Thank you to Neon Yang, RBmedia & NetGalley for the audioARC in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 2.5 stars.
Genre(s): fantasy romance novella.

Overall impression: the blurb and gorgeous book cover were really intriguing. But unfortunately, this novella wasn't for me - largely because the writing style was too much 'telling' and not enough 'showing'. The world-building, character development, romance and plot all occurred very rapidly to the point it was impossible to submerse yourself within the story. And the plot was pretty much entirely summed up in the blurb, making the whole read feel quite unsatisfying. I enjoyed the narrator for the audiobook and she vocalised the characters really well, so if you're interested in picking up the book I'd recommend that format.

Tropes:
➵ Sapphic
➵ Forbidden romance
➵ Hidden identity
➵ Masked warrior
➵ Everyone has secrets
➵ Dragons & dragon slayers
➵ Fast paced

⤷ Plot:
I read the blurb and knew exactly what was going to happen in the story. There were no surprises or twists, making the read feel really unsatisfying. I think the blurb needs to be re-written because it spoils the entire book in my opinion.

⤷ Characters:
The characters were very two-dimensional and I felt very disengaged from them. The romance was fine but it happened so abruptly that it was jarring.

⤷ World-building:
The world-building could have been fleshed out more. I know it's a novella but you still have time to create a world with lore and unique locations. I felt like the author threw dragons and dragon hunters in and that was the extent of it. I couldn't really picture any of the locations in much detail which was a shame, though most of the time was spent within the castle and caves underneath it.

⤷ Writing:
The writing style was the biggest sticking point for me. There was too much 'telling' and not enough 'showing'. It felt like we were reading a synopsis of a book instead of reading the entire thing. Because of this, I never really felt submersed in the story and it took away a lot of the enjoyment.

⤷ Everything else:
I listened to the audiobook version by RBmedia. I was able to easily follow along with the story and the narrator spoke clearly and voiced the characters well. I probably would have been less engaged in the story or not finished it at all if I'd picked up the print copy.

The artist for the book cover did an amazing job. It represents the characters really well and shows their personalities even before you've picked up the book.

I absolutely loved the character voices the narrator did, but the actual narrative text often fell flat in terms of engaging or interesting narration. The overall balance was okay, but for less dialogue-heavy parts I did feel myself become uninterested and easily distracted. This would probably not have been as much of an issue if I had read it in text. The story was suprisingly rich for such a short book, the characters well fleshed out and their relationships deep and meaningful. I especially like the themes of honour and duty an d the complications thereoff. I will be sure to recommend this book to the right customers.

3.5 Stars

This one was a nice and intriguing book. It was a quick read which blended dragons, politics, and a sapphic romance with a strong female protagonist. The worldbuilding is definitely the standout feature, offering a rich setting inspired by Asian culture. This definitely added more depth to the overall story. Yeva, the dragon slayer, was a good character, and her journey to reconcile duty and personal identity added an emotional layer to the novella.

While the romantic development is engaging, it somewhat overshadows the potential for more dragon-slaying action, and the ending feels a bit rushed. Overall, it's a solid read with a cozy, fairy tale vibe, but it leaves you wanting more exploration of its world and characters.

I received an audio copy from NetGalley and the publisher, and the narrator truly brought the narrative to life, making the experience even more immersive.

Thank you NetGalley for the audio version!

Brighter Than Scale, Swifter Than Flame is a lighthearted yet emotionally resonant novella that gracefully balances beauty and depth. In under 200 pages, it manages to explore powerful themes—disability, racism, grief, and chronic illness—while weaving in a tender sapphic romance and lush, Asian-inspired fantasy.

While the plot follows a familiar narrative arc, its predictability doesn’t diminish the joy of reading it. The story is heartfelt and engaging, drawing you into a world that feels fully realized despite the novella's brevity. The prose is lyrical and evocative, offering moments of softness amid heavier themes.

If there’s one drawback, it’s that it ends too soon. I found myself wishing for more time with the characters and the world they inhabit. Still, this speaks more to the novella's strength than its shortcomings—its impact lingers long after the final page.

Thank you to NetGalley, RB Media, Recorded Books, Tordotcom, Neon Yang, and Nancy Wu (audio narrator) for the opportunity to read and listen to the audiobook of Brighter than Scale, Swifter than Flame in exchange for an honest review.

Yeva, a nonbinary person with a sole mission, is born to slay dragons. They never take their armor off in public, keeping their identity hidden while maintaining their dragon-slaying code. 

While the rest of the world fears dragons and frequently seeks the aid of dragon slayers, one mysterious and isolated country, Quanbao, actually worships dragons! Yeva is tasked to meet with and woo the Queen to see what secrets may be unveiled about this strange worship of dragons. It is rumored that they even harbor a dragon! Yeva must find out if this rumor is true and hold true to their dragon-slaying upbringing.

This novel is a short fun flight. It encompasses intriguing characters and a code of which one lives by, demonstrating how important codes and beliefs are. It also explores some LGBTQ romance in an interesting Asian mythology inspired setting. As one who just had students to an archetype/genre subversion project, I enjoy the way the irony of Yeva's situation offers potential for subverting the fantasy hero archetype.

Underneath the plot is the key aspects of culture, and what it means to see and understand a culture different than one's own. I thoroughly enjoyed the pacing and execution of this novel, and I find it a unique addition to the literary world that fantasy readers are sure to enjoy.

I enjoyed the premise of this story - a dragon slayer sent on a mission, only to discover more than she bargained for.

I think this story, as a novella, was the perfect length. I enjoyed the writing and the relationship dynamics and I'm always a fan of dragons!

I just wish there was more dragon action - I wanted to experience the battles that made Yeva an epic dragon slayer. I also felt things were rather predictable so this felt a bit more YA to me.

3 stars to me = I enjoyed it, but I wasn't in love and need to reread. I think this would be perfect for those wanting to dip their toes into fantasy!

I listened to the audiobook and thought the narrator did a great job. I listen to a lot of audiobooks, and the narrator can make or break them for me. Well done!

Thank you, NetGalley, for the eARC!

Brighter than Scale, Swifter than Flame is a gentle and introspective fantasy about duty, identity, and questioning your place in society. It follows Yeva, a renowned dragon-slayer, sent to a neighboring kingdom where dragons are not feared but revered. She is not sent there as a warrior however, but as a diplomate. She slowly starts to rethinking her life and all the choices that led her here today.

The tone of the story is calm and steady, and the writing flows beautifully. I especially enjoyed the atmosphere: the Chinese-inspired setting, the descriptions of food, clothing, and city life gave the book a strong and immersive flavor. The romantic thread is sweet, though I would have loved more depth to the love interest and the secondary characters.

While the end of the book was a little predictable, the story is more about internal growth than action, and fans of character-driven fantasy will likely enjoy the ride. The audiobook narration is steady and calming, which matched the tone of the story well.

A good pick for readers looking for a soft standalone fantasy, with introspective themes and a focus on healing and connection.

Thank you NetGalley and recorded books for the copy of Brighter than scale, swifter than flame by Neon Yang.

For a novella, I thought this was very interesting and had just enough information about the characters and the world. I pictured the fmc as a female knight with mandolorian vibes while hunting dragons. The romance in this and spice was just enough and well done too I thought.

The narrator did a very good job and was easy to listen to and get immersed in the story. Overall, the story was quick and intriguing with dragon elements.

This story was interesting, and the narrator was new to me. The narrator added an extra interest to the story. Yeva, the FMC, is sent on a mission and ends up doing some self discover. Dragons and Knights and opposite kingdoms with a new ending to the tradition dragons and Knights stories.

Thank you to Neon Yang, NetGalley, Macmillan, and Recorded Books for the advanced listening copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely adored this book. The world building was so well done that I felt immersed in the story almost straight from the beginning. The characters felt genuine and like people I would like to know. Nancy Wu, the audiobook narrator, did an excellent job of captivating my attention and clearly delineating the characters. The queer representation was authentic and embedded in the story without requiring fantastical homophobia to contend with (my preferred way of experiencing queerness in fantasy). The plot twist wasn't surprising but it was still enjoyable to read.

My only complaint is that I wish it were 300 pages longer. I longed to know more about Yeva's story before the time she was sent to Quanbao. I wanted to know who, if anyone, had comforted Yeva before she found comfort in [redacted].

Although I enjoyed the limited third narration, I also wished I could have learned more about what Lady Sookhee went through in her life up to the point of their encounter. I will absolutely be reading more from Yang and look forward to the day they write something so long I can sink my teeth into it.

Very good as a fantasy novella but I wish it was longer! Excellent world building and believable magic system. Main character is dynamic despite the shortness of the story. Fast paced.
Audiobook narration was seamless and non-distracting from the story. More of a storyteller vibe than a character actor one.

I would be stoked to see more stories come out of this world!

I was very intrigued by the blurb for this one, and ultimately came away feeling lukewarm. Yeva is a masked knight who is a dragon slayer (despite only ever hearing about her slaying one dragon when she was young?). She’s sent to a neighboring kingdom and is selling any evidence of dragons.

The prose was lovely and this was told like a legend. I found it descriptive and evocative. However, I think the plot and the characters fell flat. Both the main ladies lacked depth, and definitely suffered from the novella length. I may also be slow but I’m not sure I understood the climax of the book - it just seemed to easily resolve. The romance did not feel compelling, the two women just kind of ended up together despite having no chemistry. If this had been novel-length I imagine some of my criticisms would have evaporated with more page time for characters and plot:relationship development.

The audiobook narrator was wonderful, I think she gave an excellent performance.

Thank you to Neon Yang, RBmedia, and NetGalley for the ARC!

For a short novella, I thought this had a slow start. There was a huge time just after chapter two that felt disjointed. Maybe the information would have been delivered more effectively through a prologue or even short flashbacks. I wish we would have been out into the story more immediately.

Cool idea, I just wasn’t able to get invested.

Thanks to Net Galley for this audiobook for review.

Brighter than Scales, Swifter than Flames is a queer novella set in an East Asian–inspired world, following dragon hunter Yeva as she embarks on a diplomatic mission to the neighboring nation of Quanbao with a secret mission of finding and slaying a rouge dragon that is rumored to be hidden by the people there. At the court of the irl King Sookhee, Yeva finds herself navigating a foreign court that, culturally, starts to feel more like home than the empire she serves. Despite being a knight of the Sun Empire, Yeva was raised closer to Quanbao until a young dragon attacked her family and she awakened to a mysterious power that caused her to be sent away to the empire’s capital and be trained as a dragon slayer.

The novella seems it was written for me. I love dragons, I love knights, I love lesbians and I love literature that explores themes of identity and belonging. Yeva feels torn between both cultures, never quite belonging anywhere and preferring to hide behind her armor. If you combine all of that and add an absolutely gorgeous cover on top, I will buy it without a second thought.
Despite the premise the book is more of a character exploration and less about actual knighthood and dragon hunting, but it worked for me. Yeva’s struggle with identity and growing anxiety is written out thoughfully and with beautiful prose.

Unfortunately the mystery part of the book fell flat for me. The central plot twist is incredibly obvious from the start and it can be frustrating to watch Yeva fail to connect the dots, even when she clearly senses something is amiss.. I think there could have been more about her putting the truth together but not wanting to believe it for the sake of the peace , sense of belonging and love she has made in her new country.

As a very short book, sitting around 180 pages, the character development for characters outside of Yeva had to suffer a little. I wish we got to see more of the side characters to raise the stakes for the climax, but nonetheless had an amazing time with the novella.

This book shifts from a storytelling narrator to the perspective of Yeva in third-person. What’s nice is we get a broad overview of her backstory and we get to also know more about how she became this faceless knight who is loyal to the emperor. However, I think this style didn’t quite work for me. The overarching storyline was awesome, but I felt a lack of compassion for the characters and I think it’s interesting where certain details were focused. I feel like I missed out on a lot of character building when we jumped 12 years and the time we spent with Yeva didn’t allow me to really love her as a character. Perhaps, it’s more about how Yeva reconnects with her childhood home and its culture, rather than the romance that is being marketed, but I think that we’re still missing something that really pushes the narrative in a specific direction.

I would recommend this novella for those who enjoy quick fantasy tales that give an overarching legend. It feels like a tale of a hero and I do think the tale is worth a read. Yang created quite an illustrative world in a short amount of time which leaves me wanting more.

Narrator Review: Nancy Wu is a wonderful narrator. Her voice has a tone of wisdom and magic that works really well for the legend telling aura that this writing style is in. Her narration really elevated the fable-like feeling of this story.

(4.25 stars)

I picked this up for the cover and it did not disappoint. If you're a fan of lush worlds, evocative and vivid prose this novella is for you.
This was my first book by Neon Yang and I fell in love with their writing. They manage to transport the reader into the world with beautiful prose that never feels too bloated and never takes away from a plot that runs seamlessly from beginning to end.
As a character focused reader, I really enjoyed the journey our main character takes leaving her home, being honed into a weapon for the Empire, and battling with her feelings when loyalties clash when she's sent on a mission to a foreign land. The journey Yeva takes shedding her armor (literally and metaphorically) with the help of Lady Sookhee was deeply emotional.

Brighter than Scale, Swifter than Flame is a beautiful sapphic knight x monarch novella with rich lore, dragons and a very sweet and touching romance and the audiobook was equally as enjoyable. The narrator does a great job at bringing this world to life and making it an immersive listen.

Experiencing this on audiobook was the way to go! I really enjoyed this short tale about a dragon slayer and her dragon queen. My main complaint is that it isn't longer - I would've loved diving into these characters more. However, Yang does a great job of fleshing out Yeva's character and creating a compelling plot for such a short tale.

Big thanks to NetGalley for the audiobook! I devoured Brighter than Scale, Swifter than Flame in one sitting—it’s that gripping. Neon Yang delivers an interesting and emotional story with a unique style that really stands out.

It did take me about 30–40 pages to get used to the writing, but once I settled in, I was hooked. The world is strange in the best way, the characters are compelling, and the emotional beats hit hard. I did figure out the big twist before the characters did, but that just made the buildup even more intense.

If you’re into lyrical prose, queer speculative fiction, and stories that aren’t afraid to take risks, definitely give this one a shot. It’s short, sharp, and leaves a lasting impression.

Book Rating:⭐️4.25/5

This was such a solid sapphic fantasy novella! I really enjoyed the pacing; it was a quick read but still managed to pack in so much. The Asian-inspired fantasy setting completely pulled me in, and the chemistry between Yeva and Sookhee was so well written. I loved the intrigue of Yeva needing to uncover more about the mysterious Sookhee, it added a great layer to the story.

My only complaint? I wish it had been longer! I wanted more time in this captivating world. The cultural connections, the rediscovery of identity, and the family ties Yeva was grappling with were all beautifully done and so compelling. Neon Yang nailed the representation in this one, and I really appreciated the thoughtful storytelling.

Highly recommend if you’re looking for an Asian-inspired, fairy tale-like fantasy with sapphic romance and rich cultural themes!

Neon Yang’s writing is just STUNNING. The definition of lush without being pretentious.

The world they’ve built in Brighter than Scale, Swifter than Flame was easy to picture, and I loved the elements of mythology and magic.

The drawback for me was the characters. We follow Yeva’s story from childhood to becoming this feared masked warrior (so cool) when she joins Sookhee’s court, but we never get close to her, or the girl King. The feelings and actions of the characters feel explained rather than earned, so the payoff was a bit of a letdown.

This could be due to the format (it being a novella) but the story could have benefitted from more of everything: tension, stakes, emotions, complexity.

I’d still read something else from this author, given their imagination and style!