Shannon’s Year in Books

What did you read this year?

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2025

Year in Books

1,724

pages read

books read

Shannon

Blue Eyes and Other Tales by K. Vale Nagle

Shortest Book

112

pages

Longest Book

384

pages

Average book length in 2025

246

pages

Most Shelved

12,371

people also shelved

Least Shelved

people also shelved

Shannon’s average rating for 2025

4.3

Highest Rated on Goodreads

4.78 average

Shannon’s first review of the year

it was amazing

4.5 out of 5.

It's finally happened. A Daniel Arenson book I ended up loving.

I'm very conflicted with Arenson's stories. Some I like ( Moth ) or just consider okay (the Flame of Requiem trilogy), while others I outright despise and consider some of the worst books I've ever read ( Blood of Requiem ).

With this first entry of the Dragonfire Rain trilogy, despite sharing many of the same problems as Arenson's previous work (obnoxious repeti ...more

SHANNON’S 2025 BOOKS

it was amazing

Shannon’s last review of the year

really liked it

A low 4 out of 5.

In many ways, the finale of the Dragonfire Rain trilogy is both better and worse than its predecessor. The journeys our main heroes take weren't quite as interesting as the ones from the previous book, the repetitiveness that plagues Daniel Arenson's work came back in full force when it was previously toned down, a good chunk of the story felt rushed including the romance (did you seriously have to make Lenora and Berinor a A low 4 out of 5.

In many ways, the finale of the Dragonfire Rain trilogy is both better and worse than its predecessor. The journeys our main heroes take weren't quite as interesting as the ones from the previous book, the repetitiveness that plagues Daniel Arenson's work came back in full force when it was previously toned down, a good chunk of the story felt rushed including the romance (did you seriously have to make Lenora and Berinor a couple?? They had absolutely no romantic chemistry, and they worked better as father-daughter figures!), and finally, there were more action scenes than before and not in a good way.

Seriously, you could've taken at least half of these scenes out (like the hydra parasites, the bat women, and the additional three titans) and you wouldn't miss anything. It felt like pointless filler, and it would've been better if you replaced these scenes with more character and world-building. That's clearly not Arenson's style, but oh well. One can dream.

Despite the large number of issues, I'm giving Flight of Dragons a higher rating mostly due to its ending and sense of closure. The fates of Nemoria and Lintari were satisfying despite feeling rushed, and the ending with Requiem slowly being rebuilt was straight up beautiful.

The characters remained fun with Oryn and Lenora easily being the best of the bunch, the grammar errors were fewer and far between, the world-building and nods to the past were well done, the plan to defeat the titans was absolutely bonkers in a good way, and there's the previously mentioned closure.

Nemoria is gone, and the Vir Requis can finally stop running and begin heal and rebuild, although it will take time. The cycle of death and rebirth this kingdom is unfortunately plagued with may continue, but whatever the next threat is (I hope its werewolves), hopefully they won't come around for a couple thousand years. The dragon shifters need a nice long break until then.

Overall, Flight of Dragons is more of a mixed bag than I hoped, but it is still an enjoyable and fitting end to this trilogy. ...more

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