Dragonhart - Abbie Eaton

I thought this was just okay. The premise really intrigued me but it did fall a little flat.
It felt very similar to other fantasy books but I didn’t fall in love with the characters.
There’s nothing wrong with this book I just didn’t really connect with it.

“Beneath Castle Grey, there are dragons in a slumber so deep, not even gods can wake them”

“When I touch you again, I want you to remember every second of it”

I really enjoyed this book. A well written enemies to lovers fantasy story where the magic dragons held has been hunted and desperately craved for too long, and two people of rival kingdoms have to work together for peace. Only not everything is as it seems. Arla and Hark’s story is intriguing and beguiling and it’s been a pleasure getting through it. It was action packed, it was fast paced and every banter scene was funny and entertaining and I loved it. There were some mild spicy scenes too which are always appreciated. And, as always, when the “fuck it” moment is revealed … I’m a puddle on the floor!!!!
I’m glad I had a chance to read this book and I truly think a lot of people will enjoy it too!!

“And when I bring him back, we’ll storm that city and burn its king to ash”

“She was blood, and fire, and truth, and she would never again be useless. She would never again be that child locked in a dresser, watching her kingdom fall before her”

Thank you to Abbie Eaton, Harper Collins UK, and One More Chapter for providing me with this eARC.

I went into this book with so much anticipation — the cover, the title, and the description all pulled me in effortlessly. The opening had me fully hooked, and I was excited to see where the story would lead.

However, as the plot unfolded, I found myself becoming increasingly distracted and struggling to stay engaged. I kept holding on, thinking perhaps it was because the book is written in third-person — a narrative style that usually demands more of my attention — but the further I read, the more difficult it became to stay immersed.

That said, this isn’t a reflection of the writing itself or the premise, which both held a lot of potential. I personally found the pacing a little too slow for my taste, and the FMC's arrogance and anger began to wear on me as the story progressed. While I’m sure there’s a character arc intended for her, I’m not certain I’ll be able to see it through just yet.

I do hope to revisit this book in the future, when I can return to it with fresh eyes and perhaps a different mindset.

So much potential here, but it fell short for me.
Honestly, Arla might be one of the most annoying fmcs I’ve encountered in a while.
She’s honestly so irritating, and I honestly don’t know how she’s the King’s personal assassin when she is so completely incompetent.
Honestly, she ruined my whole reading experience.
Overall, a frustrating read that could have been great.

Abbie Eaton's debut fantasy romance "Dragonhart" offers an intriguing premise in a world where dragons have disappeared and kingdoms are in decline. The story follows Arla Reinhart, the king's assassin, who partners with Hark Stappen, an ambassador from the rival kingdom that killed her parents.

The world-building has some interesting elements, particularly the mythology around the absent dragons and gods. I enjoyed the journey aspect of the story as Arla and Hark travel across kingdoms, encountering both royal courts and rougher tavern scenes along the way.

Their relationship develops from initial hostility to something deeper, which creates some genuinely engaging moments. The gradual revelation of secrets between their kingdoms adds nice complexity to both the plot and their relationship. What I found most compelling was Arla's internal journey - watching her tough exterior slowly reveal the vulnerability beneath as she's forced to question her long-held beliefs about magic, the gods, and even her sworn enemies.

If you're looking for a fantasy romance with a strong female protagonist and enjoy stories about unlikely partnerships that bloom into something more, "Dragonhart" might be worth adding to your TBR pile!

This book is about Arla who gets sent on a mission with Hark, someone she despises with her whole heart, because she blames him for the death of her parents. But unfortunately they are stuck with eachother on this mission and they have to make it work.

I need to start with that I did not finish this book. I have struggled to read at least 10 chapters to be able to give this a fair chance, but I started to get frustrated and irritated so I decided it was fair for me to DNF this book at 27%. I tried my best but I could not get into this. I will try to explain it the best I can, so here we go.

The first chapter was ok. We got a nice introduction into Arla and the story started immediately. However, it feels like Arla's character is build only on hate. Hate for her job, hate for the neighbouring country, hate for her rivals. She even hates when she likes something. To me this feels very very flat. I get that she is angry, but when angry is the entire personality of a person, it is not ok. What I have read was so negative, even the other characters were angry at the world and it honestly felt like anger was everyones personality. Also, this is supposed to be an Adult romantasy, it feels very very very YA. The way the characters are described, only one or two character traits. The FMC acts and behaves like a spoiled teenager in the midst of their puberty where everyone is against them and it is them against the world. She has a very adult job, but the way she acts she honestly sounded more like a 16 year old than an adult. I have no idea in what age range she should fall, because that is not mentioned in the part I have read. Even the conversations with other characters felt flat and young. They are supposed to be adults but I cannot imagine them being adults.
She constantly acts to violence, she is violence and violence is she. There also is a constant "I hate him" vibe going on and it is being mentioned multiple times per chapter.

I got Throne of Glass vibes very early on, but then a temu ripoff from the original. The story was lacking, we were thrown all around, parts I would have loved to know more about were over in a couple scentences and irrelevant things were dragged out immensly. The pacing is weird. They get their mission very early on in the book. Arla and Hark need to travel a long time, perfect time to get to know these characters a bit more. Unfortunately, they are there in no time and I was thoroughly disappointed by that. Great opportunity missed to build a foundation between these two important characters.

I felt frustrated and irritated probably most of the time. The amount of eyerolls I have done are lost to time. I absolutely did not enjoy this.

However, I do think this book would be a nice read if you don't need a lot of character build. I think this would be great if you just started reading fantasy, this could be a nice read to start. It is not overly complicated and even though I find the pacing weird, it is sorta logical?
Anyhow, I think this is a better fit in the YA section and I think that age group would find this book to be a nice read.

Thank you Netgalley for the arc. All opinions are my own.

Hello! Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this advanced copy of Dragonhart! I read it in one afternoon, it really hooks you. Who doesn’t love a FMC who’s an assassin who worked her butt off to get to where she is. Even willing to stab her hand to prove her loyalty. Then we have our MMC who is more than meets the eye and has more than one secret. I absolute love Arla and Harks banter and fighting and can’t wait to see more of their story together. At first I thought this was going to be a standalone because everything was going so smoothly towards the end, but I’m glad the author left some things unfinished so we can now have a book 2!
Thank you again and I can’t wait to read the next in the series.

LOVED IT LOVED IT LOVED IT

One of the best fantasy romance I have read. Arla is one of the best FMC I have ever had the pleasure of reading. Her rage her mistrust....yeah I could write a full dissertation on our girl!!

I loved the dragons and the magic and it felt was made 10 x better with Arla beliving none of it!

Hark was amazing and I loved his POV chapters, the enemies to lovers was done so well.

This was a great debut. The magic and dragon elements were both really enjoyable.

I love an unhinged and stabby FMC, and Arla definitely fits that vibe. I had a like/hate relationship with her. She was selfish and hard to like at times, but I still found myself empathising with her. Her sassy remarks made me laugh, and I liked seeing some growth in her character as the story progressed.

Hark, on the other hand, completely stole the show for me. Every time I thought I had him figured out, a new secret would come to light and totally blow my mind. The banter between him and Arla was hilarious. I'm really excited to see what this author writes next.

Thank you to One More Chapter, Netgalley and Abbie Eaton for my advanced copy

In "Dragonhart" by Abbie Eaton, we visit a world where the dragons and gods have vanished and kingdoms teeter on the brink of collapse. Arla Reinhart, the king's assassin, must reluctantly partner with her personal sworn enemy, the ambassador of the neighbouring kingdom, Hark Stappen. Their journey across both kingdoms unveils a shocking truth that challenges everything Arla believes.

Arla Reinhart is a complicated individual who works as the King's assassin. Her position in court allows readers to explore themes like loyalty, revenge, and doubts about faith. Her conflicting relationship with Hark Stappen introduces an enemies-to-lovers romance that goes deeper than just personal dislike; it also reflects long-standing conflicts between their nations.

If you are challenged by the stereotypical 'strong' female fantasy protagonist who solves everything only through violence, the beginning of the book could give you the wrong impression. Arla isn't just an assassin, she is a more complex heroine despite all the tough situations she is put in.

This book is most interesting for its undercurrent of political and spiritual turmoil. With no dragons or gods around anymore, Arla is reluctant to believe in either even when many others still do. Arla faces questions about her past, her enemies, and her abandoned beliefs about the world that have shocking answers.

Dragonhart is ideal for readers who enjoy character-driven fantasy with enemies-to-lovers romance, complex heroines seeking vengeance, and richly developed worlds where lost magic and political intrigue intertwine.

Thank you to One More Chapter for providing a review copy of this book at no cost and with no obligation. I reviewed this book voluntarily, and all opinions are my own.

I wanted this book to be so much more than what it was. There's a chance that, once I saw the extended title on GoodReads I had a better idea of what to expect, but I still went in hopeful.

What I found was that I wasn't a huge fan of the main character, she was exactly the female main character expected for this style of story: stabby, sarcastic, quick to anger, good at almost everything, but with one reoccurring noteable weakness. With spoiling too much of the story, the biggest negatives to the story were its predictability and the lack of emotional maturity in Arla and Hark.

Positive take aways for me were the themes of justice and morality (the second of which we saw Arla grapple with from time to time), the world (I enjoyed the political tension between the two kingdoms covered in Dragonhart), and the open ending without the need for a cliffhanger to end on.

Overall, this wasn't a favorite read of mine, not because the book was bad, but because it stuck too closely to the tropes inherent to its genre and didn't throw any surprises my way. Between that and my lack of connection with the main character, this wasn't the book for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the opportunity to read and review Dragonhart in exchange for my honest review.

As a huge fan of FW, I jumped at the chance to read this. The story was good, The world building was pretty minimal which was okay. It was a fun read and I did enjoy it, but think it's more NA than I anticipated. Arla was a pretty infuriating FMC at times and not the brightest when it came to her "assassin" skills, but this was a debut novel and I expected it to have some kinks. I do think the story has potential and the author's writing is really good.

Thank you Netgalley & One more chapter publishing for an Arc in exchange for my honest review!

I really am unsure how I felt about this one. There were parts I enjoyed and equally parts I really struggled to get through and found hard to pick it up each day.

🌟Summary🌟
Arla Reinhart fought tooth and nail to become the kings assassin after the gods and dragons abandoned her world and she lost everything. When important shipments go missing that put her kingdom in jeopardy, she’s forced to ally with a man she hates, Hark Stappen. He’s the ambassador to the kingdom she believes responsible for her traumatic loss, and would like nothing more than to kill him. But as they hunt for answers, Arla faces shocking truths of things she long since thought buried and grapples with her growing affections for her enemy.

🌟Review🌟
I thought Arla was very similar to Celeana but with an attitude problem. She constantly talked about herself as the best assassin, but would then undermine herself by pointing out things she overlooked. Her back and forth with her beliefs being challenged and her denying the truth infront of her was tiring. I did enjoy her struggle with accepting help/her independence and the gentle reminder that you don’t have to go at life alone and it’s okay to not do it all. Hark Stappen was likeable, but I had a hard time understanding why he was such a broody arsehole as his back story wasn’t the clearest. The banter and romance between them felt forced and I didn’t enjoy their relationship until the very end.

The world building was complex and I found it hard to understand at the beginning, but became clearer as it went on. There was a lot packed into 400 pages and at times it felt action packed but simultaneously also filler.

I really wanted to love this book as I could tell so much love went into it and I even read the acknowledgements and could feel the authors passion, but it just didn’t fully hit for me. As a debut novel I think this was good and can only get better from here!

Rating: 2/5
Genre: Fantasy, Adventure, Romantasy
Pace: Kind of fast
Vibe: Dark political intrigue and focus on character development

Summary: Arla is an Orphan from a war toen country who is picked up by the King (for no apparent reason) and basically adopted to become his assasin after she trained to become captain of the guard. She and the neighboring Kingdom's ambassador, Hark Stappen, are sent to straighten out some trade problems where iron is being stolen, only to find out that its not iron at all.

Review: I liked the concept of this book going in but it just didn’t live up the potential. This book majorly lacked details and world building. The magic had no explination at all- I think it was kinda like the magic system in Graceling but I am not totally sure. The dragon Bonding- Most underwhelming and dissapointing dragon bonding scene because it was basically non existent with no magic- Just “oh the dragons are awake and suddenly a dragon voice in my head”
Beyond that I thought the book read like a younger YA novel but there is an explicit sex scene so I wouldn’t even recommend it as a YA.

A child-of-war turned King’s assassin, Arla, finds herself forced into a retrieval quest with the loathsome enemy ambassador, Hark, in this slow burn romantasy filled with mystery, drama and delicious angst.

This story utterly gripped me, and every twist & turn was a new surprise...except for one little secret I was eagerly waiting to be revealed *IYKYK*

And don't even get me started on the mouthwateringly slow build of the relationship between the two. Will they, won't they, or will both of them end up dead?

Read this as soon as you can!

I devoured this book! 5 ⭐
I went in expecting a fun fantasy romp with dragons and a bit of enemies-to-lovers tension, but it delivered so much more. It’s one of those reads where you sit down just to check it out, and suddenly it’s 2 AM and you’re telling yourself just one more chapter. 😅

Arla Reinhart is everything I want in a main character - she's a deadly assassin with a sharp tongue, a heavy past, and a chip on her shoulder big enough to level kingdoms.
And then there’s Hark… arrogant, smooth-talking, and frustrating in all the best ways. I started off rolling my eyes at him, but by the end, I was rooting for him real hard.
Their dynamic is so good!! The tension, the banter, the moments when you know they care but won’t admit it - loved it!

The story itself moves at a great pace. There’s action, court politics, tavern brawls, magical lore, and some seriously cool worldbuilding that feels lived-in without being overwhelming.
It kept me genuinely engaged and I was eager to see where the story went - safe to say I was not disappointed!

The last few chapters of the book were thrilling and have me eagerly waiting for the next book (please say there will be one, I beg)!

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Out on April 18th 2025!!

This book follows Arla, the King's assassin, as she is sent on a mission with the ambassador of the kingdom that killed her parents, Hark Stappen.

I really wanted to love this book, but I had to DNF around the quarter mark. I always read the first 100 pages of a book before deciding whether to continue, and sadly, I had to put down this one.

This book had a lot of potential! I was very intrigued by the FMC as the assassin, and who doesn't love a good enemies-to-lovers romantasy with DRAGONS??? Though I did not see any dragons in the first 100 pages, and as this book is only around 350 pages, it felt too long for me. There was a lot of telling rather than showing and a lot of info-dumping, which confused me and took me out of the story on multiple occasions.

I did enjoy the tone of the writing; it really felt as though someone was telling me a fairytale. The writing gave me "The Princess Bride" vibes, and I think it is very promising!

I could not get attached to Arla as she was too prickly for me. She isn't just a badass FMC, she is someone no one wants to be around. She is very provocative and always very snarly for no particular reasons. She's also not a very good assassin... The story felt rushed, but also slow for what I was expecting. A lot was happening very fast and I did not have any context besides the info dumps.

I think I might have preferred this book in paperback rather than digital, but I might pick it up again! Her use of metaphors and descriptions was very well written and original, and I very much enjoyed her style.

It was not a bad book, it just wasn't for me.

If you want to read a novel with fairytale-like writing about a royal assassin FMC and an ambassador MMC forced to work together on a mission, but they both despise each other, this book is for you!

I will post my review on my Instagram and TikTok on April 18th!

What a fantasy adventure this proved to be
With deception, daring and mystery.
Add in gods and dragons, too
You're starting to get a clue!

Arla Reinhart is the assassin for the King of Hadalyn
Determined against other kingdoms they'll win.
She's feisty, a fighter - and a bit of a brat,
Determined to succeed at what she's at.

So imaging what happens when she's sent on quests
With the ambassador of a kingdom she truly detests!
Their journey takes them through other kingdoms, too,
With a variety of dangers to get through.

However, a discovery made along the way
Makes her question everything others may say.
With magic, dragons and mystery,
This is a different read, I enjoyed as you can see.

There's deception and enemies to lovers romance
In this debut novel I hope you'll give more than a chance!
For my copy of this fantastic book I say thank you
As I share with you this, my honest review.

i really wanted to like this, especially since it’s marketed as “enemies to lovers with dragons”.. but i COULD NOT STAND the fmc Arla. she’s made out to be a skilled assassin and i just want to know who lied to her? she literally almost got everyone caught on more than one occasion and lacks any and all self awareness. Arla’s parents were killed by the mmc Hark’s people, so for that she’s so aggressive and angry at him.. but her animosity is so misplaced.

she “hates” him but meanwhile the whole time Hark was secretly helping the exact slaves that Arla was concerned about?? make it make sense. he honestly deserves better than her and her 52782 temper tantrums. i just didn’t feel the chemistry between them.

in this world there used to be dragons and magic but since Arla doesn’t believe that that’s true, she belittles anyone who thinks so and is beyond condescending about it. so naturally, she’s the one who ends up being gifted the opportunity of becoming bonded with the dragons. the plot itself made no sense to me and felt like there were 20 different ideas fighting for the chance to be thrown into this book. Arla is also rude and immature towards Hark’s friends, he has more patience than me— i can tell you that much. i can’t for the life of me understand why he was even into her whatsoever. i also don’t like that she’s 18 years old.. I don’t want to be reading sex scenes involving a teenager. i was just so aggravated the whole time i was reading this and couldn’t wait for it to end.

I’m so impressed that this is Abbie Eatons Debut novel, it was Fun, it was engaging and it had dragons! Say less 👏🏻
A Younger version of me would have been kicking my feet and squealing at the romance, the tension, the banter, the angst!
The 38 Year old me? I had so much fun reading it!
But I think the slightly younger target audience would totally eat this up and leave no crumbs.
Is it a groundbreakingly original storyline that will blow you out of the water? Not really…
Was the FMC arrogant and overconfident and at times annoying? Yes but she’s young and you see her growth even in 300 pages!
Dragonhart just has that fun youthful energy that had me smiling and turning the pages for more, I will definitely be picking up the next book if we get more from this series ❤️