Review: The King's Dragon (Fire and Valor #1) by W.M. Fawkes & Sam Burns

Lord Tristram Radcliffe has a secret—he is the only dragon at the king’s court in Llangard. It’s a secret he’s kept from the knights he’s fought beside, from the ladies who bat their lashes at him, and from his closest companion, Prince Reynold. If it were to get out, he’d be banished to the Mawrcraig Mountains along with the rest of his kind, but the kingdom of men is the only one he’s ever known, and his heart lives in the stone halls of those who’d count him an enemy.

When the old king dies and Prince Reynold takes the throne, two visitors from the north throw Tristram into the middle of the ancient conflict between dragons and men. They put him on a collision course with the king’s shadow, Bet Kyston, a dangerous assassin who may want him dead or may want more of Tristram that he’d ever thought to give.

With the eyes of dragons upon him and a threat from the north creeping toward the home he loves, Tristram must weigh his allegiances before his dual legacies tear him apart.

You guys…. you’ve got to check this out!


Don’t be fooled by that flashy cover thinking that this is light and whimsical because it’s not. This is fantasy at its best, and it’s set in a land and time where humans and dragons have a tentative peace that teeters on the edge of explosive consequences. However, the divide and animosity runs high, and the chance of a truce is nigh impossible despite a potential dangerous and common foe.


This is a world about a new king coming into ascension, one whose less than savory personality puts many on guard for he’s not the gentle beloved king his father was.


This features the king’s shadow Bet, who has only known struggle and pain, whose life was elevated and ultimately, saved by his highness. His loyalty is devout and steadfast, being the new king’s eyes, ears, and hands in all things necessary and not necessary regarding the king’s whims and needs.


This centers on the king’s cousin and best friend Tris, whose strength and goodness and honor shine brightly through. However, he’s hiding a very big secret. He's half dragon, which puts him in quite the precarious position as most in the kingdom of Llangard despise dragons out of the long established hatred when they once enslaved and ruled over humans - and that includes the king himself.


So get ready for a slow build attraction between Tris and Bet. Two men with different ranks, on opposite ends of the social spectrum but each outcasts in their own right. Though they’ve noticed each other from afar, their paths rarely cross until one day they do. When Tris’s secret is exposed, each man and the many other characters have some very very difficult choices to make, all of which will have damning repercussions.


Overall, Fawkes and Burns have created something that’s quite impressive. It’s intricate, complex, boasting no else than 7 POV’s, all tied together ingeniously with a slow build and reveal that keeps you on edge, where around the corner things can change in a flash and one’s status or life hangs in the balance. So many secrets abound in all sorts of ways involving assignations, alliances, promises, betrayals, magic, and dangerous longings all just waiting to be discovered.


If you like a Game of Thrones-esque type set up, a romance that is hard fought and not quite yet won, where the protagonists’ struggles are weighted, meaningful, and angsty, then this is for you, and I don't say that lightly.


Though this ends tentatively (and please don’t let that dissuade you) it has a concrete conclusion for this first installment and leaves the reader chomping at the bit for so much more! I just hate that I have to wait an interminable and unknown amount of time for the next book! Write faster please!

A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.