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Dragon and Culverin
On a frontier forged by lies and dragonfire, the wrong clerk meets the wrong prince. Their collision will shatter a kingdom and birth a new throne.
The Kingdom of Ythanreid was built on glory. They domesticated dragons, penned history. Now, a spy, a lie is cracking at the edge of the continent—in the fortress known as Fort Anvil.
Lydia Florence is the wrong girl for war. As a clerk, her world is made of paper, ink, and neatly filed reports. Sent to the front to investigate a hidden spy, she expects bureaucracy. What she finds is Camien Wade — the kingdom's most lethal dragonrider, a prince wrapped in arrogance, secrets, and the ghostly melody of a wooden flute.
He is not what he seems. Neither is the world she thinks she knows.
This tale is crafted for those who cherish the icy political machinations of Game of Thrones and the fiery bonds and aerial duels of Fourth Wing. This is a story about a resilient clerk forced to choose between the loyalty of a childhood friend and the deadly secrets of a prince—and to confront the truth of the world itself. Every heartbeat may be swallowed by the thunder of a crumbling kingdom.
Prepare for a romance that soars on dragonback and a reading experience that will incinerate your preconceptions. By the final chapter, your very definitions of “hero” and “villain” will be redefined.
The Kingdom of Ythanreid was built on glory. They domesticated dragons, penned history. Now, a spy, a lie is cracking at the edge of the continent—in the fortress known as Fort Anvil.
Lydia Florence is the wrong girl for war. As a clerk, her world is made of paper, ink, and neatly filed reports. Sent to the front to investigate a hidden spy, she expects bureaucracy. What she finds is Camien Wade — the kingdom's most lethal dragonrider, a prince wrapped in arrogance, secrets, and the ghostly melody of a wooden flute.
He is not what he seems. Neither is the world she thinks she knows.
This tale is crafted for those who cherish the icy political machinations of Game of Thrones and the fiery bonds and aerial duels of Fourth Wing. This is a story about a resilient clerk forced to choose between the loyalty of a childhood friend and the deadly secrets of a prince—and to confront the truth of the world itself. Every heartbeat may be swallowed by the thunder of a crumbling kingdom.
Prepare for a romance that soars on dragonback and a reading experience that will incinerate your preconceptions. By the final chapter, your very definitions of “hero” and “villain” will be redefined.
720 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 21, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 7, 2026
good story, needs an editor
This one is difficult to rate.
The overall story is engaging, interesting, and fun.
The grammatical errors, inconsistencies, and lack of proper editing are so frequent and shove you out of the story - often to the point of high frustration. Names change, genders change, character histories change… then you get to florid language, repetitive words, and the multiple times when “those three words…” was used after someone said one or two words.
This story is good. It needs a a hard edit. Someone to sit with a notebook to check for inconsistency, someone to check grammar, someone to help cut through the excessive and florid language sprinkled generously throughout.
The baby dragon is an example. The eyes change color. It gets forgotten about unless it drives the story - literally at times left behind only to have never been where it just was (multiple times). It’s a baby, yet she feeds it maybe 3-4 times over the course of 7-10 days? It only ever sleeps - and is somehow asleep when it was just doing something else. The incubator is magically transported when she forgets to put the dragon back inside. The flannel vanishes, is replaced with a wool blanket, morphs back into a flannel, then vanishes again - all within 30 min. The emotional connection only exists when the author remembers it’s supposed to be there - and usually only from the “dragons” side. And the dragon names are in quotes for much of the book. Lionel uses the baby dragons name moments before it’s thought up. Moments before he reminds Lydia it needs a name.
The pocket watch is called a key several times - not used as a clue, but referencing it as an actual key to a lock that doesn’t currently exist (perhaps it’s something from the future?). The case changes from velvet to leather to gilded to gold leather.
Again, rating it is difficult. If multiple inconsistencies and grammatical errors don’t bother you, enjoy! The story is overall good. If these issues will drive you batty, give this one a pass.
This one is difficult to rate.
The overall story is engaging, interesting, and fun.
The grammatical errors, inconsistencies, and lack of proper editing are so frequent and shove you out of the story - often to the point of high frustration. Names change, genders change, character histories change… then you get to florid language, repetitive words, and the multiple times when “those three words…” was used after someone said one or two words.
This story is good. It needs a a hard edit. Someone to sit with a notebook to check for inconsistency, someone to check grammar, someone to help cut through the excessive and florid language sprinkled generously throughout.
The baby dragon is an example. The eyes change color. It gets forgotten about unless it drives the story - literally at times left behind only to have never been where it just was (multiple times). It’s a baby, yet she feeds it maybe 3-4 times over the course of 7-10 days? It only ever sleeps - and is somehow asleep when it was just doing something else. The incubator is magically transported when she forgets to put the dragon back inside. The flannel vanishes, is replaced with a wool blanket, morphs back into a flannel, then vanishes again - all within 30 min. The emotional connection only exists when the author remembers it’s supposed to be there - and usually only from the “dragons” side. And the dragon names are in quotes for much of the book. Lionel uses the baby dragons name moments before it’s thought up. Moments before he reminds Lydia it needs a name.
The pocket watch is called a key several times - not used as a clue, but referencing it as an actual key to a lock that doesn’t currently exist (perhaps it’s something from the future?). The case changes from velvet to leather to gilded to gold leather.
Again, rating it is difficult. If multiple inconsistencies and grammatical errors don’t bother you, enjoy! The story is overall good. If these issues will drive you batty, give this one a pass.
February 25, 2026
Thank you to NetGalley and Victory Editing for the ARC.
Plot 3/5
Characters 3.5/5
Ending 3.5/5
Interest 3/5
Overall 3/5
-This book had a good initial intrigue. And don’t be mistaken, it didn’t feel like just a love story to me. There were many political and fantasy elements that made the story alive. The romance felt very much subtle with small scenes here and there but not anything major. Unfortunately, I couldn’t really get invested in the storyline. There were some intriguing moments but overall, it felt a bit slow.
-The characters were alright. I didn’t feel particularly attached but I still enjoyed them quite a bit. Lydia was sweet and she was probably my favourite out of everyone. Then we have Camien, I knew there was more to him than what we initially saw, but I hope that he’ll be developed more and more as the story progresses.
-I wasn’t sure if this would be a series or not, and I only saw by the end where things weren’t being resolved. I found the whole book quite long and slow at times, so I don’t know if I’d read onwards. Depending on how many books and how things evolve, I may.
Plot 3/5
Characters 3.5/5
Ending 3.5/5
Interest 3/5
Overall 3/5
-This book had a good initial intrigue. And don’t be mistaken, it didn’t feel like just a love story to me. There were many political and fantasy elements that made the story alive. The romance felt very much subtle with small scenes here and there but not anything major. Unfortunately, I couldn’t really get invested in the storyline. There were some intriguing moments but overall, it felt a bit slow.
-The characters were alright. I didn’t feel particularly attached but I still enjoyed them quite a bit. Lydia was sweet and she was probably my favourite out of everyone. Then we have Camien, I knew there was more to him than what we initially saw, but I hope that he’ll be developed more and more as the story progresses.
-I wasn’t sure if this would be a series or not, and I only saw by the end where things weren’t being resolved. I found the whole book quite long and slow at times, so I don’t know if I’d read onwards. Depending on how many books and how things evolve, I may.
February 22, 2026
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I found this to be refreshing in the dragon/war fantasy niche. The dialogue, for me, was a little cringy, but you can tell that a lot of care went into the world building and politics of the story. I think the duel romance and war storylines could’ve been paired/paced better, in that the romance seemed to drag the story along until the war bits, being detrimental to the overall story. Overall, I really enjoyed Lydia’s story and her arc was well written.
I found this to be refreshing in the dragon/war fantasy niche. The dialogue, for me, was a little cringy, but you can tell that a lot of care went into the world building and politics of the story. I think the duel romance and war storylines could’ve been paired/paced better, in that the romance seemed to drag the story along until the war bits, being detrimental to the overall story. Overall, I really enjoyed Lydia’s story and her arc was well written.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews