#Review - A Scar in the Bone by Sophie Jordan #Fantasy #Romance

Series: A Fire in the Sky # 2
Format: 360 pages, Hardcover
Release Date: October 14, 2025
Publisher: Avon
Source: Publisher
Genre: Fantasy / Romance / Dragons

Magic awakens. Darkness swells. A hero rises—and she’s ready to fight… New York Times bestselling author Sophie Jordan is back with an all-new epic romantasy set in the high-stakes world of A Fire in the Sky.

It’s been a year since Tamsyn transformed. From royal whipping girl in the palace of Penterra to the bride of Fell, the Beast of the Borderlands. From the enemy in the Beast’s bed to the wife he sacrificed himself to save. From an ordinary girl...to a dragon. And not just any dragon—a powerful fire-breather...and the best hope to keep magic from flickering out forever.

With Fell gone, torn from her side in the dangerous swirling mists of the Crags, Tamsyn is heartbroken and alone among the dragon pride. An unwelcome outsider still learning to survive in this fiery skin of hers within a new cutthroat society, she trains in the arena until her muscles burn and her blood spills. Slowly, Tamsyn forges herself into a warrior in the shadow of Fell’s enigmatic brother, Vetr, whose silver eyes track her with distrust...and maybe something more.

But is Fell truly beyond her reach? Their bond pulls at her, as fiercely as the drive to protect both humans and dragonkind from the growing threat posed by Stig, once her closest friend, now a relentless enemy determined to hunt her down and destroy her—and with her, all things magic.

Magic stirs in the darkness, strengthening all who believe in it. But will it be enough to save Tamsyn, the pride, the kingdom...and a fiery love fated to endure for centuries, as deep as a scar in the bone?

A Scar in the Bone is the second installment in author Sophie Jordan's A Fire in the Sky series. This story takes place one year after the ending of A Fire in the Sky. Between Fourth Wing and A Court of Thorn and Roses, fantasy and romantasy are all the rage. This is the perfect moment to return to the world of Firelight, a popular HarperTeen series Jordan released over ten years ago. Set thousands of years before Firelight, A Fire in the Sky kicks off a brand-new series featuring dragons, witches, and deadly warriors. Fast-paced, thrilling, and sexy, this is perfect for the market and her young readers who are all grown up now and looking for a spicy read!

If you're new to the series, start with A Fire in the Sky (2024)—this sequel builds directly on its cliffhanger, and reading out of order would leave you lost in the lore. It's been a year since Tamsyn's world shattered: once a human whipping girl in the royal court, she discovered her latent dragon heritage, married the brooding Lord of the Borderlands (Fell), and watched him vanish into the perilous mists of the Crags to save her. Now, presumed dead, Fell leaves Tamsyn adrift in his clan's dragon pride, led by his enigmatic twin brother, Vetr. 

As an outsider in this cutthroat society of fire-breathers, Tamsyn must shed her human vulnerabilities—training brutally in the arena, spilling blood to prove her worth, and grappling with a culture that views witches and humans as existential threats. Yet her fated bond with Fell tugs at her soul, whispering he's alive, even as new dangers emerge: a vengeful former ally turned enemy (Stig) rises to power, magic itself flickers under assault, and Tamsyn's dual heritage forces her to choose sides in a brewing war between species. Amid grief, forbidden desires, and a swelling darkness, Tamsyn evolves from fragile survivor to fierce warrior, but at what cost to her heart and the fragile hope of coexistence? 

Jordan's prose crackles with tension, delivering an "explosive" sequel where the fate of magic—and a love "as deep as a scar in the bone"—hangs by a thread. The dragon pride's society feels alive and treacherous—think hierarchical clans with ritualistic combats, ancient grudges against humans and witches, and a magic system tied to belief and bloodlines that "stirs in the darkness" to empower the faithful. Tamsyn's arc from naive, grief-stricken widow to a "fiercer woman who knows what she wants," including allowing herself to feel something for Fell's brother. Her internal conflict—torn between human empathy and draconic ferocity, mourning a lost mate while navigating unwanted advances—forces authentic evolution. 

Not everything is perfect. Not every flight is smooth. The biggest snag is the infamous time jump: opening a full year post-cliffhanger dumps readers into a "confusing" new status quo—Fell's absence, Tamsyn's integration into the pride, and seismic plot shifts (like Stig's rise)—without enough connective tissue. Pacing suffers too: the first half meanders through grief and training montages that feel "flat" or "one-note," with lulls where "not much actually happens" before abrupt bursts of action. Another fault line must also be discussed. The ending? Abrupt and underdeveloped for what was billed as a duology—twists land, but resolution feels rushed, with an epilogue teasing book three that leaves you "unsatisfied" and questioning loose ends like the king's motives or witch involvement. 

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#Review - A Fire in the Sky by Sophie Jordan #Fantasy

Series: A Fire in the Sky # 1
Format: Hardcover, 336 pages
Release Date: September 24, 2024
Publisher: Avon & Harper Voyager
Source: Publisher
Genre: Fantasy / Dragons & Mythical Creatures

New York Times bestselling author Sophie Jordan returns to the high-stakes, sweeping world of dragons, romance, and drama first evoked in her bestselling young adult Firelight series, in a brand-new epic adult romantasy series.

Dragons are extinct. Witches are outcast. Magic is dying.

But human lust for power is immortal.

Dragon fire no longer blisters the skies over Penterra, but inside the lavish palace, life is still perilous…especially for Tamsyn. Raised in the glittering court alongside the princesses, it's her duty to be punished for their misdeeds. Treated as part of the royal family but also as the lowliest servant, Tamsyn fits nowhere. Her only friend is Stig, Captain of the Guard...though sometimes she thinks he wants more than friendship.

When Fell, the Beast of the Borderlands, descends on her home, Tamsyn’s world becomes even more dangerous. To save the pampered princesses from a fate worse than death, she is commanded to don a veil and marry the brutal warrior. She agrees to the deception even though it means leaving Stig, and the only life she’s ever known, behind.

The wedding night begins with unexpected passion—and ends in near violence when her trickery is exposed. Rather than start a war, Fell accepts Tamsyn as his bride...but can he accept the dark secrets she harbors—secrets buried so deep even she doesn’t know they exist? For Tamsyn is more than a royal whipping girl, more than the false wife of a man who now sees her as his enemy. And when those secrets emerge, they will ignite a flame bright enough to burn the entire kingdom to the bone. 

Magic is not dead...it is only sleeping. And it will take one ordinary girl with an extraordinary destiny to awaken it.

A Fire in the Sky, by Sophie Jordan, is the first installment in a brand new series. Set thousands of years before Firelight, A Fire in the Sky kicks off a brand-new series featuring dragons, witches, and deadly warriors. Between Fourth Wing and A Court of Thorn and Roses, fantasy and romantasy are all the rage. This is the perfect moment to return to the world of Firelight, a popular HarperTeen series Jordan released over ten years ago. 

The story is set in a place called Panterra where Dragons no longer are seen in the sky. The key characters of this story are 21-year-old Tamsyn, Lord Fell Dryhten, and Sig, Captain of the guard and Tamsyn's only real friend. Tamsyn is called the royal whipping girl because any time the princesses of Panterra do something wrong, Tamsyn gets their punished. Fell, aka the Beast of the Borderlands, it is his responsibility to keep the country safe from border incursions.

Left behind in a bassinet when she was a baby, Tamsyn was taken in by the King and Queen as their own. She was raised in the glittering court alongside princesses Feena, Sybilia & Alise. Treated as part of the royal family but also as the lowliest servant, Tamsyn fits nowhere. Her only friend is Stig, Captain of the Guard, though sometimes she thinks he wants more than friendship. But things are going to change quickly for Tamsyn because of the arrival of the Beast of the Borderlands and his demands for a seat at the table and a marriage.

When Fell arrives in the capital, he has a plan. He needs to find a wife to marry and who better than one of the King's precious daughters? To save the pampered princesses from a fate worse than death, Tamsyn is commanded by the Queen to don a veil and gloves to hide her identity. She agrees to the deception even though it means leaving Stig, and the only life she’s ever known, behind. The wedding night begins with unexpected passion and ends in near violence when her trickery is exposed. 

Rather than start a war, Fell accepts Tamsyn as his bride but can he accept the dark secrets she harbors? Secrets buried so deep even she doesn’t know they exist? For Tamsyn is more than a royal whipping girl, more than the false wife of a man who now sees her as his enemy. And when those secrets emerge, they will ignite a flame bright enough to burn the entire kingdom to the bone. Magic is not dead...it is only sleeping. And it will take one ordinary girl with an extraordinary destiny to awaken it.

This is definitely a enemy to lovers story. The more they spend together, the more they lean on, and get closer. As they make their way back to her new rough home both of them will realize that nothing has prepared them for the spark between them that they ignore but will soon burn out of control. The final chapters of this book were, honestly, the best. Forget one particular scene when one of Fell's men tries to kill her and she does something that leads people to believe that something bad happened to her. 

The story itself ends on a whopping cliffhanger that will leave you gasping because it's apparent that both characters have been lied to about who they were, or where they came from for the entirety of their lives. I find it interesting that 12 years ago, the author wrote a young adult series called Firelight about dragons. A decade later, she was encouraged to write an adult fantasy romance series featuring dragons. The ending is probably the best part of this story. The almost love triangle seems to have gone down in flames. Of course, the book ends on a cliffhanger. Allegedly, the second book in this series, tentatively titled A Scar in the Bone, will be released in the first half of 2025.

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#Wednesday Review - Rise of Fire by Sophie Jordan #YALit #Fantasy

Series: Reign of Shadows # 2
Format: E-Galley, 304 pages
Release Date: February 7th 2017
Publisher: HarperTeen
Source: Publisher via Edelweiss
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Luna and Fowler have escaped the kingdom of Relhok, but they haven’t escaped the darkness. When a battle against the dark dwellers mortally injures Fowler, Luna is faced with a choice: put their fate in the hands of mysterious strangers or risk losing Fowler forever.

Desperate to keep the one bright part of her life alive, Luna accepts the help of soldiers from a nearby kingdom. Lagonia’s castle offers reprieve from the dangerous outside world—until the king discovers both Fowler's and Luna’s true ties to Relhok and their influence over the throne.

Now pawns in each kingdom’s political game, Luna and Fowler are more determined than ever to escape and build the life they’ve been dreaming of. But their own pasts have a tight hold on their hearts and their destinies. Luna must embrace the darkness and fire within her before she loses not only Fowler, but the power she was destined to inherit. 

Rise of Fire is the final installment in author Sophie Jordan's Reign of Shadows duology. Rise of Fire picks up right where Reign of Shadows left off. This duology alternates between two characters. 17-year old Luna, the true heir to the crown of Relhok, and 17-year old Fowler, estranged son of Cullan the former chancellor who killed Luna's parents, the King and Queen of Relhok, and named himself King. Luna is by far the most interesting character, and I am not ashamed to say so. She survived the night of a thousand knives thanks to being spirited away by Sivo and Perla. 

She was raised in a tower in the middle of the most dangerous part of the forest where things really do go bump in the night. One of things she learned how to do, was hunt with a bow and arrow. She's no slouch folks. What makes her even more impressive to me is that she's been blind for her entire life. She is able to get around thanks to her highly attuned senses that allows her to pass for a sighted person. Now, imagine all this and growing up in a world where their is near constant darkness. And, in that darkness lives creatures called Dwellers who own the night, and feasts on human. 

With Cullan killing innocent young girls who may look like Luna, she knows that she has to end his reign quickly. If the King gets hold of Luna, it is game over. Everyone go home. If that means braving the dwellers, and disappointing Fowler who is more than protective of her, so be it. Rise of Fire actually moves to a new territory after Luna and a severely

injured Fowler being taken to Lagonia, whose King Tebald knew Luna's mother. This is where things get twisted. While Tebald allows Fowler to seek medical attention, it is Luna who finds herself at the attention of not only the King.

Tebald is understandably curious about her being the spitting image of her mother Avelot who he once chased after and lost. There is also the bigoted Bishop who despises her for reasons that I forgot, but don't rightly matter in the end. Then there is the fact that Fowler is betrothed to Princess Maris, and has been since her birth. Even though we, the readers, know that Maris and Fowler will never ever work out, needless to say it tosses Luna into a different place. A place where she could just open up her mouth and say one word to someone about this is not okay, none of it, and perhaps she could have avoided the entanglement with Prince Chasan, and the ick factor of the King himself pushing to marry Luna.

Unfortunately, Fowler himself does spend a lot of time being hurt, and then getting the treatment he needs to survive. He also has to tread carefully knowing that his father has been told that he is alive, and that isn't something he thought he would ever have to deal with again. Fowler has had to deal with a whole lot since encountering Luna. He's tried numerous time to tell her to run and in the end, someone ended up hurt. As the previous story ended, it was Fowler who was taken away by Dwellers, and lay near death after being infected with toxin. Yes, I will say that Luna does a brave thing by going after him, and what have you. But, Luna's faults almost equal her overall likability factor. 

I will say this. I am absolutely happy with the way this book ended, especially with regards at how Cullan is finally dealt with. Regardless of the intrigue, the politics, and the angst, the book ends in a way that proves Luna isn't a Mary Sue character and can handle herself. I will close by saying that the first book was by far the most dangerous and the darkest. I loved the creepy Dwellers, and enjoyed Luna's interaction

with them in this book. I kind of missed Sivo and Perla because they were all the family that Luna has in this world. But, I was happy that they were given once last scene to close the book and series.

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#Thursday Review - Reign of Shadows by Sophie Jordan (Young Adult, Fantasy)

Series: Reign of Shadows # 1
Format: E-Galley, 304 pages
Release Date: February 9, 2016
Publisher: HarperTeen
Source: Publisher
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Seventeen years ago, an eclipse cloaked the kingdom of Relhok in perpetual darkness. In the chaos, an evil chancellor murdered the king and queen and seized their throne. Luna, Relhok’s lost princess, has been hiding in a tower ever since. Luna’s survival depends on the world believing she is dead.

But that doesn’t stop Luna from wanting more. When she meets Fowler, a mysterious archer braving the woods outside her tower, Luna is drawn to him despite the risk. When the tower is attacked, Luna and Fowler escape together. But this world of darkness is more treacherous than Luna ever realized.

With every threat stacked against them, Luna and Fowler find solace in each other. But with secrets still unspoken between them, falling in love might be their most dangerous journey yet

Reign of Shadows, by Sophie Jordan, could be considered the retelling of Rapunzel, but with a twisted take on the main protagonist. It is a world where eternal darkness has been in effect for the last seventeen years thanks to an Eclipse. Coincidentally, that is also the age of Princess Luna, the surviving daughter of the former King of Relhok. Reign of Shadows has been compared to everything from Rapunzel, to Pitch Black, to Daredevil. The former two being because Luna is portrayed as being blind her whole life. 

Reign of Shadows is told in alternating first person narratives between Luna, and a boy named Fowler. More about him shortly. Luna's life hasn't been all that easy. From barely surviving the night of a thousand knives, to being spirited away by her caretakers Perla and Sivo, to living in a far off tower deep in the Black Woods that is famous for being cursed. Her guardians are extremely protective of Luna, and for good reason. If the secret of her survival ever got out, the fake King would waste every resource he has in order to kill her. 

So, Luna does what any overprotective teenager her age would do. She escapes into the night, and ends up saving the mysterious Fowler and two others from creatures called Dwellers who rule the night. Some of the most outspoken reviewers I know have complained about Luna being a special snow flake. I think we need to take 3 steps back and take a deep breath. Fine, Luna has some mad skills even though she is blind. But, what we are forgetting, is that she has been trained by Sivo from an early age to hunt, and to survive, and to use her remaining senses for all they're worth. 

So, when the author says she has keen senses, who are we to disagree? Did you bitch and moan about Daredevil? Why is it that female protagonists are expected to take the walk of shame back into the darkness because we haven't walked a mile in her shoes and don't believe this is possible? You do know this is fantasy, right? Alas, I am going to swallow my pride about insta-love situations this time around. Think about it. Luna has been pretty much isolated her entire life. So, finding friendship and them romance with Fowler isn't all that shocking, right?

Now, Fowler. Fowler isn't all that hard to review. He is the son of a powerful man. No spoilers! He's seen and done things that Luna can't hold a candle to. He's lost someone he loves, and had enough. So, finding him in the forest on a journey to a far off land is just plain coincidental. Accepting fate by taking Luna with him on that journey, is just good for the soul. Jordan does a decent job of keeping up the angst between Luna and Fowler for a large portion of the story. Then, events bring the two together. What more do I need to say? Oh, yeah, there is a helluva cliffhanger ending!  

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