I’ve listened to the audiobook narrated by Amanda Newman and I think it’s best to enjoy this novella before To Bind Fire, but it can definitely be read / listened to at any point in the series.

I loved Casandra with all her sass, loyalty and courage and that Carlson even managed to put character growth into the rather short story when Casandra realizes, that her plans - if one could even call her ideas that - are quite naive and that there isn’t just more to the world than she thought, but that she might need help and is not as powerful and completely independent as she thought. I expect and hope her character to grow and mature even more in the following series, but the novella made a great start, not only on her redemption arc but also on the world building and adventure we will see in the following books.

The novella ends on a note that made me eager to jump into To Bind Fire and I don’t recommend Casandra’s Dragon if you’re not planning on reading the Empire of Ash and Song series because you will definitely want to after finishing the novella.

The novella (purposefully) leaves plot threads unfinished and questions unanswered, some even after the second book To Bind Court and I am still curious about a lot of things surrounding Casandra and can’t wait for the series to continue.

I loved the bond between Casandra and her dragon and also how the author brought Christian faith elements into the story, but I think the second point gets clearer in the novels.

I absolutely recommend this novella, especially as a pre-series starter, if you love fantasy worlds, dragonriders, faith elements, strong female main characters and adventures.

* Thank you to the author for giving me access to this audibook. I leave this review voluntarily and the expressed opinions are my own. ( )