Tauran was the hotshot Sky Guard dragonrider, cocky and sure of himself and his place in the world. All that changed after rebellion in the Sky Guard culminated in a battle that left his dragon dead and him a broken man. He swore he’d never return to Valreus, but reports of war, wild dragon attacks, and (most importantly) a fire at his lodgings lead him back into his old life. The only bright side? Meeting the new archivist, Kalai. Newly arrived in the country, Kalai’s surprised to fall into the Sky Guard archivist job, but a big perk is spending time with Tauran. But it doesn’t take long before both men start to realize that things aren’t right in Valreus. Against the backdrop of a new war and nefarious intentions, can Tauran and Kalai’s fragile new relationship stand a chance?
“Oh, the things he would do for beautiful boys and their illegal dragons.”
At the beginning of the book, Tauran is so mired in his grief and depression that it’s hard to get a good read on his character, but as time goes on, it becomes clear that he excels at taking charge and protecting those that are his. In contrast, Kalai’s very much a gentle caretaking soul, very bookish and sweet. They complement each other well, though, and from the start their slow-burn relationship is quite sweet. Both characters have physical limitations that impact the story. Tauran was badly injured in the battle that killed his dragon. Physically, his leg never fully healed and frequently causes him a great deal of pain. Mentally, he’s mired in a stew of grief and anger at the rebels, part of which is reflected in his new fear of heights. Kalai has a fainting disorder that’s exacerbated by heights or stress, so he’s been resigned, more or less, to never being a dragon rider. Both men help the other – not fix, help – cope and come to terms with their issues.
“You just need someone who’ll let you fly, someone you can trust to be there if you fall. And you have no idea how proud I am that I get to be that person.”
The world-building is fascinating and unique and very LGBT-friendly. No one blinks an eye at Tauran and Kalai’s relationship, plus there’s a fairly significant trans side character. But my absolute favorite part was the dragons. I loved Arrow, Kalai’s dragon, and was especially fond of Leyra, who we get to watch grow from an egg to, well, a much bigger dragon. It’s a chonker of a book – 764 pages! – and everything moves along at a sedate pace. The big intrigue doesn’t even really get going until halfway through the book. That’s not to say that nothing happens – rather, we have lots of little moments that are balanced between Tauran and Kalai slowly building relationship and the necessary world building to help set up the rest of the plot. There were times I wished the book would just hurry up already, as I tend to prefer more fast-paced plotting, but it did make the book, betrayal plots and all, into a very soothing experience. As for other cons, I didn’t buy parts of the ending – the ease with how some of the political stuff was resolved was eyebrow raising for me – but I was fully sold on the HEA, so I’ll count that a minor quibble. I don’t think I would even have noticed it if it hadn’t been for the otherwise stellar worldbuilding.
Overall, this book is an adorable, leisurely fantasy romance. Recommended for anyone looking for something sweet and sedate but with plenty of humor and action.
I received an advance review copy of this book from A Novel Take PR. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.