When Dealing with Dragons

«When Dealing with Dragons» — a romantic fantasy about a girl who dreams of healing dragons and is forced to work side by side with a rival from a family that profits from these creatures. Dana Swift takes a familiar scheme of opposing characters and transfers it to a story about care, choices, and the price of family expectations. The book has a tone that is close to fans of dragon stories and strong heroines, and in terms of combining the romantic line and magical world, the novel can be placed alongside the works of Naomi Novik and the dragon series by Cressida Cowell — only here, the focus is less on adventurous scale and more on personal conflict, trust, and the daily work alongside those who need to be saved. It is a story not about battles for spectacle, but about how views change when love for living beings, family benefit, and feelings that no one planned collide.

Farren Walsh lives for her family's work: in the dragon sanctuary, they rescue, heal, and protect them from those who see them only as a source of dragon metal. She dreams of becoming a healer and is acutely aware of any attempt to turn dragons into instruments of profit. Everything becomes complicated when James Murphy — her longtime rival, dragon racer, and heir to a family related to their exploitation — gets an internship at the sanctuary.

Forced proximity quickly intensifies old conflicts. The summer internship becomes a test of endurance, and then a test of the ability to hear another person. The story combines a romantic line, family secrets, social inequality, and the theme of responsibility for those who cannot protect themselves. Inside — craftsmanship, conflict of values, and a gradual transition from dislike to trust.