A gorgeous, reflective folk tale-style work. Yang’s entry into the lady knight canon is every bit as heartful, majestic, and magical as I expected. I saw the twist coming, but loved the journey the characters went on to find themselves, one another, and home.

Narration was spot-on and engaging. No notes.

A well narrated novella which draws you in from the beginning. I loved the the themes of family, love, duty and friendship. I did kind of guess the mystery behind the story but it did not spoil the experience of listening and enjoying the tale unfolding. I liked the characters, particularly Yeva who we go this journey with. I liked how the past and present connected through Yeva's experience. Well worth a listen and a read. I would definitely look for more books by this author.

As a child Yeva faces off against a dragon and lives, a feat few before her have accomplished.
Upon slaying the dragon it’s realized that she inherited her family’s gift. Yeva is sent far away from all that she knows, so she can learn to hone her power among others like her.

After years of training Yeva has become a captain guild knight, who has stopped allowing herself to feel, to love, and to yearn. She is a legendary warrior and dragon hunter who hides her identity hidden under a mask.

Yeva is sent back to her homeland to investigate the presence of dragons. While there she realizes just how much has changed in the years that she’s been gone. From the once carefree little girl strolling the streets alongside her family, to an outsider in thick armor and trained to kill.
Yeva must face the difficult decision between the burden of honor and duty she has for The Sun Empire, and the desire she feels in her heart that goes against all she’s trained for.


The narrator was perfectly cast for this story! Her voice captured the dreamlike fantasy feel of this story and made the audiobook easy to listen to that I finished it in a day.

Thanks to NetGalley and RBmedia for the Audiobook ARC of this story!

Brighter than Scale, Swifter than Flame is a very fairy-tale-like novella - a queer take on the knight falling in love with the princess that explores what it means to hide part of yourself.

I don't always vibe with novellas, but the form made sense for this story. The framing device that we're being told the tale of a mysterious, almost mythic figure from history felt like exactly the right way to position a story of this length and depth.

I read it in an afternoon and really enjoyed it. The setting and characters are well developed. Nancy Wu's narration is also excellent - it feels very well suited to the storytelling framing.

My only real complaint is how obvious the reveal was. I as the reader guessed the secret very early on, which is fine, but it's frustrating that Yeva is given every possible clue and somehow fails to reach the logical conclusion until the very end.

A much more minor quibble is that I'm pretty sure from context that the word "enervated" was used incorrectly, twice ("she always returned in high spirits, enervated by her trips to the neighbouring country" and "enervated by a sense of discovery"). It's an unusual enough word that it jumped out at me.

This novella I really enjoyed. Loved the writing and characters. Packed just enough into this shorter fantasy story. And the audio is great, amazing narrator!

This was a lovely, dragon-filled sapphic novella about a knight, Yeva, struggling to reconcile with her past. I felt some characters could’ve been fleshed out more, to give some depth to the story but at nearly 200 pages, I say the author does a good job weaving an immersive tale.

Thank you RB Media and Netgalley for the ARC!

This was such a beautiful sapphic novella with dragons, sapphic longing, and a girl trying to reconnect with her past. I loved the inner workings of the main character, how complex her feelings are to the way she was raised and what she saw in front of her. Despite the shortness of the story, the author is able to portray a depth to all of the characters and the world. I 100% plan on buying a physical copy and doing a reread soon.

3.5 stars
I really enjoy Yang’s writing style. Overall I enjoyed the plot of the story but felt like the characters and world deserved more depth. I frequently have the issue with novellas that they need more to them for me to be invested in the characters and this was no different. I think I would have needed to see more of the main characters journey to make friends and become a great knight for me to feel the internal conflict between her country and her lover more. What little we saw of her in her country, she was distanced from others through her armour and role.
The reveal at the end was very obvious and at least the main character realized they had already kind of known what was coming.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ALC! I absolutely adored this fantasy novella richly imagined and beautifully told. The world-building completely swept me away, and the sapphic representation made it all the more meaningful. If you’re craving a quick, immersive fantasy escape, this one’s for you. I only wish it were longer. I wasn’t ready to leave this world behind.

4.5 / 5 stars
This was great! I loved the world-building, I loved the characters, I loved the narration, I loved the lesbians and the dragon(s). With fantasy novellas I'm always a bit scared that their small length will be a detriment to the world-building, making it feel either rushed or half-baked, but thankfully this story did not fall into the same trap. This was a story that worked well at novella-length and felt complete at the end. The audiobook narration was also well done and helped give each character their own distinct voice, while not overdoing it, enabling a nice and cohesive listening experience. The 'big twist' was pretty foreseeable, but luckily that did not detract from the experience.

Yang tells a fascinating story in less than 200 pages about a lady knight that gives Mandalorian vibes and the enigmatic girl-king she becomes entangled with. As an avid novella reader, I find that my favorites are the ones that are character-driven, and can tell a complete story with only one or two well-written characters. This story is carried by Yeva, our always-masked protagonist, and I mean that in the best way. By the time I reached the end I felt as if I knew Yeva like a childhood friend, whom I love and support and want to see happy. I was invited along on her journey, and even though in some ways we parted before seeing the end, I was still satisfied with the time we spent together.

3.25

This was a nice short tale that I wouldn't have minded getting to explore a bit more and have it be longer than it actually is. A good read that gave me queer representation and dragons.

I am enjoying this. I could relate to the lead feeling like she doesn't belong both in the world she is currently in and the one she "should" know. Trying to find her place when it seems like she is rejected on all sides for nit being exactly what she "should" be. I wish this had been longer

I love a good queer dragon book with a strong female protagonist, and this book delivered on those things.

Great, unique world building. Would have enjoyed more character development but overall really enjoyed this audiobook

Thank you to NetGalley and Recorded Books for letting me listen to an ALC of Brighters than Scale, Swifter than Flame by Neon Yang and narrated by Nancy Wu!

Queer lady-knight dragon slayer? I’m so here for it! This novella packs a lot of story in a small punch. Yeva has been trained to be a dragon hunter and quickly rises through the guild’s ranks to become one of the best (and most mysterious) dragon slayers in their nation. When she’s sent on an assignment to a neighboring nation as an emissary, she doesn’t expect to be there long and she certainly doesn’t expect part of her duties to involve winning over the girl-king, Sookhee. The twist at the end, though slightly predictable, is extremely satisfying and I really loved the newest novella from Neon Yang! Their writing is always interesting and engaging for me, as a reader and pairs so well with Nancy Wu's narration (who has narrated several of my favorite audiobooks to date).

My only qualm is that the pacing felt a little off. There was a lot of speeding up and slowing down for moments throughout the entire story, and I almost wish this had been a full-length novel to properly flesh out the characters and their motivations just a little bit more. This was still a 5-star read for me!

Looking at this cover it’s obvious why I picked this up. Seeing it’s also from an author who’s other book has been on my TBR for a while had me even more excited, and this novella did not disappoint.

Set in the backdrop of a world of dragons, Brighter than Scale, Swifter than Wind is a story primarily of love and duty, but set in a backdrop of a world built with so much mystery and intrigue, the main plot took a backseat during my read-through. We follow Yeva, a dragon slayer, sent as an emissary to a neighboring kingdom where dragons are not feared but instead revered. Clad in her suit of armour with no inch of her skin visible, in a place that so resembles her home from her past, and having to deal with a Queen that breaks all the walls Yeva had built up over the years, this is a test the infamous dragon slayer was not prepared for.

The plot is fairly straighforward and, while the ending is one we can all see coming, the real strength of the story lies in how the author has seemlessly tossed us in this world where even the small glimpse we see in this novella has me craving for so much more. The main characters are nuanced and likable, the story well paced, and the writing very easy to read.

A very pleasant novella for anyone to pick up to get a taste of fantasy, and an author who’s works I eagerly plan on diving into soon. I really hope we get more books set in this world, if there aren’t already some. Definitely recommended.

This was one of the most beautiful stories I have read all year! I highly recommend this novella to all fantasy lovers out there.

Yeva, a dragon hunter, has been training most of her life to become the most renowned in and outside her nation. When sent away be her commander to a neighboring nation, she uncovers secrets she couldn’t imagine to be true. When her own emotions and experiences are in conflict, how will she choose to proceed?

As a reader, we get to see Yeva struggle to come to terms with her changing opinions after having new experiences in a new land far away from home. In a turn of events, she may be closer to home than she realizes, and has many challenging choices to make in determining her future.

I think this novella is a great example of why it is important to learn about one’s family and where they come from, in addition to making choices for yourself and the future, not the past.

A queer novella of star crossed lovers in a world of dragon slaying. Would you choose duty or question the world you’ve been told to fight for? Would you fight to protect dragons or fight to end their killing? I will always have a soft spot for books that allow the MC to question what is engrained into them.

Yeva wears her armor for protection but this isn’t just for physical barriers. She’s also hiding herself from others. Protecting herself from being hurt again. She is a protector, a guardian, a person of devotion to her cause. She hunts dragons to defend those around her. But her various armors protects her from the truth and just might risk those she loves. Sookhee, as girl king, must look out for her people. She wears no physical armor but this doesn’t mean she also won’t be afraid of hurt. Even though she is open for all to see, can she be trusted?

I wish there was more of this story to take in. It felt short and I wanted to learn more about different elements. However, this is a novella and it did as intended in a novella. Provided a story with political intrigue, compelling MC development, and a love story. Nancy Wu did a great job as a narrator! Thank you NetGalley and RBMedia for the ARC audiobook.

I had the Advance Listener Copy of Brighter Than Scale, Swifter Than Flame by Neon Yang narrated by Nancy Wu and I enjoyed listening to this book. The narration by Wu is excellent and it really propelled me through this story.

The pacing in this is a bit uneven. There is the dragon hunting adventurous parts which are quite fast-paced and the friendship and queer romance between the girl king and the dragon hunter. To be fair, this book focused more on the relationship than on actual dragon hunting so it is a bit slower paced overall. I still really enjoyed it and Nancy Wu's narration really kept the story moving for me. Overall well done. I have a few quibbles with the story, but really enjoyed my time spent in this world and would definitely read more from this author. Thank you to Net Galley and RB Media for my ALC.

I love Neon Yang and this book just solidified that. For such a short book so much happens. Yang doesn't waste a single second as they create a dazzling world with an amazing mc. This book does more in its 150 pages than most 300+ page books do. I honestly have nothing else to say other than Yang is a genius and this book deserves the most hype.