DNF at 58%. I really, really tried to finish this book—this is one of the first times I’ve DNF’ed a book. This book is just not the book for me; and while I believe it also has some problems, I can also acknowledge that this book might work well for other readers. I'm giving this book a 3-star rating on NetGalley because I need to select a star rating to post my review, though do know that I'd prefer not to select a star rating at all as I didn't finish the book and thus don't have all the information to truly rate the book.

The book follows Tollar. She is hired with a band of fighters to defend a town against raiders; however, when she gets there, she realizes that the problem is beyond what they can handle and that the raiders are capturing dragons and dragon eggs. She can’t save them all, but she can save one egg; which she takes to her long-abandoned home for safekeeping. There, her neighbor and longtime crush Beenala reluctantly helps her care for the egg and ensuring dragon, Bale, as they deal with the threat of raiders and the peril of the other captured dragons and their riders.

I absolutely acknowledge that I should have loved this book. The relationship between Bee and Toll is sweet; I love the trope of childhood friends who have always kind of been in love but never figured out how to say it. I love the forced proximity of raising a dragon together, with all of the challenges that ensue. The scenes of Beenala and Tollar connecting are legitimately nice scenes, and when I can feel the characterization of both the strongest. I do legitimately like this aspect, even though I struggled with the rest of the book.

Unfortunately, I struggled to enjoy the writing of the book. I found myself so focused on logical inconsistency, aspects or repeated ideas that annoyed me, or how interesting scenes kept getting sidelined that I couldn’t enjoy the good parts of the book. I realized at 58% of the book that my notes were just a list of grievances and that I still had a few hours of reading left, and decided that finishing this book just wasn’t in the cards. I don’t want my review to just be mean when I can acknowledge that I am probably not the right reader for the book.

Here is a short list of the issues I had, so other readers can decide if the book is for them. As a note, I am reading an ARC of the book, so some of these things might be fixed with future rounds of editing.
• Tollar and Beenala are supposedly in their 30s, but I fully felt as though they were maybe 16 or 17. I struggled to identify the maturity or lived history that would indicate that they were older.
• I found both Tollar and Beenala really difficult to connect to. Beenala is really passive and nonconfrontational without enough insight into her internal monologue to make me understand anything about her; she’s present for many scenes but rarely says or does anything. Tollar is perfect in every way: the most powerful magic, the most perfect opinions despite her tragic backstory, maybe the occasional impulsive outburst but rarely with any consequences. I struggled to connect with her because it feels like she has neither flaws nor limitations. I don’t feel like I’m seeing her grow, nor am I unveiling hidden complexity to her actions.
• The flow of logic and action often felt disconnected. I often have to re-read scenes just to understand what’s happening, making the reading experience of a decently long book feel rather slow and stilted. A lot of scenes that I feel would be interesting don’t happen on-page. I felt myself defaulting to picking apart scenes as I read rather than being immersed in the story.
• The enemies/big bad and the people who don’t like Tollar don’t feel like threats because all of their decisions are characterized as dumb. The big bad sends a spy who doesn’t even speak the local language with no instruction or skills. An enemy in the guard who hates Tollar never gives any particular reason, but instead just kind of shouts every time Tollar opens her mouth.
• The book appears to be written for an adult audience but has a lot of PG-13-isms. Tollar ‘curses’ a lot, but substitutes the word ‘frog’ for F-bombs. The characters talk about sex but only in the vaguest sense, calling it ‘coupling’ and speaking so indirectly that I had to re-read the scene to figure out what they were trying to say. The characters are in their mid-thirties; they’re allowed to curse. They’re allowed to discuss adult themes.

Ultimately, I just feel it’s best for me to put the book down. Like I said, I think I’m a bit of the wrong reader for this book. If you’re looking for a sweet, charming ace sapphic story with a decently cute baby dragon, you might really love this! I think that if I could turn my brain off and just sink into the story, I’d probably like it a lot more, but I just struggled to get to that state with this book. I do also acknowledge that, by DNFing, I’m not seeing some of these ideas to their completion, and thus some of the parts of the book I struggled with could be explained or explored in the rest of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Just finished The Dragon Next Door By Vanessa Ricci-Thode and Im in love.
No spoilers, but if you’re into cozy fantasy with a strong emotional core, queer rep done right, and just the right amount of magic and mayhem, this one’s for you.

Found family

Soft slow-burn romance

Elemental magic

A dash of chaos (and a dragon!)

Characters who feel real and make you feel things

Bale was my favourite of them all.

Honestly, it’s a warm hug of a book wrapped in adventure. Highly recommended for fans of character-driven fantasy with heart and dragons!

My only criticism: I'm not a fan of the character names or the world names but that's just me 😁

Thank you to Vanessa Ricci-Thode, Netgally and Victoria Editing for the ARC xx

I just adored The Dragon Next Door. The world building is top tier with a solid amount of political intrigue but not too much to make the story drag. It moved along swiftly and I was engaged the entire time, which isn't always the case.

The main characters were lovely, but Bale truly stole the show.

The fantastical elements were so detailed and the way Vanessa described the magic of each person was really neat.

This book is truly a treasure and I'm a sucker for sapphic romances so this book is a huge win in my book!

I will be posting a review of The Dragon Next Door on publication day when I highlight LGBTQ+ titles for pride month on my blog.

Thank you to NetGalley and Victory Editing for the ARC of The Dragon Next Door in exchange for an honest review!

This is an exciting sapphic romantasy with dragons, pining and political intrigue. Effortless world building with imperfect/flawed characters who experience growth in their own ways.

Bale was my absolute favorite!

The Dragon Next Door was fantastic. Wonderful world building and a sweet sapphic romance. What's not to love?!

A fun fantasy with dragons, political intrigue and a sweet f/f romance! The worldbuilding was great and their journey was fun to follow

Dragons, sapphic pining, and a dash of chaos—this romantasy is pure magic. Vanessa Ricci-Thode crafts a story where a hot-mess aquamancer (Tollar) and her anxiety-riddled pyromancer neighbor (Bee) navigate stolen dragon eggs, political intrigue, and *feelings*. When the dragon hatches, imprinting on Tollar like a chaotic toddler with wings, the duo’s mutual pining and odd-couple banter steal the show. The romance is soft, ace-inclusive, and simmering with “just kiss already” energy, while the plot zips along with spies (bad ones), magical professions, and threats that force Tollar to confront her mysterious powers.

Bale, the dragon, is a scene-stealer—imagine a fire-breathing puppy with zero survival instincts. Her POV chapters add whimsy and heart, deepening the bond between her and the humans. The world-building is immersive but effortless, blending magic systems and political stakes without info-dumping.

What truly shines is the focus on community and resilience. This isn’t a chosen-one narrative—it’s about flawed, relatable characters choosing to protect their home and each other. Bee’s growth from anxious to courageous and Tollar’s journey from self-sabotage to trust are deeply satisfying. Add a bumbling spy, queer found-family vibes, and a dragon who’d 100% burn your toast, and you’ve got a story that’s equal parts heart and fire.

A cozy, inclusive fantasy for anyone who’d risk a mailbox arson for a chance to cuddle a dragon.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book. I struggled through it with the names; so I ended up not recognising the names of characters/places and would omit them whilst reading - it didn't take away anything from the book itself!

Overall its a wonderfully magical fantasy, with f/f romance, and world building that sucks you right into the story alongside the characters. I'm excited to see what the next adventure would be..

The Dragon Next Door by Vanessa Ricci-Thode is a captivating middle-grade fantasy novel that effortlessly blends magical realism with everyday life. The story follows the young and curious main character, who lives in a quiet suburb until they stumble upon an extraordinary secret—there's a dragon living right next door. The discovery sparks a journey of friendship, personal growth, and uncovering hidden wonders, as the protagonist learns that there is much more to the world than meets the eye.

This was a really exciting fantasy about dragons, with an adorable f/f romance, and lots of political intrigue.

I absolutely loved the premise of this novel and it exceeded all my expectations! Bee and Tollar were really fascinating characters in their own right, and I loved how we learned more about their past and backstory as the novel progressed. I think the 'before' chapters were some of my favourites from the whole book. I also loved the chapter from Bale's POV. Bale is such an adorable character and it was so cool to see things from her perspective and how she perceives the dynamics between characters.

The world-building was great, I loved the emphasis on the different professions/life-styles of the characters, and how they worked together.

Overall, a really good queer fantasy! With dragons!