Wildfire Rising: A Dystopian Romantasy with Dragon Riders

Skyfire Saga #1

by Rachel Rigsby

The sky is on fire, and I’m not talking poetic metaphor or artistic imagery fluff. No. That’s literal, not lyrical. Try to keep up.

It’s been 150 years since the end of mankind, or at least the almost-end. Bombs rained down, entire cities leveled, and biowarfare nearly erased every trace of us from the Earth. But the worst came after.

Stars fell from the sky, breaking every law of nature and every rule of physics. Then the Rip tore open. To where? Who the hell knows. But dragons came through, huge and vicious and scary enough to make a grown man shit his pants. That was the moment the old world died for good.

I’m just living life on the downlow, until this strange little stranger shows up and flips my whole life on its ass. Which is how I end up on a suicidal trip along the Northeast coast of destroyed America to the Rip—the epicenter of dragons and destruction.

But I don't plan on dying a martyr. I'm way too mean for that. I lie like a dog, don’t censor a damn thing, and my head might not be screwed on straight.

I’ve got my wits, a gun, and one fine-ass cowboy stupid enough to ride beside me. Is that enough to survive the Outlands and outlaws with our names on their bullets?

My name is Wren Deveraux. But the dragons say I’m Wildfire.

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

[Thais • tata.lifepages • · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow who knew cowboys with dragons in a dystopian setting were THIS GOOD? 😍

The banter in this book was incredible. The MMC is a cowboy who’s also a lovable brute. Basically a big teddy bear! And he’s completely obsessed with Wren, a highly educated & clever woman, with serious trust issues, that works in his farm. She’s the black cat and he’s the golden retriever. These two go at each other’s throats constantly and I found myself giggling like an idiot while reading.

Also mix in magical powers and a dystopian world where dragons fly around the sky, I was hooked! The slow burn romance was so good I couldn’t stop cheering for this gruff but gentle brute to win her heart.

What you can expect:
🐉 reverse grumpy sunshine
🐉 hidden powers
🐉 he’s obsessed
🐉 strong & clever FMC
🐉 MCs in their early 30s
🐉 he would burn the world for her
🐉 dragons!

[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."

[Shannon Hicks lillard · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars
I am uncertain if the was meant to be
Fantasy romance or A fantasy Rom Com. Because for me it really leaned towards rom com. I will also say I am typically not a slow burn girly which this was a little slow at times. The characters : Boone was likable enough. Wren was just laying it in too thick reminds me of violet from fourth wing. You just want her to shut up 🤐. I love the story line and dragon plot. The constant one liners and quips were getting to be a bit much which I why I questioned if was meant to be a rom com leaning. All in all I’d say great first book from a new author. I’m interested enough to see where it’s going to pick up the second one.

[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.

[Debbie · Rating 1 out of 5]

i feel like this author could be a great writer, but this is not that book. It started out really well, but went downhill quickly into a long season of the protagonists in an endless loop of will we/won't we get in each others' pants. I read the whole thing, in the hopes that there would be a plot, a fantasy plot judging from the cover, but no plot ever developed.

[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!

[Jessica Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
THIS BOOK WAS SO GOOD. The characters and the world building are so well done. Wren makes a lot of sarcastic and snarky comments which I really liked. Thoroughly enjoy the writing style.

The plot takes a while to get started. I feel like there’s a lot a lot of character development and repeated confirmation that Wren is deeply traumatized for the first like 100 pages. This might not be a compliment for another book but for this book I loved it. Ate it up.

Boone is an angel who must be protected at all costs. I really like him and Wren together even tho sometimes he’s too good for her and she’s too smart for him.

Wren is deeeeeeeeply traumatized and I didn’t have a problem being in her head (what does that say about me?) but her insanity might not be everyone’s favorite FMC.

I wouldn’t consider dystopian fantasy to be my favorite genre, but two of my favorite books this year are both dystopian soooooo…

This book was so good and so stressful. I had to alternate with a lighthearted romance when it got too much (like every 3 chapters).

This is the most interesting cliffhanger I’ve ever read. Literally don’t know what’s going to happen but also yes please to more dragons.

I CANNOT WAIT FOR BOOK 2.

🌶️🌶️/5
Wren made us all wait a really long time. Bless Boone’s heart. And his balls.

[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

[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!