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Dragon's Soul
Teku is not a necessary person.
His family was complete before he was born. Surplus to the needs of his household and even his village, he has come to dislike the face that stares back at him in his reflection. He has a sense that he is not where, or who, he should be.
The untamed wilds speak to him sometimes, wordlessly calling him away. There is acceptance, love, and purpose out there, somewhere beyond the trappings of humanity. He will leave behind everything he has ever known to seek it, and she will arrive gliding on outstretched wings.
His family was complete before he was born. Surplus to the needs of his household and even his village, he has come to dislike the face that stares back at him in his reflection. He has a sense that he is not where, or who, he should be.
The untamed wilds speak to him sometimes, wordlessly calling him away. There is acceptance, love, and purpose out there, somewhere beyond the trappings of humanity. He will leave behind everything he has ever known to seek it, and she will arrive gliding on outstretched wings.
194 pages, ebook
Published June 7, 2025
1 person is currently reading
37 people want to read
About the author
J.F.R. Coates
20 books54 followersJ.F.R. Coates is a speculative fiction author, focusing in fantasy and science fiction. Her work tends to focus away from the human characters of the setting, instead giving life to the creatures that dwell alongside the familiar. From dragons and gryphons, to creatures of her own creation - like the ailur or starat - these story worlds are full of fascinating creatures to get to know.
Born and raised in picturesque Somerset, England, J.F.R. Coates moved to Brisbane in Australia as a teenager. She grew up reading from a young age, starting with Enid Blyton's The Famous Five and Secret Seven, before finding her calling with J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit. Fantasy has gripped her ever since, and now she calls amongst her favourite authors Maggie Furey, Philip Pullman, and Robin Hobb.
Born and raised in picturesque Somerset, England, J.F.R. Coates moved to Brisbane in Australia as a teenager. She grew up reading from a young age, starting with Enid Blyton's The Famous Five and Secret Seven, before finding her calling with J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit. Fantasy has gripped her ever since, and now she calls amongst her favourite authors Maggie Furey, Philip Pullman, and Robin Hobb.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 26, 2025
Very nice and cosy read where the hardships are overcome in a positive impulse, yet not falling in the trap of a disproportionate positivity.
Wrongs done remain wrongs done, however the protagonist grows and leaves the past where it belongs, where it can hurt no more.
Simple, practical yet not always an easy path to follow even if it's ultimately for the best.
Beyond the metaphor for various dysphoria that the reader may connect to, or not, the simple question of agreement between one's personality and who they are in life, is something that will hit the spot with virtually anyone, or at least, anyone who cares to take a step back now and then. Things such as "purpose", and many beliefs ingrained into people's minds from early age, are exposed as the rot they can become once they take control of beings rather than the reverse.
I picked this book even though not connecting directly with the topic, because another series from the author (destiny of dragons) is among my favorites for being an emotional rollercoaster so I expected this one could deliver something really interesting. Not disappointed.
Wrongs done remain wrongs done, however the protagonist grows and leaves the past where it belongs, where it can hurt no more.
Simple, practical yet not always an easy path to follow even if it's ultimately for the best.
Beyond the metaphor for various dysphoria that the reader may connect to, or not, the simple question of agreement between one's personality and who they are in life, is something that will hit the spot with virtually anyone, or at least, anyone who cares to take a step back now and then. Things such as "purpose", and many beliefs ingrained into people's minds from early age, are exposed as the rot they can become once they take control of beings rather than the reverse.
I picked this book even though not connecting directly with the topic, because another series from the author (destiny of dragons) is among my favorites for being an emotional rollercoaster so I expected this one could deliver something really interesting. Not disappointed.
November 14, 2025
Problems Aren't Real, The Book
In this book, a human who's sick and tired of his life, soon to be called Ember, ends up turning into a dragon, and she then has a journey of discovery to find out that she did indeed always have a dragon's soul. Slam dunk of a premise, right? Well, the execution is subpar in a variety of ways, I'm afraid. Any interesting complexities or potential friction were brushed under the rug, the worldbuilding was flimsy, the themes veer off the intended path, and the secondary main draw, the romance, was tepid.
First off, this is a trans therian poly lesbian story. I'm only one of those four, so I guess I was doomed to be somewhat dissatisfied from the get go. Still, I can appreciate all those things! Even with that, though, I felt like all the fun elements of learning to come to terms with being a different species and gender inside were resolved in mere pages, so it kinda just fell flat. I've read more resonant depictions of it from less well-written sources. And then the romance just kinda happened, and I didn't really think the three main characters had any real chemistry. They were kinda just the first two people that our protagonist met after becoming a dragon? The gryphon, Firebrand, is especially egregious, considering she really doesn't contribute to the plot in any way, and only barely to the themes; she probably could have been cut from the narrative. Our other dragon we meet, Caly, barely has any characterization, but at least she drives the plot singlehandedly.
The book presents some complex characters and little interesting worldbuilding ideas, probably accidentally. Despite my previous complaints, I found Firebrand's character rather complex; , but the narrative doesn't notice this happening or care. And the dragon society has some interesting points; there are hints of economic inequality, and the threat of examining the fact that . But again, probably accidentally interesting. There's a bit where we discover , which has huge implications, none discussed. This is a cozy story, so we can't get into it too much! The only bit of it we have is at the end, where our protagonist must . So not satisfying.
And then there's the themes. Oh boy. While I appreciate the fact that Ember has to endure the hardship of transition and all that, the theme of the book ends up being, through example after example, simply this:
At least it has a few good things. The feeling of physically being a dragon were very good (although the stuff in Dragon City could have been thought out better). There's this whole bit about flying lessons in the middle that just feels great. Perfect depictions of being a dragon. I liked that. And, yes, it is indeed nice and good to have trans therian poly lesbian themes at all. It's nice.
All in all, I wish I liked this one a lot more than I did. We need more books with exactly this premise! But this one wasn't the one for me.
In this book, a human who's sick and tired of his life, soon to be called Ember, ends up turning into a dragon, and she then has a journey of discovery to find out that she did indeed always have a dragon's soul. Slam dunk of a premise, right? Well, the execution is subpar in a variety of ways, I'm afraid. Any interesting complexities or potential friction were brushed under the rug, the worldbuilding was flimsy, the themes veer off the intended path, and the secondary main draw, the romance, was tepid.
First off, this is a trans therian poly lesbian story. I'm only one of those four, so I guess I was doomed to be somewhat dissatisfied from the get go. Still, I can appreciate all those things! Even with that, though, I felt like all the fun elements of learning to come to terms with being a different species and gender inside were resolved in mere pages, so it kinda just fell flat. I've read more resonant depictions of it from less well-written sources. And then the romance just kinda happened, and I didn't really think the three main characters had any real chemistry. They were kinda just the first two people that our protagonist met after becoming a dragon? The gryphon, Firebrand, is especially egregious, considering she really doesn't contribute to the plot in any way, and only barely to the themes; she probably could have been cut from the narrative. Our other dragon we meet, Caly, barely has any characterization, but at least she drives the plot singlehandedly.
The book presents some complex characters and little interesting worldbuilding ideas, probably accidentally. Despite my previous complaints, I found Firebrand's character rather complex; , but the narrative doesn't notice this happening or care. And the dragon society has some interesting points; there are hints of economic inequality, and the threat of examining the fact that . But again, probably accidentally interesting. There's a bit where we discover , which has huge implications, none discussed. This is a cozy story, so we can't get into it too much! The only bit of it we have is at the end, where our protagonist must . So not satisfying.
And then there's the themes. Oh boy. While I appreciate the fact that Ember has to endure the hardship of transition and all that, the theme of the book ends up being, through example after example, simply this:
At least it has a few good things. The feeling of physically being a dragon were very good (although the stuff in Dragon City could have been thought out better). There's this whole bit about flying lessons in the middle that just feels great. Perfect depictions of being a dragon. I liked that. And, yes, it is indeed nice and good to have trans therian poly lesbian themes at all. It's nice.
All in all, I wish I liked this one a lot more than I did. We need more books with exactly this premise! But this one wasn't the one for me.
December 24, 2025
Okay, from the beginning, I have questions that are never answered. It's part of a setup that is fine in it's own right, but you do have to wonder at the biology.
Teku is a fifth child. Which doesn't seem like it should be odd, but it is here. In this village, every...one is paired. The particular focus family has a mother and father, and two sets of twins. This is normal. And then they also have Teku, who is not.
This is odd enough that I was wondering if the inhabitants were even human, since there's not a lot of early description, but yes, they are.
Of course, four kids per two parents is a pretty good population growth rate... if child mortality is very low. It sounds like that's not a major problem, but we don't see enough to have any idea.
All of this is really just important for the first chapter, as it is part of the initial equilibrium setup. From here we quickly get into (literal) transformative fantasy, which is the backbone of the story.
The second unexplained bit is the character's sudden transformation from male human to female dragon. There's at least some hints of unknown forces operating for this part, which at least makes it feel less ignored, and that maybe there's an answer that the characters (and reader) don't get to know. This a fairly obvious allusion to wish fulfillment for being transgender, including a renaming of the main character to Blaze. She struggles with the change in status for the rest of the story... but outside of that it generally isn't a problem. Unique? Yes. But it obviously happened, and therefore there's no point in tying themselves, or Blaze, up in knots about it.
So, this is man vs self, but instead of struggling with a choice or essential nature, it is a struggle to accept her own self-worth. (It's kind of in the vein of the classic Andre Norton trope of a misfit finding their place in the world elsewhere, but with less struggle, and more spontaneous transformation.) External plot meanwhile is generated by the fact that dragons are in charge of ensuring magic—which is needed for life—flows through the land properly, and everything remains growing. Blaze's old village should have been dead, but magic was flowing until just now, causing things to come full circle as the characters go back to investigate for a conclusion that has no plot twists whatsoever. (And it's said that once an area is dead, you can't just bring it back by re-establishing the life stream there. So, what took care of the world before the dragons took over?)
The general writing is good, and if you stay concentrated on what's going on through Ember's eyes, it's a decent enough story. It's not trying to be great, which is good, because the various unanswered questions hold it back already. If the description sounds interesting, go ahead and get it; it is by no means bad, it just has some problems that in the end don't interfere with the story.
Teku is a fifth child. Which doesn't seem like it should be odd, but it is here. In this village, every...one is paired. The particular focus family has a mother and father, and two sets of twins. This is normal. And then they also have Teku, who is not.
This is odd enough that I was wondering if the inhabitants were even human, since there's not a lot of early description, but yes, they are.
Of course, four kids per two parents is a pretty good population growth rate... if child mortality is very low. It sounds like that's not a major problem, but we don't see enough to have any idea.
All of this is really just important for the first chapter, as it is part of the initial equilibrium setup. From here we quickly get into (literal) transformative fantasy, which is the backbone of the story.
The second unexplained bit is the character's sudden transformation from male human to female dragon. There's at least some hints of unknown forces operating for this part, which at least makes it feel less ignored, and that maybe there's an answer that the characters (and reader) don't get to know. This a fairly obvious allusion to wish fulfillment for being transgender, including a renaming of the main character to Blaze. She struggles with the change in status for the rest of the story... but outside of that it generally isn't a problem. Unique? Yes. But it obviously happened, and therefore there's no point in tying themselves, or Blaze, up in knots about it.
So, this is man vs self, but instead of struggling with a choice or essential nature, it is a struggle to accept her own self-worth. (It's kind of in the vein of the classic Andre Norton trope of a misfit finding their place in the world elsewhere, but with less struggle, and more spontaneous transformation.) External plot meanwhile is generated by the fact that dragons are in charge of ensuring magic—which is needed for life—flows through the land properly, and everything remains growing. Blaze's old village should have been dead, but magic was flowing until just now, causing things to come full circle as the characters go back to investigate for a conclusion that has no plot twists whatsoever. (And it's said that once an area is dead, you can't just bring it back by re-establishing the life stream there. So, what took care of the world before the dragons took over?)
The general writing is good, and if you stay concentrated on what's going on through Ember's eyes, it's a decent enough story. It's not trying to be great, which is good, because the various unanswered questions hold it back already. If the description sounds interesting, go ahead and get it; it is by no means bad, it just has some problems that in the end don't interfere with the story.
November 7, 2025
A charming slice-of-life story about a dull farm boy's transformation into a beautiful dragon lady, and her struggle with trying to find her place in this strange new world. Dragon's Soul is full of allegories to the transgender experience, and explores the concepts of 'purpose' and 'destiny' in fascinating ways!
I think that the audience that would get the most out of this book would definitely be transfems who are pre-transition or early in their transition, as many of Ember's struggles in the story come from her insecurity about her past life, and her fear of being seen as a "faker" by the "real" dragons. As such, those demographics would find the book's themes to be most relatable, with lots to learn from it's lessons.
The only problem that I had with the book was that it was SUPER obvious that
Overall, Dragon's Soul was an enjoyable read, and one I highly recommend to transgender book lovers!
I think that the audience that would get the most out of this book would definitely be transfems who are pre-transition or early in their transition, as many of Ember's struggles in the story come from her insecurity about her past life, and her fear of being seen as a "faker" by the "real" dragons. As such, those demographics would find the book's themes to be most relatable, with lots to learn from it's lessons.
The only problem that I had with the book was that it was SUPER obvious that
Overall, Dragon's Soul was an enjoyable read, and one I highly recommend to transgender book lovers!
June 13, 2025
This was a fantastic read! The metaphor for being a dragon for transness was absolutely brilliant, it was so clever, and it worked so well. I loved watching Ember develop from being unsure of herself, worrying she wouldn't fit in with the other dragons, and worrying that people would find out she used to be a human, to being confident in herself and realising that she didn't need anything from her family. I especially love that she couldn't forgive her family for what they did; those kind of cuts run deep and it was absolutely the right decision to not forgive them for what they did.
The poly relationship was a lovely addition. It's always heartwarming to encounter a queernorm world, and I love poly relationships, especially since it fits dragons so well.
I'm always fond of a queer dragon story, and this was fantastic!
The poly relationship was a lovely addition. It's always heartwarming to encounter a queernorm world, and I love poly relationships, especially since it fits dragons so well.
I'm always fond of a queer dragon story, and this was fantastic!
June 18, 2025
Very cozy read, honestly all I've been searching for a time. I just need some kind of TF story on which the character learn about themselves and how to handle their new body and instincts. Although not entirely the focus of this story in specific! The shift of this story I could see more of a overcome from a long trauma, and adapting to the new life. Really liked how it went on final act of this book.
Not exactly one that we can expect a sequel, but would be nice at the same pace and being cozy, almost slice of life
Not exactly one that we can expect a sequel, but would be nice at the same pace and being cozy, almost slice of life
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews