Dragonslayer

I’ll admit, I side-eyed the title *Dragonslayer*—it sounded like a thousand other YA fantasy tropes. But within 20 minutes, I was hooked, not by epic battles (though there are those), but by Ivy’s *voice*. She’s a terrier of a protagonist: scrappy, self-serving, and so deeply human in her flaws that you can’t help but root for her even when she’s making terrible decisions. Sutherland’s writing excels in small, brutal details—the way Ivy’s hands shake when she lies, or how dragons dismiss humans as ‘vermin’ with the same tone you’d use for a cockroach. It’s these moments that make the world feel lived-in, not just imagined. McManus’s narration elevates the material further. Her Ivy is all jagged edges and exhausted sarcasm, but she never overplays it—there’s a vulnerability beneath the bravado that makes the character’s growth feel organic. The dragon voices are particularly stellar, each distinct in timbre and cadence (I’d recognize Queen Oasis’s honeyed venom anywhere). My only critique? The middle act drags slightly during a political subplot involving dragon succession—it’s necessary for the lore, but the momentum dips when Ivy isn’t front and center. And while the ending lands with emotional weight, the final confrontation feels *just* a touch rushed after so much slow-burn tension. Still, these are quibbles. For listeners who love antiheroes, morally gray worlds, and narrators who can make a grocery list sound compelling, *Dragonslayer* is a standout. Just don’t expect a fairy tale—this is fantasy with teeth.