A slow-burn romantasy with hints of magic and heart, but it left me wishing for deeper character development and a few more surprises. This romantic fantasy starts slow, and while the premise had a lot of potential, it struggled to fully deliver for me. At first, I was not sure if I was going to connect with the story. The opening third felt sluggish, and the character names pulled me out of the world every time they appeared. They felt overly made-up, and that made it harder to stay immersed. Once the story picked up around 35 percent, the pacing improved, and the romantic tension between Bronwyn and Malik started to build in a way that was satisfying at times. Bronwyn and Malik had a slow-burn dynamic that had good potential, but I found the characters themselves flat and difficult to connect with. Their emotions and motivations often felt surface-level, and I wanted more depth to make their bond feel believable. While there was plenty of tension written into their interactions, I did not always feel the emotional weight behind their choices. The world blends original fantasy elements with familiar fairy tale nods, like Thumbelina and Sleeping Beauty. These references sometimes felt out of place in a world that otherwise seemed to want to stand on its own. While the darker tone worked in some moments, it was not enough to carry the story past its predictability. The ending wrapped up exactly as I expected, and while it was complete, it lacked surprises or strong emotional payoff. One quote stood out to me and captured the atmosphere better than much of the character work: “That was what it was, a waking nightmare with no escape. None but dark magic or the death of another.” Overall, The Artist and The Dragon had interesting ideas but struggled in execution. If you enjoy slow-burn fantasy romances with cozy settings and do not mind a predictable plot, you might still enjoy this one. It was a quick read, but ultimately, it left me wanting more depth from both the characters and the world.