A stunningly beautiful start to a new series.
Dragonfly by L.R Lam shows off the very best of queer fantasy and honestly the second I knew there was a POV from a dragon I was ready to commit.

Instead of an action packed revenge story however I got a beautifully tender queer normative heist story and I cannot wait to get my hands on the next chapter.
Though the book is paced slow the intricate characters and the stunning world building more than makes up for it, and if nothing else the wonderful writing will hold you glued to the last page.

3.5, rounded up.
God, this one gave me another crisis. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the book itself! The concept is interesting, the world building is fun and vivid and drip fed to you rather than infodumped, and the characters are - well, I was going to say delightful, which is not true, but they are very fun to read about! I genuinely cannot think of a single thing about this book that I actively disliked. And yet, I could just not get invested in it, and I don't understand *why* (and also why this has somehow happened with two ARCs in a row). I am almost certain that this is a Me problem, because the book itself is really quite good, hence the high rating. I would absolutely recommend this to anyone who's craving some fun draconic drama. I am really hoping to revisit this once it releases and my brain stops acting up so that I can enjoy it properly!

Thank you netgalley for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a great start to a new trilogy, and I thoroughly enjoyed it! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sending me an ARC to review, you made my dragon heart very happy!
The story was well paced and kept me entertained. The romance was angsty and left me wanting more! Bring it on in book 2 please!!
The world building was sometimes a bit too heavy/info dump for my taste, but I found that most of it was still brought in organically so that was nice!
A really cool feature of this book is the inclusive society, where assuming someone's gender is rude, and when introducing yourself you would do a hand signal to notify of your preferred pronouns, which also add to the aspect this society uses sign language as standard! Very refreshing! I will look forward to book 2 and will pick up this on in physical copy as soon as it is out!

Dragonfall tells the tale of Everen and Arcady, and the story is told through this dual point of view (well on the whole, there's this assassin that pops up now and again).

Everen is a Dragon (well he is when is back in his own realm, when he is in Arcady's realm he's in human form). Prophesied to be the saviour of Dragon kind. It also involves him killing off Arcady.

Arcady is a thief. The outcast relative of a disgraced royal advisor named The Plaguebearer, who is planning to steal a fortune so they can get to magic school under a false name and attempt to prove their grandsire's innocence.

Now the story has a number of tropes in it, dragons, heists and enemies to lovers, and yes there is a simmering romance between the two main protags.

Unfortunately, these were not elements that elevated my interest in the book, and I found it difficult to connect with a lot in this story. Which unfortunately means that this book wasn't for me. What initially stalled my ability to engage with this book was the beginning of the story which I felt had quite a lot of info dumping.in order to build the background world the story takes place in. In addition to this, I found the prose quite a barrier to the story, it just didn't draw me in, resulting in me having to work hard to find a connection with the tale. It's not as though I don't like different approaches to prose, and in fact I do like something that is not the normal method of story telling. However, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't..

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate what L.R.Lam is trying to do. I mean there is a fresh approach to well known tropes, it's just that I didn't connect to this book at all.

I realised quite early on that I wasn't gelling with the story, particularly the writing style and how the points of view are conveyed, and whilst it will click with people, it didn't for me. We tend to see Arcady through Everem's eyes with them constantly referring to Arcady in the second person. I found this switching between these two perspectives jarring and felt quite displaced from the narrative.

I felt as if I was constantly searching for the hook to reel me into this story, but I just kept swimming by.

However, don't listen to my gripes, just because I didn't like it, it doesn't mean that you won't.

This is a very promising start to a new fantasy trilogy!
We meet both of our main characters, Arcady and Everen, at the start of the book as we are thrust right into the action in a damp and spooky cave while there is some grave-robbing going on. I appreciated the slow world building, although there were a few slightly clunky info dumps, it wasn't too distracting and important information was revealed to the reader in an organic way for the most part. The society is very inclusive, especially in terms of gender fluidity, as presuming someone's gender is considered a faux pas, and when a person introduces themselves to someone they accompany their name with a hand signal that explains which pronouns they prefer - very cool. The use of sign language is also normalised and seems to be a part of life in this world.
Now let's talk about the dragons! Such a cool history is established that recounts how the dragon's world (realm?) and the human's world has converged over the centuries, and how the perception of each other has evolved into dragon's hating humans, but humans revering dragons as gods. Humans do have magic, which the dragon's believe was stolen from them.
The romance is achingly angsty and I definitely need more of that in Book 2! Very much looking forward to the next book and some more clarity of the macro plot.

I love reading in the POV of the dragon.

In L. R. Lam’s world, dragons hate humans, because humans betrayed the dragons. The humans then forget and begin to worship them. Our dear MC Arcady steals a seal that then opens a portal? Is that the right word? That then brings our MC Dragon Everen.

I found it extremely hard to get into this book. I really wanted to love it because its got dragons, enemies to lovers, and queer rep. But it was lacking something. Im hoping that this is just the first book where we get all the world building, info dumping, and the next book is where things kick off!

*Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.*

Dragonfall is the story of a realm where the dragons were banished long ago and their magic was stolen by the humans, but some of them are still paying the price. The last remaining male dragon, Everen, crosses the veil that separates both universes and when he enters the human realm, there’s only one thing in his mind: to restore the reign of the dragons. But as Everen meets the human Arcady, his plans start to tumble…

This book came highly recommended by some authors I admire and follow, so I decided to give it a go. I mean, a queernorm fantasy with dragons and romance? That sounded perfect to me. However, I didn’t connect with this book as much as I would have liked to.

There are some very nice elements in this book:
- The <b>plot</b> is interesting and maintains a certain tension throughout the whole book and there’s also enough subplots to keep the reader entertained and engaged.
- The <b>worldbuilding</b> is really rich and detailed.
- The <b>magic system</b>: it follows <u>Sanderson’s Laws of Magic</u> perfectly. The system can be understood by the reader, it develops around the main concept and it has limits and costs.
- The <b>queernormative world and non-binary characters</b>: I loved how this book addresses the issue of gender and self-identification.
- The <b>tension/attraction between the two main characters </b>works really well and it gets used just enough so that the reader won’t get too little or too much.

Nevertheless, there were some things that made my reading experience not as enjoyable as I would have liked:
- The <b>different points of view</b>: there’s a first person, a second person and a third person narrator! Which, yes, is quite fresh and unique, but it also made me lose focus.
- The worldbuilding is quite heavy and dense at the beginning of the book, especially because of the amount of <b>neologisms</b> we encounter all at once, which can be a little overwhelming.
- <b>The pace and prose</b>: my main issue with this book was that I couldn’t connect with the story because it was constantly interrupted by a switch in the point of view, heavy worldbuilding or an over flourished prose, which stopped the book from flowing.

Although there were some things I didn’t like as much about this novel, <u>I did like the main story and characters and I will continue reading this trilogy</u>. I believe once I’m more familiar with the world and new terms, the reading experience should be smoother.

<b>6/10
Rep: queernormative world, NB main character.</b>

Dragon shifters, enemies to lovers, twist and turns….I loved them all!

High fantasy has had a refresh in Dragonfall and I loved every page. The characters of Arcady and Everen are a fresh take on the enemies to lovers trope and their relationship is beautiful and complex. I found the different POVs and tenses exciting and well matched to the characters. Simply, I adored this book and cannot wait for the second in the series!

Thank you to NG and the publisher for an ARC of this book. It's been on my radar ever since I heard about it, and I was delighted to be able to read it so soon - and I've must have liked it a lot, considering I read it twice.

Lam has a way of writing stories that seem to hit close to home one way or another every time I read them, and this one was no exception.

Dragonfall is an ambitious story that seems to hit the sweet spot with everything it's trying to do. We're shoved into an interesting world, getting to know more about it when we need to along the story, but also not revealing too much - book one has left me with many questions I hope to get answered in the following books.

Lam did something a bit daring with the narration, dividing the different POVs into different types of narrators. The switch between characters can so understandably be jolting to some readers, especially those who do not enjoy 2nd person, but it was an intriguing blend that I personally found enjoyable. The style is calm and collected, engaging in a way that keeps you turning page after page.

The characters are well fleshed out individually, though I must admit the relationships left something to be desired. They worked well together, as duos or groups, when things had to be done, but on the down-low the chemistry (both romantic non-romantic) was not very convincing. This was the only real part about this book that was slightly disappointing, as in what I've read previously by this author had very convincing relationships, well written in a way that made me look forward to meet these new characters.

All of that being said. I'm very curious to see where this story will go, and very excited to read the next one. It can't come soon enough! In the meantime, I will get a physical copy to put on my own shelf.

Such an amazing book! I loved every moment of it. 5/5 stars easily

The world is very interesting and unique. Story is nicely paced and always interesting. Mysteries slowly reveal themselves. Characters are well developed and so likable. The book wraps up nicely, finishing this part of story and leaving you wanting more now without cliffhangers.

I can't wait for the next book!

I enjoyed this one - as with most starts to a new series, there is a lot of information explaining how the systems work. There was a lot of information to take in. I did enjoy this one, but it did take longer than usual for me to read it. I adored the characters and when stuff was happening I was so engrossed. I really hope book 2 can pick up and really wow me.

Writing style wasn't for me, and created a disconnect from the characters. Personally, I wasn't very invested in the story, which was not helped by the irregular pacing.

2.5/5

Dragonfall is a new unique voice in fantasy genre. The story represent queer enemy to lover story between a last dragon heir with a human thief. The premise seem so promising and I am so excited to dive into the story because.. well.. dragons is my number one favourite fantasy beast.

Although the worldbuild, the lore and magic system seem interesting but very difficult to get clear understanding about all of it. Early chapters are filled with so many informations, it is feel like info dumping. I am struggles to get my grabs and foots at here.
The narration suppose dramatic and beautiful but I feel lost. I cant feel any connection with any of characters or the worlds. The story being told from 3 different POV and used unusual type of POV 1 and POV 2. The plot was slow and dragging.
I really want to love this book but I start think I am not the right audience for this one.

Thank you Hodderscape from Hodder&Stoughton and Netgalley for provided my copy. My thoughts and opinions always become my own.

First of all, I would like to say thank you so much to NetGalley and Hodderscape for providing me an e-arc of this book for an honest review.

Unfortunately this book was a DNF for me so I will not be rating it on goodreads as to skew any averages or other reviews.

This books was very slow and personally hard to get into for me. Unfortunately I could not connect with of our main protagonists which is such a shame considering I was so excited that this book promised an epic enemies to lovers, queer, gender-fluid story with dragons, magic school and prophecies.

There also just seemed to be too much information being introduced at a time.

Whilst this book did not work for me, if you like any of the above selling points I would still recommend checking this out.

As soon as I heard about this book, I knew I needed it! Dragons, epic fantasy, queer representation and pining romance - it was ticking all my boxes. I had high expectations, and I must say, I was not disappointed. I absolutely adored this book!

Admittedly, I found the writing style a little challenging at first. It took me longer than usual to fully immerse myself in the story, but by around 20% in, I started to feel the magic of the writing.

The book certainly delivers on the sweeping high fantasy front, but what surprised me were the cozy elements that made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. My cheeks hurt from smiling so hard at times. It's hard to put my finger on, but I also got a Robin Hobb-esque vibe from the book, and as a huge Robin Hobb fan, that's high praise indeed.

One of the things that really stood out to me was the queernorm world and the world building It was exceptional, but I have to admit that it did take a bit of effort to get into it. The first 20% of the book is pretty intense, with a lot of world-building and narration, but trust me when I say it's worth it. Once I got lost in the immersive writing style, I couldn't put the book down.

As if the mythology of the Dragon world and the side stories weren't enough, the author throws in a heist, one of my absolute favourite things in any book. Thank you, L R Lam, for making this reader so happy.

I wasn't expecting the romance to be such a significant part of the book, but it really is, Of course, I understand that not everyone will enjoy this aspect of the book, but personally, I thought it was chefs kiss.

The characters in the book are so well written, and I mean really well written. We get to see what they're thinking and feeling, and I absolutely adored Arcady and Everen. However, the side characters are equally excellent, and I hope we get to see more of them as the series progresses. I especially appreciated the gender fluid main character and the fantastic conversations and discussions about gender in this book.

As I read on, I found myself dreading that as part of a series, the book would end on a massive cliffhanger, leaving me heartbroken and pining for book two. While there are still some unanswered questions, I thought the ending was resolved very well, which is another reason I think cozy fantasy lovers will be in to this one.

Be prepared to fall in love with this book. It's full of betrayal, revenge, and so much love, and it's epic with twists and turns that will make you want to fling things!

Today is my stop on the tour for Dragonfall by L.R.Lam ✨ Thank you so much Pride Book Tours & Hodderscape for my beautiful copy and for having me on the tour!

Now THIS is how you do a cover! Plus, it’s queer and has dragons?! You know I’m immediately invested!

There are so many things that I absolutely adored about this book but one of the things that warmed my heart the most was the queer-normative world, especially our gender-fluid main character and the discussions surrounding gender! “You’d use neutral for children until they choose, whenever that might be” was such a beautiful line and I loved how Arcady talked about their gender fluidity!

And the characters!! I loved all of them and I just have to gush about my loves Arcady & Everen because their banter? *Chefs Kiss* and their yearning *Humungous Chefs Kiss*!!
They suit each other so well and are such a good parallel to each other! Both of them are angry at the fate they have been dealt and they want change but also want to live up to their families expectations and legacies. Not to mention the fact that they are each hiding something vital from the other and they’re scared of it driving the other away. I must admit I did struggle a little at first when I saw that Everen’s chapters were in the second person because it’s not something that I’ve come across much before, but I got used to it quite quickly and it did work really well!

Also, I’m so excited to see more of Sorin & Cassia in the sequel! Their storylines were so interesting and I’m really looking forward to see how that develops especially in relation to our main couple!

I really enjoyed the worldbuilding and the magic system was so interesting! I have such a soft spot for thieves in fiction and just to sweeten everything I already loved about this book, the author also gives the readers A HEIST! I love a good heist and the training montage between Arcady and Everen to get Everen ready for the grand plan was so cute! I love it when you see a character gradually develop skills and the bonding between them was the cherry on top!

Dragonfall is an epic story full of betrayal, revenge and a love that could eclipse all of it! Be prepared for yearning, secrets and a twist that will knock your socks off! I’m so excited to see what happens next!

Really liked the premise of this book but couldn't get through it due to the writing style, wasn't for me

The premise of this book was good but it just felt very underdeveloped at every turn. Also a bit more focus on romance than I expected. The dragons were cool, but ...I needed more from the plot and characters to care about any of this.

Anything with dragons is an immediate yes from me ... this thankfully did not disappoint. Was it perfect, no, but it was so much fun and enjoyable and I couldn't ask for anything more. A 3.5 from me.

I really loved this one and I can’t wait for more! The world building was just amazing and I was hooked from the start! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me an arc in exchange for my honest review.