First of all, thank you to NetGalley for the eARC. It was my first one I received and I was so excited! This book did not disappoint! The emotional trauma Cayden and Elowen have been through and their drive for revenge is done so well. Cayden’s devotion to Elowen is unparalleled and flawless. The ENDING????? Going into this I didn’t know if there were going to be more books in the series or not, clearly there are lol.

Thank you to Olivia Rose Darling, NetGalley, and Delacorte Press for providing me with an ARC of this book.

I went into this one with cautious optimism. I had read Fear the Flames and felt pretty lukewarm about it—not a book I disliked, but not one I loved either. I’d seen so many people say this sequel was even better, so I was curious to give it a try. Unfortunately, both books ultimately fell short for me.

I found Elowen to be a rather unbearable protagonist, and the plot felt nearly non-existent. While the overarching storyline is about confronting her father, I’d estimate that only about 20% of the content in either book actually focuses on that, with the rest feeling like filler. Other than Finn, the side characters felt underdeveloped, and the relationships leaned heavily on instalove and instant found family without much organic build-up. There was also a lot of telling and info-dumping instead of showing, which kept me from feeling truly immersed in the world or characters.

Sadly, this series just isn’t for me, and I won’t be continuing on with future installments.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing for allowing me to read an advanced copy.

The dragons and Cayden are what kept me reading this series….but honestly I’m not sure it’s enough to continue on from here. The prose is very intriguing but I feel like the plot fell super flat on it. Elowen is our main character and Cayden is the love interest (husband) and he was the plot. Everything felt so disjointed to me. In one scene they are at their wedding then the next they’re off at battle. It just felt like not good enough transitions were had.

My review is posted as of 8/7 on NetGalley, Goodreads, and Fable.

Thank you again NetGalley and Random House Publishing!

5 stars 🌶🐉👑

Wrath of the Dragons is the second book in Olivia Rose Darling’s steamy romantasy series following Fear the Flames. The stakes are higher, the tension is hotter, and the dragons? Still absolutely iconic.

I’m fully obsessed with this world. The politics, the betrayals, the magic. It’s all so layered and rich. And the romance? Whew. Slow burn but so worth the wait. The chemistry between the main characters is chef’s kiss and watching them navigate trust, power, and desire had me hooked the entire time.

Also. That ending? I am not okay. Ms. Darling I’ll be sending you my therapy bill.

If you’re into:

✨ BAMF/Morally Black MMC
👩‍❤️‍💋‍👨 Dual POV

💅 “My wife” 

👑 Court drama

🐉 Dragons (need I say more?)


Then run, don’t walk. I’m officially feral for book three.

Thank you NetGalley and Ballantine | Delacorte Press for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

4.5⭐️ Rounded Up

What in the actual fudge just happened?! I don’t even know how to process this ending right now. I’m dead and I’m apparently going to stay dead for quite some time while I wait for the next book 😫 Not sure how to talk about this book without discussing the ending, and thus spoiling everything.
What I can say is this book is intense. We get a ton of politicking and interactions with the other kingdoms, as well as large and small battles. Of course we also get a lot of DRAGONS in this book! I loved Elowen’s interactions with her dragons and learning more about each of them and their personalities. We also get a lot more of Cayden’s POV and I. AM. HERE. FOR. IT ❤️‍🔥
As you might have guessed, then ending gives you one heck of a cliffhanger. It’s one devastation after another in a short span of time, and I am dying to read the next book now.

So many pages. So little plot. And a cliffhanger that doesn't quite fit with the rest of the book. I gave this series another try because the premise is really intriguing, but the execution isn't quite what I hoped it would be.

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Wrath of the Dragons was a solid continuation of the series, earning a 3-star rating from me. While I appreciated some of the developments, especially the expansion of the magical world and getting to learn more about the dragons, the book didn’t fully meet my expectations.

The middle of the story felt slower than I anticipated, and I found myself struggling to stay engaged during that portion. One recurring issue that pulled me out of the narrative was the constant emphasis on Elowen’s love for sweets. It felt repetitive and unnecessary, especially when it began to overshadow more meaningful character development.

Additionally, the book revisits Elowen being wronged by her father—a plot point that was already well-established in the first book. Rehashing it didn’t add much new depth and made parts of the story feel a bit redundant.

That said, I did enjoy the increased presence of magic and the gradual unveiling of dragon lore. The ending, in particular, was compelling and left me curious enough to continue with the next book in the series. I’m hopeful that the momentum built at the end will carry into the next installment.

I was primed and ready to love Wrath of the Dragons so I'm extremely bummed that this was a total miss for me. I LOVED the first book in the series, Fear the Flames, and was SO excited to receive the ebook ARC (thank you to Ballantine & Delacorte Press).

However, from the very beginning all the fun, magic, and intrigue I felt in the first book was missing. The entire first two sections of the book (making up about 55%) were extremely slow and at least 100 pages could’ve been cut out from talking about the decor alone. The second half of the book picked up pace a little more but by that point I was so uninvested I found it hard to care.

Normally I can easily look past any bad writing if the vibes are there and the story is engaging, but with Wrath it was very distracting. I found the story to be very choppy, lacked transitions, and was over the top poetic in a way that came off as cheesy and out of place.

From the title, I also hoped the dragons would be a bigger part of the story but instead they felt like only accessories (images on every single bit of decor, clothing, jewelry, building, etc.) and floated in the background to ride or burn something, but were never just characters that added to the story.

Wish I felt different, but likely won’t continue in the series.

Summary

Overall rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️5/5

Spicy rating: 🌶️🌶️🌶️ 2.5/5

It’s honestly taken me a week to put my thoughts together enough to write this review. This book consumed me on every possible level. I will not know peace until the next book is in my hands.

Wrath of the Dragons is a PERFECT example of how to do a second book in a series. It was even better than book one! There is great political development, the world building feels richer and there was so much more lore to get stuck in to. You can really see how Liv’s writing has evolved over the last few years and the prose felt so poetic to read at times I loved it.

Getting to read more about the dragons was just amazing and they are have very clear and distinctive personalities and are characters in their own right and not just there as a plot accessory. Sorin is my little chaos baby and I love him with my whole heart!

The development of the found family element was also stunning and I am so beyond invested in these characters that I’m genuinely scared of what’s to come. Especially after that ending (straight to jail for that Liv!) Still not forgiven you for that emotional torture.

The romance between Cayden and Elowen was actual perfection my demon king is tortured and yearning and on his damn knees and I loved every second of it. I loved getting Cayden’s POV chapters throughout the book and it made for a much more immersive, emotional and dimension read.

Diving deeper in to Elowen’s character actually made me feel so seen. Her self critical nature and need to protect everyone at the cost of herself hits so hard and is so relatable.

It was bloody, gritty, violent and so full of unapologetic feminine rage and it felt like food for my soul!

This was a fantastic sequel to Fear the Flames! Cayden is so DOWN BAD for Elowen - I adore their banter and everything he does to work on their relationship. He's also my favorite kind of MMC - broody, down bad, and has the saddest back story!

The story and other characters are a delight - it's no surprise to me, as Liv is able to give us intriguing characters in a beautiful world. Plus - five dragons!!!!!!

I cannot wait to see where the series goes from here!

There are so many mixed emotions swirling in my head after finishing ‘Wrath of the Dragons’. It absolutely met all of my expectations with the star crossed romance, expansion of the world, the found family/growth of side characters, and of course the epic nature of the plot with its majestic dragons and bloody battles. There was just a compilation of small things that lead to my less than stellar rating in the end. I will be the first to say that I loved ‘Fear the Flames’ and gave it five stars. However, I have to preface this review by saying that I feel I have grown and changed as a reader significantly since then, even though that time period feels so short. Romantasy books lately have been either hit or miss for me and I find I am much more critical of them than I was one to two years ago. If I went back and reread ‘Fear the Flames’, it might not be a five star read . But before I get off on a tangent, overall, I enjoyed WOTD. I did struggle quite a bit in the beginning with remembering events and names of people and kingdoms, and would recommend a reread if it’s been a while since reading book one. The first third of the book flew by as I was invested in Elowen and Cayden’s relationship after the cliffhanger of book one. I did enjoy the dual POV, but felt that both mc’s tended to wax poetic about their feelings for one another which lead to aimless, flowery sentences that did nothing to move the plot along. I noticed this trend continued in the later stages of the book when the mc’s would muse on their past grievances and plans for vengeance. The prose was indeed beautiful at times, but at times unnecessarily flowery. Of course I did highlight literally everything that came out of Cayden’s mouth, the man yearns so incredibly hard! But again, after a while, the “heart eyes” effect his words had on me wore off a bit. The first half of WOTD felt like a romance book, whereas the second half was epic and action packed. It almost felt like two entirely different books, but all the battles and political maneuverings had me thinking of House of the Dragon on more than one occasion. This book definitely has gore and spice comparable to that show, which made it feel grown up and more along the lines of an epic fantasy. It’s possible that if it would have continued along that thread, I may have enjoyed it more. There were a few plot points that had me scratching my head because they were 1) sudden and didn’t make sense in the grand scheme of things or 2) so random (random temple sex??) and had little effect on the overall story. It feels like there is still so much that we have yet to learn with the growing influence of the gods, which in my mind, could lead to more interesting lore or could just end in tangential disaster. However, this book made me feel so many feels, most of them warm and good, and it has therefore earned my praise. I will definitely continue along with the series because I did not see that ending coming whatsoever.

Wrath of the Dragons is one of the most beautiful books I have read. Every other page is highlighted with the most heart wrenching quotes and professions of love.

“Elowen is the ivy that consumes me. Her vines are strong and latch on to me, as they have for years, but now she’s not only wrapped around my mind but also embedded into the soul I didn’t know I had until I met her.”

The yearning and passion between Cayden and Elowen bleeds off the page and infiltrates your soul. Their love feels unbreakable, but you can sense the tension throughout the entire book. You are constantly waiting for that devastating moment, when fate takes over and you must accept their journey.

“Fate wields love like a weapon, leaving only tragedy in its wake.”

This book has everything you want in an epic Romantasy. You get court intrigue, prophecy, a beautiful found family, a devastatingly possessive and loyal MMC and a strong, deadly FMC. Oh and dragons, beautiful, soulful, powerful dragons.

“I don’t think there’s a proper way to thank someone for loving you when you felt unlovable, becoming your family when you had no one, and morphing into a home when you didn’t know what to look for in one.”

You will root for these characters to find their happily ever after but this is not the end of their story and the cliffhanger and the end of this book is truly one of the most devastating I have read in a long time. Have your tissues ready and prepare yourself for an extremely intense ride at the end. Wall staring will probably be required when you finish. My DM’s are open if you need someone to cry with you. I cannot recommend this series enough and I will be very impatiently waiting for book 3.

Overall this was a great continuation of the story. It picked up soon after the first left off with a lot of uncertainty and yearning.

I really enjoyed the added POV. It was interesting to learn more about Cayden and get inside his brain. He's very much a "my wife" kind of guy. Also loved learning more about the dragons and getting to see Elowen's relationship with each of them.

I personally think it was a touch too long. The middle section kind of dragged but the pace picked back up at the end.

The massive cliffhanger at the end is brutal and I can't wait for the next book.

I would walk through fire, scale a mountain, and challenge fate itself—just to have one more moment with you. You’re my solace and my storm, all at once.”

I genuinely wasn’t prepared for how hard this book would hit. The friendships?? The dragons 🐉?? The slow-burning, all-consuming romance that had me clutching my pillow like a lifeline?? I am DELIRIOUS.

This sequel absolutely delivered. It’s like the author looked into my soul, found everything I ever wanted in a book, and said, “Here. Feel everything.” And feel I did. Over and over again.

Unhinged review warning: A DRAGON-RIDER PRINCESS 🐉 and a MAN WHO LOOKS AT HER LIKE SHE HUNG THE MOON 🌒. He’s fierce, loyal, and would commit war crimes in her name—and honestly? I support him. We love a man who sees a powerful woman and chooses to worship her instead of fear her. Give me more of that energy in fiction please and thank you.

What an amazing sequel!!

I really enjoyed Fear the Flames, but I honestly felt like the characters and writing was so elevated in this one. Moving on from single POV to dual POV, thus getting Cayden's POV as well was AMAZING. I'm not exaggerating when I say it made the entire book. Cayden is such an amazing top tier book boyfriend and I will accept no arguments to the contrary.

On the whole, this book really deepens the world building and political intrigue - it almost felt like Game of Thrones in a romantasy format, and I was so here for it. My only "complaint" is that I feel like not that much happened in the book? There could've been more plot for the first 300-400 pages. However, a four-book series is bound to have some filler but what I liked with this is that it was never annoying filler. I didn't find that the book compromised on the characters and their relations just to add filler. So while the pace was slow, the characters (especially Cayden) really got to shine and it made it ALL worth it.

Also... that ending?? CRIMINAL. I need book 3 asap pleeeease.

(Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC, all opinions are my own) I’m literally over the moon to be back in Elowen’s world with the added Cayden POV. I’d say this book is more political intrigue than battle action so keep that in mind; the action will not come in until Part 3. I don’t want to give any spoilers so instead I will provide your with a musical interpretation—
Part 1: Hearts a Mess by Gotye
Part 2: Home by Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes
Part 3: no song, that cliffhanger constitutes as criminal activity

Anyways 4.5 stars.

A great second step in the series! It picks up hours after the first books timeline so you lose no momentum going forward, diving deeper into feelings and court politics while the plot pushes ahead quickly. The writing is immersive and lush, with action packed battles, adrenaline filled flight, and tender moments.
I LOVE the duel POV. We see a different side of Cayden while he’s learning to accept how out of control having feelings can be, and faces that challenge head on everyday. Elowen’s resilience to everything that’s thrown at her is amazing. I love that she still struggles with doubt and guilt, but that it makes her more relatable and a stronger leader for it. Them together is a whirlwind of love and learning with a healthy dose of ruthless teasing and extreme protectiveness. I’m here for it. The bond they share with their friends is everything family should be. Finny does what Finny does best and the new faces are a great addition. Elowen and her dragons are a force to be reckoned with, and I LOVED their pack dynamic.
And the ending…Just. What?! The massive cliffhanger had me wanting to throw my kindle at the wall. WHAT?! My emotions are raw and my brain is still processing everything that happened. WHAT?! I didn’t see it coming but it flowed so well and wow book three is going to be something. I can’t wait! I absolutely recommend this series if you’re ok with losing sleep, internally screaming…externally screaming, and having your emotions run over. Cheers!

Wrath of the Dragons. This is book 2 in the romantasy series, Fear the Flames. As the story continues, Elowen and Cayden are now out for revenge against her father, the king. She finally has her dragons back and now she is working on creating allies, forming an army, and she's coming to take back her throne. I want to say so much more, I want to gush about this story, but I don't want to give away spoilers because you need to experience this story for yourself! So I will say this, if you read one series this year, READ THESE BOOKS! It's full of dragons, magic, battles, fierce friendship, quick wit and banter, and the bestttt love story. 🥲 These books have completely consumed me, this story is everythinggg. I honestly can't put into words how much I love this story, these characters, the dragons, all of it! Hands down one of my favorite reads of 2025! This book was a rollercoaster, and now that it's over all I want to do is go back and experience it again! I absolutely cannot wait for the next book and I will be on the edge of my seat waiting for it! 💙📚

Thank you to the author and to the publisher for this ARC of Wrath of the Dragons, in exchange for an honest review.

This was a highly-anticipated sequel for me! I found it to be heavy on the love story side of the plot over the action/war story side. While I really really LOVE the dynamics of this power couple and adore their “blessed by the gods” connection, I found myself wanting more action. I don’t feel like I saw enough of the dragons or got to know them on a deeper level as I hoped I would in this book. I would say the “Romance” is a 5 star while the fantasy is a 3 star, so I’ve averaged that out to give it a good 4 star review. All-in-all, I had a great time and I want someone to love ME like Cayden loves Elowen! *SWOON*. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for gifting me an ARC. These opinions are my own.

4.25⭐️

This was SO good!! I absolutely adored Fear the Flames and now this one! Liv Darling is such a talented author and deserves all the flowers. After the ending of the last book, I just knew the sequel was going to be intense, action packed, and filled with lots of yearning (and it was)!! I adore these characters and thought that the plot was so easy to follow yet fascinating!

The ending had me absolutely shocked and I will be impatiently awaiting the third book!!

Thank you so much Dell & Netgalley for the early copy in exchange for my honest review!