The cover is amazing! I absolutely love the plot twists in this book. This is first book by this author I have read and am waiting for many more. This does leave you wanting more

Who doesn’t like dragons? This book was kinda hard to get into at first, but stick with it it gets better. I liked the snarky dragons, plenty of suspense. Enjoy!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you for allowing me to review

This is not your typical dragon fantasy—Dragonslave is grim, heavy, and drenched in pain, betrayal, and paranoia. If you're looking for a feel-good adventure, this ain't it. But if you're into dark fantasy where no one can be trusted and hope is a distant memory, you’ll feel right at home here.

The world is bleak—full of political unrest, crumbling belief systems, and characters that all seem a little too familiar in their confusion and disillusionment. It honestly feels like a parallel to our own messy reality, which makes it hit even harder. At times, I’ll admit, I felt a bit bored or emotionally disconnected from the pacing. But just when I started to drift, something sharp or unexpected would snap me back in.

One thing I did love? The dragons. The fact that they communicate with humans? Yes, please. Vlavios in particular stole the show for me—his wit and dry humor gave just enough levity to keep the darkness from swallowing the whole book.

This isn’t a comforting read, but it’s a memorable one. Dragons, distrust, and a whole lot of bleak beauty.

This book was a bit hard to follow. I did not finish it. The conversations were a bit stilted and forced, especially between the main character and her dragon. The dragons themselves were described a bit weirdly, and the story telling also did not flow naturally. I did not like the switching from past to present day, it kept throwing me off. I really wanted to like this book, but at the time of reading it, I didn't. One day in the future I will come back to it and give it a second chance. It has some interesting points, and I feel like it has some potential.

Dragons - Check
Romance - Check
Fantasy - Check
Dragon banter - Double check!!

I love me a good book with dragons, and this one has kick ass ladies to go with!
I totally devoured it. The characters are extremely relatable and give great vibes! The writing is really good and descriptive, and we are left hanging on the edge waiting for book two !

Dragonslave is the captivating first book in Dominique Glass' Dragonslave series. As a child, Avrea was abducted because of her potential to become an askenszar (dragon rider). After eleven years of hard work, she has achieved this status, and has become the most valuable slave in her dragon roost. In this imaginative world-building, most riders are either women or frail men from noble families, or unwanted extra children. There is a sense of intrigue to the plot, and Vlavios provides witty and entertaining dialogue throughout. There is a thrilling cliffhanger at the end of the book, leaving readers eager to find out what happens next.

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

I enjoyed this story; I mean I love the dragon stories and I would love to be a dragon rider and to be able to have a connection with them. I always call my horse a fire breathing dragon.

This was an exciting read! I look forward to reading more from this author in the future. The world building was very interesting and I was very engaged.

This book blends dragons, military action, and political intrigue, but it’s not the “romantasy” it appears to be marketed as. The dragons are the standout, with their sarcastic humor and intriguing bond with humans.

The main character, Avrea, is a strong, capable woman, but her emotional arc and any potential romance feel rushed and underdeveloped—especially since the romance doesn’t even show up until the last few pages. The plot is full of twists and backstabbing, and the world-building is solid, especially around the empire’s dragon riders. But the focus is more on action and politics than character development.

If you’re into dragons, military strategy, and complex political dynamics, you’ll likely enjoy this, but if you’re expecting a more character-driven or romantic fantasy, it might not hit the mark. The book ends on a cliffhanger, so there’s potential for the next installment to delve deeper into the characters.

I included this in my wrap-up of top reads of the year on my blog, which is also publicized on social media and in my writing community.

An army of badass female dragon riders, what more can you ask for? I loved that the world-building and the reasoning behind having women be the dragon riders because of their lighter weight, that being said, of course the world is still a sexist horrible place and they need to be overseen by scrawny little male officers. The dragons were really fun and definitely the highlight of the book! It was definitely a brutal society and all the slavery stuff was almost too much for me but I also think I just wasn't in the right mood for it. I'd day it's perfect for people looking for abit of an easier to digest Game of Thrones.

It had a unique dragon Romantasy vibes!! Totally loved it 😍 The characters are extremely relatable and give great vibes! The writing is really good and creative and the ending makes us want to read more and more!!
Super excited for the book two !

This is a dark fantasy; I wouldn’t say this is like any other dragon novel I’ve read recently. If you enjoy reading tales rife with pain, betrayal and mandatory suspicion, then this one is for you.

The entire book has a gruesome feel. Don’t read this if you want to be happy. There is political unrest and many a ‘false’ religion. Everyone seems lost. It feels like quite a parallel to our present reality.

The world itself is highly inventive with a unique culture built upon two distinguishing factors:
1) a multitude of novel languages: one universal tongue that melds original phrases with odd words from the english language, and then other local tongues vaguely described through unfathomable sounds
2) a harsh society relying entirely on subservience

To me, the characters serve as fodder for the plot. No one is guaranteed safety or survival & nobody is truly acting upon their own free will. One side effect of the latter is pages upon pages of book characters repeatedly referring to each other as slaves.

I reckon this is meant to call attention to the powerlessness of these “empowered” beings & their superiors. However, I feel that this continuous repetition causes the use of such a challenging word to lose meaningfulness. It becomes unnecessarily jarring once understand the world that has been built. Besides this, the writing is hilarious.

Although this book requires focused attention (because of how fast paced the plot is and how nuanced the world building is) if you’re into Game Of Thrones, or the like, it is worth a read.

I personally, don’t enjoy being led on or having my heartbroken. I hate watching characters I love suffer. And I enjoy going into great detail re: the lives of my characters and their goings on. So this is ultimately a personal problem. Lovers of dark humor, carry on.

This is another book where I enjoyed the world and the plot more than the characters — well, more than the human characters. Avrea is a slave, captured when she was a child and then sold to the dragon riding cavalry of the empire where she has been turned into a super human being, with greater strength, stamina, resistances and tolerances, and given a dragon to ride. She’s loyal to her Empire because she has nothing else to turn to, and is, in her own way, kind to the girls like herself who are brought in.

There are wonderful moments of world building, such as how almost all the riders are female because of their lighter weight, and the men who are dragon riders are usually scrawny and unwanted extra children of noble houses — who are officers, because the girls (all slaves) can’t be trusted to be in charge of themselves. There’s a lot of work done to show how the dragons work, how the humans have taken advantage of them, how the rider and dragon relationship works … and not much done about character work beyond the dragons.

Now, to be fair, the dragons are the highlight of the book, so it’s nice to see them given the bulk of attention, but Avrea is just … there. So are the other women, the slaves, and her commander. And this is a problem when it comes to the romance because Avrea isn’t enough of a character for me to be that interested in, and the guy the author decided to have her be in love with hasn’t really done anything to encourage this. It’s so out of left field with zero build up in the text and no tension at all.

One moment they’re officer and soldier, the next, she’s in love for … reasons. And the reasons almost work, but there wasn’t enough focus on the characters for me to really be able to get behind the pair of them as a couple. However, this is the first book in the series and, as such, has to do a lot of world building and plot work; maybe the second book will be more character focused. Since I’ll be starting the second book this weekend, I’ll be sure to let you know when I review it!

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for letting me read an ARC.

This exciting book follows along two very unique young girls. This first shows us how she met and bonded with her Dragon after the horrifying murder of her village. The second shows us years later her meeting and bonding with another Dragon while being taught by the first woman.

This is a an amazing book! I mean, who wouldn't want to be a dragon rider? Being able to ride a dragon, and living on the top of a mountain with all you fellow female dragon riders! It
s super cool. Avrea, our FMC, is so badass who takes everything in stride, and is very logical, does what needs to be done, and her observational skills and ingenuity saves people. What a hell of a (dragon) ride this book is.

The side characters are unique and the worldbuilding interesting.

Except, this story has more than one moral dilemma/downsides than there are upsides to being a dragon rider aka an askenzar. To become an askenzar the oppressing regime you live under slaughter your entire village and take the survivers as slaves. A few are sent to have their body forced through a grueling process that that makes them stronger and hardier so the girls (men are to heavy) can ride dragons. It kills many though. But, hey they are slaves, so them dying is less like squatting flies, I guess. Being a dragon rider is to be slave soldier. The whole slave thing made me really uncomfortable, I really liked Avrea but I can't stand behind her reasoning:

"No, there is no real choice. I'm stuck with the cause whose imperfections I know. And in that, how much does my life differ from that of any other person?"

Putting aside how the slavery aspect of the story, since it is part of the story and the storytelling, I'll definitely read the next one to see what happens next. Hopefully it will be addressed in the future (I'm hoping it will be a trilogy/series and not a duology. It has so much potential that I can't wait to read the next one. Also because of those whiplash plot twists I did not see coming...

I recommend it to other fantasy readers, maybe even fans of dark fantasy romance, since they already read stuff that makes me uncomfortable.

3.75 stars rounded up.

Captured and made a slave at a young age, instead of working in the kitchens or cleaning, girl is changed and trained to be a fearsome dragon rider. With her wise-ass dragon and the help of her commander and a few other slaves, she lands herself in serious monkey poop. Literally. Mysterious are unravelled and old foes return in this epidural adventure.

I received this book as an ARC from Netgalley. My goodness, this is certainly one of the best stories I've read in a wee while. This is certainly more fantasy than my usual romantasy, but this was a wild trip!

I really really enjoyed all the world building throughout this story, and there are still so many components yet to be revealed. We get to see the world through the eyes of the FMC, a highly trained and indoctrinated dragon riding slave, which is very novel and exciting. The story was engaging, the characters interesting and the dragons exceedingly funny.

Next please!

Dragonslave - Dominique Glass
Book 1 of Dragonslave

Dragonslave by Dominique Glass is a fantasy novel that combines elements of adventure, magic, and intrigue - and of course, DRAGONS!

The story revolves around a young protagonist, avrea, who is thrust into a world of ancient dragons, powerful sorcery, and political conflict after being captured as a young child, forced into enslavement and trained - through “The Process” - as a dragon-riding soldier.

Avrea must navigate complex relationships, internal struggles, and the dark mysteries surrounding their existence. As Avrea journey unfolds, they confront difficult choices about loyalty, identity, and the moral implications of their actions.

The novel blends high-stakes action with deeper themes of personal growth and the nature of power. Its intricate (and admittedly somewhat confusing) world-building, alongside the development of rich, multifaceted characters, creates a captivating narrative that explores the costs of war, the bond between humans and dragons, and the consequences of tampering with forces beyond one’s control.

The dragons - namely Vlavios and Bombidilios - made this story for me.
I have long loved dragons for being “sassy” but the dragons in this story take it to next level and I was often laughing out loud at some of their quips.
The story itself has great promise but I did find it very confusing to understand initially - the first few chapters involve a lot of jumping about and there are a LOT of complicated names (of both people and places) but i believe there will be a lot more development in the next books in the series.

Side note: I believe this has been promoted as a Romantasy but this book is 98% fantasy - im not complaining! - and 2% romance. AKA spice is non existent so don’t get your hopes up!
Avrea has had a very complicated up bringing and relationships are very distorted - with “comfort slaves” used to tend to, er, basic needs - and I think having a load of sex thrown in there would have taken away from the story.

A very solid start to the series with unique characters that I am very excited to read more about in the next book(s).

A young girl forced to become a slave to the empire. A slave that rides dragons! This book checks all the boxes with action, suspense, treachery, sisterhood, and love. Great start to a series. I can’t wait for the next books.