Review Detail

Dragons, curses, secrets, and one extremely suspicious shadow of a man yeah, I was hooked before chapter three!

I went into Dragon Cursed by Elise Kova knowing one thing: if you see a dragon, you’re probably already doomed. What I didn’t expect was how tense, immersive, and downright fun this story would be from the very first page.

This world is brutal in the best way. Dragons aren’t majestic sky pets, they're walking extinction events. Humanity has been whittled down to a single surviving city, Vingard, and even there, safety is an illusion. The real terror isn’t just the dragons raining hellfire from above, but the dragon curse lurking within. Anyone could be infected. Anyone could be lying. And the punishment? Capture, execution, or a slow, horrifying transformation into a monster.

Reading from the main character’s perspective had me constantly on edge. Living with the fear that you might be cursed and that discovery means death adds such a delicious layer of paranoia to every interaction. I loved how that tension seeped into even the smallest moments. Trust is rare. Secrets are everywhere. And I was side-eyeing everyone.

And then there’s Lucan. Oh, Lucan. Part bodyguard, part menace, part walking red flag wrapped in sarcasm and secrets. His dynamic with the main character is equal parts entertaining and infuriating in the best way. The banter, the suspicion, the way he clearly knows more than he’s saying? Chef’s kiss. I was yelling at the page while also wanting more of every single scene he was in.

Elise Kova absolutely nails the pacing here: there's action, emotional stakes, creeping dread, and just enough mystery to keep you turning pages at an alarming speed. By the time I hit the end, I was fully invested, mildly stressed, and already craving the next installment.

If you love fantasy with dragons that are actually terrifying, high-stakes secrets, morally gray characters, and a constant sense of oh no this could go very wrong very fast, Dragon Cursed delivers.