Rating: 4.5⭐️
What a wonderful find and absolutely fabulous read! Julia Huni is an author I hadn’t heard of before but she’s now firmly in my author list to look forward to.
A Dragon Rider’s Guide to Retirement, the first book in Dragons of Safeway Haven series by Julia Huni, is a quietly stunning story. I’m not sure I’ve read one quite like this in a group of novels about dragons and dragon riders.
There’s no fast paced adventure, no real action or battles. At least not yet. Those have already happened. In a long, dark ongoing war between two countries that’s continuing to escalate and claim the lives of many, this story focuses on the recent retired warriors of each country. One a battle witch who’s losing her powers and one a disabled dragon rider who lost his dragon in the war. Both in their early 50’s and they’ve retired to Safe Haven , a mystical island unbeknownst to each other. At first.
What author Huni delivers is beautiful, deeply believable characters, ones who are dealing with their own trauma and personal losses. Who then are confronted with not only the physical enemy they have been fighting all these years, a enemy that has cost them greatly in terms of unbelievable loss and suffering, but they also have to face the fact that perhaps they have been rigid and bigoted in their own ways.
Huni’s story doesn’t preach but slowly sees change occur as the characters interact with each other and the town people who are accepting them into their own lives. It’s a magical place, full of many different kinds of beings and beautiful creatures. Including dragons.
Acceptance, loss, grief and the ability to see things from different perspectives and move on is key here. The dragon rider William Ordell, slowly becoming a part of Safe Haven, readjusting his views as he feels more at home with his new surroundings. And Calantha Stormbringer, a battle witch whose powers are fading, has returned to her home, feeling like a stranger only to find herself confronted by the very thing she was fighting in the war.
Calantha and William are both very relatable and very well defined in their own personalities and challenges that each are facing in their respective retirements. From Calantha’s loss of powers after she reached menopause, (and the fact that most battle witches never survived to this age) to William dealing with the loss of his bond with his dragon, his dragon, his small corp of brother riders, and country and his leg. They are the unlikely survivors of a deadly war that’s still going on. And this writer gives us remarkable insights into what happened, and how emotionally and physically this has and continues to affect them both.
But there’s also light-hearted and heartfelt content in this book. Magical moments and a slow burn love story as well.
I love it. Have to wait for the next one but totally worth it. I’ll savor this one and reread it just before the next is released.
A definite winner and one I’m thrilled to recommend.
Cover designed by Mariah Sinclair Designs
Dragons of Safeway Haven :
- A Dragon Rider’s Guide to Retirement #1
- A Blacksmith’s Guide to Dragon-Rearing #2 – Aug 31,2026
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Book 1 of 2: Dragons of Safe Haven
Blurb
They survived the war. Now they just have to survive retirement.
When dragon rider William Ordell is grounded by a battlefield injury, he trades conflict for peace and purchases an abandoned lighthouse on the island of Safe Haven. But quiet doesn’t suit a man used to action. After a series of mysterious fires, William finds himself launching the island’s first fire brigade—with help from the local sea dragons.
Calantha Stormbringer has left war behind, along with the last sparks of her fading magic. She retreats to Safe Haven to rebuild her late aunt’s dusty bookshop—and maybe herself. Restoring the shop will require patience, intelligence, and gold. Calantha figures two out of three isn’t bad.
What neither of them wants? To run into each other. Again.
Old grudges, magical dragons, and one cozy, nosy village—what could possibly go right?
A Dragon Rider’s Guide to Retirement is a cozy, low-stakes fantasy filled with magic, mischief, and a slow-burn romance that won’t steam your glasses. Perfect for fans of Legends & Lattes, Cursed Cocktails, and J. Penner’s Adenashire series.
- Publisher: IPH Media, LLC
- Publication date: August 5, 2025
- Language: English
- Print length: 336 pages
- Book 1 of 2: Dragons of Safe Haven
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 