The Dragon of Ynys

Sir Violet is a knight, or, well, at least mostly a knight. He has never met the king and thus never formally been knighted, but as he handles all the knightly duties in his town, the point is fairly negligible. The town itself is pretty peaceful, and most of Sir Violet’s duties involve trekking out to the dragon’s cave and asking him to return whatever item the dragon has stolen from an unlucky townsperson this time. The dragon, Snap, is polite and easy going, though an incurable kleptomaniac, so Sir Violets duties are not generally terribly onerous. But when the baker goes missing, Sir Violet, the baker’s wife, and the dragon must set off on a quest.

I love dragons. I love dragon art. I love dragon books. I love dragons. I also love fairytale.So you might say I am a bit predisposed to like stories like this one. A fun fairy tale will always be my favorite form of entertainment.

But that’s not all this novella has to offer. I am ace. I hoard stories with ace representation the way Snap hoards gold. There isn’t much in the way of ace representation in any media, though the field is slowly growing. I will say that this is the only story I have ever encountered with an aro-ace main character—so the field is definitely not in danger of crowding. The world is made better by stories like this one. It’s nice to know the web is being built, to know that these stories are there and that they have a place.

Plus it is straight up funny. Its got a good selection of one liners, like when the dragon goes to clear up snow from an avalanche and says“Now if you would please both get out of the way. I am about to create a river and have been told that drowning is not a recommendable death.“

So, if you’re looking for a fun, inclusive, and lighthearted fairytale, look no further. It’s short enough to read in a single sitting, but filled with enough heart to make your entire day.

I’m thankful to NetGalley and the publisher for granting my request for a review copy of this book.