Review: 'Tailwind' (The Dragon Rush Series #1) by Olivia Hayward
Pub. Date: 3 September 2026
Publisher: Penguin; Michael Joseph
There has never been a female dragon rider in the Volitant Dragon Races. Until now.
Once, Lena’s flying talent promised a future for women in this thrilling, dangerous sport. But after a betrayal ended her chance for a racing career, Lena now works as a dragon keeper for the washed-up racing tyrant Thorne. Cherishing the close bond she has forged with Gottyk, Thorne’s racing dragon, Lena still yearns to fly - to race.
But when an accident takes Thorne out of action minutes from a race beginning, Lena sees a sudden, secret opportunity.
Put on Thorne's racing helmet, and take his place in Volitant.
A chance for her, and women riders everywhere, to seize their victory from the skies . . .
Everything is a series these days, or a trilogy at the very least. While I love being able to stay in a world for multiple books, the questions that do frequently arise are: 1), is it that serious? and 2), are we still telling complete stories? I do feel that often stories are stretched beyond what they can carry, leading to repetition, added misunderstandings which frustrate rather than titillate, and a pace so slow universes have collapsed by the time we reach the conclusion. I knew Tailwind was the first in a series and so I was slightly worried going in, but Olivia Hayward is a champion. What you see in the blurb is merely the first part of the book and I am very confident that other authors would have split Tailwind itself into three books already. By not doing so, Hayward lets us really spend time with the characters for a good while but also keeps the pace high and the plot going. She also throws everything at this story and, for me at least, pretty much everything sticks. We have dragon racing, we have training montages, we have fisticuffs, we have glow-ups and media shenanigans, we're putting misogynists in their place and we're learning to express our feelings, we have found family and friendship, we have a slowly developing potential romance (which is pretty much a sub-plot here so get lost with the romantasy-label!) which I know will give us some excellent yearning in the future.
Lena has always wanted to race dragons and this is not a far-flung dream. She was astounding in the junior leagues, but as a woman in a male-dominated sport there have been countless hurdles in her way. Add to that a betrayal from a childhood friend, and now Lena is a keeper, raising her beloved dragon Gottyk from hatchling for another racer, Thorne, who happens to be a misogynistic ass. When the opportunity arises to take his place, Lena joins the Volitant in disguise and races. But how long can she keep up the ruse? I thought this would be the book but, reader, it is merely Part I! We have so much more! I don't really want to discuss any of it because as we moved into Part II and then Part III I just enjoyed going with the flow. I like Lena as a main character a lot. She is stubborn but deeply loyal, a bit of a brawler and definitely emotionally constipated. She knows her own skills and her own value, but with all the pushback she gets as a woman, her struggle to fully believe it felt realistic. I also loved Josie, a fellow keeper who becomes a friend and partner-in-crime; Cam, Lena's sister; Theo, the childhood traitor and current race competitor; as well as (most of) the other dragon racers. It felt like a broad cast of characters in which each had their own personality without overwriting it. The back-and-forth between Lena and Josie was really fun to read and the developing relationship between Lena and Theo was satisfying while leaving plenty of room for drama in the following books. I also adored the dragons, because of course I did.
From what I can tell, this is a debut novel and I can only give Olivia Hayward major props. Like I said, I enjoyed the characterisation, but the world-building also felt solid for a first book. We get enough background to understand the world we're moving in, with hints at more to come, from Lena's family history to background on the dragons. What I really appreciated, though, is the clear way in which Olivia Hayward highlighted the experience of women in male-dominated fields. Lena has to deal with a broad spectrum of disrespect, from Thorne who is a consistently threatening presence, to casual asides of "pretty good for a girl" to active attempts to keep her in her place. It makes her struggle feel more realistic, but Hayward also makes sure to not make Lena the Special One, the singular girl who can take on the men. Instead, she surrounds Lena with other female characters who experience the same, who recognise the struggle and want to help, and with male characters who are willing to recognise their own part in some of this and do better. For some these themes may feel too on the nose, but I think that unfortunately we're in a time where we once again have to make it clear that this nonsense is sexist. I'm so glad Lena is the kind of character who will punch a problem, rather than appease it. Was Tailwind absolutely perfect? No, sometimes the transitions between scenes felt a bit rough and here and there some world-building info was repeated, but hopefully this was resolved in a final round of editing. Sometimes the tone also veered slightly into YA, but I had so much fun with this! I will wait patiently, but longingly, for the next book because I adore my dragons and can't wait to see what Hayward does next!
I give this book...
5 Universes!
Tailwind was exactly what I needed at this point, at once earnest about its message and a whole lot of fun! The characters are loveable, the world is fun, and the pace is more than solid. Come for the dragon racing and stay for the dragon racing and female empowerment!
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