The Dragon of Ynys is a charming and hopeful fairytale with an inclusive cast of characters. Sir Violet has been retrieving stolen items from the local dragon’s hoard for years. But when a villager goes missing, he is forced to take action. Upon confronting the dragon, his assumptions and beliefs are challenged. A quest ensues and friendship forms between knight and dragon as they search for the missing villager.

Examining what it means to be a hero and villain, the assumptions we make, and classic adventuring, this book is sweet and meaningful. The Dragon of Ynys is written in the style of Patricia C. Wrede in Dealing with Dragons, where assumptions about dragons do not prove true. In many ways, this is a story about a knight and a dragon on a quest, with classic scenarios that readers will recognize. However, this story also expertly incorporates ace, aromantic, and trans representation. This positive representation is needed now more than ever, particularly in children’s literature.

One of my favorite things about this story is how accessible is is for young children, middle grade, and adults. The Dragon of Ynys is a valuable addition to any library, especially for those seeking inclusivity, dragons, and fairytales with representation. I recommend this ownvoices story for anyone, regardless of age. I’m reading a version of this story that was written after the author had the opportunity to revise and reflect on feedback received from readers, which is addressed by the author in the afterword. The Dragon of Ynys releases on September 15, 2020. Thank you to Minerva Cerridwen, Atthis Arts, and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

First of all thank you NetGalley and Atthis Arts for providing me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I thought the writing was absolutely amazing, the author really fit in so much connection between characters in only a few pages. The book also read very smoothly to me.

The only thing I disliked was the forced representation. I absolutely think lgbt+ characters being normalised in literature is important, but this was often just a bit overkill to me. Not the amount of lgbt+ characters bothered me but how they were treated like they were oh so soft and special babies. They can just exist and be normalised without making it a big deal in my opinion.

That being said, I did enjoy the reading experience and when I noticed the author was Belgian I needed to check it out.

3.5 stars (but rounding up to four on goodreads because of the authors note at the end T_T)

The Dragon of Ynys is a charming story which tells the story of Sir Violet, a knight who helps retrieve items that have been stolen from the village of Ynys by the local dragon, Snap until one day one of the villagers goes missing and Violet and Sanp have to team up to try and find her!

This story reads very much like a folktale/fairytale, with a strong moral message and a fun adventure however my one main flaw with the book was that it suffered from short book syndrome (yes i'm a medical student and confirm this is a recognised disease), I felt like this book had so much more potential if it had been longer and the characters had been fleshed out more - they were all so interesting but it felt quite surface level in terms of characterisation.

The LGBTQ+ rep in this book was so diverse, I really appreciated how the author took the time to reflect on feedback/criticism previously given and took that into account for this republished verison, 2 of the characters are trans and this is explored a bit, especially as one of them is young (6) and her mother is a bit unsure about how to support her and goes to her sister (who is also trans) for advice but maybe goes about it in the wrong way. The book clearly portrays this as wrong but then it shows how the mother character grows from her mistakes and becomes very supportive of her daughter and how we are allowed to make mistakes nd learn from them, which I think this book demostrates nicely. We also have a lesibian couple, as well as Sir Violet being asexual, I really appreciated the asexual rep and one line hit me really hard along the lines of "why does every stroy have to end witha happy couple riding of into the distance and not just someone curled up at home with a glass of milk, a good book and a delicious pastry" (this is not an exact quote) and I wish more books ended like this!!

Overall this was a really cozy, short read that feels like a warm hug and is great for people of all ages!!

Thank you Atthis Arts and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

2 stars to The Dragon of Ynys. This was a loving story about a knight named Sir Violet and his run in with a mischievous dragon. The two of them and the local baker’s wife set out on an adventure together, all while discussing the importance of being true to oneself in terms of identity.

As a member of the non-binary community, it was nice to see so much representation of different gender identities and sexualities just being accepted and understood. There are trans characters, and Violet himself is an aromantic, ace fella! Everyone in this story communicates well and respectfully to each other, and it definitely was sweet in that way.

Although there were parts of this novella that made me smile while reading, for the most part I was....well...bored. I saw the cover of this book and immediately was curious. I wanted a fantasy story, and I thought maybe this book would be a bit YA, but it honestly read like it was somewhere between a children’s book and a middle grade book at best. There really wasn’t much fantasy going on; yes there was a dragon, and there is a little bit of magic later on—but mostly it was just regular people trying to support each other and accept themselves. Some of the language felt a bit pandering, and I felt like I was being hit on the head with language about gender identity you’d find if you just google searched “how to talk about gender identity” or “how to explain trans”. I guess I just preferred the subtleties, like how everyone’s name was basically agender and a bearded man wearing a dress wasn’t anything to think twice about.

The story ended up basically being about like..sharing your experiences via the internet, which made me like uh what? I lost all feeling that I was in a fantasy novella and felt more like I was reading a long PSA.

A good story for young children who may need some encouragement about being true to themselves or accepting others who may seem “different” to them.

This was an adorable and heartwarming story. It's a light read that can easily be finished in a single sitting, which is what I did. The cover may imply a more involved fantasy, but this is primarily character and message driven. The worldbuilding is very slim, with minimal explanations for the way magic and the society work. If you read fantasy for the epic worldbuilding, this book isn't for you. It's more like a fairy tale in that the fantasy elements are simplistic and emerge as the story needs them.

However, if you enjoy character interactions and an optimistic worldview, it's a lovely story to read. There's no true "villain" of the story; the book takes the stance that everyone is generally good and trying to do the best they can. People make mistakes and don't always communicate properly, but that can be solved through listening and understanding each other.

The message of the story is one of acceptance and diversity. Violet is aromantic and asexual, Holly and Juniper are a lesbian couple, Holly is a trans woman, and her cousin Moss has a trans daughter. The trans and ace characters face misunderstandings from cis and allo characters, but these mistakes are discussed and addressed. Juniper immediately begins prioritizing Moss's perspective on not fully supporting her trans daughter to Holly, and later realizes her error and apologizes.

It has empathy for everyone, which was refreshing. The idea of spreading empathy through storytelling is a nice way of connecting this story to the real world. Just like in the story, hearing the stories of diverse people globally can help us connect with each other.

This book is not for everyone. For some, it may come across as too simplistic or childish. But I found it quite nice to sink into a book that was like a comforting embrace, especially when the world is so anxiety-ridden. With sweet character interactions and friendships, this is a great book for all ages in need of a little optimism.

This was a lovely fairytale. While I was reading it, I could feel just how much love and care the author put into their work. The world of 'The Dragon of Ynys' was just the right amount of vague, whimsical, and hopeful. The characters, too, fit the story, and their interactions were lovely. It's rare to see older characters even in Adult Fantasy.

One thing that attracted me to the novel was the mention of a dragon (obviously). And was he a delightful character all around. Sarcastic, powerful and he had a soft spot for humans. His and Sir Violet's interactions were my favourite. They really did seem like long-time friends, constantly bickering and one-upping each other.

I admit, the dialogue between characters could've been improved, as it sounded very contemporary. Some things happened unrealistically fast and involved an abundance of new information and characters.

All these things, however, don't lessen the book's message: that everyone should be accepted, regardless if it's 'unusual' or 'strange'. Queer stories are valuable and worth telling. Worth spreading around the world. I rarely felt so seen as I did when Sir Violet mentioned that he could spend hours with many friends, but at the end of the day, he finds it tiring and prefers being left alone.

It is a high spirited story with endearing characters, but it would be much better classified as a fairytale or “children's literature”, than “adventure”.

First of all, I loved the book! The LGBTQ+ representations were great, and the first thing that caught my attention was how the mayor and a knight were introduced as women like it was not a big deal, which shouldn’t be. But sometimes I felt like the book got a little too explanatory about the concept of trans or ace, for example, which again, I feel like would be very important for younger readers, but for an adventure book I would have loved to see the message of respect a bit more subtle, or else it can verge on a pedagogical book.

There is not much of a complicated or tense plot, it focuses more on the human (or dragon) relationships. At a certain point, one of the characters goes on a journey to find a queen spider, to ask her to extend her web around the world (feel old yet, www?) to spread a message of love and respect.

The dragon is definitely the gem-character. He loves hoarding gold and stealing shiny things from the village, but if needed, considerately apologizes: “ I hope I didn’t cause any inconvenience”. He’s a perfect combination of sassy and respectful, and when we learn his backstory it literally brought me to tears.

There’s an innocent aura about this book, in which dragons or spiders are not menacing, but potential friends, and as the writer said fans have told her, it does feel like a “warm hug”. That innocence and major lack of an adventurous plot did not prevent me however from enjoying the narrative and feeling moved by it. It was high time we had a male protagonist who can be sensitive and not interested in romantic relationships without having anyone question his bravery or masculinity.

If I could, I would use the spiders’ web to spread this book and turn it into an oral-narrative tradition so that future generations could grow up listening to it like any other fairytales, but this time feeling safe and free to be who they are.

I got an ARC of this book.

I am not a fantasy person, but I am a queer person (are my puns getting funnier yet?). So I thought I would give this a chance. My book nerd partner found it and told me there was trans and aroace, which of course sold it. So I was ready. I couldn’t sleep last night, so I read the entire book while grumpy that I was not going to have a good day today.

The book itself is short. The cover doesn’t really match the feel of the book. Yes, there is a dragon, but this cover is more fantasy than the book really delivers on. There are dragons and some talking spiders, that is pretty much the extent of the fantasy. Except for the constant need to travel and over explain everything in dialogue. This is one of the reasons I don’t like fantasy.

This book wasn’t the greatest thing out there. I can see why it can appeal, but it just felt like Cerridwen tried too hard to make something inclusive and that be a part of the plot. This is an issue I have with a lot of queer plots. The trans character should just be allowed to exist without their plot being they are trans. The aroace character should be allowed to exist without having to explain their sexuality all the time. I am really annoyed at the plot being the aroace character was hit on. Great. The character was already pretty annoying, but then his identity being reduced to not wanting to be hit on just felt shallow and disappointing. Add in the tone kept me from actually getting to know any character. There was such a fairy tale feel, that I didn’t get to know any characters. I just read the book a few hours ago and I couldn’t tell you the names of the main characters.

I read some reviews of the first edition and read the afterword by the author. I am really glad there was an effort to fix things and figure out where things went wrong. The trans plots read much more about the trans character being supported and there was a lot less transphobia from what I can tell from reviews. That being said, I am still let down by this book. It has improved from awful to cute I guess. It was just a miss for me.

I know others who will really enjoy it, but it wasn’t for me.

A light and quick read, The Dragon of Ynys is a low-stakes fantasy adventure about acceptance and growth. Enjoyable, cute, funny, and fast paced, I was able to read this in a single sitting. I loved the afterward and the author's acknowledgement of growth between the two publications, and how sensitivity readers were utilized to make sure that all areas of representation were accurate. Thank you to Netgalley and Atthis Arts for the copy of this arc in exchange for an honest review!

3.5 stars (rounded up) for this absolutely adorable novella that I had the pleasure of reading before the official release!

This is truly a book for all ages, although I feel that it would have the biggest effect on younger children and teenagers still struggling to find acceptance in our world for deviating from the norm society has set for us. The amount of LGBTQ+ representation in this story is astonishing - trans, lesbian, aromantic and asexual just within our three human main characters, and others touched upon. You can really tell how much thought and love went into this project, which made it so delightful to read. I've seen another reviewer describe it as the literary equivalent of a hug, and that describes it really well if you ask me.

We follow the story of Sir Violet, a knight/not really a knight, who makes it his mission to protect the quaint village of Ynys. The most trouble he ever encounters is the long-fingered dragon who lives in a nearby cave, but even he always returns the things he's taken if asked nicely. So when the local baker, Juniper, goes missing, his first thought is to go looking there. However, the dragon would never take a human - and so him, Sir Violet and the baker's wife Holly start their adventure to go find Juniper and bring a little more love and acceptance into this world.

I think the concept behind this book was so intriguing and lovely, but I can't help but wish for a little more magic in the world. It already feels fantastical with the mythological creatures, so I wish the whole thing was taken up a notch to create an even more magical atmosphere. The themes of acceptance were expressed a little too overtly at times for my personal taste, but that's very much a personal complaint. Furthermore, I can see why it would be deemed necessary to make the story more accessible to younger readers, which is exactly the group I'd recommend this book to the most.

The importance of having stories where you see yourself represented in a positive light cannot be stressed enough. I think this is an absolutely beautiful story for all those who are not treated with the kindness they deserve in our society and need to know that that is not okay - everyone deserves to be their authentic self and receive nothing but love for that.

First thing first, let’s take a moment to admire this beautiful cover by @ullathynell. This cover is the reason why I downloaded this book on @Netgalley. Second reason is because this book talks about LGTBIA+ and I haven’t read a lot of books on that subject. It was really informative. This book is quite short (less than a hundred pages for the ebook) but let’s keep in mind that it is a tale and tales are short. Also, that is why, I think, this book only explains terms such as transgender, asexual, aromantic without going deeper on these notions. It was not a problem at all from my point of view because it is important to have books like that, that explains the terms without being heavy and difficult to read. Minerva herself is a quenderqueer aromantic asexual writer, making this book a #ownvoice. I saw that it was the second version of this book as the first one could be seen as hurtful but since I didn’t read it, I cannot compare. Nonetheless, I can tell you that this book is great and the characters are all loveable, especially the dragon, and learning from their mistakes. It just makes you feel at ease. The only critique I have is that I think this tale is missing some magic. Otherwise, I fully recommend this book, especially for children but not only.
4/5

3.5 sweet stars!

The Dragon of Ynys is a tale that will bring joy to readers of all ages. I couldn’t help but feel at ease during this book; the characters were outwardly peaceful, their journey just the right amount of whimsical.

~★~ What is this book about? ~★~

In the small village of Ynys, people are quick to notice when their possessions start disappearing. Knight Violet is assigned to investigate and retrieve the lost items.
Soon enough, he discovers that a dragon is the village thief, and it becomes common for the two to encounter each other whenever Violet returns to collect the stolen goods.
When a person goes missing this time, Violet is almost sure he’ll find her in the dragons lair. The dragon assures Violet he would never steal a person, and thus the two embark on a journey to find the lost girl.

~★~

This book was an unexpected joy! I grew attached to Sir Violet and his sweet demeanor in no time, as well as the supporting cast and Snap the friendly dragon. It was great to follow an asexual, aromantic protagonist that is written from an author who identifies as the same.

This is a story largely surrounding acceptance and welcoming others into their true self, which was much needed on my part. It’s been a while since I’ve read something this simplistic and meaningful, so I’m happy to have gotten around to The Dragon of Ynys!

My one small complaint is that I wished there were more to the magic of this world. There wasn’t enough time to properly address the creatures present, much less the physical magic. I wish there was something a little more inventive included. All in all, I had a fun time with this one!

<i>“Why?” the spider asked. “What message do you think is so important that everyone should hear it?”</i>
<i>“The message that being different from what is considered the norm does not mean you will lead an unhappy life.”</i>

Have you been craving a fiercely queer fairytale involving a dragon, suitable for children and adults alike? Well, this is that fairytale.

A note: this story was first published in 2018, but the version that I've read is the new re-edit and republication for 2020, featuring new sensitivity edits (which is worth bearing in mind when looking at reviews from before this year).

Although the title mentions both a dragon and the word "Ynys", this book is neither Welsh nor set in Wales. In the small fairytale village of Ynys, treasured items begin to go missing, and the village knight Violet is tasked with their retrieval. For ten years, and many polite encounters with the culprit, a dragon named Snap, all is well, until one day the baker goes missing. Snap the dragon is under suspicion, and Violet sets off on a quest to rescue her.

This story could be so important for so many children to read, LBGT or otherwise. I know that if I'd read it as a child, it would have offered me a perspective that I otherwise wouldn't encounter until adulthood.

The protagonist is, like the author, ace and aro. There are trans characters. There are lesbian characters. There are non-binary characters. There are matter-of-fact discussions about pronouns done in a gently educational way without removing the reader from the story. There are gender-nonconforming characters.

This book will no doubt enrage certain people who may call it "preachy" or say that it has an "agenda" (sigh), but fairytales are supposed to have a moral, right? Although perhaps a little clunky in places (the introduction of a key trans character stood out a little in this regard), the messages and the story itself are really beautiful.

This is a fairly quick read – it only took me a couple of hours finish, and could be read to children by parents or read solo by middle-grade children.

I started reading this book last night and I've already finished it, and I have so much to say about it!!!! First of all: I LOVED IT! This has definitely been one of my favorite reads of the year. Absolutely loved it.

Let me begin by giving you a little history on the book itself. The Dragon of Ynys was first published in May, 2018 by Less Than Three Press (LT3). There were two problems in the first version of the book: firstly it contained some elements which were hurtful to the trans readers and secondly there were sentences in the first edition of the book which the author could've challenged but didn't then.

Because of the above mentioned reasons and the fact that the own voice author - who identifies as asexual and somewhere on the spectrum of aromantic - paid attention to the feedback, the author decided to make the necessary corrections and bring out a second version of the book. I appreciate an author who is willing to recognize the flaws in her story and even takes the time to correct those flaws. So kudos to her for that, it's honestly quite brave of her.

Coming to the book and the story - The Dragon Of Ynys is a wonderful tale! A short and fulfilling conquest of an aro/ace knight, a trans-woman/F baker family and a dragon! It's a perfect fit of a queer fantasy troupe (which I definitely would love to be a part of) - a dragon, giant spiders, a knight, a small town and bakers!

It all starts out with the knight - Sir Violet - discovering the compulsive thief in town - Snap, the dragon. The conversations between Violet and Snap are funny, witty and sarcastic, everything you'd expect when interacting with a dragon. The sarcastic humour gets even better when Sir Violet goes straight to the dragon when the town's best baker - Juniper - goes missing.

It's the event that marks the start of the main storyline: the reason for Juniper's sudden disappearance and the conquest to find her by her wife - Holly, accompanied by Sir Violet and the dragon. The story gets even more interesting once they do find Juniper and all four embark on their subsequent mission of meeting the spiders to help them with their final conquest.

I would say that this book was probably written for the age group of 6-12 year olds and would even require guidance from a parent at some points to understand some of the issues addressed here. But in my opinion, like any well-written children's book, it would make for a great read for all age groups. Like the author said, "After all, representation is not just about seeing yourself in a story. It also, more generally, opens our minds and explains the perspectives of other people around us."
I loved that the characters in the book are flawed and are accepting of themselves too. They acknowledge the problems and work on improving them, sending out a clear message that there's always a way around most of them. The character Violet identifies as aromantic and asexual which I felt was a bit underplayed but appreciate the character's acceptance of self.

What I loved most about the book was how tight the plotline was, from start to finish. Despite how short the book is, it's completely whole, the ending didn't feel incomplete and I would certainly read this book again! I would rate this book 5 out of 5 cinnamon roll shaped bookmarks and would highly recommend you all to give it a read!

The second version of the publication comes out on 15 September, 2020 so remember to keep an eye out for this. I hope I get to read more books like this because inclusion starting from children's fiction is an exceedingly important step. It is high time we start acknowledging own voice authors who have written stories where every individual whether an adult or a kid feels represented.

I'd like to thank NetGalley and Atthis Arts for providing me with an eARC of the book to review. I'd also like to congratulate the author Minerva Cerridwen on her efforts to bring to us a corrected second edition of the book.

I love reading fairytales and in particular have always enjoyed friendships between dragons and people. So the first half of this book provided that for me and I was loving this novella. However, I found the writing and the plot line in the second weren't as enjoyable. The themes of acceptance were great, but they were reinforced a little too overtly for my taste (although maybe that is necessary for some people).

All in all, this was a cute novella that I enjoyed.

Overall 5⭐

What can I say? This was a fun, really fast read. A modern day fairytale for LGBTQ+ peoples to see themselvea in.

It has a simple message of acceptance, that being different isn't wrong and there are people out there like you. That connections need to be made to help people.

It spends it's roughly 34k word count doing a great job. Understandable by kids and a must read for adults who, especially, have trans kids and want to do right by them.

A story with great, absolutely great inclusion

The only unfortunate element is again, no character descriptions. Yes, the LBGTQ+ characters are amazing, but there are Black and Brown members and without description, how will any know if they fit in the narrative of the story?

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher.

The Dragon of Ynys is a really fun fairytale about a knight, a dragon, and finding where one belongs in the world. It is about acceptance and kindness and all the other wonderful things that books can teach us about. It is a quick read and is perfect for young and old alike. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys YA fantasy and fairytales.

This is a story of love and acceptance not only for others but yourself as well. This book tells that you are not alone and that your story needs to be heard. That being different is ok it doesn’t mean something is wrong with you. Parts of this book made me giggle. I just love a book with dragons and the fact that this one is a polite thief makes it all the better

This was a very cute story about acceptance, leaving behind prejudice, and welcoming others in their own true self.
I really appreciated the intent of the story and, reading the acknowledgments of the author, I applaud all the work that went into rewriting it to mend some mistakes in the first publication. I love to see an author that can recognize the flaws in their own work, listen to reviews, and try to make it better. That's very brave.
The messages of the story felt a little too preachy and in-your-face. I prefer to read a story and learn the lessons in a more subtle way. Maybe if you look at it from a kid's story then it might make more sense, but I still believe not everything needs to be spelled out to be understood.
Nevertheless, this kind of stories need to be told more and more and I like to see that they do exist and start to get more credit. Own voices books are incredibly important and I hope one day soon every little kid or adult will be able to see themselves represented in more and more books. Inclusion in fiction, starting from children's fiction, is an incredibly important step to create a more accepting and loving future generation.
I'd like to thank the published and NetGalley for providing me an e-copy to review.

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.