Book review: Nine-Tenths | J.M. Frey

Nine-Tenths by J.M. Frey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Whew, so I put in my name to win an ARC on the strength that I loved Frey's previous books, primarily the Accidental Turn series and Skylark's Saga. I didn't think I would actually *get* the ARC but I did. So yeah, here's me reading a queer romcom I didn't expect to read.

Colin is a disaster person, trying to figure out life at 24. He's coasting along, working as a barista at his best friend's coffee shop, secretly gushing over the mysterious dragon who comes in every morning. Dav is the (secretly disaster) dragon who sits in that coffee shop every morning, staring at Colin without saying a thing. It's like a coffee shop meet cute, except the thing that actually brings them together is more like a tragedy. And absolutely hilarious (for the reader, that is).

But the problem with getting together with a dragon (besides all the secrets) is the fact that under dragon law, Colin becomes Dav's... property. Which doesn't make for good relationships in the long run, even if Dav doesn't subscribe to it either. Unfortunately, he's stuck in the system, one that he can't-and doesn't know how to-change. And OF COURSE, to complicate things even further, all of this has to happen in the Very Public Eye.

Nine-Tenths had a bit more spice than I usually read (which isn't a bad thing, just not what I was expecting) but that aside, I loved this alternate universe where dragons rule the world. WHICH, because the premise is that dragons live a long, long time, allows for the story to both be modern with Instagram virality and paparazzi WHILST ALSO having all that lovely old-time Regency-type trappings like balls and snobby nobles and duels.

The fact that Dav and Colin are trying to overturn centuries of draconic colonisation and pull the British Empire into the modern day makes for very amusing reading. I did struggle a little with the politics and historical figures mentioned because I apparently have 0 knowledge of Canadian history. I don't suppose you really need delve into the details to enjoy the story, but I felt there were some characters or events that were supposed to ping recognition, while I just went "Uh, okay? Whoddat?" (I mean, I know Queen Elizabeth and Robert the Bruce, but the only reason I know Laura Secord is because Frey posted about her online.)

Frey also gets very real about mental health. Colin has pretty severe anxiety caused by the unexpected death of his father, and many of the hiccups in his relationship with Dav stems from trying to navigate around that and finding better ways to cope while in an extremely public and high-stress situation. I also love the fact that Colin has a very solid network of family and friends who actually care for and support him - and that Dav also respects that despite the weirdness of dragon law.

There's some fan-fic, tropish vibes at times, and Frey frames the whole story in a very meta way. The first I enjoyed, the second was intriguing, but not quite it for me. Which, thinking about it, is a bit strange because it was that very self-aware meta fiction thing that really drew me into The Untold Tale.

All in all, Nine-Tenths is a fun read, with some very real, big feelings.

Note: I received a digital ARC of this book from the author. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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