Review: A Language of Dragons by S.F. Williamson

Posted January 6, 2025 by Lillian in Reviews / 5 Comments

I received this book via the publisher HarperCollins. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of this review.

Review: A Language of Dragons by S.F. WilliamsonA Language of Dragons by S.F. Williamson
Published by HarperCollins on 2025-01-07
Age Range: 13+
Length: 430 pages
Reviewing eARC from the publisher HarperCollins
Rating:

In an alternate London in 1923, one girl accidentally breaks the tenuous truce between dragons and humans in this sweeping debut and epic retelling of Bletchley Park steeped in language, class, and forbidden romance. Perfect for teen fans of Fourth Wing and Babel.

Dragons soar through the skies and protests erupt on the streets, but Vivien Featherswallow isn’t worried. She’s going to follow the rules, get a summer internship studying dragon languages, be smart, be sweet, and make sure her little sister never, ever has to risk growing up Third Class. She just has to free one dragon.

By midnight, Viv has started a civil war.

With her parents and cousin arrested and her sister missing, Viv is brought to Bletchley Park as a codebreaker—if she succeeds, she and her family can all go home again. If she doesn’t, they’ll all die.

As Viv begins to discover the secrets of a hidden dragon language, she realizes that the fragile peace treaty that holds human and dragon societies together is corrupt, and the dangerous work Viv is doing could be the thread that unravels it.

Fantastic! A Language of Dragons by S.F. Williamson is a debut historical fantasy about a world with dragons, rebellions, and heartbreaking love. It’s 1923 in the streets of London and dragons fly overhead as protesters line the streets demanding an end to the class system. Vivian Featherswallow is living in her second class bubble. She follows the rules, keeps her head down, and works hard. When her idol comes to dinner at her family home, Viv hopes to secure an internship studying dragon languages (she can already speak nine), but her life comes crashing down as her family is arrested for colluding with the rebels. Desperate to save her family, Viv makes a choice to release a dragon. By midnight, her actions have started a civil war.

To say I enjoyed this book is an understatement. I thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish. There wasn’t a single thing in this book that I didn’t enjoy. Viv is a complex, morally grey character that has you questioning from the start what you’d do if in her shoes. Viv isn’t the clear cut protagonist, and she carries guilt for the choices she’s made both in her past and present. She doubts that she is a good person. She feels selfish, concerned only with keeping her second class status, preventing her sister from dropping to third class, and doing whatever it takes to attain her goals. Now that her family is arrested, she is even more desperate, desperate enough to break into the university library and release a dragon who has been there since the start of the class system. The consequences of her actions haunt her and follow her throughout the book.

I like Viv. While she feels selfish, her choices are the choices most would make when placed into seemingly impossible situations. The fact that she struggles with the consequences and guilt haunts her proves that at her core she is a good person. Though, admittedly, while reading, I have no doubt you will question that.

The consequence for releasing a dragon is that Viv is required to work for the prime minister. If she succeeds, she’s promised that her family can go free. Viv, along with a handful of other teens, are thrust into a secret base, researching dragons. Viv’s knowledge of dragon tongues is put to breaking a secret code among the dragons and becomes the main focus of the book. I loved this. It reminds me of the codebreakers during WWI and WWII. Viv’s job and everyone there is to find a weakness to stop the rebels which includes dragons and humans. The tensions are high, but the stakes are higher.

Overall, I loved A Language of Dragons. It’s exciting, thrilling, and even has a dash of romance. I loved the dragons (I could write multiple reviews of this book focusing on the different things I loved). The relationship Viv builds with the dragon she releases was unexpected, but fantastic. I also really enjoyed the other characters present at the base Viv is at which includes her cousin Marquis, her former best friend Sophie, and so many others. I highly recommend this one to fans of YA fantasy or historical fantasy.

Side Note: This book ends on a small cliffhanger. There is no mention that this will be a duology. I believe it is a standalone. Though I hope more will come from this world.

About S.F. Williamson

Author S.F. Williamson

S. F. Williamson is fascinated by the way languages are born and was surrounded by them long before she undertook degrees in French and Italian. She has always known that languages are creatures that live and move and breathe, and as a child she learned that speaking them meant accessing ideas, traditions, and people she would only otherwise know from a distance. A Language of Dragons is inspired by her work as a literary translator and the fact that no matter how intimately a linguist knows their languages, some meaning is almost always lost in translation. A graduate of Bath Spa University’s MA writing for young people program, Steph now lives in France with her husband and son.

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5 responses to “Review: A Language of Dragons by S.F. Williamson

    • It is so good! I loved how it is set in an alternate London. The dragons and all the science and espionage is just icing on the cake. Plus it’s a YA novel that actual feels and reads like it is written for that audience. I’m buying a copies for my nieces who love these kinds of books 🙂

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