The relationship between dragon and rider was so interesting and unique to me. Firstly, as might seem more likely for a dragon, many of these majestic creatures have very little regard for humans. They are essentially merely servants to be used for their every whim.
That isn’t to say they feel no trust or loyalty for their human, but they also view themselves as far above them and use them accordingly (particularly dragons who really do think any and all humans are beneath them). Which brings me to the second connected point; they can use their riders body at will. As in they can fully possess them and the human has little to know will to fight against this. This was a very cool aspect of the dragon and rider bond in my eyes and I loved seeing how this played out. It’s something I haven’t seen used in other stories of dragons and it seemed like such a fitting part of their bond. On that note, though far rarer, even more cool and incredible was the fact that if the dragon allowed it, riders could actually possess their body as well. Bad. Ass. And definitely not the norm as far as dragons are concerned, because again, there are those who would never lower themselves so far as to allow a human on their body. Besides which, essentially the other background aspects of dragons (and why they even need riders considering their low opinion of them oftentimes) had me hooked and made for such a compelling story.
The world building was so incredible, frankly just as I expected from Jenn Lyons having read her previous series. There were so many intricate details to the world that just made it so believable and incredible. From bogs that could erupt into an all consuming fire at just a spark, to harvesting precious stones from flying creatures at the extreme risk of death for great riches. The world was so immersive and had me so hooked from the very beginning, desperately wanting more and just loving the world completely.
I loved Ris. She was such a flirty, yet badass Dragonrider and I couldn’t get enough of her character. She comes across as easygoing and lacking in seriousness on the surface but when the situation dictates it she immediately rises to the occasion and you see her for what she truly is, adapt at what she does and a fighter that can rival the toughest foe. I also loved Sicaryon immediately, the charming bastard.
The Sky on Fire was the kind of book that my love increased the more I read it. That’s not to say it starts weak by any means, it’s just that the more the story progressed, and the more in depth the world and the story itself became, the harder it was to stop reading. I just became more invested in both the story and the characters and I could not get enough of it. All that to say, it starts off strong, but godDAMN does the book ever pick it up and get even better as it goes.
I want more. The Sky on Fire is a standalone but I’m so wholly obsessed with this new world Jenn Lyons has created that I absolutely want more books that take place in this world. Even if it ends up following new characters (part of me was kind of wondering if a certain character might end up getting there own book eventually) I just want to see and explore more of this world in future books. Fingers crossed there will be more because I feel like there is still so much potential, and I mean, who doesn’t want more dragons?
