Review of an Advanced Reader Copy. Thank you to Boldwood Books and Elizabeth Hrib for the opportunity to discover this story in exchange for my honest review !

The Infirmary for Dragon Burns and Midair Mishaps follows Eden, a young and talented burn nurse looking for a bit of peace and quiet. When her mentor invites her to work alongside him in a small town's infirmary, it feels like the perfect change of scenery ! However, maybe Eden underestimated the surprises that come with settling down right in the path of the dragon migration and their all-consuming fires. Ember Ridge happens to be extremely peaceful... until you run into a few too many dragons and a particularly grating dragon wrangler...

RATING : 2/5.

The Infirmary for Dragon Burns and Midair Mishaps is a very quick read following the standard cozy fantasy recipe : a cozy setting, a dash of found family, a few drops of dragon cuteness and a spoonful of romance. Yet, I find myself very disappointed with this read. So, why is that ?

First of all, the romance is overambitious. I think the book is under 300 pages ? In that page span and without any substantial time jumps - I'm not sure about the whole timeline, but it felt like maybe 7 to 10 days - you just cannot go for epic burning romance. It gives heavy insta-love vibes (which I hate), and I completely stopped being able to indulge it around the 60% mark. My last straw was the first kiss without consent scene, followed by one of the MCs implying that - during a crisis, mind you - spending time with a girl she barely knows is more important to her than being with her very loyal bonded dragon. The whole relationship this book is trying to build upon is rushed and lacks any kind of substance. To me, this is the big difference between a good Cozy Fantasy and one that needs more work. Yes, cozy and cute are staples of the genre. Still, it doesn't mean you can just throw away coherence, character growth and/or relationship building. Beyond the romance, none of the other characters managed to quite interest me, and that includes both MCs. Not only were there too many characters introduced from the get-go for me to grasp onto any of them, but the more interesting ones barely had any page time (hi, Gunther). I believe found family was the intended goal. It's missed, completely. You just get a bunch of people living through the same events, at the same time, sometimes working together, and I'm expected to care. I do not.

On top of that, I'm supposed to believe in the beauty and uniqueness of human x dragon bonds. Yet, Vaela only seems to care about Min when it offers potential for an emotional scene. Min was probably my favorite part of the book. Considering the way this book is marketed, it severely underexploit its dragon lore. I wish Min was not the only dragon we actually got to meet. I also wish her place in the story was more prominent. Min was treated like a character you whip out for comedic relief or emotional intensity, then discard until the next time they are needed. A shame, since she had way more MC energy than Eden and Vaela combined.

Lastly, and even if I am not able to go into details to avoid spoilers, the lack of overall coherence in the story and plot finished ruining this book for me.

So, what's my conclusion ? I personally would not recommend this book. I can't find anything that would make it worth it given its many flaws and the better alternatives this genre has to offer. As I write this review, I seem to be the only one so far with such a harsh opinion on it. As always, I encourage you to remember that no review can replace your own reading experience, and the most meaningful opinion you can form is the one you build for yourself !