I found this story to have a lot of potential but it seems rather unpolished. The FMC was hard to get behind as it felt she was just a copied model of some other "famous" FMC types. The book didn't feel adult in its prose. It seemed to lean more immature.

Books with dragons are always on my insta-read list. I will quite literally drop whatever I'm reading to devour them. When I first started reading this, I couldn't believe it was a debut.

Read this if you're a fan of:
- DRAGONS
- A well fleshed out FMC
- Political intrigue
- Enemies to lovers
- High stake romance
- Forced proximity

In a world that is becoming more and more full of dragon romantasy books, this is definitely a standout.

I loved it!!! It has its own unique twist on much loved storylines. Arla can be stubborn, stabby and too much, but I like a stabby and too much FMC! 🗡️♥️🔥 I’m thrilled by her banter with Hark, and attitude with people in general. There are some gut wrenching realizations and hard truths that are heartbreaking, and others that feel so right, which definitely keeps it interesting. The writing is fabulous. Plus magic and dragons, what’s not to love?

Aelin, I’m sorry, ARLA is the royal assassin of the King of Adarlan. Nope sorry again, HADALN. She’s 16, no sorry, 18(just legal enough to make this romance work am I right?) in a world that has dragon and the magic wieldera are eradicated. Copy and paste Throne of Glass tropes aside(I’m aware these are regular tropes) the writing isn’t strong enough to give this book its own voice. It feels like a watered down Throne of Glass almost fanfiction with spice.

Would not recommend.

The premise of this book was really intriguing but unfortunately I just wasn't pulled in by the plot. It started out interesting but then it was too slow paced for me to keep my attention. I wish the author the best of luck.

Overall rating: 3.5

I was really excited going into this book. And I’m not disappointed, maybe a little critical, but not disappointed. I feel like this book has a lot of potential, but I also had some consistent gripes that I couldn’t overcome.

Arla felt like a watered-down version of Aelin/Celaena from Throne of Glass. Like extreme similarities. From Arla’s blonde hair to her “King’s Assassin” role with immense “swagger” to her (of course) loving books and luxury, and even her being an orphan (there were even similarities on how she became an orphan!). A lot of points during the book gave me deja vu…in a carbon copy sort of way. She also didn’t quite fit her role. For an esteemed assassin, I would expect her to be quite skilled. Instead, she easily gets distracted during fights by a boy, a telepathic conversation with a dragon, or even her own thoughts. She also sucks with a bow and arrow and is permanently injured. She is *also* incredibly rash and hotheaded (hello Celaena, again). It makes me question how and why she is trusted with serious political matters.

And speaking of serious political matters…I still don’t understand why the king put her up for the mission knowing her personal philosophies. For me, that was never explained and we just moved on.

The book was also just too much at times. It felt as though it tried to hit EVERY young adult trope (I won’t get into it in fear of spoiling, but if you can think of a fantasy trope, it’s likely in there). At times, it felt like going down a checklist of common plot points instead of plot points being relevant to the storyline.

As for Arla and Hark’s romance. I wasn’t completely mad at it. They were cute in a way, their banter was enjoyable. But there wasn’t a transition from banter to friends to romance. They were playful, then got intimate, then were still enemies (?), then were in love. It was odd—not quite insta-love, but not quite developed either. It was also unnecessarily angsty. A lot of their issues could’ve been avoided from simple communication.

I liked the magic system. I wish it was explained a lot more, but I still enjoyed it. There were a lot of snippet descriptions of the system—the existence of gods, a war, the concept of lineages. However, we don’t get much more than that. I would’ve loved to hear about who the gods were, why they were important, how it connected to the present-day issues. I also would’ve loved more worldbuilding. I enjoyed learning about Hadalyn and Kastonia. Their divides were well explained and I liked the contrast of their cultures (colors, religions/beliefs, etc) despite their similarities. However, we get told of a continent with six other kingdoms one time, then never again. The continent isn’t even on the map. I would’ve loved to learn more about the kingdoms. Do they believe in magic? Do they have conflicts with Hadalyn and Kastonia?

All that being said, I was very compelled to read this novel. Despite my questions, I wasn’t so thrown off that I had to DNF. I didn’t even struggle to read it, and finished it quite quickly. I enjoyed seeing Arla’s growth and her and Hark’s journey. The battle/violent scenes were entertaining and didn’t feel plot-armored. I liked seeing Hark interact with his friend group (Arla…meh, she was incredibly self righteous and angsty). The side characters were pretty diverse to where I was not overwhelmed by their similarities. I also enjoyed learning about the conflict alongside Arla, as well as watching her deal with both her emotions and the issue at hand. It was at those points that Hark and Arla’s relationship swelled and felt authentic.
All and all, an enjoyable read, especially for young adult audiences. I look forward to reading the sequel when it’s released.

* I received an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I made it to the 35% mark and unfortunately will not be finishing the book. Without being too harsh, the writing needs a lot of work, or perhaps to be marketed to a different audience as it never once felt like an adult fantasy, and felt more aligned with a middle years tone.

The FMC felt like a copy of Calaena Sardothian from Throne of Glass, which was difficult to get past and I had difficulty connecting with or finding her likable.

I think the plot has potential, just needs a lot of work. I know this is the authors debut, and I could see her polishing the book and her work and doing well in the future.

I was gifted an arc on NetGalley - all thoughts are mine.

Dragonhart is a debut novel and has all the bones and elements of a well loved book. It resides from a time where dragons and gods have gone, where our FMC has had to endure the death of her parents because of the crown. It follows Arla, a well-known Assassin as she falls for a MMC who is grumpy, and the ambassador for kingdom she's blames for their death. To her, he is part of the enemy but she can't help falling for his trap.

The world was cute and thrilling, the writing style was refreshing, though at times read like a young adult with alot more spice. I also found there to be too much repetition on reminding you Arla was the King's assassin as though after a chapter or two we would forget. But I still kept reading, I still got hooked as I fell into her story and joined the characters on an adventure where she wasn't unbeatable, where there was political war and plot twists snaked through its pages and where the romance had banter as the enemies became lovers and spice flowed through the writing. The whole book game me a refreshed throne of glass feel and I am excited to see where the author takes this world next.

What a debut novel - fantasy writing at its best with great worldbuilding and characters
that you can become invested in
Arla has trained to be the best , the best assassin the kingdom has , ruled by her sense of right and wrong .
She no longer believes in the old religion of Gods, Dragons and Magic - where was it when she needed it ?
Now her King has need of her , she is to work with her enemy , Hark Stappen , Ambassador from a neighbouring
Kingdom ........................... what can go wrong , the journey starts here
This book was captivating from the start -, politics , magic , an enemies to lovers scenario and not least DRAGONS
I would recommend this book for any fantasy readers who want to try new Authors and be enthralled
from start to finish

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

I think this book is a good introduction into fantasy romance for readers who have not yet read a book in this genre. This book has a plot that is very easy to follow, with not too much high fsntasy elements. Also the characters and their relationships are entertaining and fun, without too much angst.

I sincerely hope there's more to Arla and Hark's story and a sequel comes soon. From the beginning, it was compelling to follow Arla on her journey through her life as she knew it because you were just drawn into it. Arla who is a little rough around the edges but soft on the inside isn'tthe heroine you'd imagine initially maybe but she really does grow on you. I also loved that she wasn't prim and proper and had a bit of fight in her. Whilst I was pessimistic about their bond and how it could grow so quickly, it wasn't completely unfathomable and what romance doesn't have its unclear moments and 'how did we get here actually'

All in all this was really such a great read and I'm really looking forward to what comes next!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this eARC.

This was definitely an impressive debut novel and a great start to a new romantasy series.
I thoroughly enjoyed the characters dynamics and relationships, however, even though I enjoyed the enemies-to-lovers romance, I would have liked the romance to but drawn out further, creating more tension and yearning between the two before the point of breaking.
The premise was also really interesting and the pace of the novel allowed for the perfect level of intrigue and tension. I would however liked for more use of the dragons as a plot device as it felt very minimal.

I think this book is a good introduction into fantasy romance! It is very easy to get into and the characters are vibrant and entertaining. While this wasn't the best fit for me, it's one I would recommend! I will definitely recommend it to those who want enemies to lovers and a very stabby FMC!

Thank you to Netgalley for giving me an advanced readers copy!
A compelling story with a strong female lead. The setting was giving a sight d&d vibe which worked for me. The dynamic between the characters got slight repetitive at some points but for a debut novel it was more than acceptable! I feel like the author's writing style can really flourish if she keeps writing. The prose wasn't too flowery and the plot kept going pretty steadily. The characters had very clear motivations but were at times a bit one dimensional.

⭐⭐ "Dragonhart" had an interesting concept with the assassin and the lost dragons, but unfortunately, it didn't quite soar for me. Arla's initial cynicism was relatable, but her development felt a bit uneven. While the journey across kingdoms had potential for exciting world-building, it often felt rushed or lacked depth. The romance with Hark also didn't fully ignite, and their dynamic felt more forced than natural. Ultimately, "Dragonhart" had some intriguing ideas, but the execution left me wanting more.

Thank you to One More Chapter and Netgalley for early access in exchange for an honest review.

I have to say I was really excited to get to this book due to the description of an enemies-to-lovers dragon romantasy. However, what I read did not live up to that expectation.

The author seems to have fallen into the trap that by making the FMC a "badass assassin," she's actually made an incredibly obnoxious and unlikeable character. Arla has few redeeming qualities, and treats those around her terribly. Oh and did you know she was the King's Assassin?

The story also moved at quite a slow pace, and was extremely 'info-dumpy' at times. It made the world building feel quite lacklustre. Instead of fleshing out the lore surrounding the gods, we're instead told next to nothing simply because the FMC never cared to learn about it. It really felt lazy in places.

The romance also was not developed properly in my opinion. The main couple go from constant threats of violence to being all over each other shockingly quickly, The first 'spicy' scene really came out of left field for me, and left me wanting more build up to perhaps explore the tension and anticipation of any budding romance.

Overall, this book had great promise and the foundations for an amazing story. However, the writing just fell flat in places and the character work was sloppy.

I hope Eaton is able to use the experience of writing this debut to refine her skill moving forward, the talent is there it just simply needs some polishing.

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

A fab story and well written. I enjoyed the plot and the characters. Enjoyed every second of reading.

it's a diluted copy of throne of glass.

my main issues are as follows:
1) the main character is an orphaned assassin with a taste for luxury and lavender skincare, and has no patience for social niceties. sound familiar? yep. except she doesn't have any of the charm or empathy that celaena has, so she just comes across extremely juvenile and unlikeable. Also we are told that she is an incredible assassin but her judgements and skills say otherwise.

2) the magic system was not explained, we know there are magical people known as "magics" (wow real creative) but we never really see how this impacts the world or what the importance of it is? There is one sentence in the entire book about how magics manipulate things, but it would have been much more interesting if we could have actually experienced this. Also the King is killing them to harvest their blood in the hope that he can one day use it?? Huh?? Why not enslave them and make them manipulate things for you? Would that not make much more sense?

3) The chemistry was non-existent. They were trying really hard to be 'enemies to lovers' but we don't see the build up of flirty tense moments, they are just genuinely mean to each other and then suddenly after one sexual experience they are head over heels in love? Hark also doesn't really have a personality.

4) the dragon was a redundant part of the storyline. it felt like thara was a wannabe-tairn.

If I wasn't reading this for NetGalley I would have dnf'd this book about 10% through.

2.75/5 This was really underwhelming. The book description and raving reviews there really piqued my interest, but unfortunately the book didn't deliver.

The first problem was the characters, mainly FMC Arla, who is immature, arrogant, self-centered and egoistical and I couldn't bring myself to like her or really care for her. She is supposed to be a royal assassin and I don't understand how she even got to that position or survived in it that long. I thought that assassins are supposed to be mysterious, unknown, careful and observant, Arla is usually none of those. How was she not shanked a long time ago, since everybody and their mother knows not only who she is but also what she is? And also, for someone who should heavily rely on gathering inteligence, she not only doesn't ask any questions, but I think she never even thinks about things and about the possibility of asking them. The book is written in a way, that the reader relies on the information Arla has to also know, so how come I have milion questions and the so called best assassin doesn't think about even one? It was so frustrating because the world-building could have been introduced though the character discovering it and learning it with us, but no. Sometimes I felt like the author was a bit lazy to think about it and write it all down. There were many kinda hollow scenes where there was the space for asking questions and learning things, but for some reason, the characters would rather just sit there in silence and wait for the next scene... am I the only curious one? Why don't they even try to plan things while there is the time to do it?
The only somewhat redeeming thing is that Arla is 18, which I think is unnecessary and she should have been older (given what she does and apparently did for a few years), but then again, if she was older and this immature and childish with her frontal lobe fully developed, there would be no possibility of her growing out of it and maturing. Although if I didn't know, I would guess her more like 16-year-old. This way, there is hope that she will change and learn how to control her impulses and balloon of an ego.

Our MMC Hark was great and I wished the chapters from his POV were longer. Like this he was clouded in mystery and from his POV we mainly only heard about something that he cannot tell Arla and therefore had to wait for her to discover it. (And then be frustrated by her not inquiring further.) And even though we technically don't know him that much, he still deserves better than to be with Arla. Hopefully the continuation of the series will help to flesh him out even more.

The other problem I had was the world-building. It was lacking and as I said, what could have been painted for us though the characters simply wasn't. So, it this world we learn about the existence of magic but have no idea how it works, what it can do (the only somewhat more written about spell/trick(?) is not really explained and the FMC focused on herself to ever ask). There are dragons and gods and nope, we don't get to learn anything substantial about them, because FMC "didn't believe in them and therefore ignored any old lore" and even after discovering them is not even a pinch curious to ask about anything. I would like to believe that the world would be much more expanded in the coming books in the series, but you need to lay a solid foundation to build upon. I don't think this book delivered that and didn't give me enough to be at least intrigued in it to read on. If anything, the world-building we were given really confused me. I don't even know what approximate time period to imagine, because on one hand we have medieval feel with swords, horses, torches etc., on the other there is a singular mention of train (that is not mentioned again) and so is a mention of small electric lights (christmas-lights like). But then is Arla flabbergasted by a sky-light window? Whenever there was something modern or technologically advanced mentioned it confused me and pulled me from what I imagined the world like (but maybe this is my fault). These instances felt deliberate and were not really focal for what was happening, but then were never mentioned again, so maybe it's just something that needed to be established for the future books but then again, it would make more sense to use them or at least mention them more so it would feel like everyday part of the world.

Not to just rant about things that I didn’t like, one thing this book did great was the banter between Arla and Hark. You could tell they started as enemies but also that Hark was secretly fond of Arla and just liked to rail her up. The development of relationship between them was interesting, but mostly it was just the disappearance of mutual animosity, the romance part of it pretty much appeared from nowhere.
The overall writing was kinda flat. It was written in third person and could benefit from some editing to not start almost every sentence on a page by "she/he". Also, the constant mentioning that Arla is, in fact, an assassin was driving me up the wall. What I was really looking forward in this book were the dragons and eh… they were by far the biggest disappointment, and I had to wait for that almost to the end of the book.

This bookseries has a potential with many interesting tropes and plot points (dragons, ancient gods, chosen one, politics, slavery, secret society) and this debut is promising start. Hopefully the second book will smooth out the shortcomings of the first book and heavily build upon it.

Thanks to Netgalley, HarperCollins UK and One More Chapter for the opportunity to read advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.