A review by natashaleighton_
The Sky on Fire by Jenn Lyons

adventurous emotional funny tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

A sweeping and intricately woven, high stakes fantasy —with dragons, heists, secrets and a gloriously queer romance that has been living in my head (rent-free) since reading. 

Full disclosure, I went into this solely for the dragons but, having absolutely devoured it I can tell you it’s soo much more than that! The rag-tag cast of characters were utterly endearing and their found family-esque bonds were soo satisfying to explore. 
 
The banter and humour was top notch (as was the flirting), and really showcased the trust they had in one another. 

We do learn a lot interesting things about many of the characters, including backstories and connections to one another that I found as perfectly timed and suspenseful as a Game of Thrones episode (in the earlier seasons not the last one.) I won’t spoil the reveals, but just know some of them were definitely edge of your seat worthy— particularly when it came to Anahrod, Gwydinion, Ris (and Ris’s dragon Peralon)

The LGBTQIA rep was wonderful too and the use of symbolic rings to denote gender, relationship status and romantic preferences was ingenious! It made meeting new characters feel soo much more meaningful (and I kinda want this to take off in our world.) 

I also love that our MC is part of a burgeoning, polyamorous throuple relationship which I really enjoyed exploring, the chemistry between all three characters was spectacularly swoon-worthy. It’s a relationship dynamic that I’m not too familiar with, but the tender moments we glimpse (in the midst of all the danger) were incredibly sweet.

I do have to admit, that the pacing is quite slow for a story primarily focused on a heist, but the amount of detail in the world-building (and dragon lore) definitely made up for it. If slower paced books aren’t really your thing though, then you probably won’t enjoy this nearly as much.

If you love them however, and enjoyed The Dragonriders of Pern series, Game of Thrones or Six of Crows — and have always wondered what a mashup of all three could produce; then you definitely have to consider adding this to your TBR! (I do advise checking TWs first though.) 

Also, thanks to Book Break UK/ Olivia at Pan MacMillan for the wonderful proof copy. 
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