Among the Burning Flowers by Samantha Shannon (Review)

Among the Burning Flowers by Samantha Shannon

Blurb

It has been centuries since the Draconic Army took wing, almost extinguishing humankind.

Marosa Vetalda is a prisoner in her own home, controlled by her cold father, King Sigoso. Over the mountains, her betrothed, Aubrecht Lievelyn, rules Mentendon in all but name. Together, they intend to usher in a better world.

A better world seems impossibly distant to Estina Melaugo, who hunts the Draconic beasts that have slept across the world for centuries.

And now the great wyrm Fýredel is stirring, and Yscalin will be the first to fall . . .

Review

I had this book preordered for ages as I absolutely love The Roots of Chaos series. When the book arrived I was very shocked how short the book was. After reading the two bricks A Day of Fallen Night and The Priory of the Orange Tree I was a little disappointed at how short Among the Burning Flowers is.

Among the Burning Flowers tells the story of the fall of Yscalin and how the once faithful kingdom came under draconic rule. The story is told from multiple points of view and I thought those voices were very well chosen. Melaugo is an outlaw and dragon hunter and a character who reappears in Priory of the Orange Tree. Sadly Melaugo’s point of view was dropped around half way through the book, which I really missed.

The bulk of the book is told from the point of view of Marosa who is the Donmata of Yscalin. Due to the bulk of the story being told from Marisa’s point of view her character had a lot more depth and back story that I really enjoyed. I also really enjoyed seeing just how much pressure she was under and just how difficult her life becomes. She is constantly on a knife edge.

I found it a shame that we didn’t get more from Melaugo but I thought it was clever that we got two points of view who were worlds apart. Marosa is royalty and lives a privileged life, Melaugo’s life is far from privileged and heavily influenced by the decisions made by royalty and the land’s rulers.

This book immediately hooked me in and I loved the descriptions of Marisa’s home, the idea of a land of flowers with a river of a lava through was fantastic. This book is beautifully written and my only complaint is that it was too short! I give this book 5 out of 5 Dragons.

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About the author

Samantha Shannon is the New York Times and #1 Sunday Times bestselling author of the Bone Season series. From 2010 to 2013 she studied English Language and Literature at the University of Oxford. Her fourth novel, The Priory of the Orange Tree (2019), was her first outside of the series. It has sold over a million copies in English alone, and was a finalist in the Lambda Literary Awards 2020. Its standalone prequel, A Day of Fallen Night (2023), won the gold medal in the Fantasy category at the Ippy Awards 2024.

Samantha’s work has been translated into twenty-seven languages. Her most recent book is The Dark Mirror (2025), the fifth instalment in the Bone Season series.

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Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros (Review)

Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarrow

Blurb

Everyone expected Violet Sorrengail to die during her first year at Basgiath War College—Violet included. But Threshing was only the first impossible test meant to weed out the weak-willed, the unworthy, and the unlucky.

Now the real training begins, and Violet’s already wondering how she’ll get through. It’s not just that it’s gruelling and maliciously brutal, or even that it’s designed to stretch the riders’ capacity for pain beyond endurance. It’s the new vice commandant, who’s made it his personal mission to teach Violet exactly how powerless she is–unless she betrays the man she loves.

Although Violet’s body might be weaker and frailer than everyone else’s, she still has her wits—and a will of iron. And leadership is forgetting the most important lesson Basgiath has taught her: Dragon riders make their own rules.

But a determination to survive won’t be enough this year.

Because Violet knows the real secret hidden for centuries at Basgiath War College—and nothing, not even dragon fire, may be enough to save them in the end.

Review

I thought I would read Iron Flame just before Onyx Storm because then I would have the previous book fresh in my mind and my gosh I could not put it down. I absolutely loved Fourth Wing and I absolutely loved Iron Flame.

The first thing I really liked about this book was the fact that we got to meet and learn more about the different members of the Sorrengail family. We see more of Mira in this book and how protective she is of Violet but also she appreciates that Violet is strong in her own way and not a child anymore. I also loved seeing more of Lilith Sorrengail and her relationship with her children.

Teenage Andarna was hilarious in this book and I just loved how she drove poor Tairn around the bend. She is a typical teenager but in dragon form with a huge appetite for sheep. Tairn is trying his best to guide and care for Andarna without hitting her over the head when she winds him up. I did feel sorry for Tairn at times, he is trying to be a good mate, trying to keep Violet alive and trying to look after a teenager. He definitely had his talons full.

We also get to learn more about signets in this book which I find fascinating. I really hope we learn more in the future about signets and how they work. Wards was another element I loved. Runes was also an interesting aspect and one that I hope we see more of. Another thing we learned more about was Gryphons and Gryphon riders. I just loved all the extra details we got and hope to see more. I love Yarros’ world building skills.

There were a few too many squabbles between Violet and Xaden for my liking but I can understand where Violet was coming from with her arguments but she really should have come to terms with it all sooner and stopped being such a pain.

There were quite a few new characters within this book which I thoroughly enjoyed learning about and I hope we get to see more of them in the next book. I loved this book so much and give it 5 out of 5 Dragons.

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Purchase Links

Bookshop.org | Waterstones | WH Smith

(All purchases made using one of the above affiliate links gives a small percentage of money to myself with no extra cost to yourself. All proceeds go towards the upkeep of this blog. Thank you ever so much, your support is gratefully received.)

About the author

Rebecca Yarros is a hopeless romantic and coffee addict. She is the New York Times bestselling author of over twenty novels, including Fourth Wing, The Last Letter and The Things We Leave Unfinished. She’s also the recipient of the Colorado Romance Writer’s Award of Excellence for Eyes Turned Skyward. Rebecca loves military heroes and has been blissfully married to hers for over twenty years. A mother of six, she is currently surviving the teenage years with all four of her hockey-playing sons.

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Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros (Review)

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Blurb

Enter the brutal and elite world of a war college for dragon riders…

Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general—also known as her tough-as-talons mother—has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders.

But when you’re smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away…because dragons don’t bond to “fragile” humans. They incinerate them.

With fewer dragons willing to bond than cadets, most would kill Violet to better their own chances of success. The rest would kill her just for being her mother’s daughter—like Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant.

She’ll need every edge her wits can give her just to see the next sunrise.

Yet, with every day that passes, the war outside grows more deadly, the kingdom’s protective wards are failing, and the death toll continues to rise. Even worse, Violet begins to suspect leadership is hiding a terrible secret.

Friends, enemies, lovers. Everyone at Basgiath War College has an agenda—because once you enter, there are only two ways out: graduate or die

Review

I am very late to the party with Fourth Wing but I won’t be making that mistake with the Iron Flame and and the rest of the books from the series. This is definitely one of my favourite reads of 2024. I’m always wary about books that get a lot of social media attention as I’m usually very disappointed in them but thankfully this was not the case with Fourth Wing.

There was never a dull moment with this book and it was full of twists and turns. I also loved the pacing of the book. However, the best thing about this book has got to be that it has dragons in it!

The story resolves around Violet who is the daughter of a formidable general and a scribe. Violet was meant to be a scribe, it was what she had spent years of her life preparing for but then her mother has other ideas and makes her daughter join the Riders Quadrant. Even though it could mean the death of Violet.

During the book we see Violet take on each challenge that a rider faces and the challenges are brutal. It is possibly the scariest school imaginable! The challenges Violet faces aren’t just ones set by the Riders Quadrant, she also faces challenges of fellow cadets trying to kill her and to top it all her body is fragile and can easily be hurt.

I loved how strong Violet was, she never looked too far ahead but faced every challenge or danger head on. She was also a fierce friend to those loyal to her and I loved to see her friendships develop and people to see that she wasn’t weak or a liability but strong and clever. I also loved the humour that came through and the joking around between friends.

Obviously my favourite characters were the dragons and Tairn was just brilliant. I also have a soft spot for Andarna and can’t wait to see what happens with Andarna in the next book. I absolutely loved this book and give it 5 out of 5 Dragons.

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Purchase Links

Bookshop.org | Waterstones | WH Smith

About the author

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Learning new words

Aloha!

I just thought I would share with you something that has really brought a smile to my face whilst being in Maui.

Everyday when our room is done the housekeeper leaves a card with a Hawaiian word on it and its meaning. I have loved learning the new words each day and have been collecting them in my Kindle case. I was quite upset when the one day we had a double because it meant I did not learn a new word!

So because this blog is essentially about a love of words I thought I would share the words I have learnt with you all.

Ho’okipa (hoe-oh-kee-pah)

To entertain and welcome with gracious hospitality, a spirit of generosity and Aloha.

Kapa (kah-pah)

Traditional cloth made from Wauke or Mamaki bark, and decorated with patterns or watermarks.

Mahalo (mah-ha-low)

Thanks, gratitude, and to have appreciation.

Ho’omau (Ho-oh-maow)

To continue, persist, renew, perpetuate and persevere.

Nalu (nah-loo)

Waves or surf, wavy; as in wood grain.

‘Ohana (OH-hah-nah)

Family, relative, extended family.

There we have our new words. I would have loved to have known how many cards there were to collect in all. So many new words to learn.

Also the dragons made a new friend today, her name is Maui.

Happy reading.

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon (Review)

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

About the author

Samantha Shannon studied English Language and Literature at St. Anne’s College, Oxford. She is the New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling author of The Bone Season series. She currently lives in London.

Blurb

The House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for a thousand years. Still unwed, Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm from destruction–but assassins are getting closer to her door.

Ead Duryan is an outsider at court. Though she has risen to the position of lady-in-waiting, she is loyal to a hidden society of mages. Ead keeps a watchful eye on Sabran, secretly protecting her with forbidden magic.

Across the dark sea, Tané has trained all her life to be a dragonrider, but is forced to make a choice that could see her life unravel.

Meanwhile, the divided East and West refuse to parley, and forces of chaos are rising from their sleep.

Review

I got very excited about this book and dragged my husband out to Waterstones to buy it for me (he is very good at feeding my book addiction) on the day it came out. I had the last copy in the store. Needless to say I went straight home and started reading it. However due to a heavy work load and falling asleep instead of reading it has taken longer than expected to finish.

I loved this book and at times I could not put it down. I loved the idea of good dragons and bad dragons and that the two dragons are very different from each other. The history and religion in this book are fantastic and very well thought out by Shannon, she gave a thorough background of both, where no holes were visible. I adored the world Shannon created and did not want to leave it.

Ead was such a strong powerful character who you couldn’t help but support and love. I did find Queen Sabran a little bit trying at times and to be honest that is when I had to put the book down for a while and also why the book got 4 dragons instead of 5 but I suppose all monarchs can be trying at times.

The other element I found enchanting was Tané and her relationship with her dragon. I was so worried for both of them and found myself tense with worry and anticipation. It reminded me of the love a human has with their dog or horse, as a dog or horse are fiercely loyal to their owner and will generally do anything to help and protect them. I could not get enough of dear Tané.

I desperately wanted to know more about the history of the trees and magic in this world and I really hope that Shannon does decide to do another book instead of keeping this book as a stand alone. I WANT TO KNOW MORE! Shannon in my opinion has been clever with the ending as she could easily do a sequel. I gave this book 4 out of 5 Dragons because I did love it and have recommended it to friends and family. The reason it didn’t get the full 5 Dragons was because of Queen Sabran and the fact in the middle I found it dragged slightly, but overall an amazing book.

Purchase

Waterstones

Lady Book Dragon.

Mid Week Quote

Happy Wednesday!

What is everyone reading this week?

Today’s quote is from The Compleat Gentleman by Henry Peacham.

The book was written as a guide for young men of the period to become well-rounded, couteous members of society. It was full of practical advice on how to travel, what to read and much more.

“The desire to have many books, and never to use them, is like a child that will have a candle burning by him all the while he is sleeping.”

Henry Peacham

Lady Book Dragon

Friday Poetry

So for this friday’s poetry I thought I would share with you all a poem from my childhood. I recently found an old poetry book that I had when I was very young and I have been re reading it. I have chosen a Dragon related poem because Dragons are brilliant!

The Sleepy Dragon

A dragon awake

in his mountain lair

where he’d slept

for a thousand years.

His treasure was rusty

his scales were dusty

his throat was dry

his wings wouldn’t fly

his throat was croaky

his fire was smoky

his eyes weren’t flashing

his tail wasn’t lashing

his claws couldn’t scratch

though he tried.

So he sighed

and stretched himself

over the floor

and went back to sleep

for a thousand years more.

Irene Rawnsley

Lady Book Dragon

Star Trek Discovery: Desperate Hours by David Mack (Review)

Star Trek Discovery: Desperate Hours by David Mack

About the author

David Mack has been writing since 1995 and is best known for his freelance Star Trek Novels. He has also produced a Star Trek script and worked on a Star Trek comic.

Blurb

Aboard the Starship Shenzhou, Lieutenant Michael Burnham, a human woman raised and educated among Vulcans, is promoted to acting first officer. But if she wants to keep the job, she must prove to Captain Philippa Georgiou that she deserves to have it.

She gets her chance when the Shenzhou must protect a Federation colony that is under attack by an ancient alien vessel that has surfaced from the deepest fathoms of the planet’s dark, uncharted sea.

As the menace from this mysterious vessel grows stronger, Starfleet declares the colony expendable in the name of halting the threat. To save thousands of innocent lives, Burnham must infiltrate the alien ship. But to do so, she needs to face the truth of her troubled past, and seek the aid of a man she has tried to avoid her entire life – until now.

Review

After watching the first season of Star Trek: Discovery I was hooked with the series and decided to see if there were any books written based on the series. My cousin who is a major Trekkie informed me there was and I immediately went out and bought all four. I have read quite a few of the books based on the Star Wars films but never any Star Trek books, so this one is a first for me and will definitely not be my last.

I loved this book as it revealed so much about Burnham and Spock and their history together and their respective childhoods. The description of Spock was perfect to what I have always seen on the TV series of the original Star Trek. Burnham was also a perfect fit to the TV Burnham and I must admit I could not help but feel sorry for both of them. They are both troubled and have their own pasts to confront and get over and will need each other eventually to come to terms with their issues.

My other favourite character is Captain Georgiou, she is so strong and powerful, I can just imagine her power and influence on the Shenzhou, she is so full of wisdom and knowledge that her crew can not help but look up to her and be inspired. She is a powerful female lead in the book who holds strong to her principles and is not pushed around by men.

The other element I like in the book is that we get to meet Captain Pike and the USS Enterprise. In all honesty I find Pike to be a bit of a young puppy in comparison to Georgiou but I do not mind that one bit either, it is just another example of Georgiou’s wisdom, firm beliefs and power. Yes she shows weakness and loss of temper but it is also always controlled and just shows she is human.

The storyline of the book I found fascinating and was hooked very early on by the idea of this ancient ship acting out its orders from long ago. I immediately wanted to know more about the ship and where it had come from and could not put the book down.

The two elements which I did not enjoy very much was firstly the character of Saru, sadly I found Saru to be a bit of a wet blanket. He was constantly worrying, being socially awkward and just generally getting on my nerves. Yes, I know it is to do with his species and his genetic make up but at some time I felt like he did not belong in Star Fleet and could be better utilised elsewhere. I was delighted every time Burnham wound him up because I think Burnham and myself share the same point of view regarding Saru.

The second issue I had with the book was occasionally I found it to be a bit slow and I wanted it to move on quicker, this was mainly with the Burnham and Spock interactions. I just found them to be long winded, as the reader I knew the point that was being put across and did not need it dragged out like it was. I was desperate to know what was going to happen next and did not have the patience to deal with the twaddle that was present at times.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and at times could not put it down and that is why I have given it 4 out of 5 Dragons. I highly recommend it to any Trekkies out there and sci-fi lovers who are not necessarily Star Trek fans. I loved it so much that as soon as I finished it I started to read the next in the series Drastic Measures.

Lady Book Dragon.

New Book Rating System

Over the holidays I had a little think about my book rating system and I have decided to change it. From now on it will not be a star rating system but a dragon system. Yes, the rating will be out of dragons, 5 being the best, 1 being the worst.

One Dragon

One dragon will be given to books I have not managed to finish and really not enjoyed and would not recommend to anyone.

Two Dragons

Two dragons will go to books I have managed to finish but would definitely not want to read again and would not recommend to friends.

Three Dragons

Three dragons are for books I found enjoyable to read but not amazing and would not read again but would happily recommend to people.

Four Dragons

Four dragons are for books I really enjoyed but possibly had one or two annoying flaws or faults but would still read again.

Five Dragons

The big award! This is for the books I just could not put down, the books I adored and want to shout about from the roof tops. Mainly for the books I want to read again and again.

Lady Book Dragon

New Books!

Hello my wonderful readers.

So yesterday I made a real effort and read quite a lot of my current Christmas read but then I got distracted by teaching, Christmas lights, Costa and decorating our Christmas tree. I have almost finished Christmas at the Beach Hut though and so far I adore it. I love it so much, I bought my best friend a copy to read over the Christmas period and my mom is going to borrow mine when I am finished. I really hope the ending is good now, otherwise I will be disappointed and so will the people I have recommended it to. In hindsight I should have waited till I finished the book before I went around telling people to read it but I am so excited about it that I just could not help myself. Does anybody else get this feeling about a book?

I have finally finished my Christmas present buying and have bought quite a lot of books for people. However, I also have a confession, I also bought myself some new books. I just could not stop myself. I only bought two purely because my bank balance could not cope with anymore hits. So here are my new books:-

Fire and Blood by George R. R. Martin

Firestorm is very excited about this book as you can see in the picture below. I must admit I agree with him. I have read all of the A Song of Ice and Fire series so far and I am extremely impatient for the next book The Winds of Winter. I am also slightly annoyed with this new book Fire and Blood because I can not help but think Martin, could have spent his time finishing The Winds of Winter but I will not let that put me off from reading and hopefully enjoying Fire and Blood.

I’ll Keep you Safe by Peter May

Is the second book I bought. I read The Blackhouse by Peter May this year, it was a free book with Apple Books and I read it on my phone. It was shortly after reading a whole book on my iPhone that I decided a Kindle was probably a good idea, mainly for my poor eyes. I loved his style of writing and was instantly hooked, so when I saw this book for half price on the Waterstones I put it in my basket.

So here are my new books, all ready for me to start reading in 2019. It is certainly looking like a good year for reading.

I would love to hear what you think of my new books or even if you have any book plans for 2019.

Lady Book Dragon.