What do you think?
Rate this book
Child of the Dragon
Our only hope is the hope we forge ourselves.
Kat always thought her grandma's stories of Rhaegynne—shapeshifting dragons—were just fairytales. But that all changes when her grandma is killed, and she learns that not only are they real, but she is one.
A prophecy and a curse set in motion ages ago, have now turned Kat’s quiet senior year into chaos. What was supposed to be a gift becomes a tool for breaking a curse that forces others to serve tyrannical kings who will use them to wage war and destruction across Earth.
But hope . . . is more stubborn than a curse.
Fighting alongside friends new and old, Kat must learn to harness the heart of the dragon in order to break the curse, destroy the kings, and save the dragons. All before succumbing to the curse herself.
Honestly? It'll be a breeze compared to calculus.
Kat always thought her grandma's stories of Rhaegynne—shapeshifting dragons—were just fairytales. But that all changes when her grandma is killed, and she learns that not only are they real, but she is one.
A prophecy and a curse set in motion ages ago, have now turned Kat’s quiet senior year into chaos. What was supposed to be a gift becomes a tool for breaking a curse that forces others to serve tyrannical kings who will use them to wage war and destruction across Earth.
But hope . . . is more stubborn than a curse.
Fighting alongside friends new and old, Kat must learn to harness the heart of the dragon in order to break the curse, destroy the kings, and save the dragons. All before succumbing to the curse herself.
Honestly? It'll be a breeze compared to calculus.
435 pages, Paperback
First published March 10, 2026
4 people are currently reading
221 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
September 26, 2025
AHHHHHHHHHH I’m so excited for thisssss!
Review of advance copy received from Author
When this book ended, it felt like free-falling off dragonback with how quick reality yanked me back into its cruel embrace. And that ending, ough... *clenches fist*
I don't think I've read a more engrossing YA in years, and I'm THRILLED to have thoroughly enjoyed this one. We're so back, y'all.
Ashley saw everyone writing about riding dragons, went hold my drink, and cranked out excellency. Literally who wouldn't want to transform into a dragon? Genius concept with a fun execution. I can't wait for teen readers who really need this book to find and devour it, not just for the dragons, but for how enjoyable the cast was to follow. Like, the scenes of dragon combat were gripping, cinematic moments that—no lie—had me leaning forward as thought this were a coaster and I was just along for the ride.
What I loved most was the way shifters felt about their transformations: how right it was to be a dragon, the constant yearning for that power, and the righteous anger at being denied what you truly are by forces that see you as an insignificant mind among many. The allegory makes itself, and I think it does so extremely well. I finished this book not only wanting to BE a dragon, but feeling as though teenage me had been reached out to and seen.
Maybe the chosen one really was the friends we made along the way...
Also:
I don't think I've read a more engrossing YA in years, and I'm THRILLED to have thoroughly enjoyed this one. We're so back, y'all.
Ashley saw everyone writing about riding dragons, went hold my drink, and cranked out excellency. Literally who wouldn't want to transform into a dragon? Genius concept with a fun execution. I can't wait for teen readers who really need this book to find and devour it, not just for the dragons, but for how enjoyable the cast was to follow. Like, the scenes of dragon combat were gripping, cinematic moments that—no lie—had me leaning forward as thought this were a coaster and I was just along for the ride.
What I loved most was the way shifters felt about their transformations: how right it was to be a dragon, the constant yearning for that power, and the righteous anger at being denied what you truly are by forces that see you as an insignificant mind among many. The allegory makes itself, and I think it does so extremely well. I finished this book not only wanting to BE a dragon, but feeling as though teenage me had been reached out to and seen.
Maybe the chosen one really was the friends we made along the way...
Also:
February 14, 2026
Child of the Dragon has SO much promise; a dragon-filled fantasy about discovering who you really are when everything you thought was make-believe turns out to be terrifyingly real.
After her grandmother’s death, Kat learns that the stories of shapeshifting dragons weren’t fairytales at all—and that she’s one of them.
What starts as an extraordinary gift quickly becomes something far heavier, as Kat is pulled into an ancient prophecy, a brutal curse, and a fight against tyrannical kings who want to use dragon power to bring war to Earth. With new allies by her side, she must learn to embrace the heart of the dragon before the curse claims her too.
I stopped reading at 35% - I had debated persisting on because I WANTED the story to develop and be “believable” (as far as fantasy stories can be!) but the world building (which from the synopsis had so much potential to be something incredibly rich and interesting) was non existent, and often huge plot points - such as Kat appearing in her dragon form in front of her best friend - are just glossed over in one sentence.
I found myself becoming frustrated with what has been described as “fast paced storyline”, and never took to any of the characters - because they were never developed or described in any great detail.
It felt very “young” in its writing (ie it could be aimed at a younger audience, say pre-teen), and just doesn’t measure up to any of the other fantasy books I’ve read recently.
I appreciate the opportunity to have started reading this book, but feel some refinements are needed in order to bring this story to life
After her grandmother’s death, Kat learns that the stories of shapeshifting dragons weren’t fairytales at all—and that she’s one of them.
What starts as an extraordinary gift quickly becomes something far heavier, as Kat is pulled into an ancient prophecy, a brutal curse, and a fight against tyrannical kings who want to use dragon power to bring war to Earth. With new allies by her side, she must learn to embrace the heart of the dragon before the curse claims her too.
I stopped reading at 35% - I had debated persisting on because I WANTED the story to develop and be “believable” (as far as fantasy stories can be!) but the world building (which from the synopsis had so much potential to be something incredibly rich and interesting) was non existent, and often huge plot points - such as Kat appearing in her dragon form in front of her best friend - are just glossed over in one sentence.
I found myself becoming frustrated with what has been described as “fast paced storyline”, and never took to any of the characters - because they were never developed or described in any great detail.
It felt very “young” in its writing (ie it could be aimed at a younger audience, say pre-teen), and just doesn’t measure up to any of the other fantasy books I’ve read recently.
I appreciate the opportunity to have started reading this book, but feel some refinements are needed in order to bring this story to life
Read
February 28, 2026Thank you to the publishers for an early review copy. CHILD OF THE DRAGON was one of my most anticipated releases of 2026. I was really looking forward to it because I adore fantasy with disability representation and I really liked the author’s short story in the anthology ARTIFICE AND ACCESS. Unfortunately, I struggled to connect with this book and decided to stop reading after 50 pages.
CHILD OF THE DRAGON has an intriguing premise: a teenage girl discovers she can turn into a dragon and must break a curse that forces dragons to work for tyrannical kings. From the first page, we’re thrown into action and I couldn’t keep up. There’s no time to get to know the characters or register the basics about their world. The creativity behind the world-building is obvious, but I found the way it’s explained (or rather, not explained) very confusing.
After 50 pages, the reader is introduced to yet another POV and I didn't want to keep pushing myself to keep reading. We’ve already got multiple POVs, multiple political factions, a significant cast of characters, and a new magic system to juggle. I was intrigued by the brief glimpse of a character who is a disabled assassin (!), but I just can’t follow anything that’s going on!
I’m still so glad to see more disabled authors writing books about disabled characters but sadly, CHILD OF THE DRAGON wasn’t my cup of tea. I hope it finds its audience somewhere else! DNF on February 27th, 2026.
CHILD OF THE DRAGON has an intriguing premise: a teenage girl discovers she can turn into a dragon and must break a curse that forces dragons to work for tyrannical kings. From the first page, we’re thrown into action and I couldn’t keep up. There’s no time to get to know the characters or register the basics about their world. The creativity behind the world-building is obvious, but I found the way it’s explained (or rather, not explained) very confusing.
After 50 pages, the reader is introduced to yet another POV and I didn't want to keep pushing myself to keep reading. We’ve already got multiple POVs, multiple political factions, a significant cast of characters, and a new magic system to juggle. I was intrigued by the brief glimpse of a character who is a disabled assassin (!), but I just can’t follow anything that’s going on!
I’m still so glad to see more disabled authors writing books about disabled characters but sadly, CHILD OF THE DRAGON wasn’t my cup of tea. I hope it finds its audience somewhere else! DNF on February 27th, 2026.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
rating: 5 stars
I had so much fun reading it, that it feels illegal.
1. The writing style? Perfect.
It was easy to understand all the magic, due to how it was portrayed, which (you might not believe but) it's really hard to do.
It was also really easy to slip into all the different POVs, due to how the characters were written.
2. Characters.
They were really cool and believable. Had their dumb moments, but that only further solidified them in my head and made me like them even more.
My only complain is that we didn't really see more of Kat's other friends (I liked them 🥺)
3. Worldbuilding (??)
It was soooooooo good. All the magic stuff was really cool. I also kept wanting to know more about the dragons and their politics; and I really appreciate how we got to uncover it along with our MCs, that was really fun.
Which brings me to the ending:
WHAT WAS THAT?! It was absolutely A M A Z I N G !!! (except I won't be able to sleep for a few days now, wondering what will (??) happen next)
Overall I loved this book and I'm so going to read more from this author!
I had so much fun reading it, that it feels illegal.
1. The writing style? Perfect.
It was easy to understand all the magic, due to how it was portrayed, which (you might not believe but) it's really hard to do.
It was also really easy to slip into all the different POVs, due to how the characters were written.
2. Characters.
They were really cool and believable. Had their dumb moments, but that only further solidified them in my head and made me like them even more.
My only complain is that we didn't really see more of Kat's other friends (I liked them 🥺)
3. Worldbuilding (??)
It was soooooooo good. All the magic stuff was really cool. I also kept wanting to know more about the dragons and their politics; and I really appreciate how we got to uncover it along with our MCs, that was really fun.
Which brings me to the ending:
WHAT WAS THAT?! It was absolutely A M A Z I N G !!! (except I won't be able to sleep for a few days now, wondering what will (??) happen next)
Overall I loved this book and I'm so going to read more from this author!
January 12, 2026
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
My thoughts:
It made me cry, so it’s obviously 5 ⭐️ for me. I would kill to be on a dragon right now. Sounds kind of fun. It was a phenomenal ride with Kat, Jason, Coleman, Aaron, Hope, and Tythan (😭). So without spoilers, here are some things I liked:
I loved the background that you get in the book. It isn’t super heavy handed, but still enough that you get a good sense of what you’re about the experience.
The magic system was pretty cool and fun to read when they would use spells. The training parts had me cackling a bit because they were so random.
The action scenes were so cool! It wasn’t just magic and had hand to hand combat, which is so much fun. That “boss” fight had me on the she of my seat! Like I was over here terrified of what was going to happen. One smallish spoiled, I did cry here because that was just unfair!! Why?? But also okay typical hero stuff.
Overall a fun first fantasy ready. 10/10. Thank you NetGalley and Inked in Grey Press for the ARC!
My thoughts:
It made me cry, so it’s obviously 5 ⭐️ for me. I would kill to be on a dragon right now. Sounds kind of fun. It was a phenomenal ride with Kat, Jason, Coleman, Aaron, Hope, and Tythan (😭). So without spoilers, here are some things I liked:
I loved the background that you get in the book. It isn’t super heavy handed, but still enough that you get a good sense of what you’re about the experience.
The magic system was pretty cool and fun to read when they would use spells. The training parts had me cackling a bit because they were so random.
The action scenes were so cool! It wasn’t just magic and had hand to hand combat, which is so much fun. That “boss” fight had me on the she of my seat! Like I was over here terrified of what was going to happen. One smallish spoiled, I did cry here because that was just unfair!! Why?? But also okay typical hero stuff.
Overall a fun first fantasy ready. 10/10. Thank you NetGalley and Inked in Grey Press for the ARC!
March 25, 2026
This was enjoyable, the premise of a person shifting into a mighty dragon was a great idea quite different from any other dragon related fantasy story I have read.
Kat finds out she has the power to transform into a dragon after her grandmother is cursed then killed by the king of the dragons as she is a rebel leader set to free the dragon folk. She has two side characters and her friends along for the ride.
This is set in modern day America, where we have the real and the magical it’s also very YA with most of them in them in their senior year at around 17 years old.
I am presuming this will be a series, it’s fast paced with a lot of action and some surprises but fundamentally it’s really set for a YA audience so for me it was good but didn’t hold me like other YA stories. I was given an opportunity to read this via NetGalley and the publishers which I thank and is out now.
Kat finds out she has the power to transform into a dragon after her grandmother is cursed then killed by the king of the dragons as she is a rebel leader set to free the dragon folk. She has two side characters and her friends along for the ride.
This is set in modern day America, where we have the real and the magical it’s also very YA with most of them in them in their senior year at around 17 years old.
I am presuming this will be a series, it’s fast paced with a lot of action and some surprises but fundamentally it’s really set for a YA audience so for me it was good but didn’t hold me like other YA stories. I was given an opportunity to read this via NetGalley and the publishers which I thank and is out now.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
If you want fantastical and contemporary together WITH dragons, I must say, this is for you.
I love reading an active main character and Kat is exactly that throughout the book. She doesn't let life control her but rather take initiative herself on what's going on with her grandmother, meeting new people, learning to be a dragon, learning to fight, etc. The story moves at an exceptional speed, keeping you at the edge of your seat as you flip the pages. Nothing lingers for questions, you're IN there with them! I love a good book about dragons, especially the ones where the dragons aren't so bad after all, ya know? I can't wait to see what else the author writes!
Thank you NetGalley, the author and publisher for the eARC!
I love reading an active main character and Kat is exactly that throughout the book. She doesn't let life control her but rather take initiative herself on what's going on with her grandmother, meeting new people, learning to be a dragon, learning to fight, etc. The story moves at an exceptional speed, keeping you at the edge of your seat as you flip the pages. Nothing lingers for questions, you're IN there with them! I love a good book about dragons, especially the ones where the dragons aren't so bad after all, ya know? I can't wait to see what else the author writes!
Thank you NetGalley, the author and publisher for the eARC!
February 27, 2026
Every time I had free time, I was reaching for this book.
I started off reading this book to prep for an interview with the author and wound up crying a bunch and craving the next book.
I loved each character for their own unique personality - I think Coleman is somehow my favourite, even though I don’t think that was the author’s intention.
Wholesome and cozy, yet there are fight scenes, trauma and a dash of torture. It’s a balance I’m not fully certain I can describe accurately. The magic system builds as the story does and ends with the proverbial bang. I will absolutely continue with this series as soon as it is available to do so.
Thank you to the author for the eARC of Child of the Dragon by Ashley N.Y. Sheesley.
I started off reading this book to prep for an interview with the author and wound up crying a bunch and craving the next book.
I loved each character for their own unique personality - I think Coleman is somehow my favourite, even though I don’t think that was the author’s intention.
Wholesome and cozy, yet there are fight scenes, trauma and a dash of torture. It’s a balance I’m not fully certain I can describe accurately. The magic system builds as the story does and ends with the proverbial bang. I will absolutely continue with this series as soon as it is available to do so.
Thank you to the author for the eARC of Child of the Dragon by Ashley N.Y. Sheesley.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Omg my heart 😭😭😭 Hope has what's left of my heart after this book!! She is my favorite!!
This book is so well written and so emotional I want more in this world now please!! Sheesley is an amazing writer!!
This book is so well written and so emotional I want more in this world now please!! Sheesley is an amazing writer!!
Read
January 22, 2026A fantasy debut for lovers of dragons, found family, and high school shenanigans. If you enjoy banter, witty chapter titles, and invading National Parks, then this is the book for you!
Review of advance copy received from Author
Equal parts perilous and tender, Child of the Dragon unfolds with compelling human—and dragon—stakes, pieced together with all the elements you'd want in a fantasy story: rising magic, the power of friendship, and delightful humor. An evil king, shapeshifting dragons, and high school calculus offer readers adventure at a page-turning pace. Grief, growth, and legacy are interwoven among both the fantastical and a diverse cast sure to win your heart. This story is a comfort read for everyone who ever wanted to spread their wings and fly.
September 12, 2025
Okay so I came for the snarky, chronically ill assassin, stayed for the dragons and feminine rage. I love Kat and Coleman so dearly and I'm so glad I got to read this book. It's such a fun read and so nostalgic of a time in my life when I just wanted to run away and be a dragon instead of a teenager. I love that the characters are allowed to be messy and make mistakes, and the themes of friendship and hope in the face of darkness give me so much life.
also that COVER? Obsessed ok
also that COVER? Obsessed ok
January 12, 2026
Still an amazing book!
I got to see this little hatchling in its teenage-ish years, and I'm so glad to have also read it once again right before it comes out. I love Kat's story, but Coleman's still my favorite. (Though Hope is a close second.) If you love dragons and magic and sword fights, you'll love this one.
Questions? Comments? Death threats? Five stars.
I got to see this little hatchling in its teenage-ish years, and I'm so glad to have also read it once again right before it comes out. I love Kat's story, but Coleman's still my favorite. (Though Hope is a close second.) If you love dragons and magic and sword fights, you'll love this one.
Questions? Comments? Death threats? Five stars.
January 21, 2026
I love this book so much. It is magical. The characters feel real and relatable. The magic system and writing are brilliant. I need more
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews