Dragon Cursed by Elise Kova: Review, synopsis, triggers, tropes

Written By Esta Pinto

Dragon Cursed by Elise Kova is a YA fantasy romance with post-apocalyptic elements and… dragons!

It’s scaly, it’s daring, it’s action packed and it’s full of deadly trials and youthful yearning. 

I wrote a wee little Dragon Cursed book review, plus made sure to include some extras such as the Dragon Cursed characters, tropes, trigger warnings and a handy dragon color chart, for people who wanted to spoil some of the dragon trait reveals for themselves. You do you! 

A big congrats to Elise that this book is getting made into a movie, fingers crossed the producers knock it out of the park.

Happy reading friends!

 

Dragon Cursed synopsis.

The moment you see a dragon is usually your last…

Since the dragons emerged–along with the scourge that ravaged our lands and people–there’s only one human city that remains standing: Vingard.

But the hellfire from above is nothing compared to the threat from within. For there is no worse fate than being dragon cursed. Slowly and excruciatingly, you’ll be transformed into a mindless beast who destroys everything–and everyone–you love.

Any of us could be tainted. Any of us could be lying. Any of us could be caught and killed by the authorities.

And I’m terrified that I might be next.

There’s only one other person who might suspect my secret. He’s like my shadow, following me wherever I go. Part protector, part tormentor, fully annoying. Sometimes I think I am just one of the million unfathomable secrets he keeps hidden.

Because Lucan definitely knows something.

And if I’m dragon cursed, death might be the only mercy I get.

 

Dragon Cursed characters.

Video shared by @entangledteen, @redtowerbooks & @elise.kova via Instagram.

Main characters.

Dragon Cursed is narrated from a first person point of view, from the perspective of Isola Thaz.

Here is a breakdown of our main characters, followed by a list of all Dragon Cursed characters we meet in the book one of the duology, by Elise Kova.

Isola Thaz.

Author Elise Kova says “Isola is still figuring out who she is and where she fits in the world. There’s a lot of uncertainty baked into her story—the kind that comes with standing on the edge between adolescence and adulthood, when you’re old enough to carry responsibility but not quite confident in your own footing. That sense of finding and embracing who you are is central to her journey.

That said, Isola is also deeply determined. She carries the weight of saving what remains of humanity from the end of the world, even though she’s not convinced she’s the right person for the job. At the heart of her story is a question: are you chosen because others believe in you, or because you finally choose to believe in yourself?”

Read the full Dragon Cursed interview with Elise Kova here.

Lucan.

Lucan is a bit of an enigma when we first meet him in Dragon Cursed. He’s mysterious, brooding and Isola catches him staring at her intensely in the early chapters. I’m sure by our powers of reasoning we can deduce there’s more to his gaze. But what is going through his head and why?

Supporting characters.

Here’s a list of all the characters in Dragon Cursed apart from our main ones.

  • Saipha Celest

  • Vicar Darius

  • (Isola Thaz’s mother)

  • Kassin Thaz (Isola’s father)

  • Marie (Isola’s stepmother)

  • Callon (Isola’s stepbrother)

  • Cindel

  • Marius Celest (Saipha’s father)

  • Benj

  • Horowin Kael

  • Yenni

  • Ulven

  • Mikel

  • Commander Antos Salvis

  • Nelly

  • Daisy

  • Pia

  • Dazni

  • Myla

  • Ember

 

Dragon Cursed dragons types and their abilities.

We’re loving the spin and dragon lore in the world of Vinguard created by Elise Kova in Dragon Cursed and asked her about her inspiration. Elise said:

“On a foundational level, the dragons in Dragon Cursed were inspired by the ferocious, winged beasts I grew up loving in fantasy (some of those stories listed above): beasts that are powerful, terrifying, and fiercely magical. I wanted them to feel equal parts dangerous and mysterious.

One thing I was very intentional about, though, was not limiting dragons to a single defining trait. I didn’t want them all to just breathe fire and call it a day. I liked the idea of dragons being varied—different types, different abilities, different threats that I could find fun ways for my protagonists to survive.”

View the table below to find out what dragons have what traits.

⚠️ Please note that this table may spoil some of the reveals in Dragon Cursed.⚠️

THIS IS YOUR MILD SPOILER WARNING.

Dragon Color Dragon Characteristics and Ability
Green Dragon Green dragon haze causes hallucinations of the worst kind. They don’t breathe fire and instead spit an acid that can melt clay roof tiles like a salt cube in a rainstorm.
Yellow Dragon A monstrosity whose size alone renders it formidable. Its shielding and healing auras make it nearly impossible to kill. Lacking much offensive magic, it relies on brute strength and defensive capabilities.
Purple Dragon Black eyes and a roar that is said to spark madness.
Silver Dragon Nimble and rare, this dragon’s scales may as well be hammered plate reinforced with artificer sigils, and claws of sharpened steel.
Blue Dragon Has woven ice around its talons, with storm clouds pluming from every flap of its wings.
Copper Dragon Nothing but rage and fire.
 

Review: Dragon Cursed by Elise Kova.

View my review and follow me on GoodReads here.

My rating: ★★★★☆

Write about dragons and I’ll happily suspend my disbelief to embrace majestical dragon lore and history whilst fervently wishing I could befriend a dragon. Write about crusty old men weaponising religion and religious adjacent texts to abuse power and I’ll be like “oh… I think I saw this on the news.” You will get both of these feelings when you read Dragon Cursed by Elise Kova, or at least I did. Case in point:

“But they will do things to you in there… horrible things that should never be forgiven, and they’ll tell you it’s normal. Don’t let them win.”

"They starved us, then offered honeyed words in place of food. They have made us fearful, while presenting themselves as the only form of protection. They have shown us horror but have wrapped it in noble ideals so we don’t dare question why we were forced to endure it to begin with."

"What is it that they plan to do that would warrant covering the majority of their faces?"

Wait, what was the author talking about again? 👀

Which brings me to my complicated relationship with YA. As a fully fledged adult who gives significantly less hoots (I’m all out of hoots)—(I kept this review PG, but feel free to substitute the word hoot for another word)—than I did when I was 18, it can be a bit of a gamble for me to read YA books because my tolerance for teen angst and melodrama is low.

And yet, I didn’t have this problem with Dragon Cursed or with 18 year old Isola Thaz, our FMC. My younger self would’ve probably been able to relate to her developing her confidence, thinking Lucan (the MMC) is a 10, even though he has a couple of beige flags (note: not red) and navigating power imbalances. And my current self sees a commentary on systemic control, religious hypocrisy and selective truths that people in power feed us. 🥲 It reminded me that YA is capable of holding complex and powerful themes whilst remaining accessible to all ages. (Sidenote: If you’re looking for more similarly-themed YA fantasy books like this, I would also recommend The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna.)

That said, in the spirit of balanced reviewing, I did feel like the prose had a bit of a higher telling vs. showing ratio than I prefer, but since it’s for a YA audience, I'd say that ratio is appropriate for them.

Also, something that is important to me personally. I love seeing well developed female friendships and other types of platonic love in fantasy romance. And in this story, I liked the dynamic between Isola and her bestie, Saipha. But I reckon I wanted just a bit more from it. Their connection had a great foundation and I would've loved more exposition to flesh out their bond because it would’ve added more emotional gravitas for me.

Overall, this is a strong YA dark-ish fantasy romance with post-apocalyptic elements that balances cinematic dragon spectacle, deadly trials and timely social commentary. Oh and I must warn you about that absolute GUT PUNCH of an ending. I saw it coming, but I also did not see it coming. Do with that info what you will. Yep, it ends on a cliffie, it's a duology.

Finally, I’m DELIGHTED but not at all surprised that Dragon Cursed has been optioned for film. It’s all very visual, with lots of plot and action, right from chapter one. I hope the producers do it justice.

Highly recommend if any of the above speaks to you.

Thanks so much to Entangled Publishing & Netgalley for the ARC!

Trigger warnings: If you are triggered by fantasy animal death, human death or torture, please be mindful reading this. You can probably skirt around fantasy animal death in chapter 40 and chapter 59 if you still want to give it a go, although these scenes are plot drivers.

 View my review and follow me on GoodReads here. I chat about books a lot.

 

Dragon Cursed FAQs.

SPOILER ALERT:

⚠️ Some answers may spoil Dragon Cursed if you haven’t read it already. Proceed with caution. ⚠️

Here are the answers to all your common FAQs.

Is Dragon Cursed part of a series?

Yes, Dragon Cursed is the book one in a duology by Elise Kova, confirmed by Elise herself in this interview I did with her!

When will book 2 in the Dragon Cursed series by Elise Kova come out?

Not too sure. Watch this space for further updates!

What are the content and trigger warnings?

  • Fantasy animal death

  • Blood

  • Death

  • Death of parent

  • Injury and injury details

  • Violence

  • Murder

  • Light gore

  • Torture

  • Grief

  • Genocide

  • Toxic relationship

  • Confinement

  • Young adolescent deaths

  • Domestic abuse

  • Emotional abuse

Is Dragon Cursed spicy?

No Dragon Cursed is Young Adult and is not spicy, as appropriate for the audience. (Although the main characters do share a kiss.)

What are the Dragon Cursed tropes?

  • Reluctant allies to lovers

  • Who did this to you

  • Hurt/comfort

  • Female rage

  • Deadly trials

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