Review: The Ryder of the Night (Flyers of the First Kingdom #1)

The Ryder of the Night, Book 1 in the Flyers of the First Kingdom Series by Eden Eaves

Published By: Self-Published
Publication Date: March 13, 2024
Date Read: May 18, 2025
Genre: Adult – Epic Fantasy / Romantasy
Source: Loaned – KU
Format: E-Book
Pages: 504

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I am half of a whole.
A dragon without a ryder.

My kind are on the brink of extinction, I should be out there fighting, leading the flyers of the First Kingdom. But without my ryder I’m grounded. She was the key to my magic and my future. But as soon as I found her she was stolen away, hidden somehow from even our bond’s pull. I’d searched the Twelve Kingdoms for over a decade and lost all hope. Until my brother discovered her—living in a cult in the middle of nowhere, growing the very poison that’s killing my kind. Raised with no knowledge of magic or creatures like me, she thinks I’m a monster from her nightmares come to life.

Admittedly, kidnapping her probably wasn’t my best move, but I had to get her out of there. Now I need to convince her the life she knew was a lie, but time is slipping away. If she doesn’t accept who she is and learn to harness her power, it will consume her—leaving me ryderless again. She wants to go back to that lie of a life I rescued her from. Too bad we didn’t leave anything to go back to. But the more she refuses the truth, the closer I get to losing her again. So I make her an offer she can’t refuse. Only, I don’t know how I’ll keep my end of the bargain, because I can’t let her go now I’ve found her. She is more than just my ryder. But that’s a secret for another day. We have training to do.

Lesson – Ryde or die.

Note: There were some typing errors in the KU edition of this book. This has not been mentioned in the review, as there were not enough to affect enjoyment, and I do give a little bit of grace with things like spelling and grammar issues for self-published books. Just be aware that these are there if you plan on getting the book. 

The Ryder of the Night is not a book that has been on my radar for very long. I actually came across it when I was looking into authors attending RARE London in July 2025. As a huge romantasy and dragon book lover, I immediately added this one onto my TBR. I am so glad that I did as I actually enjoyed this one a lot more than I thought I would. While it is not my favourite romantasy in the world, and I did have a few issues, overall it is a super fun and enjoyable read.

One thing I really enjoyed about this book was the fact that Zaria, our FMC, has essentially been brough up in a cult, and when she is taken by Nyx she actually has a reaction. I’ve seen a lot of people in reviews frustrated in her ungratefulness for him saving her life, but I loved that it actually took her a while to even consider his as a friend. She had been through an incredibly traumatic event and I just don’t feel like it would be realistic for her to accept everything any quicker. That does make this incredibly slow going in terms of the romance, but as a plot girlie that didn’t bother me at all. Honestly the other thing I absolutely loved about this book was how strong the plot it. I don’t know whether it’s just me but I tend to expect a less intricate and thought out plot in romantasies as I see the plot as taking a back seat. That was not the case here and I actually loved it. I couldn’t put it down, dying to find out why Zaria had been taken and how it all links into the bigger ‘big bad’.

While I truly loved this book, there were a few minor things that frustrated me. I feel like the early make out scenes between Nyx and Zaria were not all that believable. I do appreciate that they were probably placed where they were in a bid to give the spicy readers something to hold on to but they happened at a time when Zaria still really hated Nyx and didn’t believe that she had been lied to her whole life so it just didn’t feel authentic. In addition to this, in terms of Nyx I did feel like it was a little instalove-y and there is nothing that frustrates me more than insta-love. Compared to all of the great plot points however these small annoyances pale in comparison to the rest. And I did feel like it got significantly better as the book went on.

The Ryder of the Night was a fantastic start to what I’m sure is going to be a great series. I truly loved a lot about this book. The ending definitely left me reeling, with a few twists and turns that I didn’t see coming… and there’s some theories I have about future books that I can’t wait to see if I’m right. I will definitely be continuing the series. I would definitely recommend it to any lover of dragon Romantasy books, but just take the beginning steady… the second half really makes the book.