What a journey 😮‍💨 Incredible world building and a story that you sink your teeth into. In a world where a lot of fantasy books are seeming to blend together, this one stands out.
The characters were written with care and had great development. The ending was a twist I did not see coming and it had me wishing for the second book immediately. I feel happy. I feel sad. I feel like it shouldn’t be over.

Review posted to Goodreads, Barnes and Noble, and Books-a-Million.

"epic trilogy fantasy" Three words that make me jump right into a book. I've been looking for my next fantasy trilogy fix since finishing "War of Lost Hearts." I am now currently heartbroken that the rest of the trilogy hasn't yet been released. This book was phenomenal. There are few to no forced gender constructs in this story and it's a breath of fresh air. The dragon's morals and aspirations left me shaking and the bond between Everen and Arcady was phenomenal. I want to dive deeper into this world and not surface for air. Can't wait until book 2 comes out.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read one of my most anticipated reads of the year!

This is an incredibly queer fantasy unlike anything I have read before. The plot moves at breakneck pace but it was the characters that kept me hooked. Arcady is everything I love in a protagonist—witty, wonderfully chaotic, and a true survivor. But I loved all the side characters that drove the story home as well. Their development, which allows them to grow into full-realized, complex characters, perfectly aligns with the book’s plot and the conclusion already has me begging for the next installment.

For fans of the wonderful queerness and otherworldly dragons of the ‘A Chorus of Dragons’ series, Dragonfall is a book (and series) that you will not want to miss.

Review copy provided by the publisher.

When people were talking about interstitial fantasy some years back, I used to joke that I liked both interstitial and stitial fantasy--both the stuff that blurs the boundaries and the stuff that's dead center of its genre. This is in the latter category. It would be hard to come up with more of a fantasy novel fantasy novel than this one.

It has: a human thief whose community blames them for their family's past, who wants to learn more (MORE MORE) magic and triumph over their expectations. It has: a dragon fallen from the world of dragons--or pushed--to save his people and bring them back into the world of humans. Mostly wearing a humanoid form. It has con jobs and plotting and corrupt people in power; it has moments of transformation both literal and metaphorical.

In short, if you've been saying to yourself, "but I would really like a classic fantasy novel but maybe with a little more openness to contemporary ideas of gender," here you go, this is the thing, it is for you. I raced through it, having fun the whole way.

I read the first 22% as an eARC and it’s everything I wanted it to be. I have a finished copy now so I will be rereading the first part I’ve read and then finishing it, but LR Lam has knocked it out of the park. They are an amazing writer and Dragonfall solidifies that they are my favourite author.

I received a digital arc in exchange for an honest review.
I was so excited about the concept of this book: dragons, queer characters, mystery, magic. It did not disappoint!
I haven’t read very many dragon magic books (they’re kind of hard to find tbh), but I really felt like the way L. R. Lam created the magic system and the worlds of Loc and Vere Celene was very unique. I loved that there was no real “explanation” for why the queer characters were queer; they just were, it is just apart of them. I wouldn’t say this qualifies as a romance (or even having a romance subplot) there’s just a little sprinkle of attraction and desire.
The anticipation of whether or not their big heist was going to be pulled off, if Arcady and Everen could figure out the forbidden magic that held them together, and if either of their big secrets were going to be discovered captivated me from the very beginning. Not to mention a plot twist I didn’t see coming AND a cliffhanger!
L. R. Lam wrote an amazing story. Not only can I not wait to get my hands on a physical copy, but also for whenever book 2 comes out!

This book is definitely one of my reading highlights this year.

I adored the characters, they were all very well written. Each POV served a purpose, so it never felt like too much or unnecessary.
Everen had a lot of character development in this, often aided by the plot, and became a person I, as a reader, could root for.
My poor Arcady has been through so much already and yet somehow still manages to hope. I just know they’re gonna be put through the wringer even more in the next book and want to take them away from the author to protect them. I really enjoyed seeing the relationship between them and Everen progress.
Sorin… my main feelings about her are pity for being in an abusive relationship and being manipulated so thoroughly. I hate it and want her to come into her own, to stand up for herself and be free.
I cannot say much about Cassia, at this point pretty much all of her POV chapters were to drive the story forward, not to get to know her better, but I feel like I might end up liking her.
The major side characters were mostly three-dimensional as well and very well written. I usually either loved or hated them.
The plot was great too, I suspected a certain person to be the “big bad” from the beginning. It all was very captivating, exciting and heartbreaking. There is so much manipulation going on behind the scenes, I feel like we cannot trust anyone.
The world building was strong and believable and super interesting, especially the mythology and religions of the different countries and worlds. The country this book is set in seems pretty queernormative (I am HERE for it!), I especially like that people introduce themselves with their pronouns.
Also, we get many disabled characters, including Arcady, whose hearing is impaired.

I also really enjoyed this book purely on a language based level. I loved that people use a honorific in the third person (They/Them) similar to many other languages, my own first language (German) included.
I really like that nearly everyone seems to speak the local sign language and casually uses it while simultaneously speaking out loud or simply to introduce one’s pronouns.
The author worked with a linguist on parts of this book and it really shows, this is great!

I cannot wait to read book two, I need it immediately. :D

This is a brilliantly written novel. The characters have depth and the world vibrancy. It drew me in from the beginning and carried me through the entire book. I loved it. The main country has a wonderful acceptance of gender diversity and one of our main characters is non-binary. I very much enjoy when my characters are realistic like that. I cannot wait for the next book in this series. A bit of background is dragons are thought of as gods in this world, where they originated. But in reality they were driven into another world/dimension by humans who betrayed their magical bond with these personable creatures. Now they are in a dying world and need to get back to their home world or they will go extinct. Due to magic and fates one dragon is ripped from this other world and returned to a much changed world. A bond is formed by between the dragon and his "summoner" and they must navigate this bond and each other for each to survive and achieve their goals. Since the summoner is a thief trying to further their magic to find out the truth behind their ancestor's "betrayal" this leads to all sorts of adventure. I recommend this book as I could not put it down. I received an ARC in exchange for a fair review.

“For if there was one thing I’d learned in my life, it was that knowledge was power. Knowledge was escape. Books were thresholds, and you could cross them and leave yourself behind, or use what you found inside to transform into someone else”
Dragons? Check
Diverse characters? Check
Enemies to something more? Check
A magical heist? Check!
Amazing worldbuilding? Check
Magic system that makes sense? Check
Multiple POVs? Check
Sign Language integrated into a whole society’s communication structure? Check

Honestly this book drew me in with the stunning cover and then kept me enthralled from page one! The opening words in the prologue, to the final words at the end of the book left me wanting more. The world building was exceptional, setting the stage for what I believe will be truly epic second and third books, the magic system had rules in place to keep things balanced & more importantly make sense, almost more than any other magic system I’ve ever read about this one explained the costs of using magic & how you need to replenish your energy if you don’t wish to perish. It almost felt like this book was written by two different people because the POVs in this are told from such distinctively different perspectives & writing styles, but I promise it makes sense once you get to the end of the book, it did occasionally throw me out for a few seconds though during the switches. I liked that they had their own chapters & they didn’t go back & forth within the same chapters. Everen & Arcady are characters I desperately want to meet & be friends with, both for different aspects of their personalities & both for their intelligence. I loved the Queer rep with Arcady, & how beautifully they explained why they are the way they are. I loved Everens instant acceptance of how people portrayed & chose to represent themselves. There was no fanfare, it just happens to be a world where gender & sexuality are fluid & no one cares, wouldn’t it be wonderful if the real world was the same? All in all a brilliant book & I cannot wait for the next book to see where it all goes! Thank you so much to the author and Netgalley for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review, this truly was a joy to read.

Are you looking for a queer enemies to lovers, hidden identities fantasy romance featuring dragons, heists, and political machinations? This is the book for you! We are set up with 3 main POVs (though there are a couple other POV chapters sprinkled here and there): Arcady, a thief trying to scrounge up money to go to a school to hone his magical abilities, Everen, a dragon who accidentally sets in motion a prophecy that could rip the barrier between the dragon realm and the human one, and Sorin, a spy and assassin for a mysterious community leader. What I love about this book is that the reader is plopped into a world and given snippets of the society and cultural norms but it steers away from a ton of info dumping. Sure there are moments, but it is so well integrated that I never felt like I was being bombarded or that the story was bogged down by it. I also really liked the discussions and normalization of gender and gender expression and of sex workers in this book. One of the main characters, Arcady, is referred to mainly as just Arcady. I don’t remember Arcady having any pronouns? Except very technically in Everen’s POV where it is in second person written as if Everen is speaking to Arcady and saying “you” and I guess when other people are speaking to Arcady and saying “you” or “yours.” I also loved the integration of signing and that it felt a majority of people had basic sign language knowledge. I was totally hooked from the start and it helps that this is a relatively fast-moving and shorter book (less than 400 pages!). I think this will appeal to a lot of people as a slow burn enemies to lovers fantasy romance, but will also appeal to people who like a fantasy world with interesting politics and religion. This book could be a good transition from YA to Adult fantasy. I really enjoyed this one and can’t wait for book 2!

This was an overall excellent read. Hitting all the right checkboxes for an epic fantasy without feeling too grim, Dragonfall has a rich history, stellar cast, and exciting plot. The book is definitely a set-up for the remainder of the trilogy, but I liked learning about the dragons and the humans and their tumultuous histories, and how the book's main characters navigate that legacy. A huge thank you to Astra Publishing for sending me an eArc of this novel in exchange for my thoughts!