I have for now softly dnf’d it. I wanted to love it but it dragged, I felt so many tropes were being thrown at me and it made it confusing.

A huge thank you to NetGalley, Ballantine, Delacorte Press, and Olivia Rose Darling for the opportunity to read this ARC. 
Olivia Rose Darling has done it AGAIN. This is the sequel to Fear the Flame, and it completely BLEW ME AWAY. If I could sum up my entire review in one sentence, it would be... Cayden Veles. That's it. That’s the review. But of course, there’s so much more to gush over in this stunning installment of the series.

The story picks up right where Fear the Flames left off, and from the first page I was HOOKED. It’s fast-paced, emotional, and utterly addictive. It’s the perfect blend of politics, romance, found family, dragons (what else could you want), and expansive world-building that kept me addicted from start to finish. This world is getting bigger, better, and more intricate, and I am SO here for it. The deeper political intrigue and the layers of magic introduced had me completely invested, and I loved seeing new sides of familiar characters emerge. I CANNOT wait to see where this series goes with all of the new information we learned. 

Let’s talk about Cayden. Because truly, he is EVERYTHING, and the one true star of this bool. This man is pure gold, everythign that coes out of his mouth is like poetry, and the depth of his love for Elowen?! UNREAL. Getting his POV in this book was a dream. His past wrecked me, but it made me connect with him on an entirely new level. He is a beautifully broken, fiercely loyal man who loves with everything he has. I want him to get all the love, even when he doesn’t think he deserves to be loved. He is truly the man of my dreams. 

Elowen continues to be a total badass, she is strong, stubborn, and fiercely protective. While there were moments her choices felt a bit selfish, her growth was undeniable. Watching her face her past, deepen her bond with her dragons (who are basically massive cuddly puppies), and embrace both her strength and softness made her feel real and relatable. She got major closure in this book, and I loved seeing that. Also, I love that she goes from kicking ass covered in blood to then loving all the fancy things and pretty dresses. Iconic.

The romance in this book? Perfection. The slow burn tension, the banter, the chemistry, it is just all there. Cayden had to earn Elowen’s trust again (after the ending of Fear the Flames), and their journey back to each other was just chef’s kiss. And when the tension finally snapped? The spice was PHENOMINAL. Their love feels rare, raw, and absolutely unshakable.

The found family in this series is SOOOO well done. I want to crawl into the pages and be part of their chaotic, loyal little troop. Finnian, Ryder, Sas, and now newcomers like Prince Zale, Prince Zarius, and Ser Rhys bring so much heart and humor to the story. Seriously, behind Cayden they are my favorite part of the sereis. I loved the teasing hints at potential future romances among them, my shipper heart is READY.

While the first half of the book took a little time to build momentum, the second half more than made up for it with non-stop action and emotionally charged moments. The world-building is richer, the plot more intricate, and the stakes impossibly high.

AND THAT ENDING?! I was SOBBING. Completely unprepared. I need the next book IMMEDIATELY, seriously....like yesterday.
If you loved Fear the Flames, Wrath of the Dragons will leave you absolutely breathless. This series is becoming something truly special, and I cannot recommend it enough. When this book comes out, stop what you’re doing and pick it up. You won’t regret it.

Honestly going into this review I’m going to keep it short as I don’t have much to say. Overall I didn’t really enjoy this story. The writing style was painful, when reading a story I want to be shown what is happening vs. being told. It was a lot of “I did this” “they did that”. It seemed very dry and lacked visual for me. I also felt the world building wasn’t giving what I was needing and overall I was left underwhelmed.

Thank you Random House Publishing Group, Ballantine, and Delacorte press for the early digital copy of Wrath of the Dragons.

Sequel to Fear the Flames, Darling's anticipated release combines everything I love in the romantasy genre. From dragons and unleashed powers to an intensely protective MMC willing to do anything for his love, this one has it all. In comparison to the first book, this one has a more intricate plot with new characters and world building to be explored. The writing kept me hooked the entire time, and I found myself connecting dots and theorizing which is always a good sign. The end still threw me for a loop though! Great read and couldn't recommend more. I can't believe I have to wait for the 3rd book.

Let me start by giving a HUGE thank you to the publisher, Ballantine, and NetGalley for the ARC!

In this book, we pick up (almost) immediately after the end of the first book, and get launched right into the fallout of it all. This book had quite a bit more world-building than the first, and focuses heavily on character building as well. We have Cayden's POV on what's happening this time, which I absolutely loved. Without spoiling anything, I will say that the ending had me FLOORED, and I did not see that coming (Well I kinda did... But kinda didn't...).

The book was part adventure, part politics, and I enjoyed seeing both sides and how they played out. I absolutely love Cayden and his dynamic with Elowen, and I loved getting to see them rebuild their relationship.

One of my only complaints is the info-dumping. There were quite a few spots where the story stopped to go into detail about something that could have been explained more naturally over time, or even just throughout the scene instead of that one spot. That, and Elowen seemed a bit more childish in this book than the first IMO. (However, could just be my perception. Take it with a grain of salt)

Overall, I loved the book. I love that there was still a heavy focus on the side characters that we all grew to love, and that the romance healed and grew naturally. I will anxiously be awaiting the next book and plan to re-read the first book as well as this one when I get my hardcopy at the end of the month! Trust me, you won't be able to put this one down!

I could not be more excited to be finished with this book. I really enjoyed (mostly) the first book and was very excited for the second but by the 35% mark was starting to get irritated by the repetitive inner dialogue of Cayden and Elowen. For this being the second book in a romantasy series they did not even kiss until 50% of the way through about they spent the whole book arguing over the same insecurities. Marrying each other and loving each other but not even knowing basic things about one another. By 60% of the way through I was irritated by the lack of good world building and the sudden need to make this a war book and bring in all these other kingdoms with little world building along with wanting to be royals for the betterment of their kingdoms but all I saw them do was either talk about war or piss around the whole time. There are actual political fantasies like The Chronicles of Castellane series where you can see them focusing on the plot of an impending war BUT also seeing the prince actively attempting to do things for the kingdom to better it. The editing of this book was atrocious, and I felt that the word count was way too high and there was too much doing nothing that the battle in the end was rush and very anti-climactic. We could have gotten rid of at least four of Cayden's fights in the pits or fights between Cayden and Elowen and made the story move faster. All and all this series had potential, but it fell flat, it felt like it took stuff from other big series like acotar, TOG, or GOT and the character plot really felt to the wayside and the war side of it was attempting to be in the forefront, but it was not executed well.

Thank you NetGalley and Ballantine | Delacorte Press for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is book 2 of the Fear the Flame series and I had to read that one before I picked this one up. I was so excited to read about dragons again, this series gives me GOT vibes. The world building is amazing and the story has a good pace and a lot of action, I was very entertained throughout. Cayden is so morally grey and such a great character I loved his POVs. I am a sucker for found family and I really enjoyed that aspect here. I do have to warn you all about a hell of a cliffy… but oh well at least there has to be a book 3.

Thank you NetGally and Olivia Rose Darling for the opportunity to receive this ARC, I am beyond greatful

i wasn’t invested as much as i thought i was going to be, i felt like the pacing was a bit off and the story was making plot twists i had to go back and reread just to make sure this was the route we were taking. i wasn’t invested love with the first one, i read the indie published one and it was a bit of a slough to get through. wrath of dragons was better in that sense, but still was missing that connection to the characters for me,

ARC Review

This book was a phenomenal follow-up to Fear the Flames (which remains in my top books of 2025).

This was an emotional, action-packed roller coaster. Show me a man who loves his wife more than Cayden. I'll wait... 🫠

I loved seeing so much more of the dragons and Elowen's relationship with them. They made the battle scenes that much more epic.

It might be a tie between Elowen and Cayden with who was more of a badass. Fight Club Cayden? Dragon Riding Elowen? Honestly, it's a draw. 😆

I could not put this book down toward the end. And then I was sobbing. I could feel the raw emotion in the characters. In what they had to lose, their fight, their anguish, their hope, their vengeance, and their unwavering love for one another.

I will be anxiously awaiting the next book in this series. There is definitely a bit of a cliffhanger, albeit a tolerable one!

Thank you Ballantine and NetGalley for the ability to read this early.

Olivia Rose Darling, you are killing me. How can I deal with that ending?? Elowin… I just cannot. Please tell me there is another book in this series or I may have to crawl into a dark corner and cry.

Well written, and well played. Rush out and read this book as soon as it hits the shelf.

Thank you NetGalley, Ballantine, Delacorte Press, and the author for this eARC in exchange for my honest review!

Expected release: July 29, 2025

I have been waiting for this book since the second I finished Fear the Flames. I’m honestly still in shock that I was fortunate enough to receive an ARC.

I love these characters so much. The found family is so strong and well done it’s hard not to want to be a part of it. The anticipation of Cayden’s POV did not disappoint at all. His POV was honestly my favorite part of the book. I was NOT prepared for chapter 71. 😭 (or everything after it honestly) To leave us with that ending was beyond rude, but I need book 3 now. Lol

With that said, I feel like something felt off in the first half of the book. Sometimes it was pacing and sometimes it was this overuse of exaggerated metaphors or allegory’s (maybe? I’m not even really sure how to explain it), but it felt like every sentence of a paragraph was trying to pack a punch and make a statement but because it was every sentence it all felt redundant and frustrating.

There were also typos or missing words/letters in most of the chapters and at this point in the publication process I feel like they should have been cleaned up. A few throughout the book is understandable. One almost every chapter should be caught by an editor.

I love this series though and these characters and now feel like we missed out not getting Cayden’s POV in the first book. GIVE ME MORE OF THIS MAN’S INNER THOUGHTS! Lol

I BEG YOUR FINEST PARDON for that ENDING?!
sobbing through the last few chapters of this book was not on my bingo card, but here we are anyways!!! ORD can expect my therapy bill in the mail post haste 😌

i really enjoyed getting to dive deeper into the magic and lore of this world! but most especially getting to learn more about Cayden’s past. it made me love him even more😭 sweet and secretly soft tortured man that he is!!
also, i would be remiss to not add this for the record: “I’m not a king or commander on the field. I’m a god.” HOT😮‍💨🧎🏼‍♀️

the dynamic and banter between him and Elowen is ✨everything✨ and the found family they’ve created together makes my heart squeeze! if anything happens to the rest of the crew in future i will simply not recover😅
“To the families we choose.” “And to one more day with them,” I finish.😭

i did struggle a little with the pacing of this one and that’s the only reason i went with 4.5 stars. i found the beginning to be a little slow and overall the book felt a bit long BUT if you’re looking to vibe with a romantasy book filled with banter, yearning, found family, dragons, and an utterly downbad mmc then this is the book for you!! and i think if you loved Fear the Flames then you will love Wrath of the Dragons even more!🥰

all of this to say i absolutely am chomping at the bit for book 3?!!! i don’t know if i will ever fully recover from that ending🥲 so unexpected and i can’t wait to see where the story goes!!

THANK YOU endlessly to Dell and Ballantine for the opportunity to read an early copy of this! ily 🫶🏻

read if you love:
+ an mmc who would *literally* burn the world (or at least conquer a whole ass kingdom) for her🤭
+ female rage!!! and a strong & fiery fmc
+ revenge
+ he tattoos her name name on his body
+ romeo and juliet
+ found family and banter
+ dragons!

An excellent sequel to Fear the Flames!
Although I really enjoyed the first installment, I thought ORD did an absolutely smashing job of continuing the series with Wrath of the Dragons. I loved the dual perspective of both the MFC and the MMC. I loved the tension, and the redemption of the MMC.
All in all, Wrath of the Dragons was a wonderful read and an excellent sequel.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publishers for this ARC!

The Wrath of the Dragons takes everything I loved about Fear the Flames; the magic, the romance, the tension, and raises the stakes. It’s very Game of Thrones-coded in the best way: soul ties, fated mates, court intrigue, a badass assassin FMC, and a marriage of convenience that had me hooked from the start.

There’s so much to love here: found family, witty banter, and some truly epic, jaw-dropping moments. And Cayden? Still completely feral, still my favorite.

That said, the pacing felt a little off at times. The added political complexity and larger cast of characters made it harder to stay in the flow compared to book one. There were also a few sections where the syntax could’ve been smoother. But those were minor issues in an otherwise immersive and emotionally charged sequel.

If you’re here for dragons, dangerous alliances, slow-burn romance, and characters that grow in all the right (and wrong) ways, you won’t be disappointed.

This book is the much-awaited follow up to Fear the Flames, and is the second book in its series. We pick up nearly right where we left off from book one. Something different from 'Fear the Flames' is that we get dual point-of-view in this novel with chapters differing between being from Elowen and Caydan's POV. This helps us see more angles to the conflict that has arisen between the different nations of Ravaryn, and also gives us more of Caydan's back story.

This book is face-paced, filled with found family, romance, court politics, and dragons. While the conflict and battles that our main characters are involved in are the fore-front of this novel, we do still get tender moments between characters as well. The last few chapters brought me to ugly tears at 1 am, so prepare yourself if you find yourself one who weeps during books as well. We don't have resolution at the end of this novel, so we have a third novel to look forward to in the future.

The only negative thing I have to say about this novel, is that it is EXTREMEMLY loquacious. Almost every chapter has long winded declarations (either internal or out loud) about Caydan's feeling and devotion for Elowen. While some of this is really sexy and sweet, by halfway through the novel it felt repetitive and sort of like it was being used to make the story longer. Some of this definitely could have been cut out or condensed and it would not have affected the story. I know some of this may be to reassure Elowen who deals with a lot of anxiety and PTSD from her childhood. I would also have liked to have seen her perhaps start working through some of her trauma during the novel as there were some great opportunities for it, but I also understand that the characters are in the middle of a war, and she's just compartmentalizing to keep functioning in the moment.

On a lighter note, this story shines with its found family and witty banter. I found myself wishing that I could be a member of their mismatched troop, and I loved the hints of possible future romance for some of my favorite secondary characters. Particularly, the friendship between Finnian and Elowen made my heart so warm and happy, and it was such a joy to read. The spicy scenes between Elowen and Caydan were really well written as well, and I feel like Olivia Rose Darling did a great job balancing the perfect number of sexy scenes while still giving us a fast-paced story. The tension in this story was top notch (both romantic and because of all the danger that these characters find themselves in). I'm definitely looking forward to the next book in this series.

Thank you to NetGalley, Ballantine and Delacorte Press, and Olivia Rose Darling for an eARC of this novel to review.

This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2025, and I am so grateful for the opportunity to get an advanced copy of this one! The first book was one of my favorite from 2024, but unfortunately I just couldn’t bring myself to love the sequel nearly as much. Of course, the world building and description is rich and the writing is beautiful, but I just felt the story was dragging and at times the plot was too trope-y. It felt more like a filler at times, and like it focused a little too much on the swoon and angst rather than a strong plot. I am definitely looking forward to the next book in the series, as I’m invested 100%, but overall, this sequel was unfortunately a bit of let down after a phenomenal debut.

I knew after Fear the Flames I was going to enjoy the next chapter of this series - I wasn't prepared for just how much. Olivia's writing is beautiful, even when describing the carnage of war. The duality of El and Cayden's love for each other and their chosen family against their thirst for revenge is perfectly done. I spent as much time screaming for blood as I did sobbing my eyes out.
El is an easy to love FMC, who is gentle and has the heart of a healer - but will also readily burn the wolf to the ground if you cross her. Cayden, there aren't enough words to describe this broody man of death.
While some of the story is easily guessed, the author has more than enough twists and surprises for us readers. The cliffhanger is brutal, so be prepared.
Looking forward to the next in this series.

WOW.

There were so many things I absolutely loved about this book! The character development is NEXT LEVEL. Having Cayden’s POV is everything. It makes a character you already adored become beloved. I love a “tear down the world for your girl” kind of guy.
The side characters are the best- kept me giggling.

The only thing that was kinda tough about the book was all the minute world building. Which I appreciate, but sometimes got bogged down with, especially since it was also during the time of conflict between E and C.

I hope Liv Darling is busy writing because I’m already dying for book 3!

Did I finish this book or did it finish me?! I really need to stop reading series that I have no patience for waiting to see what happens and how it ends!

4.25 ⭐️

This book started out really slow for me. The conflict & resolution from book 1 between Elowen and Cayden took up the first half of the book and I honestly struggled getting through. I kept reading because I really love Elowen & Cayden. There relationship is fantastic and I’m so happy we got Cayden’s POV in this book. I am so glad I did because, after the 50% mark I did want to put this book down. I loved the expansion of the world and getting to know new characters. There was also quite a bit of world building and introducing more magic.

The last 10% had me on an emotional roller coaster. I honestly wasn’t expecting that ending and I can’t wait to read book 3 because I NEED to know what happens!

Thank you to Net Galley for the eARC!