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.

I didn’t fall as in love with this book as I expected and honestly considered not finishing the book several times before I hit the 20% mark. However, I’m glad I pushed through because I ended up enjoying this book a lot.

My main problem at the beginning was that Everen’s point of view especially felt almost clinical and cut off from all feelings, it made it really hard for me to get through the first 20% of the book because I was bored, to be honest. There was also the fact that I didn’t care at all for Cassia and Sorin’s point of views, so I was often frustrated to have to read their part just when I was getting invested in Arcady and Everen’s stories.

After the point where the two protagonists met, I really enjoyed reading about the way their relationship grew, the way they learned about each other and their dilemmas.

The world building was deep and well-done, the different ways history was remembered and written according to who was writing it was interesting. I especially liked the fact that this was a queer-normative and inclusive world and the author included clever and simple ways to show how easy this could be.

And of course, the final revelations made me want to read the second book because I really want to see how everything is going to play out.

In the city of Vatra, where the dragons are worshipped as gods, a desperate thief, Arcady, steals an artefact from the grave of the hated Plaguebringer. When he used it for a spell, it pierces through the Veil to reach the realm of the dragons. The dragons, not gods but exiles from Arcady’s world, constantly look for a way back. The spell connects with Everen, the last male dragon, prophesied to save his kind. He is transported through the Veil and takes a human disguise form to get closer to Arcady, as only completing their bond could help his kin return to Vatra...

Dragonfall is an exciting enemies-to-lovers position with lots of action, intrigues, thieves and heists. And dragons, obviously. I found world-building fascinating. There are actually two worlds, divided by the Veil and two different versions of the shared history. The dragons are always at the centre. Interestingly, the LGBTQIA and gender fluid representation is strong in this book, and the use of sign language is common.

Thank you to Netgalley and Hodder Stoughton for proving me with an ARC of this book, which is out 02/05/23.

I was eagerly awaiting this one and I am still surprised that it hasn’t been a suspected subscription book box pick as it has all the hallmarks of one. Epic fantasy part 1 of a trilogy, queer representation, romance and dragons! Sign me up!

I had VERY high expectations.

The story is a multi-POV, from several viewpoints. You have Arcady, the human thief who is the last of the family line that ruined the world and wants to clear their family name, first step pulling off one last heist to make enough money to attend University. Then you have Everen, the last male shape-shifting dragon who is pulled through into Arcady’s world, where he may save it or destroy it. Then there are a few lesser points of view from Sorin, the assassin acolyte and Cassia, the dragon heir to the throne presumptive and Everen’s sister. Very exciting stuff.

In reality, this was a very mixed bag initially. There was a lot of info dumping at the beginning, which made it hard to get into. The world building was interesting, at least for the human side. I loved the idea of a post-dystopian world where humans had a small amount of stolen dragon magic and where the priests pretty much ruled the roost. I loved the inclusion of sign language as part of their everyday language and this had a plausible explanation.

I found the idea of a gender-flexible society fascinating, but I did feel that other novels I have read recently have explored gender flexibility in a way that was a little less confusing. This is obviously a current topic and one that is a little controversial to discuss - and a lot of fantasy and sci-fi authors are exploring these themes in their literature at the moment. ‘They’ pronouns were used to good effect in this book, but pairing it with a lack of description of the characters in general meant I had no mental picture of what our protagonists looked like at all until almost halfway through the book, which meant I found it hard to connect with them and was left trying to fill in a lot of blanks. There are descriptors you can use without gendering a character - like for example it would have been good to know earlier on Arcady’s build and height for example, whether their hair was long or short etc. I learnt halfway through that they were adrogynous looking, but this would have been better described earlier on in the book.

There were other gaps as well - Everin uses the word ‘wingspan’ to denote the size of something in the book, but we do not know what size wings are on these dragons so how is this a good indicator of size???

The dragon world-building was also a bit sparse and I would have loved to have found out more. Hopefully this is something the author is planning to explore more in books 2 and 3.

I did enjoy the romance in this book and it was deliciously slow and very well-written and showed tenderness, rather than spice - which was refreshing. I did however guess the ending a mile off.

3 stars - I read an ARC of this book and while some things might be changed before future release, this is the first ARC I’ve read that felt like I was still reading a draft and considering I’m reviewing a week before release, I’m not sure that’s a good sign. I did enjoy it and I will read the rest of the books in the series, but I will be surprised if this book ends up being in my top 10 for this year.