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Dawn of the Queen
The world of Velasia has lived in relative peace for thousands of years under the dragons' reign.
For Liotha, a humble dragoness from one of the lesser houses, all she cares about is preparing her own small part of the world for the future now growing in her belly.
But all is not well in the lands beyond the dragons' borders. There are whispers the dragons' leader has grown greedy, and in his greed, is consuming the world's magic. If he is not stopped, it could herald the very collapse of Velasia itself.
As the rumors of this growing darkness reach Liotha, she'll find herself presented with an unthinkable choice. For fate, it seems, has chosen her as its champion. If she does not answer the call, there may be no future left to welcome her children.
Through insurmountable odds, Liotha must rise beyond her lowly station and embrace her destiny as the herald of a new dawn-the Dawn of the Queen.
For Liotha, a humble dragoness from one of the lesser houses, all she cares about is preparing her own small part of the world for the future now growing in her belly.
But all is not well in the lands beyond the dragons' borders. There are whispers the dragons' leader has grown greedy, and in his greed, is consuming the world's magic. If he is not stopped, it could herald the very collapse of Velasia itself.
As the rumors of this growing darkness reach Liotha, she'll find herself presented with an unthinkable choice. For fate, it seems, has chosen her as its champion. If she does not answer the call, there may be no future left to welcome her children.
Through insurmountable odds, Liotha must rise beyond her lowly station and embrace her destiny as the herald of a new dawn-the Dawn of the Queen.
167 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 1, 2025
1 person is currently reading
4 people want to read
About the author
Andrew Stevens
2 books7 followersHey there, reader. Welcome to my Goodreads author page!
Before we dive in to a bit about myself, I'd like to point out that I'm offering a FREE eBook of my novella, 'Dawn of the Queen', for subscribers to my newsletter. Head on over to my website to sign up or just learn more about me and my books:
https://join-the-awakening.com
Now, on to just a brief bit about me...
My journey into writing goes way back--back before I graduated high school in a small town in northwestern Oregon in 2004. I don't remember exactly when my passion for creating began, but as it blossomed somewhere around middle-school, it started in the form of writing. Words were something I had a way with, and so they became my tool for creating the worlds I dreamt of in my mind.
Over the years, I started several story projects. I also wrote dozens of other ideas and short stories, but I never really did anything with them–at least, not until now.
Fast forward to 2023. With some help from a couple friends, I began to write. One word at a time, one paragraph at a time, until slowly the words became pages and the pages became chapters and finally, in March of 2024, it became the first draft of 'When Blood Burns' – the first book in the series I'm calling 'Cycle of Awakening'.
I don't know where things will go from here, but I have faith because I know that I'm doing what I was meant to do, and even if most of the world never sees what I create, I will be happy knowing I am finally following the passion inside me.
All that said, I sure hope I will find some beautiful souls to join me on this journey!
Before we dive in to a bit about myself, I'd like to point out that I'm offering a FREE eBook of my novella, 'Dawn of the Queen', for subscribers to my newsletter. Head on over to my website to sign up or just learn more about me and my books:
https://join-the-awakening.com
Now, on to just a brief bit about me...
My journey into writing goes way back--back before I graduated high school in a small town in northwestern Oregon in 2004. I don't remember exactly when my passion for creating began, but as it blossomed somewhere around middle-school, it started in the form of writing. Words were something I had a way with, and so they became my tool for creating the worlds I dreamt of in my mind.
Over the years, I started several story projects. I also wrote dozens of other ideas and short stories, but I never really did anything with them–at least, not until now.
Fast forward to 2023. With some help from a couple friends, I began to write. One word at a time, one paragraph at a time, until slowly the words became pages and the pages became chapters and finally, in March of 2024, it became the first draft of 'When Blood Burns' – the first book in the series I'm calling 'Cycle of Awakening'.
I don't know where things will go from here, but I have faith because I know that I'm doing what I was meant to do, and even if most of the world never sees what I create, I will be happy knowing I am finally following the passion inside me.
All that said, I sure hope I will find some beautiful souls to join me on this journey!
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
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August 10, 2025A short introduction to the world of the Cycle of Awakening where we learn about the downfall of the tyrant king who leads the dragons. His path of destruction hidden from his kind, but as he lusts for more power, he threatens to destroy the whole world.
Liotha starts of as a young, naive dragoness, a lower rank of nobility but her and her mate are trying to secure a better life for themselves and their children in her belly. But this life swiftly dissolves as Liotha is pulled into join a revolt that almost finishes before it starts. Bearing the scars of betrayal, Liotha rises up with new determination.
As I said above, this is a very brief introduction and I was itching to have more world building and to dive more into who Liotha was a character, and for a lot of it to be more fleshed out. Perhaps due to this being the prequel more of this will come in the first book of the series.
Liotha starts of as a young, naive dragoness, a lower rank of nobility but her and her mate are trying to secure a better life for themselves and their children in her belly. But this life swiftly dissolves as Liotha is pulled into join a revolt that almost finishes before it starts. Bearing the scars of betrayal, Liotha rises up with new determination.
As I said above, this is a very brief introduction and I was itching to have more world building and to dive more into who Liotha was a character, and for a lot of it to be more fleshed out. Perhaps due to this being the prequel more of this will come in the first book of the series.
July 23, 2025
The story of Liothia is quite interesting! I read this prequel novella after When Blood Burns and I think it was cool to see all of the little details that were revealed, and it helped to explain some things from the novel (as a prequel should), and piqued my spidey senses for things to come in book 2. Definitely a good addition to the whole story.
November 19, 2025
A solid debut novella by Andrew Stevens introduces readers to the world of Velasia. Stevens's writing is assured with excellent characterization and fascinating political intrigue amongst the book's main characters, dragons Liotha, Dro'Kal, and Ere'Daina. The world's magic is being consumed by the king of the dragons, Dro'Kal, who is going mad with power. By consuming this magic, he is depleting it across the world, threatening the existence of all the other races (briefly mentioned in a most tantalizing way). Scion (senator?) Ere'Daina convinces Liotha to join her treasonous group of female dragons, with the intention of stopping the King and saving them all. To add to the tension, Liotha is pregnant and, along the way, watches as her friends are sacrificed and her own mate nearly kills her. As with all good villains, we see Dro'Kal's motivations and why he allowed himself to succumb to the allure of power and madness.
Stevens has a full novel set in this world, When Blood Burns, which is an easy pick-up after reading Dawn of the Queen. Very highly recommended.
Stevens has a full novel set in this world, When Blood Burns, which is an easy pick-up after reading Dawn of the Queen. Very highly recommended.
January 16, 2026
This is a prequel novella to the Cycle of Awakening series. I have not read the main series, so I knew nothing about the world or the plot.
I did enjoy reading Liotha's journey, but sometimes I felt as some mechanics of what is transpiring could have been fleshed more and Andrew could have spent more time on this and that moment lingering - though, following this it could have easily became a full book and not a novella.
I liked second half of the novella even more (the last sequence with the bad guy). Novella does not fully goes into picturing the villain in details, he felt slightly more of a plot device here, but I think this is more to do with the size of this novella for me, than with actual writing.
Anyway, this is a good novella that gives you a taste of Andrew's writing and shows you a couple of interesting things from his world. If you like reading books about the shape-shifting dragons, especially the ones organized into civilizations and cultures, then give it a try.
I did enjoy reading Liotha's journey, but sometimes I felt as some mechanics of what is transpiring could have been fleshed more and Andrew could have spent more time on this and that moment lingering - though, following this it could have easily became a full book and not a novella.
I liked second half of the novella even more (the last sequence with the bad guy). Novella does not fully goes into picturing the villain in details, he felt slightly more of a plot device here, but I think this is more to do with the size of this novella for me, than with actual writing.
Anyway, this is a good novella that gives you a taste of Andrew's writing and shows you a couple of interesting things from his world. If you like reading books about the shape-shifting dragons, especially the ones organized into civilizations and cultures, then give it a try.
December 20, 2025
This novella is the prequel for When Blood Burns in the Cycle of Awakening. I read this after book 1 and while the author has written them so that you can read them in any order, I recommend reading the prequel 2nd. It gave me some details and helped answer a few questions from book 1.
This novella is the story of Liotha, the first dragon queen. This was a little over 160 pages of details, world building, and, character development all while still being fast paced. I was hooked in the beginning and didn't want to put it down.
Very excited to continue this epic fantasy and see where we go next.
This novella is the story of Liotha, the first dragon queen. This was a little over 160 pages of details, world building, and, character development all while still being fast paced. I was hooked in the beginning and didn't want to put it down.
Very excited to continue this epic fantasy and see where we go next.
July 22, 2025
This prequel is such a pleasant read. I read When Blood Burns first.
This short story answered questions from the main book, but has also left an air of mystery and anticipation for the next book in the series. These are really good debuts! If you love fantasy, political chess amongst dragons and strong female main characters. This is a really gripping read.
The development of Liotha is portrayed really well too.
Honestly, I can't wait for what is next.
This short story answered questions from the main book, but has also left an air of mystery and anticipation for the next book in the series. These are really good debuts! If you love fantasy, political chess amongst dragons and strong female main characters. This is a really gripping read.
The development of Liotha is portrayed really well too.
Honestly, I can't wait for what is next.
July 11, 2025
A wonderfully written chronicle of dragons and humans. The story of the dragon queen and her children draws the reader in and holds on tight. Descriptive writing brings this story alive. The author shows such enjoyment in his writing. It is easy to love the characters. Definitely recommend this book.
August 21, 2025
One thing I really appreciated about this novella is the author does not over indulge in “marvel humor”.
The tone of this story is consistent throughout and the tension is allowed to linger (which I am finding lacking in a lot of new works by new and established authors).
My criticisms of this work are similar to the full novel “When Blood Burns” but most of it can be attributed to the author finding his voice and growing in his craft. As the series continues and Andrew Stevens grows as an author, I am excited to see where the future is headed. 4/5
The tone of this story is consistent throughout and the tension is allowed to linger (which I am finding lacking in a lot of new works by new and established authors).
My criticisms of this work are similar to the full novel “When Blood Burns” but most of it can be attributed to the author finding his voice and growing in his craft. As the series continues and Andrew Stevens grows as an author, I am excited to see where the future is headed. 4/5
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews