Rider of Dragons - Aamna Qureshi

Rider of Dragons

Author: Aamna Qureshi
Series: Dragon Racer #1
Genre: Fantasy | Romantasy | Dragons | Romance | Forced Proximity
Format: eARC
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ — 4/5

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Synopsis

Genevieve comes from a wealthy family where her future has essentially been planned for her. She's expected to live a respectable life, work in a library, and most definitely stay away from the deadly dragon races that the men in her family have been allowed to compete in.

Genevieve has other plans.

Determined to become a dragon racer herself, she goes against her family's wishes, a decision that leaves her without their financial support and, thanks in no small part to her father, unable to find anyone willing to train her.

Until Qais.

With a dangerous reputation and alleged connections to dragon poaching, Qais is hardly the ideal choice. But he offers Genevieve a deal: he'll train her for the races in exchange for her prize money if she wins.

As training begins and Genevieve is thrown deeper into the violent world of dragon racing, the distance between her and Qais starts disappearing too.

And trusting him might prove considerably more dangerous than any race.

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My Thoughts

Okay.

I need to talk about this book.

Actually, I need to talk about THE ENDING.

No.

First, let's behave and start at the beginning...

Genevieve comes from a wealthy family where her future has essentially already been decided for her. She's supposed to work in a library, behave appropriately, and certainly NOT participate in the incredibly dangerous dragon races that the men in her family have been allowed to compete in.

There's only one tiny problem.

Genevieve has absolutely no intention of doing what she's told.

She doesn't want to simply ride her dragon. She wants to race. She wants to follow in the footsteps of her older brother and the other champions in her family, and after losing the brother she was closest to, the one who actually supported her questionable life choices, she becomes even more determined to prove she can do it.

Her family disagrees.

Strongly.

Especially her father. (sighhh)

Eventually, Genevieve chooses the race over her family's wishes, gets kicked out of the house, loses access to her money, and discovers that finding someone willing to train her is nearly impossible.

Cheers, Dad.

Excellent parenting.

Clap! Clap!

Enter Qais.

Qais is exactly the sort of person Genevieve probably shouldn't trust: bad reputation, connected to the rival gang behind the races, and associated with stealing and poaching dragons.

Perfect trainer material, obviously.

(sighhh again...)

He agrees to train Genevieve in exchange for her prize money if she wins, and suddenly she's living with him, training with him, and spending A LOT of time with a man who's desperately trying to maintain some distance between them.

Good luck with that, sir.

Because somewhere between the dragons, training, and forced proximity, these two actually become friends.

And then...

Considerably more than friends.

I was ROOTING for them.

I loved watching Qais slowly lower his walls and seemingly begin to trust Genevieve enough to show her more of himself. Their quieter moments together were probably some of my favorites, and I genuinely became invested in their relationship.

Meanwhile, we have DRAGON RACING.

And these aren't exactly friendly little competitions where everyone shakes hands afterward. Sabotage and violence are part of the game, and Genevieve has to learn very quickly that wanting to race and surviving the race are two completely different things.

I do wish we'd gotten more of this side of the story. For a book built around deadly dragon racing, I wanted even more detail about the competitors, their dragons, and that whole world.

There were also moments where the plot felt a little too easy or straightforward, and I would've loved more development around Qais, his brother, and their history.

But overall?

I was having such a good time.

Dragons. Dangerous races. Forced proximity. Training. Family drama. Romance.

Cute little dangerous romantasy adventure.

RIGHT?

WRONG.

WHAT.

THE.

HELL.

WAS.

THAT.

ENDING.

😭😭😭

I DID NOT SEE THAT COMING.

There are twists where you go, “Ohhh, that's clever.”

And then there are twists where you stare at your book like it has personally betrayed you.

THIS WAS THE SECOND KIND.

I have attempted to examine the situation from several angles.

I have considered the reasoning.

I have considered the circumstances.

I have considered whether forgiveness should be extended.

My conclusion:

No.

Absolutely not!!!

Genevieve, please give someone the boot.

Actually, borrow another three or four boots from the neighbors while you're at it.

I swear, These Boots Are Made for Walkin' was made for Qais specifically!

I am FURIOUS.

And somehow I'm even angrier with her father now, because perhaps if he'd spent slightly less time being a misogynistic asshole determined to control his daughter and slightly more time actually supporting and protecting her...

WE WOULDN'T BE HERE.

And now apparently I'm supposed to wait for Book 2???

Bruh.

BRUH.

I need answers.

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Final Thoughts

Rider of Dragons gave me dragons, deadly races, forced proximity, family drama, training, romance, and eventually a fictional betrayal that apparently became my personal problem. 

I would've liked the dragon-racing world to be explored in greater depth, and some parts of the plot and character histories could have used more development. But I had a genuinely good time reading this, became invested in Genevieve and Qais's relationship, and that ending managed to completely catch me off guard.

Am I angry?

Yes.

Do I desperately need to know what happens in the second book?

Unfortunately, also yes.

Rating: 4⭐

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ARC Disclaimer

Thank you to Harper 360 and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC. All opinions are my own.