The story felt intriguing and very rich with details and it made me fall in love with it even more. I'm quiet interested in this style of of story telling as well.

Thank you so much for letting me read an early copy of this

Isle of Dragons by L.A. Thompson is an enchanting adventure that takes readers on a thrilling journey. With vivid descriptions and a captivating plot, this book transports you to a world of mythical creatures and epic quests. Thompson's storytelling skills are impressive, and I couldn't help but be drawn into the magical realm she created. If you're a fan of dragons and epic fantasy, this book is a must-read.

An amazingly entertaining fantasy adventure with Jade and her friends, taking you on a journey filled with mischief and excitement. You would fall in love with these fearless, adventurous, and full of attitudes three. This journey is froth with betrayal, deceit, hatred, and love.

A nice steampunk world, with underlining theme of who is really a true friend, and what is truly important to you.

Isle of Dragons by L.A. Thompson sadly just wasn't for me. I wanted to enjoy it but just didn't. It is well written, with a great combination of setting and characters but I just couldn't engage with it for some reason.
I will most likely try the next book in the series to see if it was just the right book at the wrong time.
Thank you to #NetGalley, #BooksGoSocial, and L.A. Thompson for the ARC of #IsleofDragons.

I was surprised at what a quick and easy read this was! The steampunk world building where people travel around in mechanical centipedes, bulls, and spiders was really interesting, especially when it was juxtaposed with the main character, Jade, ending up on a farm as she searches for a way to save her father. I liked the found family element and how the developing friendship between Jade and Miria became a central element that moved the story forward. That scene where they learned a dance to go with a song Jade’s mother taught her when she was a child was really sweet! I enjoyed that Dan, Miria’s mechanically inclined brother, also comes along to help on their quest. I also liked that for how large Miria’s family is each character feels important and individual. The magic system was easy to follow, even the reason most people chose not to use magic in this world, and it was fun watching Jade explore how to use magic. Also, there are dragons!

The way the background got interwoven into the present day story, with a few flashbacks and conversations, helped to show the seriousness of the situation Jade is in. I especially liked Kaylen’s storyline and am interested to see how she might grow as a character in the next book. I hope she’s questioning the path she’s chosen. There are hints of Grant’s importance to Jade so I’m interested to see if that will come into play in a future book in this world. Considering how this ends I’m hopeful that there will be follow up!

Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced review copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily

Fun, fast paced adventure (and plenty of it). Starts immediately with our young protagonist on the run in a fascinating mechanical contraption. If you love steampunk and adventure, you'll enjoy this read. A sixteen-year-old girl must save her family and the world in a place of magic, battles, and mystery.

*Thank you Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

i hate doing it with ARCs but i had to DNF about half way through.

I was drawn in by the cover, a steampunk fantasy with dragons?? I was sold.
But reading was such a let down.
Let’s start with the plot. The plot was rushed and uninteresting, I didn’t ever feel desire to find out what happened next. It felt like a series of tableaux rather than a coherent narrative, and I found myself falling into a reading slump trying to read it.
The characters were boring and given no chance to have or expand personalities.
The worldbuilding had SO much potential but it just missed the mark. My main critique is nothing was ever expanded or explored beyond off hand mentions and vague attempts.
The writing also felt very stagnant and had no flow. It was very “Dan did this” “Jade said that”, and could have used more edits as there were a few typos.
I can’t say if it was Overall good or bad because I was so bored reading it that I couldn’t bring myself to pick it back up.
Maybe it would be enjoyable for new or young readers, but it sadly didn’t meant my standards

This book was so promising with its beautiful cover, intriguing premise, and steampunk vibe. Unfortunately, it fell flat for me. There are a lot of really strong and/or promising elements, but the writing makes it impossible for any of them to truly shine. The lack of organization and issues with continuity makes it feel scattered and difficult to follow at times. Additionally, the story is very straightforward and is a little too forthcoming with information for a YA, or even a middle grades book. Ultimately, I don’t think this book was ready for publishing and would skip it.

Jade Sol’s world comes crashing down when her father is arrested, marked a traitor, and sent off to the mythical Isle of Dragons. In disbelief, Jade finds her father’s notes which prove that the research for which he was arrested was to save the kingdom from an awful fate. Unfortunately, they also suggest a conspiracy backed by one of the most powerful people in the kingdom. Though stripped of her rank and left with almost nothing, Jade is determined to reach the Isle of Dragons to save both her father and the kingdom. Jade finds help in a mysterious witch named Miria and her brilliant brother Dan. However, it will take everything the group has to avoid the relentless royal guard pursuing them while overcoming the dangers that have made the Isle of Dragons legendary.

Despite its flaws, this book has some really interesting world building. Even if we don’t get to see a lot of it, there is a clear hierarchical structure and a great deal of political maneuvering happening in the background. I wouldn’t say that this book has a lot of ‘court intrigue’ in it, but I would really like something set in this world that did. There is an interesting relationship between the dragons, the magical realm, and the human kingdoms as well. There is so much to explore in this world and I wish there was more of it.

Unfortunately, there are so many structural and grammatical faults in the writing that I can’t even list them. The ones that made me almost put the book down were the frequent repetition of details and lack of continuity. As a result of these and other flaws, the book never really finds its rhythm and it is hard to stay immersed. The characters and major plot points all have the potential to be really interesting, but the lack of sophistication in their characterization and development makes them feel flat. I don’t mind a lot of information given upfront, but there needs to be things you still want to learn about the characters, world, and/or plot that will keep you reading. This doesn’t change just because a book is written for a younger audience. I never had to wonder about something for more than a chapter so I couldn’t really get invested in the story at any point.

Isle of Dragons is great series opener. I was drawn in by the fantastic cover. The description of steampunk meets dragons seemed interesting. L.A. Thompson did a great job combining adventure and good lessons. Great for teen readers. I look forward to book 2.

I enjoyed this book quite a bit. What drew me to request this book was its steampunk descriptions, one of my favorite subgenres. The story/plot line was good, a girl on a quest to find and free her father, collecting an assortment of friends with various abilities along the way, fighting the good fight and tinkering with their very persnickety machinery. Oh, and don't forget the magic!
The MC was a bit hard to pin down, but I will put this on the writing style, vs her complex characterization. While this book is labeled as adult sci/Fi, its language and storytelling are very YA. The characters can read very low lever and simple. But don't discount this book based on those opinions, the story is fantastic!
I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

3/5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book.

I love the idea of steampunk, and I'm always hopeful when I pick up a steampunk book that it will live up to the potential of the genre and be well-written. Sadly, I'm usually disappointed. Most steampunk books have awful copy editing, are full of vocabulary issues, and are not well thought through in general, with a few notable exceptions.

Also sadly, this is not one of those exceptions.

I received a pre-publication copy via Netgalley for review; it is barely possible that a truly exceptional editor has since inserted all the missing quotation marks, fixed the many homonym or near-homonym errors, and possibly even rectified the more serious issues with words out of order, paragraphs out of order or repeating what has already been said, and continuity errors like an oak tree turning into a willow tree. That would still leave random eruptions of bickering between the characters used to get the plot moving when it's stagnating; a number of moments when my suspension of disbelief crashed suddenly to the ground; and a series of poor choices and ineffective actions by the characters who still, somehow (sometimes via deus ex machina) manage to stumble their way into, if not actually a resolution, at least a position where things are not entirely hopeless by the end of the book. This is clearly a series starter, and the ending is more of a setup for the next book than it is a completion of this one (though I wouldn't call it a cliffhanger).

I won't be reading further books in the series, because, honestly, the book I read was not ready to be sent out for review, let alone publication, and I strongly suspect that it represents the published version pretty accurately. It's clearly a first novel, and not a promising one. The author has a long way to go in the craft, and I don't just say that because of the copy editing; I've seen worse (I've seen almost as bad from a major publisher). This simply reads like too early and too unpolished a draft.

I really, really enjoyed this book!

The steampunk world was incredible! I liked learning about all the characters and their backstories.

I was really invested in the story - it was perfectly paced and easily captured my attention. The witchcraft in this story was really cool, and I liked the way they characters were able to apply it. Plus, Miria with her dragon charming added a whole extra layer to it.

I really loved this story and can't wait to see what happens next!

Thank you to netgalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review

Read the e-arc, many thanks to the publisher and to Netgalley for allowing me to read.

What an amazing story! It had me captivated from the start: the elaborate world building and character descriptions, the delightful way of writing, the originality... If you want to be taken away on a magical adventure: please read this book!

The story felt exciting, with lots of layers and made me want to read on and on. I loved brave Jade and her companions. Yes, you meet a lot of characters in a short time but never does it become unclear or too much in any way because they are all well described and have clear characteristics. Sometimes the descriptions can be a tad much, but all is forgiven when you take in all the rest. The plot takes you from one surprising moment to another. Did I mention I loved the dragons?

I would like to rate this book 4,5/5, rounding it up to 5 stars. Thank you!

Thank you NetGalley for a chance to read Isle of Dragons.

I liked the premise of this story but I had a hard time with this because the plot was fantasy/YA but the writing style made this seem very middle grade. I thought this was interesting and I liked the characters but this was just not for me because of how young it felt.

I really wanted to love this but I was completely lost after 10% and decided to dnf.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review.

I really enjoyed reading this book, itdoes what an opening to a series is suppose to do. I enjoyed being introduced to this world and the characters living in it. It had great elements of fantasy and I really enjoyed the journey. It left me excited for the next book in the series.