✨Bring✨ | Borrow | Bypass

Thank you to Edelweiss, Saga Press, and Simon & Schuster for the opportunity to read and review this book before it's publication date! This in no way affected my review, opinions are my own.

Review:  I freaking loved this - I was kind of lukewarm on The Last Unicorn (PUT DOWN THE PITCHFORKS, PEOPLE), but I've been on a bit of a fantasy kick and it was Peter S. Beagle plus DRAGONS, so, you know, you've got to give it a shot.

I am so glad I did, y'all.

This felt like Patricia Wrede's Enchanted Forest series with a dash of Princess Bride plus a splash of Brian Jacques' Redwall series and the tiniest tiniest dollop of Lloyd Alexander's Chronicles of Prydain (aka The Black Cauldron series), and it was truly such a good bookish recipe. 

My favorite thing about this was the subtle ways that fantasy tropes were subverted; it felt clever and fun without being disparaging of the genre. I loved all of the characters (even the smallest of side characters felt fully put together in my mind) and thought the dialogue and pacing worked so well.

ALSO, the HOUSE DRAGONS? sign me the heck up.

It's definitely not laugh out loud funny, and a bit too dark to be considered "cozy" fantasy (imo), but it hits the spot at being familiar and whimsical and lovely, with great characters and a believable and interesting plot. I truly hope there's a sequel kicking around somewhere, because I would LOVE to read a continuation of this series and see where the characters go from here.

MINOR:

I willllllllllllll say that the dragons being considered "pests" worth of extermination was difficult at the beginning, because there is a scene where the castle is being emptied of the dragons - but I would have felt the same if I was reading a book talking about exterminating a castle full of rats. It was just sad to see /read about all of the dragons being killed. :(