Lotte Meer is the traditional impecunious hero in this nontraditional YA fantasy adventure. Having lost her parents, Lotte is adventuring using the only gift she has – the ability to speak in dragon tongue. HEARTS FORGED IN DRAGON FIRE will prove her greatest test, and she is only sixteen. Can she save a town and its populace from a giant, greedy, grasping, dragon? And if she does, she may lose her heart.
I enjoy the premise that dragons of various sizes are a natural part of the fauna, and they eat gold and gems, bringing them into conflict with humans. We knew dragons had to have a use for their hoards, and they can’t spend it, so this seems quite rational. Most dragons are small and easily moved, but dragontongues like Lotte are few, and the town of Morwassen's Pass is being held to ransom by the largest dragon anyone has ever met.
Lotte finds relatives she didn’t know she had. I don’t want to say too much. She also meets a girl, Maryse Basvaan, a dealer in precious and magical goods, whose livelihood is being put on hold. Everything is being collected to feed the insatiable dragon. I think there’s a metaphor here, something about runaway capitalism, but you don’t need to look beneath the surface to find a suspenseful romance story. The captain of the City Guard is Maryse’s brother Cornelis, and he loses no chance to make his importance known. Their father is missing, presumed dead, maybe eaten by the ferocious dragon or beaten by bandits. With such a major threat at hand, the Guards can’t make a proper search. Lotte wants to help, in between negotiating politely with the dragon of course. Her growing feelings for Maryse will just have to stay under wraps.
There’s not a lot of magic in this story other than the strictly necessary, and many small dragons have fled the area. We do get to see some and I’d like to know more of their natural history. Author Erica Hollis has built a useful world for story development, one I’d love to return to, whether with Lotte or another hero. I’ll warn that the danger does get quite vivid. HEARTS FORGED IN DRAGON FIRE is a great YA fantasy, especially with the hint of sapphic romance. Let’s hope it’s just the start of adventures for Lotte.
For fans of Abigail Owen and Samantha Shannon comes a breathtaking, energetic novel where the only way to defeat a dragon is to outsmart it…
Most dragontongues don’t live long enough to learn from their mistakes. Lotte Meer is luckier than most, surviving long enough to communicate with the fierce, sullen, and temperamental dragons who are not above enjoying a human as a light snack. And she has the scars to prove it.
Now a massive, foul-tempered dragon has taken over the town of Morwassen's Pass, taking the citizens hostage. As long as they bring him their gold and treasure, he won’t reduce their city to a smoking heap of ash and death. Only, the treasure is running out and Lotte—with the help of sharp-tongued, unbelievably cute Maryse Basvaan—is their last and only hope.
But this dragon is more cunning—and more cruel—than any other. Not only is he holding Lotte’s estranged mom captive, but he has a taste for betrayal…and somehow he’s stricken some kind of secret deal with the girl who’s already gone and stolen Lotte’s heart.
Lotte won’t fail. She can’t.
Because if she does…everyone dies.
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