The premise is great but the book just didn’t deliver. The writing was hard to read through, the pacing was everywhere l, it just wasn’t an enjoyable read for me

Oh wow great read, but it is a cliff hanger. When the king decides to appoint his daughter Scarlett as his successor, it doesn’t go over well in primary males dragon population!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own

DISCLAIMER: This review is my most honest opinion. There might be some minimal spoilers on the topic of romance so that I can better illustrate what I think about it.

I was sooo excited about this book. The synopsis was very compelling to me that I was almost sure that I was going to like it. I read the first chapter and I remember feeling like this was one of those books that just fits with you, you know? But then it all went downhill so fast… This is all my opinion:

I will start with the romance. In this world (more on this later because I really enjoyed that), there are mates and bonds. I guessed they work as in any other fantasy book: some kind of physical connection only visible or felt by the mates, right? It does work like that, but there are some things that felt weird to me. Although it is supposed to be felt at first sight, the love interest says that their bond moved him towards her, and when they first see each other, she has many doubts. Now, these doubts go on for a big part of the book, so it left me thinking that she was being tricked somehow. Another thing is the first time they have sex. Yes, I read the warnings and I understand that most of those things happen in a fantasy book and even more in a society (the one on the book) where women are seen as objects to be used. However, their first time together it is clear that she is not so sure about it, he kind of pushes on a bit, and it feels manipulative when he kind of forces the kiss that finally leads to “sex”. It was very uncomfortable, to be honest, but at that point I was still thinking that she was being tricked, that they were not mates. Plus, when he leaves her unfinished, he points out that that is a woman's fault, that she needs more practice… In another instance, further in the book she clearly says she has only finished when he wants down on her, still he keeps saying that it takes practice. Like, it is normal to be awkward the first times with someone, but listen to her when she is telling you that that does nor work for her… Another detail about the bond and why I thought it was a trick is that her mother mentions that the bond is felt in the heart, but the MC keeps talking about feeling it in her head. So, honestly, I don't know if I noticed those details and manipulations from him because it is indeed a trick or what, because it is very confusing in connection with the rest of the plot.

Now, about the plot. LOVED THE FIRST THRID OF THE BOOK. It was soooo good, the characters felt interesting, the magic system, the world, and the society… It all sets a very captivating story. However, there is a point where nothing is explained, everything is very chaotic and confusing, and I even perceived what I think were some small plot holes? For example, there is a point where she cannot scape through a window because of the guards, but then somebody breaks that window, and they left unscathed and unbothered? I don't know if it was me, but either more things need to be revealed before or it needs to be polished. Like I said, some small details that just takes you out of the story.

The worst part for me was the MC. She is supposed to be this badass woman, unfollowing rules, making her own decisions, being this independent strong woman… But the whole book, she just follows what other people tell her. I was really looking forward to seen her breaking orders of others and do things by herself. Still, she is continuously being moved from one point to another by her mother, her friends, her brother, father, “lover” and so on. I really do hope she breaks from it in the next book.

Now, onto the good things: the world and the writing. The world is very interesting: people who shift into dragons, elemental magic, an MC with magic gifts given by the gods, a society ruled by men, women being only worth for their possibility of having children and taking care of the house. It all sets a world that makes you want to investigate, to see how it all works. Which I really do think is the strong part of the book. The second thing, the writing, I was expecting to not like it since I understand it is a first book and writing a book is not easy at all. So I usually feel that in the writings of most books, but not this one: it is easy to read but fits the ambience of the story and does not feel tiresome or repetitive.

So, I think there is something here for sure. It just needs some polishing over by the end of the book. Maybe things are explained in the following books and all those things that I did not like are there for a reason. This is why I truly believe that the book could have benefited from being a bit longer or even a standalone or a duology instead of a trilogy. I hate giving less than 3 stars to books, but for me a 2 means there is a lot of potential and that the things that do not work (for me) can be easily polished.

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy of daggers and daises. this was an interesting sci fi novel with an unexpected romantic match up.

DNF. Only got a few pages in before I knew this wasn't a book for me. Just not to my taste, but I'm sure others will find it compelling.

I received a copy of this via the Read Now option on NetGalley. I understand it's been out since October.

I honestly had a really hard time with this book. Some of the world building was left vague and unclear. The subjugation of women was sort of weirdly explained. In the beginning it was very unclear that they were dragon shifters and it wasn't until about 40% in that it was made clear. I read all the trigger warnings and had no issues with that, but just the execution of the scenes and the transitions from one act to the next was choppy. I didn't think it was a bad idea and the synopsis gives so much hope for what the story could be.

Realms dying, females subjugated, betrayal everywhere! Dragons meet 'Handmaid's Tale' will evil win? Will the first ever queen in the male dominated world endure to save the realms? (yea, there's a big cliff)

I ended up DNFing this book. I couldn't get into it, I had a hard time understanding the world building. It just wasn't for me!

For me this was unfortunately a case of “did I get a different version of this?”
I somewhat enjoyed it, but not nearly as much as a lot of other readers…
There was so much potential throughout the entire book, yet I found it fell short in regards of world building and character development. I found most of the characters to be somewhat bland, and I personlly didn’t get that good of a connection to the storyline.
The part regarding the romance plot, with mates and bonds were interesting to me, and is what mostly kept me going.

I adored this SO much!!!!

A short yet powerful fantasy story with empowered female characters? Sign me up!!!!

The world building which was what I was mostly worried about the story getting right ( I mean.....it IS difficult to create a rich detailed world within 177 pages) was thankfully wonderfully written. The perfect mix of details without info dumbing paragraphs about the world, but rather allowing details to surface through the story naturally.

Also the magic system??? We literally get to see DRAGON SHIFTERS.

The characters which was EXACTLY why I requested this book were CHEFS KISS. Utterly realistic, flawed making me feel strongly for them.

CANNOT wait for the sequel and strongly encouraging everyone to pick this up! An absolute reccomedation.

This was not the book for me, I expected a fantasy with a strong female lead who defies her country/worlds rules. But this turned out to be a bit weird and even with the warnings overtly sexual. I think there needs to be more established world building and a stronger premise/storyline to make you connect to te characters and especially the romance otherwise this doesn't work.

thank you to netgalley for an arc of this
this is another case of "did i get a different version of this?"
i did not enjoy this at all, which is so disappointing because there's so much potential. the premise is good but to me there's no actual world building. messy story telling and poorly written