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The Sky on Fire
Enter a world ruled by dragons…
Anahrod lives only for survival, preferring to thrive in the jungles of the Deep with the titan drake she keeps by her side. When an adventuring party saves her from capture by the local warlord, Sicaryon, she is eager to return to her solitary life, but this is no ordinary rescue. Anahrod's past has caught up with her. And these cunning misfits intend to spirit her away to the cloud cities, where they need her help to steal from a dragon’s hoard.
There’s only one in the cloud cities, dragons rule, and the hoard in question belongs to the current regent, Neveranimas―and she wants Anahrod dead.
Anahrod lives only for survival, preferring to thrive in the jungles of the Deep with the titan drake she keeps by her side. When an adventuring party saves her from capture by the local warlord, Sicaryon, she is eager to return to her solitary life, but this is no ordinary rescue. Anahrod's past has caught up with her. And these cunning misfits intend to spirit her away to the cloud cities, where they need her help to steal from a dragon’s hoard.
There’s only one in the cloud cities, dragons rule, and the hoard in question belongs to the current regent, Neveranimas―and she wants Anahrod dead.
14 pages, Audiobook
First published July 9, 2024
407 people are currently reading
32108 people want to read
About the author
Jenn Lyons
18 books1,623 followersJenn Lyons lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband, three cats, and a lot of opinions on anything from the Sumerian creation myths to the correct way to make a martini. At various points in her life, she has wanted to be an archaeologist, anthropologist, architect, diamond cutter, fashion illustrator, graphic designer, or Batman. Turning from such obvious trades, she is now a video game producer by day, and spends her evenings writing science fiction and fantasy. When not writing, she can be founding debating the Oxford comma and Joss Whedon’s oeuvre at various local coffee shops.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 953 reviews
June 26, 2025
"It's something much harder to kill than a lie: it's a story"
The Sky On Fire is... a puzzle.
Its individual elements are all things that should work, and work for me, specifically. This is a competently written book, with decent worldbuilding and an interesting take on the dragon/dragonrider dynamics. I love a book that drops you in the middle of the action and leaves you to figure things out, demanding your attention. I love a heist. Love dragons. Love a band of misfits on a quest. Love a queer-normative world. Absolutely adored the narrator and her different voices for every single character.
And yet. Here we are with another two star rating. No one is more distraught about this than myself.
To start off, the pacing is absolute whack. You get dropped in the middle of the action (love), and after all the exposition-laden dialogue (don't love) you're left thinking oh this is a political drama. But then it's a jungle adventure. Then it's a band of misfits on a journey? THEN things get horny out of the blue? Then for some reason the protagonist joins a ship crew? Then it's a heist. Then... I don't even know. This book jumps you from situation to situation, from place to place to place in so short a span that none of it even feels distinct anymore. This felt direction-less for a huge part of the narration, and it didn't help that by the halfway point a main motive for the protagonist (who, I have to say, made me doubt my own degree of comfort with silly names in fantasy with a name such as Anahrod) had not yet been established. To this day I am not entirely sure Anahrod has something she wanted, or if she was just getting carried by the plot to wherever she needed to be next.
The directionless-ness comes to a climax in the last 20%, where so much happens: there are revelations, lore drops, deep dives into a magic system previously ignored, character deaths, kind-of-sex-scenes apropos of absolutely nothing, huge battles and new characters introduced, and there's virtually no time to let any of it have the gravitas it deserves. I'm still reeling.
I maintain my opinion that this book should either have cut significantly on a lot of elements to focus on what was really important, or been a trilogy. Or at the very least a duology. There is so much that suffers from the massive under-development of this unfocused mess, first amongst them all the characters and relationships. I mentioned Anahrod having no real characterisation or motive to speak of, but what bothered me most were her relationships to other characters, especially the romantic ones. The insta-lust was insta-lusting, so to speak. Half the time I forgot characters were supposed to be in their thirties (or older), because they kept acting like horny teenagers. Calling the relationship with Ris "rushed" would be paying it a compliment, truly: entirely based off of attraction (which I was not feeling, but that may be me), and yet after a couple of days Anahrod was acting as though they had known each other forever and she could read Ris's innermost thoughts.
The spice level was so inconsistent I almost ragequit for that alone. Throughout the narrative there is some teasing, some flirting, some much appreciated conversations about sex, a tasteful fade-to-black threesome, and then, just when the story is coming to its climax, genuinely out of the blue there is this public quasi-sex scene with explicit dirty talking that made me want to close this book and never open it again.
But more than the insta-lust, more than the inconsistent pacing, more than the protagonist with no driving motivations... My biggest gripe is how this "queer-normative" world handles queerness. Nobody is more surprised and disappointed than myself, I promise you.
I cannot begin to tell you how much I HATED the whole concept of garden rings. Social rings I could absolutely get behind, ones indicating one's profession, place of origin, marital status, all that jazz. Wearing rings that tell all about your sexual or romantic preferences, down to your kinks, for everyone to see? Miss me with that. No, the existence of a "prefer not to say" ring does not make it better. This may be down to personal preference, but my favourite aspect of queer-normative fantasy is the total absence of labels, the non-issue of categorising one's gender identity or attraction. The sheer freedom of that is, for me, the absolute pinnacle of what queer-normative means. Repurposing labels and making them into neat shiny rings defeats the purpose, especially if displaying them is *expected*. And they came up so much, too! I don't care about the preferences of a random guy on the sky ambership if that's never going to come up naturally, or have any bearing on the plot or characters! What even!!
Worse, any instance of trans people being mentioned ("late-blooming", in this world, which I actually don't hate) is coated in so much virtue signalling and tokenisation to be cringeworthy. For instance, Anahrod finds out one of her parents came out as trans while she was gone, and goes to see him for a brief scene. They don't talk. She sees him and runs away. This never comes up again.
So... what was the point? Was there meant to be a reflection on changing, on finding your place, on how Anahrod's father found himself while she herself was not allowed any of that, on how she doesn't even know her own parent anymore? Because there was absolutely NONE OF THAT ON THE PAGE.
Another minor trans character is later introduced. This was my second almost-ragequit. It is so patronising to see the mental gymnastics the PoV character demonstrates to correct herself, to note that "admittedly, the girl was late-blooming, but still a girl". I feel like if you have to constantly remark upon the fact that your society has trans people and is allegedly soooooo good at accepting them, and yet the trans girl still needs to ask the equivalent of "but... But you know I'm trans, right?" when she's asked on a date (out of what? Fear of rejection? Repercussions?)... Then is your world really queer-normative? I don't know. It feels clumsy, it feels patronising and virtue-signalling.
(Note: the queer community is not a monolith. Some people may appreciate this kind of narrative device and storytelling, and if you do, that's valid and I'm happy for you. I still fucking hate it though)
I'll conclude with some things that I actually liked.
I love everything about the main gang. Don't care if they're not revolutionary in characterisation. They feel like a DnD party: goofy, edgy, nerdy and tropey in the best possible way. There's a reason if the formula works, and it's that it WORKS.
The last 30% of the book, when the action gets really going, is actually quite enjoyable.
The sections that were specifically about the heist had me giggling and cheering, sitting at the edge of my seat in anticipation.
That's the most frustrating thing about The Sky On Fire, I think. When it's good it's great! When it's bad, it's TERRIBLE.
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!
The Sky On Fire is... a puzzle.
Its individual elements are all things that should work, and work for me, specifically. This is a competently written book, with decent worldbuilding and an interesting take on the dragon/dragonrider dynamics. I love a book that drops you in the middle of the action and leaves you to figure things out, demanding your attention. I love a heist. Love dragons. Love a band of misfits on a quest. Love a queer-normative world. Absolutely adored the narrator and her different voices for every single character.
And yet. Here we are with another two star rating. No one is more distraught about this than myself.
To start off, the pacing is absolute whack. You get dropped in the middle of the action (love), and after all the exposition-laden dialogue (don't love) you're left thinking oh this is a political drama. But then it's a jungle adventure. Then it's a band of misfits on a journey? THEN things get horny out of the blue? Then for some reason the protagonist joins a ship crew? Then it's a heist. Then... I don't even know. This book jumps you from situation to situation, from place to place to place in so short a span that none of it even feels distinct anymore. This felt direction-less for a huge part of the narration, and it didn't help that by the halfway point a main motive for the protagonist (who, I have to say, made me doubt my own degree of comfort with silly names in fantasy with a name such as Anahrod) had not yet been established. To this day I am not entirely sure Anahrod has something she wanted, or if she was just getting carried by the plot to wherever she needed to be next.
The directionless-ness comes to a climax in the last 20%, where so much happens: there are revelations, lore drops, deep dives into a magic system previously ignored, character deaths, kind-of-sex-scenes apropos of absolutely nothing, huge battles and new characters introduced, and there's virtually no time to let any of it have the gravitas it deserves. I'm still reeling.
I maintain my opinion that this book should either have cut significantly on a lot of elements to focus on what was really important, or been a trilogy. Or at the very least a duology. There is so much that suffers from the massive under-development of this unfocused mess, first amongst them all the characters and relationships. I mentioned Anahrod having no real characterisation or motive to speak of, but what bothered me most were her relationships to other characters, especially the romantic ones. The insta-lust was insta-lusting, so to speak. Half the time I forgot characters were supposed to be in their thirties (or older), because they kept acting like horny teenagers. Calling the relationship with Ris "rushed" would be paying it a compliment, truly: entirely based off of attraction (which I was not feeling, but that may be me), and yet after a couple of days Anahrod was acting as though they had known each other forever and she could read Ris's innermost thoughts.
The spice level was so inconsistent I almost ragequit for that alone. Throughout the narrative there is some teasing, some flirting, some much appreciated conversations about sex, a tasteful fade-to-black threesome, and then, just when the story is coming to its climax, genuinely out of the blue there is this public quasi-sex scene with explicit dirty talking that made me want to close this book and never open it again.
But more than the insta-lust, more than the inconsistent pacing, more than the protagonist with no driving motivations... My biggest gripe is how this "queer-normative" world handles queerness. Nobody is more surprised and disappointed than myself, I promise you.
I cannot begin to tell you how much I HATED the whole concept of garden rings. Social rings I could absolutely get behind, ones indicating one's profession, place of origin, marital status, all that jazz. Wearing rings that tell all about your sexual or romantic preferences, down to your kinks, for everyone to see? Miss me with that. No, the existence of a "prefer not to say" ring does not make it better. This may be down to personal preference, but my favourite aspect of queer-normative fantasy is the total absence of labels, the non-issue of categorising one's gender identity or attraction. The sheer freedom of that is, for me, the absolute pinnacle of what queer-normative means. Repurposing labels and making them into neat shiny rings defeats the purpose, especially if displaying them is *expected*. And they came up so much, too! I don't care about the preferences of a random guy on the sky ambership if that's never going to come up naturally, or have any bearing on the plot or characters! What even!!
Worse, any instance of trans people being mentioned ("late-blooming", in this world, which I actually don't hate) is coated in so much virtue signalling and tokenisation to be cringeworthy. For instance, Anahrod finds out one of her parents came out as trans while she was gone, and goes to see him for a brief scene. They don't talk. She sees him and runs away. This never comes up again.
So... what was the point? Was there meant to be a reflection on changing, on finding your place, on how Anahrod's father found himself while she herself was not allowed any of that, on how she doesn't even know her own parent anymore? Because there was absolutely NONE OF THAT ON THE PAGE.
Another minor trans character is later introduced. This was my second almost-ragequit. It is so patronising to see the mental gymnastics the PoV character demonstrates to correct herself, to note that "admittedly, the girl was late-blooming, but still a girl". I feel like if you have to constantly remark upon the fact that your society has trans people and is allegedly soooooo good at accepting them, and yet the trans girl still needs to ask the equivalent of "but... But you know I'm trans, right?" when she's asked on a date (out of what? Fear of rejection? Repercussions?)... Then is your world really queer-normative? I don't know. It feels clumsy, it feels patronising and virtue-signalling.
(Note: the queer community is not a monolith. Some people may appreciate this kind of narrative device and storytelling, and if you do, that's valid and I'm happy for you. I still fucking hate it though)
I'll conclude with some things that I actually liked.
I love everything about the main gang. Don't care if they're not revolutionary in characterisation. They feel like a DnD party: goofy, edgy, nerdy and tropey in the best possible way. There's a reason if the formula works, and it's that it WORKS.
The last 30% of the book, when the action gets really going, is actually quite enjoyable.
The sections that were specifically about the heist had me giggling and cheering, sitting at the edge of my seat in anticipation.
That's the most frustrating thing about The Sky On Fire, I think. When it's good it's great! When it's bad, it's TERRIBLE.
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!
June 19, 2024
I was very excited for this book. Dragon overlords, a heist, a group of misfits... It's got everything!
It starts really strongly with a fantastic prologue, a diverse cast of characters, a good pacing and some kinky undertones.
The story in itself is satisfying and well crafted, and the narrator for the audiobook version did a great job, but unfortunately I couldn't connect to any of the characters, so I didn't care enough about them to feel fully immersed in the story.
It was a good book, but something was missing for me.
3.5 overall
It starts really strongly with a fantastic prologue, a diverse cast of characters, a good pacing and some kinky undertones.
The story in itself is satisfying and well crafted, and the narrator for the audiobook version did a great job, but unfortunately I couldn't connect to any of the characters, so I didn't care enough about them to feel fully immersed in the story.
It was a good book, but something was missing for me.
3.5 overall
interested-in
August 17, 2024i think it’s pretty obvious why i started this .. 🐉❤️
August 8, 2024
9.29 on CAWPILE
December 10, 2024
Just a few quick thoughts:
This is a must read for dragon lovers--and I really enjoyed the depictions of all the other magical creatures as well. Exciting, fast paced--so much more quickly paced than Lyons first series--and extremely addictive, this one is hard to put down! I really enjoyed it start to finish. I found the premise regarding the dragon society quite surprising and original. Dragon partnerships are well known tropes in this fantasy genre, but Lyons did something quite unique here making some of their ilk more the stuff of entitled czars. The main character, a strong female protagonist, is lovable and believable and her journey is one I certainly plan to share with my daughter as I think she'd devour this book as quickly as I did.
If you want a smoothly written, quickly paced, fully immersive, heist driven high fantasy with lots of terrifying settings and just as many fantastic beasties to lose yourself in, look no further.
This is a must read for dragon lovers--and I really enjoyed the depictions of all the other magical creatures as well. Exciting, fast paced--so much more quickly paced than Lyons first series--and extremely addictive, this one is hard to put down! I really enjoyed it start to finish. I found the premise regarding the dragon society quite surprising and original. Dragon partnerships are well known tropes in this fantasy genre, but Lyons did something quite unique here making some of their ilk more the stuff of entitled czars. The main character, a strong female protagonist, is lovable and believable and her journey is one I certainly plan to share with my daughter as I think she'd devour this book as quickly as I did.
If you want a smoothly written, quickly paced, fully immersive, heist driven high fantasy with lots of terrifying settings and just as many fantastic beasties to lose yourself in, look no further.
did-not-finish
October 25, 2024DNF @ 62%
There are so many characters that I don't know who's who or what their motivations are. And the situations kept jumping around so much that I'm not even sure what the plot is supposed to be about.
I'm lost and I don't care about this anymore.
There are so many characters that I don't know who's who or what their motivations are. And the situations kept jumping around so much that I'm not even sure what the plot is supposed to be about.
I'm lost and I don't care about this anymore.
September 7, 2024
The Sky on Fire is an action-packed heist fantasy with an endearing cast of characters.
I have to admit that I am not generally a big dragon fan. I don't find them that compelling and I don't go out of my way to read books with dragons. Despite that, I really enjoyed the world-building around the dragons in this book. The Sky on Fire delivers powerful, terrifying, and arrogant dragons with a range of magical abilities. The dragon rider dynamic was really interesting and I loved that the dragons had distinct personalities.
As this is a heist book of course there is a large cast of characters pulled together to complete this impossible heist. I liked all of the characters. I thought they played off of each other well and the banter was incredibly engaging. I was expecting the romance but I love that the book also explored some found family and friendship dynamics as well.
I do feel like Anahrod as a main character was a little bit flat. You would expect someone with her history to have a stronger or more distinct personality. But she almost lacked motivation and was mostly a tool for other people’s plans throughout the book. I enjoyed the group of characters enough that it didn’t really bother me until I was reflecting back on the book.
This was a very fast and engaging read for me, however, the pacing in the second half did feel a bit off. I thought it was rushing to the heist really quickly but then they ran into a bunch of delays that slowed the story down awkwardly. That delay made the ending feel crammed, which was unfortunate given the scale of the final confrontation.
Part of me feels like the story would have been more successful as a duology. Not because there is too much happening in this book, but because the story and the character dynamics would have been more successful if more had happened to achieve these goals. With all of the series that I’m in the middle of, however, I do appreciate that this was a standalone.
The thing that bothered me the most about the story was surprisingly the romance. I liked the relationship and I thought Anahrod had great chemistry with both her partners. But the romance was not well integrated into the story itself which makes it feel a bit clunky and unsatisfying. I was almost taken aback by how quickly the romance was introduced in this story. I was expecting it to be a later development given that the romance is only a subplot. But it started right away with instant attraction and flirting. I was on board because I like the dynamic but then the romance is completely dropped for the next couple hundred pages. It felt like the author was just rushing to get the romance to a certain point so it could be sidelined or taken for granted for the rest of the story. The other partner was a previous relationship revisited with no real time spent on the romance in this book. We get all these love confessions that feel so unbelievable because there is no time spent building the relationships or chemistry between the characters. The resolution to the romantic tension was incredibly unsatisfying and almost off-putting. There were also some random spicy scenes that were just wedged into the story awkwardly. I like that the romance did not distract from the heist plot or the other character dynamics. But as a subplot, I wish it had been more woven throughout the story.
Though I think some things could have been executed better, overall, The Sky on Fire is a very enjoyable reading experience.
Links to my TikTok | Instagram
I have to admit that I am not generally a big dragon fan. I don't find them that compelling and I don't go out of my way to read books with dragons. Despite that, I really enjoyed the world-building around the dragons in this book. The Sky on Fire delivers powerful, terrifying, and arrogant dragons with a range of magical abilities. The dragon rider dynamic was really interesting and I loved that the dragons had distinct personalities.
As this is a heist book of course there is a large cast of characters pulled together to complete this impossible heist. I liked all of the characters. I thought they played off of each other well and the banter was incredibly engaging. I was expecting the romance but I love that the book also explored some found family and friendship dynamics as well.
I do feel like Anahrod as a main character was a little bit flat. You would expect someone with her history to have a stronger or more distinct personality. But she almost lacked motivation and was mostly a tool for other people’s plans throughout the book. I enjoyed the group of characters enough that it didn’t really bother me until I was reflecting back on the book.
This was a very fast and engaging read for me, however, the pacing in the second half did feel a bit off. I thought it was rushing to the heist really quickly but then they ran into a bunch of delays that slowed the story down awkwardly. That delay made the ending feel crammed, which was unfortunate given the scale of the final confrontation.
Part of me feels like the story would have been more successful as a duology. Not because there is too much happening in this book, but because the story and the character dynamics would have been more successful if more had happened to achieve these goals. With all of the series that I’m in the middle of, however, I do appreciate that this was a standalone.
The thing that bothered me the most about the story was surprisingly the romance. I liked the relationship and I thought Anahrod had great chemistry with both her partners. But the romance was not well integrated into the story itself which makes it feel a bit clunky and unsatisfying. I was almost taken aback by how quickly the romance was introduced in this story. I was expecting it to be a later development given that the romance is only a subplot. But it started right away with instant attraction and flirting. I was on board because I like the dynamic but then the romance is completely dropped for the next couple hundred pages. It felt like the author was just rushing to get the romance to a certain point so it could be sidelined or taken for granted for the rest of the story. The other partner was a previous relationship revisited with no real time spent on the romance in this book. We get all these love confessions that feel so unbelievable because there is no time spent building the relationships or chemistry between the characters. The resolution to the romantic tension was incredibly unsatisfying and almost off-putting. There were also some random spicy scenes that were just wedged into the story awkwardly. I like that the romance did not distract from the heist plot or the other character dynamics. But as a subplot, I wish it had been more woven throughout the story.
Though I think some things could have been executed better, overall, The Sky on Fire is a very enjoyable reading experience.
Links to my TikTok | Instagram
April 14, 2024
A heist with dragons?!!!
A group of misfits save Anahrod, independent and wilful and capable of communicating with animals, from capture by the local warlord. In return, they plan to rob the most powerful dragon’s hoard. A dragon that wants Anahrod dead.
All of Lyonn’s characters are always extremely quirky, distinct, and oftentimes brash. In such a diverse group with varying ages, motives, skills, and identities, she is able to build a fun, strong, and bold dynamic.
”It was easier," Ris corrected, "when the only person I loved was a dragon." Then she realized what she'd just said and sighed, closed her eyes, hung her head. "You're both like damn jungle vines." Hopefully that was because they were growing on her, and not because she thought they both needed to be pruned with a sword.
Don’t worry - this is not nearly as complex as Ruin of Kings.
Lyonns is always genius with her worldbuilding. Here, citizens wear ring which denote different aspects of their identity: career, gender, sexual preference, bedroom activities, etc. This seems like such an easier way of knowing who to date.
One thing that remains the same from her Chorus of Dragons series is the teasing at BDSM. Whilst this isn’t a ‘spicy’ book per se, it’s more dialogue hinting at fantasies, I personally didn’t find it to my taste.
"Shame I couldn't find a ring that means 'I'm attracted to people who are vengeance -obsessed and prone to extreme violence! Would've been perfect.’”
“Very niche.”
“No, very niche is renic root, which apparently means I am sexually attracted to cloth dolls."
This could be read as a standalone, and only the epilogue hints at how the next book might start. I am always astounded at authors who manage to write a high epic fantasy that satisfyingly ties off most loose ends in one book.
Thank you to Tor for providing an arc in exchange for a review.
Bookstagram
A group of misfits save Anahrod, independent and wilful and capable of communicating with animals, from capture by the local warlord. In return, they plan to rob the most powerful dragon’s hoard. A dragon that wants Anahrod dead.
All of Lyonn’s characters are always extremely quirky, distinct, and oftentimes brash. In such a diverse group with varying ages, motives, skills, and identities, she is able to build a fun, strong, and bold dynamic.
”It was easier," Ris corrected, "when the only person I loved was a dragon." Then she realized what she'd just said and sighed, closed her eyes, hung her head. "You're both like damn jungle vines." Hopefully that was because they were growing on her, and not because she thought they both needed to be pruned with a sword.
Don’t worry - this is not nearly as complex as Ruin of Kings.
Lyonns is always genius with her worldbuilding. Here, citizens wear ring which denote different aspects of their identity: career, gender, sexual preference, bedroom activities, etc. This seems like such an easier way of knowing who to date.
One thing that remains the same from her Chorus of Dragons series is the teasing at BDSM. Whilst this isn’t a ‘spicy’ book per se, it’s more dialogue hinting at fantasies, I personally didn’t find it to my taste.
"Shame I couldn't find a ring that means 'I'm attracted to people who are vengeance -obsessed and prone to extreme violence! Would've been perfect.’”
“Very niche.”
“No, very niche is renic root, which apparently means I am sexually attracted to cloth dolls."
This could be read as a standalone, and only the epilogue hints at how the next book might start. I am always astounded at authors who manage to write a high epic fantasy that satisfyingly ties off most loose ends in one book.
Thank you to Tor for providing an arc in exchange for a review.
Bookstagram
August 4, 2024
4.0 Stars
This was a really enjoyable dragon heist story. I was pleasantly surprised to find a decent amount of depth to the characters and their underlying story.
I've seen this compared to Fourth Wing but since I haven't read that one and I cannot comment if they are similar or not. On its own, I found this to be a really fun story.
I would recommend this to someone looking for a lighter, but worthwhile fantasy story. I have read the entire Chorus of Dragons and felt this had a very similar tone. If you love that series, you will very likely enjoy this book too
Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.
This was a really enjoyable dragon heist story. I was pleasantly surprised to find a decent amount of depth to the characters and their underlying story.
I've seen this compared to Fourth Wing but since I haven't read that one and I cannot comment if they are similar or not. On its own, I found this to be a really fun story.
I would recommend this to someone looking for a lighter, but worthwhile fantasy story. I have read the entire Chorus of Dragons and felt this had a very similar tone. If you love that series, you will very likely enjoy this book too
Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.
July 16, 2024
3.5 stars rounded up
Dangerously intelligent dragons, an infamous woman who was supposed to be dead, secrets, betrayal, and a magical heist! The Sky on Fire is a standalone fantasy novel with intricate world-building (honestly, I would be surprised if we don't get more books set in this world), rogues, plots, and lots of dragons. Lyons' background is in D&D and I feel like that comes through in her writing- it feels like you're following the twists of a campaign through the perspective of a main character and occasionally others.
Anahrod supposedly died after committing a crime and has gone down in infamy, except that she says she's innocent and has been hiding out in the Deep. But two groups are trying to kidnap her for their own reasons and she is drawn back into the messy politics she ran from. Because she has a secret ability that someone doesn't like...
Because this doesn't totally follow a typical plot structure, I found it a little frustrating at times even though I liked the characters and the overall story. I've seen other reviewers say that this needed space to breathe and I agree. It feels like a LOT crammed into the book and I would have preferred to take more time with the characters, world, and relationships.
You may know I tend to be a hard sell on a heist story, but in this case it was only a part of a much larger plot and I think it works. This was pitched for fans of Fourth Wing, and while I enjoyed that book this is VERY different. Sky on Fire is high fantasy, not a popcorn read with a lot of romance. It's not an easy entry point to the genre for people who are mostly reading romantasy. That said I liked it and the audiobook is good. I received an audio review copy via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.
Dangerously intelligent dragons, an infamous woman who was supposed to be dead, secrets, betrayal, and a magical heist! The Sky on Fire is a standalone fantasy novel with intricate world-building (honestly, I would be surprised if we don't get more books set in this world), rogues, plots, and lots of dragons. Lyons' background is in D&D and I feel like that comes through in her writing- it feels like you're following the twists of a campaign through the perspective of a main character and occasionally others.
Anahrod supposedly died after committing a crime and has gone down in infamy, except that she says she's innocent and has been hiding out in the Deep. But two groups are trying to kidnap her for their own reasons and she is drawn back into the messy politics she ran from. Because she has a secret ability that someone doesn't like...
Because this doesn't totally follow a typical plot structure, I found it a little frustrating at times even though I liked the characters and the overall story. I've seen other reviewers say that this needed space to breathe and I agree. It feels like a LOT crammed into the book and I would have preferred to take more time with the characters, world, and relationships.
You may know I tend to be a hard sell on a heist story, but in this case it was only a part of a much larger plot and I think it works. This was pitched for fans of Fourth Wing, and while I enjoyed that book this is VERY different. Sky on Fire is high fantasy, not a popcorn read with a lot of romance. It's not an easy entry point to the genre for people who are mostly reading romantasy. That said I liked it and the audiobook is good. I received an audio review copy via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.
April 23, 2024
This is such an exciting premise and such a disappointing outcome. The Sky on Fire whisks you through its narrative too fast to ever feel truly immersed or invested - which is a pity, because there's so much to love.The world itself is rich and fascinating, and the general conceit of a society ruled by tyrannical magical beasts is fresh and exciting. I love what Lyons does with the fantasy dragonrider trope, turning it on its head to explore consent and power. Boiled down, the core heist plot is beat-by-beat pretty great and the rag-tag team of antiheros SHOULD be lovably scampy enough to smooth over any rough plot points.
All of this fails to come together, however, if the relationships between characters lack any degree of psychological depth or complexity. The Sky on Fire feels like a script for a movie that could be great - but it's missing the human element that would make me care about what any of these people are up to. This isn't helped by the truly immense number of location changes and new character additions, as well as the wobbly ever-changing stakes that never fully manifest in a compelling way. I'm not convinced Lyons truly knows what matters to her own characters - let alone cares about how they are written. The ever-expanding cast of characters seems to exist purely for the function of meeting story beats, being put through their paces to ensure the next big plot twist is reached. It's simply not enough to hold onto through 450 pages of record scratches and soulless quips.
A shorter book - or, more ambitiously, a trilogy - would have been much better equipped to reconcile tone and plot with the elaborate world Lyons has created.
Roses where they're due: Three heartfelt cheers for one of the first romantasy love triangles to just straight up turn into a polycule. I wish there was a scrap of chemistry to make it the celebration of queer love it no doubt was intended to be.
Read
May 24, 2024After careful consideration I decided to DNF this book at 56%. Sadly, for a book with so much promise (dragons, heists, a potentially relationship), I didn't find myself picking it up nearly as much as I'd like, it's just too boring and convenient.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
December 2, 2024
4.25/5
Heist fantasy with dragons.
This book was a wild mix of many things, started as an escape from hunters and confusing as hell with this world building where no much made sense, and for a moment I even thought it would be a competition fantasy or that it would lean heavily in the romance, which it didn't in either case.
There are dragons plotting against dragons, with dragonriders using magic and a heist in the core of it.
It gave me Treasure Planet vibes for a moment but that was a faint.
The world building seemed rather small, and it's heavy on the character work, but the characters were rather funny and unique.
There was even a super horny conversation very out of pocket.
I would be down for another standalone in this universe with these characters.
Heist fantasy with dragons.
This book was a wild mix of many things, started as an escape from hunters and confusing as hell with this world building where no much made sense, and for a moment I even thought it would be a competition fantasy or that it would lean heavily in the romance, which it didn't in either case.
There are dragons plotting against dragons, with dragonriders using magic and a heist in the core of it.
It gave me Treasure Planet vibes for a moment but that was a faint.
The world building seemed rather small, and it's heavy on the character work, but the characters were rather funny and unique.
There was even a super horny conversation very out of pocket.
I would be down for another standalone in this universe with these characters.
Read
August 20, 2024After seeing an early reader of this book post a glowing review on Twitter and gushing that it was perfect for fans of FOURTH WING, I came running to NetGalley to slam the request button.
This was my first experience reading anything by Jenn Lyons, though I did score the first book in the Chorus of Dragons series to work into my TBR at some point.
Dragons, magic, betrayal and a heist - all ingredients for a potentially spicy fantasy - except that none of the potential was executed well, or at all in some cases.
There was little to no depth to the characters. Lyons intrigued me with this "late-sprouting/late-blooming" element, yet never explained it in any detail, just small, confusing references. Same with the rings the Skylanders chose to reflect their personal choices/preferences. It got to a point where I just didn't want to pick this one back up, but still tried to soldier on because I didn't want it to be a DNF and tank my NetGalley ratio, but I did finally throw in the towel 63% of the way in.
A full non spoiler video discussion regarding my experience with THE SKY ON FIRE has been uploaded on my BookTube Channel!
A heartfelt thanks to my Patrons on Patreon for their support towards my enthusiasm for reading and reviewing!
Special thanks to my highest level Patrons: Ev, Amanda L., Sharon, Andrew, Star, Kate, Gail, Amanda F., Tara, John, Ann, Chad K., Ashley E. & Mel
This was my first experience reading anything by Jenn Lyons, though I did score the first book in the Chorus of Dragons series to work into my TBR at some point.
Dragons, magic, betrayal and a heist - all ingredients for a potentially spicy fantasy - except that none of the potential was executed well, or at all in some cases.
There was little to no depth to the characters. Lyons intrigued me with this "late-sprouting/late-blooming" element, yet never explained it in any detail, just small, confusing references. Same with the rings the Skylanders chose to reflect their personal choices/preferences. It got to a point where I just didn't want to pick this one back up, but still tried to soldier on because I didn't want it to be a DNF and tank my NetGalley ratio, but I did finally throw in the towel 63% of the way in.
A full non spoiler video discussion regarding my experience with THE SKY ON FIRE has been uploaded on my BookTube Channel!
A heartfelt thanks to my Patrons on Patreon for their support towards my enthusiasm for reading and reviewing!
Special thanks to my highest level Patrons: Ev, Amanda L., Sharon, Andrew, Star, Kate, Gail, Amanda F., Tara, John, Ann, Chad K., Ashley E. & Mel
June 25, 2024
This book was so much freaking fun.
It’s got so much cool shit in it. Airships. Jungles infested with fantasy dinosaurs. Found family. Heists. Love triangles that don’t make me want to smack everyone involved. Terrible puns. Wonderful puns. (Often the same pun.) Dragons. More dragons. And check out that cover! Seriously, that is such a cool cover.
This is set in a world split in two. On the one hand, you have the Skylands, mountain top cities linked by airships. On the other hand, you have the jungles of the Deeps. The humans of the Skylands are ruled by dragons, whose leadership sits somewhere between tyrannical and disinterested neglect. The Skylanders see the people of the Deeps as primitive savages, though of course it’s not so simple.
Our main character is Anahrod, cast out of the Skylands and into the Deeps for a crime she did not commit. Literally cast out: she was tossed off an airship 50,000 feet up. But she was able to survive and start a life in the Deeps with herfantasy dinosaur titan drake Overbite. Anahrod finds herself between a rock and a very large, scaled, be-toothed, breath-weapon-wielding place when she is hunted both by the self-proclaimed king of the Deeps (also her ex-boyfriend) and a dragon, dragonrider, and miscellaneous companions searching for her on the rumor that she somehow survived her fall. That group wants her for something they keep quiet about, but they also aren’t trying to kidnap or kill her (and Ris the dragonrider is distractingly sexy) so it’s not really a hard choice for Anahrod which group to go with.
From there we’re off. This is, as I said at the top, a hell of a lot of fun. Pure popcorn fiction in the very best sense of the term. Highly recommended.
My blog
It’s got so much cool shit in it. Airships. Jungles infested with fantasy dinosaurs. Found family. Heists. Love triangles that don’t make me want to smack everyone involved. Terrible puns. Wonderful puns. (Often the same pun.) Dragons. More dragons. And check out that cover! Seriously, that is such a cool cover.
This is set in a world split in two. On the one hand, you have the Skylands, mountain top cities linked by airships. On the other hand, you have the jungles of the Deeps. The humans of the Skylands are ruled by dragons, whose leadership sits somewhere between tyrannical and disinterested neglect. The Skylanders see the people of the Deeps as primitive savages, though of course it’s not so simple.
Our main character is Anahrod, cast out of the Skylands and into the Deeps for a crime she did not commit. Literally cast out: she was tossed off an airship 50,000 feet up. But she was able to survive and start a life in the Deeps with her
From there we’re off. This is, as I said at the top, a hell of a lot of fun. Pure popcorn fiction in the very best sense of the term. Highly recommended.
My blog
June 23, 2024
4.5 Stars
A sweeping and intricately woven, high stakes fantasy —with dragons, heists, secrets and a gloriously queer romance that has been living in my head (rent-free) since reading.
Full disclosure, I went into this solely for the dragons but, having absolutely devoured it I can tell you it’s soo much more than that! The rag-tag cast of characters were utterly endearing and their found family-esque bonds were soo satisfying to explore.
The banter and humour was top notch (as was the flirting), and really showcased the trust they had in one another.
We do learn a lot interesting things about many of the characters, including backstories and connections to one another that I found as perfectly timed and suspenseful as a Game of Thrones episode (in the earlier seasons not the last one.) I won’t spoil the reveals, but just know some of them were definitely edge of your seat worthy— particularly when it came to Anahrod, Gwydinion, Ris (and Ris’s dragon Peralon)
The LGBTQIA rep was wonderful too and the use of symbolic rings to denote gender, relationship status and romantic preferences was ingenious! It made meeting new characters feel soo much more meaningful (and I kinda want this to take off in our world.)
I also love that our MC is part of a burgeoning, polyamorous throuple relationship which I really enjoyed exploring, the chemistry between all three characters was spectacularly swoon-worthy. It’s a relationship dynamic that I’m not too familiar with, but the tender moments we glimpse (in the midst of all the danger) were incredibly sweet.
I do have to admit, that the pacing is quite slow at the start for a story primarily focused on a heist, but the amount of detail in the world-building (and dragon lore) definitely made up for it. If slower paced books aren’t really your thing though, then you probably won’t enjoy this nearly as much.
If you love them however, and enjoyed The Dragonriders of Pern series, Game of Thrones or Six of Crows — and have always wondered what a mashup of all three could produce; then you definitely have to consider adding this to your TBR! (Just check TWs first though.)
Also, thanks to Book Break UK/ Olivia at Pan MacMillan for the wonderful proof copy.
A sweeping and intricately woven, high stakes fantasy —with dragons, heists, secrets and a gloriously queer romance that has been living in my head (rent-free) since reading.
Full disclosure, I went into this solely for the dragons but, having absolutely devoured it I can tell you it’s soo much more than that! The rag-tag cast of characters were utterly endearing and their found family-esque bonds were soo satisfying to explore.
The banter and humour was top notch (as was the flirting), and really showcased the trust they had in one another.
We do learn a lot interesting things about many of the characters, including backstories and connections to one another that I found as perfectly timed and suspenseful as a Game of Thrones episode (in the earlier seasons not the last one.) I won’t spoil the reveals, but just know some of them were definitely edge of your seat worthy— particularly when it came to Anahrod, Gwydinion, Ris (and Ris’s dragon Peralon)
The LGBTQIA rep was wonderful too and the use of symbolic rings to denote gender, relationship status and romantic preferences was ingenious! It made meeting new characters feel soo much more meaningful (and I kinda want this to take off in our world.)
I also love that our MC is part of a burgeoning, polyamorous throuple relationship which I really enjoyed exploring, the chemistry between all three characters was spectacularly swoon-worthy. It’s a relationship dynamic that I’m not too familiar with, but the tender moments we glimpse (in the midst of all the danger) were incredibly sweet.
I do have to admit, that the pacing is quite slow at the start for a story primarily focused on a heist, but the amount of detail in the world-building (and dragon lore) definitely made up for it. If slower paced books aren’t really your thing though, then you probably won’t enjoy this nearly as much.
If you love them however, and enjoyed The Dragonriders of Pern series, Game of Thrones or Six of Crows — and have always wondered what a mashup of all three could produce; then you definitely have to consider adding this to your TBR! (Just check TWs first though.)
Also, thanks to Book Break UK/ Olivia at Pan MacMillan for the wonderful proof copy.
June 21, 2024
DNF 5%
2 stars just to not bring the overall rating too low but it was so messy I gave up faster than I've ever given up before. I usually push myself to reach at least 15% of a book before DNFing it but from page 1 to page something it wasn't engaging in any way. you get thrown right in the middle of something with a bunch of characters and history and world building that you have to learn on the spot to understand what is going on. there was no subtle interdiction to characters or to the main plot or even to how the world works in itself, just hey there's a dragon on the roof and for some reason its rider is more important than the mayor but also the dragon speaks? through his rider? and IT wants a girl from 15 years ago dead who's already supposed to be dead but wait that's her in the next pov but she's in the underworld? and she can take control of animals (as in Bran from GOT her body just collapses and she transfers into the animal) but not any animal no no a titan? titan drake? who is fighting giant wyrms? and everyone has ridiculous names bc why not: Anahrod, Overbite (that's the animal she controls' name but it's so annoying to read and it's mentioned everywhere), Gwydinion, Kaibren, Naeron (ngl I dig this one), Ris, Belsaor, Amnead, Tiendremos (sounds like the Spanish verb) etc etc just random fantasy sounding names that grated on my already frail nerves.
I guess it was off to a really bad start and I couldn't climb up from it, sorry it wasn't for me I'd rather give up now that force myself to read all of it and write an even more bitter review bc I used too much hater energy hate-reading it
[arc review, honest opinion]
2 stars just to not bring the overall rating too low but it was so messy I gave up faster than I've ever given up before. I usually push myself to reach at least 15% of a book before DNFing it but from page 1 to page something it wasn't engaging in any way. you get thrown right in the middle of something with a bunch of characters and history and world building that you have to learn on the spot to understand what is going on. there was no subtle interdiction to characters or to the main plot or even to how the world works in itself, just hey there's a dragon on the roof and for some reason its rider is more important than the mayor but also the dragon speaks? through his rider? and IT wants a girl from 15 years ago dead who's already supposed to be dead but wait that's her in the next pov but she's in the underworld? and she can take control of animals (as in Bran from GOT her body just collapses and she transfers into the animal) but not any animal no no a titan? titan drake? who is fighting giant wyrms? and everyone has ridiculous names bc why not: Anahrod, Overbite (that's the animal she controls' name but it's so annoying to read and it's mentioned everywhere), Gwydinion, Kaibren, Naeron (ngl I dig this one), Ris, Belsaor, Amnead, Tiendremos (sounds like the Spanish verb) etc etc just random fantasy sounding names that grated on my already frail nerves.
I guess it was off to a really bad start and I couldn't climb up from it, sorry it wasn't for me I'd rather give up now that force myself to read all of it and write an even more bitter review bc I used too much hater energy hate-reading it
[arc review, honest opinion]
June 20, 2024
Dragonriders, a band of misfits, a heist, political intrigue, and romance. A fun, twisty time with a diverse cast of characters. I appreciated the high to low world the author created (the Deep jungles to the cloud cities). While I was interested in the plot, I didn’t feel connected to the characters or the romance, making for an uneven read. Still a fun time, 3.5, rounded up.
I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
July 9, 2024
This review was originally published on Grimdark Magazine
3.5 stars (rounded up)
After the blazing success of her epic A Chorus of Dragons series, Jenn Lyons is now back with another delightfully queer dragon adventure in The Sky on Fire. Set in a richly imagined world ruled by moody dragon overlords, this brand-new standalone is a flaming fun take on a heist fantasy!
The Sky on Fire opens with one hell of an intriguing prologue which immediately sets the stakes and reassures the reader that: yes, here there do indeed be dragons, and they have dark demands about a certain previously believed dead woman. Enter Anahrod, our wayward protagonist with animal communion skills who has quietly been surviving in the murky jungles of The Deep for the past seventeen years. When a motley crew of morally grey misfits saves her from capture by the local warlord, she realises that the time of running from her past has come to an end. Against her will, she is whisked back to the deceptively lustrous cloud cities and conscripted into their schemes to rob the most powerful dragon’s hoard; a dragon that wants Anahrod dead.
Look, with the ambitiously epic A Chorus of Dragons being one of my all-time favourites, I was nervously excited to see what Lyons could deliver in a contained standalone. And honestly, while this story is not nearly as complex as her previous series, Lyons’ wild imagination and quintessentially quirky storytelling is still on full display in The Sky on Fire.
A divided society ruled by tyrannical dragons with all kinds of unique magical powers, an religion based on humans being thrown out of heaven to serve the dragons, a twisted history written by the victors, and an extremely nuanced and refreshing take on the familiar dragonrider trope which explores consent, co-dependency and power in terrifyingly fascinating ways; how there is so much rich world building packed into such a fast-paced standalone is truly beyond me, but I was gobbling it all up!
Not to mention, Lyons has once again crafted a casually queer-normative world full of beautifully diverse characters who are embraced just the way they are. I especially loved the concept of people expressing their gender, sexuality, and bedroom preferences through wearing different types of rings; we should do ourselves a favour and steal this idea to make dating infinitely easier.
All that said, I personally would not have minded if the pacing had slowed down a bit to let us fully appreciate all these amazing concepts in their full glory. The Sky on Fire zooms along at breakneck speed, and there is truly not a single dull moment to be found. On the one hand, I really liked the utterly addictive ‘just one more chapter’ quality, but on the other hand I found it a bit exhausting that neither the characters nor the reader gets any time to just sit, breathe, reflect, and process for a while.
Don’t get me wrong, I think Lyons has a true knack for creating vibrant, quirky and distinct characters whose clasing identities and motivations make for a very fun dynamic. Yet I also have to admit that I never felt overly invested in any of the characters here, as I barely got any time to get connected to them. Moreover, while I loved the little teases of a beautifully queer poly romance here, I personally think that relationship deserved a lot more development; the feels just weren’t feeling.
Ultimately, the fun factor and highly engaging storytelling made up for some of these quibbles for me, and there’s no denying that Lyons delivered an impressively ambitious standalone story here. True, some of the plot beats and resolutions might have felt a bit overly convoluted or suspiciously convenient, but I think Lyons gets away with it by delivering a story that is just so refreshingly unconventional and inventive in every other way.
If you liked the dragonrider bond in Yarros’ Fourth Wing or Novik’s Temeraire, but also want some heisty action and queer goodness like in M.J. Kuhn’s Thieves duology, then you better try The Sky on Fire. Filled with loveable anti heroes, complicated family drama, brutal beasties, immersive settings, exhilaration action, and a dash of queer love, this fast-paced and action-packed fantasy heist is a smoking hot adventure from start to finish.
Thank you to Tor for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
3.5 stars (rounded up)
After the blazing success of her epic A Chorus of Dragons series, Jenn Lyons is now back with another delightfully queer dragon adventure in The Sky on Fire. Set in a richly imagined world ruled by moody dragon overlords, this brand-new standalone is a flaming fun take on a heist fantasy!
The Sky on Fire opens with one hell of an intriguing prologue which immediately sets the stakes and reassures the reader that: yes, here there do indeed be dragons, and they have dark demands about a certain previously believed dead woman. Enter Anahrod, our wayward protagonist with animal communion skills who has quietly been surviving in the murky jungles of The Deep for the past seventeen years. When a motley crew of morally grey misfits saves her from capture by the local warlord, she realises that the time of running from her past has come to an end. Against her will, she is whisked back to the deceptively lustrous cloud cities and conscripted into their schemes to rob the most powerful dragon’s hoard; a dragon that wants Anahrod dead.
Look, with the ambitiously epic A Chorus of Dragons being one of my all-time favourites, I was nervously excited to see what Lyons could deliver in a contained standalone. And honestly, while this story is not nearly as complex as her previous series, Lyons’ wild imagination and quintessentially quirky storytelling is still on full display in The Sky on Fire.
A divided society ruled by tyrannical dragons with all kinds of unique magical powers, an religion based on humans being thrown out of heaven to serve the dragons, a twisted history written by the victors, and an extremely nuanced and refreshing take on the familiar dragonrider trope which explores consent, co-dependency and power in terrifyingly fascinating ways; how there is so much rich world building packed into such a fast-paced standalone is truly beyond me, but I was gobbling it all up!
Not to mention, Lyons has once again crafted a casually queer-normative world full of beautifully diverse characters who are embraced just the way they are. I especially loved the concept of people expressing their gender, sexuality, and bedroom preferences through wearing different types of rings; we should do ourselves a favour and steal this idea to make dating infinitely easier.
All that said, I personally would not have minded if the pacing had slowed down a bit to let us fully appreciate all these amazing concepts in their full glory. The Sky on Fire zooms along at breakneck speed, and there is truly not a single dull moment to be found. On the one hand, I really liked the utterly addictive ‘just one more chapter’ quality, but on the other hand I found it a bit exhausting that neither the characters nor the reader gets any time to just sit, breathe, reflect, and process for a while.
Don’t get me wrong, I think Lyons has a true knack for creating vibrant, quirky and distinct characters whose clasing identities and motivations make for a very fun dynamic. Yet I also have to admit that I never felt overly invested in any of the characters here, as I barely got any time to get connected to them. Moreover, while I loved the little teases of a beautifully queer poly romance here, I personally think that relationship deserved a lot more development; the feels just weren’t feeling.
Ultimately, the fun factor and highly engaging storytelling made up for some of these quibbles for me, and there’s no denying that Lyons delivered an impressively ambitious standalone story here. True, some of the plot beats and resolutions might have felt a bit overly convoluted or suspiciously convenient, but I think Lyons gets away with it by delivering a story that is just so refreshingly unconventional and inventive in every other way.
If you liked the dragonrider bond in Yarros’ Fourth Wing or Novik’s Temeraire, but also want some heisty action and queer goodness like in M.J. Kuhn’s Thieves duology, then you better try The Sky on Fire. Filled with loveable anti heroes, complicated family drama, brutal beasties, immersive settings, exhilaration action, and a dash of queer love, this fast-paced and action-packed fantasy heist is a smoking hot adventure from start to finish.
Thank you to Tor for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Read
April 18, 2025Heist novel with dragons! I was intrigued by how the dragons were very much in charge, but also not human in their thoughts. So it wasn't so much as they were ruling the humans as keeping their pets in line, which is pretty chilling, if you think about it.
I have to say, though: I super hated the concept of the "garden rings"- everyone over age 16 is wearing rings that indicate not just marital status, but their sexual preferences, and that . . . is no one's business, thanks!
*I am not rating books read for the World Fantasy Awards.*
I have to say, though: I super hated the concept of the "garden rings"- everyone over age 16 is wearing rings that indicate not just marital status, but their sexual preferences, and that . . . is no one's business, thanks!
*I am not rating books read for the World Fantasy Awards.*
October 30, 2024
Watch the full review: https://youtu.be/VN6HM85opv4
3.5 stars
I thought this one was a lot of fun! It is faced paced and brings in some familiar dragon tropes, while also putting it's own spin on things. I mostly felt like this was too fast. We moved from scene to scene without the depth I hoped for and know from Lyons. I think this would have been better served as a duology
3.5 stars
I thought this one was a lot of fun! It is faced paced and brings in some familiar dragon tropes, while also putting it's own spin on things. I mostly felt like this was too fast. We moved from scene to scene without the depth I hoped for and know from Lyons. I think this would have been better served as a duology
May 24, 2024
Oh, the disappointment is real. Everything about this book sounds so incredibly cool, and I've heard only great things about the author's previous work. Also, a fantasy heist story with dragons, what's not to love? I really wanted to enjoy the hell out of this book, but it actively worked against me even just liking it at every single point.
Starting with the things I actually did enjoy: Parts of the world building are great! I love the concept of dragons as the ones ruling humans this time around, and the relationship between them and their riders is so so so interesting and unique. I loved this part. I also liked the general world this story takes place in, the Skylands and the Deep and the people that live there - it was all really intriguing. While the world building can be a little infodumpy at times, I do love that part in fantasy books so this is a major plus. The second thing I really liked was the love triangle actually developing into a polycule, which I didn't expect.
That's also where my problems with the book start, though. A poly relationship is fun, yes, but you actually need fully developed likeable characters to root for in this relationship, you need chemistry between them. The characters on a whole are underdeveloped, with most of them representing about one character trait. The character development feels just as bland and superficial, and the same goes for the relationship building. I wanted found family, I wanted ragtag group of people coming together for a heist and developing cool dynamics. I got random people with sometimes really weird, wattpad fiction type names (Jaemeh.......) that run around with their one personality trait, expecting me to like them based on just that and some tell-don't-show development and tragic past infodumps. I can see the potential there, but that's about it. I didn't care who lived or died, and that includes not only the poly couple as a whole, but the main character even. For a character feared by the very dragon queen, born with powerful magic, capable of controlling animals and maybe even dragons, she sure is bland. I also felt like most of the flirting between her and Ris, one of the love interests, was really cringeworthy at times.
The pacing is also incredibly meandering. I was getting bored by all the endless preperations for a heist that then happened in what felt like five seconds tops. The whole book needs some more editing, cutting out a lot of the unnecessary side noise that doesn't add anything to either the plot or the characters. There are also some sudden pov changes later on in the book which I didn't enjoy.
So yeah, this is me being really disappointed because I was so excited for the cool heist with dragons story, and a standalone one at that. But sadly, this one fell flat on too many levels for me, and I started skim reading more and more at about 20%, hoping until the very end that it would finally get better. For me, it didn't, but I hope others can enjoy this one more.
Many thanks to Pan Macmillan and Netgalley for the arc!
Starting with the things I actually did enjoy: Parts of the world building are great! I love the concept of dragons as the ones ruling humans this time around, and the relationship between them and their riders is so so so interesting and unique. I loved this part. I also liked the general world this story takes place in, the Skylands and the Deep and the people that live there - it was all really intriguing. While the world building can be a little infodumpy at times, I do love that part in fantasy books so this is a major plus. The second thing I really liked was the love triangle actually developing into a polycule, which I didn't expect.
That's also where my problems with the book start, though. A poly relationship is fun, yes, but you actually need fully developed likeable characters to root for in this relationship, you need chemistry between them. The characters on a whole are underdeveloped, with most of them representing about one character trait. The character development feels just as bland and superficial, and the same goes for the relationship building. I wanted found family, I wanted ragtag group of people coming together for a heist and developing cool dynamics. I got random people with sometimes really weird, wattpad fiction type names (Jaemeh.......) that run around with their one personality trait, expecting me to like them based on just that and some tell-don't-show development and tragic past infodumps. I can see the potential there, but that's about it. I didn't care who lived or died, and that includes not only the poly couple as a whole, but the main character even. For a character feared by the very dragon queen, born with powerful magic, capable of controlling animals and maybe even dragons, she sure is bland. I also felt like most of the flirting between her and Ris, one of the love interests, was really cringeworthy at times.
The pacing is also incredibly meandering. I was getting bored by all the endless preperations for a heist that then happened in what felt like five seconds tops. The whole book needs some more editing, cutting out a lot of the unnecessary side noise that doesn't add anything to either the plot or the characters. There are also some sudden pov changes later on in the book which I didn't enjoy.
So yeah, this is me being really disappointed because I was so excited for the cool heist with dragons story, and a standalone one at that. But sadly, this one fell flat on too many levels for me, and I started skim reading more and more at about 20%, hoping until the very end that it would finally get better. For me, it didn't, but I hope others can enjoy this one more.
Many thanks to Pan Macmillan and Netgalley for the arc!
June 12, 2024
This upsets no one more than me. I was so incredibly ready to enjoy this after hearing nothing but fantastic things about the Chorus of Dragons series and Lyons's writing. Nonetheless, here we are with me disappointed.
The book begins with a fantastic scene where a dragonrider confronts the mayor of Crystalspire demanding that a previously believed dead woman is found so she can be killed frfr this time. From there, the pace does not let up, with plot, characters, and worldbuilding hitting you like flies as you drive a motorcycle with only some sticking in your teeth as the rest bounce off. I wish more than anything that this book would breathe! Just a bigggggg inhale, sit with the characters, develop relationships, soak in the mystery, experience the world, and then a biggggg exhale. Instead, so much happens that a lot of the plot hinges on coincidence and quickly delivered exposition to explain how problems were resolved.
As you can probably tell, I'm frustrated with this experience because the concept of dragonriders and the relationships between the dragon and rider had soooo much potential. I loved a lot of the romance that happened in this book and a lot of the characters had brilliant moments that I wish I was more connected to. But I simply didn't have the time with them to develop these stronger emotions. I wish more than anything that this was a trilogy instead of one book. It needed that sooooo badly.
I will definitely be reading Chorus of Dragons despite this experience, but yeah... I hope all pre-existing fans have a much better time than me.
The book begins with a fantastic scene where a dragonrider confronts the mayor of Crystalspire demanding that a previously believed dead woman is found so she can be killed frfr this time. From there, the pace does not let up, with plot, characters, and worldbuilding hitting you like flies as you drive a motorcycle with only some sticking in your teeth as the rest bounce off. I wish more than anything that this book would breathe! Just a bigggggg inhale, sit with the characters, develop relationships, soak in the mystery, experience the world, and then a biggggg exhale. Instead, so much happens that a lot of the plot hinges on coincidence and quickly delivered exposition to explain how problems were resolved.
As you can probably tell, I'm frustrated with this experience because the concept of dragonriders and the relationships between the dragon and rider had soooo much potential. I loved a lot of the romance that happened in this book and a lot of the characters had brilliant moments that I wish I was more connected to. But I simply didn't have the time with them to develop these stronger emotions. I wish more than anything that this was a trilogy instead of one book. It needed that sooooo badly.
I will definitely be reading Chorus of Dragons despite this experience, but yeah... I hope all pre-existing fans have a much better time than me.
September 4, 2024
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. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the eARc in exchange for an honest review.
- 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. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the eARc in exchange for an honest review.
November 14, 2024
The book lacked a clear thread, and moments were ruined by pointless dialogue. The first fifty pages were really good, and the book had great potential to be interesting, but in the end, it just didn't amount to anything.
Want to read
December 15, 2023Jenn Lyons???!!! YES PLEASE
May 7, 2024
Thank you to Pan Macmillan for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
Anahrod was sentenced to death 17 years ago and thrown off of a cloud cutter at fifty thousand feet, but now has been found by the very people she’s been running from - dragon riders, and, oddly, a 15 year old boy. Unexpectedly though, they don’t plan on returning her to the dragon regent Neveranimas who ordered her death, instead forming a band of misfits intent on stealing from the dragon’s secret hoard. Anahrod tries her best not to bond with friends old and new, while keeping her particular abilities close to her chest.
The premise of this book is intriguing and sounds like a great combination - dragons, magic, romance, and a heist! Sign me up. The plot itself has sufficient twists and turns to remain interesting once you get past the first quarter, although none of said twists and turns are surprising, in fact all of them are heavily foreshadowed.
Unfortunately for me, this book is trying to do too many things, and not succeeding at any of them. If this wasn’t an ARC I would have DNF’d this book at around the 5-10% mark. The introductory chapters are clunky and too heavy with unnecessary worldbuilding that then leaves no space to get a genuine feel for the characters. It fails to follow the advice of “show don’t tell” - we are told for example, that Ris has been flirting with Anahrod, but I recall being surprised by this information, as nothing about their interactions had up until that point been flirty or banter filled. There are too many characters introduced at once with no distinct voice between them, other than the one who speaks only in obscure poetry and quotes from in-world plays and literature.
I believe this book could benefit from another round of editing. It is possible that the author’s writing style just isn’t for me - this is the first Jenn Lyons book I’ve read. However, there are a number of very clunky sentences (especially up front) that can’t just be attributed to “writing style” - for example, “Ris and Naeron might have Deeper ancestry (Ris) or even come from the Deep (Naeron) but neither understood jungles.” The book also suffers from a lack of self-awareness. The characters go to great lengths to mock each other for their lack of creativity when it comes to naming things, while the author added fantasy vowel combinations to the name Jamie to come up with Jaemeh.
Despite supposedly having all the elements I wanted to read, I could not get into this book. One of the main issues for me is that the first tenth of the book simply did not grip me. It can’t decide what it wants to be: it’s a romance, but there’s no build up to the romance; there’s a bit of smutty language, but then there’s a fade to black; it’s a dragon mystery but there’s not that many dragons and it’s also very predictable. I do truly think that there is a good novel in here somewhere, it just needed more time and more editing to be something I would have enjoyed reading.
Anahrod was sentenced to death 17 years ago and thrown off of a cloud cutter at fifty thousand feet, but now has been found by the very people she’s been running from - dragon riders, and, oddly, a 15 year old boy. Unexpectedly though, they don’t plan on returning her to the dragon regent Neveranimas who ordered her death, instead forming a band of misfits intent on stealing from the dragon’s secret hoard. Anahrod tries her best not to bond with friends old and new, while keeping her particular abilities close to her chest.
The premise of this book is intriguing and sounds like a great combination - dragons, magic, romance, and a heist! Sign me up. The plot itself has sufficient twists and turns to remain interesting once you get past the first quarter, although none of said twists and turns are surprising, in fact all of them are heavily foreshadowed.
Unfortunately for me, this book is trying to do too many things, and not succeeding at any of them. If this wasn’t an ARC I would have DNF’d this book at around the 5-10% mark. The introductory chapters are clunky and too heavy with unnecessary worldbuilding that then leaves no space to get a genuine feel for the characters. It fails to follow the advice of “show don’t tell” - we are told for example, that Ris has been flirting with Anahrod, but I recall being surprised by this information, as nothing about their interactions had up until that point been flirty or banter filled. There are too many characters introduced at once with no distinct voice between them, other than the one who speaks only in obscure poetry and quotes from in-world plays and literature.
I believe this book could benefit from another round of editing. It is possible that the author’s writing style just isn’t for me - this is the first Jenn Lyons book I’ve read. However, there are a number of very clunky sentences (especially up front) that can’t just be attributed to “writing style” - for example, “Ris and Naeron might have Deeper ancestry (Ris) or even come from the Deep (Naeron) but neither understood jungles.” The book also suffers from a lack of self-awareness. The characters go to great lengths to mock each other for their lack of creativity when it comes to naming things, while the author added fantasy vowel combinations to the name Jamie to come up with Jaemeh.
Despite supposedly having all the elements I wanted to read, I could not get into this book. One of the main issues for me is that the first tenth of the book simply did not grip me. It can’t decide what it wants to be: it’s a romance, but there’s no build up to the romance; there’s a bit of smutty language, but then there’s a fade to black; it’s a dragon mystery but there’s not that many dragons and it’s also very predictable. I do truly think that there is a good novel in here somewhere, it just needed more time and more editing to be something I would have enjoyed reading.
August 1, 2024
I was pleasantly surprised by this book! Dragons plus heists?! What more can a girl want?
The world building in this book was amazing! So many (literal) layers with floating cities and the deep dark surface level jungle. The complexity of the dragons was also a major plus. Usually dragons are either good or evil in books, the villains or the hero’s. This was a great mixture of both, some dragons were religious, other not, all had different affinity’s and personalities
The plot was very fast paced, constantly moving. The only part I found lacking is that they overcame the challenges along the way and bit to easily… also the character development wasn’t the best
Overall I enjoyed it though, something different with an epic heist 🔮
The world building in this book was amazing! So many (literal) layers with floating cities and the deep dark surface level jungle. The complexity of the dragons was also a major plus. Usually dragons are either good or evil in books, the villains or the hero’s. This was a great mixture of both, some dragons were religious, other not, all had different affinity’s and personalities
The plot was very fast paced, constantly moving. The only part I found lacking is that they overcame the challenges along the way and bit to easily… also the character development wasn’t the best
Overall I enjoyed it though, something different with an epic heist 🔮
October 4, 2024
finally done, this was a slog to get through. this book is an identity crisis, unsure what it's trying to be at it's heart. instead of focusing on a solid cast of characters and worldbuilding we're thrown into a little bit of everything to try and please the masses, which i think for a lot of readers this will work. i'm disappointed i didn't end up loving this, i'm learning i may not like heists in books cause i often find them boring .-. anyway this was a let down and i'm glad i finally finished the audiobook
September 11, 2024
A much less complicated story than her previous series, but I had fun!
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