Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy Romance
Length: 336 pages
Author: Dana Swift
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Release Date: June 30th, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Bonding with dragons gave humans magic to craft metal―now, two school rivals have to work together to protect a priceless secret, all while fighting their growing attraction to each other, from Dana Swift, author of Cast in Firelight.

Copper-crafter Farren Walsh is set on following in her father’s footsteps to become a dragon veterinarian. The only thing more powerful than her love for these magnificent creatures is her hate for those who exploit them for their precious metal. That includes her classmate, an arrogant dragon racer named James Murphy, whose silver-crafting family represents the worst of human greed and dragon abuse―plus, he’s the biggest competition for the college scholarship she desperately needs.

When James strongarms his way into interning at her family’s dragon sanctuary for the summer, it puts everything at risk. Farren isn’t just the plain copper-crafter she seems. She’s hiding a secret that could not only change her life, but their society as a whole. And James, trying to find refuge from his controlling father, harbors his own secret, years-long crush on Farren. Hating James might be harder than she thought, but Farren can’t risk getting too close: the fate of an endangered species is at stake.

When Dealing with Dragons is a delightful young adult dual-POV romantasy about cross-class romance, finding family, and creating a better world for creatures big and small.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the gifted audiobook.

THIS IS WHAT I MEAN.

This is what I mean when I think about young adult fantasy standalones. WDWD was flipping cute and I was obsessed from start to end (not surprising because I also loved Dana Swift’s previous duology). The audiobook is great and you should definitely go with that format.

The romance was adorable. I loved that she was taller than him?? I loved the banter. The guy is DOWN SO BAD Y’ALL. From the minute you get his POV. And I’m obsessed with those kind of dynamics. I liked the themes and discussions between them and how they learned to work together. Farren learns that there’s a lot more to James and it’s just sweet.

I loved all of the dragon content. I will say, don’t squint too hard at the world building. Some of it didn’t quite click but I overlooked it for how much enjoyment I was getting out of everything else. Back to the dragons, loved them. Loved the metal magic system and how that operated. I was very attached and very upset at a lot of things (complimentary).

Seriously a wonderful young adult fantasy. I loved Farren’s family too!! Supportive, strong families are such a gem and I loved that they were included too. It’s a book I’m going to be throwing at everyone to read.

Overall audience notes:

• YA Fantasy Romance
• Langauge: none
• Romance: kisses
• Violence: moderate – high
• Content warnings: animal abuse (on page), child abuse (recounted), weapons violence

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