling with the writing style. The third-person narrative in the prologue felt a bit disjointed, and there was quite a bit of info dumping in the early pages, which made it difficult for me to fully immerse myself in the story.

I also found it hard to connect with the characters, which ultimately made it tough to stay engaged. That said, I know Karina Halle has a strong following, and I’d love to give her work another try in the future, this just wasn’t the right fit for me at this time.

I’m so sad that I didn’t love this more? It had so much potential, thieves fighting for dominance in their prospective gangs, “who did this to you?”, and DRAGONS!! But the dragons weren’t very prominent unfortunately but also I think I wanted to see the two thieves aka the two MCs “fight” for the dominance more and really she just gets “blackmailed” to fight for his side and and she barely put up a fight to be honest. It always would have done better as a slowwww burn romance versus the insta-love one 🥲. The biggest thing for me was I couldn’t really connect with anyone so therefore all I cared about was the dog 😂. I do think there’s a crowd out there for him book which is why I’m rating it three stars, I just don’t think it’s for me.

What a great read! I loved the characters, the world building and the story flowed perfectly. Thank you to Netgalley for this earc.

Omg I enjoyed this so much! Like I said I’m in my Karina Halle era & this was so good!! Dragons? Yes! Dragon egg thieves who pair up to steal more dragon eggs with the possibility of falling for each other? Sign me up! I love that Andor would call Brynla lavender girl. I always enjoy when the MCs give each other a nick name. The banter between Brynla & Andor was also a nice touch. Brynla gives as good as she gets.

One of my favorite things to do while reading is to pull images from either movies/tv shows/video games to help visualize the world or creatures. The dragons kind of reminded me of How to Train Your Dragon with the different types of species. I also got a bit of a flash of Reign of Fire for the land of where the dragons live. Of course not the modern stuff. If you’ve seen it you might know what I’m talking about. The dragons were just fun to read about.

I wasn’t expecting to get teary eyed several times either. But I love it when books can bring out different emotions or ones that you aren’t expecting. For some reason I thought this series was just about Brynla & Andor but it looks like it’s going to be interconnected standalones which I love. With that ending I’m excited to see where everything will be going.

My goodness this was amazing. I’ve always been a lover of Karina’s contemporary books but her doing fantasy again…c’est magnifique!

Realm of Thieves is something so original, with pieces of all the things I have come to love about fantasy books! A just complex enough magic system, political intrigue/machinations and dragons. The magic being driven by dragons in such a different way than we’ve become accustomed to was a nice change and once it was confirmed there weren’t baby dragons dying for it, I could fully embrace it.

I loved the two main characters, Brynla and Andor, from the start. Their meet cute was one of my favorite scenes in the story and the tension between them was JUST right. The payoff on that tension was also worth the wait, as it always is in Karina’s stories!! I also enjoyed meeting Andor’s siblings and am very curious to see how they’ll continue to pop up for the rest of the books! I did not see the twists coming there at the end, especially the one that literally had me gasping out loud for one of my fave characters!! It all worked out ok in the end, but the final bit letting us know who seems to be coming next, I NEED to know what they are up with that syringe.

PS: Brynla’s trusty sidekick, Lemi, stole the show so many times.

I’d like to give a massive thank you to the author, Karina Halle, for the opportunity to read an eARC of this as a member of her RRS! Also a thank you to her PA Lauren for all that she does!

I was so excited to receive an ARC for this novel. I am a big Karina Halle fan, and was very excited to enter this beautiful, new world. The universe she’s created, complete with dragons and magic, is full of so many interesting elements I wish had been more thoroughly explored. I would have loved more details, character description, and world building so I could be more completely immersed in this story. In addition, the pacing was a bit weird for me, and the love story seemed forced. I kept expecting the worst because the chemistry just wasn’t there like it is with so many of Halle’s other works. That being said the story was a ton of fun, I mean who doesn’t love a story full of fire tornados, creepy convents, and dragons? Overall, this novel really is a lovely fairy tale of sorts, and I am looking forward to seeing what direction Halle takes us next.

Realm of Thieves is a strong entry point into Karina Halle’s Thieves of Dragemor series. It throws you into a gritty, high-stakes world where dragon egg smuggling is both illegal and lethal—and where two thieves find themselves on opposite sides of a dangerous game, caught between survival and something more personal.

Brynla was easily the highlight for me. She’s sharp, resilient, and her past with a dragon-worshipping cult adds real weight to her choices. I appreciated how her backstory shaped her without defining her. Andor, her reluctant partner-turned-love interest, didn’t grab me as much. I liked him, but I didn’t love him, and I think their relationship needed more development—especially as the story wrapped up.

The world-building is where the book really shines. The magic system, the dragon lore, the black-market politics—all of it felt creative and well thought-out. The plot moved at a good pace, with a nice balance between the action and romance. I just didn’t find myself fully invested emotionally. I enjoyed what was happening, but I wasn’t deeply hooked.

The ending felt a bit rushed, and I was left wanting more—particularly in terms of the main couple’s arc. I’d expected their story to continue into the next book, so it was a surprise (and a bit of a letdown) to find that the series moves on to new characters. That shift made the conclusion feel a little unfinished.

That said, I’m still interested in seeing where the series goes. The world has a lot of potential, and I’m curious to see how it expands in future books.

Thank you Berkley and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of Realm of Thieves.

While this book intrigued me from the beginning—dragons, a seemingly broody MMC who calls the FMC “good girl”, and a magical dog—it ultimately ended up not being for me and I unfortunately DNF’d at the halfway point. I personally couldn’t connect with either of the main characters, I felt like the timeline was a little confusing, and it was incredibly insta-lusty but the lust felt like it came out of nowhere. I truly wanted to love this one because it has so many elements I love in fantasy romance, but it just wasn’t my cup of tea.

This was a deeply captivating story! I loved that despite being loyal to the person with the most to offer she still protects the magic.

I did not love this unfortunately. The romance was so fast and unbelievable. None of the characters did a single thing for me. I didn’t care about any of them.

I wanted to like this. The world is really unique, and the plot had potential. I just struggled to connect to any part of this book.

I think this would have worked much better as a slow burn. Also every struggle worked out way too perfectly and so quickly. The tone of the book was the same the entire way through which made it boring. I will not be reading more in this series.

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

2.5 stars

A really great beginning that quickly went downhill.

The start of this book was awesome. Perilous circumstances with the MCs in direct opposition and throwing enemy vibes immediately. The first 10-15% really pushed the enemies to lovers and also slow burn. They acknowledged some attraction but weren't being ruled by it.

But that all ended quickly. The middle of the book slumps hard and both characters just seemed to lose all their interesting qualities and just became blah...which then also causes problems for the relationship that's trying to be showcased. I just had no cares about any of it :(

There was also a lack of maturity that was missing here. The decision making was mostly questionable, and the dialogue was either immature or weirdly contemporary at times.

Sorry to say this was not one I really enjoyed 😣

thank you to Netgalley, Karina Halle, and Berkley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

3🌶️ i had no idea what i was getting into when starting this but it was a refreshing take on a dragon based romantasy! Karina mentioned in the acknowledgments that she wanted dragons that felt like dinosaurs and a mafia based family dynamic and she absolutely delivered on that. the plot twists at the end had my jaw on the floor, i actually LIVED for the plot in this over the romance. but that’s not even downplaying the romance either, it felt a bit insta lusty/lovey but not in a bad way, and they still didn’t end up together until around 50-60% in. i loooooved our mmc, he wasn’t “perfect” and had depth to him and you could feel how big his heart truly is through the pages. our fmc was badass but also had a softness to her. the grief that she went through was very real and relatable. Lemi was my favorite character, i actually think he was the best pet/dog i’ve ever read in a book. this world was super interesting and has a unique magic system, that i can’t wait to learn more about in the next book. also, that epilogue has me SO hype for the next one as well 🥲 i think this series is going to follow different main characters in each book. it’s getting a 4 stars, ⭐️ bc the romance felt rushed (idk if this is bc of the big time jumps between chapters maybe), and because i feel like these characters story ended but i still have questions about the fmc that didn’t get answered (although they may still get answered in a future book in the series).