Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

Not really sure who the target audience is for this one -- while you don't need much familiarity with the Ravenloft setting in particular to "get it," this leans quite heavily into the general Dungeons and Dragons archetypes. I feel like if you hadn't played the game before, some of the references or character behaviors may feel a bit strange. Additionally, this very much has a YA tone. I'm not a YA fan personally, and the book wasn't marketed as such, so I was a just a bit confused. This felt like a very long advertisement for a module, which I found off-putting. I can't imagine readers deeply familiar with thesetting will enjoy it, nor casual readers who pick it up without ever having played D&D. I think this one may be for the "cozy" fantasy/adventure readers, or who have some knowledge of the game.

Our rag-tag band of adventurers awaken in the mists, with no idea where they are, and then proceed to bicker and be generally unlikable for the first half or so of the novel. Despite that, the first half generally has the best the book has to offer when it comes to the setting. A tense encounter in a haunted abattoir, a driver-less carriage ride through the dismal countryside of Barovia and Strahd's dreary castle all flow together smoothly -- then we abruptly head to a different domain of dread, the party are suddenly friends, and we skip right over the "big encounter"... I was not a fan of some character choices made in the ending.

I am sure this will be the right fit for some readers, but this wasn't my cup of tea.

Publishing date: 13.05.2025 (DD/MM/YYYY)
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC. My opinions are my own.

TLDR: A pretty typical Strahd campaign, but of course things don't always go to plan, and it has a twist

I have never read a D&D book before like this (unless you count Tusk Love and the players/dungeon master handbooks) and this was surprisingly fun. I am not really the person to watch others' campaigns or listen to podcasts. But reading them felt completely different.

Now as a disclaimer, this book doesn't include dice rolls and actions as would be described in other campaign media. It is an adventure book first and foremost, but set in a D&D universe with the rules and lores thereafter.

My positives:
- So fun
- Great introduction (for me) into D&D adventure books
- Concrete goal
- Diverse characters that grow with each other
- Surprise LGBTQ+ representation
- The twist???? Ohmygod

My negatives:
- Dragged a little in places
- Not really a fan of the different worlds/realms part (just a preference)
- Combat got a little messy for me, but that might be because there are often multiple characters doing multiple things and that was a little hard to keep track of (also a problem in my real-life campaigns, definitely just a me problem)

As a whole I think this was a fun book, one that non-D&D fans also can appreciate. It has adventure, stakes, lovable characters, and great descriptions and atmosphere.

As for recommendations I will be mostly pushing it towards my fellow players and DM's, but also to those who have been curious about D&D. I will be a little selective there. It will just hit better for D&D fans.

Giving this 4 whole stars. A great book, and I will be keeping my eyes peeled for more of them.

The start of the story was very promising. We're suddenly dropped into some misty, creepy world with the characters, who are total strangers and have to figure out how to work together. I enjoyed that aspect since it felt like an actual start of the campaign. However, further into the book, the characters fell flat and it seemed as if there was not much to them.
The best part about it was Strahd. Sometimes he read out of character, other times he was perfectly dangerous and evil.

Dawson did a fantastic job of creating the atmosphere of Borovia. However, at some point, the characters split up to go on a side quest, which didn't add much to the story and took the focus out of the main storyline. Then we suddenly open our eyes and everything is ready to be concluded.

Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Del Rey, Random House Worlds, Inklore as well as the author for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
#NetGalley #Random House Publishing Group-Del Rey,Random House Worlds,Inklore #Dungeons&Dragons:Ravenloft:HeirofStrand #Fantasy #BookReviews #D&D

Title: Dungeons & Dragons: Ravenloft: Heir of Strand
Author: Delilah S. Dawson
Format: eBook
Publishers: Random House Publishing Group-Del Rey, Random House Worlds, Inklore
Publication Date: May 13, 2025

This is an author that I’m crazy about. She’s an autobuy for me for sure. Having said that, this book wasn’t for me. I barely know what Dungeons & Dragons is. I’m definitely not familiar with any of the themes and/or characters. This book is about a group of characters who go on a quest. I feel so badly that I had to DNF this one because, as I said earlier, I love Ms. Dawson. I just couldn’t hang in with this one though. I couldn’t find any interest in the characters or what they were doing, despite the fact that this book isn’t light on the horrors. I’m not a fantasy fan or a sci-fi fan, so maybe that’s the problem. I do know that my having trouble getting through this book had nothing to do with the author or the genre/subject matter and everything to do with me and my personal preferences. This book is filled with vivid imagery and lots of action. It just isn’t for this specific reader. If you are a fan of Dungeons & Dragons or this type of fantasy, then I’m willing to bet you will find a lot to like about this latest D&D novel. It’s just not for this reader.

Delilah S. Dawson continues to do an amazing job bringing different IPs to life! As a D&D nerd and lover of Strahd I HAD to jump on this one.

These 5 adventurers are dumped into Barovia and have to figure out how to get out of the mists and not get stuck under the thumb of Count Strahd Von Zarovich. The beginning of the book really sets a scene and some scares for whats to come to our lost group. The banter between the group was fun. I fell in love with Alishai the tiefling with religious trauma and Chivarion the himbo drow barbarian.

Thanks to Delilah S Dawson, Random House, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is the story of 5 strangers who suddenly find themselves together in a misty land leading them ultimately to the gloomy land of Barovia, the location of Castle Ravenloft. They find themselves guests of Baron Strahd von Zarovich, in the giant dilapidated castle that they can't seem to leave. 

Each one of them has something that lead them to the mist, and they have to work through their issues and work together to escape Strahd's clutches. Shenanigans ensue!

I love a good Dungeons and Dragons book every now and then. I usually scratch this itch with Drizzt but a Ravenloft book doesn't usually disappoint either. This one also has a (somewhat) friendly drow, this one named Chivarion. He's a barbarian, and with his best friend Murder (a tressym - like a cat with wings). He reminded me of Astarion in so many ways, so naturally he just ended up being my favorite character from the get-go. 

Kah is a kenku (more or less a flightless crow-person) cleric, and I loved Kah for one reason and that is because once upon a time in a D&D campaign I played, one of my friends played a kenku, and it could have been Kah exactly. Kah's existence alone brought back some pretty great memories. 

Fielle, a human artificer, becomes somewhat of a more major character in this one, as some interesting things happen to her along the way. 

Rotrog, an orc wizard, and Alishai, a tiefling paladin were my least favorite characters. They were both just unpleasant (by design) and I wasn't here for it. They did grow as characters as the story went on and they grew on 

All told, this was an entertaining D&D adventure in Castle Ravenloft. It's definitely worth a read if you like a quick read in the D&D universe.

As someone who's never played Dungeons & Dragons, I didn't have many expectations going into Ravenloft: Heir of Strahd. I was mainly excited to read another Delilah S. Dawson book, since she's one of my favorite Star Wars authors. If anything, I expected some classic fantasy adventures with TTRPG vibes. The book delivered that...in the first half.

I loved the setup and the visceral, atmospheric details. I'm also a sucker for a good vampire/haunted house story, so I loved those aspects. I even started to grow attached to certain characters and thoroughly enjoyed it when it was their "turn" to get a POV. But then the story just meandered a bit, and I lost interest. Maybe the book reads too much like a D&D campaign? I couldn't say. But after a while, I lost interest in how the story would end.

Still, Heir of Strahd IS a fun read, and I think it's best enjoyed by people familiar with the source material or more familiar with these types of games.

At no point in the story did I know what was happening or what could happen next. I've played D&D for 6 years but haven't encountered Strahd yet, and I think I spoiled the campaign for myself (but happy about it -- good to know this is not the campaign for me). As for the novel format, the pacing for this book was WILD -- so little happened in the first half and then so much happened in the latter half. And don't even know how to process the ending (but again, as a D&D player who knows how dice sometimes tell the story you wouldn't have expected, I'm not mad about it). Overall, glad I read the book and know more about Strahd.

One has to love a party of misfits on a quest on their way to fight the Big Bad! I really enjoy the banter and the humor in this book. I haven't read many D&D books before, however I have read a lot of books by Delilah S. Dawson, and this one did not disappoint. I look forward to reading more in the series.

Thanks to Delilah S Dawson, Random House, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Delilah Dawson rarely ever fails when she works on a fantasy or sci fi tale. While not quite as entertaining as Vox Machina, Ravensloft is a fun fantasy book with a lot of comradeship and banter one expects from a decent party in Dungeons and Dragons. When the party splits, however, things take a slightly down hill turn and the story becomes less engaging. Over all, I think with a cruel and heartless villain, lots of battles and characters that are well fleshed out with none of them being perfect and all having their own abilities to add to the narrative and quests, it’s a good fantasy read with a lot to offer.

Delilah Dawson takes readers to Barovia in a stunning new novel based on one of Dungeons & Dragons most iconic adventures.

I was delighted to have the opportunity to review the brand new Dungeons & Dragons novel Ravenloft: Heir of Strahd. As the title implies, this novel is based on the legendary Curse of Strahd adventure that introduced players to the foreboding world of Barovia and the looming Castle Ravenloft inhabited by the menacing vampire Count Strahd von Zarovich.

The story follows five strangers who suddenly find themselves thrown together into Barovia, seemingly at random. Unable to leave, the group find themselves the reluctant “guests” of Strahd, and discover—quite quickly—that very little in this strange realm is what it appears to be. And if they’re not careful, no one is getting out of Barovia alive.

What helps this story stay fresh throughout, is how each chapter focuses on a different characters perspective, much in the same way as the Game of Thrones novels do. Instead of listening to an omniscient narrator describe the adventure of the group, each chapter leaves you feeling as if you’re peeking over the character’s shoulder, getting a sneak peek into their mind and slowly piecing together the larger story. And make no mistake, there is a larger story at work and Delilah Dawson puts forth a masterful effort in assembling the different pieces as it progresses. Having different narrators can also make the story fun because while the group may experience the same event, like meeting Count Strahd for instance, each member may recall that meeting very differently.

The characters themselves are all equally memorable. No one feels like a “throw away” character and it’s very satisfying to follow each character on their journey as they come to understand what Barovia is and what they might do to get out of there alive. To avoid spoilers I won’t go into too much more detail on the individual characters beyond that, except to say that these characters have more in common than you might think.

One of the best parts of this novel is how the author draws the reader in to the foreboding world of Barovia. From the moment of its introduction, it’s made clear that there is something “wrong” about this realm, and no amount of positive thinking can alter that fact. Once the story makes it to Castle Ravenloft itself, the sense of wrongness is pushed to an even further level. The way the author describes the castle, from the grand yet crumbling staircases, to tables full of rotting food, each scene seems to deliberately provoke the senses, to make you feel as if you’re there in this most cursed of castles.

I must also praise Delilah Dawson for writing the story in such a way that you don’t need to have played Curse of Strahd to enjoy this novel. Longtime Dungeons and Dragons players will of course recognize many details in this story from the famous adventure. There are callbacks to a number of story elements including the tarokka deck and the various items that players can collect if they attempt to defeat Strahd. But for those who have never played before, the story is explained in such a way that you can still follow along and not feel lost.

As much as I’ve loved this book, there is one sticking point. There’s one scene in particular where the author skips over the bulk of what happens and the reader only witnesses the aftermath. As a lifelong reader, I felt like this really impacted the flow of the story and I wish the author had chosen a different option.

That being said, there is so much to love in Ravenloft: Heir of Strahd. It brings Barovia to life in stunning (and terrifying) detail and the story will keep you guessing until the very end.

When I was younger, I read a lot of tie-in fiction. I became a huge Star Trek fan in the late 80s, and once I was all caught up on TOS and TNG, I turned to the novels. I read all the ones that had existed at that point and then bought them when they got released. That is how I found authors like Diane Duane and Peter David. I also loved the Dragonlance books. When they started coming out with D&D novels in other campaign settings, I bought the spelljammer and Ravenloft books too. So I was very excited when I saw that there was a new D&D tie in novel available on NetGalley. I got an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was so much fun! It really had the feel of a modern adventuring party that did not optimize themselves for anything besides fun. There was a cleric, a Paladin, a wizard, an artificer, and a barbarian. They all got captured by the mists and ended up in Barovia where they get invited to Castle Ravenloft to meet Count Strahd.

Reading through this book and seeing some of the classic Dungeons & Dragons monsters and spells really gave me a warm feeling inside. The characters in this book are quite interesting; although some of them seem flat at first, they all have hidden secrets. Sometimes I thought the manner in which the secrets were revealed was a little heavy-handed, but that is a minor complaint. I really enjoyed this book, including a late shift in location that was unexpected but delightful. The final twist was something I bounced off of initially, but after sitting and thinking about it for a few days, I think I’m OK with it. This was a fun read!

It's okay! I should have known better because I don't love Strahd as a campaign and I feel like this format (a random group of people dropped off in the mist) is hard to feel anything for when they barely know each other, but I don't mind reading these.

A really fun novel that melds classic D&D and the Ravenloft setting as the characters are forced to confront the literal monsters there while also facing their own figurative demons as the story races to its unexpected conclusion.

Thanks to Random House Worlds and Netgalley for the digital ARC. This was given to me for an honest review.

This is a well-written enjoyable story that focuses on the setting of Ravenloft as some sort of purgatory. Facing its horrors, the main characters dare to face their past cruel or selfish tendencies and attempted actions, and learn to trust each other, changing in the end. This makes the novel resonate with the hero's journey arc structure.
The book is fast-paced and entertaining, and alternates between characters, exploring their points of view. It focuses on how victimization can sow the seeds of future villainy by unaddressed resentment and validation gaps, and thus works as a psychological journey as well. These themes are most pertinent from the perspective of Ravenloft, which I think is well portrayed.
The larger realm of Barovia beyond Castle Ravenloft is not really examined much, and I think it would have been interesting to look at the perspectives and diversity of its inhabitants to make the story richer. The characters do end up traveling temporarily to a different domain of dread, though.
The cover image suggests that the tone of the story is lighter than it actually is. Perhaps written as a young adult novel, readers of other ages will enjoy reading it.
Finally, I think that it is worth mentioning that I especially liked how the author handled action scenes, in a way that blended with the overall theme and style of the book: they never dragged for too long, which would distract from the inner turmoil exploration. Rather, it went to the point, skipping in clever ways to cut to the decisive aspects of the combat or danger scenes. This might sound paradoxical from a fantasy adventure storytelling perspective, but I found this to be quite refreshing and keep the reader's attention while having exciting scenes at the same time.

Alas, this one wasn't for me. My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this in advance.

Thank you Netgalley for the advance reader copy of Dungeons & Dragons's Ravenloft: Heir of Strahd by Delilah S. Dawson in exchange for an honest review. This was a wonderful mishmash of old monster stories mixed in with Dungeons and Dragons characters. I loved how Dawson combined old stories with new names and a new spin.

Dungeons & Dragons: Ravenloft: Heir of Strahd by Delilah S. Dawson is a darkly enchanting journey into the gothic world of Barovia, rich with dread, magic, and moral complexity At the center of the tale is Strahd von Zarovich, the infamous vampire lord whose origin story is reimagined with a surprising amount of thoughtfulness. Dawson peels back the layers of Strahd’s tragic past revealing a man consumed by love lost as he spirals into darkness With excellent world building and a charming cast of characters, Dawson draws readers into a world where every shadow hides a secret and every choice has a price. Whether you're a longtime fan of D&D or new to its faceted lands, Dawson delivers a compelling character study wrapped in a chilling fantasy adventure.

As someone who cut their fantasy teeth on the original Dragonlance novels, and who fell in love with the whole Ravenloft setting back in the 80s, I was excited about Delilah S. Dawson drawing us through the mists again for another encounter with the legendary Darklord, Strahd von Zarovich.

The first half of Ravenloft: Heir of Strahd was everything I could have hoped for. Dawson does a fantastic job of setting the scene, creating the atmosphere, and grounding us in Barovia. The characters are a fun group of adventurers, a mad assortment of strangers from other D&D realms who must band together against zombies, wolves, and more. There's action, violence, banter, and even some moments of genuine heroism. I was interested in this party, excited to get to know them and learn their backstories, and curious about how their encounter with Strahd would challenge and change them.

As for Strahd, he was played a bit too thin for my tastes, evil and cruel from the get-go, with none of the seduction into darkness that I remember from the original stories. For all that, I did like his brand of evil, and enjoyed the way he played on the fears and dreams of the party, but then he disappears for half the book and my interest waned without him.

The second half of the book, I'm afraid to say, was a bitter disappointment. The party is split up, with a side quest outside of Barovia that really added nothing to the story, and what little we do see of Strahd is tied to character changes that don't ring true. To make matters worse, when the story finally brings us back to where it all started, we're dropped into the middle of the climax, with most of the epic-final-battle-against-the-villain already over. Seriously? How was that a creative decision that slipped past editorial?

Ravenloft: Heir of Strahd had potential, but then it abandons what's working to pad the page count, only to come back and abbreviate the battle where additional page count was needed.

Received as an ARC from Netgalley:

I had a wonderful time with this book. Curse of Strahd is the only DnD module I've played in full so far, so it was fun exploring a somewhat familiar setting once again.

The core cast of characters all have a really entertaining back and forth, which makes it a fun read. Despite some of their quirky exteriors, they all have a level of depth to them that makes it a worthwhile adventure for any fan of gothic horror OR D&D shenanigans.

Murder the flying hairless cat is like an all timer animal companion, and I'm definitely stealing him for my next campaign. I too brought a cat into Barovia but it didn't end well for mine.