I could’ve kept reading this story for a full length novel! Great short story with a folklore feel. I enjoyed the character growth of both heroines. Sometimes you need a fast paced, sapphic knight and dragon tale.

sometimes a novella is the perfect length to tell your story. <3 this was predictable in a pleasant way, and I love the thematic through line about culture and identity.

This novella is a gem—short, sharp, and emotionally resonant. Neon Yang gives us Yeva, a legendary dragon slayer who never removes her armor, and drops her into a land where dragons are sacred and nothing is quite what it seems. Cue secrets, slow-burn queer romance, and some seriously gorgeous worldbuilding.

I loved how Yang explores identity, legacy, and vulnerability through Yeva’s journey. The relationship between her and Lady Sookhee is subtle but powerful, and the story balances action with introspection beautifully.

It’s a quick read, but it lingers. If you like dragons, masked heroes, and stories that challenge what it means to be a monster or a hero, this one’s for you.

Gorgeous cover and I really liked the narrator. The story was engaging. I'm a sucker for a fighter who doesn't take off their armour! Thanks Netgalley for the chance to read an early version of this!

Many thanks to NetGalley, RB media | Recorded Books and the author for the ALC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The vibes of this small novella inspite of being said from a 3rd person POV was intriguing! The vibes were immaculate, dark, yet hopefully - yearning and reflection. There is sense of aloofness and loneliness that is weaved through the story in a way that it sticks in your brain while listening.

Without giving away the plot, the story goes through a well weaved narrative of xenophobia, racism, colonialism from a fully non western perspective while also navigating gender fluidity and sexuality subtly and beautifully. Yeva, had to become a part of the guild knight of Mithrandon, when she killed her first dragon to save her sister at thirteen. She is send away to the capital and has no choice but to make a life within that setting and become the soldier she was send there to be. However everything changes when she is send on a solo mission to Quanbo as an ambassador to silently investigate the presence of dragons hidden in the country.

What follows is a grounding and beautiful journey of breaking out of the box the world forces you into and finding yourself and your goals admist the chaos, pressures and expectations of the world!

The narrator beautifully kept the atmosphere and the tension and kept me invested till the very end. This would have made a beautiful full length fantasy novel.

This story was just okay. It started off strong with some good world building. But the actual plot of it was sort of lacking. Maybe if it had been longer I would have cared about everyone more. But the twist was kind of obvious. Overall a good novella. Nothing mind blowing but not bad.

Fantastic audiobook narrator tho!

This had some really intriguing ideas and moments of promise, but it didn’t fully land for me. I can see the potential, and I think some readers will connect more deeply with it, but overall it felt a bit forgettable. Still glad I gave it a shot.

4.5 stars! Brighter than Scale, Swifter than Flame, by Neon Yang was an engaging listen, excellently narrated by Nancy Wu. I enjoyed the intricacies of the world, and the politics. This book felt cinematic, and I would love to see it on screen on day. Thank you NetGalley, RBmedia, and Recorded Books for an advanced audio copy.

This is a fabulous novella. Told by from the perspective of a limited 3rd person narrator, it managed to have an emotional impact on me despite the more observational POV and the limited page count. It really calls to the surface the sensation of loneliness and the way it can sit in your mind and your body. It talks of allegiance in the face of corruption. It talks of moment where myth becomes reality and the moment love and duty collide.

I recommend this book to fans of: When Among Crows

Maturity: 17+

Includes themes of:
- soldiers in the face of wrongdoing
- first love
- not fitting in
- isolation
- xenophobia
- legends in real life

I received this audiobook as an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Neon Yang, and RBmedia for the opportunity to review this book. This review has been posted to GoodReads check out my profile https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/62314863 and it will be posted to my bookstagram account https://www.instagram.com/tinynightingales/ and booktok https://www.tiktok.com/@tinynightingales?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc

3.5 stars

Brighter than Scale, Swifter than Flame is a queer fantasy novella about a renowned dragon slayer who never takes her armour off in public. I am a HUGE fan of Asian-inspired fantasy and my biggest gripe is that I just wanted MORE!! There was so much to work with here and I can't figure out why it wasn't a full length novel.

The main character Yeva struggles between being pulled to stay in her homeland, and performing her duties and travelling to a different kingdom to slay dragons in service of Queen Sookhee. This novella explores themes of colonisations and personal growth which, again, I really wanted there to be of an opportunity for these topics to be discussed. The romance was nice - it didn't really suck me in but I enjoyed what the reader saw of the dynamic between the pair. I also thought the prose was wonderful, I'll definitely be reading more of this author in the future.

I listened to the audiobook and I enjoyed the narration.

Masked guildknight of Mithrandon, Yeva, killed her first dragon at thirteen. Shipped off to train further, she’s now a legendary dragon hunter and removed from her hometown but also feels isolated in her role. She’s sent as an ambassador to Quanbao, where they revere and worship dragons, may even be harboring one that will need slaying. In the girl king Lady Sookhee, Yeva finds someone she longs to open up to, but her duty demands that dragons be slayed, wherever they reside. She’ll have a tough choice to make if she finds the rumored dragon in Quanbao.

Almost immediately, this gave me Mandolorian vibes. And it’s queer? Winwin. I liked the relationship building, not only between Yeva and Sookhee but between Yeva and a lady who knew her mother, a loner building community is great for arcs. I saw the twist coming, but the twist wasn’t the point. It was about Yeva’s journey and character arc, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I wish this was a full length novel, because although the writing was sublime and the worldbuilding was fascinating, but the relationships often felt half-baked due to the limited time. In theory I LOVE this, but it just had something missing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L94KuNBC7Pg

Actual Rating 3.5

This was a solid fantasy novella. I really liked the glimpses of the world that we got during this read, as well as the tensions between kingdoms, the elite warriors, girl-kings, and dragons. With this work being so short, I wanted more from all these aspects. But only because they were fascinating – the author incorporated them quite well in the few pages they had.

As for the plot, it was predictable from the beginning. That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, as it made it feel somewhat cozy without being weak or completely lacking the oomph that some cozy reads do. However, it also meant there was little-to-no tension or feeling of high stakes despite the actions/events that were occurring, which was disappointing. This was partially due to the work focusing more on the romance than on the dragons or the fantasy world, which is never my favorite.

I liked this fantasy read, and would love to read more in this world, especially if the protagonists continue to be fascinating and strong women. My thanks to NetGalley and RBmedia for allowing me to read this work. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

my rating might seem harsh, but this is a novella. i 100% believe that had this been a full length book with no less than 400 pages, it would’ve been a 4 star minimum. the concept of this story has so much potential to be great, but with its current length, i feel like some points are vague or not deeply explored to the extent that they could have been.
it’s a very magical story with shapeshifters, a badass warrior type of fmc, lgbtq+ rep as well as a diverse cast of characters.
i just 100% believe that if this would’ve been longer, i would’ve enjoyed it much more.

I’m not sure this book was for me.
The initial premise was very intriguing, however after starting I found that it was difficult to connect to the characters and follow along with the story.
Whether that was due to storytelling or to the audio narration of the book, I struggled to follow what was occurring.

I think it is a story that will be enjoyed by others, but personally I was not invested.

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

after a tragedy hit yeva’s home, they were sent away to their uncle’s guild, to fulfill their destiny to become a legendary dragon slayer, who will never be able to show their face! but our story really starts when yeva is on a mission to investigate queen sookhee and find out secrets about dragons at any and all costs! but obviously the mission does not go as planned, romance ensues, and yeva starts questioning the expectations of their father’s people, while also having questions about where their mother came from.

i love the conversations around the fluidity of gender, i love the discussions on biracial identity and colonization that you can very much be born into, and i loved the themes of masks and how we all wear them at times. and i just really loved seeing a queer disabled mandalorian doing cool things and falling in love, and i really hope that we get more stories to follow.

lastly, i really do believe that your culture's rice porridge does in fact have magical healing properties! (arroz caldo, i love you)

trigger + content warnings: death, dragon death, talk of colonization, blood, parental abuse (off page), talk of a blood disease, loss of parents in past, grief

I found this book to be an enjoyable read. The story kept me engaged from start to finish and had some moments that really stood out. Overall, it offered an entertaining reading experience.

3.5 rounded up.

I listened to this on audiobook and this was a quick but satisfying listening experience. The narrator did a good job and while the beginning felt a bit slow, it really picked up and I loved the ending. This queer, Asian inspired fantasy was mysterious and intriguing. I was a little worried that the world building would be insufficient since it was so short but this managed to weave the world into the plot and characters with ease. Yeva, the enigmatic dragon slayer that never removes their armor in public is a compelling main character. In the kingdom of Quanboa people are said to have a loving, reverent relationship with dragons. Yeva grows closer to the princess there and ends up face-to-fact with the secrets the city holds.

The writing style here is lovely with a regal elegance that kept me invested throughout! I really recommend if you're looking for a quick but well done dragon fantasy. Most dragon books I have read are much much longer so this was nice when you don't feel like committing too much time. I do wish their had been more character depth/growth but for all they did with the plot and the atmosphere I felt like it mostly made up for it.

Great writing and a nice introduction to an author I will for sure pick up again.
Unfortunately, I found myself constantly wishing for more with this one. I know it's 100% possible for me to get to know and care for characters in just a few pages or a few minutes of listening time because it has happened with other novellas and short stories, and this time it didn't happen.
Once again, the writing was beautiful and the narrator did an amazing job (lovely voice, too) and that kept me interested, but I was thinking of all the things I would've loved to see in this world, given how interesting a lush we learned it was. For a dragon book, I wasn't expecting to be bored for big chunks of it.