Skip to main content

Member Reviews

This book is 3,5✨ for me. I feel like it had some really good, as well as bad sides.

Overall, the story was interesting and I've loved the world. I think the thing that kept me from getting immersed in the story was the pacing and a feeling of not being fully connected to the characters.

That being said, I'm intrigued to see where the story goes, so I'll maybe reach for the second installment in this series. However, for me it's a book I've been reading and not a world I've been transported to, you know? The fact I was reading was always apparent to me, and I prefer sinking smoothly into the story. It felt a bit like a fever dream to be honest, and I feel like the bones of the book were really strong, but I'd personally vibe more with a bit different execution.

Thank you to the Publisher and Netgalley for giving me access to the e arc.

Was this review helpful?

I couldn’t get into this, but I really really tried. I wanted to love this book but unfortunately it was a dnf for me.

Was this review helpful?

This was a really enjoyable book with the best kind of features - dragons! Overall whilst I really did enjoy the journey, I was missing a little added extra which would keep me focussed! That’s certainly not to say I didn’t enjoy it though, because I did!

Was this review helpful?

I did enjoy this although it took me alot longer to get through than I was expecting.

I love the fact it is a stand alone fantasy as they are few and far between but I did have some issues with this book. The pacing was off for one. I found the start really hard to get into and it seemed to drag on quite abit. I was expecting an action packed heist and I feel like it took so long to actually get to itnand once we were there it all felt a little rushed. I also would of liked abit more from the Dragons. I loved that they aren't portrayed like pets as is in alot of dragon books but I would of liked more info on the actual dragon lore.

Having said all this once I hit the half way mark and all the characters had been introduced the story did take off and ended up being really enjoyable.

Was this review helpful?

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I found the start of the book slightly hard going but once the narrative was in full flow and all the characters were established, I was able to settle in and enjoy the ride. I think I would have appreciated a bit more time with the dragons or expansion of the dragon lore, but the story kept me engaged throughout, though I did also feel that there was a bit of an info-dump at the end with the dragonstone revelations. I'd be interested to read more from Lyons, perhaps a series where she has more time to develop characters and world-build.

Was this review helpful?

This was OK though for me added nothing to the slew of dragon related books out there.

I found character development to be a bit thin though I did enjoy the world.

Wouldn't put me off trying more of Jenn Lyon's books but this one was a bit of a slog.

Was this review helpful?

If you're looking for a standalone fantasy that feels like an adventure, where you're dropped straight into the action and it doesn't stop until the end then this could work for you.

Unfortunately, the tone wasn't what I wanted. I wanted it to feel more intense and I kept wishing for slower moments where we could see the relationships develop between the characters. I could see an attempt at building a found family but it felt like telling instead of showing. Two of the side characters I kept getting mixed up because they lacked depth.

The world was fascinating and I would read other books set within this world if the author decides to write them.

There were some interesting ideas and I appreciated how it explored the relationship between the dominant dragons and their human subjects. This also has lots of LGBTQ+ rep, including a poly relationship. Although I wouldn't recommend this if you're specifically looking for romance to be the main focus within the story.

Was this review helpful?

Let's just begin by saying I love how queer-normative this book was. Jenn Lyons put together a clever way to include queer norms. It felt right.

More on the book :
If I loved the first chapters, I found myself quite disappointed with the story until the heist is back in the spotlight. I had some trouble about the main character being strongly attracted to another character without knowing her. It felt a bit exagerated, and even if I liked their relationship once the story picks up and they have had the opportunity to know each other better. I think Anarod's attraction was "exagerated", it did felt forced.

The heist by itslef was nice, not ground breaking, but as always nothing goes as planned ;)

The dragons though... I LOVED THEM. They had this mystical energy about them, and let's not pretend, they were pricks. I loved that. They weren't nice or wise, they wanted power, and they can get mad, litteraly.
They felt like a real menace, one that humans can't subdue.

It was a really nice read, and I admit I would have loved a sequel !

Was this review helpful?

I had such a great time with this book! We have dragons (my favourite) our main character in hiding as she's supposed to be dead, and a magical heist. It's an extremely fun read in a fantasy setting with a diverse cast of characters.

The plot was very fast paced and constantly moving, which I loved. Though it did slow down in the second half. Some of the romantic aspects felt a little off, but that could be due to my personal preferences when reading romance, and the rest of the story was JUST brilliant.

I really enjoyed this story and would recommend it for anyone who likes stories with dragons, because they're just as snarky as Tairn or Smaug, but as lovable as Toothless.

Was this review helpful?

Have you ever wanted to read a fantasy book about dragon riders where the dragons are absolute assholes? Then you should read The Sky on Fire by Jenn Lyons. At a glance this has:

- adult high fantasy
- DnD inspired
- cast of characters
- queer representation
- dragons & dragonriders
- a heist

This was quite the fun adventure-type story and it follows a ragtag group of people trying to steal from a dragon hoard. The cast of characters worked really well, I loved the banter between them and the romance was very believable and quite sexy!

The Sky on Fire read almost definitely like a DnD campaign or at least some sort of TTRPG setting. I found the worldbuilding to be very imaginative and rich. We had a world where dragons are the superior species to humans and are almost lording over humanity which, honestly, makes way more sense than humans keeping gigantic dragons as pets. While they are usually regaled to being animal companions, the dragons in this book definitely had agency and their own motives.

Overall, The Sky on Fire was a fast-paced, action-packed adventure that I recommend to fans of Nicholas Eames' Kings of the Wyld.

Was this review helpful?

The Sky On Fire was written with such intrigue, such incredible world building and such action packed scenes that I couldn’t help but be obsessed with this read. Lyons’ writing style is so incredible, and the ability to create a huge array of interesting and fully fleshed characters allowed me to immerse myself into the story completely.

If you love books about dragons, epic heists, action packed adventures and the slow unravelling of worldly secrets, read this book! It won’t disappoint you, I’m sure.

Was this review helpful?

And, after making an effort to finish this book, it's a dnf at 80%
<spoiler>The book started okay the world sounded interesting, specially the deep.
Loved the world, loved the characters we meet.
Then we go up the mountains and come to the dragon spires and the story comes to a standstill for ways too long. Nothing really happens, everybody is frantic and everybody has secrets from the others.
Then we get a sex scene, the heist and then we get some another sex scene that is so out of context and so not embedded with the characters it just threw me out completely.
It seems to me that the cast of the heist crew is too big to properly manage, as are the the confusing sex interests on the page as there is no chemistry I could make out between most of them, and then, at 80 per cent I have the two females all of a sudden slobbering over each other in a manner that makes me feel I'm reading erotica but no longer a fantasy romance.
Poor little brother, poor Sicaryion, wish you had a better fate.
This review refers to the eARC I received from the publisher via netgalley. It can be that the second part of the book has become better in the published edition, or not.</spoiler>

Was this review helpful?

Incredible masterpiece, absolutely perfect! This book sent Jenn Lyons directly into my auto-buy authors list!

Was this review helpful?

It's rare to read a standalone epic fantasy, let alone one that really has all its aspects worked out well. This one is a good example. This book provided me with a unique world, an empire ruled by dragons, magic, and the unusual concept of dragon riders.

Apart from that, I also encountered an interesting heist subplots with all the complicated characters, intriguing background, sarcastic banter, and top-notch action skills. Most importantly, this book also gave me a strong female main character, family themes, and a promising polyamorous romance.

Thank you Netgalley and Tor from Pan Macmillan Publishing for providing copy of this ebook. I have voluntarily read and reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Expecting release date: 9 July 2024

Was this review helpful?

Another one for the 'promised so much and yet...' pile, I'm afraid. To be perfectly honest, I'd given up by the end of book 1 of her extremely wordy series, so didn't hold out massive hopes for this though the premise sounded interesting. I've been reading but not keeping up with reviews, so I can't even remember if I made it to the end of this one either.

The basic premise of The Sky on Fire is that it's a world where dragons bond with humans but mainly because they need them as servants (those opposable thumbs are handy, tbh) and our protagonist gets caught up in a heist where people want to steal from one of their hoards. It's been a while and so little has stuck in my memory about this book, other than how bored I was at times with it and how little the semi-mandatory instalove relationship interested me. If you like doorstoppers, this might still be for you, but there's better out there that does more in fewer words.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher, via Netgalley. This is my honest review of the book in question.

Was this review helpful?

Although I loved the idea of this book I didn’t like it as much as I thought I was going to. Unfortunately the writing and the plot was a little bit slow in my opinion which was a let down. I found some parts of the story to be quite confusing and felt that they dragged.

The characters were probably my favourite part of this book. I really enjoyed the relationships and found family aspect!

Was this review helpful?

This is absolutely the best fantasy of the year, I loved this book so so so much!!! I have wanted to read a book by this author since Ruin of Kings came out and I am absolutely in love and will read her shopping lists

Was this review helpful?

I don't tend to read fantasy books so this was new for me, but I really enjoyed it! The characters are well thought out and I enjoyed their journey. The reason for three stars is because I didn't find it that well written, I often had to read pages multiple times to work out who was being spoken about, and some aspects were just never explained at all.

Was this review helpful?

I have no doubt that many fantasy fans will love this book especially ones who love fantasy, dragons and heists as this book is a dragon heist. The book has plenty of action ,magic, romance, humour and of course dragons- there is even a sort of magic school for anyone who enjoys a touch of academia.
But unfortunately, I found that I struggled with The Sky on Fire. I loved the author’s Chorus of Dragons series ( series review here), so I was really looking forward to this but the elements that really made me love her previous books just didn’t seem to work for me here – a bit too much flirting ,too many characters, too much action .I struggled to keep up with the story and when things started to get interesting, the romance got in the way ( although that could just be me).
This is a standalone book.

Was this review helpful?

I LOVE THIS BOOK!!!!

I did not want this to end. I can’t believe it’s a stand alone?! I’m hoping that’s a lie and there will be more to come, there certainly seems like there could be by that ending…

God this was so brilliant. I loved it. The world building was fantastic. The settings were beautifully described, they were so vivid and atmospheric, each one of them sprung to life in my imagination so easily. Even now I can picture scenes from the book with little effort, it was that good.

There was such a beautiful and brilliant diverse selection of characters. Funny, murderous, poetic, stabby…loved it. And oh my god the romance!! There was a point where I was like “ugh, why does she always have to choose” and then the book was like “guess what, not that type of book” and I was living!! BEST THRUPLE EVER.

The plot was great and I loved how Anahrod completely pantsed her way through everything. Such a mood. For someone with such a villainous reputation, she truly doesn’t know what she’s doing.

My only issues with this book would be that at sometimes it would be a little bit contradictory. So we’d have Anahrod mention how dragons can see through walls so she wouldn’t be safe, and then a few chapters later the crew and Anahrod would be mad at Ris for not mentioning the dragons could see through walls, therefore endangering Anahrod who is being hunted, yet Anahrod knows this?? Just a few inconsistencies like this kept occurring.

Overall, really loved this book and I’ll definitely be reading more of Jenn Lyon’s’ work.

Was this review helpful?