A Language of Dragons

By: S. F. Williamson

Narrated by: Henrietta Meire

In an alternate London in 1923, one girl accidentally breaks the tenuous truce between dragons and humans in this sweeping debut and epic retelling of Bletchley Park steeped in language, class, and forbidden romance. Perfect for teen fans of Fourth Wing and Babel.

Dragons soar through the skies and protests erupt on the streets, but Vivien Featherswallow isn’t worried. She’s going to follow the rules, get a summer internship studying dragon languages, be smart, be sweet, and make sure her little sister never, ever has to risk growing up Third Class. She just has to free one dragon.

By midnight, Viv has started a civil war.

With her parents and cousin arrested and her sister missing, Viv is brought to Bletchley Park as a codebreaker—if she succeeds, she and her family can all go home again. If she doesn’t, they’ll all die.

As Viv begins to discover the secrets of a hidden dragon language, she realizes that the fragile peace treaty that holds human and dragon societies together is corrupt, and the dangerous work Viv is doing could be the thread that unravels it.

©2025 S. F. Williamson (P)2025 HarperCollins Publishers

Not Anne McCaffery

It was very slow in its final chapters. Seems to have a lot of fluff.

A promising start with room to soar

S.F. Williamson's "A Language of Dragons" presents a fascinating premise: a world where dragons and humans coexist, and language itself holds the key to understanding and peace. The world-building is imaginative, blending historical London with fantastical elements.

The characters, particularly Vivien, are intriguing, and the exploration of dragon languages and their impact on society is thought-provoking. However, the plot occasionally felt a bit predictable, and the pacing could have been more consistent.

As someone who works with languages myself, I found the concepts presented here fascinating if a bit uneven. “Every act of translation requires sacrifice” does to some degree strike me as true but the idea that “There exists no direct correlation between the words of one language and another, and no translation can be entirely faithful to its original” feels somewhat (perhaps reasonably as this is fiction?) dramatic.

Despite these minor drawbacks, "A Language of Dragons" shows real promise, especially as a debut novel. Williamson has crafted a unique and captivating world, and I'm eager to see what she does next.

I’ll also add that the audio version of this was very well done in my option, with several vocal variations that made the story both easy to follow and enjoyable.

addicting

from the beginning I was addicted. I like how is a story about a young girl maturing into a young woman. the book almost sounds personal. yet it's still really good. the story line is good. there's no over explaing or not enough. it's a good young adults book. also, there is no spice to it. only thing spicy is that they kiss and a young man puts his hands around her and under her shirt a little. over all, good book.

Loved everything about this book

I don't often find myself completely sad that I finished a book. Often I have a spell of....oh, that was good/bad then I move on.
This one is really, really good. Better than (dare I say it) Fourth Wing.
Plus + no sex. (Romance.. but not anything that isn't safe for 13+)
It's a great story, awesome world building, good conflict, good writing, and very much a book I'd love a sequel to but doesn't need one.
You are not left hanging. It leaves you curious for more and wanting more.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

must listen

This book was not what I expected but it was great all the same.

Disappointing ending

I’m under the impression that this is a stand alone book. If so, don’t read. You get invested in the characters for a weak and unfinished ending.

language is so important

Thank you Netgalley for the advance reader copy of A Language of Dragons by S. F. Williamson in exchange for an honest review. I really loved how in depth Williamson got on all the different languages and dialects the dragons had and the studying of their echolocation. Of course there was a whole story happening around that with war, politics and love, but I found myself focused mostly on the dragons. I liked this book and would recommend it.

And there were dragons!

This was a very enjoyable listen that I had trouble putting down! If you like dark academia, rebellions and dragons - I highly recommend. I would never have known of this book if it weren’t for book club. I’m super appreciative it was our pick this month. ❤️