Empire of Dragons - Rachel L. Schade
★★★★☆
There is no black and white; tension muddles both sides in gray
A young empress trapped in her own castle and surrounded by her mother’s murderers, Jaliana is assigned an enemy bodyguard who refuses to let her out of his sight.
Haunted by her past, Lo’laeni searches for peace in the quiet life of a nun. But when rebels ask for her help to oppose the empress, she may be agreeing to more than she bargained for, and possibly at the expense of her vows.
Narrative Voice: 1st person (dual)
Cussing/profanity: 0/5
Drug/alcohol use: 0/5
Kissing: 1/5
Sex/nudity: 0/5
Violence/gore: 2/5
I picked up this book because the cover is gorgeous and I saw it everywhere on Instagram! I always love fantasy worlds with distinct races of unique appearances, and Empire of Dragons is no exception. Schade eloquently describes the peoples of her world without sounding like an info-dump, and her writing style compliments the story with a perfect balance of detail and concision. I’d love to visit Alrenor!
I love the duality of both main characters’ point of view. In Jaliana’s half of the story, she is a victim and hero of her own story, but in the opposing pov, she’s seen as the enemy. The same goes for Lo’laeni, the second pov—neither perfectly good, nor totally evil. It isn’t something I’ve seen in a book before, and Schade wrote it very well.
I really appreciated Jalie actually liking dresses and makeup. So often the “strong female protagonist” detests all things feminine to be more “tough” or “not like other girls.” It’s only a subtle plot point, but it was refreshing.
This book has more political intrigue than I expected, which isn’t exactly for me, but might be what another reader really enjoys. While there is action and mystery, I found myself wanting more adventure. Enemies to lovers is another prominent plotline with lots of tension and notions of forbiddance. While there’s no spice, which is great for me, it did sounded a little lusty at times. Still undecided if I’ll continue the series, but with a well-paced story and characters easy to keep track of, Empire of Dragons is for fantasy lovers of political intrigue, enemies to lovers, and forbidden romance.
4/5 would recommend
