thank you so much for the approval- i cannot wait to dive in, this is one of my most anticipated reads of the year! i will be sure to leave a review on GR/retailers to come! 💞

Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Lady Dragon is YA sapphic fantasy/romantasy about a human princess, Samansa, and her draconic counterpart, the favored heir, Kirek. As is tradition, Kirek uses a Heartstone that allows her to shift into a human form in order to maintain the dragons alliance with the queendom. This time, Kirek has been given a secret task by the Queen Mother: find out the humans weaknesses.

I really, really loved the beginning of this book. Getting to experience Samansa and Kirek's relationship evolve slowly, the banter, the yearning - it was so perfect! I was kicking my feet giggling. I love when we, the reader, know they're falling before they do. Strickland did the Grumpy x Sunshine trope SO well. You can really feel the connection between the two and the relationship evolves organically. There's no insta love. I would say this skirts the edge of being YA. However, the relationship is much more emotional than physical which I prefer for all my romance reads.

The story began to be more plot driven about half way through. The plot was a bit weaker than I would have hoped. It didn't lessen my enjoyment of the story necessarily though because I was just so wrapped up in our two main characters. The story was sometimes predictable in the beginning, but became less so as the story went on. I do feel like the conclusion/climax contained a bit of a 'cop out' . I won't say more to avoid spoilers!

Overall, I give this story 4 stars out of 5. I think the author did what she intended to do with this book. I could definitely see myself rereading this, not for the story but for the characters. I would consider this a comfort read. Strickland wrote her female characters with so much depth and flaws. I would like to see her work on her plot development because she could write a truly great story!

I loved how many queer characters there were. Barely a straight relationship in sight. Also, her trans woman representation was phenomenal. All of these characters had more to them than just being queer. It was a big part of the story, but not the only thing to the story.

Enjoyable read. Loved the character growth for our leading ladies. The concept was also very interesting, with tons of twisty bits.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Publishing Group for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review. First, the cover design is stunning, it is what attracted me to the book. I have mixed feelings about Lady Dragon by A.M. Strickland. Overall, I enjoyed it, and there were some lovely moments and good character growth. I LOVE dragon stories, so this was right up my alley. The beginning was really slow - I almost DNF'd it because it took so long to get going for my liking. But once it picked up, I was glad I stuck with it. I think the Queen's backstory was a nice touch. But I also think younger readers would probably love it more than I did. This might be a good book for middle and lower high school reading groups.
The best part was Kirek's story - her character development made the story worthwhile. Samansa's character, on the other hand, didn’t do much for me. I struggled to connect with her. Overall, I think people will enjoy this story. I am looking forward to more titles from this author in the future.

Love, love, love, love, and love this!!! Having read “The Priory of the Orange Tree”, “Fourth Wing”, and “The Dragon’s Promise” made me fall in love again with dragons, and this just hit the spot! You’ve got it all, romantasy, political themes, slow-burn, and a magical story all in one. I really felt like all the characters were real, the dialogue, the world-building characteristics and depictions made it so easy for me to follow the story and exactly paint a picture to every scene. Honestly, this will be the book that you will pick up and will not want to put back down until you actually finish it. Also ADORE stories that have romance but also PLOT, all my love to every chapter of this book and anyone who reads it! I would definitely recommend this for anyone who wants an empowering story with evolving characters that will definitely leave you IN LOVE!!!

Thank you, NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I have mixed feelings about this book. Overall, I enjoyed the story and felt the experiences had their moments of charm, sweetness, and character growth. I love a cute sapphic story; forbidden love is a great trope. I have a soft spot for dragons. In this story, the dragons were tough, violent, held disdain for humans, and were difficult to love. Some of that needed to be there for the forbidden love story, but I was surprised by how oppositional they were. I prefer sassy dragons, but I did enjoy Kirek’s growth arc, in both her dragon and more human forms.

Samansa’s character was a little flat for me. I didn’t ever really connect with her. I liked the ending, and I enjoyed her last couple of chapters. The humans in general were a little dull, and I never got a feel for who they were and why I should care. I liked the small twist with the Queen’s history. It was all enough for me to keep reading, and I would say younger readers would likely enjoy it more.

SAPPHIC DRAGONS, SAPPHIC DRAGONS,SAPPHIC DRAGONS!!!
Loved it, Samansa was my favorite character and I thought the pacing was a bit slow in the beginning but really took off towards the second half.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for Lady Dragon by A.M. Strickland.

I really enjoyed this. It wasn't quite as good as In the Ravenous Dark (which i LOVED). But, they were totally different. The world building was okay for a YA book. I feel like we mainly learned about the dragon's society. The parts of the human's society we learned about were really only those that pertain to the dragons and the treaty. The treaty and the history between the two societies was well developed and interesting. But, we really only saw one trip away from the castle in the human society to visit a destroyed town so didn't learn much about the culture or the people.

But, this was a quick read that kept me interested. The love story was cute. I love when the readers know they're falling way before the characters do. I think I related more to Kirek than Samansa, but I loved the way they gradually picked up traits from each other and that made me grow to love them both. I liked Jamsens, Cenara, and Valraka's characters best outside of our MC's and I think they all added to the story in different but important ways. I loved the several different commentaries on gender. And I think the ending was perfect, specifically Branon's.

Overall, this was the first dragon book I've read in a while that had an adequate amount of dragons and I appreciated that. 4 stars and still love A.M. Strickland!

I was not a fan of this book. The writing was not my style and it was hard to keep my attention on the book.

*Lady Dragon* is a fierce, emotionally rich sapphic romantasy that soars with political intrigue, forbidden love, and the ever-present threat of war. A.M. Strickland conjures a vivid, high-stakes world where dragons and humans coexist under a fragile truce upheld by the power—and burdens—of queendom. Samansa and Kirek are compelling leads, their slow-burn connection brimming with tension as they navigate duty, deception, and desire. With echoes of *Seraphina* and *The Priory of the Orange Tree*, this novel expertly weaves court politics, ancient secrets, and shapeshifting magic into a story that feels both timeless and fiercely fresh. *Lady Dragon* is a powerful testament to the strength of chosen love and the courage it takes to defy legacy.

I received the opportunity to read this as an advanced reader copy. My review is as follows:

This story is absolutely beautiful, warm, and charming. The characters are strong, soft, kind, and very human. The love story is complex and well thought out, pulling inspiration from stories such as Ladyhawke and Shrek in many ways, with a sapphic twist. Anyone reading this story could understand the palpable feelings of love, trust, and duty that the main characters experience. One-of-a-kind, and I WILL be recommending to all those in my life who enjoy a good love story where the women get to kiss each other ❤️

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for providing this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Strickland heard us crying for more sapphic dragon romantasies, and they provided! This is a dragon shifter YA romantasy that does the hard parts of this genre extremely well. It's a YA with an engaging, unique plot and no teenaged main characters, a romantasy where the fantasy portion stands well on it's own, and does it's world building in a way that unique and immersive but not confusing. For me, the sapphic romance and matriarchy are big, fat bonuses as well.

This story gets very intense, very quickly. I went from leisurely picking it up when I had free time, to locked in and unable to put it down half way through. I finished the second half of the book in one sitting.

I loved the banter between our two main characters in the beginning of this story before one of the big twists. It was the classic grumpy/sunshine trope but with 2 princesses, and one of those princesses is more of a knight. I appreciated this dynamic and do wish we spent a tiny bit more time in this space.

I thought I knew where this story was going at that point, but it took a few turns that I did not see coming. I LOVE that in stories! I cannot say much more without spoiling the best bits, but once this part of the story stops, there is no slowing down. I loved how vivid the fight scenes were. And I appreciated how lore and magic were explained. It was not dumbed down, but I did feel like I understood every part of this story. I liked this much more than I expected to, which was surprising because I already loved all the ingredients in this story. I could see myself re-reading this and highly recommend this as a sapphic fantasy.

Also....spoilerish.......I so, so, so appreciate a sapphic happily ever after. It so extremely rare these days, so big props to the author for that.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Feiwel & Friends for an e-ARC of Lady Dragon. This book was incredible. Lady Dragon delivers on all of the tropes you expect to see with dragons. Kirek is the strong and fierce daughter to the current matriarch of the dragons, Queen Mother. The dragons in this setting are ruthless, self-reproducing, and have a society built upon daughters challenging their mothers for right to the throne when they come of age. Kirek is a direct opposite to Samansa, the heir to the human throne of Andrath. Samansa is soft, delicate, a bit too trusting, and so utterly flawed. Of course she is flawed, because she is human. Lady Dragon weaves a beautiful tale of two princesses who are completely different at the start of the novel. Samansa and Kirek are both driven by their duty as daughters. However, that duty looks different. Kirek is sent to Andrath by the Queen Mother to uncover humanity's weaknesses so that the dragons may be able to utilize them. Samansa is plagued by her mother's constant reminders that she needs to start a courtship so that she may ensure a daughter heir for Andrath when it is her time to rule. Both dragon and girl are pressured into maintaining the status quo of their race, while simultaneously being drawn to one another.

I don't want to get too much into the plot. However, Lady Dragon is choke full of political intrigue, commentary on gender, and commentary on love and what that love looks like. Lady Dragon has some soft, feminine moments. However, the novel does not forget to remind you that it also has teeth and bares them quite regularly. The Samansa and Kirek at the end of the novel are beautifully, wonderfully, transformed from the two that start the novel. I loved that the novel is told from both prospectives. Overall, I enjoyed this sapphic fantasy wholly. For those of you who are afraid of picking this up due to the political climate or fear the bury your gays trope...do not be afraid with this novel. Although Lady Dragon does not shy away from death, fire, and horror that almost could parallel the human world....it does not let Kirek and Samansa suffer a tragic fate. In the end, Lady Dragon allows the princess to save the dragon and the dragon to get the girl.

Such an empowering and wonderful story of two very different but similar individuals finding one another and facing the world hand in... talon?

While I loved the creativity behind this book’s plot I struggled to get into it. The characters were all extremely flat to me without a lot of inner life and I wished that we could have had more moments of sincerity, if not between the leads than at least internally. I think a lot of the realizations came a little too late and I felt frustrated at multiple points.

Thank you Feiwel & Friends and Netgalley for this eARC, these opinions are my own. An absolute adventure! There was once a war between humans and dragons. A brutal battle that cost many lives including the lives of both the human King and the dragon queen. Now they are at a tentative peace, resting on the human queendom of Andrath only allowing for women to reign and the perspective queen of the dragons having to spend time as a human and observe the human ways. Samanta is the human princess and Kirek is the favored future dragon queen. She’s been sent to live amongst the humans with a secret task from her queen. Unexpectedly the two grow close and when they discover a plot that threatens to send the two queendoms back to war. Will they choose their people or will they choose the growing feelings they have for each other? A love a good queer fantasy and A.M. Strickland’s sapphic romantasy was engaging and intriguing! It’s filled with well thought out society’s that are unique and very interesting! Especially the dragons! Great chemistry and a sweet relationship between the mcs! A thrilling read that I couldn’t put down!

I am in love with the Lady Dragon. This romance is everything to me and I need more of it. The tension between the main characters is just so well written.

In this YA Sapphic romantasy, a human princess and draconic heir become entangled in each other's lives, with both their queendoms at stake.

Overall, this was a good story. The plot was engaging. I do wish there was more time spent on the central relationship before the plot took over; Samansa and Kirek's connection was very intriguing.

Romantic and surprising, LADY DRAGON by AM Strickland is a story of star-crossed lovers who will surmount the odds, no matter the cost, to be together.

Sometimes when I see a book with a dragon on the cover, I revert into a six year old who spies a toy that I desperately want. This is one of those books, but past the cover this is a well-told story with an interesting premise, good world building, and enough dragons to satisfy the six year old that I am at heart. At the center of the story lies a YA sapphic romance, and I'm sure there are those who take issue, but this book wasn't written for them. There are a lot of books out there...just move on. Beyond the romantic relationship though, the book's story takes on courtly politics in both human and dragon realms and some different family dynamics. It was an entertaining read with a fitting ending.
I received access to this eARC thru NetGalley (for which I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher, Macmillan Children's Publishing Group - Feiwel & Friends) for an honest review. The opinion expressed here is my own.