All the stars and no notes ( )

DNF at 46%, after one more try.

This was enjoyable, though slow, until the plot thickens in so predictable a way that I can't maintain interest any longer. It had been getting slower and slower, and more predictable, but I'd hoped the revelation would help. Nope. I should've cut my losses over that needless saddle thing. Training saddles exist for horses. One presumes there are the dragon equivalent. The author might have checked that out before adding yet more to this tome.

The best part are the dragons, and this far in, there's not enough to get me past the slow, obvious plot. ( )

I wanted my first book of the year to be something special. Zaya Feli was a completely new-to-me author, but with ARO’s recommendation in mind (Thank you so much! ❤️), I decided to give this one a try.

I'm happy to say it was a great choice. I LOVED it!

I’ve always been a sucker for well-depicted human-animal bonds, so I fully own up to the fact that Wild Sky made me tear up many, many times. It was unlike any book I’ve ever read before. Dragons were fully-developed characters here, and they got as much — if not more! — on-page time as the two MCs, Kalai and Tauran. They were definitely the main focus of the story. Each dragon had a distinct personality, with its very own quirks, and the strong friendships between them and their riders were beautifully portrayed, truly a delight to read. The dragons’ interactions with their own kind were just as amazing (I loved the way Arrow ‘adopted’ Leyra, and protected her even when she grew so much bigger than him; and the reunion between Leyra and her mother made me cry for real). I was very impressed by the author’s characterizations, as well as by the excellent worldbuilding.

The romance between Tauran and Kalai was slow, gentle, and distinctly PG-rated, but it complemented the story perfectly. Also, what can be more romantic that bonding over a helpless dragon egg, and raising a high-spirited, bitey little hatchling? Nothing, that's what.

Highly recommend this to all fantasy fans, and people who love dragons in their books! ( )

I'm not huge on high fantasy so I was a bit hesitant to read this book but I'm so glad I gave it a chance. Feli writes this fantasy world in a way that feels very realistic and the only real fantasy element are the existence of dragons. All of the characters feel multi-dimensional and very thought out. Though the book is over 500 pages, it's paced very well both in the romance as well as the world building and I wouldn't have minded another 500 pages when it was over.
I was impressed with the writing because Feli is Danish with English as a second language and yet you'd never be able to tell. There were some editing issues, like a repetition of phrases in a few parts ("collapsed like a stack of cards" used twice in the same scene) but it's not something that takes away from the quality of the story. I'm excited to read more of Feli's books. ( )

Tauran was once an elite Sky Guard, until a deadly battle ending with his dragon murdered and his leg broken and permanently weakened, ruined his career. Kalai is a scholar dreaming of a new and adventurous life in his adopted home of Valerius, not aware of the city's hidden corruption. Together these disparate, unlikely heroes will uncover the secrets of an oncoming disaster and attempt to save all of dragon kind from enslavement, or worse, extinction.

I enjoyed this fantasy/adventure/romance tale although it wasn't really what I was expecting. First, it does not follow the typical m/m steamy romance troupe. Instead, this is much more so a fantasy adventure with an easy-going, non-angsty romance between the leads thrown in. The part I liked most about the story was, or course, the dragons and the dedication of the main characters to the dragons. The story is well written, uncomplicated, never boring and smooth sailing all the way through all though until the last few chapters which kicked up the excitement quite a bit. Overall a very likeable tale with wonderfully flawed leads and most of all, dragons! ( )