A Language of Dragons

Exclusive Edition with sprayed edge Every act of translation requires sacrifice. Welcome to Bletchley Park… with dragons. London, 1923. Dragons soar through the skies and protests erupt on the streets, but Vivien Featherswallow isn’t worried. She’s going to follow the rules, get an internship studying dragon languages, and make sure her little sister never has to risk growing up Third Class. By midnight, Viv has started a civil war. With her parents arrested and her sister missing, all the safety Viv has worked for is collapsing around her. So when a lifeline is offered in the form of a mysterious ‘job’, she grabs it. Arriving at Bletchley Park, Viv discovers that she has been recruited as a codebreaker helping the war effort – if she succeeds, she and her family can all go home again. If she doesn’t, they’ll all die. At first Viv believes that her challenge, of discovering the secrets of a hidden dragon language, is doable. But the more she learns, the more she realises that the bubble she’s grown up in isn’t as safe as she thought, and eventually Viv must decide: What war is she really fighting? An epic, sweeping fantasy with an incredible Dark Academia setting, a clandestine, slow-burn enemies-to-lovers romance, and an unputdownable story, filled with twists and turns, betrayals and secret identities, A Language of Dragons is the unmissable debut of 2025, from an extraordinary new voice.

London, 1923. Dragons soar through the skies and protests erupt on the streets, but Vivian Featherswallow is determined to follow the rules, secure an internship studying dragon languages, and ensure her younger sister never has to risk growing up Third Class. By midnight, however, Vivian has started a civil war. With her parents arrested and her sister missing, the safety Vivian worked for has collapsed. She accepts a mysterious job at Bletchley Park, where she is recruited as a codebreaker for the war effort. Her task is to discover the secrets of a hidden dragon language; if she succeeds, her family can return home, but if she fails, they will all perish. As Vivian delves into the assignment, she realizes the world she grew up in is not as safe as she believed. Amidst a clandestine, slow-burn romance and a web of secret identities, she must ultimately decide which war she is truly fighting.

Dragons soar through the skies and protests erupt on the streets, but Vivien Featherswallow isn’t worried. She’s going to follow the rules, get a summer internship studying dragon languages, be smart, be sweet, and make sure her little sister never, ever has to risk growing up Third Class. She just has to free one dragon. By midnight, Viv has started a civil war. With her parents and cousin arrested and her sister missing, Viv is brought to Bletchley Park as a codebreaker—if she succeeds, she and her family can all go home again. If she doesn’t, they’ll all die. As Viv begins to discover the secrets of a hidden dragon language, she realizes that the fragile peace treaty that holds human and dragon societies together is corrupt, and the dangerous work Viv is doing could be the thread that unravels it.