“Without power, was there such a thing as freedom in a city like this?”
Set in a stunningly epic queer-normative world of wild sand seas, glass-scaled dragons, dangerous alchemy, and infectious plant magic, Between Dragons and Their Wrath is an intricately woven fantasy tale that offers spine-tingling levels of political, romantic and sexual tension in spades.
Through the eyes of three refreshingly diverse and distinctly unique protagonists, we are thrown headfirst into this complex world with all its dangerous schemes and deadly secrets. Tesha is a sharp-witted apprentice glass smith turned insult bride who becomes embroiled in high society politics, Ashadi is a noble turned dragonrider who can mentally bond with his snarky dragon by using psychedelics, and Naili is a laundress turned gang member whose inexplicable new magic starts growing plants out of her body; they might not know it yet, but their fates are intricately intertwined, and they will have to fight monsters both within and without to reach their destiny.
As you might expect, Between Dragons and Their Wrath is quite the ambitious story with a lot of moving pieces to keep track of, yet somehow Madson manages the madness masterfully. While I can see how the multi-POV first person narration might scare some people off, I personally found that intimately character-driven storytelling to be a perfect grounding force throughout this increasingly wild trainwreck of a story (and I say that in the most loving way possible).
Each character pops off the page with personality and has a very distinct voice, so even though I initially struggled a bit to get a firm grip on their place (both socially and geographically) in this world, I quickly felt deeply invested in the hot mess that they call their daily lives. Their virtues and vices are on full display, and they can be terribly unlikable and irrational at times, but that only made them more frustratingly relatable and loveable to me. And I think this might be an unpopular opinion, but Naili was my favourite from the start, even with her occasionally inappropriate lusty and horny thoughts; the mystery and intrigue in her storyline just instantly grabbed me by the throat, and I ultimately loved her journey of growth (literally, I guess?) throughout this novel.
That is not to say that the other characters pale in comparison to her, and I truly never found myself wishing to get back to a different perspective. Tesha’s perspective gave such an intriguing (outsider’s) look into the cutthroat Emoran high society, while Ashadi’s POV blew open the world in terms of history and lore, both of which I was deeply fascinated by. The way that Madson balances and interweaves these characters’ internal conflicts with the larger external conflicts was so masterfully done, and I really appreciated the subtly powerful exploration of themes of imperialism, colonisation, classism, generational trauma and cultural identity through their personal (back)stories.
Not to mention, as someone who isn’t opposed to some good (queer) romance mixed into their fantasy, I was absolutely eating up the forbidden romances, mutual yearning, electrifying tension, and surprisingly explicit spicy scenes that pop up in each of the three perspectives. Between Dragons and Their Wrath is not a fantasy romance in the traditional sense, but it sure offers more than just a pulse-pounding battle climax, if you know what I mean.
Though speaking of the climax, I do have to admit that the unsatisfyingly abrupt ending gave me a bit of a whiplash, ultimately leaving me with more questions than answers. For a large part of the story I didn’t mind that I felt like I was stumbling around in the dark a bit, because so were the characters themselves, but I can’t deny that I was hoping for more convergence and resolution by the end of this first instalment.
Nevertheless, I had an absolute blast with this story, and I have to admit that the cliffhanger would absolutely have made me dive straight into book 2 if that had been available. See, this might not be a terribly action-packed or fast-paced narrative, but it’s just got a dangerously addictive level of simmering tension that makes the pages simply fly by. Madson’s wild imagination combined with their emotionally engaging storytelling and effortlessly witty prose kept me engrossed the entire way through, and you better bet I will be adding them to my ‘must-read’ authors list from now on.
In a weird way, this book felt like an exciting mix of all the best elements of M.A. Carrick’s Rook and Rose series, Rebecca Yarros’ Fourth Wing, and Saara El-Arifi’s Ending Fire trilogy, while also being completely its own thing. If you are looking for a romantic political fantasy set in an undeniably cool and breathtakingly inventive world that continues to excite, delight, and freak you the fuck out with each new turn of the page, then I can’t recommend Between Dragons and Their Wrath highly enough.
Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. Between Dragons and Their Wrath is scheduled for release on August 27th, 2024.
