I received this title as an ARC on Net-galley in exchange for a honest review. Thank you Netgalley and Entangled Teen for the copy!

The Good
I adore all things sapphic and dragon so I was so excited to read this book! Lotte is an decent lead. I found the concept of a dragon-tongue to be very interesting as well as her complex relationship with her mother. I liked how Lotte and Maryse's relationship developed. They both were adultified at a young age and had their own complex family issues. They understood and cared for each other and slowly let their guards down. I loved that these dragons lived off of gold. Most modern dragon books don't feature their connection to gold hoards so I really appreciated it. I liked the concept of different species of dragons and their subtle differences. The plot itself was fun once the twist and subsequent secrets were revealed. It didn't know how it was going to be resolved which was fun.

The Bad
Though Lottie is a teenager, often wished she had more strength to her character. I wanted to like Maryse individually more than I actually did. I understand her and where she was coming from and the motivation behind some of her actions but ultimately it was all her own selfishness. I think overall this book lacked emotional depth and making me truly care and feel attached to these characters and therefore the biggest emotional parts of this book felt surface level. I just found some of their reasoning and through processes were a bit naive and silly. Like yes, killing is bad but does that mean a dragon gets to harm anyone it wants and hold a whole city hostage? The book does try to discuss this internal struggle but doesn't do it too well. I also guessed the mystery around Ker'kachin super early on so when it was revealed it had no impact.

Format:
Ebook — Netgalley

The Rating
I give this book a 3/5