Overall had a good time and enjoyed the story. The fresh take on languages and dragons was fun and refreshing. I did not enjoy how simplistic and back & white the morals were.

Although this book clearly falls into the young adult category, it offers more than the usual tried-and-true formulas. The setting—a reimagined early 20th-century London with familiar yet distinctive elements—creates a fantastic atmosphere. Specific locations like Chumana's library and Beltchley Park bring a wonderful dark academia vibe to the story. And while the plot features a trial of sorts, the the context is delightfully original.
The backdrop of an alternative world with recognisable features was especially compelling. The human-dragon relationship, while not a new concept, felt revitalised under Williamson’s skillful hand.

As a lover of well-crafted characters, I was particularly impressed by the villains in this story. It’s rare to encounter antagonists so well-written that they evoke genuine, visceral dislike, but this book delivered on that front.

However, not all characters received the same level of attention. Many side characters felt underdeveloped or one-dimensional, likely due to the limitations of the first-person narration from Vivien’s perspective. A problematic narrator often introduces challenges in fleshing out the surrounding cast, and that was evident here. As a result, I struggled to connect with some of these characters, making some parts of the story centered around them less impactful.

This ties into my primary issue with the book: Vivien herself. While her skewed moral compass and lack of emotional maturity could be intentional flaws designed to support her character arc, I found them too significant to foster much sympathy. While I don’t mind protagonists who take time to grow on the reader, Vivien’s flaws were too pronounced for me to find her relatable or likable.

That said, I suspect this was a deliberate choice on the author’s part to illustrate Vivien’s growth, and some readers may appreciate her complexity more than I did.

Despite these reservations, I enjoyed this book. While I found the pacing a bit slow during the first two-thirds, the originality, atmosphere, and standout villains (and Marquis!) made up for it. I’ll likely revisit this story when the next installment is released.

Thank you so much to the author and Netgalley for the opportunity of reading an advance copy of this great book.
3.5 stars

4/5 Stars!

London 1923, in an alternate historical fantasy setting, where dragons exist and their fragile peace with the humans of Brittania is threatend.

The story had everything needed to have me hooked from the beginning - dragons, family bonds, at times academia vibes and some romance along the way. It was easy to follow, intriguing, exciting and while there were some parts that could have used a bit more explanation it didn‘t bother me too much.

What bothered me a bit on the other hand was our FMC. Don‘t get me wrong, I know this book is YA and she‘s young, but boy did I want to shake her at times. At the same time her thought process was understandable considering the society she lives in, but still, come on Viv..
Also I feel a bit ambivalent about the timeline, story wise the „short“ amount of time (a month I think?) makes sense, character- and relationship wise it feels like they spent a lot more time with each other than they really did.

All in all I really enjoyed the book and look forward to reading the sequel!

Thank you Netgalley and HarperCollins Children‘s for the e-arc in exchange for an honest opinion.

"Every act of translation requires sacrifice"

This is a story for language lovers and dragon fans and it did not miss.
In this alternate history, there's dragons at Bletchley Park. Bletchley Park being where the code breaking which helped bring an end WWII took place.
But this time the languages needed decoded have to do with the dragons and secrets that could be uncovered.

It's 1923 and our story starts in London. Vivian Featherswallow has been willing to do whatever it takes to stay in school and become the best Draconic polyglot there is. She's going to raise her family status to 1st class from 2nd class so they never have to fear being demoted to 3rd class.
But something is rotten in the state of Denmark, and by that I mean Vivian is about to find out just how much of a protective bubble she's been living in and how much worse life can get when you're living in an oppressive society.

This story takes everything I love from fantasy and pairs it nicely with 1920s war-time London. In the UK there's a peace treaty (at least on paper) between the UK and dragons. The British Prime Minister and the Queen of Dragons have a certain understanding, but there's also other groups to factor in, both dragon and human, and everyone has secrets.

In this story we have a lot of things I enjoy. There's dark academia vibes, characters trying to figure out what the truth is and who to trust, smart characters figuring out puzzles and being clever, and dragons!
The characters were written true to their times and I believe were really well formed and while I wanted to throw things at them at some times, they were being true to themselves in a really good way.

I am so excited to see where this story goes next.

Thanks so much to the publisher for an eARC, I cannot wait for my finished copy to arrive.

4.5
I was really excited for this release and very happy to be provided the earc of it. I love languages, they are one of my favorite areas to study, so a book dealing with both the stufy of them and dragons? Right in my alley.

It took me a bit to warm up to the narrative style and Vivian, the main character. But once I did, i enjoyed every second of the ride. I loved seeing the world unravel bit by bit, how both the reader and the characters got to discover and understand what was going on at the moment.

I loved the political parts of this story, especially about dealing with dragons.

Really recommend picking up A language of Dragons if you are interested when it comes out on January 2nd.

Language and dragons, two things I cannot resist and so explain my reasons for picking Williamson’s novel up. However, it is clear that this is a YA book and thus I am probably not the target audience, something which I will take into account in my review.

Written within the overlap between fantasy and dark academia, A Language of Dragons follows Viv, our teenage protagonist who desperately wants to study dragon languages at university. However, all her carefully laid plans fall apart when her parents are arrested for treason and she is sent to work as a codebreaker at Bletchley park.

Williamson’s characterisation of Viv is detailed and works to create an effective coming-of-age narrative as she learns that not all her preconceptions are true and the society in which she lives is not as just as she has been led to believe. Although the pace of her realisations could sometimes be frustrating, it was a good reminder that turning against the status quo is not as easy as many YA protagonists makes it out to be, particularly when it involves going against deeply held beliefs. The sense of realism Williamson therefore injects into their protagonist’s reactions is refreshing.

Overall, the pacing was varied with the initial denser and more lexically focused parts becoming superseded by action for the last quarter of the book. Personally, I prefer the former and enjoyed the look at linguistics and the ethics of translation. However, I think the mixed pacing will do well in a YA novel.

With A Language of Dragons Williamson has created both a fascinating fantasy world in which humans and dragons exist bound by uneasy truces, and a thought-provoking linguistic narrative to go along with it.

A Language of Dragons is not without its issues, but there’s plenty here to maintain your interest and the ending definitely didn’t offer the easy way out. Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the chance to read and review this before its publication in January 2025.
The setting is an alternate 1920s where humans and dragons have no longer got reason to work together. Society is operated on a strict class system, and anyone who fails to pass their exam or prove their worth when asked to can be demoted. The Prime Minister is desperate to find a way to use the knowledge of dragons to her advantage.
Our main character, Vi, is a skilled linguist whose specialism is the study of dragon tongues. Her mother escaped the bloodshed caused when Bulgarian dragons overthrew their government, and she is determined that Vi will take whatever opportunities are available to her in order to live a better, more secure, life.
When her parents are arrested for colluding with rebels, Vi takes it upon herself to free a dragon housed in the Great Library. For her actions she is arrested…but then given the opportunity to work for the Prime Minister at Bletchley Park in order to secure the release of those close to her.
Vi is in a difficult position. Much of the book focuses on her working out what she’s been tasked with and why it has the potential to cause so much harm. There’s a lot of detail given to this that doesn’t really seem significant, until it is.
The last part of the book felt rather rushed, but it also included the parts of the story that pulled things together and which helped you to realise the significance of key moments. Vi’s not given an easy ending, but I wonder if this could be returned to in the future as it feels like there’s definitely more to come.

This book had some really good plot ideas and I loved the dragons!! However I found the FMC too entitled and as a POC reader I could not access her emotions or driving force.

I went into this with little knowledge other than 'Bletchley Park with dragons' which was enough to sell me on the premise. I love an alternate history and this worldbuilding of a history where dragons and humans co-exist, and how that translates and alters history for such a dramatic and well-known time, was really nicely done. The romance was a little insta-love for me, but the morally grey character arcs were nicely complex. And the dragons were dreamy.

3 stars
This was almost going to be 4 stars based on characters, vibes and the storyline but the plot went somewhere I didn't enjoy and was slower and boring towards the end despite picking up in the last quarter so could have been better. I enjoyed the characters a lot but it's not wno7gh the carry the premise along which was interesting.

I enjoyed this book, but even though I really wanted to I didn’t love it. I loved some aspects of it just not all of A Language of Dragons. I think the main reason for this was that I found some of the characters personalities to be very childish (even for a YA book). In the sense that ‘the vilain’ details all their evil plans to the reluctant hero in a speech and the hero is throughout the book the best at everything she tries as well as being the only one who can figure a lot of what is happening/is going to happen making this less realistic.

That being said I enjoyed this book and am excited to read more in this world. I think that the concept of a world where dragons exist and humans can learn their language is fun and innovative and I can’t wait to see what happens next :)

Summary: In 1923 London, Vivien’s pursuit of safety and ambition collapses after a civil war erupts, forcing her into a high-stakes mission as a dragon-language codebreaker at Bletchley Park.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book, all thoughts are my own.

One of my favourite reads of the year. The world building was epic and the characters are so well developed. I wild say this books start slow so if you want instance fast paced, this may be a little slow for you but it’s totally worth the way. Thank you for letting me review this book.

1.5 ⭐️
I wanted so badly to love this :( and I'm so mad at this being falsely marketed!! it raised my expectations for no reason!
It was written so well, the writing flowed and I loved the political parts and how it can relate to real-life but by the time I reached the end, it just didn't do it for me
The premise of this book sounded so promising- dark academia, dragon code-breaking and political intrigue
And for the first 150 pages I loved it, thinking it was a 5 or 4 star rating for me and then it started going downhill
This is also nothing like 'Fourth Wing' and trust me, that's a good thing- the only thing it had in common with it was the dragons
And the only 'Hunger Games' aspect of this is in the last 150 pages when they are suddenly pitted against each other and one of them tries to kill the fmc and I don't even know what happens after that
Also the only similarities it has with 'Babel' is the language and translating parts, as well as the setting and political parts. Personally I think its an insult to Babel by comparing this to it because Babel was amazing and its far more in depth than this...

I’m gonna start off by saying that this was so very falsely marketed as slow burn enemies-to-lovers when it is anything BUT that
It was something more like 'potential-lovers-who-keep-squabbling-over-the-morals-of-politics-and-take-so-long-to-make-out-because-the-guy-is-a-priest-in-training-who-can’t-date-but-still-flirts-with-the-girl-for-no-reason'
Seriously? A priest in training is the slow burn excuse? And then he suddenly realises that he doesn’t want to be a priest anymore because he’s in love with her?
he was trying to become a priest but still flirts with her for no reason? hello?! literally no reason?!
I don't know about anyone else but that's not slowburn and they never hated each other, so its not enemies-to-lovers either
The romance was really lacking and only developed halfway through, as if the author just remembered that it existed, and it was also kinda insta-lovey
Omg smhhhh

Another of my biggest problems was Vivien, when I slowly started to realise that she's so incredibly shallow, selfish and naive
Like yes we all make mistakes and its important to forgive yourself and own up to it but there's no need to be so angsty over it and bring it up every single page for 100 pages
It seems like Vivien was supposed to be morally gray or an antihero but that concept failed badly
For someone who is some academic scholar, she sure comes across as dense
Omg give me patience with this girl- she literally spent half the book debating with her cousin, crush and ex-bestie that their corrupt political system is not corrupt at all and that she doesn’t care about anyone and anything as long as she saves her parents and little sister
like yes, what about your 5 year old sister that you are gonna save- is she going to end up in a corrupt civil war society? like what happens after you save them?
and she suddenly switches in the last 50 pages of the book when she realises she can forgive herself for all the horrible things she's done?

the ending left room for a sequel but if there is, I'm definitely going to skip.

*Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

content/trigger warnings: physical abuse/assault (fmc gets slapped, her arm broken, choked and bruised by this soldier guy) , child abuse (giving them scars on their arms whenever they get a grade thats not 'outstanding'), blood, child death, death

My first five star of 2025 releases. This is an incredible debut book, and one which I could not put down. I honestly can not praise this more.

In short, and as per the blurb, we live alongside Dragons, but the peace agreement isn’t all it seems to be, and the Prime Minister wants to “get ahead”…..we move to Bletchley Park (that infamous place..) to break the dragon codes.

I’ve made this sound very simple, but it’s not - it’s a tale of treachery, love, family bonds, and danger. Oh..:and dragons.

Absolutely enthralling, and obsessive.

My thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK, Children's for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

[ARC provided by NetGalley and A Language of Dragons. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review Harper Fire.]

Rating: 3/5

Before getting into this review, I think it’s important to acknowledge that a few external factors may have resulted in me enjoying this a little less than I hoped I would. Mainly, I’d recently finished another dark academia book which has become a new favorite for me and, unfortunately, I think anything with similar themes was going to feel lackluster in comparison.

A Language of Dragons is by no means an unenjoyable book, and although I struggled with it at times, I’m also conscious that my reading tastes are growing further away from the majority of YA reads as the years go by. That being said, this is still a fun and interesting book that I’m sure many will enjoy, and I’d absolutely recommend it to anyone looking for a dragon story with some depth.

Set in an alternate 1923 London where dragons and humans coexist, A Language of Dragons introduces us to Vivian Featherswallow, a young scholar who will stop at nothing to secure a safe future for herself and her family. With the threat of class demotion looming over her head, Vivian’s goal is an internship studying dragon languages, but when family secrets come to light and she inadvertently starts a civil war, she will have to take a mysterious job as a codebreaker or else her family will be killed for their crimes.

I’ve seen a lot of people liken this to Babel and Fourth Wing and I’d agree with that, but please keep in mind that it’s the academia and dragon side of Fourth Wing that you’ll find here, and not the prominent romance. Of course, there is still some romance in this book, but it’s a little more subtle and quite slow burn. Others have been calling it ‘enemies-to-lovers’ but I don’t think that’s true - at a push, it’s a slight dislike to love. The Babel similarities, however, are pretty strong. Language and the complexities of translation are strong themes, along with societal inequality, the impact of war on a society, and the difficulties with loyalty in times of conflict.

My main issue with this book was the main character, Vivian, who I often found to be insufferable. Frustratingly, I could understand why she acted in certain ways and that her belief system was being challenged daily, but going through such a large portion of the book with her in this headspace was unenjoyable for me. This, paired with a romance that felt weak and other characters that lacked depth, made large portions of the book drag.

Despite not loving the overall story, I found that the climax gripped me to the point where I am intrigued about what will happen in the next book. Admittedly, I’m not sure if I’ll get around to reading it, but if at any point you’re a little unsure of this story then I’d say the ending makes up for it. The final chapters set up some very intriguing developments which I’m sure will make for a great book two.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t the book for me, but don’t let my review put you off. If you’re new to dark academia then I think this would be a great starting point, and if you like historical fiction with some fantasy elements then you’ll probably enjoy this. I’ll still be recommending this to others and I’ve no doubt that A Language of Dragons will receive a warm reception from readers.

3.5* I came to this book straight after reading ‘Iron Flame’. The Fourth Wing comparisons do it no favours., just left me feeling disappointed. Yes, there are dragons but there the similarities end. The enemies-to-lovers angle is overplayed too.
This story is more about politics, language and codes. It is slow with little spurts of action. There is quite a lot of information about translating languages, which i did find interesting but may not have a lot of appeal for the intended audience. I liked all the bits about the class system and its unfairness too. The romance is slow and minimal. i can see promise in the story if it continues as a.series but it hasn’t found it’s stride just yet.

Just wow, this was so brilliantly complex with different languages and political controversy. I’m happily rating 4.75 rounded to 5 stars.

I devoured this book, it was interesting and heartbreaking. Our FMC isn’t really that likeable at first, but you can appreciate her difficult position and the fact she is basically a teenager. She is basically blackmailed and used throughout this story for political gain and to maintain the fragile peace with the dragons. War is looming from every angle and our FMC is at the heart of things.

This book had so much to love about it, I enjoyed the fact it was devoted to the plot and had a smidge of romance plus some strong friend connections throughout. Literally so excited to see what happens next.

I was intrigued by this book just from the title alone. Once I opened the book, I couldn't put it down! Dragons, mixed with a dark academic setting political intrigue, and linguistics is the perfect blend for a fast-paced read. I loved the morally grey FMC and the vivid world-building. I want to explore this world more, and I hope the author might revisit it again in the future. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an E-ARC of this book.

In a dystopian world, Viv desperately wants to succeed as a linguist specialising in dragon languages. When her parents are arrested she is forced to make some difficult decisions, which make her reflect on the supposedly just society she has worked so hard to join. Viv is an interesting character, she is pretty focussed on her future and fairly blinkered to what is going on around her, even when her best friend vanishes. She's not ready to face anything until her parents arrest and comes across as rather self-centred and naïve. Nether-the-less you do enjoy her painfully slow awakening, her regret and her desire to atone.

I did not continue with this despite getting 45% in, at which point you'd think I'd finish it considering how far I'd come. I'm seeing the imagine to man digging for diamonds and turning away before the end but not here. I couldn't deal with Vivian I'm sorry but she isn't likeable and I totally understand that not every protagonist has to be likeable and the who complicated female charactes etc. But she's insufferable, she's arrogant and selfish and an idiot for someone supposedly so educated. I'm not rooting for her, I enjoyed when she wasn't on the page which I think says something when I like everyone but the main character and that fact that A Language of Dragons is in first person made the whole situation worse.

Thank you to Harper and Williamson for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.