Reviewed by Nethra Deckland

Not gonna lie, it was the cover of Serpents of Sky and Flame by Rebecca F. Kenney that made me read the book. Call me shallow but I am a sucker for a well done cover. However, I approached the story very cautiously because I know how deceptive pretty covers can be, by past experience.

The premise of Serpents of Sky and Flame was undeniably promising. Two kingdoms locked in conflict, with one daring to seek an alliance with dragons to secure victory. But the triumph of war quickly turns to tragedy when a spiteful spell wipe out all the female dragons, leaving behind a bitter legacy of loss. Fueled by grief, fury and a desperate bid for survival, the young dragon leader makes an impulsive decision to kidnap women (one of these women is the Crown Princess herself) from the defeated kingdom, partly in hopes of finding a way to preserve their species and partly for vengeance. Yet, as they return to their homeland, the truth unfurls. The alliance had been a sham, a cunning ploy orchestrated by the victorious kingdom to ensure the dragons’ obedience. If this isn’t a solid foundation for a great story, what is? With such a gripping foundation laid out, the possibilities for Serpents of Sky and Flame seemed boundless. Picture it: a blood pumping tale of two unlikely allies, the young dragon leader and the kidnapped princess, united by their shared desire for justice against the treacherous king and his deceitful kingdom.

However as I went further into Serpents of Sky and Flame, it became increasingly evident that the narrative was tailored to a specific audience – “monster smut girlies”. Now, there’s nothing inherently wrong with fantasizing about monster cocks—I’ll admit, I’ve been known to enjoy a good monster smut tale myself from time to time. However, what left me feeling somewhat disheartened was the missed opportunity to fully explore the rich tapestry of the story’s initial premise. Instead of diving into the depths of political intrigue and personal vendettas, the majority of the plot seemed to revolve around the physical intimacy between the main characters, “The Mating Frenzy” of dragons and whatnot. There was no world building whatsoever in the story. The characters were two dimensional and lacked any discernable traits to make them interesting and unique. The fleeting nod to the dragon magic system in the beginning of the story was intriguing but it was never explored.

Credit must be given where it’s due. And out of my 2.5 stars, two whole stars I dedicated to was for the humor in the first portion of the book. Both Serylla and Kyreagan knew next to nothing about each species and they stumbled along beautifully making me laugh out loud many times with their ridiculous but funny inner thoughts. Kyreagan’s inner thoughts were hilarious to read.

Apart from that highlight in the book, everything else felt flat for me. For a book that focused mainly on smut, I cannot say I was much impressed by the content. Far from being “orgasm-inducing,” as some might hope for in this genre, the intimate moments felt disappointingly generic, failing to ignite any real sense of excitement or passion. In a narrative so heavily reliant on such scenes, their lackluster execution left much to be desired.

Honestly Serylla’s character was all over the place. She was supposed to be the crown princess of a kingdom, and from what I could glean from her inner monologues, her own mother, the queen, somehow for some unknown reason went out of her way to make sure she isn’t fit to rule at all by belittling her and keeping her out of everything that would have helped her to rule in the future. This didn’t make any sense at all. Even when she was kidnapped, most of her thoughts were about trying to get into Kyreagan’s pants even before he could transform into a part human OR coming up with ways to annoy him to death for kidnapping her. She didn’t care at all, that the dragons were just a tool another kingdom used in order to win the war. She was all for ‘shooting the messenger’. Also, as the future leader of the kingdom, although defeated, it never crossed her mind, she should somehow win it back. She was naïve, impulsive and annoying most of the time. Also, what was that bullshit plan for killing the dragons and escaping? With what and how? You are in a freaking island in the middle of nowhere, for crying out loud!

While Kyreagan made me laugh in the first half of the book, I wasn’t very impressed by his leadership qualities or as a person. He was stumbling all over the place whining one minute and being furious the next. There were no qualities or traits in him that made me root for him. Except for the fact that he had a “beautiful” cock (according to Serylla), I didn’t see anything else that would attract me to him as a main male character.

While the premise of the story in Serpents of Sky and Flame was great and the plot had great potential to be a great book it ultimately fell short of it’s mark.