Wildfire Rising: A Dystopian Romantasy with Dragon Riders

by Rachel Rigsby

436 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 18, 2026

About the author

Rachel Rigsby is a small-town girl creating worlds far bigger than hers. Worlds filled with formidable women and their fiery romances. She lives in Virginia with her family and more dogs than she’ll admit to. When she isn’t writing, she’s in a bookstore feeding her very expensive book-buying habit. The rest of her time goes to hiking, traveling, and nurturing a growing houseplant collection she long ago ran out of space for.

Reviews

[Alexis Noble · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had a very interesting concept, and I had a hard time deciding what to rate it. For the first two-thirds I would've given it a 5 star... but then the last third was a bit of a letdown. It was so well-written, and the characters were all really interesting. But I had a hard time visualizing the world, and that got harder as the book went along. The main character was really cool until she started being a little too predictable in her reactions (constant bad mood, always insulting), and toward the end I was getting sick of her. It was funny, up until she started getting really unlikable. Boone is a golden retriever MMC, so although I enjoyed their dynamic I really didn't fall for him the way I fall for other book boyfriends. He just seemed kind of desperate in the end. Also, I found it really jarring when it starts being written in his POV toward the end. The whole book I was looking forward to when the dragons came in, and that too was a real letdown. There are a lot of ways this book could've gone to make it more unique and interesting. I gave it 4 stars because I really enjoyed reading it and I'll definitely pick up book 2. I hope Wren is regains some of her likability and Boone shows a lot more edge!

P.S. Scrap Crapper is my favorite

[Kyleigh · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this. I don't like to give one star ratings like this but I was so disappointed in this book that I need to express it in some way. The concept sounded so unique and promising but I had a lot of issues with the writing. I am going to keep my review very brief, but I could go on and on about all the issues I had. The main character is supposed to be 30 but she seems like a teenager in the way she acts and speaks. I also did not care for the relationship between Boone and Wren. Additionally, the intimate scenes were very cringe for me and I did not like a lot of the terminology that was used. I could list so many awful quotes from those scenes but I do not want to add anything that graphic to my review. Instead, I am going to end my review with an actual quote from one of those encounters that really solidified my 1 star rating : "That’ll make her third time tonight, and I can’t lie, it puts a little shine on a man.Makes me feel like I’m providing, even if all I’m providing is just a big Johnson and a good hard ride."

[Jade Bennett · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has a great plot line and is such an interesting concept for a dystopian fantasy (especially with dragons which we need more of!!!); however, the writing style feels very underdeveloped. The characters have great bones and some amazing traits that make each of them unique but their execution comes off very surface-level. It’s like I was given a character stats sheet for them yet rarely see it play out. There are moments when the author really hits the mark, like Boone facing down the dragon, or the scene at the gravesite, but most of time the characters feel like one dimensional sitcom characters that throw quip after quip for a studio audience chuckle. I could see this book being top tier if there was a better balance between the snark and world building. I hope to see more from this author’s clearly creative mind down the line!

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve read a lot of fantasy and romantasy, and I can honestly say I’ve never read anything quite like this. The world feels completely original, and the characters don’t fit into the usual molds. They’re messy, funny, and real. The banter had me laughing out loud more than once, and the spice definitely delivers. I finished this book fully obsessed and I'm already impatient for the next one.

[Ashlee Whitlock · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is legitimately insane in the best way. It's chonky! But I still flew thru it and wanted more!