Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

To Shape a Dragon's Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose

56 reviews

kwthor's review

adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Grief, Lesbophobia, Colonisation, and Classism

Minor: Death of parent

jainabee's review

adventurous challenging emotional inspiring fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

After reading the hardcopy once and listening to the audiobook twice, my appreciation for the rich complexities and top notch storytelling is even stronger. Magnificent. Listening to the wonderful character voices and accents performed by Charley Flyte brought out the intercultural class differences and complex social nuances more distinctly. 

So much happens so quickly in this first installment of the series that I missed a few important details which deepen the characters—such as the look that Frau Kuiper gives Anaqus right before her skiltakraft final. The look that Anequs cannot interpret in the moment. I think I know what it means now, but it took three reads! The complicated social and political layers of this story are profound—and quite relevant to contemporary issues.

Another aspect that took me this long to get (I am white from a colonizer heritage and this tale is told from an Indigenous POV—there’s probably a LOT MORE that I don’t get) is the stylized language throughout the book. Though most of the places and objects in the book are all places and objects that would be familiar to most contemporary readers, they all have abstracted names; English is Anglish, a penny is a pennik, a photographer is a lichtbildmacher, radium is strahlendstone, etc… why all of this confusing terminology??? Other than sustaining the tone of the alternate reality, it also puts a reader who has been educated in a typical American school in the same confusing position as the Indigenous protagonist. The words and customs that the colonizers all take for granted are almost as baffling to the reader as they are to Anequs. If the author had simply used words any typical American would understand, the reader would not be able to empathize with the confusion and frustrations and other obstacles that Anequs must move through.

The final layer I that understood more this time I wrapped in spoiler alerts in the content warning section.

I can barely wait for the next installment!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Forced institutionalization, Colonisation, War, and Classism

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Genocide, Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Slavery, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Suicide, Medical content, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Finally, the third time through this story brought into sharp relief the themes of abduction and imprisonment that the characters of color all experience. Theod narrowly escaped indentured servitude, after being accused and tried in court for “stealing" a dragon, by becoming a legal ward of Frau Kuiper, Liberty is indentured to Frau Brinkerhoff and explains the unspoken complexities of paying her way out, and Anequs may appear to be making a choice, however she comes to realize that her entire village and island could be eradicated if she fails to assimilate. Locked doors, vehicles with smoked windows, and even her corset all remind her of how she cannot escape her predicament. Even Frau Kuiper—who seems to have some sympathy for the protagonist—threatens to let the enemies of Anequs destroy her dragon and raze her village if she fails the expectations of the “darling of the Jarl."

autumn33344's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Xenophobia, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Gun violence, Transphobia, and Death of parent

Minor: Suicide and Alcohol

koreydobbert's review against another edition

Low intrigue with the book. I thought the author had an interesting idea but I was not very interested in the way it was done.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation and Classism

Moderate: Bullying, Misogyny, Racism, and Xenophobia

the_rainydayreader's review against another edition

adventurous emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This was a good book, and I think anyone looking for a dragon book that is NOT like Fourth Wing might like To Shape A Dragon’s Breath. However,  this is not just a dragon book and it is not even mostly about dragons. It is more about colonialism, racism, and sexism. If you like heavy, global topics like that, you will like this book. The dragons do not do a lot other than being cute in this book. If you are looking for a more action-heavy dragon book, this is not for you.  People who like school settings will also like this book. 

That being said, the talk of colonialism, racism, and sexism does not go very deep and feels black and white. Anequs continuously points out what is wrong with white/anglish(clearly likened to real life english) culture (points I wholeheartedly agree with) without considering the good parts of the culture or the negative aspects of her own culture. Multiple times in the book Anequs is shown to be frustrated with her culture’s stubbornness about adapting to modern culture and her family’s reluctance to allow her to choose her own path in life, but she never reflects upon this.

The other weak point was the lack of an arc with Anequs. I felt that her personality and her beliefs were the stagnant throughout the book. And from the beginning, she always knew that she was doing the right thing, so there was no tension of her having to make a tough decision. The characters who I thought had interesting arcs were Marta and Sander.  Theod maybe could have been included in that list but I just didn’t really like him.

After listing these negatives, I have to mention that I really liked seeing Anequs venture into the Anglish world for the first time, and I liked hearing her thoughts about the many social customs. And I l like what she chooses to do with her career as a dragoneer (no spoilers!) . Additionally, the description of the dragons and their attachments to their dragoneers was wonderful. Kasaqua was so cute and I could sense her bond with Anequs

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Misogyny, Racism, and Sexism

Moderate: Biphobia, Violence, and War

Minor: Animal death and Lesbophobia

njlbo1's review against another edition

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism and Colonisation

Minor: Ableism, Genocide, Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Transphobia, Lesbophobia, and Classism

pandact's review

adventurous emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

I like the other review saying the author would be friends with R. F. Kuang, and I'll add Brandon Sanderson because it's almost as similar to the Rithmatist as it is to Babel.
It hits all the right notes If you like magical realism that combines science and mysticism in an alternate history world with multicultural mythologies foreshadowing worldbuilding. The dragons and Skilta system could be developed more, but it almost qualified as math magic and still didn't distract me too much with trying to figure out if it was chemistry or alchemy...

All the more reason to look forward to the sequel because the third act passed five stars! Maybe I'll also read the next one during finals and student protests 🎒

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Forced institutionalization, and Colonisation

Moderate: Ableism, Misogyny, and Alcohol

Minor: Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, and Toxic friendship

theirgracegrace's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Flying in with a masterpiece, Moniquill Blackgoose sets up a world with this first instalment of the Nampeshiweisit series. The story centres around Anequs, a young Indigenous woman who discovers a dragon egg on an island near her home. When it hatches, the dragon bonds to her, and the Anglish settlers of her land order that she join a local dragoneering academy.

My favourite part of this book was the worldbuilding! Blackgoose builds a world like our own, but without a Roman Empire or Christianity, the Europeans have a distinctly Norse flair that matches well with the themes of resistance against colonialism. Each character has distinctive features, mannerisms and traits that make them real and powerful parts of the narrative.

Eagerly awaiting the next book of this series, particularly in light of the final handful of chapters!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Medical content and War

Minor: Cursing, Infidelity, Vomit, and Cannibalism

mj1588's review against another edition

reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Police brutality, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation

Minor: Gun violence and Fire/Fire injury

dragonstuck's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism and Racism

Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, and Classism

Minor: Biphobia, Genocide, Gun violence, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Slavery, Transphobia, Lesbophobia, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail