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When Blood Burns
Magic is fading. The ancient races have all but vanished. Humans and dragons remain, a fragile peace offering a brief respite in their ancient struggle.
On the outskirts of human lands, twins Kai and Mara still remember the deaths of their parents, murdered at the hands of a rogue dragon when they were young. Eager to avenge their family, they’ve sworn fealty to the Order, a legendary group of warriors who wield the magic of the dragons’ own blood against them. The problem is, that source has long since dried up, and the twins question if their true purpose has dried up with it.
Until the rumors begin…
Whispers speak of a strange sighting in the mountains, a group of hunters waylaid by a woman with inhuman qualities—her scarlet eyes burning with vengeance, her voice planting dark thoughts in the minds of men. Her arrival speaks of a new conflict, one with roots that extend far deeper than any in the Order could possibly know. And somehow, Kai and Mara seem to be at the very heart of it.
Peace will not last. Vengeance will not rest. And before all is over, blood will burn.
On the outskirts of human lands, twins Kai and Mara still remember the deaths of their parents, murdered at the hands of a rogue dragon when they were young. Eager to avenge their family, they’ve sworn fealty to the Order, a legendary group of warriors who wield the magic of the dragons’ own blood against them. The problem is, that source has long since dried up, and the twins question if their true purpose has dried up with it.
Until the rumors begin…
Whispers speak of a strange sighting in the mountains, a group of hunters waylaid by a woman with inhuman qualities—her scarlet eyes burning with vengeance, her voice planting dark thoughts in the minds of men. Her arrival speaks of a new conflict, one with roots that extend far deeper than any in the Order could possibly know. And somehow, Kai and Mara seem to be at the very heart of it.
Peace will not last. Vengeance will not rest. And before all is over, blood will burn.
636 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 1, 2025
1 person is currently reading
23 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 - 11 of 11 reviews
September 27, 2025
When Blood Burns by Andrew Stevens is an immersive and engaging debut that sets the stage for an epic fantasy series with real depth. Stevens blends rich worldbuilding with strong emotional storytelling, creating a world where dragons, fading magic, and the echoes of ancient history shape every decision and conflict.
At the heart of the novel are twins Kai and Mara, whose shared grief and determination give the story a powerful emotional core. Their journey plays out against a backdrop of political intrigue, mysterious powers, and a land on the edge of transformation. Stevens balances large, sweeping moments with intimate character-driven scenes, which makes the book feel both epic and personal at the same time.
The writing is vivid and easy to sink into, carrying the reader through action, mystery, and heartfelt moments with ease. Each chapter builds momentum toward a conclusion that both satisfies and promises exciting developments ahead.
Overall, When Blood Burns is a beautifully crafted start to a series that balances adventure and immersive storytelling with heartfelt moments, and it leaves you excited for what comes next.🤩
At the heart of the novel are twins Kai and Mara, whose shared grief and determination give the story a powerful emotional core. Their journey plays out against a backdrop of political intrigue, mysterious powers, and a land on the edge of transformation. Stevens balances large, sweeping moments with intimate character-driven scenes, which makes the book feel both epic and personal at the same time.
The writing is vivid and easy to sink into, carrying the reader through action, mystery, and heartfelt moments with ease. Each chapter builds momentum toward a conclusion that both satisfies and promises exciting developments ahead.
Overall, When Blood Burns is a beautifully crafted start to a series that balances adventure and immersive storytelling with heartfelt moments, and it leaves you excited for what comes next.🤩
July 11, 2025
I am genuinely impressed that this is the author’s first novel. This novel was incredibly ambitious and he took care not to fall under the pressure. the premise is right up my alley with being familiar but not generic fantasy. I liked that the main characters were older, I’ve been reading a lot of books with teenage protagonists so this was a nice change -especially as a man nearing 30 :/
I had issues with the pacing particularly between the mid point of the book and the climax but this may be unfair after reading this right after John Gwynne who is infamous for his breakneck pacing.
I think his main characters and the villain are pretty strong and do a decent job of letting the reader get invested in their journeys but most of the side characters don’t have the same feeling and can feel hollow at times.
The dialogue is very modern which I know is a turn off for a lot of fantasy readers but I am ok with it, but I do acknowledge some of the dialogue in this book can be a little cheesy.
Overall, a very strong start to a series. I am excited to watch this author grow and improve as he writes the sequels.
I had issues with the pacing particularly between the mid point of the book and the climax but this may be unfair after reading this right after John Gwynne who is infamous for his breakneck pacing.
I think his main characters and the villain are pretty strong and do a decent job of letting the reader get invested in their journeys but most of the side characters don’t have the same feeling and can feel hollow at times.
The dialogue is very modern which I know is a turn off for a lot of fantasy readers but I am ok with it, but I do acknowledge some of the dialogue in this book can be a little cheesy.
Overall, a very strong start to a series. I am excited to watch this author grow and improve as he writes the sequels.
July 23, 2025
I liked this one! Thank you to the author for sending me an ARC of his debut fantasy novel. The world that is being built is quite interesting and has good depth to keep things unfolding as you find out more. We have humans vs Dragons (they can shift to human form) that do not like each other, an heir to the throne, bloodlines that I think will reveal more surprises later, mind control, transformations, and unexpected character connections that I didn't see coming. It was cool to see how everything came together at the end and I'm very intrigued to see what happens next!
P.S. I think Mara is my favorite so far!
“Princess Nalaen, Heir to the Dragon Throne, Daughter of the Slain Queen, and I have come for vengeance.”
Dragons 🐉
Parental Loss
Heir to the throne 👑
Vengeance
Power-hungry Ruler 🔋
Old Magic/mind magic 🧠
Enemies to Allies
Did I mention dragons? 🐉
P.S. I think Mara is my favorite so far!
“Princess Nalaen, Heir to the Dragon Throne, Daughter of the Slain Queen, and I have come for vengeance.”
Dragons 🐉
Parental Loss
Heir to the throne 👑
Vengeance
Power-hungry Ruler 🔋
Old Magic/mind magic 🧠
Enemies to Allies
Did I mention dragons? 🐉
November 17, 2025
“The road of revenge rarely leads to the destination of our heart’s truest desires”
When Blood Burns is great journey taking us from loss and deep seeded revenge, to the brink of war between the Dragon Kingdom and humans.
Though the story, Stevens tells us tells of grief, discovery, love, plotting, planning, manipulation, battles and compassion. We have unlikely heroes and unlikely alliances that give us many exciting twists and turns.
While parts of the middle section felt drawn out at times, the character development and world building through this section paid off in the end.
Very much looking forward to Book 2 of the Cycle Of Awakening!
When Blood Burns is great journey taking us from loss and deep seeded revenge, to the brink of war between the Dragon Kingdom and humans.
Though the story, Stevens tells us tells of grief, discovery, love, plotting, planning, manipulation, battles and compassion. We have unlikely heroes and unlikely alliances that give us many exciting twists and turns.
While parts of the middle section felt drawn out at times, the character development and world building through this section paid off in the end.
Very much looking forward to Book 2 of the Cycle Of Awakening!
December 7, 2025
If you like
🐲-Dragons
✨-Magic
⚔️-Action/fighting
💕-Family bonds
First I want to thank Andrew for the opportunity to read the ARC copy of this book!
Now onto the good stuff. Reading this book way like walking into a RPG like world of Warcraft, elder scrolls or any other fantasy inspired game. The multiple perspectives of both human and dragons really pulls you in connecting you with the characters. There are plot twists along the way so there is always something to look forward to.
I highly recommend this book, and cannot wait to read more of this story.
🐲-Dragons
✨-Magic
⚔️-Action/fighting
💕-Family bonds
First I want to thank Andrew for the opportunity to read the ARC copy of this book!
Now onto the good stuff. Reading this book way like walking into a RPG like world of Warcraft, elder scrolls or any other fantasy inspired game. The multiple perspectives of both human and dragons really pulls you in connecting you with the characters. There are plot twists along the way so there is always something to look forward to.
I highly recommend this book, and cannot wait to read more of this story.
July 11, 2025
A wonderful story of dragons with a mother queen ruling them. As always everyone wants power. Dragons over humans and of course humans over dragons. Male over female etc. fighting for family, fighting for revenge and fighting for survival. This story cover many centuries of this history. There is arcane magic, astroprojection and mind control to mention a few ideas. It will keep you on edge as you rush ti read this story. But you must take time ti relish the complexity of this book. I enjoyed it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 4, 2025
ARC REVIEW - Quick Summary: Enjoyed it despite the issues.
Rating: 2.5 stars
THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS
For a debut novel, When Blood Burns is ambitious and entertaining. The author clearly loves his characters and the world he’s made for them, and that love shows in his writing. I enjoyed reading this book and I’m grateful I was selected as one of the ARC reviewers for Andrew’s author's debut into the world.
Although I experienced a roller-coaster of emotions while reading this, overall I really enjoyed the experience and look forward to the next installment.
The book did have some rather glaring issues that I couldn't ignore, so with that being said, let’s get into the main review!
___________________________
Almost immediately, you could tell that this book had been written by an inexperienced writer.
There were many instances where I went “ah, yes, he’s new to this,” and while being able to identify an inexperienced writer is not inherently a bad thing, it’s certainly something that stays with you throughout this entire book.
There were countless instances where I was hoping to dive deeper into a specific scene or certain characters, but the writing remained surface-level.
The characters lacked depth, the world lacked intrigue, and the plot, at times, lacked logic and impact. It was difficult to become invested in any of the topics listed.
When Mara lost her sight and had to navigate the world without it, I thought it would be interesting to showcase the way she “saw” the world without her vision, but the writing barely changed.
It’s not because her POV continued being visually described, it’s because the world is barely described at all, so nothing had changed. I felt it was a missed opportunity for some really intriguing character moments.
The author also had the habit of overusing the word “several” which overall I thought was pretty amusing, however there were two instances that I can recall where the word “several” was used when only talking about two people. Not the biggest issue, but it was misleading.
The most glaring issue with this book is the way it was written. I couldn’t find a single instance where we were “shown” something rather than “told.”
From the character's emotions to the world-building and magic system, everything was given to us blatantly without any "finesse." The writing had an almost “no-nonsense” feel to it, getting straight to the point, which resulted in the prose and writing leaving a lot to be desired.
Not to mention the overwhelming amount of exposition.
The majority of the book was saturated with exposition, especially in the beginning, which made it difficult to keep track of all the information we were told.
The world-building was often given to us in long, run-on sentences or exposition-heavy paragraphs. More than that, it focused almost exclusively on the history of the world.
Not the magic system, not the country or continent, and definitely not the cultures and peoples.
In every aspect except for the history, the world-building fell flat, resulting in a world that I could not picture and just barely managed to get immersed in.
I was shocked to find that this book contained switching POV’s, as the summary never suggested there would be, but I personally enjoyed seeing the perspectives of different characters.
What I didn’t enjoy so much was the completely random POV switch in the middle of any given chapter.
Sometimes the switch would be for the rest of the chapter, other times it was just for a few pages or paragraphs. It wasn't something that I could easily ignore while reading.
The POV switching between chapters was enjoyable, but I did think it tended to disrupt the balance of the story quite often, and some characters went longer than they should have without a chapter.
The dialogue was, unfortunately, incredibly flat, uninspired, rarely used for characterization, and sometimes a little cringe.
It was possibly my least favorite part of this book, and it made reading a real struggle at times. It was awkward in some parts and drawn out during others. Sometimes, entire pages (on my digital copy) would be filled with only dialogue with no breaks for action or emotion in between.
The emotions were also very "told" throughout the book, leaving little room for creative and impactful prose.
Character actions were similarly affected.
Every single character in the book had the same characteristics; I had a hard time distinguishing between them. Everyone had the same speaking patterns as well, and the WAY that they spoke was very stiff and almost textbook.
Maybe that was intentional, considering most of the characters are quite old, but there's always room for personality to shine through in dialogue.
There were also moments where the character's actions simply did not match what they were feeling. The amount of times a character “blushed with embarrassment” because they were feeling guilty was baffling. They blushed when feeling grief as well.
And, the few times where it was appropriate for a character to blush with embarrassment, they SMIRKED instead!
This one scene that I found somewhat humorous because of how ridiculous it was, was when Nalaen threw her head back with a cry of rage, then began walking towards the twins. Walking. Her intentions were to kill them, and Yoren was still right in front of her (although engaged with Talesa), which should have given Nalaen a sense of urgency.
There were plenty of characters in this book, none of which got any proper characterization or even a personality. Characters like Cyrus and Vi were used as plot devices who COULD NOT have their own thoughts or motives. Characters like Mykael (who died WAY too soon and off-screen) and Caliena had no agency and only existed when the plot needed them to.
Even characters who were more at the forefront of the story, such as Aerin, were plot-bound and lacked independence. Because the writing remained surface-level and “told” us everything, Aarin’s motivation for helping out in the last act was basically “because it’s the right thing to do.”
Throughout the entire book, the plot happened to the characters, save for maybe Nalaen.
What I mean when I say that is that the characters made decisions strictly because the plot needed them to.
Some characters were complete idiots because the plot wouldn’t have happened if they could think. The character's choices didn’t mean anything because the characters did not exist outside the plot, everything flowed exactly how it was designed to.
Other, more minor characters, such as Riesara and Haren (who I forgot existed on multiple occasions), didn’t bring anything to the story and could be forgotten the moment they left the scene. Even Bran, who had a whole fight with Kai in the beginning that shed some light on the “no-bloods” in the world, was completely forgettable after his initial chapter.
Characters like Karg or Galen who SHOULD have had more impact on the story, or at the very least most of the characters, could have been completely written out of the story and almost nothing would change.
Every single character except for the handful that made up the main cast had absolutely no impact and no staying power, and I’d even go as far as to say that without 80% of the entire cast, you'd get relatively the same story.
At times, the multiple characters in a scene completely disappeared to focus on two or three characters at a time.
This would happen to main characters such as Mara and Kai as well; a dialogue would take place between two characters, and no one else existed for the duration of it. It happened often enough that I had to mention it.
Story flow-wise, the combat scenes were probably the most difficult to read.
Every single fight scene was either hard to follow or dragged too long, or both. Characters who have been alive for centuries could not use their brains for the life of them.
A dragon is preparing to breathe fire at a group of humans clearly waiting for the right moment so they can roll away and dodge? The dragon doesn't bother turning its head or changing its strategy.
The dragons have been burning watch towers and villages clearly trying to draw the Order out of their stronghold? The Order goes to confront them and doesn't even consider that there might be an ambush or trap set for them.
It is specifically said that spears are the greatest weapon against a dragon in their dragon form, but the Order doesn't bother carrying around any other weapons to counter the dragons in their human forms?
And, this part actually got on my nerves, but in chapter 47, the two dragon princesses and the elder dragon knights face off against the Order, who were just ambushed and are wounded, already at a disadvantage.
The “npcs” amongst both the Order and the elder dragons practically disappear for the rest of the chapter in favor of focusing on Kai and Talesa, and in the very next chapter we learn that all the dragon knights are dead.
I found this incredibly hard to believe and utterly immersion-breaking. Even Mykael, who had just defeated Galen, died without another mention. AND (even though she probably isn't) the book would have us believe that Talesa dies as well!
I just don't buy any of that, especially considering how few were lost on the Order’s side.
Elder dragons lacked the power and impact they should have had for such an ancient and formidable species. And not to mention how cowardly every single one of them appeared to be.
Dragons would talk big talk every chance they got and rarely had the ability to back it up (because of the way the plot needed to play out) and every time they began to lose, they'd resort to low-ball tactics to win.
I liked the dragon characters more than the human ones (the siblings were by far my favorite) but this was something that I could never get past.
Now, to address the last thing that really made me consider giving this book a lower rating.
At times, characters knew about and talked about topics that they should have had no knowledge of whatsoever.
The most egregious offence of this was when Nalaen mentioned that she had an “insider,” and Kai, and everyone else who heard her, IMMEDIATELY knew she was talking about Jarren, the insider.
They then had a trial for Jarren, trying him on things that NO ONE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT.
It was a terrible case of meta knowledge, and it completely ruined what could have otherwise been a very intriguing reveal.
The entire trial chapter was a giant waste of time that the Order simply should not have had, and the fact that Mara was called to speak about Jarren was unbelievable because Mara had never met Jarren and had been too occupied to know that Jarren and Kai were even friends.
I don't believe that Mara even knew Jarren's name before this chapter.
The rest of the critiques I have for this book are rather simple:
- Nalaen’s desire to avenge her mother and have dragons rule the world again was such a self-fulfilling desire, and I wish it had been treated as such. I felt like her priorities should have been on her home and the Wyrm who was encroaching on the crown's rule and attempting to sway favor his way.
- Kai being upset at Yoren was so unjustified. Yoren was only ever performing his duty, the SAME duty that Kai wanted so badly. Mara got injured during an ambush, and because of that Kai decides to get mad at and blame Yoren? It's Nalaen's actions and choices that got Mara hurt. Yoren didn't force Nalaen to want revenge, he didn't go out of his way to harm her and her family. Yoren was doing his job, and considering the way that Kai feels about dragons, his anger at Yoren was so forced.
- For a story containing war and practically every character being directly involved in that war, getting little more than “war preparations” for descriptions doesn't cut it.
- When Karg asked Kai and Mara for war counseling simply because they had Yoren's and Nalaen's blood in their veins... I had to step away from the book for a while. These kids have NEVER been in a war and they are some of the least qualified people in the ENTIRE Order to give counseling. This felt like such a main character moment.
- Aerin was kicked out of the Order because he'd been accused of leaving the storage doors open and spoiling all of the meat. Quick question, why the hell is this kid in charge of hunting for the entire Order? And another note, "several days" the cellar door was left open, do these people not do patrols or even walk by the thing?
- The passage of time is used so irresponsibly in this book, especially with the threat of WAR on the horizon. The timeskips were unacceptable.
- The power scaling with Kai and Mara "suddenly" having a "rush of energy” was really annoying and a poor way to describe their powers.
- Mara and Sorn saw Liotha give Garn a “vial” as it was described in the memory, and that convinced Sorn that she was a traitor?? What if she was making a deal FOR dragonkind? This is another case of meta knowledge.
- Kai and Mara's friend group was such a huge waste of time and character space, especially "the girls" as they were so often described.
___________________________
___________________________
All in all, I did actually enjoy this read much more than I thought I would, especially since the beginning was slow and overall there were plenty of bumps in the road.
I’m looking forward to the next part in the series and seeing where the characters and story go next. This author clearly has a love for this craft and I’m excited to see how he improves in the future.
Rating: 2.5 stars
THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS
For a debut novel, When Blood Burns is ambitious and entertaining. The author clearly loves his characters and the world he’s made for them, and that love shows in his writing. I enjoyed reading this book and I’m grateful I was selected as one of the ARC reviewers for Andrew’s author's debut into the world.
Although I experienced a roller-coaster of emotions while reading this, overall I really enjoyed the experience and look forward to the next installment.
The book did have some rather glaring issues that I couldn't ignore, so with that being said, let’s get into the main review!
___________________________
Almost immediately, you could tell that this book had been written by an inexperienced writer.
There were many instances where I went “ah, yes, he’s new to this,” and while being able to identify an inexperienced writer is not inherently a bad thing, it’s certainly something that stays with you throughout this entire book.
There were countless instances where I was hoping to dive deeper into a specific scene or certain characters, but the writing remained surface-level.
The characters lacked depth, the world lacked intrigue, and the plot, at times, lacked logic and impact. It was difficult to become invested in any of the topics listed.
When Mara lost her sight and had to navigate the world without it, I thought it would be interesting to showcase the way she “saw” the world without her vision, but the writing barely changed.
It’s not because her POV continued being visually described, it’s because the world is barely described at all, so nothing had changed. I felt it was a missed opportunity for some really intriguing character moments.
The author also had the habit of overusing the word “several” which overall I thought was pretty amusing, however there were two instances that I can recall where the word “several” was used when only talking about two people. Not the biggest issue, but it was misleading.
The most glaring issue with this book is the way it was written. I couldn’t find a single instance where we were “shown” something rather than “told.”
From the character's emotions to the world-building and magic system, everything was given to us blatantly without any "finesse." The writing had an almost “no-nonsense” feel to it, getting straight to the point, which resulted in the prose and writing leaving a lot to be desired.
Not to mention the overwhelming amount of exposition.
The majority of the book was saturated with exposition, especially in the beginning, which made it difficult to keep track of all the information we were told.
The world-building was often given to us in long, run-on sentences or exposition-heavy paragraphs. More than that, it focused almost exclusively on the history of the world.
Not the magic system, not the country or continent, and definitely not the cultures and peoples.
In every aspect except for the history, the world-building fell flat, resulting in a world that I could not picture and just barely managed to get immersed in.
I was shocked to find that this book contained switching POV’s, as the summary never suggested there would be, but I personally enjoyed seeing the perspectives of different characters.
What I didn’t enjoy so much was the completely random POV switch in the middle of any given chapter.
Sometimes the switch would be for the rest of the chapter, other times it was just for a few pages or paragraphs. It wasn't something that I could easily ignore while reading.
The POV switching between chapters was enjoyable, but I did think it tended to disrupt the balance of the story quite often, and some characters went longer than they should have without a chapter.
The dialogue was, unfortunately, incredibly flat, uninspired, rarely used for characterization, and sometimes a little cringe.
It was possibly my least favorite part of this book, and it made reading a real struggle at times. It was awkward in some parts and drawn out during others. Sometimes, entire pages (on my digital copy) would be filled with only dialogue with no breaks for action or emotion in between.
The emotions were also very "told" throughout the book, leaving little room for creative and impactful prose.
Character actions were similarly affected.
Every single character in the book had the same characteristics; I had a hard time distinguishing between them. Everyone had the same speaking patterns as well, and the WAY that they spoke was very stiff and almost textbook.
Maybe that was intentional, considering most of the characters are quite old, but there's always room for personality to shine through in dialogue.
There were also moments where the character's actions simply did not match what they were feeling. The amount of times a character “blushed with embarrassment” because they were feeling guilty was baffling. They blushed when feeling grief as well.
And, the few times where it was appropriate for a character to blush with embarrassment, they SMIRKED instead!
This one scene that I found somewhat humorous because of how ridiculous it was, was when Nalaen threw her head back with a cry of rage, then began walking towards the twins. Walking. Her intentions were to kill them, and Yoren was still right in front of her (although engaged with Talesa), which should have given Nalaen a sense of urgency.
There were plenty of characters in this book, none of which got any proper characterization or even a personality. Characters like Cyrus and Vi were used as plot devices who COULD NOT have their own thoughts or motives. Characters like Mykael (who died WAY too soon and off-screen) and Caliena had no agency and only existed when the plot needed them to.
Even characters who were more at the forefront of the story, such as Aerin, were plot-bound and lacked independence. Because the writing remained surface-level and “told” us everything, Aarin’s motivation for helping out in the last act was basically “because it’s the right thing to do.”
Throughout the entire book, the plot happened to the characters, save for maybe Nalaen.
What I mean when I say that is that the characters made decisions strictly because the plot needed them to.
Some characters were complete idiots because the plot wouldn’t have happened if they could think. The character's choices didn’t mean anything because the characters did not exist outside the plot, everything flowed exactly how it was designed to.
Other, more minor characters, such as Riesara and Haren (who I forgot existed on multiple occasions), didn’t bring anything to the story and could be forgotten the moment they left the scene. Even Bran, who had a whole fight with Kai in the beginning that shed some light on the “no-bloods” in the world, was completely forgettable after his initial chapter.
Characters like Karg or Galen who SHOULD have had more impact on the story, or at the very least most of the characters, could have been completely written out of the story and almost nothing would change.
Every single character except for the handful that made up the main cast had absolutely no impact and no staying power, and I’d even go as far as to say that without 80% of the entire cast, you'd get relatively the same story.
At times, the multiple characters in a scene completely disappeared to focus on two or three characters at a time.
This would happen to main characters such as Mara and Kai as well; a dialogue would take place between two characters, and no one else existed for the duration of it. It happened often enough that I had to mention it.
Story flow-wise, the combat scenes were probably the most difficult to read.
Every single fight scene was either hard to follow or dragged too long, or both. Characters who have been alive for centuries could not use their brains for the life of them.
A dragon is preparing to breathe fire at a group of humans clearly waiting for the right moment so they can roll away and dodge? The dragon doesn't bother turning its head or changing its strategy.
The dragons have been burning watch towers and villages clearly trying to draw the Order out of their stronghold? The Order goes to confront them and doesn't even consider that there might be an ambush or trap set for them.
It is specifically said that spears are the greatest weapon against a dragon in their dragon form, but the Order doesn't bother carrying around any other weapons to counter the dragons in their human forms?
And, this part actually got on my nerves, but in chapter 47, the two dragon princesses and the elder dragon knights face off against the Order, who were just ambushed and are wounded, already at a disadvantage.
The “npcs” amongst both the Order and the elder dragons practically disappear for the rest of the chapter in favor of focusing on Kai and Talesa, and in the very next chapter we learn that all the dragon knights are dead.
I found this incredibly hard to believe and utterly immersion-breaking. Even Mykael, who had just defeated Galen, died without another mention. AND (even though she probably isn't) the book would have us believe that Talesa dies as well!
I just don't buy any of that, especially considering how few were lost on the Order’s side.
Elder dragons lacked the power and impact they should have had for such an ancient and formidable species. And not to mention how cowardly every single one of them appeared to be.
Dragons would talk big talk every chance they got and rarely had the ability to back it up (because of the way the plot needed to play out) and every time they began to lose, they'd resort to low-ball tactics to win.
I liked the dragon characters more than the human ones (the siblings were by far my favorite) but this was something that I could never get past.
Now, to address the last thing that really made me consider giving this book a lower rating.
At times, characters knew about and talked about topics that they should have had no knowledge of whatsoever.
The most egregious offence of this was when Nalaen mentioned that she had an “insider,” and Kai, and everyone else who heard her, IMMEDIATELY knew she was talking about Jarren, the insider.
They then had a trial for Jarren, trying him on things that NO ONE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT.
It was a terrible case of meta knowledge, and it completely ruined what could have otherwise been a very intriguing reveal.
The entire trial chapter was a giant waste of time that the Order simply should not have had, and the fact that Mara was called to speak about Jarren was unbelievable because Mara had never met Jarren and had been too occupied to know that Jarren and Kai were even friends.
I don't believe that Mara even knew Jarren's name before this chapter.
The rest of the critiques I have for this book are rather simple:
- Nalaen’s desire to avenge her mother and have dragons rule the world again was such a self-fulfilling desire, and I wish it had been treated as such. I felt like her priorities should have been on her home and the Wyrm who was encroaching on the crown's rule and attempting to sway favor his way.
- Kai being upset at Yoren was so unjustified. Yoren was only ever performing his duty, the SAME duty that Kai wanted so badly. Mara got injured during an ambush, and because of that Kai decides to get mad at and blame Yoren? It's Nalaen's actions and choices that got Mara hurt. Yoren didn't force Nalaen to want revenge, he didn't go out of his way to harm her and her family. Yoren was doing his job, and considering the way that Kai feels about dragons, his anger at Yoren was so forced.
- For a story containing war and practically every character being directly involved in that war, getting little more than “war preparations” for descriptions doesn't cut it.
- When Karg asked Kai and Mara for war counseling simply because they had Yoren's and Nalaen's blood in their veins... I had to step away from the book for a while. These kids have NEVER been in a war and they are some of the least qualified people in the ENTIRE Order to give counseling. This felt like such a main character moment.
- Aerin was kicked out of the Order because he'd been accused of leaving the storage doors open and spoiling all of the meat. Quick question, why the hell is this kid in charge of hunting for the entire Order? And another note, "several days" the cellar door was left open, do these people not do patrols or even walk by the thing?
- The passage of time is used so irresponsibly in this book, especially with the threat of WAR on the horizon. The timeskips were unacceptable.
- The power scaling with Kai and Mara "suddenly" having a "rush of energy” was really annoying and a poor way to describe their powers.
- Mara and Sorn saw Liotha give Garn a “vial” as it was described in the memory, and that convinced Sorn that she was a traitor?? What if she was making a deal FOR dragonkind? This is another case of meta knowledge.
- Kai and Mara's friend group was such a huge waste of time and character space, especially "the girls" as they were so often described.
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All in all, I did actually enjoy this read much more than I thought I would, especially since the beginning was slow and overall there were plenty of bumps in the road.
I’m looking forward to the next part in the series and seeing where the characters and story go next. This author clearly has a love for this craft and I’m excited to see how he improves in the future.
December 16, 2025
Congratulations to the author for not only an ambitious debut novel but a well done story. This is a dense book at 636 pages but the world he is building ia very interesting and the story continues to unfold without any additional fluff. This is the beginning of an epic fantasy story!! This is not my normal genre but there were dragons which if you haven't guess is a favorite for me.
The story is familiar without being a cookie cutter story. We have humans Vs Dragons (they can shift to human form) and they are not allies. We have hidden history, political intrigue, and magic that is dying out in the world....or is it???
The main characters are likeable, relatable, and over 20. Im happy to see characters as adults instead of teenagers. The side characters are memorable and I'm starting to see some growth in them as well.
The author is descriptive and uses modern English which I have no issue with as I'm not a high fantasy reader normally but want to call it out incase it's an issue for someone.
I'm excited to move on to the Novella "Dawn of The Queen" next.
Dragons
Parental Loss
Heir to The Throne
Power Hungry Rulers
Enemies to Allies
Vengeance
Mind Magic
Old Magic
Are you ready for the awakening?!?
The story is familiar without being a cookie cutter story. We have humans Vs Dragons (they can shift to human form) and they are not allies. We have hidden history, political intrigue, and magic that is dying out in the world....or is it???
The main characters are likeable, relatable, and over 20. Im happy to see characters as adults instead of teenagers. The side characters are memorable and I'm starting to see some growth in them as well.
The author is descriptive and uses modern English which I have no issue with as I'm not a high fantasy reader normally but want to call it out incase it's an issue for someone.
I'm excited to move on to the Novella "Dawn of The Queen" next.
Dragons
Parental Loss
Heir to The Throne
Power Hungry Rulers
Enemies to Allies
Vengeance
Mind Magic
Old Magic
Are you ready for the awakening?!?
December 23, 2025
I absolutely love this story with its political amd world building, you get so intrigued with the story. The twins as the main characters feel fresh and I really excited to see more of them. I want to see them grows as character and see what adventure they go on. Im big fan of Kai they reminds alot of my older brother.
Some of the writing feels stagnant at times, and I would prefer more and fantasy vibe instead mordernwhen comes to the wording. Things thats i would definitely would like is twins explore thier world more, the book came with maps and i would love to read how these different location look and how they play thier roles into this world
But as the first book of this author is was beautifully written and it was one of my favorite reads of 2025. And I can't wait for the next book.
Some of the writing feels stagnant at times, and I would prefer more and fantasy vibe instead mordernwhen comes to the wording. Things thats i would definitely would like is twins explore thier world more, the book came with maps and i would love to read how these different location look and how they play thier roles into this world
But as the first book of this author is was beautifully written and it was one of my favorite reads of 2025. And I can't wait for the next book.
July 13, 2025
I really enjoyed this debut novel, I'm looking forward to seeing where the story takes us! The story was epic and the main characters were great, I also appreciated them being older as many fantasy series have teen/young adult protagonists so it's a nice change of pace. I did feel that the minor characters were a bit flat, I wasn't really invested in anyone except the main characters and of course the villain. The magic, mind control, transformations and dragons (who shift to a human form) vs humans was all very intriguing. The general premise is a familiar one but it never felt generic which I loved. Overall a solid start to a series, I'm excited to follow this one!
July 18, 2025
Wow!
This story follows lots of characters as they journey through vengeance, political power and race conflict. Add in humans with powers, dragons that are the main characters and you're in for a wild ride!
This is a great debut, i have thoroughly enjoyed myself reading this.
Thank you to the author for the eArc of this book. I can not wait for the next installment.
This story follows lots of characters as they journey through vengeance, political power and race conflict. Add in humans with powers, dragons that are the main characters and you're in for a wild ride!
This is a great debut, i have thoroughly enjoyed myself reading this.
Thank you to the author for the eArc of this book. I can not wait for the next installment.
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