A good story with an interesting magic system. High fantasy world of Ellyrian with the majority of the story set in and around Eshtem University, where any youth can apply to train to become an Edrei, but only if they make it through without expulsion. The story centres around four main characters - Jadon, Christina, Jenne, and Diar - and the story is told through all four POVs as they experience their first year at the university.

The different characters contribute to the story building, and each has different virtues and flaws. I enjoyed the overall story and will be interested in seeing where it goes in the sequels. I do enjoy multiple POV books, but I feel that there were maybe too many right from the start. It was difficult to follow the storyline, and I had to make a few attempts to understand where it was all going. A suggestion would be to not switch to a new POV until the original POV has met the next character, or title the chapters in such a way to make it more obvious, by including the name of the character's POV and potentially their location at the time of that chapter? Once the characters had started interacting, it was much easier to follow the multiple POVs. Because there are so many POVs, some of the characters are less well developed than others, so it was hard for me to connect with some of them. The same could be said for the different locations; there's no map included, and they're not described in enough detail for me, so it was hard to link them up or visualise how they're connected.

This high fantasy world also uses its own form of time measurement - counts - which took me a long time to equate to actual time (when it was described that a horse could cover 12 miles in less than a count, so at that point I started equating counts to hours) which helped a little with understanding the pacing of events better.

I disagree with this book's description of "Fourth Wing meets The Atlas Six" - yes there are mentioned of dragons and the potential for students to learn to work with dragons, but this is revealed to probably not happen until after the university when the students specialise, and only some of them will ever even get the chance, whereas in Fourth Wing the story focuses on the dragon rider faction of the school and they're riding dragons from their first year. Yes, the students are competing for places in the further years of the university but it is very different from the dark academia style of The Atlas Six, as in this book students can be expelled for collecting demerits for infractions as little as being late to class or getting the answer to a question wrong. I think this book would stand better without these comparisons.

For those looking for a read set in a high fantasy world, with a focus on politics and strategic relationships, school friendships, a hint of magic and dragons to come in future books, with little action and no romance other than a drunken kiss, then pick this book up. Once I stopped making the comparisons and enjoyed the book for what it was, it was a much easier read. I will pick up the sequels in the hope that the characters, magic system, and world get fleshed out further, and to see where the story around framed and banished Edrei and a potential coverup and larger scheme goes.

3.5 stars, thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC copy.

I had to DNF this book so I won’t leave reviews on any other platforms. I have tried on many occasions since getting this ARC to read it. I have read many fantasies but this one was all over the place. I really tried to love it but was just so confusing maybe in the future I will try again but for now it’s a no I’m sorry

B.F. Peterson's The Ellyrian Code is a compelling entry into the epic fantasy genre, skillfully blending the grandeur of a sprawling world with the intricate dynamics of a dark academia setting. While early comparisons to Fourth Wing might set certain expectations, this novel carves its own path, offering a more academic and politically dense experience that will particularly resonate with readers who appreciate depth over rapid-fire romance or action. I'm giving it four stars for its ambitious scope and engaging foundation.

The world-building in The Ellyrian Code is undeniably one of its strongest assets. Peterson has crafted a rich and immersive universe, complete with detailed historical, cultural, and political imagery that truly draws you in. The central setting, Eshtem University, is far more than just a backdrop; it's a vibrant, grueling institution where aspiring dragon-riding peacekeepers train, and the academic focus on ethics and philosophy is deeply woven into the narrative.I particularly enjoyed how the lectures in the school were portrayed; you truly learned the history and politics along with the characters, making it feel like you were right there in the class, which was a fantastic experience.

The story unfolds through multiple points of view, allowing for a nuanced exploration of the world's complex class structures and the burgeoning political intrigue. The four main protagonists, each from distinct backgrounds, navigate volatile house rivalries and the unsettling emergence of corruption within the very Order they aspire to join. While some characters might take a little time to fully connect with, their individual arcs and evolving relationships are compelling, particularly as they grapple with moral dilemmas and question their place in a flawed system.

It's important to note that The Ellyrian Code is a "slow burn".This is not a criticism, but rather an observation that it prioritizes intricate plot development and character psychology over a breakneck pace. Readers seeking a fantasy with less emphasis on romance and more on political machinations and ethical discourse will find this a refreshing change. While dragons are part of the premise, their role in this first installment is more of a mystery to be uncovered later, as the focus remains on the students' foundational training.

While the world-building is rich, some aspects of the magic system and the intricate House structure could benefit from further clarification, occasionally leaving a reader feeling a bit lost in the initial chapters.
However, this is a minor point in what is clearly designed to be the foundational book of a larger series, laying extensive groundwork for future installments.

Overall, The Ellyrian Code is a smart and satisfying read for those who enjoy intricate, character-driven fantasy with a strong academic and political core. If you're ready to immerse yourself in a world of complex ethics, societal structures, and unfolding conspiracies, and are eager to embark on a multi-book journey, this novel is a highly promising start.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Ellyrian Code by B.F. Peterson
💀 Emotional damage: 10/10
🩸 Morally grey men: Present and devastating
⚔️ Plot: So sharp I bled
🫠 Me: Not okay, thank you for asking

I got this as an ARC ---- AND I couldn’t be any luckier to have read this before the vast majority! Thank you Angry Robot!

You ever read a book that gently takes your hand, whispers “it’s safe here,” then absolutely eviscerates your emotional defenses and leaves you lying in the dirt whispering “thank you” like a feral goblin?

That’s The Ellyrian Code.

It starts as political fantasy—but then it grows teeth. And claws. And trauma.
This is a book for those of us who love:

• Scars that are earned, not explained

• Empires built on rotting power

• Protagonists who are exhausted and angry but still choose compassion

Secret touches, slow-burn tension, and a war cry so quiet it shakes a kingdom

Edrei? He’s my new patron saint of tragic men with sharp tongues and softer souls.
Christina? A revelation. The quiet rage, the strength she builds, the way she burns without apology? I saw myself in her.
And Jadon—that bastard. I was READY to hate him, and then he turned around and gave me character growth and conflicted loyalty and now I’m in hell, thanks.

But it’s not just about the pain—it’s about what the pain becomes.
Hope. Power. Choice. And yes, maybe even love.

This is the kind of fantasy that demands to be felt.
It doesn’t pander. It respects the reader. It makes you sit in the dark and wait for the light. And when it comes, it’s earned.

Also can we talk about the ✨political drama✨??
It was giving Game of Thrones without the misogyny.
Succession but make it dragons.
Schemes! Betrayals! Secret councils!
I was feral.

Final thoughts:
🩶 I would kill for Christina.
🔥 I would follow Edrei into war.
💔 I would let Jadon ruin me and I’m not proud of it.

Book two can’t come fast enough.
I need to know what happens. I need the aftermath. I need the healing, the vengeance, the kiss that has been building like thunderclouds for 400 pages.
And if B.F. Peterson hurts my faves in the sequel?
I’ll write a review with more screaming.

💥 Highly recommend if you love:

Morally grey men who hate themselves just enough
Women who choose to burn brighter instead of breaking
Slow burn tension so thick you could slice it with a dagger
Political fantasy that actually makes you feel things
Hidden softness buried under pain, betrayal, and war
BRB going to stare into the void and whisper “I didn’t know I needed this until it broke me.”

Unfortunately, this book didn’t do it for me. It sounds like it has all the things I usually love in a fantasy: dragons, magic, dark academy vibes. But trying to read it, the writing style fell flat for me and the characters didn’t do anything to keep me engaged. There were also some points that were repeated more than once but they didn’t add anything to the story - we are reminded over and over that class and house name don’t matter inside Eshtem, however it gets referred to too many times.

I really didn’t like this - it was just so confusing and I couldn’t relate to any of the characters!

3.5⭐ rounded up. Thank you NetGalley & Angry Robot for the ARC.

Given that it's compared to Fourth Wing in the synopsis, imagine a military academy but with far more explored and fleshed out politics, lesson scenes with thought-provoking discourse on ethics taking place, and a focus on building up the friendship before diving into a potentially rushed romance. Ellyrian Code has a lot of potential to be a future fave especially with such a promising ending that sets up the sequel: the arrogant, foolhardy Privileged Boy has gone through his character development and now strives to be a better person + the truth of the Covered Up Conspiracy unveiled by three students is about to explode into something bigger.

Given the youth of the characters, I will say that there are times when their immaturity and pettiness inevitably got on my nerves, but fortunately not enough of a complete turn off to make me dread reading their chapters. For the most part, even when the POV characters annoyed me, they have qualities and moments that I DO like, which makes them more well-rounded characters in my eyes. i.e. Jadon can come off pompous and oblivious to how insensitive his privileged comments are, but ultimately he is ignorant & not malicious, and tries to use what power he holds to be as compassionate as he can. Jenne's jealousy towards Christina over a boy of all things is eyeroll-worthy, but when it comes to a critical moment that required her help, she really pulled through. Her Eat-the-Rich mentality is so relatable as well, even if overzealous a few times.

Meanwhile, the other two POV characters Christina and Diar are easy for me to grow invested in and root for. The former makes a sincere attempt to unpack her privileged mindset and form friendships across class lines, while the latter is one of the most earnest characters in the book who just wants to do good. All four POV characters also have a solid sense of justice and morality, making them all at the very least palatable to consume, given that they are literally in military school which historically is a tool for imperialism. (If Ellyrian Code eventually unpacks how flawed that system is, I would be very impressed.)

I will say that the magic system could be better explained, because it still feels rather vague to me. But like the dragon aspect of the plot that's barely touched on, I figure that we as the reader are being introduced to these concepts the same way the students are: first-years don't touch anything dragon-related and the different types of magic till much later into their academic journey. Interesting narrative strategy, but I don't mind it.

This is very much a university story, even with the outlandish elements that are part and parcel of a fantasy. So if you're in the mood for lectures and Students Doing Student Things, this will be a fun ride. I certainly did overall.

I enjoyed this one but I have a lot of thoughts 😅

The comparison with Fourth Wing and The Atlas Six on the blurb threw me off. I know these are popular titles but in my opinion "it’s a magical academy and we have dragons" is where the comparison ends. To me, this book is a slow paced high fantasy laced with political intrigue and no action or significant romance.

I enjoyed the magical academy setting. The world and the magic were intriguing, but by the end of the book we still know very little about those aspects, I'm guessing we’ll learn more in the sequels.
The class system between noble houses was the most explored aspect and seemed deceptively simple, but also it was never properly explained, so I kept getting lost as to what it meant to belong to a Blood, Gold or War house.

I came to like the different narrators, but some of them didn’t seem to have distinct personalities. I kept mixing Jenne and Christina in my head because their voices seemed very similar to each other, even though their backstories were completely opposite.

(some mild spoilers from here on)

Jenne's character was weird to me because she never questions her lack of memory. I know we're actually told memories can be magically removed and the person made to not question it, so I'm assuming this is what’s happening, but I wished the character would’ve explored this point a bit more.

Christina's obsession with the outlaw was a bit too over the top in my opinion. Her reasons for being invested in the potential conspiracy/coverup were glossed over. We got very little insight into her past or personality to explain why she would risk expulsion and spend all her free time pursing this investigation.

I liked Diar the best, his personality was the most distinctive to me, but at the same time we know almost nothing about him other than vague allusions to his beliefs/religious upbringing.

I thought I found Jadon interesting but by the end I wondered if I was blindsided by the author, who certainly thought this was the most interesting character and wanted us to think that too, but showed little proof of it. I did enjoy the moments when Jadon has to pass judgement or devise strategies, but I disliked that he was lazy and entitled when at class, and antagonized everyone else just because he could.

On a positive note, the story doesn’t seem to follow a traditional structure, and it’s not a rehash of all the popular tropes of the latest fantasy books, so I actually never guessed where the story was going, I had to keep reading to find out.

Overall my main gripe was that the whole book felt like a long introduction to the story the author actually wanted to tell. I'll have to wait and see how the story progresses in the following books.

I haven't read The Fourth Wing or The Atlas Six, yet so this story was new for me. It's highly political even in an academia standpoint. The characters I followed were still students but they were dealing with their world's politics nonetheless, not that I'm complaining cause I unbelievably enjoyed those parts (though some parts were a bit too much).

The world-building was awesome but the number of characters I needed to know was overwhelming and not just characters but their houses, too! Just 35% in and I already had a gazillion names and houses churning in my head! Add in the names of places and I was almost done for!

Honestly, I didn't actually get where the story was going until around the 70-75% mark. It majorly felt like an introduction book with me following the daily university lives of 4 students. I didn't care for the romance, as well, thinking that I wanted to skip those parts (even though I loved Diar so much and can relate to him this entire time) cause they didn't have a chemistry at all.

The ending was something, though! I've been waiting for so long for certain characters to connect and they only did at the end! Now, I want the next book even though this one hasn't been released, yet!


Thank you very much to NetGalley and Angry Robot for providing me with the eARC!

DNF for me at 30% unfortunately. I was confused, didn’t know where the plot was going and there was too many characters.

Wow. This is definitely the beginning of an amazing series with an incredible world and lots of politics. It was definitely a beast to get through, learning all the characters, houses, and the political structure. But this was so beautifully written and kept me on my toes. The characters are all very unique and have their own reasons for being where they are. Can’t wait to see where this goes and how far this series will spand!

I featured in my June 2025 new releases video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6q31xhbo1tE, and though I have not read it yet, I am so excited to and expect 5 stars! I will update here when I post a follow up review or vlog.

Unfortunately this was a DNF for me at around 20%.
There were too many characters/names etc and I just found it a bit chaotic

NOTHING like Fourth Wing or the Atlas Six - except for the fact that there are dragons (although they are very much in the background for now, a mystery to be uncovered later) and the bulk of it is set at a college, a university where young people train to be Edrei: the elites who keep the peace, learn magic, and ride dragons.

But all of this is very much in the future for our candidates. There is the usual school politics, nemeses amongst classmates and tutors, but there’s no tuition in magic or dragons - yet. Instead they learn ethics and history and swordplay as lowly first years, although this doesn’t prevent them from getting into trouble.

We follow four main characters. Jadon is a spoiled prince, aware of his privilege but not afraid to use it; but under his laissez-Faire attitude to the rules he has a core of fairness and the desire to do what is right, despite his tyrannical father. Christina is an idealistic princess, who stumbles across a mystery - possibly a conspiracy - which might undermine the whole integrity of the Edrei. Diar, sworn to her house, is drawn into this mystery - whilst also attempting to keep roommate Jadon out of trouble, and struggling with feelings for Jenne, a common-born and naturally talented student who despises the nobles, hiding secrets of her own.

Well told and engaging, this is a fantastic read and I’ll be looking forward to the next instalment. The world building is engaging, the pacing and structure is solid, and the characters are just as annoying and sympathetic as real teenagers are.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this ARC.

I’m currently making my way through Samantha Shannon’s Bone Season series and the world building in this felt very similar, it’s brilliant.

The only slight let down is the magic system isn’t given nearly as much description as the world, and I hope we get to learn more about it in the future.

Like most first books in a fantasy series, this was really setting us up to learn the world for the stuff that’s going to down in the future, but overall it was enjoyable and I really liked the setting.
Also, dragons!

I’m unsure how to feel. I honestly don’t think this was marketed very well. Fourth Wing meets The Atlas Six are some pretty big shoes to fill and while I would never expect a book to match their comps completely, this didn’t have similar vibes like I was hoping for. I was expecting more of a romance and character focused story versus heavy on the world building and plot. From what I read, I think this will be better for epic fantasy lovers who are in the mood for a slower pace and an expansive world, but this didn’t work for me from what I read. I DNF’d pretty early on so take my opinions with a grain of salt.

Though not a book I would've typically picked up, I was thankful to recieve this as an ARC from Angry Robot after having participated in its original cover reveal. Recommended for fans of fourth wing, we have academia, magic, dragons, and fierce competition, all tied together through politics and secrecy that may be hiding cover ups and wrong doings.

Individuals studying to become Edrei at the university follow the strict Ellyrian Codes, and though they are supposed to leave their previous classes at the door class divides often cause drama and leave many characters at odds with one another. While this was somewhat slow paced for me I can understand that this is necessary to build the world, its conflicts and its characters foundations for the wider series. While hard to follow at first, once competition has amped up for the Tourney all first years must face I found the following intrigue was enough to keep me hooked into wanting to know more about a lost rebel we see as central to much of the potential political mystery.

Overall, though not my favourite book I appreciated how diverse the cast in this was, and how each's personality come to complement one another as we see an unlikely bunch come together. As the wider series as a whole comes into our hands though I cannot wait to see where our odd group moves onto, if all make Edrei, and if they ever solve some of the political questions that currently hang in the balance.

I really loved this book! I am not usually a high fantasy reader, but this was great!!

It reminds me of FW, but with a much better plot and more focus on the academy and political intrigue aspects. I highly reccomend this book to anyone who prefers this over the romance in FW.

The magic system is really cool, but lacks descriptions in some areas. I hope to see it more laid out and explained in future books.

This book is easily one of my favorite reads of the year!!!

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Angry Robot for the EARC of The Ellyrian Code by B.F. Peterson, in exchange for an honest review.

From reading the blurb, I was super excited for this - it promises Fourth Wing meets The Atlas Six in an epic fantasy set in an elite university. Academia, fantasy, and dragons?! Sign me up! ,

The story is about 4 students: Christina, Jadon, Jenne and Diar, who come from a broad range of backgrounds who are going to study at Eshtem University.

Unfortunately for me I found this super slow and lacklustre, and especially hard to build connections with the characters which made this book quite heavy. which nearly caused me to DNF.
The idea was superb, but for me just fell short, but that being said I'm sure this will be a hit with other readers, but sadly not for me,

2.5 stars rounded up.

To be honest I struggled with this book. I found it hard to stick with the storyline and connect with the characters . I found it hard to follow along and stay with the story. A very slow pace.