Rating: 2.5 Stars
Publication: July 30th, 2019
Genre: Fantasy
Format: ARC
Diversity: POC & Bi MC, Sapphic SC
Summary:
Raised among the ruins of a conquered mountain nation, Maren dreams only of sharing a quiet life with her girlfriend Kaia until the day Kaia is abducted by the Aurati, prophetic agents of the emperor, and forced to join their ranks. Desperate to save her, Maren hatches a plan to steal one of the emperor’s coveted dragons and storm the Aurati stronghold. If Maren is to have any hope of succeeding, she must become an apprentice to the emperor’s mysterious dragon trainer. What she wasnt prepared for was rumors of a lost prince, a brewing rebellion, and a prophecy that could shatter the empire. With time running out, can Maren survive long enough to rescue Kaia from impending death, or could she be destined for something greater than she could have ever imagined?
My Thoughts:
The main character Maren is impulsive and strong willed. Her determination to save her girlfriend no matter how slim the chances of success was admirable, if a little reckless. As a result, she makes some questionable decisions like leaving on her own without a real plan. She probably would have died several times without some help. From the start I wasnt a big fan of the power imbalance in her relationship. Maren idolized her girlfriend and would do anything for her while her girlfriend didn't seem willing to do the same. Setting out on her own teaches Maren some independence and makes her realize that shes a lot braver than she gave herself credit for. This character growth changes the dynamic between them, but its still doesnt feel like they mesh well. I believe the relationship is being set up to fail. At least I enjoyed Marens relationship with her parents even though we only see them for a short amount of time.
I had such high hopes for this book, but for something pitched as sapphic it felt pretty hetero to me. The plot centers around the main characters journey to save her girlfriend by stealing one of the emperor's dragons, but the story is mostly spent with a boy who she starts to develop feelings for. I really liked Sev as a character and probably would have been all for their romance under different circumstances, but I feel like it would have worked better as a platonic relationship in this situation. On top of the romance being a let down, the plot wasnt very memorable. I found it predictable and even a little unrealistic at times. The whole prophecy was super obvious, but I did find Marens dreams of her girlfriend exciting. I also feel like the pacing wasnt that great either, especially in the middle. The danger of infiltrating the dragon fortress wasnt as tense as it should have been.
This world only has a little bit of magic so it should be easy to grasp for anyone who doesnt read much fantasy. Besides the dragons, there are some people known as Auratis who have clairvoyant abilities and deliver prophecies across the kingdom. These are the same people Maren needs to rescue her girlfriend from and they have the emperors protection since they answer to him. We get to spend time in some awesome settings like Marens mountain village, the haunted caves, and the dragon fortress. I loved the dragons and the use of aromatherapy to train them. Its a unique twists I havent seen before. The formulas of the scented oils is one of the emperors most closely guarded secret as he want to keep sole control over the dragons. We get to spend some time with an adorable baby dragon, but with it being so young we dont really get to see it talk with Maren. Im seriously hoping we get some communication and more dragon bonding in the next book.
We do get some anti-colonization themes with Marens people having been conquered and their dragons taken away. The theme becomes a bigger focus as the story develops into more than just saving Marens girlfriend, but stopping the power hungry emperor and hopefully liberating the nations under his control. I loved all the diversity with the main character being a bi girl of color and how being queer seems like its completely accepted in this world. Despite my issues, this still had some of my favorite elements like dragons and queer characters so I did end up enjoying it. I just really wish the romance would have been handled differently or at the very least have the summary mention Sev. Now that I know what to expect I think I might enjoy the rest of the series a bit more. I just personally expected something different from this book since Ive seen plenty of glowing reviews.
*This book was received for an honest review
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