I think this book will be a hit for a lot of readers, especially fans of Romantasy. I had high hopes this would be a favorite for me and I couldn’t wait to immerse myself in dragons, war, and romance. 

Unfortunately, this wasn’t it for me personally. I felt like the characters were too modern in a fantasy world and I didn’t understand El’s decisions, and it seemed like her thoughts revolved around pastries and Cayden. I don’t feel like I saw someone who built up any sort of army or had any sort of plan to save her dragons. The characters seemed at odds with their reputations, if that makes sense. 

I got the feeling that this book was more a mash up of vibes and tropes than a fleshed out story. I think that’s what a lot of people will go for, honestly, and there are certainly quotable moments and scenes, but it just felt very surface level to me. If these characters had so many schemes and plans and also full time jobs… as a commander, for example, why is he dress shopping and eating pastries and never seems to be at work? 

This just wasn’t the immersive fantasy I expected. I don’t understand any of the world building or politics or the why of anything, which might have been fine, but I also didn’t get a lot of that enemies to lovers vibe, either. Cayden was clearly fully team El from the moment he met her and just said all the right broody lines and smirked when she threatened to stab him. 

Again, I think I’ll be the minority for not loving this, but it just didn’t work for me.