Unbound was a super fun adventure! We follow 5 main characters - a gang of thieves, a princess, and a dragon shifter, who are all after a relic known as the Crimson Shard. This relic will give its user the power to accomplish anything they want. Each of our characters has different motivations for seeking out the shard.
With our gang of thieves we have a story of friendship and the princess and dragon shifter give us a nice romance. The romance was a bit instalovey but I really enjoyed it, Keagan and Avalon’s chapters were my favorite!
The book was fairly short and full of action and didn’t slow down at any point! I really enjoyed this story from start to finish. I can’t wait to revisit this world for book 2!

Such a fun read... a breath of fresh air

I began reading this book with some doubt, as it was my first ARC and I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was ultimately amazed. I loved the author's writing style. While this is a third-person, multiple-POV book, and I tend to prefer first-person perspective, this book changed my mind. The third-person point of view effectively differentiated the characters' dialogue from their internal feelings and served the story beautifully. The author's ability to immerse the reader in this universe is unique, and the plot was unlike anything I've read, despite addressing familiar themes. I fell in love with every character and was able to empathize with their emotions. The spicy scenes are well-executed and never excessive. I adored how the banter between the characters was developed and how it led to the spicy scenes without making them predictable. I appreciated the plot twists, even though I anticipated some of them; however, this didn't diminish my enjoyment in any way. Highly recommended, especially for those whose English is not their first language, as it's a very easy read.

First I would like to thank NetGalley and Brittany Gossin for giving me to opportunity to ARC read this book. This is my honest review of the book and should not change or deter your thoughts on reading this book.

Things to note:
-This is an adult fantasy book
- there are quite 'colorful' words used throughout the book that may not be your cup of tea.

My thoughts:

The storyline of this book is fantastic, we follow multiple POV's and discover new creatures unique to this book - such as the dragon and their way of shifting. While I only rated this book 3 stars I do not think the book itself has a bad storyline, if you like a spice heavy book this might just be for you! I personally enjoy spice in my fantasy books without it heavily influencing the plot. The characters are likeable enough and each have uniqueness about them. Overall, the writing style is not my cup of tea but that doesn't make the writing itself bad.

I should have liked this more than I did. It had all kinds of things I like in my books including dragon shifters, romance, betrayal, magic, etc. But for me, it just didn't work. And while I finished it, I kind of didn't want to.

The first time I got annoyed with the book was when I came across a well-known word from the game, Skyrim.

Then there was the FMC. While I liked her overall, she was told more than once to tell the MMC the truth by different people and that he would understand, but she never did.

Then there was the big reveal and you're left wondering how her father would have put up with it? There's just loads of questions that don't make sense.

Despite all of that, the book is just really predictable in a lot of ways. The big reveal was obvious, the betrayal was obvious, etc. I'm usually okay with this when I'm reading easier books, but this one just wasn't for me.

2.5 stars

Rating 4/5 ⭐️
Spice 3/5 🌶️

“If you let the ghosts of your past control your present, you’ll never reach your future.”

Unbound by Brittany Gossin is book 1 in the Dragonflight series and it did not disappoint!

I am still silently sobbing over here in the corner processing the emotional trauma this just put me through 😭 but for real though I need the next book ASAP!

This does have multiple POV’s but it adds to the development of the plot and the world as a whole. You need them all to help you see the bigger picture. We meet Avalon (a sheltered princess), Keegan (a dragon trying to save his family), Malcolm (a class clown thief), Rowena (a traumatized blood witch), and Zedoc (a hulking loyal friend). All going after the same thing and each with their own reason.

Brittany does an amazing job building this world, setting the scene, and developing these characters that you just can’t help but get lost in it. I cannot even choose who my favorite is but Rowena has my ❤️. I thought she had the most character development and I cannot wait to see her continue to grow and flourish! I really really hope Malcom gets his own book in the series 🤞🏻

This book really has it all. A stabby FMC, dragons, witches, oppressive government, found family, protective MMC, and comedic relief. Seriously go read it! Available on KU now and she has preorders available on her site if you want a beautiful special edition copy! (Where I am headed right now to get my trophy copy)!

Unbound: dragonflight book 1. Witches, criminals, dragon shifters and a princess who are all after one thing, the shard…

This book is a unique and gripping story about five main characters, I did worry that this would get confusing but surprisingly it was easy to keep up. I liked how over the course of the book each POVs story and adventure interlinked with each others. This was done in a very well presented way and I particularly enjoyed this aspect.
I loved the found family aspects of this book with the MCs (particularly Rowena) easy to love and love their adventure of finding allies, love, trust and the benefit of taking risks.

This is a fun fast paced read and if you liked six of crows you will eat this up.

I was so intrigued by the description that I find myself sorely disappointed in the result.
This heist-with-dragons book unfortunately lacks what makes books great - the build up...the tension...the camaraderie...and instead has insta-love, obvious villains, and characters and plot points of convenience.

The spoiled princess is without conflict. Her father, the king, does neglect her but she's in her early 20's now and states several times she has a father-figure in her life that cares a great deal about her. I know it's not the same, but seriously girl....get a grip. She's also terrible at any type of sneaking around, which absolutely drove me crazy (seriously, please stop joking about dragons when it could get your ally executed...and let's NOT start a drinking competition with a DRAGON that's a foot taller than you when you're on the run).

Every plot point just felt like a clear stepping stone for the characters to achieve their goal. There wasn't enough friction to make this seem like it was an actual challenge or difficult by any means. Everything just conveniently lines up.

Without the spice, this book would be great for pre-teens and young teens to dip their toes in to fantasy. I would have actually preferred no spice, as it felt like it was written purely to force Ava and Keagan together (insta-love). Unfortunately this book just missed all the marks for me.

This books flirts the line between 4.5 and 5 stars but ultimately it kept my attention and had a good mix of everything. Excited for book 2!!!

Overall rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Genre: romantasy
Plot: slow burn romance with a fantasy core of blood witches and dragon shifters
Emotion: 🧡/5
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Summary: set in a world of disease, oppression, and a tyrant king, a Crimson Shard holding ultimate power could right all the wrongs. But in the wrong hands, it could doom them all. Follow the journey of a fleeing princess, suppressed dragon shifter, and syndicate trio of thieves as they push to be the first to steal the Shard from the notoriously dangerous Blood Witches!

This is a multiPOV plot with predominately 3 storylines:

(1) Dragon shifters: this was probably my favorite storyline. The dragon shifters background / heritage was fascinating to learn. My only negatives about the MMC are his (1) appearance and (2) lack of knowledge at times. His dragon skills make him extremely perceptive but was really out of touch on what the world has to offer - not surprising given his oppression - but it made him a little less desirable.

(2) The princess: she’s a badass, knows how to fight, is intelligent, and her purpose is admirable. There’s not much to not like about her. Her background is typical for a princess whose father cares more about power/succession rather than the wants and wellbeing of his daughter. She did have me fuming at times.

(3) The syndicate: I didn’t really care about for most of the book, and often found myself disappointed when their POV chapters were up. Not that their storyline was bad, it just was my least favorite comparably. I will say, the syndicate had strong Six of Crows vibes but with vulgarity which I appreciated.

Takeaway: if you liked Six of Crows but wish it had more 🌶️ romance - give this a try. If you’re in your dragon era and really want a book heavy on the dragon side, this might not be the book for you. Dragon shifters are a component of the book but due to their oppression it’s not a huge component (not comparable to Fourth Wing). This is multi-POV following 2 to 3 storylines that don’t always overlap so if you get overwhelmed by multiple concurrent plots, be warned, but also still give it a try - it’s not overly complex to follow.

Review and rating is posted on Goodreads. Social media posting will occur on April 15.

Fast paced and loveable characters! The storyline is detailed and holds your attention. All the characters are in their mid to late twenties and have been through some things which makes the characters more relatable and enjoyable when reading NA.

Even though we have trigger warnings I’d still call this a cozy read 😅 I say that because the world building is not in-depth and can easily be followed, the characters were easy to understand, the dialogue, espionage and romance is all on the surface and not hard to connect. I also loved the banter and donkeys 😆.

Recommend this to those that need a great read after a book hangover.

Thank you NetGalley and Brittany Gossin for giving me an ARC of your book Unbound! This review is my own honest opinion.

This was a great first book in the series, with so many wonderful fantasy elements that readers love! There is a princess that gets betrothed against her will that is a badass in her own right, dragonshifters, blood witches, magic and betrayal, and a group of thieves. There are twists and turns, forbidden love, humor, secret identities, adventure and action.

The main characters are well written and the reader is able to see the story unfold from each different perspective. You will celebrate their successes, feel their fears and hatred, and feel the warm and fuzzies as they fall in love. The story is paced quickly and kept me drawn in with every page turned. Gossin is a great world builder describing each scene wonderfully so I felt like I was walking through a quaint small town or soaring in the sky on a steampunk ship.

I can’t wait to see where this series heads next!

Unbound was a fun, fast-paced and action packed read that I just could not put down.

dragon shifters
blood witches
a heist
stabby fmc
one-bed trope
steampunk setting
double romance

There is SO much about this book to love. As always, I was nervous when I saw this book was multiple POVs but Brittany Gossin made sure every 👏 single 👏 character 👏 was intriguing and never fell flat.

Ava and Keagan were the perfect companions for each other, and I love how their mission intertwined with the syndicate. This was an absolute riot and I already can’t wait for the next book!

Thank you for approving me for this ARC! Based on the blurb, I was very excited to read this. However, once I opened the book there were trigger warnings listed at the beginning. I would not have requested this had I known one of the trigger warnings was “explicit on page SA”. Due to this, I won’t be reading this book.