If you just finished Throne of Glass and need more of those vibes, you might like this. I, however, did not. The whole book is all tell and no show and thus fell flat. It also has a very YA feel, but it's not actually YA.

Arla is one of the most unlikeable, rude characters I've ever met. She's also supposed to be the King's Assassin, but she's 19 and way too impulsive for her job. She constantly loses her composure and is rude to everyone. It's annoying.

For a romantasy, it felt like both the romance and magical world building were wildly underdeveloped. All of a sudden the main characters with no sexual tension and clearly hate each other are kissing. Then they love each other and I did not see how they got to that point.

Maybe the worldbuilding behind the magic and dragons will come in later books, but I wish there had been more of a setup for it because I just didn't care and was bored at a certain point. At about 70% in, the story starts to pick up and feel less like a Throne of Glass copycat, but it wasn't enough to pull me in.

If you ignore a lot of plot holes and are just here for the vibes, you'll enjoy it. I was just very disappointed and will not be continuing the series.

Thank you Netgalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

CW: language, sex

This book had so much potential, but it didn’t quite hit the mark. Arla was frustrating, her behavior felt immature for a king’s assassin and the constant reminders of her title didn’t help. Hark had his moments but their arguments in the first half were exhausting. The worldbuilding, especially the fantasy elements, was underdeveloped, making it hard to care about the lore or the dragons. While the story picked up later on, it wasn’t enough to fully redeem the book for me. I wanted this to be my next obsession, but sadly, it missed the mark :(

This was a really easy fantasy to get into. I was immedietly invested in the characters and loved how sassy Arla was. Enemies to Lovers is my favourite trope and I do think it pulled it off well! It was fun and faced paced, but it did feel simiilar to some other books I have read. The vibes were great and I would recommend it!

This was a strong debut novel and I liked the premise - a girl rises from her humble beginnings as an orphan to become an assassin, then is sent on a quest to help save the kingdom. There was a decent amount happening in the plot that kept me turning the pages.

For me, the characters could have used more development. Arla is designed to be a strong female lead, but comes across as cocky (and sometimes doesn't seem good at her job). She read as more of a YA character, holding a grudge and generalising in a way that came across as a bit childish. This might be because she's young (one could argue too young for the job her character has been given) but it makes her a bit unlikable at times. She shows some growth as the book goes on, but I think she could have been better developed. I liked Hark, but again despite having sections from his POV we didn't get a ton of depth or character development.

Overall, the plot was fun - your typical romantasy, with a twist and some dragons thrown in. It wasn't anything mind blowing but it was an easy read that kept me engaged. I think the author shows a lot of promise and look forward to future books.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I'll be honest - I lost all respect for Arla over the business with the bow and arrow. She is the worst assassin who ever assassinated in fiction! Oh, you're bad with a bow and arrow but you love it? Well you've got two options cupcake. Either don't waste energy carrying it, and then risk your life using it, OR you PRACTICE. You practice until your arms tremble and your fingers bleed and you can hit a bullseye every time! She tantrums in lieu of a personality, she's foolish, she's reckless, and her character type has been done before WAY better. The writing is quite overblown, apart from the fight scenes which are distinctly half-baked. Annoyingly I may be tempted to read the sequel because something compelled me to finish it, but I will definitely approach with caution!

Dragonhart is a very well written book. I can tell that the author has talent when it comes to writing and I enjoyed reading it. What I wasn’t a huge fan of was that it felt like it took the story of assassins blade and fourth wing and combined them. There were parts that felt like I was just rereading the style of those two stories. I enjoyed the book but the I didn’t feel like there was any new component to a storyline that has already been created by other authors. The relationship between Arla and Hark was fun to read, I always enjoy enemies to lovers and they had well written banter. Arla was basically Celeana Sardothien, full of confidence and the kings assassin… and then suddenly there are two sassy dragons thrown into the mix adding commentary to Arlas’ antics - we’ve seen this done before…
It’s hard to rate this book because it was good, but is that because it follows a pattern of two other books that have been very successful?
If you are someone that misses the world of throne of glass and fourth wing then this book gives you a nostalgic feeling of those worlds. Personally I would have liked to have seen something a little different.
The world building was very descriptive and the characters were well written, if you’re new to fantasy then this is a great one to start with.

Let’s talk Dragonhart 🐉✨—because this book had me feral one moment and then side-eyeing certain choices the next 👀. It’s giving Rebecca Yarros and Sarah A. Parker vibes, but with a more classic fantasy feel.
Enemies-to-lovers? ✔️
Forced proximity? ✔️
Dragons (kinda)? ✔️
Magic, political intrigue, and a morally grey assassin FMC? Absolutely.

What I LOVED 💖
🔹 Hark Stappen—cocky, charming, infuriating ambassador? Say less. He’s got that “smirks while dodging knives” energy, and I lived for his constant back-and-forth with Arla. The banter was top-tier, no notes.
🔹 Arla as an assassin? Chef’s kiss 🍽️ She’s broody, ruthless, and so done with everyone. If you love an FMC who throws knives before words, she’s your girl.
🔹 Hark’s found family—Sebastian, Jack, and Kase were giving chaotic family energy, and I’d happily read a spin-off about them.
🔹 The romance? TENSION CITY. "I hate you." "Keep telling yourself that, sweetheart." SCREAMING. That first kiss? That fuck it moment? I died. Resurrected. And died again.

😬 What didn’t quite hit:
• The final battle felt like it was speedrunning its way to the finish line. Like, where was the angst, the epic payoff, the glory?! I needed more tension, more high stakes. Arla’s revenge arc had all the right ingredients but ended up a little undercooked.
• The dragons. Were they cool? The concept was intriguing. But I wanted more. More lore, more presence, more fire-breathing chaos. If you promise me dragons, I expect to FEEL their power in the story.
• The somewhat predictable plot. It was engaging, don’t get me wrong, but if you read a lot of fantasy romance, you could see some twists coming from a mile away.

Favourite Quotes (aka proof of my slow descent into madness)

🔹 "Gods, I'd love to stab you."
"I'd like to see you try, sweetheart."

🔹 "This is a bad idea."
"The worst."
“I don’t even like you.”
“You’re the bane of my life…
Fuck it.”

🔹 "When I touch you again, I want you to remember every second of it."

Final Thoughts ✨
If you love an angsty enemies-to-lovers romance with deadly banter, a broody assassin FMC, and a golden retriever menace of an MMC, Dragonhart delivers. It’s not perfect, but it was still a damn good time. Just be prepared for that ending to leave you wanting a bit more.

3.75 ⭐️—because Hark and Arla’s banter alone deserves it.

I enjoyed this book! I love a good feisty FMC who stands up for herself and takes no b*llsh*t from others and Dragonhart delivers that. The story did start a bit slow and therefore it took me a while to get into it. This made me lose interest in the story during the first part of the book. However, assassins, dragons and romance all make up for that in the rest for the story since they form the perfect combination for a thrilling Romantasy!

Dragonhart by Abbie Eaton is a fantasy novel filled with magic, dragons, and political intrigue. It follows assassin Arla Reinhart, who is forced to work with Hark Stappen, an ambassador from a rival kingdom responsible for her family's death. Together, they uncover dark secrets threatening their lands.

Pros:
✔ Engaging enemies-to-lovers dynamic – Arla and Hark’s relationship is filled with tension.
✔ Strong world-building – The magical setting and dragons are well-crafted.

Cons:
✘ Character inconsistencies – Arla’s skills as an assassin sometimes feel underdeveloped.
✘ Slow start – The story takes time to build momentum.

Despite some pacing and character issues, Dragonhart is an enjoyable read for fantasy lovers who appreciate adventure and romance.

Final rating: ★★★½ (3.5/5)

A lot of potential here but didn’t meet it.

Arla was so irritating omg I wanted to pull my hair out. She argued like a literal child and felt like a forced character. She’s supposed to be a kings assassin but was proven incompetent like half the book.

Hark deserved better. But then again he would argue back in the first half of the book and I was like 🥴 the things he said didn’t leave the best impression icel.

The fantasy aspect wasn’t properly introduced and I lost complete interest halfway thru for me to want to care about the dragons or the lore.

So disappointed because I was really expecting this to be the next best thing 💔

ೃ⁀➷ Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for the ARC! ♥︎

2.5/5 🌟🌟🌟 Oof, I really wanted to like this, but I just don’t.

Arla Reinhart is a brash, hot-headed and immature assassin, who at the age of 18 has managed to become King’s Assassin despite not eating and sleeping properly and lacking basic manners. She hates (loves) the very handsome and snarky ambassador from the neighboring kingdom, because he is the bane of her existence. To be fair, his kingdom killed her parents in the past resulting in her being taken in by the King and his lover (who seem kinda nice and wholesome at first). This is likely how they came to the conclusion that she needed to have some title, to occupy her.

So what went right in this book?

+ The writing is good, the cliches we meet are more due to romance tropes than due to bad writing. But it is romance, make no mistake. Much romance, less of the typical romantasy.
+ The world building is interesting. There is something here to build on, for sure. It’s a little overkill with magic, dragons, evil kings and so on.
+ Despite being incessantly annoying, I kinda like Arla in a weird way. At least, I’m rooting for her even though she is kind of dumb and stubborn.

And why don’t I like it?

- The pacing is… off.. There are plot holes galore and more time is spent on Arla’s not so subtle obsession with Hark. The romance takes over and the world building falls to the way side, which makes the plot feel thin and lacking.
- She’s too young. I think this is more YA than anything else. If it’s your thing, have at it, I just can’t deal with another wonderkind 18 year old. She’s barely adult and her love interest even thinks that at one point (gag).
- The romance is laid on so thick that it’s hard to believe that they’re anything else than hormone driven teenagers. Which is basically what they are. This turns the book more into a classic romance that just happens to have dragons, than an epic fantasy with romance, lust and spice.

If you’re a romance girlie dabbling in fantasy, this is for you! If you’re a fantasy girlie dabbling in romance, skip and move to the next.

Dragonhart is an exciting fantasy romance. The story follows Arla Reinhart, a skilled assassin with a tragic past, who must reluctantly team up with her sworn enemy, Hark Stappen, as the kingdoms collapse around them. Packed with thrilling moments, from royal dinners to tavern brawls, Dragonhart blends enemies-to-lovers tension, magic, and high-stakes adventure. Arla’s journey of revenge, betrayal, and unexpected discoveries will keep readers hooked, especially as dragons and ancient magic rise to the forefront of the kingdom’s survival. An unforgettable read for fans of fantasy romance!

ARC Review: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you for the ARC Netgalley and HarperCollins UK.

Powerful, beautiful, and deadly, my favorite combination for a female lead. I adored the seemingly contradictory traits the female lead had that gave her character more depth. Not afraid to get down and dirty, full on rage mode - then glorious gowns of silk and soft smiles.

The romance in this fantasy book was such a great balance. I enjoyed the slow burn and the banter was 🤌. Fantastic tension between the characters that blended into the story seamlessly.

This had great action scenes - I had so much fun and the pacing of this book could make this a finish the whole book in one go kind of read. Hard to put down.

I enjoyed every twist and turn of this story and CANNOT wait for more.

Highly recommend.

I enjoyed this book; it was easy to follow, the writing was accessible and the plot line good. It had all the makings of a good romantasy.

Our FMC gives all the Celaena Sardothien vibes - she's deadly, stubborn, proud and a little bit vain. She is sold as the kingdom's top assassin who can be beaten by nobody yet throughout the book she seemed to miss really obvious things which I found a bit annoying. She wasn't the easiest character to like but as the book wore on she definitely wore me down. I do love a character with a strong moral purpose, and weirdly for an assassin, she definitely had one of these.

I loved the male main character - he was likeable, swoon worthy and quietly got in with it in the corner. At the beginning he was set up to be the bad guy but you could always sense that there was far more to him than that.

The writing and plot were easy to follow. I do think the pacing was a bit off - lots of important stuff happens in the last 30% of the book and some of it felt a bit rushed.

I am looking forward to reading more of the series - it feels like there are many secrets left to be uncovered and I really want to get to know the side characters more.

DNF @ 30%

I should have known right when I read the word “swagger” this book wasn’t for me. But I pushed to around 30% and I had to stop. I really, really tried but Arla was insufferable. I read reviews in hopes that she character eventually became likable but the majority vote is: she does not.

Thank you HarperCollinsPublishers & NetGalley for this ARC opportunity.

This book and it’s writer definitely have potential (e.g., kings’s assasins, dragons, enemies to lovers are all great things), bur for now unfortunately it’s falling short.

For starters, the story’s flow did not work for me (events that fell wrong for me, plans that seem a bit weird (saving slaves one group at the time, and then deciding that destroying one camp will destroy the whole slave trade?).

Secondly, the premise also didn’t really fit to me, dragons were part of the story in a way, but the premise made them sound to be way more present, yes there is a reason for them not being there but it feels a little lazy.

Moreover, I never really understood people who said a FMC irritated them and that that made the story difficult for them, but this book (unfortunately) made me understand. To be clear I am not an assassin and would not survive a day, but Arla’s (FMC) attitude and behavior are just so out of place and child like that I just cannot get into her. The dual point of view made the story a little better, but not enough to save it for me.

Lastly, the relationship between Arla and Hark (MMC) didn’t feel naturally to me either unfortunately, we hate each other, we are intimate, oh I hate him/her, wait I hate that I kinda don’t hate them, etca.

All in all, the writing in itself doesn’t feel to bad and the ideas are there but there is definitely some room for improvement. Or maybe this book and the author just aren’t for me, and that’s also okay.

Thank you onemorechapterhc for providing me with this arc trough netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Not yet 21, Arla is a ruthless assassin who doesn’t believe in love or magic or dragons. In this book she gets all three of those things. She goes from being a pawn in the hands of her king to finding her own power; she goes from being alone to having friends, and along the way she learns to care for other people. On its own it’s a decent YA story with a rather archetypal main character. The relationship between Arla and Hark is heavy-handed but not poorly done; and that’s kind of my review of the whole book.

The writing is good, the pace is fine, but there’s a lack of subtlety or nuance to a lot of the interactions and events that take place. Black is black, white is white, and the villains are as easy to spot as the good guys, which is fine in a YA read. The plot is also a bit derivative — which is fine, really! — but some of the familiar story beats weren’t given much to make them unique. As this is a debut, I’m looking forward to seeing future books from this author. They have a very readable writing style, and I’m curious to see them develop their own voice, as it were.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC.

Excellent read,
So many twists and turns to keep me hooked.

First time reading Abbie, looking forward to more!

Dragonhart is an enjoyable debut novel with a lot of potential. I read this book in a day as I didn’t want to put it down! If you like strong FMCs, enemies to lovers, forced proximity and political intrigue, I think you would enjoy this book.

The enemies to lovers was well-written and felt gradual and realistic. I loved the journey Arla and Hark went on together. I enjoyed getting some chapters from Hark’s POV too.

I was intrigued by the world and its lore but I do think this could have been developed further. I would have liked to spend more time learning about the dragons but I can see this might come in future books.

Thank you to NetGalley and One More Chapter for an early copy of Dragonhart.

I thoroughly enjoyed this slow-burn enemies-to-lovers story. Arla is a kick-butt assassin for the King of Hadalyn, and Hark is the Ambassador of Kastonia, a neighboring kingdom. She harbors deep hatred for his kingdom after they raided hers years ago, killing her parents and leaving her an orphan.

When Arla is sent on assignment with Hark to investigate missing shipments from both kingdoms, their snarky banter reveals her deep-seated resentments. Together they must unravel political intrigue and betrayal.

Hark is steady and harbors secrets of his own, but he clearly admires Arla for her wit and strength. The chemistry sparks whenever they're together.

This well-written enemies-to-lovers tale maintains excellent pacing throughout—I was never bored. While it doesn't end on a major cliffhanger, there's definitely more story to be told. I will absolutely be waiting for book two.

Thank you to NetGalley and One More Chapter for this copy.