ARC Review: A Language of Dragons by S. F. Williamson

Dini @ dinipandareads12 Comments

Special thanks to HarperCollins for providing a digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A Language of Dragons
Publisher: HarperCollins
Pub Date: 7 January 2025
Genre: YA Historical Fantasy

Panda Rating:

(4 pandas)

📖 SYNOPSIS

EVERY ACT OF TRANSLATION REQUIRES SACRIFICE

Welcome to Bletchley Park… with dragons.

London, 1923. Dragons soar through the skies and protests erupt on the streets, but Vivian Featherswallow isn’t worried. She’s going to follow the rules, get an internship studying dragon languages, and make sure her little sister never has to risk growing up Third Class. By midnight, Viv has started a civil war.

With her parents arrested and her sister missing, all the safety Viv has worked for is collapsing around her. So when a lifeline is offered in the form of a mysterious ‘job’, she grabs it. Arriving at Bletchley Park, Viv discovers that she has been recruited as a codebreaker helping the war effort – if she succeeds, she and her family can all go home again. If she doesn’t, they’ll all die.

At first Viv believes that her challenge, of discovering the secrets of a hidden dragon language, is doable. But the more she learns, the more she realises that the bubble she’s grown up in isn’t as safe as she thought, and eventually Viv must What war is she really fighting?

An epic, sweeping fantasy with an incredible Dark Academia setting, a clandestine, slow-burn enemies-to-lovers romance, and an unputdownable story, filled with twists and turns, betrayals and secret identities, A Language of Dragons is the unmissable debut of 2025, from an extraordinary new voice.

⚠️ CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS

Gun and knife violence, physical assault, classism, speciesism, sexism and misogyny, police (Guardian) brutality, murder

TL;DR: A Language of Dragons took me on a rollercoaster of thoughts and emotions. This fantasy world where humans and dragons co-exist had a fascinating premise and overall, I think the author executed it well. This has a little something for everyone—an in-depth exploration of linguistics and the power of language, political intrigue and subterfuge, romance, and dragons, and I think its comparison to Babel and The Hunger Games (or any other dystopian YA) is apt. Despite being a historical fantasy, it explores evergreen themes of social inequality, redemption, forgiveness, and justice, among others. The main struggle I had was dealing with the wildly negative feelings our protagonist, Viv, brought out in me as she’s one of the most flawed and unempathetic YA characters I’ve ever read. Upon reflection, I appreciated what the author did with Viv and how it made her eventual growth more satisfying—even if I didn’t reach that level of acceptance while reading, lol. If you’re affected by unlikeable protagonists then you might not enjoy this but if you can have patience, I think you’ll come to appreciate Viv too! Overall, this was a solid debut and I can’t wait to see where Williamson takes the story next!

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Sundays in Bed With… #MyWeeklyWrapUp [264]

Dini @ dinipandareads11 Comments

We’re back with another Sundays in Bed With… meme! This meme dares to ask you what book has been in your bed this morning and is hosted by Midnight Book Girl. Come share what book you’ve spent your time reading in bed or wish you had time to read today.

I finished my read earlier this morning and I haven’t picked anything up since then because I’ve been gaming all day. 🤭 That said, I’m looking at these possibilities because I’m not quite sure yet what reading mood I’m in!

The Wilde Trials, Exit, Pursued by a Baron, Below, Do Your Worst
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#FirstLinesFriday: 3 January 2025

Dini @ dinipandareads4 Comments

Happy Friday book lovers! We’re back with another First Lines Friday, a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines? Here are the rules:

  • Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
  • Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
  • Finally… reveal the book!

First lines:

“A white silence blanketed the land. Newly fallen snow, hushed. Pure, crystalline ice hardening against the pale bark of the trees. The chilled air that swelled with the slow, sleeping breaths of a world that had yet to wake.
And a girl cloaked in heavy furs, waiting.”

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2024 End of Year Book Survey: Part I

Dini @ dinipandareads29 Comments

It’s become an annual tradition for me to post this End of Year Book Survey broken down into three parts (but I’ve combined the last two parts into one). I find this ‘survey’ is an easy way to summarise my year of reading and blogging and I look forward to making it by the time December rolls around. 2024 was frankly a blur and while I started the reading year on a high, I ended it on a lower but still satisfying note. I’m keen to see what 2025 has in store but I sure hope there’ll be more highs than otherwise!

Before I digress any further, let’s get to this survey. If you want to check out my previous years, I’ve linked them all up below. Here’s to an amazing year ahead, friends! 🌟

This survey was originally created by Jamie @The Perpetual Page Turner.

2019

Part I
Part II
Part III

2020

Part I
Part II & III

2021

Part I
Part II & III

2022

Part I
Part II & III

2023

Part I
Part II & III

2024

Part I
Part II & III
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2024 Spotify Wrapped Book Tag

Dini @ dinipandareads17 Comments

Hello friends! As it’s the second-to-last day of 2024, I thought I would do the Spotify Wrapped Book Tag, which I did for the first time last year! I remember having a lot of fun doing this last year, so let’s see if it’ll be just as fun now. I also hope it’s easy to find good book matches for my favourite 2024 songs! 🎶 Let’s get to it 🎶

This tag was originally created by Rosina @Lace and Dagger Books!

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Sundays in Bed With… #MyWeeklyWrapUp [263]

Dini @ dinipandareads8 Comments

Um, hello, we’ve somehow reached the last Sunday of 2024?! Welp.

We’re back with another Sundays in Bed With… meme! This meme dares to ask you what book has been in your bed this morning and is hosted by Midnight Book Girl. Come share what book you’ve spent your time reading in bed or wish you had time to read today.

A Language of Dragons by S. F. Williamson is out on 7 January 2025
The Wilde Trials by Mackenzie Reed is out on 21 January 2025

I finished my last read earlier and I haven’t decided what to read next. I’m leaning towards either A Language of Dragons or The Wilde Trials. Both these titles are January 2025 releases that I have ARCs for so I’m trying to stay ahead of the game for their pub dates!

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Book Review: Big Nick Energy by Morgan Elizabeth

Dini @ dinipandareads7 Comments

Big Nick Energy (Season for Revenge #4)
Pub Date: 24 October 2023
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Panda Rating:

(4 pandas)

📖 SYNOPSIS

When Connor Finch insists his one-time Tinder match, Shae, comes to his dad’s house for Thanksgiving with her two daughters, it’s because he refuses to let them be alone on her first-holiday post-divorce.

But when she arrives at the Christmas tree farm and ranch he grew up on, she meets his father—the crazy tall, built, golden retriever cowboy who tells her girls all about the magic of the stupid elf on a shelf.

Of course, when she later corners him and tells him thanks a lot for nothing and that she’s way too overwhelmed to have to deal with yet another responsibility, he feels terrible.

So terrible, he finds himself driving two hours every night just to deliver an elf, move him about, and create some Christmas magic for her girls.

But what happens when he decides meeting her the way he did was some kind of Christmas miracle, and he needs to convince Shae to give him a shot?

⚠️ CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS

Abusive relationship (recounted), on-page threats and intimidation by abusive ex

I’ve seen this holiday romance everywhere in the past couple of weeks and I can see why everyone recommends it! Aside from the fun puntastic title and the holiday vibes that make it a perfect fit for the season, it was also one of the most heartwarming and feel-good romances that I’ve read in a while. What starts as a slightly awkward and tension-filled first encounter (with lots of dubious side-eyeing) turns into a beautiful, healing romance full of incredibly sweet and thoughtful moments! If you love the grumpy x sunshine and single parent tropes and where he falls first and falls hard for her and her kids, chances are you’ll really enjoy this romance.

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